Brad Ideas

Robocars & More

I recently rented a Tesla from Hertz, for an experience that tried to be wonderful but failed.

What reasons could Tesla possibly have to laying off its entire Supercharger team when most consider it to be one of the company's prized jewels?

Some day robots may roam the streets without cargo, just showing ads. What will we do about it?

Cars that go charge themselves are the ideal, and also a solution for the power grid, plugging themselves in when solar power is surplus and cheap

California's home solar net metering standards changed last year and crashed the solar industry. Could neighbors selling power to neighbors' cars fix it?

Machine learning AI and large language models (similar to ChatGPT) are taking over software development at self-driving car companies

There's a lot Tesla has to do to make a robotaxi, but if they do, it might be a cheaper car to buy than a low cost EV

Here is an album of shots from the 2024 Eclipse, shot from Magog, Quebec (near Sherbrooke) after a long odyssey to avoid clouds, detailed below.

For best viewing, Go to Google Eclipse Photo Album

Did you know that the Bible doesn't just condone abortion, it actually requires it in the case of infidelity, and gives (bad) instructions on how it is to be done? It's all in Numbers Chapter 5, starting at verse 11. I wonder if it would be possible to set up abortion clinics which perform abortions with a modernization of the method described in the Bible, for the subset of women who qualify.

A serious Waymo incident turned out to be a mistake by a human remote assistance operator. How do the errors of people and robots differ, particularly to the public?

Yesterday, I declared in commemorating his life, that Vernor Vinge was the greatest SF author. Of course, there are many opinions on who might get that title, and a solid argument that there isn't just one, or one axis of what makes great SF.

I have received the sad news of the passing of the world's greatest science fiction writer, Vernor Vinge, who was also my friend and onetime collaborator. (And, I need to point out, it's pronounced Vin-gee.)

A study said TNC drivers don't make minimum wage, including their idle time but Uber and Lyft say they'll leave once the city regulated fares. Here's the math.

San Mateo tried to fight them, but they've been quickly approved, and now can try their hand at really scaling up.

San Mateo tried to fight them, but they've been quickly approved, and now can try their hand at really scaling up.

Drivers of Ford electric cars gain access to Tesla s supercharger network, using an adapter provided free by Ford. Tesla can make sure not too many stalls are wasted.

The industry is slowing down its progress. Some will win and some will lose as this happens.

Some cities want to discourage big, heavy vehicles. But could making them more available for short use actually result in fewer of them on the road?

The activities of the World Science Fiction Society, the unincorporated club which chooses the location of the annual World SF Convention (WorldCon) and the annual Hugo awards, have once again encountered a scandal, the 3rd in the last 8 years, and people aren't quite sure how to repair the damage and/or fix it long term. Below, I'll discuss many of the possible and proposed approaches.