SWCAMBORNE

It snowed on the way back from Las Vegas:

It didn’t stick but it was perilious.

I saw three accidents.  One of them I watched happening.  Fortunately everyone was driving quite slowly.

Okay Southern California Winter is over.  Let the Spring begin.

“Whenever the people are well informed they can be trusted with their own government; whenever things get so far wrong as to attract attention they may be relied upon to set them to rights.”

Thomas Jefferson

January 1789

I drove up to Las Vegas yesterday right into the teeth of a storm.  In the Cajon Pass there was fog and rain and in Apple Valley the wind was blowing as hard as I’ve seen in years.  Here is a picture of a tumbleweed attacking a car:

And a wonderful rearview mirror shot of a tumbleweed wreath on an SUV:

There was also this rainbow:

Life is Good!

In the 1920′s the slogan of the Automobile Club of Southern California was “Good Roads”

The logo from a 1923 auto club map

It is time to refocus on “Good Roads.” But this time lets call it “Smooth Roads.”  Smooth Roads will improve the environment, reduce fossil fuel consumption, lower everyone’s carbon footprint and improve the general state of happiness.

Will smoother roads accomplish the startling claims above?  To find out try this mind experiment.  Imagine two roads from your house to the State Capital.  One is potholed, badly marked, ill maintained and hilly.  The other is smooth and generally flat with gentle turns and excellent signage.  Which one would you take?  Why?  Because the nicer ride would be easier on your car, easier on your nerves and it would consume less gas. You already do.  You take the interstate.  Imagine the interstate everywhere but better.  Now you have seen smooth roads

But you say: “Simon even if what you say is true, there isn’t any money to build these beautiful smooth environmental roads.”  But there is money to tax carbon, subsidize windmills and solar panels and to build expensive mass transit systems that nobody wants to ride.  If that money were allocated instead to “Smooth Roads” more energy would be saved and the general welfare would increase dramatically.

The good news is that after it is shown that smooth roads can reduce fuel consumption significantly there will be a huge constituency for getting it done.  Construction unions, construction companies, the states departments of transportation and the engineering profession are a few of the interest groups that would support the “Smoother Roads” initiative.  But the biggest constituency would be the driving public and they vote.

This is a win win idea.  I imagine a future when the roads are so smooth that all cars have the aerodynamic road-hugging look of Formula 1 cars and get 60 mpg.  Wow!  Please email this idea to Al Gore.

So far I have taken two New Years Resolutions.  I may pick up a couple more before the end of January.

I’m only going to make up words I know how to spell.

and

I’m not going to touch pennies.

It is time they were gone.  I’ll do my part.

It is probably to late to resolve not to procrastinate.

Yesterday while driving back to Pasadena from Norco.  I was plagued by a tailgater.  I wasn’t in the fast lane and I wasn’t driving slowly.   All of a sudden there was a car a few feet from my back bumper going 70 mph.   It scared me.  I contemplated slowing down, speeding up and slamming on the brakes.  Finally in desperation I invented the tailgateometer and now I’m giving the idea to you.  This brilliant devise automatically posts the license plate number of any vehicle that tailgates the owner to the website BadDrivers.com.

LAPD traffic

The technology already exists to do all of the steps of this process.  The remote components of  the tailgateometer consist of a proximity detector, a speed indicator, a digital camera, a gps and a 3g network phone.  All of these are cleverly combined into a compact box that peeks out from your trunk.  At the web site there will be scanning software to convert the image into alphanumeric characters and a web site that publishes the data.  The data will be sortable by location, time and by license tag number.

What about liability?  First there is no presumption of a right to privacy in a public place.  Second the picture will speak for itself.  Third the publishing of the information doesn’t presume to say who is driving the tailgating car or that they are guilty of any traffic infraction.

a tailgating incident in the Philippines

It is like having your own personal redlight camera.  The existence of a few thousand tailgateometers will have a real effect on peoples driving and will save lives.  It will be a particularly effective tool against young drivers who when they are in their cars today feel that they are anonymous and can get away with things like tailgating.  I not sure if the tailgateometer should be announced or concealed.  What do you think?

The cost in production should be less than $150.  Sell price could start as high as $800 and would have to be in the $300 range to sell real volume.  It would cost about a hundred thousand dollars to build a prototype.

Here is a link to an incredible online resource of maps

David Rumsey Historical Map Collection

The scanning and cataloging work that has gone into putting it online is incredibleand it is free for non commercial use.

An early 1600′s map of Baja from my collection

I’m off to the Trans Border Institute at University of San Diego today to work on my map exhibit.

I have a collection of nearly 100 original maps showing the evolution of the US/Mexico border.  The exhibit should be great but there are lots of details and negotiations to happen before the opening  on April 21, 2010.  I’m hoping to also put up a cool website as a companion piece.

Life is Good

“If it were possible to spend one’s way to economic health, there would not be a poor nation in the world.”

Author Unknown