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Back when I was still engineering vehicle control systems, a lot of our testing involved… 1

Back when I was still engineering vehicle control systems, a lot of our testing involved trying to anticipate all of the unpredictable things that the vehicle operator might do. Computer engineers often use the acronym PEBKAC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_error and in the automotive sphere the steering wheel substitutes for the keyboard.

For example the biggest variable in trying to control anti-lock brakes was how hard or fast the driver applied the brake pedal. Many of us dreamed of the day when we could take the driver out of the equation.

The combination of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications with advanced sensing and actuating systems has the potential to dramatically reduce both collisions and congestion. We're well on our way to semi and fully autonomous vehicles with increasingly affordable collision warning, lane departure, blindspot indicator and adaptive cruise control systems.

I love to drive on a twisty country or canyon road, but frankly the daily commute on the highway is just a grind and I'd just as soon let the car handle the job.
#autonomousvehicles

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Why Google's self-driving car may save lives
While driverless cars like Google's may sound scary, the truth is they're safer than the cars and trucks you share the road with today.

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A few days ago I posted about Pratt&Whitney's newest flying testbed, a modified…

A few days ago I posted about Pratt&Whitney's newest flying testbed, a modified Boeing 747SP used for testing new aircraft engines. https://plus.google.com/114133424228405038490/posts/iGWatNAKwcU

As some commenters mentioned, this plane was by no means the first of its type. At about the same time that Pratt was initiating its new testbed, it retired an old one. The plane being put out to pasture is actually the last remaining flying Boeing 720 in the world. The 720 was a shorter version of the ground-breaking 707 and now they are all gone.

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Farewell to Boeing's 720
Aviation Week

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In Focus: 1

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In Focus:

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Future U.S. History Students: 'It's Pretty Embarrassing How Long You Guys Took To Legalize Gay Marriage'
DECATUR, IL, THE YEAR 2083—According to students in Mr. Bernard's fourth-period U.S. history class, it's "really pathetic" how long it took for early-21st-century Americans to finally legalize gay mar…

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It's about time! Seriously, anyone that feels that the value or strength of… 2

It's about time! Seriously, anyone that feels that the value or strength of their hetro-relationship is threatened if two men or two women can get married has far deeper problems that they need to look at. My wife and I have been together for 18 years and allowing same-sex couples to get married has no impact on us at all.

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No more separate but equal.

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Inside Line speculatively renders what they think the next generation Mustang will… 3

Inside Line speculatively renders what they think the next generation Mustang will look like. Rumor has it that heavily retro 60s-inspired look of the current S197 Mustang will give way to a modern style that draws heavily on 2011 Evos concept.

This new rear drive platform is expected to include the first independent rear suspension since the previous generation SN95 Cobra. Hopefully this new model will benefit from the weight reduction efforts going on throughout the Ford lineup.

I like this direction, still looks like a Mustang but brings the design into the 21st century. What do you think?
#ford #mustang #2015mustang

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Future Vehicles: 2015 Ford Mustang
Is this the 2015 Ford Mustang? Close to it, at least that's what a Ford insider told us recently. Set to be released about two years from now on its 50th anniversary, the 2015 Mustang will be muc…

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Maurice Sendak will be missed by all of those that appreciate great writing 1

I spent many hours reading Sendak's works to my kids when they were little.

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RIP Maurice Sendak, one of the best children's book artists to ever put pen to page. While everyone remembers "Where The Wild Things Are," I'd note that his classic "In The Night Kitchen" — a Caldecott-winning story of a dreamy escape that Sendak later said had hidden references to the Holocaust — remains among the books most banned by school libraries because the little boy in the book is nude for a few scenes. That story came out in 1970, and four decades later people are still trying to catch up with Sendak. If you haven't seen him mess with Stephen Colbert, I can't recommend it strongly enough.

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Colbert Report: Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 1
Maurice Sendak considers a sequel to "Where the Wild Things Are."

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