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LehiNephi (695428)
LehiNephi
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Small rant: strobe lights on big vehicles
Wednesday May 07, @09:56AM
My commute for work has recently doubled, thanks to an office move. I now spend over two hours per day driving to and from work. And I've been reminded of a small pet peeve: strobe lights on big vehicles.
Back when I was in high school, I was mystified and very annoyed when school bus manufacturers started installing very bright strobe lights on top of their buses. Here you have a vehicle that is eight feet wide, thirty-five feet long, ten feet high, has lights all over, and is painted BRIGHT YELLOW. Anybody who manages to run into a school bus probably doesn't deserve a driver's license in the first place. Do they honestly think that adding a strobe light is going to significantly increase its visibility? In the early morning hours, when other drivers' vision is adjusted to the darkness, the strobes aren't just bright, they're blinding.
Now, apparently, the trend has spread. I first noticed it on garbage trucks. Now, I can understand the need for flashing yellow lights on the back of a garbage truck. While they move around their routes, they stop and go a lot, which can create a legitimate risk for surrounding drivers. As I drive down the highway on the way to work at 70mph+, I see garbage trucks (also barreling along at 70mph) with their lights flashing away.
Similar, but even more annoying flashers have now appeared on run-of-the-mill semis. Why does a semi need a bright, flashing yellow light, when it already has six tail lights, plus all the other decorative lights?
I understand the desire to ward off rear-end accidents. However, I can count on one hand the number of rear-end accidents I have seen in my life that involve a semi. Why? Because truck drivers tend to give themselves a lot more following room, which means that they rarely make sudden stops. The people who are following too closely behind generally have enough warning to slow down in time.
I wonder as well whether such lights are creating more risk than they are averting, by creating a distraction for drivers. Sure, that flashing yellow light might slightly increase safety for the one person directly behind the semi. But what about the couple dozen other drivers who are three lanes over, and are only distracted and annoyed by it?
Back when I was in high school, I was mystified and very annoyed when school bus manufacturers started installing very bright strobe lights on top of their buses. Here you have a vehicle that is eight feet wide, thirty-five feet long, ten feet high, has lights all over, and is painted BRIGHT YELLOW. Anybody who manages to run into a school bus probably doesn't deserve a driver's license in the first place. Do they honestly think that adding a strobe light is going to significantly increase its visibility? In the early morning hours, when other drivers' vision is adjusted to the darkness, the strobes aren't just bright, they're blinding.
Now, apparently, the trend has spread. I first noticed it on garbage trucks. Now, I can understand the need for flashing yellow lights on the back of a garbage truck. While they move around their routes, they stop and go a lot, which can create a legitimate risk for surrounding drivers. As I drive down the highway on the way to work at 70mph+, I see garbage trucks (also barreling along at 70mph) with their lights flashing away.
Similar, but even more annoying flashers have now appeared on run-of-the-mill semis. Why does a semi need a bright, flashing yellow light, when it already has six tail lights, plus all the other decorative lights?
I understand the desire to ward off rear-end accidents. However, I can count on one hand the number of rear-end accidents I have seen in my life that involve a semi. Why? Because truck drivers tend to give themselves a lot more following room, which means that they rarely make sudden stops. The people who are following too closely behind generally have enough warning to slow down in time.
I wonder as well whether such lights are creating more risk than they are averting, by creating a distraction for drivers. Sure, that flashing yellow light might slightly increase safety for the one person directly behind the semi. But what about the couple dozen other drivers who are three lanes over, and are only distracted and annoyed by it?
Why Microsoft Licensing is Evil
Monday January 21, @06:00PM
I just returned to the office after several months away, and I have a new neighbor in the next office over. In talking with him, I am beginning to understand the antipathy some hold towards Microsoft and their licensing schemes. My co-worker is older, and not particularly tech-adept. Consider the following:
1) My new neighbor recently had a motherboard die on him. Because it was an OEM computer (HP, I think), replacing the motherboard with the exact same would have been prohibitively expensive, and replacing the motherboard with something else would have required a new license. (I know you can sometimes talk MS's CSRs into letting you reactivate, but 'officially' it's not allowed)
2) I recently bought a copy of Windows XP Home Upgrade. I didn't buy it at a store. In fact, I bought it from someone else who had. This same person had intended to install it on their computer running Windows 2000. And they couldn't. Not because of any technical reason, but because of arbitrary limitations imposed by Microsoft. See, in order to upgrade, you have to have an existing installation of Win95/98/98se/ME, OR an install disk for Win95/98/98se/ME/2000. And they fell neatly into a corner case. And they couldn't return it, because Best Buy won't take back opened software (can't blame them, really).
3) The gazillion versions. Yeah, lots of other people have complained about it, too, I know. But you know what? It's even worse than you typically hear. Take a look at all of newegg's offerings for Windows Vista. There are twenty-seven. Not only do you have the Basic/Premium/Ultimate/Business versions, you have a choice between Retail and OEM versions, Upgrade and Full versions, 32- and 64-bit versions, and single- and 3-packs. And, as we see in #2, if you get the wrong one, you're screwed.
4) The price is ridiculous. Period. Windows, in and of itself, doesn't help me do things. It's the applications that count. Comparisons to a Linux install (cost vs. what you get) are apt here.
5) I work for a big, faceless corporation. Our IT people buy (or do they lease? I don't know) laptops from Dell. They pay for the license that comes with the laptop, then pay again through their site license. Yep, Microsoft is double-dipping. I bought my own hard drive and happily installed XP using that unused license (and dual-boot Ubuntu), in case I actually want to do something useful with the laptop, which is otherwise tightly locked down. Off the company network, naturally.
6) It's becoming pretty difficult to purchase a computer from any of the big OEMs without getting burdened with Vista. I get the feeling that the number of people who prefer Vista over XP is overwhelmingly small. Yet Microsoft leverage their market position to force a copy of Vista onto nearly all new computers. And if you want to switch back to XP, you get to pay Microsoft again.
1) My new neighbor recently had a motherboard die on him. Because it was an OEM computer (HP, I think), replacing the motherboard with the exact same would have been prohibitively expensive, and replacing the motherboard with something else would have required a new license. (I know you can sometimes talk MS's CSRs into letting you reactivate, but 'officially' it's not allowed)
2) I recently bought a copy of Windows XP Home Upgrade. I didn't buy it at a store. In fact, I bought it from someone else who had. This same person had intended to install it on their computer running Windows 2000. And they couldn't. Not because of any technical reason, but because of arbitrary limitations imposed by Microsoft. See, in order to upgrade, you have to have an existing installation of Win95/98/98se/ME, OR an install disk for Win95/98/98se/ME/2000. And they fell neatly into a corner case. And they couldn't return it, because Best Buy won't take back opened software (can't blame them, really).
3) The gazillion versions. Yeah, lots of other people have complained about it, too, I know. But you know what? It's even worse than you typically hear. Take a look at all of newegg's offerings for Windows Vista. There are twenty-seven. Not only do you have the Basic/Premium/Ultimate/Business versions, you have a choice between Retail and OEM versions, Upgrade and Full versions, 32- and 64-bit versions, and single- and 3-packs. And, as we see in #2, if you get the wrong one, you're screwed.
4) The price is ridiculous. Period. Windows, in and of itself, doesn't help me do things. It's the applications that count. Comparisons to a Linux install (cost vs. what you get) are apt here.
5) I work for a big, faceless corporation. Our IT people buy (or do they lease? I don't know) laptops from Dell. They pay for the license that comes with the laptop, then pay again through their site license. Yep, Microsoft is double-dipping. I bought my own hard drive and happily installed XP using that unused license (and dual-boot Ubuntu), in case I actually want to do something useful with the laptop, which is otherwise tightly locked down. Off the company network, naturally.
6) It's becoming pretty difficult to purchase a computer from any of the big OEMs without getting burdened with Vista. I get the feeling that the number of people who prefer Vista over XP is overwhelmingly small. Yet Microsoft leverage their market position to force a copy of Vista onto nearly all new computers. And if you want to switch back to XP, you get to pay Microsoft again.
I switched back to XP...for now
Monday January 21, @05:30PM
Back in October of last year, I installed Ubuntu on my main computer at home. I did a few tweaks, and was quite satisfied with the results. Other than a few hiccups, mostly related to sharing a printer, everything went smoothly. I'm now a convert.
But a few weeks ago, I ordered myself some parts for a new build. My intention was to similarly install Ubuntu, get the right drivers set up, and off we go. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Here is what I ordered:
So I bought a copy of XP Home Upgrade from someone who had a Win2k installation and realized only too late that you need either an installation of Win98 or Win98se or Win95 or WinME OR an official CD for one of the above or Win2k. They fell into a corner case--Win2k was installed, but they didn't have the CD. They couldn't install it because of an arbitrary restriction, and they couldn't return the (now-open) box. Even before I started installing XP, I started understanding a bit better the aversion some have for commercial software.
That feeling continued through the next while of setting up and installing things. True, all the drivers and utilities for my hardware were relatively up-to-date and polished. But it seemed to me like many of the things Windows does or wants to do are not for my benefit. Activation, for example. And setting up Windows Media Player and telling it NOT to send any information. And Windows Genuine Advantage, for the naming of which all of MS management ought to be drawn and quartered.
Granted, for the normal user, these things aren't any sort of big deal. I understand that Microsoft want to reduce piracy, and I have no issue with that. Even setting aside the "punish the customers, let the pirates go free" situation that results from WGA, DRM, and similar efforts, I still have issues with Microsoft poking around my hard drive. The necessity of installing anti-virus software is also annoying. Normally, I'd create a limited user account and use that, but so many applications require an administrator account that it's impractical. I miss sudo. I miss being able to update everything on my system at once, without having to download executables and run them individually. I miss compiz (I had problems paying half price for XP--you think I'm gonna spend money for Vista's eye candy?!). I don't have any alternative at the moment, though, so until there is a reliable and easy way to get my video card working under Linux, I'll be using XP. I don't hate it. In fact, I know how to work with XP better than I do with Ubuntu. It's just....less comfortable.
Here's hoping Hardy Heron brings me luck. Three months to go...
But a few weeks ago, I ordered myself some parts for a new build. My intention was to similarly install Ubuntu, get the right drivers set up, and off we go. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Here is what I ordered:
- Athlon 64 X2 3600 (yes, it's already overclocked)
- Biostar TForce 7025 uATX mobo
- 2GB some generic PC2-6400 RAM
- Radeon HD3850
- 300GB SATA (either WD or Maxtor, don't remember
So I bought a copy of XP Home Upgrade from someone who had a Win2k installation and realized only too late that you need either an installation of Win98 or Win98se or Win95 or WinME OR an official CD for one of the above or Win2k. They fell into a corner case--Win2k was installed, but they didn't have the CD. They couldn't install it because of an arbitrary restriction, and they couldn't return the (now-open) box. Even before I started installing XP, I started understanding a bit better the aversion some have for commercial software.
That feeling continued through the next while of setting up and installing things. True, all the drivers and utilities for my hardware were relatively up-to-date and polished. But it seemed to me like many of the things Windows does or wants to do are not for my benefit. Activation, for example. And setting up Windows Media Player and telling it NOT to send any information. And Windows Genuine Advantage, for the naming of which all of MS management ought to be drawn and quartered.
Granted, for the normal user, these things aren't any sort of big deal. I understand that Microsoft want to reduce piracy, and I have no issue with that. Even setting aside the "punish the customers, let the pirates go free" situation that results from WGA, DRM, and similar efforts, I still have issues with Microsoft poking around my hard drive. The necessity of installing anti-virus software is also annoying. Normally, I'd create a limited user account and use that, but so many applications require an administrator account that it's impractical. I miss sudo. I miss being able to update everything on my system at once, without having to download executables and run them individually. I miss compiz (I had problems paying half price for XP--you think I'm gonna spend money for Vista's eye candy?!). I don't have any alternative at the moment, though, so until there is a reliable and easy way to get my video card working under Linux, I'll be using XP. I don't hate it. In fact, I know how to work with XP better than I do with Ubuntu. It's just....less comfortable.
Here's hoping Hardy Heron brings me luck. Three months to go...
Gadget Feature Request #4
Thursday November 15 2007, @09:57AM
Gadget: Digital picture frames
Feature: Dimensions that reflect the reality of photography
At some time in the near future, I would like to buy my wife a digital picture frame. I started looking around, and found, to my utter consternation, that a vast majority of the under-$100 picture frames are widescreen. Yes, nearly all of them sport a screen with a resolution of 480x234. How many people actually take pictures with that sort of aspect ratio? I'd venture to say practically none. Nearly every digital camera defaults to taking photographs with a 3:2 aspect ratio. Widescreen LCDs are great for movies, yes, and some of these frames can do that. But for their primary purpose, i.e. displaying photographs, they are singularly unfit.
Let's take that 480x234 panel as an example. In the ideal case, we would have a photograph 1) displayed in its entirety (no cropping), 2) fill the whole screen, and 3) maintain its aspect ratio. With these devices, however, you get to choose two.
What were they thinking when they designed these?
Feature: Dimensions that reflect the reality of photography
At some time in the near future, I would like to buy my wife a digital picture frame. I started looking around, and found, to my utter consternation, that a vast majority of the under-$100 picture frames are widescreen. Yes, nearly all of them sport a screen with a resolution of 480x234. How many people actually take pictures with that sort of aspect ratio? I'd venture to say practically none. Nearly every digital camera defaults to taking photographs with a 3:2 aspect ratio. Widescreen LCDs are great for movies, yes, and some of these frames can do that. But for their primary purpose, i.e. displaying photographs, they are singularly unfit.
Let's take that 480x234 panel as an example. In the ideal case, we would have a photograph 1) displayed in its entirety (no cropping), 2) fill the whole screen, and 3) maintain its aspect ratio. With these devices, however, you get to choose two.
What were they thinking when they designed these?
Ideas for a dream house
Sunday September 23 2007, @10:58AM
At some undefined point in the future, my wife and I want to build our dream home. We have lots of ideas and opinions on what we want. The purpose of this Journal entry is to serve as a temporary repository for ideas, wishes, requirements, and fantasies for our dream house, and to collect ideas from anyone willing to share. Here is the list so far:
Rooms we want:
Things to avoid:
Other features:
Other ideas:
In a way, this is a bit similar to the Dilber Ultimate House, but what I'm looking for is a subset of what Scott Adams was looking for. At this point, I'm thinking on the level of "what rooms do I want, and where do I want them?" rather than "we should put hooks by the garage door to hang keys on!"
Please feel free to post any ideas or suggestions you have. This could be things you would like in your own house, things you have done that you really like (or that didn't turn out as well as you thought), things you wish you had done or are glad you didn't do, etc. I'll include them in the lists above and, of course, credit the contributor.
Rooms we want:
- Kitchen
- Dining area (my wife wants a formal dining room, although I think it's a waste)
- Living room (this plus the family room plus the play room = 3 living spaces? too many, methinks)
- Family room
- Master +3 bedrooms + guest suite
- 3.5 baths minimum (4.5 if guest suite is on first floor and all other bedrooms are on the 2nd)
- Den/study/library
- Play room/theater/game room (maybe the "family room" can take the place of the formal living room, and this will be the informal room)
- Workshop for me (either separate room or space in garage)
Things to avoid:
- Two-story rooms
- Wasted space
- Rooms that are too big, especially
- Family/Great room
- Master bedroom
- Extra rooms that add little usability
- sunroom
- big central foyer
- Tile in the kitchen and eating areas (I installed it earlier this year and it practically pulls food onto itself!
Other features:
- Must be extremely energy-efficient, especially with respect to climate controls.
- Double or triple-paned windows
- More than the normal amount of insulation
- Skylights where practical
- designed to let light but not heat in
- Double oven
- Breakfast bar
- If adjacent dining and living rooms, ability to segregate or join the two in a way that's not obvious (really big pocket door? pocket *wall* like in that one episode of Monster House (the gangster house)?)
- Ideally All bedrooms upstairs except for guest suite
- Kitchen close to garage
- 3-car garage
- bathtubs in every full bathroom (no bathrooms with just showers)
- garage doors not visible from front
- Big pantry immediately accessible from the kitchen
- Mudroom area by garage
- Kitchen close to dining room
Other ideas:
- Desk/mini office in the kitchen for mom
- Outlets placed for Christmas lights (D.U.H.)
- Some place for the kids to do homework (possibly a table that folds up against the wall in an existing room when not in use?)
In a way, this is a bit similar to the Dilber Ultimate House, but what I'm looking for is a subset of what Scott Adams was looking for. At this point, I'm thinking on the level of "what rooms do I want, and where do I want them?" rather than "we should put hooks by the garage door to hang keys on!"
Please feel free to post any ideas or suggestions you have. This could be things you would like in your own house, things you have done that you really like (or that didn't turn out as well as you thought), things you wish you had done or are glad you didn't do, etc. I'll include them in the lists above and, of course, credit the contributor.
