Geekologists, I’m leaving today to drive 2,100 miles cross country to Los Angeles, which I will be calling home until it chews me up and spits me out and tries to urinates on me before I roundhouse kick it in the pecker (I may be down, but I’m never out). That’s my actual set-up in the picture, so you know the trip is gonna be pure awesome and smooth sailing. Things should return to normal by mid next-week, but I’ll be continuing to write what I can in the mornings and have the posts drop throughout the day (including today, I’ve got at least six for you) as I travel, because I love you all that much. But if for any reason you aren’t getting enough Geekologie to the vein, click the archive button to the right (or click random tags) and explore some of the other 6,500 articles on the site. One of the most popular tips I get is something I posted yesterday or last week, so there’s bound to be something you’ve missed. And remember: I’ll be thinking about you while I’m screaming at the blue hair in front of me for pulling out and going 40. Best, Your Geekologie Writer

See original here:
Ballin’ The Jack: GW Is Moving Cross Country

Lara Croft (seen here) is best known for raiding tombs and being the relic hunting alter-ego of Angelina Jolie. And now, the town of her origin is honoring her with a road , Lara Croft Way. Hey, that’s cool, but I’ve had a road named after me for years. GW Parkway , anybody? High-five, DC peeps! The Tomb Raider babe, played by Angelina Jolie in movie adaptations of the hit games, was created by Derby-based Core Design in the mid-1990s. Bosses at the city’s council today announced their new 36million ring road will be called Lara Croft Way following a public vote. Nearly 28,000 people took part in the online poll, and Lara Croft emerged the clear winner — with 89 per cent of the vote. Congratulations, Lara, I’d drive on you. IN MY MONSTER TRUCK! I am gonna f*** your roadsigns up! Lara Croft is curvy new road [thesun] and Picture Thanks to Littlezan and Add still loves Elmo, who both have roads named after them because they are practically celebrities scammed the Make A Wish Foundation growing up.

More here:
New English Road Named After Lara Croft

This is a video of a Polish truck driver drifting his semi (sans trailer) for a minute straight. It was pretty impressive and definitely put those asshats in ‘The Fast And Furiously Beating Off To Modified Civics’ to shame. Per the video uploader: best driver from poland kopiowanie bez zezwolenia zabronione!!! komentarze z ksywami lub nazwiskami ewentualnych drajwerow beda usuwane I honestly have no idea what all that said but I assume they just called me something dirty. OH REALLY? Well how many Poles does it take to drift a semi? 10. One to sit in a stationary truck and 9 to not know how to fake it with CGI. Oooh — BU-BU-BU-BURN! Youtube Thanks to mike, who once drifted a dump truck for eight minutes before all the wheels blew off and it barrel rolled into an embankment. Awesome.

Read the original here:
They Have Trucks In Poland?: Polish Semi Driver Drifts Truck For A Minute Straight

I used to never get lost in San Francisco. I was a safe driver who obeyed traffic rules. Then I got a GPS, and everything changed. I’m a closet road geek. I love thinking about how cities are built and how roads interconnect. When the new Octavia exit to the 101 opened up, I gawked at the pure genius that was highway construction for a month before I finally shut up about it. When I first moved to Bay area, I rode the pee-stained bus up and down the veins and arteries of San Francisco with a foldable city map and learned the names of all the side streets that crossed 19th Avenue, Geary Boulevard, and Market Street. By the time I got a car two years later, I had a map of the city imprinted in my geography geek brain. At first, the GPS (I have an old Garmin) was a novelty–a tool for experimentation. It was fun to see how long the thing thought it would take to get from point A to point B. I was just the receiving end of a network of commands relayed through the voice of a nice British lady. But then it became a habit, and weird things started happening to me. I started to forget how to get places without it. The map in my brain became a distorted blur. And then my driving became more reckless. I invented this game where I tried to beat the estimated arrival time that the GPS gave me. Often, that entailed running yellow lights and exceeding the speed limit. Sometimes, the GPS fell off of its suction cup on the windshield and onto the floor, and I would have to fumble around with my right hand while steering the wheel and shifting gears with my left. The worst was when it couldn’t locate an address or a satellite signal. I would drive around in circles bouncing between rage and confusion. Why am I relying on this dumb machine? Why is this machine that is supposed to help me get places screwing with my innate sense of direction? Ultimately, I think the GPS just made me lazier, stupider, angrier, and a worse driver. I wish I could say I’d rather be without one, but a part of me is dependent on it. I’m a recovering GPS addict who has been clean for several weeks, but it’s still sitting in my glove compartment beckoning to be used. Advisor is a new weekly column about how to juggle technology, relationships, and common sense. Got a story to tell? Email it to mango [at] tokyomango [dot] com.

Read more:
Advisor: Why my GPS is bad for my brain

Filed under: Gadgets , Etc. , Tech , Volkswagen Vehicle infotainment systems, those all-inclusive interfaces controlling the myriad electronics on today’s modern cars and trucks, can make or break the driving experience. CNET is offering us a sneak-peek at Volkswagen’s latest iteration from the company’s Electronic Research Laboratory (ERL). Developed with Intel, the new system uses Global Open Research Infotainment Architecture, or GLORIA. Most systems today us a joystick-like device, touch screen, or hard buttons on the edge of the display (or a combination of the three) to control the inputs. Volkswagen’s new GLORIA system takes it one step further by making Apple iPhone-like “gesture control” possible. This means that users are able to navigate quickly by simply tracing single letters across the pressure-sensitive display. Another unique feature may allow users to import third-party widgets for the system, much like consumers currently load apps from iTunes onto their iPhones. As cool as it sounds, GLORIA is still under development and she isn’t expected to see showrooms for a few more years. [Source: CNET , Photo by CNET] REPORT: Volkswagen’s next-gen nav system to get Apple iPhone-like gestures originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 May 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

See the rest here:
REPORT: Volkswagen’s next-gen nav system to get Apple iPhone-like gestures

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with the story besides it’s of a bunch of Princess Leias having a pillow fight and God has bestowed me with the power of awesomeness. But no need to thank me folks, I did it for myself. So anyway, Darth Vader’s daughter just got pulled over for drunk driving . Police found the mother-of-two Dodds, 28, dressed in white robes with plaited hair, while her husband was wearing robes. “She was dressed as Princess Leia and her husband as Luke Skywalker and they found it was a bit embarrassing to walk the streets of Murton dressed in their costumes. When breathalysed she was more than twice over the legal drink driving limit. Magistrates banned Dodds from driving for 20 months, fined her 255 and ordered her to pay 60 in costs and a 15 victim surcharge. Dear. Mrs Dodds (aka the woman who likes to get drunk and dress as Princess Leia, aka the woman of my dreams), Firstly: if you were my girl, you would never have to drive drunk, because I have droids for that shit. Secondly: I can’t believe your husband (aka Luke Failwalker) didn’t even have the decency to Force choke and/or mind trick the arresting officer. You, princess, are running with the wrong Jedi. Marry Me? Yours, Obi Won Geekologie Woman dressed as Princess Leia of Star Wars stopped for drink driving [telegraph] Thanks to Ross, who once ran over his neighbor’s cat on a speeder bike but it was okay because speeder bikes float.

Continued here:
Princess Leia Pulled Over For Drunk Driving