This is also known as a driverless car, self-driving car,
robotic car, and unmanned ground vehicle. There are six levels
from zero, which is where we currently are, to five, which is
self driving.
Level 0: This level is where we mostly are. The human
driver controls everything: steering, brakes, throttle, power.
Level 1: This
level means that most functions are still controlled by the
driver, but a specific function, like steering or accelerating
can be done automatically by the car.
Level 2: At
least one driver assistance system of "both steering and
acceleration/deceleration using information about the driving
environment" is automated, like cruise control and
lane-centering. It means that the "driver is disengaged from
physically operating the vehicle by having his or her hands off
the steering wheel and foot off pedal at the same time." The
driver must still always be ready to take control of the
vehicle.
Level 3: Drivers
are able to completely shift safety-critical functions to the
vehicle, under certain traffic or environmental conditions. It
means the driver is still present and will intervene if
necessary, but is not required to monitor the situation in the
same way it does for the previous levels.
Level 4: Level 4
vehicles are "designed to perform all safety-critical driving
functions and monitor roadway conditions for an entire trip."
However, it is important to note that this is limited to the
"operational design domain" of the vehicle, meaning it does not
cover every driving scenario.
Level 5: This
level refers to a fully-autonomous system that expects the
vehicle's performance to equal that of a human driver, in every
driving scenario, including extreme environments. It can operate
without a driver or passengers.
It is important to
distinguish between "autonomous" and "driverless." Driverless is
a more advanced stage of autonomous.
Other considerations - car insurance business will be affected,
since the number of accidents is predicted to go down 80% by
2040. The different levels are important, because they change
the risk profile of the car. Other costs are more likely to go
up as new technology is added to the cars.
Interesting to know the things auto manufacturers are dealing
with, such as avoidance of large animals requires recognition
and tracking. Volvo found that software suited to caribou,
deer, and elk was ineffective with kangaroos.
I am sure you have noticed the little scrap of material, usually
with a button or two sewn on it that is comes with new many
clothes. The reason for that material is to wash it before you
wash that shirt or sweater, or whatever, to test how the
material holds up so that you do not ruin the whole outfit. The
buttons are replacement, in case you lose one.
In the UK many names seem unfamiliar to us, but have logical
beginnings. For instance, the East Midlands were ruled by the
Danes during the ninth century. This resulted in the creation of
place names ending in "by" (a suffix thought to originate from
the Danish word for "town"), such as Thoresby and Derby. Others
end in "thorpe" (meaning "settlement"), such as Ullesthorpe.
Bottled water took over carbonated soft drinks as
Americans' favorite drink during 2016 for the first time ever,
according to Beverage Marketing, a research and consulting
company. US consumers bought 12.8 billion gallons of bottled
water versus 12.4 billion gallons of carbonated soft drinks.
This once again shows the power of advertising.
Marketers have
convinced people to purchase something that is natural, almost
universally available, and mostly free vs. something that is
artificially created in a lab. In some places water has a higher
price than soft drinks. I have this pet rock. . .
Impossible is just a
word. What matters is if you pronounce it with a short I or a
long I.
It is not impossible
that Impossibly happiest on a Happy
Friday!
On January 12, 1976,
Agatha Christie died at age 85 at her home in Wallingford,
Oxfordshire, England. At her death, she was one of the most
popular writers of all time, the author of more than 100
novels, including a legendary collection of murder mysteries
that featured the fictional detectives Miss Jane Marple and
Hercule Poirot. Her books have been translated into more
languages than any other author in literary history,
including Shakespeare.
Christie also wrote nineteen stage plays, including The
Mousetrap, a 1952 play that premiered at London's West End
Theatre and is still currently being performed elsewhere. It
is the longest continuously-running stage play in history,
with more than 27,000 performances during 65 years. The play
has such a surprising ending that, after the final curtain
goes down, patrons are asked not to reveal it.
Eliminate static buildup in the dryer
by crumbling up aluminum foil into a ball, about the size of
a tennis ball and toss in with the clothes. When it wears
out, add another layer of foil.
Tear sticky notes off the pack from left to right or right
to left. This will reduce the curl that happens when you
pull of the paper from bottom to top.
Echo is the name of the device, but Alexa is the name for
the artificial intelligence assistant that listens and
speaks back to you. Amazon controls 75 percent of the AI
smart speaker market.
There will be no limit on
the number of times you can delay a Windows Update. Each time
you hit the Snooze button, you'll be able to push it out three
more days, until 35 days have passed. After that, you will still
be able to press a new "Remind Me Tomorrow" button to push it
out again and again, one day at a time.
Restart now, pick a
time, and snooze can be accessed through the Settings >
Update and Security menu to display how your device will
encounter and install future updates.
Postponing the Windows
10 Creators Update requires the activation of a ‘Defer feature
updates’ service. The download can then be delayed for up to 60
days, or you can pick a specific date to continue. To postpone
Windows 10 Creators Update, access the Update and Security menu,
then under "Update settings,” click Advanced options, then
select the ‘Defer feature updates’ option.
Next month we will be treated to the Olympics
with four new events during this Winter Olympics: big air
snowboarding and freestyle skiing on the slopes, and mass start
speed skating and mixed doubles curling on the ice.
All sugar substitutes are not
created equal. Here are a few facts about the most widely known
sweeteners.
Equal (Aspartame) was discovered in 1965 and first approved by
the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1981. It is the
only FDA approved nutritive sweetener, meaning it adds caloric
value to a meal. It loses its sweetness when heated and
therefore is not used in baked goods. It is a mixture of
aspartic acid and phenylalanine) that is 200 times sweeter than
sugar.
Newtame - (Neotame) It was approved by the FDA during 2002 and
is 7,000 to 13,000 times as sweet as table sugar.
Splenda (Sucralose) was discovered in 1976 and first approved by
the FDA IN 1998. It is molecularly bonded sucrose molecules with
chlorine and is 600 times as sweet as sugar by gram. It is
chemically modified to have zero calories. It keeps its
sweetness when heated and therefore is used in baked goods.
Sweet’N Low (saccharin) was discovered in 1879. It was removed
from the FDA’s caution list in 2000. It is made from benzoic
sulfimide, a coal tar derivative that is approximately 300 times
sweeter than sugar and also contains dextrose and cream of
tartar. It contains 4 calories per packet, but the body cannot
metabolize it, so it adds no caloric or nutritional value to a
meal. Cyclamate was the original ingredient in Sweet’N Low. It
is a chemical 30 to 50 times sweeter than sugar. By 1963,
cyclamate was America’s favorite artificial sweetener, then the
sweetener was proven to cause bladder cancer in rats, resulting
in an immediate ban by the FDA that is still in effect. In
response, Sweet’N Low swiftly became a saccharin-based product.
Stevia is a sweetener and sugar substitute marketed most
familiarly as PureVia and Truvia, extracted from the leaves of
the plant species Stevia rebaudiana. The active compounds of
Stevia are steviol glycosides, which have up to 150 times the
sweetness of sugar. It is heat-stable, pH-stable, and not
fermentable. The legal status of Stevia as a food additive or
dietary supplement varies from country to country. In the United
States, high-purity stevia glycoside extracts are generally
recognized as safe and allowed as ingredients in food products,
but stevia leaf and crude extracts do not have FDA approval for
use in food. The European Union approved Stevia additives in
2011, and in Japan, Stevia has been widely used as a sweetener
for decades.
Sweet One - (Sunett) was discovered during 1967 and approved in
1988. It contains Dextrose, Acesulfame-K, Cream of Tartar,
Calcium Silicate (an anti-caking agent), and natural flavors and
is 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is soluble in hot and cold
beverages and remains stable when heated, so it can also be used
in cooking and baking. It adds no caloric or nutritional value
to a meal.
According to the FDA, high-intensity sweeteners add few or no
calories to the foods they flavor and they generally do not
raise blood sugar levels.
The FDA during 2014 approved a new high-intensity sweetener
called advantame, which does not yet have a brand name. It has
been approved as a new food additive for use as a sweetener and
flavor enhancer in foods, except meat and poultry.
Incidentally, notice how many months/years it takes for FDA
to approve.
YouTube shows a fun look at the world around us, including the
Ig Nobel awards. It is even more entertaining if you watch it on
your TV. LINK
For
those who like things bigger, this week Samsung announced (with
a demo screen) an enormous 4K TV it is calling The Wall. The
Wall measures 146 inches and uses MicroLED technology to produce
its picture. The set compares to regular size TVs in quality and
color. Luckily it is not available in stores yet, or I might
need to consider re-mortgaging my house.
The annual CES show is in full swing with new
technology that will surprise many. Filed under the "I never
knew I needed that" is new Kohler and Moeller lines of bathroom
appliances that include smart shower heads, toilets, faucets,
and a smart mirror powered by Alexa.
You can monitor your
water usage, set a certain lighting profile on the mirror, fill
the bathtub to a specific level, warm the toilet seat, and ask
the toilet to flush itself. All this 'must have' stuff will be
available this year. Cost is estimated in the thousands of
dollars.
Lucille Ball was born a brunette, but dyed her hair blond for
her early days in Hollywood. When she was about to make her
first film for MGM in 1942 (“Du Barry Was a Lady”), Sydney
Guilaroff, the studio’s chief hair stylist, made a discovery
that would change her for the rest of her life. “The hair is
brown,” he said after looking at the 31-year-old rising star,
“but the soul is on fire.” So he dyed Ball’s hair Tango Red (a
shade between carrot and strawberry), which it remained until
she died.
Incidentally, Betty
Boop's original hair color was red.
