Hello Greenville, South Carolina! The highest point in South Carolina, Sassafras Mountain, is nearby in northern part of Greenville County.
(We watched a program this weekend called Flip That House which filmed in Greenville and we yelled "Hey, we know people there!" It's a very pretty area.
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I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist. I assume and hope that there are many things my government has the better judgment not to keep me up-to-date about.
The periodical "How We All Almost Died Last Week When Frank Very Nearly Dropped the Wrong Test Tube" would make for depressing reading. I'd rather not know.
But a friend with inside info described to me recently an interesting factoid about traffic-light sensors.
You know the kind, it's a wire loop under the asphalt - they sense changes in their weak magnetic field - there's either something metal present in the lane, or there's not.
These sensors help optimize the flow of cars - remember in the old days, when traffic-lights were on a timer, and your light would turn red, so the other direction could turn green - but there was no one waiting to go from that direction? Not fun.
It seems the newer sensors being installed in California since February of 2005 have an additional purpose: Specific Vehicle Recognition. It seems that all cars have a unique magnetic signature (even among the same make and model). When you get your car inspected at the DMV, your vehicle's magnetic signature is recorded.
Thereafter, every time you drive over one of these sensors, they know who you are, and comparing time-stamps at each successive intersection, they know how fast you are going.
Speeding tickets for everyone! On Wednesday the ninth, you were going 37 in a 35 zone. That'll be $8.50 per mph over, thank you. (This hasn't started happening yet, but if/when it does, I will not be surprised).
If this means that fugitives can be tracked down quicker, I'm fine with it.
Some people might cry about their privacy being invaded, but if The Man wants to know that I stopped at Krispie Kreme on the way home from work on Tuesday, that's fine with me.
It would also mean that The Man would know that Mr. Bad McDude spends a lot of time trolling around elementary schools. Let's pay him a visit from a polite investigator. Sounds good to me.
This sensor thing is probably BS, but if it's not real, it should be.
(We watched a program this weekend called Flip That House which filmed in Greenville and we yelled "Hey, we know people there!" It's a very pretty area.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist. I assume and hope that there are many things my government has the better judgment not to keep me up-to-date about.
The periodical "How We All Almost Died Last Week When Frank Very Nearly Dropped the Wrong Test Tube" would make for depressing reading. I'd rather not know.
But a friend with inside info described to me recently an interesting factoid about traffic-light sensors.
You know the kind, it's a wire loop under the asphalt - they sense changes in their weak magnetic field - there's either something metal present in the lane, or there's not.
These sensors help optimize the flow of cars - remember in the old days, when traffic-lights were on a timer, and your light would turn red, so the other direction could turn green - but there was no one waiting to go from that direction? Not fun.It seems the newer sensors being installed in California since February of 2005 have an additional purpose: Specific Vehicle Recognition. It seems that all cars have a unique magnetic signature (even among the same make and model). When you get your car inspected at the DMV, your vehicle's magnetic signature is recorded.
Thereafter, every time you drive over one of these sensors, they know who you are, and comparing time-stamps at each successive intersection, they know how fast you are going.
Speeding tickets for everyone! On Wednesday the ninth, you were going 37 in a 35 zone. That'll be $8.50 per mph over, thank you. (This hasn't started happening yet, but if/when it does, I will not be surprised).
If this means that fugitives can be tracked down quicker, I'm fine with it.
Some people might cry about their privacy being invaded, but if The Man wants to know that I stopped at Krispie Kreme on the way home from work on Tuesday, that's fine with me.
It would also mean that The Man would know that Mr. Bad McDude spends a lot of time trolling around elementary schools. Let's pay him a visit from a polite investigator. Sounds good to me.
This sensor thing is probably BS, but if it's not real, it should be.
Shout outs and trivia - fun
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, sometimes a little privacy must be lost in order to better the world I guess.
There was the same hoo-ha over GPS receiver-transmitters in mobile phones.
ReplyDeleteThere's websites now where parents can track their children's whereabouts by their mobile phone.
Again "The Man" doesn't need to know where I spend my time, blah, blah,blah.
Yeah, it is kinda 'big brother' for the government or someone to be able to track my every move...but it also means that if little Timmy gets kidnapped, they may be able to track him.
Also catch the rotten barsteward who nicked your phone.
One of my students yesterday challenged me when I used the metaphor of the moon-landing as a way of thinking about constructing our realities through visions . . . and he's going to be a doctor.
ReplyDeleteSQ: Well your Dr. student isn't gonna be anything like House, MD.
ReplyDeleteGotta think outside the box!