We’re Watching You…
Posted on | February 10, 2005 at 7:37 pm | 4 Comments
A recent newspaper article claims that the city of Aurora is going to start using cameras on stoplights to catch red-light runners. This is the kind of thing I’ve feared was going to happen, as I mention in this entry from last year. It’s a difficult thing for me. On one hand, I’m amazed at the technology and keep thinking this is the wave of the future. But on the other hand, it frightens me in so many ways. It’s not like I go around running red lights, though I have been ticketed for that once or twice. I’ve also been ticketed by photo-radar for speeding. I just don’t like the trend. Takes all the “fun” out of driving. Although I think if they’re going to use the cameras to ticket people who run red lights, they should also use them to ticket people who sit at a green light for more than a few seconds. If there were less of those people, there would also be fewer of the red-light runners, I’m sure. These days, I try not to even run yellow lights, but if I’m stuck behind someone who hasn’t noticed that the light has changed, it makes me mad, clouds my judgement, and makes me do anything to not have to sit through another cycle. It would also help if the cycles were timed longer, which most around here are not.
So, for now, I’ll just go out and buy a wig and a fake moustache to use while driving, in order to make it harder for the cameras to identify me.
On another matter, I’ve been having a new problem with my iPod (30GB, 3rd generation) lately. In the middle of a song, the audio will suddenly cut out, yet the track time will keep advancing. It doesn’t seem to be song/file related, as I can often just go back to the beginning of the song and it will play through okay the second time. This morning, while running, I tried to get it out of that state (right in the middle of an Arcade Fire song), and the whole thing locked up/froze with the backlight on and everything. I did the manual reset (hitting menu & pause/play at the same time). It took a long time to come back up, and when it did, all of the songs were gone! But then I waited until I got back to the house and did another reset. This time, it came back right away and the songs were back.
From perusing the forums at iPodLounge, it appears this is a fairly common problem, without a guaranteed workaround. Some sort of hard disk issue, maybe. Looks like the only thing I can try is to always manually reset it after detaching it from the computer or after a recharge. If any of you out there know anything more about this problem, please let me know. I’ve had it for over a year and it’s just started happening lately. I used to have problems with it while running where it would skip tracks, or skip to the next track in the middle of a track, but I solved that by always holding the iPod when I run instead of using the belt clip. So obviously that was a too-much-movement issue, and not related to the current problem. I don’t think the current problem is related to running, since it’s also happened to me while just walking. I haven’t done any sit-listening for awhile though.
Latre.
Comments
4 Responses to “We’re Watching You…”
February 11th, 2005 @ 1:52 am
Stoplight cameras are fairly common in my area and other parts of L.A. There are strict regulations governing their operation, including the size and placement of warning signs, and particularly the timing of yellow lights (vs. local speed limit). Not all municipalities follow the rules…
When my wife got tagged for over $300 a year ago, I looked into it and found a slew of websites offering helpful information. Several areas (Culver City for one prominent example) do not follow the rules – and many judges know it. One site even had the names of judges you might get assigned to if you contested the ticket, and tips on the terminology to use to get them to dismiss it.
As for me, I just flip my sun visor down for a second if I’m on the edge of a red light – it’s enough to cover my face from the camera angle. It’s unconstitutional for a mechanism to fine a citizen, unless human eyes can confirm you’re at fault: the photo HAS to show YOU driving! If you claim someone else was behind the wheel, the police can ask you (sometimes quite firmly) to identify the person, but you are NOT obliged to reveal that information.
And re: the Ipod… I think silence is a rare and precious gift that few really appreciate. Maybe Apple designed it better than even its own fans can comprehend?
February 11th, 2005 @ 1:14 pm
As for me, I just flip my sun visor down for a second if I???m on the edge of a red light
How ’bout just…stopping for red lights, people? Where’s the fire?
February 11th, 2005 @ 1:43 pm
Ah, Paula. You New Yorker You. Either 1) You don’t drive, or 2) The lights where you drive are synchronized well. We’re not really talking about running red lights per se, we’re talking about running yellow lights and then getting caught when they turn red. A grey area. The lights are so badly timed around here, and the drivers so slow and distracted, that I often sit at a light for minutes waiting for it to turn green, only to have the person in front of the line not notice that it has turned green until it is about to turn yellow. Not wanting to sit there for another long cycle, I will dash out into the yellow and chance it. I just don’t do well sitting in a car not moving, but that’s a topic for another entry. No one should have to sit at any light for more than one cycle, unless it’s a major intersection in the middle of rush hour.
February 12th, 2005 @ 1:07 am
Actually Flasshe, she’s right in principle. I don’t advocate making a habit of running red lights, regardless of traffic conditions. But when a simple fraction-of-a-second miscalculation can cost you several hundred dollars (even as it in no way endangers anyone’s safety), some mitigation strategies are justified. The machine will give you a ticket even in situations a cop would not – and if that weren’t enough, they’re all run by private corporations who sell their services to municipalities as revenue-generators using specious statistics on traffic safety.
On top of that, the worst accident I was ever in happened when I stopped for a red light and the pickup truck behind me did not. A lesser person than myself would trump that up to a bombastic argument for banning all mechanized law-enforcment devices globally, but I leave that as an exercise for the reader.