Skip to main content

Regulated Lives

California loves to regulate.  They pay law makers gobs of money to sit on a chair and have at it.  Some of what they invent may be well intentioned but largely bureaucracy never made anyone happy.

California also likes to invent other things.  Like Auto Pilot and Smart Phones.  Again a lot of wonderful has come from this agrarian belt that now thrives more from the silicon in the sand than other elements.  But there are also duds - like the incessant flow of electrons betwixt people who subscribe to some cult or another called Social Media.

This week saw a couple of new laws take shape.  Better regulation to monitor self driving vehicles.  Automated toll collection for eligible transport.  And cancer warning on coffee.

Never mind the guns but warn those idiots hopping on their third frappuccino that they are likely next on the pink ribbon list.  By the way the auto pilot on the cars was invented strictly to address hopped up caffeine junkies who otherwise might get excited and crash their car.  Better to not let them get behind the wheel - well they can get behind it but not touch it.  Actually they are talking about taking the fifth wheel out completely.

A couple of recent crashes with self drive vehicles made it clear that the technology is far from perfect.  A human may have made the same mistakes the computer did but we want to make sure our machines are smarter than the humans that build them.

Toll collection also found some holes where people got charged for a ride they did not take.  Burned a hole in people's pockets that is.  Again poor computer tech.  All in all things might improve but you gotta have a human watch over it.

Of course all this is moot if Tiangong (the large out of control Chinese satellite) crashes and knocks out most of us today.  Waiting for the gong!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Of chocolates

I like chocolates. Godiva Dark with Almonds - not sure of the naked woman on the horse to be the icon of some choice cocoa based products but tastes good. Started in Belgium but now owned by some Turks. Cadburys - Fruit and Nut Milk Bars - awesome combination of dried fruit pieces along with a medley of nuts makes your toungue dance - started by a Brit now owen by Kraft USA. Lindt Hazelnut spheres - made by a Swiss confectioner are divine balls that melt in your mouth with a lingering nutty taste Ghirardelli Milk Crisp Squares - crunchy and light these milk squares are easy on the palate but pack some serious calories - all good I say! Originally founded by an Italian who moved around till he landed in SF Bay today also owned by the Swiss Lindt empire.

Columbia SC

 The Palmetto state.  One of the confederate kinds. History dating couple centuries back.  We visited the capital yet again this time to take in the SC State Museum. Occupying the former digs (literally remodeled) of an erstwhile cotton mill this structure is an amazing piece of reimagination.  Four floors of excitement for kids and young at heart alike. Located on the shores of the Congaree River formed when the Broad meets up with the Saluda River, this edifice is approx. 60 years old.  The front of the building has a more modern planetarium that was added about a decade ago.  The museum itself has different areas of interest segregated on each of its four floors. The first floor has gift shop and a diorama of some of the local geography including the swamps and the state beaches with audio guides to help understand what fauna thrives locally. The second floor is all about natural history and showcases animal kingdom that may have survived on this latitud...

Cost of entrepreneurship

Last night I attended a guest lecture on the subject of disruptive technology and entrepreneurship.  Lecture was free but it was used as a pitch by the University that hosted it to attract new customers. The speaker was somewhat respectable fellow who happened to hail from India and spoke eloquently.   One of the key message was around how the professors in this university were ranked among the very best money can buy. Cost of the MBA program mere $110,000 and oh we also buy some dinner if you have late class.  So now the math is simple-  is learning to be entrepreneurial worth the cost of entry? That is assuming you end up being one.   What of those that do not?  or the ones that are not successful at being the entrepreneur?  Is that being a pessimist before even being handed the glass. What I found strange is that people will bet big money on the glimmer of hope that they might just make a entrepreneurial debut and hit it big.  The unive...