Toyota and Cyber Spies
2010-03-09
Category: GeneralIt is important to note that I have seen no evidence that Chinese cyber-spies have infiltrated Toyota for the purpose of messing with the automotive control computer programs. Even if Chinese hackers, supposedly backed by the Chinese government, hacked Google and a few other large businesses, there is nothing to suggest that Toyota was one of them.
Of course, if the Chinese had gotten into Toyota, we probably wouldn't hear about it. Toyota would work with the Japanese Public Security Intelligence Agency (site) (site in English) and keep it quiet until they could hunt down as many of the bad guys as possible. Naturally, the CIA would work with them to minimize the trouble.
While hunting the bad guys, the Toyota coders would be scouring the software, looking for the malicious stuff. That way, they would be able to release a software patch for everyone and never have to admit that they were vulnerable to Red Menace. It would take some time to do this because modern automobiles have massive amounts of code in them. At the same time, they could never be sure that they weren't still vulnerable to further attack. All the security protocols would have to be in place before they could even start.
Again, I will point out that I have seen nothing to suggest that any of this has happened. Because of that, you should avoid discussing it with your friends, family, and co-workers. Don't let it affect your purchasing decisions regarding Toyotas. In particular, you should not let it increase any paranoia you may have about foreign cyber warfare.
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Red Light Cameras Reprised
2010-03-07
Category: GeneralA little over a year ago, the Cedar Rapids Police Department held forums to discuss the use of Red Light and Speed Cameras here in our lovely burg. Now we have the cameras and it is interesting. Some love the things, the nut jobs are out in force against them.
The CRPD started by placing Red Light Cameras at the intersection of 1st Avenue and 10th Street East. Immediately there were offenders. Why did they choose that intersection? Well, that one sees more accidents. The likely reason for the accidents is illustrated by the fact that the police could announce that they were putting up Red Light Cameras and people still ran red lights.
A few days after those cameras went live, the police took their mobile speed camera to the streets. They say that in the first hour, they caught 130 speeders. In general, Cedar Rapids is a fairly safe place to drive, but it has been getting gradually worse in recent years. Maybe this speeding is contributing to the problem.
Interstate 380 goes through downtown Cedar Rapids in the form of an "S" curve. We get quite a few accidents there. The speed limit is 55 miles per hour, but if you go that speed, many people will fly right past you. This is one of the planned locations for the speed cameras. I'm really looking forward to this.
The funny thought associated with speed cameras on I-380 is that it takes a while for the citations to get to the vehicle's owner. Many of the drivers are commuters who pass through the area twice a day. These folks will pass by the cameras ten times in a workweek. I have no sympathy for them if they generate ten separate offenses in that time. At about 70 bucks an offense, that comes to about $700.00 in a week.
Unfortunately, these are going to get a lot of flak from morons. They are going to scream about how it violates their Constitutional rights to commit crimes out of immediate view of law enforcement. Some will complain that they don't get to confront their accuser in court because they don't get to cross examine video of the infraction. My solution for these morons involves work farms, so it's not always considered popular.
Overall, though, many Cedar Rapidians are in favor of the cameras. They see it as a chance to improve safety at the expense of the very people who would reduce safety. If we can get the Moron Meters installed and start enforcing the Chicagoan Registration Act, we will thousands of times more safe than we are now.
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War of the Trousers
2010-03-01
Category: GeneralAccording to a future encyclopedia article from the year 2148, the War of the Trousers will have been fought between two groups. One group believed that it was important to give meaningful names to historical events. The opposing group believed that events should have confusing names that would confuse future historians for the amusement of those who survived the event.
I didn't get to see the rest of the article, so I didn't see who won.
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