... a beginner at something

Homeless vs. hopeless (photos and Becky Blanton's TED talk)

Homeless, but not hopeless

Homeless and hopeless

Why?

Hint: It's about marketing.

Yes, even at this level, the basics of marketing still work.

What is your impression of the first guy? The second guy?

What is the second guys message?

A bit hard to see, but it' s not the angle. He holds up a blank piece of cardboard.

See?

P.S. These photos prepared in anticipation of  Becky's TED Talk.  Her  Video just went live.

Toyota: bring on the kill switch

While it deeply saddens me when I learn technology advances bring harm to people (and environment), this is a price we agree to pay as a society for our curiosity, experimentation, and progress. Looking over the fence may reveal workable solutions.

Toyota and others: bring on the engine kill switch

Motorcycles have had this for decades. Waterbikes and snowmobiles have a wrist strap that pulls a pin to cut the engine ignition and slow down the vehicle immediately.

On cars that have no ignition key and need a 3-second press of the start button to stop the engine, an instant kill switch should be mandatory.

Foreseeable Harm

@externalaw tweeted about his summary in this law student forum. Thanks, I find it very clear and readable.

May none of the tragic accidents be taken as a silent acceptance (shift happens), but as a wake-up call. We can fail faster,  find more and better alternatives earlier, true to the time-tested adage of necessity being the mother of invention. Now I use the emotional impact (our family drives this Toyota) to join the discussion and hope to foster innovative thinking. 

What would I do?

Were I in the situation of the accelerator getting stuck - anyway more likely now with the electronic gas pedals - I would simply turn the ignition switch (my Toyota still has one), careful not to engage the steering lock. Actually the key mechanism prevents locking the steering accidentally.

Second, I could also step on the brake, fast and hard. Brake power is more than double the engine power, but not for long when the car is moving fast - the brakes would soon overheat.

Flipping the automatic gear to neutral or pressing the clutch of a manual is the third safety option, but then you need to shut down the engine real quick to prevent mechanical damage or after a few minutes, fire hazard. 

Not in driving school, but in books like Zen and the Art of Motorcycling, they teach you to always be watchful for an emergency exit from the road, just in case you need to save your life by hopping off the lane, because someone in oncoming traffic has not seen you and is overtaking. So, option four - still much better than risking a a crash with running traffic or running over innocent bystanders - would be to run your unruly car into the dirt, or at sharp angle against a guard rail or a solid wall. Scrap the metal and save lives.

The root cause seems to lie deeper. Three seconds to stop an engine! Reminds me of the Ctrl-Alt-Del keypress to start Windows. Hence I ask for the kill switch if there is no ignition key with an "OFF" position.

How far away is your emergency? What would you do? What would you propose?

Image credit: Yoppy on flickr