Lane merging

Here is a question: If you know that the road you are on is going to turn from a 2 lane road to a 1 lane road (with merge signs), when would you start merging into the remaining lane?
OK, a few constraints:
- This is not a freeway
- There is no construction in progress
- The speed limit is under 40mph
- There is a traffic signal 20 car lengths before the merge

There are two possible answers here:
1. Merge as soon as possible (and ensure a spot for yourself, sorta)
2. Utilize all lanes until a merge becomes necessary

Depending on where you are, people pick one of the above. In LA, people choose #2. In Seattle, people choose #1. I choose #2 whenever possible, which pisses people off. That got me thinking as to why people go one way or the other. Is this just a group mentality? Is there some rocket science behind merging which I was not taught as a child (understandable since Mysore had very few roads with multiple lanes)?

Let's analyze both the scenarios and try to make sense out of it.
#1.
Good: The good thing about this is that people act as if there is only one lane and just fall behind one another. This reduces lane merging.

Bad: The bad thing about this is that I don't like leaving lanes empty. In this specific case (see constraints above), since speeds are low, merging is relatively easy and painless. So, why not use both lanes? The other problem is that people get stuck behind the traffic signal when it turns red. In this case, only 20 odd cars will be able to get ahead of the signal before it rotates (2+ min). If both lanes were used, there would have been 40 odd cars ahead of the signal. Hmm.. Also induces slinky (compression/expansion) effect due to merging at various points.

#2.
Good: Usage of both the lanes. 40 odd cars ahead of the traffic signal. No slinky effect due to one merge point. Everybody takes turns at the squeeze point, and traffic merges automatically.

Bad: Lot more merging at the squeeze point. But, since speeds are low, and motorists know that they need to merge, it can be relatively easy to merge.

I think that merging at the squeeze point is more efficient in this particular case resulting in more throughput. There will be a lot of disgruntled motorists on Issaquah-Pinelake road.

Downtown

What makes a downtown great, lively and attractive to locals as well as visitors? There are few cities in the US which can boast a lively and active downtown. While others are trying to revitalize their downtowns in vain. Cincinnati downtown is one such example. I used to wonder what was wrong with that downtown. They offered free parking, but still no one wanted to go there!

I am not talking about living in downtown here. Living in downtown is efficient, practical and desirable since most people work in downtowns. I am talking about the after-work hours. I am talking about weekends. How are some downtowns successful at attracting people while others are not?

We visited several cities in Southern California recently, and happened to experience several great downtowns. The 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Gaslamp district in San Diego, Old Town in San Diego (pictured above) to name a few. They are bustling with activity on weeknights as well as weekends. BTW, don't miss the Angelaterie (sp?) when you visit 3rd Street Promenade. They offer over 100 varieties of gelati.

Here are some of my observations on what makes a great downtown:
- Plenty of affordable parking
- Sidewalks, streetlights and landscaping - Well lit and beautiful
- Open spaces for kids to play - Small parks, fountains, lawns, etc.
- Accessibility - Close by freeways
- Safety
- World class shopping
- World class restaurants
- Movie multiplexes
- Family friendly events
- Promotions - Promote a positive image, and market the downtown

Most of the above mentioned points can be clubbed under the wide umbrella of Design. A good design is functional, easy to use and pleasing to the eye, and hence attractive.

Thousand marbles

Life is of a finite nature. But, still we live as if it is infinite. We take so many things for granted. We put so many things off to "tomorrow". If only there was a way to drive home the point that life is finite, we think.

Last night my wife was watching a contest on Food Network in which chefs were racing against the clock to prepare elaborate desserts. They had a huge digital clock showing the time remaining, and everyone knew what they had to do, and were concentrating on achieving it. If only, life was like that, it would set our priorities right.

I recently stumbled upon this death clock. The idea is to show the finite nature of our lives, but fails miserably in driving the point home. The main reason being that human beings have a hard time comprehending huge numbers. A classic example is that of smokers. A smoker is told that if he continues to smoke, his life expectancy will be reduced by 2 years (say). His first response: so, what? If you tell the same person that drinking rat poison will kill him in 30 mins (say), he will immediately swear to keep away from rat poison. See the difference: A few years lopped off somewhere in the unfathomable future is not of great concern, but something in the foreseeable future (like today) is taken quite seriously.

In contrast (to the death clock), consider this story (author unknown), and see how it drives home the point:

Thousand Marbles

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable. A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement shack with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning, turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it.

I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know, the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about "a thousand marbles".

I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say. "Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital."

He continued, "Let me tell you something, Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities." And that's when he began to explain his theory of "a thousand marbles."

"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years."

"Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3,900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part."

"It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail," he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy."

"So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round-up 1,000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away."

"I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight."

"Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time."

"It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again."

You could have heard a pin drop on the radio when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss.

"C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast."

"What brought this on?" she asked with a smile.

"Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."

Make today count for every one you waste can never be lived again.

Boat update

It has been quite sometime since I updated on the boat project. The simple reason being that the project had not progressed much, thanks to the rainy winter weather in Seattle. I finally completed glassing of the entire boat. It is fine to just glass all the seams (strength), and the bottom (wear) of the boat. Since I had ordered tonnes of fiberglass cloth, I thought I will glass the entire boat including the insides. This gives the boat tremendous strength and durability while adding only a few ounces to the weight.

I had to remove the amine blush that had formed on some of the surfaces that I had fiberglassed. Then, I had to sand the cured surface so as to form a uniform as well as rough surface. If I were applying another coat of epoxy on an uncured surface, it would lead to a chemical bond (preferable). Since the first coat had completely cured, I had to sand it in order to form a rough surface for the second coat to cling onto. This forms a mechanical bond, which is not as strong as the chemical bond. Chemical bond occurs at molecular level. Enough theory now. The boat surface looks shiny and beautiful (see pic). Unfortunately, I have to paint it since epoxy degrades with exposure to sunlight. I will be completing the second coat on the outside and then painting the boat. Still thinking of a color scheme... The inside surfaces will be white or off-white. I don't want the surfaces to get hot in the sun.

BTW, we did watch The Sixth Sense last weekend. Of course, since this was the third time, it didn't grip us as much, but the ending did hit us well. I was observing the technical merit of the movie, and I have to say, it is a well made movie.

I see dead people ...

Last night I happened to watch Medium after a long time. I could see the plot through, and it was comical to see the blunders in this episode. This is the episode in which Allison's brother comes over and they both discover that he sees dead people too. They both interact with a dead person throughout the entire episode.

Let's look at some of the great blunders in this half-assed production. First of all, Allison's brother gets the dead girl a beer, and she sits at the table and drinks it. Then comes the scene where the dead girl pulls the brother over herself and kisses him, in order to hide from the bad guys. This second scene is cool. Imagine, that you are one of the unfortunate who cannot see dead people, and you are in this scene. All you see is a well built dude hunched over a sofa, his upper body hanging in mid air. All this is happening in public places with lots of people around. C'mon guys, this is Hollywood. Even for a TV series quality matters.

If you haven't seen the movie "The Sixth Sense", read no further and go watch the movie.

Spoiler ahead:
Go take a look at The Sixth Sense, and tell me when Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) comes in contact with any other human being in the whole movie. That is one good movie. I need to watch that movie again...