Posts Tagged ‘musician’

As a musician, there have been many late-night drives home in where I should have pulled over and got an hour sleep. Drowsy at the wheel is not a good thing – Sometimes I wonder how I made it home. That’s what Ford tests – Stupid people like me who risk an accident just to sleep on my bed.

Mike Blommer - VIRTTEX System behind him

In our first stop on the Ford tour, we visited the Ford VIRTTEX room. What looks like an attraction at Disneyworld, it’s actually a state-of-the-art system that tests drivers who are tired or become distracted by everyday items; tuning the car stereo or looking at your cell phone. Ford then uses that data to make safer vehicles for better driving.

VIRTTEX stands for “Virtual Test Track Experiment”. It’s just like being in a flight simulator, in this case your in a Ford vehicle. The large VIRTTEX dome is ontop a series of hydraulics that makes the ride pretty close to actual conditions. It can put a driver in an endless amount of driving situations where they can record in the control room.

The idea is not about putting warning signals in the car – it’s about whether the driver will listen to those signals. Make it so the alert beeps are not so obnoxious you want to disable them. They become a regular part of driving, while keeping you safe.

The 180 front, 120 degree back screen dome would make you want to turn on the Packers game and pull out some Chips and beer. An LCD panel in the back of the car allows you to see the Virtual world wherever you turn. The acoustic environment is also setup so you can be immersed in your environment – Just like if you were actually driving the vehicle.

The car is bolted down, as Dr. Mike Blommer** explained. They can get another car in, but it’s not a easy process. Therefore one car gets swapped out every three years. The steering column and other internal dash items are controlled by the user. Emergency precautions for the simulator invoke when the car door opens or the seat belt is unbuckled during tests.

Matt Burns from Crunch Gear holds up the wall of the VIRTTEX

Ford conducts many scenarios, from distracted drivers, to hazardous conditions. They even conduct a test where they keep participants up for hours, then make them drive in the simulator. Sounds like something I would do..

The best part, though, was the opportunity to drive the vehicle simulator. Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central was the first driver, the guys from Pixelated Geek went next. They tested the ability to watch the road for emergency. Todd read a series of number on a panel to the right, which took his eyes off the road. As he was reading, a truck would brake in front of him.

But then I got to drive the simulator, which I was also given the distraction test. I was ready for it in seeing what happened with Todd, but it was still fun. I had to read six sequential numbers off, which was hard, because I don’t keep my eyes off the road that long.

I did a great job, but as I turned off my camera, the VIRTTEX dome when BAM!!! The emergency protocols kicked into place. Not sure why – I didn’t unbuckle my seatbealt or touch the car door. I’ll tell you something – When that happens, you really get a ride…

Overall, it was an awesome experience. Best part is we just started the tour. Next up – We go into the Motion Capture room and play around with a virtual engine.

Video of the event is below.

**Dr Michael Blommer has been with Ford Motor Company for the last fourteen years. He is a technical expert in sound quality and psychophysics. He researches sound quality and sound and motion control for driving simulators, as well as the relationship between stimulation and perception.

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I have used labelers for many jobs. As an IT Admin, I would label a PC with an easy to ready number for my inventory. As a musician, I would label cords so I know they are mine and where they go to. But now Brother has taken it one step farther – labels for the crafters.

The Brother P-Touch has the Simply Stylish line of Labelors. PT-90 for school or home labelling. The PT-1290 adds creativity called Decco Mode. Use the labels to decorate, craft and a lot more.

Todd Cochrane talks with Linda at Brother about these great products. The PT-90 is $29, the PT-1290 is $39 and a PC connectable for $79 (which is a straight up printer for your PC).

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This week it’s all about packing and moving. Got the living room all straightened out. The Kitchen was easy. The bathroom just needs to be cleaned. But what could be left?

OH YEAH. The computer stuff.

It becomes an interesting ritual of what I am going to keep and what is going to Goodwill. Computers themselves are not accepted there, so I have to find other means for them. Really, the best thing is to strip them and dispose of them in a proper mannor.

I thought at one time of turning motherboards into things like art and clocks, but then I realized with all the harmful chemicals on a motherboard, would that be wise? Plus I would have to take time to build clocks and I really don’t want to do that.

The most interesting thing is the cables. You know – you needed that one special cable to run the item, so you paid $50- $100 or more for it? I remember I had to buy a SCSI cable for a 4x CD-R I bought back in 1998. The cable (50 micro-pin SCSI) was expensive (Not to mention the CD-R, which was $300 at the time). Now, I am finally parting with the cable, which is in the box to Goodwill. I figured I could have needed the cable while the CD-R was replaced with an HP 9100. That was replaced with a Sony DVD -/+ RW.

I have a tote for all Geekazine products to review. I have a tote for all computer books I need. I have a tote for all my computer cables. I haven’t even packed my computers. There is a tote for computer software.

As a musician I am used to having a lot of stuff. It’s been a 50 /50 trade between music equipment and computer. In this move, the computer equipment has definitely taken over.

Therefore, I am dedicating this weeks Bitstrips to the move.

Well, it’s 2 days away. I fly out to the Consumer Electronics show. It’s a very interesting time for me and even now I am anxious about the trip. Still looking for Sponsors, so if you have a product you want to promote, let me know and we’ll work out the details.

I get into Vegas around 11 AM. Podcast will be done from Vegas (still need to find a good headset mic). The LIVE Show, though is still on. We have 2 great Panelists and will talk some great tech. If you haven’t watched the video from last week with Rob Greenlee from Zune and Gary Leland from Podcast Pickle, then you are missing out. It was a great 2 1/2 hour show.

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Telisa Boston lost her right arm at the age of 16 to a Tumor. Since the amputation, Telisa wore prosthetics to do her everyday tasks. She continued on to become a Public Relations and Sales Professional for a Dental assistant.

Now, she might get a newly functional arm – of sorts.

Enter Biodesigns, inc., which is a high-performance Southern California prosthetic facility. They specialize in upper and lower extremity care using advance technology. They determined Telisa was a candidate for this “myoelectric” solution.

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