Thomas F. Shubnell's Blog, page 91

Autonomous Cars

This is also known as a driverless car, self-driving car, robotic car, and unmanned ground vehicle. There are six levels from zero, which is where we currently are, to five, which is self driving.

Level 0: This level is where we mostly are. The human driver controls everything: steering, brakes, throttle, power.

Level 1: This level means that most functions are still controlled by the driver, but a specific function, like steering or accelerating can be done automatically by the car.
Level 2: At least one driver assistance system of "both steering and acceleration/deceleration using information about the driving environment" is automated, like cruise control and lane-centering. It means that the "driver is disengaged from physically operating the vehicle by having his or her hands off the steering wheel and foot off pedal at the same time." The driver must still always be ready to take control of the vehicle.
Level 3: Drivers are able to completely shift safety-critical functions to the vehicle, under certain traffic or environmental conditions. It means the driver is still present and will intervene if necessary, but is not required to monitor the situation in the same way it does for the previous levels.

Level 4: Level 4 vehicles are "designed to perform all safety-critical driving functions and monitor roadway conditions for an entire trip." However, it is important to note that this is limited to the "operational design domain" of the vehicle, meaning it does not cover every driving scenario.

Level 5: This level refers to a fully-autonomous system that expects the vehicle's performance to equal that of a human driver, in every driving scenario, including extreme environments. It can operate without a driver or passengers.

It is important to distinguish between "autonomous" and "driverless." Driverless is a more advanced stage of autonomous.

Other considerations - car insurance business will be affected, since the number of accidents is predicted to go down 80% by 2040. The different levels are important, because they change the risk profile of the car. Other costs are more likely to go up as new technology is added to the cars.

Interesting to know the things auto manufacturers are dealing with, such as avoidance of large animals requires recognition and tracking. Volvo found that software suited to caribou, deer, and elk was ineffective with kangaroos.

Clothes Scraps

I am sure you have noticed the little scrap of material, usually with a button or two sewn on it that is comes with new many clothes. The reason for that material is to wash it before you wash that shirt or sweater, or whatever, to test how the material holds up so that you do not ruin the whole outfit. The buttons are replacement, in case you lose one.

What's in a Name

In the UK many names seem unfamiliar to us, but have logical beginnings. For instance, the East Midlands were ruled by the Danes during the ninth century. This resulted in the creation of place names ending in "by" (a suffix thought to originate from the Danish word for "town"), such as Thoresby and Derby. Others end in "thorpe" (meaning "settlement"), such as Ullesthorpe.

Water vs. Soda

Bottled water took over carbonated soft drinks as Americans' favorite drink during 2016 for the first time ever, according to Beverage Marketing, a research and consulting company. US consumers bought 12.8 billion gallons of bottled water versus 12.4 billion gallons of carbonated soft drinks. This once again shows the power of advertising.


Marketers have convinced people to purchase something that is natural, almost universally available, and mostly free vs. something that is artificially created in a lab. In some places water has a higher price than soft drinks. I have this pet rock. . .

Happy Friday

Impossible is just a word. What matters is if you pronounce it with a short I or a long I.

It is not impossible that I mpossibly happiest on a Happy Friday!

New Best Friends

Here are the countries that visited my blog last month. Welcome to all my new BFFs around the world.

United States, France, United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, Seychelles, Russia, Norway, Israel, India, Hong Kong, Australia, Brazil, Ukraine, Spain, Philippines, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Romania, Netherlands, Indonesia, Turkey, Tanzania, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Lebanon, Japan, Iceland, Finland, Belarus, Bahrain, Austria

Happy New Year

So we begin a new year, full of anticipation and hope. It is my desire to have everything good come to you this year. 

Happy Friday

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

It is always good to share your joy and smile, especially on a Happy Friday!

A Month by any other Name

Historical names for January include its original Roman designation, Ianuarius, the Saxon term Wulf-monath (meaning wolf month), and Charlemagne's designation Wintarmanoth (winter / cold month). In Finnish, the month is called tammikuu, meaning month of the oak, but the original meaning was the month of the heart of winter, as tammi has initially meant axis or core. In Czech this month is called leden, meaning ice month. In Ukrainian it is січень meaning cutting or slicing, perhaps referring to the wind.

Purse Light Hack

For those of you who have large purses and cannot find things at the bottom, add one of those small battery button lights that you just tap to turn on.

Now you can reach in, turn on the light and find whatever you are looking for without dumping the contents.