Submitted by Cedric Hughes on Tue, 02/02/2010 - 10:37
The Origin of Freeways
Have you ever wondered why one of the most engineered, constructed, and congested of all urban features is called a parkway or a freeway? Have a look at Edward Burtynsky’s photographs of two interchanges in Los Angeles— Highway #1 and Highway #2 at www.edwardburtynsky.com/ under Oil, Transportation, and see if the ‘state of nature’ or some visions of the abstraction encompassed by the term ‘freedom’ are uppermost in your thoughts.
The answer of course is historical. According to an article in the latest issue of Access, a periodical published by the University of California Transportation Centre, the origins of these names date back to the late 1800s.
Submitted by Cedric Hughes on Tue, 02/02/2010 - 10:36
Is the Breathalyzer Machine Always Right?
Criminal Code amendments effective July 2008 require that impaired driving trials now treat breathalyzer readings as “conclusive proof” of the blood alcohol content [BAC] of the accused “at the time of driving”. Before this change, the Criminal Code allowed the accused to rebut the presumption created by an over-the-limit test with “evidence tending to show the BAC when the alleged offence was committed did not exceed…[.08].”
This was colloquially called the “two-beer defence.” Under the new rules, only whether the breathalyzer malfunctioned or was operated incorrectly or whether the blood sample analysis was performed improperly is admissible.
Submitted by Cedric Hughes on Tue, 02/02/2010 - 10:33
The Amazing Car of the Future
This New Year’s new ideas include re-envisioning the car of the future. Take, for example, Dwell Magazine’s profile of the car of 2040 imagined by San Francisco designers Mike Simonian and Maaike Evers. Called the Autonomobile or ATNMBL, Car 2040 zooms past current envisioning around the computerized self-driving car to show the possibilities when cars without handheld control are trustworthy enough that the focus can shift away from “building a car around the idea of a driver” to building it “around all of the passengers.” This means, the designers say, changing to something that’s essentially living space.” Presuming that this living space object will continue to share infrastructure with piloted vehicles, its scale and proportions remain similar to today’s automobiles, but the similarities end there.
Submitted by Cedric Hughes on Tue, 02/02/2010 - 10:31
The Perils of Intoxication
Everyone knows that drinking and driving is dangerous, stupid, selfish, and thoughtless, that it is socially unacceptable—definitely not cool. Everyone knows that it is illegal and that if you are caught, losing your vehicle and your license are only the start of your troubles. At some expense you will need to hire a lawyer. Everyone knows that if you are convicted of impaired driving you will face a variety of punishments including the possibility of jail time and a criminal record that can restrict your options in other areas of your life including your qualification for occupational and professional status, and even your ability to travel.
Submitted by Cedric Hughes on Wed, 12/30/2009 - 10:48
The Model T, Art and the Great Open Spaces
From 1908 until 1927, the Ford Motor Company manufactured what remains the most influential, iconic, and longest running best selling —surpassed only by the Volkswagen Beetle in 1972—motor vehicle of the twentieth century, the Model T Ford.
In creating the Model T, Henry Ford aimed to “build a car for the great multitude…[that]…will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one — and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces.”
