Perhaps it's possible to try and find a blinking frequency that rarely affects epileptics?
I definitely understand what you're saying but... just not sure where I'm standing when it comes to this issue. beyond a certain point there's just so much one can control and/or rule out. If people are known epileptics with rather heavy seizures, should they be allowed to drive at all?
Even ambulance/police/fire department zooming, or rather 'flashing' by, towards an emergency could trigger an epileptic attack then.
As a matter of fact, there's even a known effect of driving along a road with trees planted along the side at certain speeds and especially combined with a low hanging (winter) sun that causes some people to pass out!
I believe that it was about 5% of epileptics who have a 'flash sensitivity' that can be found when an EEG is made. Epileptics who don't have this particular sensitivity will not get an attack form computer/TV displays with fast action and/or disco balls.
I think this is just one of these issues without a definite 'up' or 'down' vote..
No you don't have to brake. Just slow down naturally and let them wait a few seconds longer before they can change into the open 'slot'. They're stuck as anyone else.. so it doesn't matter if the other person changes right now or at T+5 seconds
By giving that other driver what he wants (that gap that is still to small) too fast ( by braking) you're likely only causing yet another brake, brake, brake effect for all the cars that are behind you.
I'll never forget how I learned this lesson when I was perhaps 8 years old or so and that it can also apply to highways. We were on vacation heading towards a particular ferry we had to catch, driving about 120 km/, the legal speed on that particular stretch of highway.
About 100 km or so before the harbor I noticed how a car passes us with a friend of me in it from the same class at elementary school as I was in. His father was probably driving about 140 km/h.
We waved and lost sight of them. About 20 minutes later, the highway got much more crowded and chaotic, limiting our progress.
To make a long story short: later it turned out that my friend and his family were on the same ferry... just two cars ahead of us!
There can be so many variables which influence the time of getting from A to B. Putting in X more effort to get somewhere faster has generally just something like X/10 (guesstimate) or less return in 'time gained'.
But every time when news items like appear, it is usually followed by discussions/sub-threads like "Global warming is not real!", "Global warming is not caused by mankind", "If we don't do something now about the environment, we're all going to die!", etc. etc.
I'm often wondering why there's apparently so little line of though along the following line:
"No matter if global warming is real or not and no matter if it's caused by mankind if it's real... I just don't want to live in as smog-filled city with thousands of vehicles producing all kinds of products that my family and I will breathe in, 24/7/365!"
Active environmentalists or not, global warming supported or not... I hope we can all agree on the fact that no-one likes to breathe in what comes out of the exhaust of all those vehicles on the road today, right?
IMHO, this alone makes it completely worthwhile to switch to greener/electrical alternatives. Not just for the perceptual difference in air quality, but also to prevent X cases of disease Y every single year.
Everybody knows that cats have evolved to a level at which they obviously don't have to prove themselves anymore.
It's common knowledge that dogs have owners and that cats have servants... next to the fact that one always have to move the cat to get the best place in a given location.
As long as I don't ever have to hear the sound of a space probe that is trying to communicate with a certain type of whale again, the speed is not really interesting to me anymore.:p ^_^
In the 2007 World Solar Challenge which was held last month there were cars with engines that are 95-97% efficient [1]. Why should mass-market models have to settle for a 22% efficiency?
Electrical motors constructed according NEMA Design B must meet the efficiencies as mentioned on this page [2].
Also, gasoline vehicles have faar more moving parts than electric vehicles. In a video about the Tesla roadster I believe a 1000-ish vs 12 moving parts was mentioned. Skipping all the pulleys, shafts, transmission, etc. really really helps to get a more efficient 'energy down to the wheels on the road' score.
I believe it's more efficient to generate electricity in a central location and charge the batteries in a car than it is to load an amount of petrol in a car. I believe a 'well to wheel' efficiency percentage for a gasoline car is somewhere in the 15-20% range.
Finally: just to move away from the polluted air I would rather see electric cars than gasoline vehicles. Since I've seen a demonstration of the former, I'm completely sold... even though I absolutely loved the big V8 blocks before, I barely stand them anymore.
And the sound? Well.. I bet there's enough power in a Tesla roadster to drive a good set of speakers.;)
Slashdot Mirror
They could perhaps even call it, say...... Meteors on a Plane.
Creating an army of nanobot overlords by trying to seduce Harry Kim!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85O6HISsUTk
Perhaps it's possible to try and find a blinking frequency that rarely affects epileptics?
I definitely understand what you're saying but... just not sure where I'm standing when it comes to this issue. beyond a certain point there's just so much one can control and/or rule out. If people are known epileptics with rather heavy seizures, should they be allowed to drive at all?
Even ambulance/police/fire department zooming, or rather 'flashing' by, towards an emergency could trigger an epileptic attack then.
As a matter of fact, there's even a known effect of driving along a road with trees planted along the side at certain speeds and especially combined with a low hanging (winter) sun that causes some people to pass out!
I believe that it was about 5% of epileptics who have a 'flash sensitivity' that can be found when an EEG is made. Epileptics who don't have this particular sensitivity will not get an attack form computer/TV displays with fast action and/or disco balls.
I think this is just one of these issues without a definite 'up' or 'down' vote..
No you don't have to brake. Just slow down naturally and let them wait a few seconds longer before they can change into the open 'slot'. They're stuck as anyone else.. so it doesn't matter if the other person changes right now or at T+5 seconds
By giving that other driver what he wants (that gap that is still to small) too fast ( by braking) you're likely only causing yet another brake, brake, brake effect for all the cars that are behind you.
I'll never forget how I learned this lesson when I was perhaps 8 years old or so and that it can also apply to highways. We were on vacation heading towards a particular ferry we had to catch, driving about 120 km/, the legal speed on that particular stretch of highway.
About 100 km or so before the harbor I noticed how a car passes us with a friend of me in it from the same class at elementary school as I was in. His father was probably driving about 140 km/h.
We waved and lost sight of them. About 20 minutes later, the highway got much more crowded and chaotic, limiting our progress.
To make a long story short: later it turned out that my friend and his family were on the same ferry... just two cars ahead of us!
There can be so many variables which influence the time of getting from A to B. Putting in X more effort to get somewhere faster has generally just something like X/10 (guesstimate) or less return in 'time gained'.
But every time when news items like appear, it is usually followed by discussions/sub-threads like "Global warming is not real!", "Global warming is not caused by mankind", "If we don't do something now about the environment, we're all going to die!", etc. etc.
I'm often wondering why there's apparently so little line of though along the following line:
"No matter if global warming is real or not and no matter if it's caused by mankind if it's real... I just don't want to live in as smog-filled city with thousands of vehicles producing all kinds of products that my family and I will breathe in, 24/7/365!"
Active environmentalists or not, global warming supported or not... I hope we can all agree on the fact that no-one likes to breathe in what comes out of the exhaust of all those vehicles on the road today, right?
IMHO, this alone makes it completely worthwhile to switch to greener/electrical alternatives. Not just for the perceptual difference in air quality, but also to prevent X cases of disease Y every single year.
Thank you!
*steps down from soap box*
"That's no moon!"
LOL!
;D
Gitspeed Perseus!
Or other alternatives:
Terence McKenna UFO Experience
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF5-OTJNdi4
Oversoul as Saucer by Terence Mckenna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-YF5ryVN-4&feature=related
Pstt! We're not in the 90's anymore! Don't you know your XKCD classics? ;P
http://xkcd.com/210/
So that would make it a bit of a combination between pigs, moles and cats, right? :o
Everybody knows that cats have evolved to a level at which they obviously don't have to prove themselves anymore.
It's common knowledge that dogs have owners and that cats have servants... next to the fact that one always have to move the cat to get the best place in a given location.
The amount of evidence is stunning:
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=44
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=43
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=1907
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2247
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2424
For those who like trivia, this project was honored in the form of the 'Homing Pigeon' weapon in the game 'Worms'. ;P
With plenty of electricity available, you can move from gasoline only cars, to hybrid cars, to (if you want) 100% electric cars.
:)
Sounds like a plan to me!
- Make a custom design to guarantee excruciatingly slow page loading times? - Add CowboyNeal to your friends?
As long as I don't ever have to hear the sound of a space probe that is trying to communicate with a certain type of whale again, the speed is not really interesting to me anymore. :p ^_^
Soo.. I guess the question on everyone's lips is: how does this wobbly spacetime affect the BogoMips of an unladen Linux machine?!?
yummy! Did someone mention ice cream!?! :p
Ship propulsion by Kites combining energy production by Laddermill principle and direct kite propulsion (PDF!)
In the 2007 World Solar Challenge which was held last month there were cars with engines that are 95-97% efficient [1]. Why should mass-market models have to settle for a 22% efficiency?
;)
Electrical motors constructed according NEMA Design B must meet the efficiencies as mentioned on this page [2].
Also, gasoline vehicles have faar more moving parts than electric vehicles. In a video about the Tesla roadster I believe a 1000-ish vs 12 moving parts was mentioned. Skipping all the pulleys, shafts, transmission, etc. really really helps to get a more efficient 'energy down to the wheels on the road' score.
I believe it's more efficient to generate electricity in a central location and charge the batteries in a car than it is to load an amount of petrol in a car. I believe a 'well to wheel' efficiency percentage for a gasoline car is somewhere in the 15-20% range.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuna4
[2] http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/electrical-motor-efficiency-d_655.html
[3] http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/askpablo-well-to-wheel-efficie-002467.php
Finally: just to move away from the polluted air I would rather see electric cars than gasoline vehicles. Since I've seen a demonstration of the former, I'm completely sold... even though I absolutely loved the big V8 blocks before, I barely stand them anymore.
And the sound? Well.. I bet there's enough power in a Tesla roadster to drive a good set of speakers.
You might like this page: http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_wind.html
This just begs for an XKCD comic... but next to ants and scorpions it also has to have velociraptors of course!
1024?!? 640 ought to be enough for anybody!