Friday, April 15, 2016
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Drone Smashes Through 5th Floor Window And Smacks Guy In The Head -
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Monday, April 11, 2016
Clinton vows to have your favorite gun makers sued out of business [feedly]
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Clinton vows to have your favorite gun makers sued out of business
// Personal Liberty Digest™
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is hoping to breathe new life into her sputtering campaign against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by rallying raving anti-firearm types against his sensible past positions on the 2nd Amendment.
Despite all of his leftist economic positions, Sanders appears to pose a lesser threat to the 2nd Amendment than other Democratic presidential hopefuls in recent history.
Sanders caused a stir last summer when he told NPR's "Morning Edition" that the Democrats' anti-gun left is heavily driven by urban liberals who know little about firearms in the first place. And while he stated that he isn't against having a conversation about guns in America, Sanders said he would only support the most sensible positions on gun control.
In the time since Sanders made those remarks, Clinton has learned that many of the things she was counting on helping her build broad support among Democratic voters have been tarnished by her years of corruption and her out of touch demeanor. Being a woman, for instance, is no longer a more visible part of her persona than her ties to Wall Street cronies and lavish lifestyle. And her airport diplomacy while at the State Department evidently didn't yield enough photo ops to wallpaper over her email scandal and general disregard for the public trust.
Clinton is now attacking Sanders in just about the only place she still can on the left in an attempt to build support among anti-2nd Amendment Democrats.
Sanders, in 2005, voted in favor of a bill that shields gun manufacturers from liability for crimes committed with the products they produce. The law holds that using a firearm to commit a crime constitutes "misuse" of a product by the criminal.
Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California Los Angeles, explained the law to Politifact thusly: "[It] basically put gun manufacturers in the same position that other product manufacturers are in. They're responsible for defectively manufactured and designed products but not for failing to prevent criminal misuse of their products."
The law, in other words, makes a lot of sense.
But Clinton, desperately grasping for something to call her own in this campaign, feels differently.
"I voted against it," Clinton said on CNN April 6. "President Obama voted against it. Because clearly it was an effort to bypass legal accountability. And so here we have this remarkable situation where you cannot question the liability or the behavior of gunmakers and sellers."
In an effort to undo the legislation, Clinton says she plans to first attack 2nd Amendment organizations like the National Rifle Association.
"What stands in the way is the most powerful lobby in Washington," she said.
"If you take them all — Wall Street, the drug industry, the fossil fuel industry — none is bigger or more intimidating. What they are afraid of is that there answers we can implement."
It's worth noting here that a big reason the gun lobby is so large (and rightly so), is that it protects a right actually written into the Constitution.
But if she can get that well-funded barrier to her assaults on the 2nd Amendment out of the way from the Oval Office, Clinton vows she will then put gun makers out of business with an avalanche of frivolous litigation.
The post Clinton vows to have your favorite gun makers sued out of business appeared first on Personal Liberty®.
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TV Dogs Learn To Fly - I've taught some monkeys to fly, so what?
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Friday, April 8, 2016
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Volocopter video
I have been keeping up with these guys for a few years. This is going to be big. You can loose several motors with no problem. No danger loading and unloading. Just shut down.
No cool down or run up. Very stable. Could be unmanned. Programmed to fly anyone to work or school while you sleep. Farmers can check their fields, heard cattle and crop dust. No pilot training required later, once drone rules and airspace are allocated. Need better battery or fuel cell technology which is coming. Could use solar and just land and recharge then go on from anywhere that has sun. Maintenance could be done by just about anyone. Motor change out would probably be four bolts and an electrical connector. Ten minutes at most. Everything, plug and PLAY. German engineered and built. Watch these guys.
http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/7/11388406/volocopter-18-rotors-manned-flight-evolo-germany
Self-driving truck convoy completes its first major journey across Europe [feedly]
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Self-driving truck convoy completes its first major journey across Europe
// The Verge
This morning, a fleet of self-driving trucks arrived in the Dutch port of Maasvlakte, completing a cross-continent journey that organizers say demonstrates the future of transport in Europe. The experiment is known as the European Truck Platooning Challenge, and involved trucks from six different manufacturers traveling in miniature convoys. A driver in the lead vehicle of each convoy sets the speed and the route, while the other trucks follow automatically, a Wi-Fi connection keeping their braking and acceleration (but not steering) in sync.
less congestion, fewer accidents, reduced fuel consumption
This isn't a fully-automated system, but it's a clear step toward this goal and has tangible benefits of its own. Platooning, as the method is known, could mean less congestion, fewer accidents, and reduced fuel consumption. A whitepaper from Dutch research firm TNO says that each truck in a platoon — both those following and those leading — uses on average 10 percent less fuel per journey. The same report notes that 90 percent of driving accidents are caused by human error, and although a full analysis of the safety of platooning has yet to be undertaken, the suggestion is that automation would lead to fewer crashes.
In the recently-completed challenge, trucks from firms including Daimler, Volvo, and Scania (a subsidiary of Volkswagen) competed, with each convoy setting off from a different location. The Scania group travelled the longest distance, driving more than 2,000 kilometers through Sweden, Denmark, and Germany to reach its destination in the Netherlands. The trucks did not travel in platoon for the entire journey — only on motorways when traffic conditions were "normal" — and each vehicle, even those following the lead truck, had a human driver on hand.
The technology is here; regulations are next
The Platoon Challenge has successfully demonstrated the potential of its technology, but now EU companies and governments have to tackle the fiddly details of regulation and implementation. Cross-border rules for self-driving trucks need to be established, and so does the protocol for setting up platoons. Can convoys be established in an impromptu manner mid-drive, for example, or will they always have to start and finish in the same location? Will drivers in following trucks be able to take a rest while their vehicle is chained to one in front?
The next step for those involved will be to discuss these matters in an informal meeting of the European transport council on April 14th. Companies and local governments in the US pursuing similar schemes will undoubtedly be watching with interest.
Verge Video: This is what it's like to ride in Daimler's self-driving semi truck
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Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Do you remember how bad malfunction junction is in Birmingham?
Well Corridor X is about to open and I believe it is going to be worse.