Drunk Driving

Tougher rules on drunk driving aren’t really going to do much to reduce drunk driving – people who are drunk and who shouldn’t be driving are not likely to be thinking of the consequences or penalties associated with being caught driving drunk.

They’ll not drive if they have been raised in a culture that frowns on drunk driving because it’s dangerous. They’ll not drive if they’re with people who take the keys from them or who take transit with them or catch a cab with them after drinks. They’ll not drive if they’re given an education into how badly their skills deteriorate when they’re drunk.

On the other hand they aren’t likely to leave the keys in their pocket because they think they’ll lose their license. They’re too drunk to make that decision. Tougher rules are just a cop out to better solutions to the problem.

P.S. Studies show that drunk drivers are as dangerous as people who talk on their cell phones while driving.

Rev-matching for dummies

Nissan 370Z’s SynchroRev Match Heals Ham-Hands, Two Left Feet

Proper heel and toe work is quite difficult to learn and Nissan just made life a lot easier for those of us with two right feet and hams for hands.

I do love making a perfectly rev-matched downshift especially at high revs but I do love the idea of being able to focus on braking and steering while getting the benefits of a manual transmission.

Can’t wait to see this stuff make it onto more cars, I would buy such a car if I were in the market.

Tolls

If you live in Vancouver you’ve probably heard of the Gateway project where the provincial government is, among many things, planning to build a new bridge to replace/twin the overcrowded Port Mann bridge. 

The environmentalists and urban planners consider this a terrible idea as it wouldn’t promote more green forms of transportation. They have a point but I think it’s largely crap.

The Port Mann bridge is so overcrowded right now that buses have been banned from it for something around 20 years. A new bridge would let transit flow over the bridge again in a fast, effective manner. Other benefits:

• The old bridge is nearing its end of life so something new is needed anyways.
• The new bridge will be much safer, the current one is a bit slick and narrow.
• Wider bike lanes! Not sure if the current one has bike lanes but the new one will be much friendly for walkers and cyclists.
• A lot of commercial traffic flows through that area (it is our national highway after all)

Are there downsides? Yes. Lots actually. The new bridge will accommodate more traffic than the old one and the road systems at both ends will need an upgrade to deal with this. Because the commute will be faster more people may choose to drive although I don’t really believe this – the availability of fast transit across the bridge will probably keep quite a few cars off the road.

The best part? TOLLS! There will be a $3 toll in each direction for drivers. While I generally am against tolls as I believe they are a regressive tax (they hurt poor people more than rich people) I am completely for this toll because:

• Drivers aren’t bearing enough of the cost of driving. Driving is way too cheap.
• A toll will encourage people to pursue alternative transport (transit)
• It will help minimize the increase in traffic on the bridge
• It may help increase densification in Burnaby
• It correctly charges the people who benefit the most from the bridge – the ones that use it.
• It will help reduce commute times by encouraging people to live closer to where they work.

I like good urban planning, I love densification and I love transit and I want that bridge BUILT!

Someday I will write about how our payrolls taxes are too regressive because the way it is is a travesty.

If I had a million dollars…

How much money would it take for you to retire?

Go

Still working my way through Tom Vanderbilt’s Traffic and it’s a very interesting book – its view into the world of traffic patterns and traffic engineering are sometimes obvious except that before now it’s never been supported by empirical evidence. 

Parking lots are an example. When I park I’ve always went away from the centre of lot to a position further away to find my spot – I try to minimize my driving time even if that results in an increase in walking time. I’ve always considered it the faster way to get into the mall which (to my benefit) Vanderbilt announces IS the faster way to get into the mall.

It also noted that women are the ones who are more likely to circle around trying to find the perfect spot. Apparently women tend to overestimate the time it takes to walk into the mall whereas men tend to underestimate things.

However, author Vanderbilt doesn’t take into account that women are more like to be buying a lot of things and thus they place a lot more value on being near the entrance. 

In any case, I’m looking forward to finishing the book.

Amazon.com: Playmobil Security Check Point: Toys & Games

Amazon.com: Playmobil Security Check Point: Toys & Games.

The reviews are awesome.

Open Offices = BAD

Open Offices = BAD

Unlike my peers in the tech business I hate open offices and I agree with every finding in this report and this isn’t the first time I’ve read these reports. I have yet to see a report that proves the opposite. Companies that think that shared spaces are good things are shooting themselves in the foot.

Big Screen

Want to get more productive?

From the shit that anyone who uses technology and isn’t stupid has known for years. I had a dual 17″ CRT setup some 8 years ago so I could edit video faster and it was a revelation. 

Today I’m stunned when I go into offices where employees are still using 15″ or 17″ monitors that run at 1024×768 or 1280×1024. These companies are trading huge amounts of productivity for a minimal savings in hardware.

WFH

I work from home from time to time and the results really vary. Today I worked from home due to fire alarm testing and was remarkably productive up till about 2pm at which point I realized I’d been going non-stop since I started around 8:30. After that it was a pretty hit and miss. I’ve had days in this job where I worked from home and it was a pretty weak experience – it was too easy to become unfocused.

In my last job I would sometimes work from home although it was pretty rare but it was usually quite effective when I had a lot of administrative stuff to do as I didn’t have to be around the team and could really focus on one thing. 

I generally find it nice that I can play some music in my place while I’m working instead of doing the headphones thing at work.

What about you? Do you work at home much?

Um, no.

My dad has a Facebook account. 

He keeps trying to add me. 

I keep ignoring the request.