How to Fix One Election Day Problem

Happy Halloween!

Next Tuesday is a presidential Election Day. And there's always problems. One is the media announcing the winner of eastern states too early, perhaps suppressing the vote in western states. In 1980, it was all over by about 6pm on the West Coast. I remember I was in store and on a TV they were displaying for sale, Jimmy Carter was conceding already. I was shocked. My sister said where she lived in Idaho, people heard this and got out of line to vote. (I voted absentee because I was in college at the time.) Long-serving Democrat Frank Church, senator for Idaho, lost that year and that might have been part of the reason why.

In 2000, lots of news outlets called Florida for Gore and made it look as if he were going to win the election. They did this even before the polls were closed in the part of Florida that is in the Central Time Zone (the panhandle). This probably suppressed the Republican vote on the West Coast and the part of Florida that's in the Central Time Zone.

So, do we forbid the media from announcing who won states when? That probably wouldn't stand up to constitutional scrutiny. 

But I have an idea!

Have election day run for 24 hours from midnight Eastern Time to midnight Eastern Time. That's 9pm to 9pm Pacific Time. Then all the polls close at the same time. No one concedes early!

This would also give people 24 hours to vote, making access easier. Not many people might vote at 2am, but people just getting off a swing shift might. And lines might be shorter because people have more options of when to vote.

Then you wake up the next morning and, one would hope, know who won the election.

What do you think of my idea? Do you think it would help voting? Let me know in the comments below.

Predictions

I used to make predictions. Being a science fiction writer, that's kind of what you do. For example: I predicted that the phone, the television, and the computer would all morph into one device. The TV/phone/computer in the 2015 segment of Back to the Future Part II was exactly what I predicted. What I never realized was that it would fit in my pocket! But that's basically what a smartphone is. Now I still used my MacBook as a computer only (although it tries to be more, I just don't let it). But I use my iPhone a lot too. Not so much as a TV (I have one for that), but still it can be a TV.

Another prediction I made was that no one would own media such as records, cassette tapes, VHS tapes, etc. (this was a long time ago). Everything would be downloaded (I didn't say "stream") from the then-nascent internet for a nominal fee. I thought it would be like fifty cents, not the $5.99 that Amazon Prime video charges. 

I'm kind of behind on that. I still own media (I recently bought a 4K Blu-Ray of Smokey and the Bandit). I listen to music off my iPhone rather than stream it using Spotify or whatever. I like to be able to control what I listen to and not have a streaming service play The Police, for example. Or the Grateful Dead.

And, finally, I thought we'd all be on 24-hour military time by now. But, of course, the U.S. is holding back on that. In Europe, they used a 24-hour clock all the time. But the U.S. doesn't. Except in the military and some industries. 

Have you made any predictions that happened. Or didn't happen. Let me know in the comments below.

Will Technological Advances Ever Hit an Asymptote?

I was watching Aliens the other day and I had a thought: will technical advances ever hit an asymptote? 

Here's my thinking. Ripley was drifting in hypersleep (or whatever they call it) for 57 years. Did technology advance during those years? She started in a pretty high-tech society. Would there be a noticeable change after 57 years? Does technology eventually hit an asymptote and only advance at a snail's pace?

Fifty-seven years ago for us was 1967. There was no internet. Not even ARPANET (the precursor to the internet) existed yet. A big television was 27 inches and used a cathode ray tube. Now you can buy televisions that are over 80 inches and are flat and use LEDs. The computer you have in your pocket (smart phone) would probably take up a whole room in 1967. The thought of a "personal computer" was laughable. The thought you would have it in your pocket was inconceivable. 

And the science we have learned since 1967 is amazing. I couldn't hope to list it all here.

What do you think? Could science and technology ever come to a crawl because there isn't anything else to discover or invent? Let me know in the comments below.

Rewriting Aliens

I watched the 1986 movie Aliens again a few days ago. I can't tell you how often I've watched that movie. I have it on Blu-Ray DVD so I can watch it whenever I want. I really like this movie.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

And I, as usual, I didn't understand why they decided after the crash of the drop ship to sit tight and wait for rescue in seventeen days after being declared overdue. First of all, seventeen days makes no sense. If the trip from Earth (or where ever they came from) only takes seventeen days, why did they go into hypersleep (or whatever they called it). So that doesn't make sense to me.

But the biggest issue I have is why not send Bishop to bring down the other drop ship right away. Seems much more logical then waiting for rescue.  Now assuming LV-426 is roughly the size of Earth (it's supposed to be a moon; why in science fiction movies are they always putting people on moons?), and the USS Sulaco is in a low orbit (so the drop ships don't have to drop forever), then a complete orbit should be about 45 minutes. So Bishop heads for the uplink but by the time he gets there, the Sulaco is out of range and he has to wait, say half an hour. That gives more time for the plot to continue. 

We know the Sulaco is in orbit because they say "Nuke the site from orbit."

And, to add tension, they could have the nuclear fusion plant about to explode. Hicks could say "It's going to be close." 

(Nuclear fusion plants don't explode like thermonuclear bombs, by the way.)

I think James Cameron (who wrote and directed Aliens) must be a pantser. Otherwise, he would have figured this out.

So what do you think of my rewrite of Aliens? Do you have a better idea? Let me know in the comments below.

The above photo is being used under Section 107 of the Copyright Act: fair usage.

SUVs and Crossovers

I like to drive and I like cars. I've owned muscle cars, pony cars, sports cars, and sedans. I currently drive a sports sedan.

I define a "car" as a vehicle that is not a pickup, SUV, crossover, or minivan.

According to Car and Driver magazine, sedans don't sell well. In Fact, Ford stopped selling them (and all other cars except the popular Mustang). What people are buying now are SUVs and crossovers. Lots and lots of crossovers.

What's a crossover? It looks like an SUV but it's built on a car chassis so it handles something like a car and not a truck. You see them everywhere. The Ford Edge is a crossover although for marketing reasons, it's sold as an SUV. Look for a station wagon-like car that is puffed up like an SUV.

I've never personally owned an SUV or a crossover because I like cars. I like to accelerate, brake, and corner quickly. And SUVs and crossovers are not great at that. They might do one or two of those things, but rarely all three.

Even BMW is in the crossover game with their X series. Cadillac has a lot of crossovers.

SUVs are so popular, that Ferrari finally broke down and built one. And it probably accelerates, brakes, and corners very well (it is, after all, a Ferrari). 

Yes, sedans don't have the storage capacity of SUVs and crossovers. My sedan can comfortably hold four people. The truck space isn't cavernous. But I'd rather have the speed and cornering of my sedan than have more room for people and stuff. 

I think the reason people drive SUVs and crossovers is they care more about room and cargo space than handling and acceleration. And some tout the fact you sit high and can see better. Which I sometimes envy when trying to exit our Starbucks's parking lot.

What are your thoughts? Do you like cars or SUVs and crossovers. Let me know in the comments below.