Greenville

I'm in Greenville SC this week. The city has rebuilt its downtown -- I can honestly say I have never seen a more beautiful city.

I'm staying in a hotel within walking distance from the city's minor-league ballfield, an amazing park, and about 100 good restaurants. Seriously, it's heaven. For months, I've been hearing this voice in my head: "You could do your job from here ..."

I took several pictures from my hotel room and posted them on Flickr (link below). The one here is a night shot, a very long exposure. The streak of light on the right is a car driving into the frame.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10335838@N04/

Spring

Okay, it isn't Spring ... it really isn't even close. But it feels like Spring outside. Even weeds are beautiful today.

Mark My Words, Again

I ran across a story in the news today about cars that can drive themselves. As loyal reader of my blog will attest, I am obsessed with this idea:

Driverless Cars

A couple of interesting points: First, GM is trying to design a car that will be compatible with existing roads -- and existing, human-controlled traffic. Second, the time-frame is within the next eight years. Both of these assumptions are way, way beyond anything I would dare predict. I still think it will take 10 years before most people accept the fact that this will happen someday. It will be ten years after that before we see driverless cars on the roads.

Given that this is being researched by a leading innovator like GM, we can expect millions to be wasted on concept cars that never reach the roads. On the plus side, they might thrash around and get Honda or Toyota interested.

The picture above is of my Grandmother Cage, my Dad, and his younger brother and sister. The car in the background is, in my opinion, one of the best looking automobiles in human history.

The Late Late Show With Me

The only late-night talk show I watch these days is Craig Ferguson. Actually, watch is the wrong word -- I record the show, and listen as I'm eating breakfast the next day. Last Thursday, I almost choked on my Cheerios -- Ferguson read my e-mail on the air! It was Ferguson's first new show after two months off for the writers' strike. I thought the joke I sent him was kind of dumb, but it got a laugh.

It's an in-joke, so unless you watch the Late Late Show, it probably won't be funny at all. Here it is: "Dear Craig. You have a very busy show tonight. Do you even have time for this e-mail?" Ferguson read the email, said "No," and threw it back on the stack.

Like I said, kind of a dumb joke. But now "James from Duluth, GA" is a celebrity from coast-to-coast.

I'm so proud.

Seven Albums

Today, I received seven albums in the mail:

• Kim Richey, Chinese Boxes
• Fountains of Wayne, Traffic and Weather
• Ivy, In the Clear
• Shawn Colvin, These Four Walls
• Sarah Harmer, All of Our Names
• Joan Osborne, Pretty Little Stranger
• Dave Brubeck Quartet, Time Out

It's a good haul. I buy all of my CDs used (at SecondSpin.com), so finding a particular album is a combination of luck and patience. Maybe it's the holiday season, but a lot of good music became available all at once, so I jumped. According to iTunes, these albums represent Alternative, Country, Folk, Pop, and Jazz. My musical taste is growing in all directions at once.

I've listened to Brubeck and the new Fountains of Wayne, and I'm listing to In the Clear as I write this. All are excellent. When Fountains of Wayne is playing, I really listen. I want to hear every lyric, get every joke, see every image. Jazz is different. I tend to zone out, daydreaming, and only occasionally coming back to consciously hear the music. But the daydreams are pleasant.

I'm particularly happy that Kim Richey has come out with a new CD. Her album Rise is one of my favorites (Electric Green -- wow). I'll be happy if Chinese Boxes is half as good.

I used to eat here all the time ...

For years, after I moved back to Georgia, I would eat at this restaurant once or twice each week. It's just down the street from where I live. Today, almost all the businesses in that strip mall are gone. I can't remember any really great meals at Rio Bravo, just the chips and dark salsa (excellent). Here are some of my favorite restaurant meals today (in no particular order):

• Jambalaya and Corn Bread: Roaster's Chicken Rotisserie
• Asian Duck Breast Salad: Seasons 52
• Mediterranean Salad & Grilled Chicken (with Hummus Appetizer): Athens Pizza
• Sashimi Tuna Salad: Houston's
• Wild Mushroom Soup: Fresh to Order
• Salsa Trio & Three Tacos (Fried Chicken, Veggie, and Fish): Taqueria del Sol
• Salmon BLT: Murphy’s (Virginia Highlands)

For dessert: Strawberry Shortcake at the OK Cafe.

I have a feeling that I will be back to this entry, to add some others that I’ve forgotten.

Mark My Words

The third DARPA Challenge was this weekend. Three years ago, the Defence Department gave a $1 million prize, a challenge to anyone who could build a robotic car that could navigate 160 miles through the desert -- with no driver, no remote control, no "wires in the road" -- just on-board computing power and on-board sensors.

That year (2004), no vehicle made it more than five (5) miles.

The next year (2005), five vehicles made it through the complex course, at average speeds over 45 miles per hour.

Then DARPA offered about $2 million in prizes, but moved the contest to a simulated urban environment. Stop signs. Other vehicles. Simulated pedestrians.

This year (2007), three vehicles made it through under the time limit, and eight more made it through without incident. That's right -- almost no crashes or problems at all. The cars were so successful, that observers found it boring to watch. The cost of all of this research to the American taxpayer? About $3 million. And keep in mind that this was WITHOUT any supervisory computer control, which would make the system faster, more efficient, and safer.

I've been saying this for years, but let me get on the record again. No, we won't have fully robotic cars on our streets in 10 years. But in 10 years, most people will agree that robotic cars are coming. Ten years after that, automated vehicles will be on the roads somewhere in the world. Ten years after THAT, most vehicles in the developed world will be automated. If there are vehicles (outside of theme parks) that humans can drive, there will be so many computer-controlled safety features as to make the human's actions more like suggestions than actual commands.

And I can't wait. The idea of putting a 17-year-old in charge of 2000 lbs of metal, tearing down highways and back roads at 80 miles per hour, scares the crap out of me. But we will live to see a time when that's a thing of the past.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/robot_cars_dc;_ylt=Aj8cZ5Ud7EYxW1V37sDjRqIjtBAF