So Much Stuff Happening Everywhere & Fast

Because I only confirmed yesterday afternoon I’d be attending the conference (see post below), today has been in fast forward to pull it all off before I fly out Tuesday to Vegas.

That includes writing all my newspaper deadlines ahead of time, because the network at this conference is the most hostile in the world, and to be avoided as much as possible. More about the network here.

Next week’s column is about HUD’s – Heads-Up Displays – week after that has to be finished too – autonomous car infrastructure – so I’m sorry for the light blog update today but that’s why!

Here’s a photo of me with my dream car – Jaguar F-TYPE R – and sorry again gotta run here xo

 

 

Going Back to Black Hat

Yesterday afternoon I received my confirmation of media credentials to Black Hat in Vegas.

Here’s the conference link if you’re curious. Basically, it’s the world’s most prestigious online security conference.

It’ll be my 4th, here’s the blog tag – Black Hat – see you there!

 

 

How to Turn OFF the Seatbelt Chime in an F150

My neighbour discovered this. I didn’t believe him, so he hauled out the manual to prove it.

Turn to page 44 in your Ford F150 manual (don’t know if this works on older models.)

Note the two front seats must be done independently.  And this won’t work if you’re using a Ford MyKey.

Before starting:

– ignition is OFF
– truck is in Park (P)
– the parking brake is ON
– both front seat belts are unbuckled

Follow these steps:

1 – turn the key, but not all the way to start the engine

2 – wait about 1 minute until seat belt warning light goes off. Once off, wait 5 more seconds before starting step 3

You must complete steps 3 – 4 within 30 seconds.

3 – buckle and unbuckle the belt 3 times. End in unbuckled position. The warning light will turn on.

4 – With the light on, buckle then unbuckle again. The light will flash for confirmation.

Do it all again to turn the chime back on.

I canNOT believe this exists.

 

 

The Worst Traffic Lights in Toronto

The light is green. Really tough to tell eh, and we’re not far from them even.

The sidewalk sign is easily seen, and when the light changes to yellow it’s obvious too, but not the green.

Here, I’ll blow up the photo:

Located at the Yonge and Richmond Street, a one-way road travelling west.

They’re not in need of replacing, they’ve been like this for years. This makes no sense! Every other green light downtown can be seen from far, why are these ones so dim?

Maybe it’s intentional? Like, keep the lights faded so I don’t know what I’m driving into, and naturally slow down.

Then I remembered a story I wrote for the paper in 2013. Maybe these lights have to do with that?

60 intersections in downtown Toronto
are equipped with Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence was added to traffic lights so they could talk to one another, and adjust their timing. When tested, gridlock was reduced up to 40% and travel time was reduced up to 26%.

To instal AI into each intersection costs between $20,000 – $40,000, and the city that was chosen to be the test city is… Toronto.

Read it on Autonet here.

 

 

How a Car Stops

Above is inside your brakes. Technically, fluid is what stops you when you depress the pedal.

1 – the calliper, which contains the pistons
2 – the brake pad within the calliper
3 – which clench the rotor

How it works: the brake fluid pushes the pistons within the calliper > which in turn pushes the pads onto the rotor like a vise > and slows down the vehicle. The harder you push on the pedal, the harder the pads push on the rotor.

It’s a good idea to check the condition of both the rotors and pads, as well as the colour and level of the fluid.

Above are the old & new rotors.

My neighbour taught me while changing his.

The pitting on both the pads and rotor is what caused the car to stutter down the road during our test drive.