Froggy's

John Creighton · 2006-10-22 15:42:33

They've done it
Now you can have a France photo browsing with generally a higher resolution than with GoogleEarth over France. Still waiting for 3D viewing.
Be indulgent, the french National Geographic Institute is far from having Google's money power, it lives mainly from selling roads and general geographic maps and few gouvernmental subventions.

That is really cool

DonPanic · 2006-10-23 03:14:24

LO

France photo browsing with generally a higher resolution than with GoogleEarth over France.
That is really cool

For Paris and main France cities it's not true
Here is my place in Paris, as seen as by GeoPortail, and as seen as by GoogleEarth, 5th and last floor.
It's true for the rest of french territory

The Google photo is quite up to date, the white spot on the roof is a TV sat parabolic aerial which have been set in 2005 summer

DonPanic · 2006-10-23 11:06:59

LO
If you see photographic views of a typical US town

and the one of a typical french town

Then you understand why froggies have more some kind of anarchist mind than US citizens

Tom Kalbfus · 2006-10-24 12:27:26

Old European towns have crooked roads, and weren't really built to ease outsiders who want to navigate through them. In manhattan, for instance you have the numbered streets and avenues and in the older parts, you have named streets that don't meet at 90 degree angles to form blocks. I don't know what those old fossils where thinking when they built the place, didn't they have rulers?

DonPanic · 2006-10-25 07:20:16

Old European towns have crooked roads, and weren't really built to ease outsiders who want to navigate through them. In manhattan, for instance you have the numbered streets and avenues and in the older parts, you have named streets that don't meet at 90 degree angles to form blocks. I don't know what those old fossils where thinking when they built the place, didn't they have rulers?

Well, most of the old cities were built around high points where there was a fortress, and roads and streets followed the level curves; in windy places, straight lines were avoided to break winds, that's the case of this little town, Ars-en-Re, located on a flat Atlantic island, where you can leisurely walk in the streets or on the church place even when there is a tempest blowing on

Maybe, with the predictable oil depletion, these old cities wich were built before the motorcar era will have advantages compared with more modern but energy wasting town designs. For instance, these houses leant at each other have less exchange surfaces and therefore less thermal losses than isolated houses

Tom Kalbfus · 2006-10-25 13:02:06

I don't happen to be an energy pessimist, like some other GreenPeace Environmental types. I think instead of trying to prepare society for less energy that is going to be available in the future, we should prepare alternative sources of energy.

DonPanic · 2006-10-25 13:25:54

LO

I think instead of trying to prepare society for less energy that is going to be available in the future, we should prepare alternative sources of energy.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssss !

At least, one point of agreement

I'm not an energy pessimistic neither, the points are that oil, gaz and coal are greenhouse CO2 emitting matters, that reserves aren't unlimited and must be shared with China, India and upcoming other countries.
But there is much more Sun energy than needed for all human beings

Tom Kalbfus · 2006-10-29 12:47:54

Personally I'd like to break the back of OPEC, I get tired of the world putting their petty religious concerns and their anti-Israel bias on the pedestal. I'd like to use alternate energy as an economic weapon to get even with those Arab states for all those terrible things they did to us. I'd like to dry up their revenue stream. My primary concern is not the availablity of fuel for my vehicle, but of where the money I buy it with is going. Money is fungible. The only way of drying up that revenue tream the arabs use to fund their religious Jihad is to produce an alternate fuel that uses an alternate infrastructure that Petroleum cannot make use of. Hydrogen fits that bill. If we drive cars that consume hydrogen, then their will be less demand for oil and OPEC's revenue stream will dry up, then it will be a matter of what the OPEC nations can actually produce with their own labor rather than the amount of oil they can pump out of the ground.

DonPanic · 2006-10-29 17:19:57

Personally I'd like to break the back of OPEC, I get tired of the world putting their petty religious concerns and their anti-Israel bias on the pedestal. I'd like to use alternate energy as an economic weapon to get even with those Arab states for all those terrible things they did to us. I'd like to dry up their revenue stream. My primary concern is not the availablity of fuel for my vehicle, but of where the money I buy it with is going. Money is fungible. The only way of drying up that revenue tream the arabs use to fund their religious Jihad is to produce an alternate fuel that uses an alternate infrastructure that Petroleum cannot make use of. Hydrogen fits that bill. If we drive cars that consume hydrogen, then their will be less demand for oil and OPEC's revenue stream will dry up, then it will be a matter of what the OPEC nations can actually produce with their own labor rather than the amount of oil they can pump out of the ground.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5945678/
What you should know about Hydrogen, is that this very tiny molecule diffuses easily across any matter, best H2 tanks loose over 2.5% of their contents each day, so you buy Hydrogen, fill your car tank, and then, part of your money escapes in the air.
Available 200 bars tanks take much room, about 50 gallons for a small car
When Hydrogen is compressed to be turned into liquid, it costs about 40% of the energy contained in the mass of Hydrogen.
Are you ready to multiply by five the price you pay for your fuel?

Las thing you forget, Opec does produce less oil than non Opec oil producers, oil prices rose because the demand has been over the production and refining capacities.

RobertDyck · 2006-10-29 22:12:24

Personally I'd like to break the back of OPEC

You're relative new to New Mars so probably haven't read my posts saying exactly how to do it. Let me repeat them, they do use American or Canadian technology.

Ground source heat pump, also known as geothermal heat pump - electricty to heat a home in winter but uses less than an electric furnace. Curently costs a lot to install, but lower annual heating bill than an electric furance, natural gas, or fuel oil. Installation cost will come down once more people buy it.
Photovoltaic roof - Berkely university developed gallium indium nitride (GaInN) and conducted materials characterization. I have a couple papers on it. No one developed a complete working cell yet, but it's far more efficient than anything else. As a comparison, the 1970s/1980s photovoltaics convertd 4% of light to electricity, amorphous silicon (flexible yellow) converts 12%, and triple junction cells with germanium/gallium arsenide/gallium indium phosphate will convert 30%. The new cells can be talored by adjusting nitrogen, with 2 layers it converts 56%, with 3 layers 64%, with 36 layers 72%. One paper calculated with 8 layers it will convert 70.2%. The extra layers for a 36 layer cell cost more with little benefit, Ok that means 8 layers are optimal for this type of cell. The reason it isn't produced is a problem implanting nitrogen deeply enough. Ion implantation is a common integrated circuit technique, so this is a straight forward manufacturing issue.
Windmill generator for backup power. Doesn't generate a lot, but ensures batteries don't run out on a cloudy/rainy/windy day.
Fluorescent and compact fluorescent light fixtures. White LED lights are now available for reading lamps.
Integrate the water heater with the geothermal heat pump and solar array to produce luke warm water. Then put a point-of-use electric water heater at each sink to heat water from luke warm to hot.
A new shower recycles water using a cyclonic water filter and traditional filter to recycle 70% of water that goes down the drain. A heat exchanger captures heat from waste water to pre-heat incoming water, and has a point-of-use electric water heater. The result is greatly reduced power consumption as well as reduced water consumption.
Heat exchanger for house air.

There are a few more things that don't deal with power, the result is a house that has no utilitity bills. Size power generation for the lowest power production and greatest power consumption month of the year. Other months sell power to the electricity utility. Revenue from power sold will pay for one phone line (but not long distance charges), cable TV with full cable (but not premium channels or pay-per-view), high-speed internet (but not extreme speed), and alarm monitoring. It's a cost saving and you don't have to pay OPEC countries to heat or power your house.

For farms, use biodiesel. That's made from vegetable oil, methanol, and lye. Vegetable oil can be made from oil seads like canola, some straw fermented to form methanol, the rest of the straw burned to distill methanol. Dissolve the ash in water and filter to form lye. That means one crop produces all the inputs to make fuel for farm vehicles. I mention canola because it grows in Canada and produces more vegetable oil per acre than any other oil sead. In the states you could use corn, soybeans, sunflower, cotton seed, peanut, palm, olive, safflower, sesame, or linseed oil (from flax). I think corn produces the most oil per acre of the crops that grow in the States. Biodiesel works in any diesel engine, the catch is it tends to gel in winter, specifically temperatures colder than about -10°C (+14°F). Farmers don't operate equipment in winter so it works great for them. The ultimate is to modify a diesel engine with fuel injectors that work with thick fuel, that makes it work with vegetable oil directly, no need to convert to biodiesel.

One catch for anyone using biodiesel with an existing engine: you will need to replace the fuel filter often immediately after switching. You see vegetable oil + methanol + lye = biodiesel, but vegetable oil + lye = soap. The reaction is controlled by temperature and ingredient proportions, but you'll always get some soap when making biodiesel. That soap is minimized by settling out after production, but there's always some soap left in the fuel. That soap will clean any gunk coating the inside of a fuel tank or clogging fuel lines of a petroleum diesel vehicle. That gunk will get caught in the fuel filter, that's why you need to change the filter often after switching. Of course you will have sparkling clean fuel lines when done.

Passenger cars need something that will work in winter. That's why I suggest a hydrogen fuel cell. You need a metal fuel tank to prevent hydrogen from diffusing through, I don't have figures. I could describe a composite tank that works as well as a metal tank while lighter, but I want to manufacture it myself. You can make hydrogen either by steam reforming natural gas, or electrolysis of water. A fuel station could have power and water lines coming in, electrolysis on-site with short-term fuel storage. That means no need for a delivery truck or managing delivery, production is continuous as sold to cars.

DonPanic · 2006-10-30 08:22:40

L O

Passenger cars need something that will work in winter. That's why I suggest a hydrogen fuel cell. You need a metal fuel tank to prevent hydrogen from diffusing through, I don't have figures. I could describe a composite tank that works as well as a metal tank while lighter, but I want to manufacture it myself.

Hydrogen diffusion speed trought matters depends on density, then composite tanks prevent less diffusion than steel, steel is not a good solution neither, because hydrogen diffusion also brings higher corrosion.

Maybe searches on ambient temperature supraconductors will give much more economic results with all electric cars than hydrogen, but this is still speculative.

RobertDyck · 2006-10-30 13:40:24

No need for superconductors. In-wheel electric motors work by using a multi-pole motor that rotates once per wheel rotation. That eliminates any transmission, differential, or other gears. You get a 4-wheel drive vehicle by putting one motor on each wheel. You still have to balance power to the motors, when turning a corner the wheels on the outside turn faster than the inside, but it means an electronic differential rather than gears. That can be more efficient, but you have to keep current low to avoid power loss in wires or electronics. Providing sufficient power with low current means high voltage: volts * amps = watts. Efficiency can be increased and weight reduced with rare earth magnets. There is a race for electric vehicles, they use motors with rare earth magnets.

All this together means a vehicle that has no gears to wear out, no engine oil or oil filter to change, and no radiator. That means less maintenance and a lot fewer moving parts that can wear out. The fuel cell will require an air filter, and it will require something to prevent the moisture from freezing on thin plastic membranes in winter. A fuel cell generates a little warmth, it's said the exhaust is warm moist air, so an insulated fuel cell could keep itself above freezing. I'm told the solution they came up with is to keep the fuel cell idling when turned off in winter. Cars in Canada or northern states like Minnesota or North Dakota have a block heater; that's an electric heating element in the oil pan. You plug in your car when parked outside on cold winter days to keep the engine warm enough to start. New engines can start at -40°C but after a couple years an engine has difficulty starting below -30°C. So do the same thing for a fuel cell, add a heating element that can be plugged in when parked. You'll notice parking lots in the north have an outlet for every parking stall.

I'm told Ford and Ballard built a fuel cell car that worked perfectly in Vancouver. They tried to drive it to Calgary, but it stalled in the mountains. Apparently it works perfectly at sea level, but can't handle the lower partial pressure of oxygen high up in the mountains. They're working on it. But it would make a great run-about for Los Angeles or San Francisco. Those cities don't even have to worry about winter.

DonPanic · 2006-10-30 16:10:43

LO

No need for superconductors. In-wheel electric motors work by using a multi-pole motor that rotates once per wheel rotation. That eliminates any transmission, differential, or other gears. You get a 4-wheel drive vehicle by putting one motor on each wheel.

You don't have to describe me the system, I've already designed quite similar for an ultralight and compact urban twin-seats car, smaller than the Smart. In my project, front wheels had articulations, rotation of wheels and rear wheels differential being under command of the pilot by differential electrical current delivery to the wheels motors following the joystick positions.

About hydrogen, with a significative production up to supply the equivalent to a world wide cars and trucks number, hydrogen losses by diffusion may have strong effects reacting with the high atmospheric ozone, could be worrying, thats why I support rather all electric power supply than hydrogen industry, it's enough playing with anthropic gaz emissions. There are a lot of possible progresses in batteries

Tom Kalbfus · 2006-10-31 09:24:54

Another type of electric car is possible, this one is powered by a road rail embedded in the nation's highways. the typical commuter drives to the nearest highway amd once he pulls onto the highway, induced electric current powers the electric motors in his car, and once off the highway either a battery or a hydrogen fuel cell powers the car for the rest of the way. Electric cars can travel quite a distance on an electrically powered highway, it is the same as in principle electric trains. I'd rather not rely of gasoline just because its convenient, the money goes to bad causes.

RobertDyck · 2006-10-31 15:44:06

That's not as simple as it sounds. You could use a battery electric vehicle for commuter use, with an outlet at home and the office to recharge the battery. The tricky part is highway travel; a battery can't hold enough to be pracitcal. You suggested induced electric current on the highway, that could work but isn't easy. Rail lines transfer power by metal wheels pressing on metal rails, you can't do that with a car unless it has a second set of wheels, in which case it's a rail road. An overhead cable can transfer power, electric trolley bus use that, but we had such a system in downtown Winnipeg when I was a kid, it showered sparks when it crossed a wire switch. A highway system would need something to lock trolley poles onto the wires, not practical for passenger cars. That leads to an induction system that you mentioned.

Efficiency is the key, you can't afford to loose much power or pollution from generating plants becomes an issue. Environmental heating would also be an issue, waste power not captured by cars would become heat. Safety is another issue, you don't want to cook or irradiate passengers. Frequencies can be chosen to avoid cooking or irradiating passengers. You would need someway to transfer power to a moving vehicle, stationary vehicles can use their battery. But it must not slow the vehicle, that would defeat the point. Something could switch on power as a car approached, but it can't be too complicated or it'll wear out. Roads are used all the time and their length means you can't afford to maintain them often. Cost is another issue, if the cost per mile of road is too high it becomes impractical. Operational cost is another, you need a way for consumers to pay for the power. A meter? I saw a toll booth on Key Biscayne (outside Miami Florida) that had a radio transmitter to identify the car. Just drive through. Something like that to meter power? What about the guy who charges his battery from the highway, or a truck driver with a full load, they'll use more power. That's why you need a meter. But you have to charge the guy getting the power separately from the vehicle following, while both travel at highway speed. This is a serious engineering issue.

Marketting is another. Would American consumers buy such cars? The GM EV1 didn't do well, that was primarilly due to battery cost.

Tom Kalbfus · 2006-11-01 08:47:43

One idea would be to combine the concept of a Smart Highway with that of an electric highway. Once the car drives onto the electric lane, the smart highway system takes over and guides the car to the exact center of the lane where a 5th wheel makes contact with the electric rail drawing power from it to propel the vehicle. The electricity would be paid for by tolls, and the tolls changed would be determined by the size of the vehicle. The cars would automatically recharge themselves while driving.

I think Smart Electric highway systems can at the same time reduce traffic congestion, accidents, and our dependency on fissil fuels.

dicktice · 2006-11-01 11:58:53

When all is said and done, the plug-in electric vehicle is the right concept for now. Think of the reduction of city smog levels due to idling traffic three times a day, the continued ability to afford suburban village living without neighborhood gas pumps and the threat of fuel shortages, the on-going viability of existing infrastructures while we consider the future architecture of our cities without being rushed....

DonPanic · 2006-11-02 04:59:42

LO

When all is said and done, the plug-in electric vehicle is the right concept for now. Think of the reduction of city smog levels due to idling traffic three times a day, the continued ability to afford suburban village living without neighborhood gas pumps and the threat of fuel shortages, the on-going viability of existing infrastructures while we consider the future architecture of our cities without being rushed....

Future towns and cities designs sould be as studied as transportation means.
If I linked photographies of typical US and Euro towns, its because during my urban design studies, we simulated types of urban concepts, and don't take it for some more americanism, we also have chessboard type of habitat in France too, this is the most energy and room wasting type, the worse being square subdivisioned of parcels of land wich need the longuest all types of equipment, be electric or phone wiring, water and used waters, and access roads networks.

None ot these disadvantages were serious with low cost energy and regardless of greenhouse effects, now, it's time to realize that the planet cannot stand 9 billions inhabitants aiming to reach at western standards of living, unless we strongly reduce wastes, to begin with cars, house heating and cooling which can be improved with cheap technology.

dicktice · 2006-11-02 09:56:56

I have a picture in my mind of a modern village of the near future, when flown over suddenly flashing brightly because of all the houses being oriented on their lots towards the noon position of the Sun, regardles of the street layout.

Tom Kalbfus · 2006-11-02 12:14:52

When all is said and done, the plug-in electric vehicle is the right concept for now. Think of the reduction of city smog levels due to idling traffic three times a day, the continued ability to afford suburban village living without neighborhood gas pumps and the threat of fuel shortages, the on-going viability of existing infrastructures while we consider the future architecture of our cities without being rushed....

I think idling traffic is quite annoying. Whats the point of having highways if cars just sit there during Rush hour. Much of the problem is workers always on the highways repairing them and making traffic go slow. Ideally there should be twice as much highway as actually needed with two highways always going to the same location only that one highway is held in reserve as its repaired and the traffic is diverted to the other one while repairs take place. I would like dual electric smart highways replacing all the highways on our interstate system. On such a system you can recline your drivers seat and go to sleep as your car drives continuously fron New York to Los Angles for instance. the car would basically drive itself, guided by the smart highway. There would be a screen on your fron dashboard indicating the exits that are ahead, and if you wanted to get off at an exit, you would simply click on the one on your screen, and the highway system would move the other cars out of your way as it shifts the lane your car is on, and it would warn you to assume manual control of your vehicle as it gets off the electrified highway. Your car would not have to stop for fuel or recharge for the entire length of the trip on the highways. Alot of gasoline would not be burned as a result. Non electric cars would not be allowed on the electrified portion of the highway and their would be a concrete barrier separating the cars that are being driven by humans from the automated electric cars on the smart highway. This would make the eletrified portion of the highway quite predictable and it would reduce the chance of traffic jams that result from accidents caused by poor drivers, drivers falling asleep, driving too fast, or driving drunk or erratically, and the highway would control all the cars and the cars not controlled by the highway would not be allowed on. Everytime I see a traffic jam in New York City or heading into it, I get mad, because our public servants aren't doing their job. The solution exists and it can be implemented. Just think of all the money saved in gasoline that is not bought and in time that is not wasted sitting in traffic jams waiting to go somewhere. With all these advantages added in, I'm sure alot of people would switch to electric smart cars if the government were to make an investiment in an electric smart highway system. As an added bonus you could also have cable television in your smart car electric vehicle as the highway does the driving for you. Now how does that sound?

Tom Kalbfus · 2006-11-02 12:23:28

I have a picture in my mind of a modern village of the near future, when flown over suddenly flashing brightly because of all the houses being oriented on their lots towards the noon position of the Sun, regardles of the street layout.

Screw the street layout, I have no respect for history when it interferes with my ability to go someplace. If I could, I would level the whole downtown section of New York and replace it with a nice square road grid each road having 4 lanes going in each direction, the outermost lane giving you someplace to parallel part, the second outermost lane for people who want to turn right or go straight, the seccond innermost lane for people who want to go straight only and the innermost lane for people who want to turn left. Every traffic light at every intersection would be equipped with left turn signals so that every car in the innermost lane has a chance to turn left without crashing into oncoming traffic or having to do stuff like move forward into the box while the light is green and wait for it to turn red above you so you have a chance to turn left and not get hit by oncoming traffic.

the way the roads are laid out and the way traffic is managed in New York City is so stupid. I'd also knock down all the buildings that don't have parking garages in the first two levels and replace them with ones that do. That would be how I would rebuild New York City if it were up to me.

RobertDyck · 2006-11-02 17:50:56

There are many options. Here's a picture of Old Transcona, with straight streets. Those from Europe may laugh at "old", this was built before I was born.

Here's a picture of Island Lakes, a modern development. Notice the straight east-west thoroughfare across the top, and the north-south thoroughfare on the right. Both thoroughfares have a speed limit of 80km/h (50mph), divided with 2 to 4 lanes in each direction. The north-south thoroughfare (highway 59) merges to non-divided south of this intersection; most traffic is within the city, it's a southern neighbourhood. This layout uses bays to reduce land for residential roads while keeping major thoroughfares straight. Curving bays also keep through traffic out, residential neighbourhoods are quiet and safe. "Lakes" are a common part of new developments; it may be more accurate to call them ponds. They look pretty while functioning as water retention ponds, reducing storm drain run-off. The pond also raised the water table so less need to water lawns. Developers put a big fancy fountain in the pond, sometimes with the name of the development in giant letters, but the fountain functions to promote evaporation so it gets rid of water without using a storm drain. The city charges for storm drains so it saves them money. The fountain also aerates the water, avoiding algae growth. You don't want pond scum. We hadn't seen Canada geese or other water fowl in the city in a few generations; after the ponds were built they came back.

The ultimate is Wildwood. This development is built backwards to traditional North American neighbourhoods. You'll notice Old Transcona has as street along the front and back lane along the back of every property. Island Lakes has no back lanes. Wildwood only has back lanes, no front street. Instead there's a single walk, like a side walk. Between bays in front of the houses is a green space; some neighbourhoods put a field or playground there but Wildwood left the natural trees. Notice there are still straight streets that "back lane" bays connect from, except the one street that curves to follow the river. There's a school in the lower-left, within walking distance of most homes, and a golf course at the top of the picture. There's a community club with baseball diamond to the top-right. Only 0.6km west from the School is a major north-south thoroughfare, the primary shopping road for that end of the city. Wildwood is one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in the city, good luck finding a house for sale there.

dicktice · 2006-11-02 21:45:12

Tom, what if you had to come up with a plan for "greening" an existing city in the midwest, with a 10-year contractual deadline to completion? Mine would be (just as I've suggested): Legislate and subsidize plug-in electric hybrid cars and delivery vehicles, and mount rooftop solar panels oriented towards the sun at noontime. What's your short-term solution?

DonPanic · 2006-11-03 05:30:16

LO
Bob, you can notice that on your second photography, houses are built careless of the sun, that's not so clever, even if mass plan or air view can be pleasant for an architect's eye.

That would be how I would rebuild New York City if it were up to me.

Thanks, things aren't up to you, and that we live in democractic countries where administrated peoples are being asked their says.

There are place where peoples want to step in the street, meet peoples, take a coffee at a nice terrasse without breathing fuel rejections.

Here in Paris, majority of peoples decided not to own a car, even a quarter of the car owners supports the restrictive car policy led by the Mayor, all polls show that the he'll be reelected, nobody cares he is an homosexual socialist.

Car owners are stressed, and pedestrians are the masters of the streets.
If you even touch a pedestrian or a biker with your car, no matter the traffic light colour, you are guilty.

Tom Kalbfus · 2006-11-03 12:53:06

LO
Bob, you can notice that on your second photography, houses are built careless of the sun, that's not so clever, even if mass plan or air view can be pleasant for an architect's eye.
That would be how I would rebuild New York City if it were up to me.
Thanks, things aren't up to you, and that we live in democractic countries where administrated peoples are being asked their says.

I can only give you my view about what the solution ought to be, I can't pretend it is the concensus. The concensus and politics have produced a city with some of the worst traffic jams that I've ever seen, and I have to deal with this broken down transportation system every time I go into the city.

There are place where peoples want to step in the street, meet peoples, take a coffee at a nice terrasse without breathing fuel rejections.

And the concensus has produced a city where the traffic barely moves during rush hour, and people sitting in their cafes get to breath the emissions of hundreds of cars that just sit there idling waiting for the traffic to allow them to get to their destination. The main problems with Lower Manhattan are these: there are too many streets, they are not wide enough to accomodate two-way traffic in both directions, so often a map does no good in finding a way to you destination in this mess because you don't know the direction of each one-way street, and also their are those frequent road repairs and construction crews that block or close the roads obsoleting you original plotted path to your destination, and you have to pull out you map again while your in traffic because there is not place to park and plot an alternative route. Also most of the New York City traffic lights don't make allowances for left turns on two-way streets, they are just Red, Yellow, and Green with no directional arrows, and you have to take your chances on those left turns and time it just right so that you aren't hit by oncoming traffic. I've had a number of close calls while making these left turns and only my quick reflexes saved me from a collision. New York Conditions almost require aggressive driving, you must bolt if ever you are going to shift lanes because people simply ignore your directional signals and refuse to let you in to their lane if they can help it. With the traffic so bad, it means its an added delay for them if they let you in, so they do all they can to try and stop you from shifting lanes in front of them.

It also does not help that the streets in downtown New York have historic names rather than numbers which tell you your location in the city as is the case in Midtown. the problem lies with all these historic buildings and roads with the quaint atmosphere that are too narrow to permit sufficient traffic to pass. I get so frusterated some times that I wish I could level them all down and built a purely 21st century city that was designed for traffic.

Here in Paris, majority of peoples decided not to own a car, even a quarter of the car owners supports the restrictive car policy led by the Mayor, all polls show that the he'll be reelected, nobody cares he is an homosexual socialist.
Car owners are stressed, and pedestrians are the masters of the streets.
If you even touch a pedestrian or a biker with your car, no matter the traffic light colour, you are guilty.

So ignore the traffic problems you say? Just say to the drivers that have to get some place in Paris, "Tough pal, your on your own." One "solution" is to get rid of the cars, and leave people at the mercy of the Mass Transit unions that frequently go on strike to milk the passengers for everything they got. When you have your car, you have independence, when they take your car away, your are forced to use the local Mass Transist monopoly. The transit workers basically work for the government, and the government is not running mass transit for profit and it has no compeditors so it basically givers the transit union what it wants which is usually higher wages and more benefits, and since the poor passenger is deprived of his car, he has no coice but to use mass-transit and things like rail systems are basically natural monopolies. Maybe rail systems can get you their more quickly if the stations are conveiniently located, but only at the price they specify.

Stores where you go shopping still need to receive there goods for you to buy when you go shopping, that means truck drivers have to deliver them. Rail systems are no good for delivering merchandise, and they cannot be delivered very efficiently via hand cart between the rail station and the store. This means you still got to have vehicular traffic, and urging people not to drive is not an option when their job requires them to drive, and the truck drives have to travel on these stupid one-way streets that are too narrow, and they have to take risks smashing into somebody or in running over an unwary pedestian when they make those left turns under traffic lights that don't make alowances for left turns. Every time I see a traffic Jam, that means to me that the City is not doing its job properly.

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Re: Froggy's

#118 2006-11-02 04:59:42

Re: Froggy's

#119 2006-11-02 09:56:56

Re: Froggy's

#120 2006-11-02 12:14:52

Re: Froggy's

#121 2006-11-02 12:23:28

Re: Froggy's

#122 2006-11-02 17:50:56

Re: Froggy's

#123 2006-11-02 21:45:12

Re: Froggy's

#124 2006-11-03 05:30:16

Re: Froggy's

#125 2006-11-03 12:53:06

Re: Froggy's

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