via: Inhabit
There is a really interesting article on Inhabit about Frasers Broadway. It is a highly sustainable development planned to be built in the middle of Sydney. Hopefully other major cities will follow suite, especially in the south-western US where urban sprawl has obliterated the natural environment.
Having recently moved I have been dealing with the unfortunate reality of an extended commute on a number of California’s highways. My commute is 39 miles, one way, the majority of which is spent on one highway or another. As a result of this commute I have found myself becoming increasingly frustrated with large trucks, spefically the lanes in which they choose to occupy.
On any given day, on any given highway I run across numerous trucks that, through their choice to violate certain sections of the California Vehicle Code (CVC), consume far more than their fair share of the road. Through an entirely non-scientific and casual observation of traffic, I have found that trucks make up around 15% of the road going traffic while using well over 50% of the road. I did a little research today and found the following:
21655. (a) … (b) Any … vehicle subject to the provisions of Section 22406 shall be driven in the lane or lanes designated … whenever signs have been erected… . …, when a specific lane or lanes have not been so designated, … those vehicles shall be driven in the right-hand lane for traffic or as close as practicable to the right edge or curb. If, however, a specific lane or lanes have not been designated on a divided highway having four or more clearly marked lanes for traffic in one direction, … those vehicles may also be driven in the lane to the immediate left of that right-hand lane, … When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction, the driver shall use either the designated lane, the lane to the immediate left of the right-hand lane, or the right-hand lane for traffic … This subdivision does not apply to a driver who is preparing for a left- or right-hand turn or who is entering into or exiting from a highway or to a driver who must … drive in a lane other than the right-hand lane to continue on his or her intended route.
This tells me that trucks should stay in the right lane (unless there are four or more available lanes). I continually run across trucks in the right 2 lanes on a 3 lane highway. I have even run across trucks in all 3 lanes on 3 a lane highway. But wait, it gets worse… I have been on a five lane highway with trucks in all but the leftmost lane! One thing that I have never seen is a truck being stopped by the California Highway Patrol for any of these violations.
So what can be done? Well, how about pressing the CHP to cite violators for starters? I for one would love to see a law enacted mandating that trucks stay in the right most lane irregardless of the number of lanes. I would also like to see a significant penalty for lane violations, including both a stiff fine and a number of “points” on the driver’s record.
http://acsa2000.net/cain2004.org/Dine-Navajo-PressRelease.htm
I hope that this article is incorrect, I can’t imagine that a whole tribe of Native Americans was forced to relocate in 2005 so that major mining interests could strip mine coal that laid under the Dineh land. This can’t be true, we can’t have done this (again) in the latter half of the 20th century. Oh yeah, the Senator primarily responsible for getting this travesty of justice pushed through the system and enacted into law was none other than current GOP front runner Sen. John McCain! Please keep that in mind this November.
UN information regarding the forced resettlement.
Jay Leno had Ron Paul as his headlining guest last night on The Tonight Show.
It seems that this was done in response to Fox News not inviting Ron Paul to their New Hampshire debates, prompting a withdrawal of the New Hampshire GOP’s support for the debate. Ron Paul has collected more money than any other Republican thus far and polled equal to or higher than at least one of the guests that Fox News had invited (Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and John McCain). Kudos to Jay Leno and NBC for having Ron Paul on their show. Hopefully the exposure on The Tonight Show will counter any negative trends in the New Hampshire primaries.
This whole issues brings to my mind a couple of questions:
On a side note, please check out Ron Paul’s website. While my mind is not entirely made up, Ron Paul is definitely a front runner
I was searching Google for some information on Adobe Lightroom and came across this at the bottom of the results page:
In response to a complaint we received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 2 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint that caused the removal(s) at ChillingEffects.org.
Is this for real? I can’t believe it! This is surely a sign that the end is near. This is even more proof that large corporations are running the show. When I search the internet, I should not be censored by the United States government! I view this as a violation of my rights to free speech. I have been presumed guilty of doing something that corporations don’t want me to do, and am therefore being censored by the United States government. I have broken no law, I have made no trespass. It should be up to me, and me alone whether or not I will view the results of an internet query, the United States government need not intervene on behalf of any corporation.
Fascism is capitalism in decay.
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
I recently took a trip up to the central valley of California to visit some family. While the trip was altogether pleasant, the drive was not. Apart from the semi-trucks consuming more than their fair share of the available lanes, the condition of the highways was atrocious.
One would think that with the advances in technology over the last few thousand years of road making that we would be able to enjoy a relatively smooth surface on any of vast number of highways in California. This is, however, not the case. Potholes, debris, dips, humps, jumps, undulations, outdated markings and grooves make for a ride not unlike one you would experience at an amusement park. The primary difference being that driving on these highways is not amusing. While I can almost excuse potholes due to a lack of funding in recent years, there is no excuse for poor engineering and even poorer construction quality.
The worst aspect of the experience for me is the entrance and exit ramps for overpasses and bridges. I say ramps, because that is exactly what they are. I imagine that on many of these entrance ramps, my car was completely airborne! I truly hope this isn’t what was meant by everyone having a flying car.
The next most egregious flaw in the roadways is the unexplained undulations that appear to exist solely for the continued financial success of the shock-absorber and spring industries. It seems that every few miles along an otherwise flat and smooth roadway there is a dip or bump, some of which are so extreme that, again, I feel as though my car has aspirations to fly. These dips and bumps are almost always accompanied by gouges caused by the undercarriages of vehicles that are probably only slightly closer to the ground than my own.
One would think that with the enormous amount of money that we all pay in taxes to build and maintain these roads, that they should be of the highest quality.
The 9/11 Commission suggested that the U.S. Federal Government improve it’s system for issuing secure identification documents. To that end, Congress passed a law, the REAL ID Act in 2005. This act requires the DHS to set some standards for State issued ID Cards that will supposedly make the U.S. more secure. Yeah… right…
I personally think they are going about this whole thing the wrong way. My primary objection to this is that they are proposing to have each state create a repository of personally identifiable information that will be accessible to a variety of agencies. Any system that would store personally identifiable information on all the citizens of a particular state would be in dire jeopardy of being hacked.
My solution to the problem would be to use a variety of biometric data, stored directly on the card. That way if someone wants to know if I am who I say I am, they simply ask me to submit my finger, iris, face or combination thereof to a scan. No going back to some server at the State capitol, no repository of data inviting abuse. While not completely fool proof, this system would tell the person checking identities that I truly am the person shown on the card. The only hurdle then is one of preventing forgeries. The solution to this problem is simple, but does require a central repository of data. The primary difference being that this data need not be personally identifiable. The card would simply need some super long, random string of characters that has no association to the individual in possession of the card. If a particular card’s identifier is in the database, and the person who is in possession of it has been verified by a biometric scan then it is safe to say that the person is indeed who they claim to be and that the card itself is not a forgery. Seems simple enough to me.
I am the person listed on this card (verified by biometrics) and this card is valid (verified by central repository of valid card numbers), therefore I am not a terrorist.
Perhaps there is some flaw in my logic, but I don’t think so (otherwise I wouldn’t have written this!)
