Yeah, because the job market is just that good right now.
Exactly.
Hell, Imagine you're offering a job. That job is a mix Win31/311/95/98/ME/NT/2k/XP/2k3/Vista/2k8 environment with 500 machines in a single broadcast domain; AND no machine had ever been patched; AND patching was explicitly forbidden; AND security precautions of any sort were forbidden; AND every machine had at least a dozen viruses; AND I would be one of a team of two, and the other guy is a blind mute quadriplegic from somewherelseivania who was only hired to fill some really sad attempt by upper management to meet EEOC guidelines. Oh, and did you mention that it is salary with the assumption of 40 hr/week, but the reality will be over 100 hr/wk, but the salary is $17k/yr.
I'm one of I'm sure quite a few Slashdot readers who is out of work right now. $17k is a damned lot more than I'm making now. You could probably have a few thousand candidates who would show up, and we'd all smile and ask "so you can afford to pay me, right?" We'd all seem happy to work at it, until the day comes when a real job comes along.
Unfortunately, none of us won't get that job. We'll get undercut by some kid right out of high school who will say "Hey, I'll do it for $10k/yr". What's he care? He still lives with mom, and she's paying for his gas and food. Of course, he'll eventually end up being the 40 year old guy that is STILL living with him mom, and goes on a psychotic murder spree, and no one will ever really know why. "Oh, he seemed like such a nice guy. He was quite and kept to himself. But yes, we did notice UPS bringing boxes with old Soviet symbols on them, and some said things like Kalashnikov".
Hmmm. Maybe I'm happier being unemployed. At least when that guy cracks, I won't be anywhere near him.:) We already lost one recently. Well, the network admin for San Francisco didn't actually crack and shoot anyone, did he? He just ran with all the passwords.:)
I was talking to someone about english/metric measurements. Ya, it is screwy that we won't play nicely. A lot of cars are particularly annoying in that some parts are metric, some are english. My car uses english for all the mechanical parts (engine, transmission, etc), but metric for body parts. I had to repair my headlight motor, and it was all 10mm.
Ya, torx are annoying. Usually when I need to remove one, I'm not with my tools. You can use allen wrenches with them though, it's just a matter of dumb lucking into the right size. Allen wrenches come in english and metric sizes too. {sigh}
I was completely thrown when I went to Canada, and needed some screws. The screws in the size I wanted only came in square drive. In the US, the same screws come in phillips drive. {sigh} So, all my phillips bits were worthless, so I bought a collection of square drive (and left them there when I was done).
I didn't know that code existed. It doesn't show on any of the tools that I have, but I am very aware that they aren't all inclusive.
Oh, I found it (yeah google!). It's not a "flag" that says it was cleared. By clearing the codes, either through disconnecting the battery or clearing the codes with an OBD-II tool, the "readiness" indicators are reset. As you drive around, it does self tests, and the registers will be set to indicate that the tests have passed. So, you could fail from clearing the codes, or changing the car battery.:) I suspect a dead battery would do the same thing.
As far as I know, there are no laws at all about clearing the codes. That's part of the ODB-II standard, and part of the normal diagnostic process. If you have a possibly transient error, you clear the codes and see if it comes back. He may have just been trying to make you feel good about what he was doing, but really the fact that he helped you should have done it.:) The "Computer Diagnostic" frequently costs over $100, depending on the shop you go to.
I don't really suggest to my friends to buy their own diagnostic tool. They can just use mine, or go to a parts store. It's only worthwhile to buy one, if you're going to use it. Me and my friends have an aging fleet of vehicles. Mine is one of the newest as a 2000 model year. Someone broke ranks, and purchased a 2005, but the rest are 1997 through 2000. I'll likely be supporting more repairs as time goes on, but it's a lot cheaper and easier than buying new cars.:)
I liked your IT analogy, but let me add personal experience to it. I've had MCSE's call me (primary a Linux and Cisco guy) to help them fix their Microsoft problems. I look at the problem as the problem, not as "What should I click to fix it."
I've had a lot of people ask me about problems on their cars. One recent one was a BMW. The owner was quoted $1,200 in repairs. I went over the quote, and the list of the customers complaints, and came up with a $250 quote to completely rebuild the part of the car that the dealer had quoted $1,200 for. I then dismissed everything in the quote. As the owner was told "This is essential to do today. Your car isn't safe to drive." My diagnosis was fair. "You have about a year before this becomes a problem. Bring it to me in 6 months and I'll fix those items. My estimate is approx $250, which may change a little if the parts prices change." I then proceeded to do about $200 worth of work for other items that were actually problems that weren't even addressed by the dealer quote.
I couldn't fix the airbag light, because I don't have the tool to diagnose the airbag computer. The dealer refused to address it also.
I've been working on cars since I was a kid, and know an awful lot by working on various vehicles for friends and family over the years. I've probably taken over $100k worth of work away from big shops, just because I can do it, and do it right. I don't recall any vehicle ever being brought back to me with the same problem repeated. Then again, I take the time to ensure the problem is fixed, rather than just replacing a few parts, and handing it back. It may take me an extra hour to ensure the problem is resolved, but it's worth it for the people who I do repairs for. Big shops simply don't care as much, and they get extra hours of work for the return visit.
I've played with OBD-II a little bit, but... with the tools I've used, there are some standardized codes, which were required by law. There are others that are passed down the same bus, which can be decoded, assuming the decoder manufacturer or software developer knew what to use those values for.
Unfortunately, that only covers the OBD-II portion of the system. It doesn't necessarily mean that you have information for your transmission, brakes, airbags, etc, etc, etc.
You are absolutely correct about the state issue. I bought my 2000 car used in 2001. As it turned out, it had originally been slated to ship to California, as it was configured for California emissions. The actual delivery to the 1st customer happened in Florida. Since then, it's visited about 30% the states in America. Not that I'd intentionally drive it to another state just to get it fixed, but there's always the possibility that I would move or temporarily live in a state. Someday I may sell it, and the new owner may live in Mass. The twin to my current car (but the 1998 model year) was first sold in South Carolina, and I had it shipped to Florida for purchase. A couple years ago, I sold it on Craigslist, and the new owner happened to be down from New Jersey and his car died, so he bought mine and drove home.:) That car also had been up and down both the East and West coast of the US, as well as all across the Southern half of the country.
In reading the article, they're asking for OBD-II. They want a way to be alerted for the problem causing the "Check Engine" light, and to be able to clear it. Amazingly enough, every car sold in America since the 1996 model year has this ability. A friend asked me to have a look at his 1997 truck. I happened to have my $100 code reader in the car, so I plugged it in, and voila, "here's your faults". 3 codes were present. One turned out to be a transient error. One wasn't all that important. One is indicating a future repair will be necessary, but isn't urgent quite yet. He'll want to make the last one before a long road trip, or when he has a few extra bucks.:) It's about $50 in parts, and will take me about 30 minutes to do.
Ya, I can't always just diagnose a vehicle by feel any more, but having the right tools makes it easy. But hey, you always need to have the right tools. There's a reason I have several toolboxes full of tools. I went on a trip, and part of that trip involved repairing several cars with different problems. I brought a couple hundred pounds of tools with me, and used most of them at some point. I'd like it if we could standardize things like bolt sizes, belt sizes, and (oh my gosh) parts. How many different versions of parts do we really need on the market? Is it really necessary to specialize crap cars so much that you have to know the MONTH it was built in, because the manufacturer habitually changes design of many parts two or three times through a model year?? It can really be a pain. My preferred cars use the same parts across many years. It's not like the old days, when I knew a smallblock Chevy was interchangable for decades.
There's a reason they wrote the Kama Sutra, and it wasn't just to write a dirty book.:) There's a whole variety of positions that don't put you on top.
Oh, we were talking about the food chain, weren't we?:)
That's not the way it works. Well, it can be. It will never be in your advantage. Well, unless you suffer from Stockholm syndrome, then you may just be looking for an easy way to get a bed to sleep on and 3 meals a day, sans freedom.:)
Was that a pedestrian? I thought it was a squirrel, and as far as I know, I'm under no legal obligation to stop after running over a squirrel.
If you didn't see the suicidal elderly man who jumped in front of your car, and heard the bump/thump, it could be dismissed as an animal or some other road debris. I've never hit a person, but I have unfortunately hit a few animals over the years. I once hit a plastic trash can one morning at about 55mph (the speed limit on the road), where a gust of wind during a storm blew it out in front of my car. I will honestly say, that empty trash can made a lot more noise than a Bubulcus Ibis hitting the windshield at 70mph. The ibis hit the antenna and top of the A pillar and bounced away, and even flew away after several seconds). Sure as heck, if I hear something that sounds like a trash can, that I didn't see, in the dark, when there are gusty winds, I can probably safely assume it was a trash can. I've never seen a news report of a hit and run, when there's a mystery sound.
The last "mystery sound" that me or my friends have experienced turned out to be a bullet hole in a tire. It wasn't me or my car, but I was called to bring a jack and spare tire at 2am. Luckily, they had driven about a mile on the flat, and down an off-ramp, so we were probably safe. Sometimes it's better to assume the best, than hang around for the second shot.... and no, cats don't make much of a noise at all. I really like cats, but I hit one once. It made less noise than driving over a reflector in the road. So, saying you hit a squirrel when you hit a person really isn't a good excuse.
If I recall correctly, most new vehicles have a "black box" in them, to indicate the last moments before an accident. Vehicles equipped with "OnStar" "LoJack" or other services with tracking capability all have the possibility of the service being served with a warrant to show your previous movements and/or your current location.
For something like OnStar, even if it's just installed, but you don't subscribe to their service, your vehicle is trackable. What's even nicer is that the built in cell phone (how your car and OnStar communicate) is a 3W transmitter, not the piddily mW transmitters that our regular cell phones have. All it takes is being in range of a tower, which is much easier than doing it with a regular cell phone. They can get you by GPS location or by cell tower triangulation.
But hey, most people keep their cell phones turned on anyways. It doesn't matter what your manufacturer supplied tracking system says, most people carry their cell phone tracking device with them everywhere. That's way more accurate, not because of the technology (which isn't), but because as you walk away from your car, you're carrying your beacon with you. So what if you drive a 1969 Chevelle, that no one has put any sort of tracking device on, you're carrying it for them.
The magic question is, why do most people think they're interesting enough to be tracked, and who really cares that they were at the mini-mart at 4am buying soda and candy bars?
I've been shopping a lot for insurance lately, and just about all of them have asked for the color of my vehicle. Actually, I remember in the 90's, when they started asking for the color.
Next time I'm hunting for quotes, I'll try changing the color and see if that adjusts my quotes.
In some states (including mine), you *CAN* be ticketed for driving in a parking lot, private street, etc. Basically, any route designed for a vehicle to travel on, which openly attaches to any public roadway, is a public roadway. Even "private" roads, in a "private" community, where the community built and maintain the roads, they are under the jurisdiction of the prevailing law enforcement agency.
So ya, you could get a ticket by letting your car roll in your own driveway without your seat belt on. It wouldn't even necessarily need to be started.:) Driving doesn't always involve the engine running, it only involves the motion.
Now, finding a cop who's going to ticket you for all the possible offenses is rarer than you'd think.
Someone I know got a speeding ticket recently. They had gotten off of a 70mph road, and onto a 50mph road. They were doing 60mph, and were talking to their passengers. They didn't admit their speed (never confess to anything), but did admit to talking to the passengers. They only got the speeding ticket, but they could have gotten tickets for careless driving, driving while distracted, etc, etc.. I'd cite the statute numbers, but I don't have my book with me.:) Hell, they could have been ticketed for not having a man with a red flag walking 30 feet ahead, which was a requirement for any horseless carriages. It's still on the books in some states (with variations). If you look around enough, you can find the states and statute numbers.
Why would you provide evidence against yourself, ever? Don't talk. Don't give them anything. Talk to your lawyer.
If you have evidence, your lawyer will take it and present it with the correct chain of custody maintained.
Providing evidence to the police against yourself has to be one of the stupidest things people can do. Well, I guess pleading guilty to get off on a lighter sentence for something that you weren't involved in is stupider, but that happens a lot.
Well, I was in a situation that was similar, as it involved video footage, but did not involve vehicles.
In the middle of one night, someone shot out the front windows of his store. Lucky, the people who usually worked late and would have been in the line of fire, happened to go home early that day.
The police looked at their harddrive based surveillance system, but due to the quality of the cameras, they were not able to see any identifying marks and simply said "thank you", not "can we have this for evidence."
They did pull the bullets that they could easily reach. That is, the ones that lodged in shortly after entry, rather than passing through the thin walls and eventually hitting somewhere in the back of the warehouse.
I sat down with the owner, captured all the related video, and send it to my home machine. From there, I poured through all the camera views and compiled it into a single run video, cutting from camera to camera to show his path around the building, and the shots that took out the window.
Back at the store, we had the staff watch the video I made, and asked them if anyone knew the vehicle. The color and type were obvious, but the markings were blurry and the license plate was a whopping 4px wide at best. There were some other distinguishing features. Someone said "Hey, that looks like..." who was a customer that was a bit rude, and they had helped him carry stuff out to his vehicle a few weeks before.
From the customer records, they found a name, home address, etc, etc. That was provided to the police, who said "Well, that's not much to go on, sorry we can't do anything."
We then drove out to the guys house. His vehicle was parked on the street, and I clearly video taped all the distinguishing features of the vehicle, along with a good view of the license plates.
I then edited the new footage, and appended it to the end of the first set of footage. I burned several copies of the DVD, signing each one. I also typed up a statement of what I had done, my sources, and that I was willing to testify to what I had done to make the footage. I honestly didn't even know who the shooter was, I just took the evidence, and make it into something that was easy to view.
It took several phone calls to get the case escalated to a more senior officer. He was presented with the DVD, and watched it with the owner of the store. His response was "wow, you did our work for us."
They secured a search warrant based on my DVD. When they arrived at the guys house, he was honestly surprised. They mentioned a little bit of what they knew, such as "we have video surveillance and positive identification of your vehicle being involved in this incident." He admitted to everything and two other shootings that night. The gun was still under the seat of the vehicle (very illegal in that state).
I've never been called to be a witness in the case, so I'm guessing that he plead guilty and took the sentence.
Well, it's not really all that hard. Pick a scenario
If your timestamps are in the files and not on the video...
OR
You could have possibly stored a unmarked copy of the video...
OR
Timestamps are created on the fly by the system clock...
AND
It only recorded while being driven (who wants to store countless hours of your car parked in the garage?)...
It would be able to take a clip from another time period, and claim it was from the period in question.
For example, if my car had been sighted as part of a hit and run, AND I was actually involved in it, I could take video from yesterday or the day before (or add a number of days before that) which were uneventful, and claim that they were from the date in question.
In the even that the timestamps are created and embedded on the fly by the system clock, it would be a simple matter of redriving the route at the same time of day, with the system clock skewed back by a day.
There is an opportunity for failure, that would only happen on one of the CSI:* shows. If an intersection had video surveillance, and they kept it for long enough, it could show that the day that you presented was not correct, because the other vehicles accompanying you in traffic did not match.
The high tech "edit something out of the shot" is a lot harder than "replace that footage with this".
Of course, any reputable lawyer will have expert witnesses examine the recording equipment, and open up the idea that the evidence may not be reputable. Then it's all up to the jury to decide if you're lying or not. Even if you were innocent, the possibility of tampering is still there, and therefore your "evidence" is worthless.
Actually, JWSmythe is a fictional creation to which I use the persona online. Since the persona does not have a SSN, birth certificate, drivers license, etc, it may be a bit harder to get away with identity theft.:)
Now, my real name, John W. Smith, could be (c) my parents. Oh wait, that's another fictional creation.:) I've used enough fake names online, that I tend to forget what my real name is. It brings a whole new meaning to the concept of a John Doe subpoena.
That's besides the point. A dispassionate, amoral outsider would see things like you are putting it, but as a human, taking such a stance is more than mildly absurd.
You have to put everything in life into perspective, or else you lose what the big picture is.
You're taking the position that you don't see any difference from promoting legal inequality based on race, and even murder and genocide, and having a bunch of strange costumed aliens as a kid's show, since it's all a matter of opinion.
Again, it's all perspective. The victor gets the honor of writing history. Lets continue using WWII as an example. I've seen people's faces when they found out Germany was planning to develop a nuclear weapon to attack the continental United States. Oh the outrage. In hearing that Germany could do such an outrageous thing, they forgot the United States did it twice to Japan. "Oh, but that was different, it ended the war." Sure. And a nuclear strike by the Germans wouldn't have done the same thing?
WWII isn't the first example. To find more examples it's just a matter of looking back through history and seeing what has been done to various peoples.
In a more modern context, the count of civilian Iraqi deaths varies from approx 100,000 to over 1,000,000, depending on which source is used. Those sources vary their counts based on limited or inaccurate reporting, injuries that did not immediately cause death, etc, etc.
As a matter of free speech, I agree that we should be dispassionate, but when it comes to how each of us feels about something, it's unnatural and inhuman. I would never tell anyone they can't tell a certain joke, or whatever, but I do think it's completely reasonable to point out the bigger picture upon which a joke rests.
Free speech is free. At no point did I say "You're stupid, shut up!" or "You can't say that!":) It's our unrestricted freedom of speech and expression that is one of the most important human rights. Of course, that is adjusted on a regular basis. My favorite argument is "You can't scream fire in a crowded theater.", to which my response is, "But what if there is one?"
While I won't sanction causing potentially dangerous situations, it is up to the individual to decide what should or shouldn't be said. Guidance is appropriate, but not censorship. I don't like that people say or act in particular ways, but I will sure as hell stand up and protect them regardless of what they're saying.
There are appropriate and inappropriate times to speak, which isn't censorship, it's manners. Like the Congressman who yelled "You lie!" during the President's speech a few days ago. He shouldn't have done that. It was inappropriate it and impolite. I would prefer that he had not have done it, but I won't be the one to say that he can't do it. It simply brings no credibility to his side of the "argument". Well, there wasn't one. President Obama as outlining his plan. "You lie" brings no credible information to be debated. What kind of response was expected? "Nuh huh. You're the liar liar pants on fire."
False equivalency. You've just equated Nazis and the KKK with Teletubbies in terms of offensiveness. Bravo.
That really depends on who you ask. Ask a proud KKK member, and they'll probably say the Teletubbies. Well, after the blacks, jews, and... well, anyone not white. I'd say ask a Nazi, but... well... all that's left are very old men and the "neo-nazi"'s.
Not that I'm expressing any support or opposition for any of your selected choices. I'm just clarifying that it's all in the individuals perspective.
As for the offense that you took towards his message, wouldn't your own statement be taking light to what the first two groups listed have done in the past? But who am I to say that a group with millions of deaths accounted towards them could be viewed wrong as a comparison to the Teletubbies, or to Hans Reiser?
But, I shouldn't even be writing this, since you've clearly stepped into Godwin's law territory.
[ducking from massive -100 Godwin Violation moderations]
I probably cheated a little. I'm out of work. No income. No bank accounts. No valid credit cards. If someone stole my identity, they'd probably pay me, out of pity. Hell, a pick pocket would complain because he'd just get the $0.42 and some lint from my pocket.
Just kidding. I ran through their tests. "... In the underground economy, you're really worth about $150.00. And that's on a good day.
Your entire digital life could go on the auction block for as little as $0.53, whether you like it or not."
Sucker. Someone could buy my identity $150? Hell, I'll sell it to 'em for $100, if I can get a fresh one to replace it.:) I suspect most folks got higher numbers.
Slashdot Mirror
Exactly.
Hell, Imagine you're offering a job. That job is a mix Win31/311/95/98/ME/NT/2k/XP/2k3/Vista/2k8 environment with 500 machines in a single broadcast domain; AND no machine had ever been patched; AND patching was explicitly forbidden; AND security precautions of any sort were forbidden; AND every machine had at least a dozen viruses; AND I would be one of a team of two, and the other guy is a blind mute quadriplegic from somewherelseivania who was only hired to fill some really sad attempt by upper management to meet EEOC guidelines. Oh, and did you mention that it is salary with the assumption of 40 hr/week, but the reality will be over 100 hr/wk, but the salary is $17k/yr.
I'm one of I'm sure quite a few Slashdot readers who is out of work right now. $17k is a damned lot more than I'm making now. You could probably have a few thousand candidates who would show up, and we'd all smile and ask "so you can afford to pay me, right?" We'd all seem happy to work at it, until the day comes when a real job comes along.
Unfortunately, none of us won't get that job. We'll get undercut by some kid right out of high school who will say "Hey, I'll do it for $10k/yr". What's he care? He still lives with mom, and she's paying for his gas and food. Of course, he'll eventually end up being the 40 year old guy that is STILL living with him mom, and goes on a psychotic murder spree, and no one will ever really know why. "Oh, he seemed like such a nice guy. He was quite and kept to himself. But yes, we did notice UPS bringing boxes with old Soviet symbols on them, and some said things like Kalashnikov".
Hmmm. Maybe I'm happier being unemployed. At least when that guy cracks, I won't be anywhere near him. :) We already lost one recently. Well, the network admin for San Francisco didn't actually crack and shoot anyone, did he? He just ran with all the passwords. :)
I was talking to someone about english/metric measurements. Ya, it is screwy that we won't play nicely. A lot of cars are particularly annoying in that some parts are metric, some are english. My car uses english for all the mechanical parts (engine, transmission, etc), but metric for body parts. I had to repair my headlight motor, and it was all 10mm.
Ya, torx are annoying. Usually when I need to remove one, I'm not with my tools. You can use allen wrenches with them though, it's just a matter of dumb lucking into the right size. Allen wrenches come in english and metric sizes too. {sigh}
I was completely thrown when I went to Canada, and needed some screws. The screws in the size I wanted only came in square drive. In the US, the same screws come in phillips drive. {sigh} So, all my phillips bits were worthless, so I bought a collection of square drive (and left them there when I was done).
I didn't know that code existed. It doesn't show on any of the tools that I have, but I am very aware that they aren't all inclusive.
Oh, I found it (yeah google!). It's not a "flag" that says it was cleared. By clearing the codes, either through disconnecting the battery or clearing the codes with an OBD-II tool, the "readiness" indicators are reset. As you drive around, it does self tests, and the registers will be set to indicate that the tests have passed. So, you could fail from clearing the codes, or changing the car battery. :) I suspect a dead battery would do the same thing.
As far as I know, there are no laws at all about clearing the codes. That's part of the ODB-II standard, and part of the normal diagnostic process. If you have a possibly transient error, you clear the codes and see if it comes back. He may have just been trying to make you feel good about what he was doing, but really the fact that he helped you should have done it. :) The "Computer Diagnostic" frequently costs over $100, depending on the shop you go to.
I don't really suggest to my friends to buy their own diagnostic tool. They can just use mine, or go to a parts store. It's only worthwhile to buy one, if you're going to use it. Me and my friends have an aging fleet of vehicles. Mine is one of the newest as a 2000 model year. Someone broke ranks, and purchased a 2005, but the rest are 1997 through 2000. I'll likely be supporting more repairs as time goes on, but it's a lot cheaper and easier than buying new cars. :)
hehe. I added a couple extra links. :) I didn't find any others, so for the most part the wiki page was as complete as I wanted to get for a joke. :)
I liked your IT analogy, but let me add personal experience to it. I've had MCSE's call me (primary a Linux and Cisco guy) to help them fix their Microsoft problems. I look at the problem as the problem, not as "What should I click to fix it."
I've had a lot of people ask me about problems on their cars. One recent one was a BMW. The owner was quoted $1,200 in repairs. I went over the quote, and the list of the customers complaints, and came up with a $250 quote to completely rebuild the part of the car that the dealer had quoted $1,200 for. I then dismissed everything in the quote. As the owner was told "This is essential to do today. Your car isn't safe to drive." My diagnosis was fair. "You have about a year before this becomes a problem. Bring it to me in 6 months and I'll fix those items. My estimate is approx $250, which may change a little if the parts prices change." I then proceeded to do about $200 worth of work for other items that were actually problems that weren't even addressed by the dealer quote.
I couldn't fix the airbag light, because I don't have the tool to diagnose the airbag computer. The dealer refused to address it also.
I've been working on cars since I was a kid, and know an awful lot by working on various vehicles for friends and family over the years. I've probably taken over $100k worth of work away from big shops, just because I can do it, and do it right. I don't recall any vehicle ever being brought back to me with the same problem repeated. Then again, I take the time to ensure the problem is fixed, rather than just replacing a few parts, and handing it back. It may take me an extra hour to ensure the problem is resolved, but it's worth it for the people who I do repairs for. Big shops simply don't care as much, and they get extra hours of work for the return visit.
I've played with OBD-II a little bit, but... with the tools I've used, there are some standardized codes, which were required by law. There are others that are passed down the same bus, which can be decoded, assuming the decoder manufacturer or software developer knew what to use those values for.
Unfortunately, that only covers the OBD-II portion of the system. It doesn't necessarily mean that you have information for your transmission, brakes, airbags, etc, etc, etc.
You are absolutely correct about the state issue. I bought my 2000 car used in 2001. As it turned out, it had originally been slated to ship to California, as it was configured for California emissions. The actual delivery to the 1st customer happened in Florida. Since then, it's visited about 30% the states in America. Not that I'd intentionally drive it to another state just to get it fixed, but there's always the possibility that I would move or temporarily live in a state. Someday I may sell it, and the new owner may live in Mass. The twin to my current car (but the 1998 model year) was first sold in South Carolina, and I had it shipped to Florida for purchase. A couple years ago, I sold it on Craigslist, and the new owner happened to be down from New Jersey and his car died, so he bought mine and drove home. :) That car also had been up and down both the East and West coast of the US, as well as all across the Southern half of the country.
In reading the article, they're asking for OBD-II. They want a way to be alerted for the problem causing the "Check Engine" light, and to be able to clear it. Amazingly enough, every car sold in America since the 1996 model year has this ability. A friend asked me to have a look at his 1997 truck. I happened to have my $100 code reader in the car, so I plugged it in, and voila, "here's your faults". 3 codes were present. One turned out to be a transient error. One wasn't all that important. One is indicating a future repair will be necessary, but isn't urgent quite yet. He'll want to make the last one before a long road trip, or when he has a few extra bucks. :) It's about $50 in parts, and will take me about 30 minutes to do.
Ya, I can't always just diagnose a vehicle by feel any more, but having the right tools makes it easy. But hey, you always need to have the right tools. There's a reason I have several toolboxes full of tools. I went on a trip, and part of that trip involved repairing several cars with different problems. I brought a couple hundred pounds of tools with me, and used most of them at some point. I'd like it if we could standardize things like bolt sizes, belt sizes, and (oh my gosh) parts. How many different versions of parts do we really need on the market? Is it really necessary to specialize crap cars so much that you have to know the MONTH it was built in, because the manufacturer habitually changes design of many parts two or three times through a model year?? It can really be a pain. My preferred cars use the same parts across many years. It's not like the old days, when I knew a smallblock Chevy was interchangable for decades.
There's a reason they wrote the Kama Sutra, and it wasn't just to write a dirty book. :) There's a whole variety of positions that don't put you on top.
Oh, we were talking about the food chain, weren't we? :)
Citations ... err ... clarification please.
Toyota Vista (Rebadged Toyota Camary)
Indica Vista (Indian made/sold car)
Dodge/Plymouth Colt Vista Wagon (Rebadged Mitsubishi Chariot)
Eagle Vista (Rebadged Mitsubishi Space Wagon)
Thomas Vista a mighty big station wagon. :)
Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser The "That 70's Show" classic 1969 Vista Cruiser. :)
The only Vista I'd want to own is This One (More Information), but fuel is kinda expensive.
That's not the way it works. Well, it can be. It will never be in your advantage. Well, unless you suffer from Stockholm syndrome, then you may just be looking for an easy way to get a bed to sleep on and 3 meals a day, sans freedom. :)
Was that a pedestrian? I thought it was a squirrel, and as far as I know, I'm under no legal obligation to stop after running over a squirrel.
If you didn't see the suicidal elderly man who jumped in front of your car, and heard the bump/thump, it could be dismissed as an animal or some other road debris. I've never hit a person, but I have unfortunately hit a few animals over the years. I once hit a plastic trash can one morning at about 55mph (the speed limit on the road), where a gust of wind during a storm blew it out in front of my car. I will honestly say, that empty trash can made a lot more noise than a Bubulcus Ibis hitting the windshield at 70mph. The ibis hit the antenna and top of the A pillar and bounced away, and even flew away after several seconds). Sure as heck, if I hear something that sounds like a trash can, that I didn't see, in the dark, when there are gusty winds, I can probably safely assume it was a trash can. I've never seen a news report of a hit and run, when there's a mystery sound.
The last "mystery sound" that me or my friends have experienced turned out to be a bullet hole in a tire. It wasn't me or my car, but I was called to bring a jack and spare tire at 2am. Luckily, they had driven about a mile on the flat, and down an off-ramp, so we were probably safe. Sometimes it's better to assume the best, than hang around for the second shot. ... and no, cats don't make much of a noise at all. I really like cats, but I hit one once. It made less noise than driving over a reflector in the road. So, saying you hit a squirrel when you hit a person really isn't a good excuse.
If I recall correctly, most new vehicles have a "black box" in them, to indicate the last moments before an accident. Vehicles equipped with "OnStar" "LoJack" or other services with tracking capability all have the possibility of the service being served with a warrant to show your previous movements and/or your current location.
For something like OnStar, even if it's just installed, but you don't subscribe to their service, your vehicle is trackable. What's even nicer is that the built in cell phone (how your car and OnStar communicate) is a 3W transmitter, not the piddily mW transmitters that our regular cell phones have. All it takes is being in range of a tower, which is much easier than doing it with a regular cell phone. They can get you by GPS location or by cell tower triangulation.
But hey, most people keep their cell phones turned on anyways. It doesn't matter what your manufacturer supplied tracking system says, most people carry their cell phone tracking device with them everywhere. That's way more accurate, not because of the technology (which isn't), but because as you walk away from your car, you're carrying your beacon with you. So what if you drive a 1969 Chevelle, that no one has put any sort of tracking device on, you're carrying it for them.
The magic question is, why do most people think they're interesting enough to be tracked, and who really cares that they were at the mini-mart at 4am buying soda and candy bars?
I've been shopping a lot for insurance lately, and just about all of them have asked for the color of my vehicle. Actually, I remember in the 90's, when they started asking for the color.
Next time I'm hunting for quotes, I'll try changing the color and see if that adjusts my quotes.
Well, depending on the jurisdiction.........
In some states (including mine), you *CAN* be ticketed for driving in a parking lot, private street, etc. Basically, any route designed for a vehicle to travel on, which openly attaches to any public roadway, is a public roadway. Even "private" roads, in a "private" community, where the community built and maintain the roads, they are under the jurisdiction of the prevailing law enforcement agency.
So ya, you could get a ticket by letting your car roll in your own driveway without your seat belt on. It wouldn't even necessarily need to be started. :) Driving doesn't always involve the engine running, it only involves the motion.
Now, finding a cop who's going to ticket you for all the possible offenses is rarer than you'd think.
Someone I know got a speeding ticket recently. They had gotten off of a 70mph road, and onto a 50mph road. They were doing 60mph, and were talking to their passengers. They didn't admit their speed (never confess to anything), but did admit to talking to the passengers. They only got the speeding ticket, but they could have gotten tickets for careless driving, driving while distracted, etc, etc.. I'd cite the statute numbers, but I don't have my book with me. :) Hell, they could have been ticketed for not having a man with a red flag walking 30 feet ahead, which was a requirement for any horseless carriages. It's still on the books in some states (with variations). If you look around enough, you can find the states and statute numbers.
Why would you provide evidence against yourself, ever? Don't talk. Don't give them anything. Talk to your lawyer.
If you have evidence, your lawyer will take it and present it with the correct chain of custody maintained.
Providing evidence to the police against yourself has to be one of the stupidest things people can do. Well, I guess pleading guilty to get off on a lighter sentence for something that you weren't involved in is stupider, but that happens a lot.
Well, I was in a situation that was similar, as it involved video footage, but did not involve vehicles.
In the middle of one night, someone shot out the front windows of his store. Lucky, the people who usually worked late and would have been in the line of fire, happened to go home early that day.
The police looked at their harddrive based surveillance system, but due to the quality of the cameras, they were not able to see any identifying marks and simply said "thank you", not "can we have this for evidence."
They did pull the bullets that they could easily reach. That is, the ones that lodged in shortly after entry, rather than passing through the thin walls and eventually hitting somewhere in the back of the warehouse.
I sat down with the owner, captured all the related video, and send it to my home machine. From there, I poured through all the camera views and compiled it into a single run video, cutting from camera to camera to show his path around the building, and the shots that took out the window.
Back at the store, we had the staff watch the video I made, and asked them if anyone knew the vehicle. The color and type were obvious, but the markings were blurry and the license plate was a whopping 4px wide at best. There were some other distinguishing features. Someone said "Hey, that looks like..." who was a customer that was a bit rude, and they had helped him carry stuff out to his vehicle a few weeks before.
From the customer records, they found a name, home address, etc, etc. That was provided to the police, who said "Well, that's not much to go on, sorry we can't do anything."
We then drove out to the guys house. His vehicle was parked on the street, and I clearly video taped all the distinguishing features of the vehicle, along with a good view of the license plates.
I then edited the new footage, and appended it to the end of the first set of footage. I burned several copies of the DVD, signing each one. I also typed up a statement of what I had done, my sources, and that I was willing to testify to what I had done to make the footage. I honestly didn't even know who the shooter was, I just took the evidence, and make it into something that was easy to view.
It took several phone calls to get the case escalated to a more senior officer. He was presented with the DVD, and watched it with the owner of the store. His response was "wow, you did our work for us."
They secured a search warrant based on my DVD. When they arrived at the guys house, he was honestly surprised. They mentioned a little bit of what they knew, such as "we have video surveillance and positive identification of your vehicle being involved in this incident." He admitted to everything and two other shootings that night. The gun was still under the seat of the vehicle (very illegal in that state).
I've never been called to be a witness in the case, so I'm guessing that he plead guilty and took the sentence.
Well, it's not really all that hard. Pick a scenario
If your timestamps are in the files and not on the video...
OR
You could have possibly stored a unmarked copy of the video...
OR
Timestamps are created on the fly by the system clock...
AND
It only recorded while being driven (who wants to store countless hours of your car parked in the garage?)...
It would be able to take a clip from another time period, and claim it was from the period in question.
For example, if my car had been sighted as part of a hit and run, AND I was actually involved in it, I could take video from yesterday or the day before (or add a number of days before that) which were uneventful, and claim that they were from the date in question.
In the even that the timestamps are created and embedded on the fly by the system clock, it would be a simple matter of redriving the route at the same time of day, with the system clock skewed back by a day.
There is an opportunity for failure, that would only happen on one of the CSI:* shows. If an intersection had video surveillance, and they kept it for long enough, it could show that the day that you presented was not correct, because the other vehicles accompanying you in traffic did not match.
The high tech "edit something out of the shot" is a lot harder than "replace that footage with this".
Of course, any reputable lawyer will have expert witnesses examine the recording equipment, and open up the idea that the evidence may not be reputable. Then it's all up to the jury to decide if you're lying or not. Even if you were innocent, the possibility of tampering is still there, and therefore your "evidence" is worthless.
I thought that happened when he was hit by a Chevrolet. :)
Actually, JWSmythe is a fictional creation to which I use the persona online. Since the persona does not have a SSN, birth certificate, drivers license, etc, it may be a bit harder to get away with identity theft. :)
Now, my real name, John W. Smith, could be (c) my parents. Oh wait, that's another fictional creation. :) I've used enough fake names online, that I tend to forget what my real name is. It brings a whole new meaning to the concept of a John Doe subpoena.
Woody Allen does comedy? Wow, I wasn't aware that's what it was suppose to be. :)
You have to put everything in life into perspective, or else you lose what the big picture is.
Again, it's all perspective. The victor gets the honor of writing history. Lets continue using WWII as an example. I've seen people's faces when they found out Germany was planning to develop a nuclear weapon to attack the continental United States. Oh the outrage. In hearing that Germany could do such an outrageous thing, they forgot the United States did it twice to Japan. "Oh, but that was different, it ended the war." Sure. And a nuclear strike by the Germans wouldn't have done the same thing?
WWII isn't the first example. To find more examples it's just a matter of looking back through history and seeing what has been done to various peoples.
In a more modern context, the count of civilian Iraqi deaths varies from approx 100,000 to over 1,000,000, depending on which source is used. Those sources vary their counts based on limited or inaccurate reporting, injuries that did not immediately cause death, etc, etc.
Free speech is free. At no point did I say "You're stupid, shut up!" or "You can't say that!" :) It's our unrestricted freedom of speech and expression that is one of the most important human rights. Of course, that is adjusted on a regular basis. My favorite argument is "You can't scream fire in a crowded theater.", to which my response is, "But what if there is one?"
While I won't sanction causing potentially dangerous situations, it is up to the individual to decide what should or shouldn't be said. Guidance is appropriate, but not censorship. I don't like that people say or act in particular ways, but I will sure as hell stand up and protect them regardless of what they're saying.
There are appropriate and inappropriate times to speak, which isn't censorship, it's manners. Like the Congressman who yelled "You lie!" during the President's speech a few days ago. He shouldn't have done that. It was inappropriate it and impolite. I would prefer that he had not have done it, but I won't be the one to say that he can't do it. It simply brings no credibility to his side of the "argument". Well, there wasn't one. President Obama as outlining his plan. "You lie" brings no credible information to be debated. What kind of response was expected? "Nuh huh. You're the liar liar pants on fire."
Amazing, that's the same as my luggage combinati..... oh....
That really depends on who you ask. Ask a proud KKK member, and they'll probably say the Teletubbies. Well, after the blacks, jews, and ... well, anyone not white. I'd say ask a Nazi, but ... well ... all that's left are very old men and the "neo-nazi"'s.
Not that I'm expressing any support or opposition for any of your selected choices. I'm just clarifying that it's all in the individuals perspective.
As for the offense that you took towards his message, wouldn't your own statement be taking light to what the first two groups listed have done in the past? But who am I to say that a group with millions of deaths accounted towards them could be viewed wrong as a comparison to the Teletubbies, or to Hans Reiser?
But, I shouldn't even be writing this, since you've clearly stepped into Godwin's law territory.
[ducking from massive -100 Godwin Violation moderations]
I probably cheated a little. I'm out of work. No income. No bank accounts. No valid credit cards. If someone stole my identity, they'd probably pay me, out of pity. Hell, a pick pocket would complain because he'd just get the $0.42 and some lint from my pocket.
Hello, my name is JW Smythe. Steal my identity. :)
Just kidding. I ran through their tests. "... In the underground economy, you're really worth about $150.00. And that's on a good day.
Your entire digital life could go on the auction block for as little as $0.53, whether you like it or not."
Sucker. Someone could buy my identity $150? Hell, I'll sell it to 'em for $100, if I can get a fresh one to replace it. :) I suspect most folks got higher numbers.