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Monday, May 9. 2011is Driver's Ed teaching badly, or are some "drivers" simply unteachable
I had an incident while riding my bike yesterday that had me shaking my head about the attitude of some drivers towards bicyclists in the US, and was thinking about writing about it. Then i had an incident today that got me thinking a little more broadly.
Incident 1 - on the bike, on a rural road I'm riding north on Burden Lake Road, near the north end of the lake. The bridge over the inlet to the lake is narrow, two cars can pass in opposite directions, but if there's a cyclist there, there isn't quite enough room. But it's a short bridge, so the bottleneck isn't for long, and it is posted 30mph so you're not supposed to be driving that fast anyway. So I'm heading up a slight uphill, and two cars come south, and we meet up at about the same time. This is where the car coming behind me from the south shows up, and is slightly delayed because there's no room. They go by 5 seconds or so later when the road clears, and this is where it gets festive. They go very slow as they pass and the passenger shouts "F**k You" out the window. His point was unclear, but I guess they were unhappy about sharing a public road with a cyclist, at least on the odd occasion where it costs them 5 or 10 seconds. Later that night, driving home from a trip out, I found myself behind what appeared to be the same car, being driven very badly by a very inattentive and probably very young driver, likely fresh out of driver's ed. At the time, I was thinking in terms of a blog post about how driver's ed in the US fails to teach anything at all about how to share the road with cyclists; this was hardly the first incident I've had where drivers simply refuse to pay attention to the rules of the road, and do things that place cyclists at great risk of injury. But then today, there was... Incident 2 - at a 4 way stop w/pedestrian crosswalk in urban Schenectady I'm heading back to my car after lunch. As I reach the street, there are no cars at the stop signs, but there is a car to the right (west) which is slowing down to stop. The crosswalk is on the east side of the intersection. I step in, and as I reach the 1/2 way point the car comes to a full stop, pauses, and rolls into the intersection slowly. Although I'm crossing at my normal pace of maybe 3.5mph (respectable pacing for a pedestrian, if you ask me), and not wasting time, he feels the need as he rolls behind me through the intersection to lean on his horn to let me know he thinks i should have run in order to clear the way for him, or else halted. I don't want to claim to be a paragon, like everybody I have my bad moments behind the wheel. But for crying out loud, what are we teaching these drivers about courtesy? or maybe they're beyond education, are and always will be first class assholes. You got me. Monday, May 2. 2011sorting out the OBL timeline
This TalkingPointsMemo article points out that the Seal team was probably going into OBL's compound in Pakistan right about the time the president was telling jokes at Donald Trump's expense at the white house correspondence dinner. One particular featured (and very funny) joke was about Trump's decision to fire Gary Busey on Celebrity Apprentice.
What occurred to me as I read that is that Obama also got to interrupt the Celebrity Apprentice boardroomfiring scene to announce OBL's death. I'm not reading anything into this, but it is amusing. OBL's death is not so amusing. Yes, he earned it, deserved it, but I remain uncomfortable with the notion of celebrating anyone's death. Tuesday, April 19. 2011MapMaker -- how it looks from an OpenStreetMap perspective
As an active member of the OpenStreetMap community, I view the appearance of Google MapMaker with a mixture of interest and apprehension. Interest, because Google frequently (although not always) does these things very well, and apprehension because I'm deeply invested in a project which without question is a direct competitor.
So what are the issues as I see them? First of all, Google keeps using the word community. This is what I think are the elements of a true online community project:
So consider these elements, decide if you agree or disagree, and then look at what Google is doing, which involves only the first of these, and decide if what Google is doing is truly a community project or not. Me, I don't think so. A secondary issue, as I just popped into MapMaker to fix one known error in West Sand Lake (a missing chunk of Helen Lane, see here: http://g.co/maps/d6yeb), is that I never even saw the terms and conditions, I have edited the Google Map without ever agreeing to anything. This was probably a side effect of being already logged into my Google Account. It seems to me that this isn't much different than a shrink wrap license. Oh well... Wednesday, March 30. 2011Unfortunate EMail practices
I got an email from Rotary International the other day. As incoming president of Albany Rotary, I can expect to get these things, this one was reminding me of a membership goal form I need to prepare as part of the runup to becoming president in July.
Unfortunately, as someone who has been involved in EMail for a long time, I have to say that this particular message was more than a little weak when it came to best practices. I don't think this is entirely Rotary's fault, i place most of the blame on Blue Hornet, their EMail Service Provider (ESP), a group that has been around for a while and is supposed to know better than to do what they did. How did I become aware of the problem? Well, the email client I use, Thunderbird, warned me the email from rotary might be a scam. Why did it do that? The message included a link to the pdf on the rotary site, which in the message, looked like http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/membership_club_goal_form_en.pdf. The problem was that secretly the link was really http://echo4.bluehornet.com/ct/10998940:13419053082:m:1:995605161:6ADF5EA5CA9CE09181F7544C92C68802 Why is this a problem? Basically, much if not most of the scam email in the world uses the trick of showing one link and really going to another. This is why Thunderbird calls it out and warns you about these messages. I'm really disappointed, this is stupid and unnecessary, and I have no idea how hard it's going to be to get this fixed. And it needs to be fixed... Wednesday, March 9. 2011Recent Acquisitions - 2011-03-09
I used to be able to read books as fast as i bought them. This hasn't been true for many years. However, here are some recently acquired books which I hope to read someday:
Troy, New York, and the Building of the USS Monitor, Stephen H. Muller and Jennifer A. Taylor, Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway, Troy, NY 2009 This pamphlet (36 pages) provides a brief history of the USS Monitor and discusses the many aspects of its construction that relate to Troy, New York (a city in which I lived for nearly 25 years, and live only a few miles south of today.) It should be available from the publisher (linked above). I picked up my copy at the Mariner's Museum/USS Monitor Center down in Virginia a week ago. Project Azorian: The CIA and the Raising of K-129 Norman Polmar's name on a book about Naval History is pure gold. This should be fascinating, the story of the attempt by the CIA to recover a complete Soviet Ballistic Missile Sub from the bottom of the Pacific, right under the Soviet's noses. Another book from the gift store at the Mariner's Museum The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide I'm building a collection of various guides of this sort for a couple of reasons. One is that I just like tromping about old battlefields. This one provides summaries of the battles, maps of the battles, and directions on how to get to the battlefields reviewed. Found it at the bookstore at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitors Center. A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution I am very annoyed. The Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center Bookstore, where I purchased this, is selling the 2006 edition. I did not find out about the June 2010 edition until I went to Amazon for the link. I am providing the link to the 2010 edition, it's the least I can do for everyone else. Savas Beatie has become one of my favorite publishers for US Military History in recent years; most of my recent civil war acquisitions have been books on their list. Theodore Savas, the publisher, is co-author of this. One of the things I particularly like is that the capsule summary at the beginning of each battle description provides time of day and weather information to help in understanding the conditions of the battle. Good maps, and the book also informs you what, if anything, is left at the battle site that indicates what happened there. Monday, March 7. 2011SCCA Seat mounting -- important from Fastrack
This update from the March Fastrack was just brought to my attention (thanks to Greg Amy/Scott Dowd of NER).
Adjustable seat rails for driver's seats have always been an issue. the CRB has just issued an update to 9.3.41 (page 99, the 2011 GCR) clarifying one key detail. There is now only one tiny exception to the seat back brace requirement. The number of cars which will qualify for this exception is vanishingly small. If you have sliders under your driver's seat, even if they're FIA sliders, chances are you need a seat back brace, and since it's in March Fastrack, you need the brace before your next event. (The only exception is for FIA homologated seat assemblies in FIA homologated cars. There are very few cars running SCCA that meet that restriction.) UPDATE if you race in a part of the country that doesn't do safety waivers (like NEDiv), and if you have sliders and are missing the seat back brace, we will have no choice but to send you home. Friday, March 4. 2011Museum review: Norfolk/Newport News Virginia
some quick comments on three naval/military museums we visited in Virginia last week:
Casemate Museum/Fort Monroe (Hampton) Fort Monroe is one of the third system coastal forts, completed shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. The US held it throughout the war, even after losing Norfolk, and used it as a base (along with Fort Wool) to block Confederate access to the Atlantic. The Casemate Museum is located in one part of the old fort, in a series of old casemates. It has a number of displays relating to the evolution of coastal artillery through WWII (when it was finally realized it was obsolete), as well as displays relating to the post civil war incarceration of Jefferson Davis (I'm not sure i agree with some of the interpretative material on Davis, but i haven't done the necessary research yet before i make a serious effort to challenge it). An added bonus is the opportunity to walk the circumference of the fort on top of the earthworks; it is a very well preserved example of a system three fortification (most are long gone.) Fort Monroe (the old fortification) is on the grounds of Fort Monroe, an active Army post. It is scheduled to be turned over to civilian authorities in the Fall of 2011 but until then, if you wish to visit the old fort and museum, drive to the gate and indicate that you want a day pass to visit the museum. you'll need valid id and car registration information. the museum is free but donations are requested. Nauticus Museum/Hampton Roads Military Museum/USS Wisconsin (BB-64) (Norfolk) Nauticus is on the waterfront in downtown Norfolk. The Hampton Road Military Museum shares the building, but appears to be independently run by the US Navy. The Iowa-class battleship USS Wisconsin is moored alongside, with gantries leading from the museum to the ship's decks. Nauticus has quite a few interesting exhibits about marine topics (what did you expect) and about the battleship, and the naval museum is outstanding. This more than makes up for the fact that access to the battleship is severely limited; for the standard Nauticus ticket, the only access is to a limited number of exposed decks. A rather steep fee schedule is in place for tours and a visit to the interior of the battleship. I like the Nauticus museum and the Naval Museum a great deal, and recommend them, but if what you want is to see the inside of a fast battleship, other museums provide better value -- the New Jersey in Camden, and the Massachusetts in Fall River, to name two. An added bonus to visiting the New Jersey is the opportunity to tour the USS Olympia across the Delaware on the Philadelpha waterfront. (The museum operating the Olympia is in somewhat dire straits due to the actions of an ex-director and could use some love.) The Mariners Museum (Newport News) Last, but far from least, this was my favorite of the trip. The Mariner's Museum has an extensive collection of ship models that need to be seen to be believed, and excellent displays relating to the history of the Chesapeake Bay area. But the real prize is the USS Monitor Center. In the middle of the 200x's, the US Navy and NOAA successfully recovered significant components of the USS Monitor from the bottom of the Altantic, where the ship went down in December of 1862. The conservation effort is ongoing at the Monitor Center, and the museum provides a wonderland of displays for geeks like me who love this stuff. I would be remiss if i didn't mention the Monitor Center blog, which i have been following for some time and which provides much insight into the issues of conserving artifacts brought up from the sea. Thursday, January 13. 2011GPS pricing
i'm highly amused that we're at the point where a new entry level GPS is cheaper than a map update for an old entry level GPS.
Tuesday, January 11. 2011Learning about Antietam
I've been threatening for a while (at least in my own mind) to write a general review of the readily available works on Antietam. I'm starting to really understand what a large can of worms this is as I reread Landscape Turned Red, Stephen Sear's account (most recent single volume account), and contrast it with Harsh (Taken at the Flood).
Back in August, my dad and I toured the approaches to the battlefield taken by Lee and McClellan; the tour was offered by the Save Historic Antietam Foundation in association with the publication of Tom Clemen's new edition of Carman, The Maryland Campaign of 1862 Vol 1: South Mountain. The tour was led by Clemens and by Dennis Frye, the Chief Historian at the Harper's Ferry National Historical Park. The tour was very instructive, and one particular theme was emphasized throughout: that facts needed to be checked, that conventional wisdom is all too often wrong. And this is why the comprehensive review is going to take a while to write (although I may have some peace and quiet to work on it on the upcoming holiday.) Right from the start of Landscape Turned Red, in the second chapter, Sears repeats some relatively standard conventional wisdom, hostile to McClellan and putting thoughts in Lee's mind, things that Harsh shows are not at all well supported by the documentary evidence at hand. Now McClellan was a slimeball, make no mistake about that, but Clemens and Frye are right about this -- he is undeservedly blamed for a lot of things, particularly in the Maryland Campaign. Once you decide he's a slimeball, it's convenient to blame him with everything -- but it's not necessarily correct. Sunday, January 9. 2011The 1904 Cope Maps of Antietam
Here they are: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nfgusedautoparts/sets/72157625786459692/.
They are public domain, don't let the flickr CC copyright notice fool you. Flicker didn't offer me a public domain option for setting rights. Historic Maps, part 2
The issues with Historic Maps at the Library of Congress turns out to have a happy ending.
The Linux tool to convert them from MrSID to jpg is available from LizardTech, and while it didn't work in an old copy of Fedora, or a current copy of CentOS 5, it did work in Ubuntu 10.1. So I have converted all 16 images from the LOC site to jpg. The other good news is that as a product of the US Government (not to mention having been published before 1922), they are public domain. I'm uploading full sized jpgs to Flickr right now, will post a followup when they're ready. Historic Map rant
I've been working my way through the literature on the Battle of Antietam lately. I've recently finished reading Murfin (The Gleam Of Bayonets: The Battle Of Antietam And Robert E. Lee's Maryland Campaign, September, 1862), Tom Clemen's edition of Carman (MARYLAND CAMPAIGN OF SEPTEMBER 1862, THE: Volume 1, South Mountain), and am working my way through Harsh (Confederate Tide Rising: Robert E. Lee and the Making of Southern Strategy, 1861-1862, Taken at the Flood: Robert E. Lee and Confederate Strategy in the Maryland Campaign of 1862). I will shortly be going back and rereading Sears (Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam). One thing that has become very clear is that I need to see some better maps, in particular of the fighting in the morning on the north end of the battlefield. What happened there is very confusing today, and was quite evidently equally confusing while it was happening.
I anticipate that the maps in Clemen's second volume of the Carman manuscript will be excellent, but that book is still probably a couple of years away. However, there is a famous set of maps from the early 1900s, the Cope maps, which were prepared at the same time that Ezra Carman was writing his account of the battle. The Cope maps are no secret, they are a sequence corresponding to various times of day. A poster of the 8:20am-8:40am map is even available at the Antietam Battlefield Visitor Center (and yes, I have a copy of that one.) But seemingly, unless an old copy shows up at an antiquarian book seller, the full set is unobtainable these days (The maps in The Gleam of Bayonets are based on the Cope maps, but the reduction to a size suitable for a trade paperback didn't do them much good.) So in the course of searching, I found digitized copies of the Cope maps at the Library of Congress Site. Unfortunately, the web based viewer provided is an archaic design, crude to the point of uselessness. The good news seemed to be that you can download them, but wait, they're in a proprietary compressed format named MrSID, based on research at Los Alamos but commercialized by an outfit named LizardTech. The howtos hint at Mac OS X viewers, but no such viewers appear to exist. I am profoundly aggravated that resources like these, which should be free and easy to access, are instead so damned difficult to get at. The only good news in all of this is that I do have a copy of Parallels on my Mac, but i shouldn't have to run windows at all to get reasonable access to these maps, producted by the US Government more than 100 years ago. Friday, January 7. 2011Low Earth Orbit Entertainment
Now this should be interesting: Soviet Era Almaz space station revivial.
For those who haven't been keeping score, the Almaz was the Soviet military space station. All 7 Salyut stations were based on the Almaz designs (as were key components of Mir, and the initial Russian components of the ISS). Of the 7 Salyuts, 2,3 & 5 were military expeditions with the internal designations Almaz 1, 2, & 3 and the others were civilian. The early history of these stations were a bit erratic, but the final Salyut missions (6 & 7) had pretty good runs. If these Almaz stations, which I gather are surplus from the Salyut/Almaz program, are late model and haven't deteriorated too far, they might work out ok -- but they were designed to be occupied by two well trained Cosmonauts, and I'm not really persuaded of their suitability for the space tourist trade. bicycle brakes & technical specs
i'm a little baffled at why Shimano doesn't publish basic specs for their current brake calipers, like reach.
i have an older bike, originally equipped with 27" wheels, now converted to 700C. the ancient (1984) Dia-Compe calipers are traditional single pivot, they work ok, and there was just enough adjustment available to permit me to use them with the slightly smaller 700C wheels. the pertinent spec is called reach, and it's the distance from the bolt attaching the caliper to the frame to the spot where the pad is fastened to the caliper. it's a range, e.g. 47mm-57mm. newer bikes typically have shorter reaches. this isn't something i paid much attention to until i decided that perhaps i wanted to convert from the old single pivot Dia-Compe calipers to a newer dual pivot. i started going through current Shimano products, and found it fairly difficult to establish what ranges their calipers covered. Eventually it became clear that none of the higher end Shimano calipers will fit properly on my 26 year old bike. There is still some hope, however. The Shimano R600 dual-pivot calipers from the early 90s are still lurking out there, and will fit. And a Taiwanese firm, Tektro, is making new calipers in a variety of sizes and configurations; reviews are scarce but the small number I've found are positive. Now to decide which way I want to go...
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