Die-by-wire?

02/06/10 11:39 PM Filed in: Rant
John Dvorak at Marketwatch:

In a Prius, as well as many computer-controlled Toyotas, the accelerator pedal is more like a volume-control knob than anything else. In the olden days when you stepped on the pedal, it would be directly connected to, say, a carburetor, and open a valve mechanically as you pushed down.

This is now passé, as this activity is done electronically on the most modern cars by network signaling.

A good article explaining how auto makers went from hardware to software and may have put us all into hot water. Here’s hoping not.

[Marketwatch]

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Discussing the iPad

02/06/10 01:56 PM Filed in: Play
Charlie Rose spoke with David Carr, Michael Arrington and Walt Mossberg about Apple’s new iPad.



[Gizmodo]

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Shootout science

02/03/10 10:20 AM Filed in: Play
Pal Bob Goodman clued me to this (perhaps because I’ve just written a shootout on main street for a certain show I’m working on).



A fun examination of the neuroscience behind the Western Showdown.

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iPad as terror weapon (aimed at tech gurus)

01/30/10 01:04 PM Filed in: Play
“What you’re seeing in the industry’s reaction to the iPad is nothing less than future shock.”

Via John Gruber.

For the last few days I’ve been conflicted about my non-reaction to the iPad intro. The link above resolves the conflict.

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Chaplin before The Tramp

01/29/10 11:47 PM Filed in: Play
I always assumed Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp character was launched fully formed into film history. Not so. CNN has a great feature on the creation of a classic character.




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iPad via Mad TV

01/29/10 11:41 PM Filed in: Play
i_pad_mad
NPR snagged the Mad TV writers who introduced the world to the original iPad. Funny.






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Steve Jobs in 1994: The Rolling Stone Interview

01/29/10 11:32 PM Filed in: Play
Steve Jobs: photo credit Riha Jr./WireImage
In 1994 Steve Jobs was the man banished from Apple and striving to make NeXT the next big thing. But something else lay in store. Rolling Stone’s Jeff Goodell walks us back 16 years to a simpler time. It’s a great interview.







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California needs high speed trains

01/28/10 11:40 PM Filed in: Rant


I hate flying. But I love traveling. Yeah, it’s a pickle. Here’s a slick bit of promotion pushing for high speed trains in California. The Huffington Post has an AP article on the deal. Here’s a piece of it:

High-speed rail projects in California, Florida and Illinois are among the big winners of $8 billion in grants announced Thursday by the White House – the start of what some Democrats tout as a national rail-building program that could rival the interstate highways begun in the Eisenhower era.

President Barack Obama announced the awards during a town hall meeting in Tampa, Fla. – a follow-up to Wednesday's State of the Union address that focused on getting Americans back to work. Thirteen passenger rail corridors in 31 states will receive grants, which are funded by the economic recovery act enacted last year.


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Your pad or mine?

01/27/10 01:35 PM Filed in: Play


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NSFW on first

01/27/10 09:29 AM Filed in: Play


As one who’s worked in the Abbott and Costello building on a certain movie lot, this has special significance. Cue the spit-take.

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I've been producing and writing for television since I was thirteen. Began getting paid for it at 28. I wrote about a babysitter's night on the town for Disney then shared some adventures with Brisco County, Jr. and Lois and Clark before heading off to work with three witches, aliens in Roswell, a Dark Angel, a vampire, a wizard and at a warehouse in South Dakota. For a bigger bio hit IMDB.com.
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