Gradient Ventures, an early-stage venture fund within Google, is leading a $6 million investment in a new company that’s building software to let humans control cars remotely. Scotty Labs, a nine-person startup, works on “teleoperations,” an emerging slice of the autonomous vehicle business that may grow more critical as the field faces closer scrutiny.
California recently moved to let companies test driverless cars on public roads with remote human operators, starting in April. Scotty’s technology is designed for new regulatory environments like this. When a self-driving car finds itself in a tricky situation – stuck in snow, or behind a truck for instance – it alerts a trained operator in a call center who takes over.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
What Problem Are We Trying To Solve
This will quite possibly be the worst job ever devised.
A Cunning Plan
I don't actually think they are this cunning, but this could work anyway!
It won't work because The People want a balanced budget amendment, it will work if (and I say if) Dem congressional candidates, at the prompting of the media, fall all over themselves to say that of course they support a balanced budget amendment, also, too.
In PLAYBOOK... Republicans will take up BALANCED-BUDGET AMENDMENT when they return from redress, despite $1.3T spending bill and practically no emphasis on entitlement reform this congress. pic.twitter.com/KjjahKHjjT
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) March 28, 2018
It won't work because The People want a balanced budget amendment, it will work if (and I say if) Dem congressional candidates, at the prompting of the media, fall all over themselves to say that of course they support a balanced budget amendment, also, too.
Nothing But Straight Talk
John McCain has spent an entire career (well, after that unfortunate Keating 5 business) getting journalists to write sentences with his name and "straight talk" in them giving us nothing but straight talk so I don't get how there's anything left for a memoir?
McCain penning 'no-holds-barred' memoir
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Get - And Stay At Least Somewhat - In Shape When You're Young
This is a boring personal exercise post so skip if you think that's as horrible as it sounds.
I've been an on-again-off-again runner (fast jogger, whatever) since my mid-20s. More off than on, but with periods of being on and getting in pretty good shape. Back when I was young and beautiful I could do a 5K in an almost respectable time, and I've done a couple of half marathons/10 milers at a somewhat better than waddling pace.
I'm defining "in shape" in terms of having some decent cardiovascular endurance, not being skinny and ripped. Anyway, after being mostly off for a few years I've been back on (imperfectly, as these things go, but still) for a year or so. And getting "back" in shape... is...uh, hard. Younger me mocks my 5k time, but more than that... improvements are very very slow, and I actually have been putting in a lot of miles.
Just getting around to the point that this shit was easier when I was younger. It's harder now. Best not to lose it because it's harder to get it back.
tl;dr getting old sucks
I've been an on-again-off-again runner (fast jogger, whatever) since my mid-20s. More off than on, but with periods of being on and getting in pretty good shape. Back when I was young and beautiful I could do a 5K in an almost respectable time, and I've done a couple of half marathons/10 milers at a somewhat better than waddling pace.
I'm defining "in shape" in terms of having some decent cardiovascular endurance, not being skinny and ripped. Anyway, after being mostly off for a few years I've been back on (imperfectly, as these things go, but still) for a year or so. And getting "back" in shape... is...uh, hard. Younger me mocks my 5k time, but more than that... improvements are very very slow, and I actually have been putting in a lot of miles.
Just getting around to the point that this shit was easier when I was younger. It's harder now. Best not to lose it because it's harder to get it back.
tl;dr getting old sucks
How Do Casinos Lose Money
They frequently do. Just ask Donald. Not only do they lose money, but quite often they receive subsidies to open and then, of course, the state bailouts when they fail.
ALBANY - The del Lago casino in the Finger Lakes is seeking a better tax deal from the state to address its struggling revenue — slightly over a year since it opened.
Tom Wilmot, the principal owner of the casino, told USA TODAY Network’s Albany Bureau on Tuesday outside the Capitol that he hoped state leaders would assist the casino.
Mittens!
Who knows what he really thinks or how Dictator Mittens would govern (admittedly who cares, to some extent, but I gotta blog about something). I'd imagine President Mittens, if faced with a Dem-controlled House and Senate, would govern a bit like a Sorkin Republican in public, making Third Way-types swoon. Sorkin Republicans are both mythical and bad so this is not a compliment. Sorkin Dems were also very bad. If he had a Tea Party House and Senate he'd pretend to be more reasonable than they were but still be the most conservative president in my lifetime. But, again, who knows. The point is that he's given plenty of reason to show think he is likely not some secret friend of liberals, but is actually very bad.
Strange Move
Costello, the congressman from PA-06 who announced he was retiring, actually pulled his name off of the primary ballot. If he'd stayed on and won (without doing anything to campaign) the local Republicans could have put whoever they wanted on the ballot, but since he quit before the primary they're stuck with the random guy who got his name on the ballot, who I gather probably wouldn't have been their first choice.
Spring Fundraising Day Fünf!
Thanks for all the generosity!
Here is a picture of your invisible tote bags:
Here is a picture of your invisible tote bags:
One Quick Trick
I'm actually on record saying I don't think Trump remains in office for 4 years (this is a prediction - as in, more likely to happen than not - not something I believe with certainty) but I don't get what people think pushing him out will accomplish. This isn't an argument against him being pushed out, just one aimed at the idea that he takes his final flight on Marine One and everything is good again.
The vulgar incompetence offends, but the vulgar incompetence is mostly what keeps us from Full Trumpism, something which will remain after the Mad King is gone. I even doubt President Pence would be much more competent (again, likely a good thing), and his reign would be even more vulgar, just quieter.
As for the entire administration going down and the Marshal of the Supreme Court installing a Unity President or whatever the hell fantasies are floating around out there... cool drugs, bro.
The vulgar incompetence offends, but the vulgar incompetence is mostly what keeps us from Full Trumpism, something which will remain after the Mad King is gone. I even doubt President Pence would be much more competent (again, likely a good thing), and his reign would be even more vulgar, just quieter.
As for the entire administration going down and the Marshal of the Supreme Court installing a Unity President or whatever the hell fantasies are floating around out there... cool drugs, bro.
Safety
The fantasy is that network-linked automated cars will be able to drive safely at 120 MPH with 5 feet of distance between them. And, sure, about the time I'm uploading my brain into my new robot body, but the reality is that for a long time, if they're going to be safe they're going to be the most annoying drivers, both for their passengers and for everyone around them.
And they still won't work in a useful sense.
I experienced this firsthand this year at the Consumer Electronics Show as I rode in a Level 3 vehicle on the streets of Las Vegas. I equated the experience to having my grandmother driving me around as the vehicle waited to turn right at a crosswalk, causing the human driver behind us to lay into his horn.
The vehicle also slowed down every time it perceived an adjacent car was drifting toward our lane.
And they still won't work in a useful sense.
Oopsie
Arizona rolled out the regulation-free welcome mat after California basically kicked Uber out because Uber didn't think minimal "regulations" or "safety measures" applied to them.
Wasn't that long ago:
Oh well.
Good calls, bro. All of them.
...I wrote this last night, but the local fishwrap is on it, also, too.
After a fairly seamless, high-profile launch in Pittsburgh, the rollout in San Francisco was bumpy right from the beginning. First, the DMV issued a warning to Uber that it had not obtained the proper testing permits for its pilot program. Then, a few hours after the trial began, The Verge reported that one of Uber’s cars ran a red light, nearly hitting a (human-driven) Lyft car.
Uber reviewed the case and determined it was actually the fault of the human driver sitting in the car—remember, Uber still has human drivers who can “take over” from the self-driving system as needed.
Then there was the bike lane problem. Uber’s vehicles had a nasty habit of driving into San Francisco’s bike lanes without warning. This was not the fault of humans but a software error, claimed Uber, noting that the problem had not come up in Pittsburgh, which also has a robust cycling network. Uber pledged to fix it.
Wasn't that long ago:
Arizona has since built upon the governor’s action to become a favored partner for the tech industry, turning itself into a live laboratory for self-driving vehicles. Over the past two years, Arizona deliberately cultivated a rules-free environment for driverless cars, unlike dozens of other states that have enacted autonomous vehicle regulations over safety, taxes and insurance.
...
Mr. Ducey, a native of Ohio who came to Arizona for college and then stayed, was elected governor in 2014 on a pro-business and innovation platform. He quickly lifted restrictions on medical testing for companies like Theranos, a Silicon Valley company that later faced scrutiny for its business practices. He also touted Apple’s decision to build a $2 billion data center in the state.
“We can beat California in every metric; lower taxes, less regulations, cost of living, quality of life,” he said several months after he became governor.
Oh well.
PHOENIX, Ariz., March 26 (Reuters) - The governor of Arizona on Monday suspended Uber’s ability to test self-driving cars on public roads in the state following a fatal crash last week that killed a 49-year-old woman pedestrian.
In a letter sent to Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi and shared with the media, Governor Doug Ducey said he found a video released by police of the crash “disturbing and alarming, and it raises many questions about the ability of Uber to continue testing in Arizona.”
Good calls, bro. All of them.
...I wrote this last night, but the local fishwrap is on it, also, too.
Monday, March 26, 2018
Everybody Has Their Price
There are respected lawyers in DC who would happily represent genocidal dictators, and I don't just mean in a "well, even the worst criminal defendants deserve legal representation" sense. I mean advocate for their right to continue to commit genocide.
If Trump can't get a good lawyer it's because he won't pay them a big sum of money up front.
If Trump can't get a good lawyer it's because he won't pay them a big sum of money up front.
Wanker of the Day
Damon Linker.
I switched to "... worst humans" because things didn't seem that funny anymore. But some of these idiots are still kinda funny and we should salute them!
I switched to "... worst humans" because things didn't seem that funny anymore. But some of these idiots are still kinda funny and we should salute them!
Other People Are Bad
Opposition to immigration (and despite what people say people who don't like immigrants don't care if they are undocumented or not) is higher in places that don't have many immigrants. More to the point, opposition to immigration tends to be higher in places that practically have no visibly apparent immigrants at all.
I actually don't really understand. The standard explanation is something along the lines of "if you have neighbors that are different (however) you learn tolerance" and well, sure, in some cases, but the question is not why people in homogeneous places fail to love difference, it's why they're animated by the issue at all?
I actually don't really understand. The standard explanation is something along the lines of "if you have neighbors that are different (however) you learn tolerance" and well, sure, in some cases, but the question is not why people in homogeneous places fail to love difference, it's why they're animated by the issue at all?
The "Liar" Wall Is Breached
I'm sure it'll be back tomorrow, but there is a big difference between "the president said something which was not true" and "the president...often does not tell the truth." A bit subtle, perhaps, but the latter conveys intent to deceive, which is often a journalistic no-no (except when it isn't because the rules of journalism are so complicated).
The second phase, which is now focused on the question of a presidential interview with Mr. Mueller, had been led by Mr. Dowd. One reason Mr. Dowd quit was that, against his advice, Mr. Trump was insistent that he wanted to answer questions under oath from Mr. Mueller, believing that it would help clear him.
Mr. Dowd had concluded that there was no upside and that the president, who often does not tell the truth, could increase his legal exposure if his answers were not accurate.
Another One Down
Dems will (presumably) finally pick this one up.
Rep. Ryan Costello won’t seek reelection, he announced Sunday night, opening a major opportunity for Democrats in the fight for control of the U.S. House.
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