Are Self-Driving Cars Dangerous?

Tesla Model S

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has done a ten-month survey on crashes involving Level 2 automation in vehicles. As Car and Driver reports:

The U.S. agency [NHTSA]... published the initial results of that data collection, which reveals hundreds of crashes with vehicles using Level 2 driver-assistance technology.

Level 2 driver-assistance technology is described as:

This means advanced driver assistance systems or ADAS. The vehicle can control both steering and accelerating/decelerating. Here the automation falls short of self-driving because a human sits in the driver’s seat and can take control of the car at any time. Tesla Autopilot and Cadillac (General Motors) Super Cruise systems both qualify as Level 2. 

 NHTSA found that 392 crashes happened in a ten-month period. Most were Teslas with 272 crashes (or 69.4% of them). Probably because Tesla has the most level 2 cars on the road.

A NHTSA spokesman said that it's too early to draw conclusions. The accidents still might be driver-error. Or they might have been caused by the car. I had a near-accident where I was glad I didn't have driver assist of any kind because I was able, through my skill, to avoid the accident.

It'll be interesting to see what NHTSA comes up with as its conclusion. And what, if any, policy changes come as a result. Meanwhile, Ralph Nader has called for Tesla's autopilot to be recalled.

What do you think of driver assist technology? Do you think it's safe. Let me know in the comments below.

Better Call Saul is Over

The last episode ever of Better Call Saul aired Monday night, the last of 63 episodes since 2015. I knew it would be amazing. How could it be anything else? 

**Spoilers Ahead**

In the second episode of the second half of the season, Kim left Jimmy after what happened to Howard. I thought they were going to kill Kim, but they didn't. Then, in the same episode, they jumped ahead to when Jimmy, as Saul Goodman, had a thriving crooked lawyer business.

The episodes bounced between Jimmy hiding out in Nebraska after the events of Breaking Bad, which were in black and white, and Saul's days in Albuquerque. The eleventh episode was titled "Breaking Bad" and Walter White and Jesse Pinkman make an appearance (wearing ski hats because, I assume, Bryan Cranston didn't want to shave his head for that short cameo). To be honest, the Walter White/Jesse Pinkman scene seemed tacked on. Like "We need this, so stick it in there." Later it became clear why it happened. Why it had to happen.

The episode ended with Jimmy/Saul breaking a window in a door to access someone's house. I wondered if that was the "bad breaking."

In the penultimate episode we see Kim's new mundane life in Florida. But then she goes back to Albuquerque and makes a full confession to the DA and Howard's wife. 

We also find out how Jesse Pinkman finds out about Saul Goodman.

And Jimmy had his cover blown in Omaha at the end of the episode.

Everything goes downhill from there. In the last episode, Jimmy is caught and turned over to the Feds to face multiple charges.

The final episode was heart wrenching. Jimmy saves Kim but at the cost of everything. We see them together one last time and we last see Jimmy (not Saul) standing in a prison yard watching her walk away. Jimmy becomes the morally ambivalent (to put it mildly) Saul Goodman, then redeems himself, to be JImmy again, even though it did cost him his freedom for the rest of his life.

I'm going to miss this show. I have come love some of these characters. And loath others. Such a well-made and powerful show. I think it was better than Breaking Bad.

Did you watch Better Call Saul? What did you think of it and the last episode. Let me know in the comments below.

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Lily (the Cat) Understands Static Electricity

Lily

My son's cat, Lily, who lives with us, has learned about static electricity. She's a smart cat, so this isn't a surprise. I've talked about how petting her causes static electricity and slightly painful shocks before. But Lily has learned that being touched or touching can cause pain. If I pet her, then touch her head, she'll flinch expecting a shock, which she sometimes gets. And when she walks over my leg as I'm sitting, she moves her paw close to it, pulls back, and then sets it down on my leg. She knows she might get shocked. 

I suppose this could just be a Pavlovian response. She's learned through experience. But isn't that how we all learn outside of formal schooling? It amazes me, though, that she knows enough to be wary of static electricity.

I don't know if other cats do this. This is the first cat I've had around as an adult. And the only cat I've had in the dry environment where I live.

Aside: I swear I remember in school learning that in the 18th century, someone rubbed a glass rod with a cat skin and got static electricity. There might be something about cat hide that makes static electricity happen more easily.

Does your cat know about static electricity? Or is Lily just extra smart. Let me know in the comments below.

Popular Blogs

I blog for a couple of reasons. One: I'm trying to sell books. But, also, it's a good way for me to get my thoughts down on... pixels.  

According to this website, there are certain types of blogs that are most popular. They are not in any particular order (as in most popular first). But here's a selection of them:

Fashion blogs: I know almost nothing about fashion. I'm more of a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy.

Food blogs: Anyone who knows me, knows I like food. But I can't see writing about it much except maybe restaurant reviews. But I don't go to that many restaurants, anyway. I live in a small town and the selection is limited (we do have two McDonalds).

Travel blogs: Due to health reasons, I can't really travel much. And I hate flying. If I can't drive there in one day, I don't want to go.

Music blogs: I've talked about music. But I don't listen to new music (anything past the early 1990s). So unless I rehash what I love about 70s rock music, I'm not going to fill a whole blog about it. And I don't know a lot about music. Just what I like but not the details of how it is made.

Fitness blogs: Har dee har har.

DIY blogs: This has to do with do it yourself (DIY) projects mostly around the home. Me, I can barely pound a nail straight. If I need something done around the house, I call a handyman or contractor.

Political blogs: I used to have a blog that was mostly political. I avoid politics here because why alienate half your audience. As Michael Jordon said (and I paraphrase), "Republicans buy sneakers too."

There's lots more. Probably this blog comes closest to being a "personal blog." I know there are blogs out there that get thousands of page views a day. I feel lucky if I get thirty. 

What kind of blogs do you read? What blog topics interest you? Let me know in the comments below.

I Had COVID

After two and a half years of the pandemic, I finally tested positive for COVID. I suspect I caught it on July 7th or 8th. I started feeling symptoms on the 12th. I did a COVID test on the 13th and it came back positive. I have no idea where or how I caught it. Interestingly, my wife didn't have it when I did. We think she caught it from me.

I've had both COVID shots and one booster. At my age, I'm eligible for two boosters, but I never got the second one. My symptoms were mild-ish. The first few days I coughed so much my ribs and diaphragm hurt. My nose ran constantly and I was taking DayQuil Extreme to control symptoms. That helped, I suppose. The fatigue was what I hated. I only had energy to sleep or watch TV. And I slept a lot. I got behind on my reading because I didn't have the energy to do so.

But, on the evening of Monday the 18th my breathing was very labored and my nail beds were turning blueish. I sign of too little oxygen. So I went to the ER. I was there about eight hours, leaving a little before 1AM. At first they were talking about admitting me for a day or two. Which I really didn't want. But then they said if my blood oxygen saturation stayed over 90% with no added oxygen, I could go home. It did.

They gave me an X-ray and a CAT scan. The nurse said all that showed up was COVID. So they shot me with a steroid to reduce inflammation. The problem with steroids is that I'm bipolar. And steroids make me (and every other bipolar person, I assume) manic. They said they gave me a small dose but I still got very silly and was singing in the halls as they wheeled me off to the CAT scan.

They also gave me a monoclonal anti-viral agent that the FDA has "emergency" approved. I don't know if it helped or not. But I did start feeling a little better. But I might have gotten better anyway.

The hardest part was the "self-isolation." I didn't leave the house for nearly two weeks except for that ER trip.

So now, after nearly three weeks, I'm feeling better and I'm back among the living.

Have you had COVID? How was your experience? Let me know in the comments below.

History

Apollo 11: The Eagle

I recently had a birthday. Reminded me of all I've seen throughout my life. The first national event I remember is John F. Kennedy's funeral. I turned on the television and there was this boring parade on. And it was on both channels! Later in life when I saw pictures of that funeral, I realized that's what I had been watching. I don't remember the Kennedy assassination itself, though. I was three years old at the time. And I just dated myself.

I remember the moon landings. I was amazed by them. I thought we were entering the space age and when I was an adult, I could live on the moon. I had just turned nine. We are coming up on 53rd anniversary of the first one (July 20, 1969). And no one is living on the moon.

I remember the Vietnam War, Watergate, the fall of Saigon. I remember Nixon's resignation. 

I could go on, but I won't.

I met someone the other day who was just turning 21. So they were born in 2001. For them, 9/11 is history. You'd probably have to be born in 1996 about to remember 9/11. My youngest son was born in 1994 and he remembers it.

I have lived so much history. But younger people have not. My father was born in 1930. He's seen so much more than I. When he goes, so will a lot of what he knows about history.

It amazes me that anyone doesn't remember 9/11 because they are too young. They'll have to study it in school. 

What events do you remember? What history are you afraid is being lost? Let me know in the comments below.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

The first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (SNW) is over and is was, pretty much, very good.

I almost gave up after the first episode was a) boring and b) violated Star Trek canon with Spock and T'Pring (and had Vulcans acting human), and c) got political.

But after that, the writers laid off the politics and the series ended up being fun. Except I wish they'd skip the whole Spock/T'Pring stuff. 

I like Captain Pike. It's been a long time since I've seen "The Cage"/"The Menagerie" so I don't know how his character fits with the Pike seen in those episodes. It sometimes seems they are trying to make him like the Pike in the Kelvin Timeline. But Pike here is a man with a sense of duty to his crew and a sense of humor. His leadership style is more friendly than I think Star Fleet would like.

Number One in "The Cage"/"The Menagerie" was more Spock-like than the character in SNW.

The penultimate episode had shades of Alien/Aliens except with the species the Gorn not xenomorphs. 

The best episode of the season was definitely the last. No spoilers, but it helps to know your original series episodes. 

After that first episode misstep, the series has become fun and interesting. It is, I think, my favorite of the three current Star Trek series. I'm looking forward to season two.

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