Stuff from 22 August, 2007
This is the archive of tumbledry happenings that occurred on 22 August, 2007.
Vent-A-Hood
This is the archive of tumbledry happenings that occurred on 22 August, 2007.
Flat out, without a doubt, straight up, indubitably gorgeous letter pressed wedding invitations are produced right here in Minneapolis, MN by Armato Design. Watch their quick video (the one labeled “2 color job”) of the printing process, complete with fun music from the movie Amélie (the song’s called “La Noyee”). If you would like to buy some of their work straight away, Armato’s on etsy, too: http://armatodesign.etsy.com.
Dan, did you just quote Super Troopers?!
We’ve all already heard it in the news already: Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Inc., was recently pulled over in California for driving at a rate of 104 mph (167 km/h) in his Toyota Prius. You may read the original article by Gary Richards at the San Jose Mercury News website: “Can Prius top 100 mph? Ask Wozniak.” Now, according to the list of speed limits in the United States, Mr. Wozniak was likely in an area where the speed limit was 70 mph, putting him 34 mph above the legal limit and therefore justifying his approximately $700 ticket. I believe Woz’s story of 104 mph (though cops do sometimes get speeds wrong, as in this recent story from my state: “Motorcycle enthusiasts question 205 mph ticket.”) I do not, however, believe Woz’s explanation.
First, let’s cast aside all the “haha, the wimpy Prius can go fast” quips, similar to those put forth by Mr. Richards, Mr. Gruber, and others. Let’s look at the facts. The United States 2007 Toyota Prius spec sheet does not supply the top rated speed of the vehicle. The European spec sheet, however, does. That speed is 106 mph (170km/h). Now, given the fact that European and American specs can differ due to discrepancies in environmental impact regulations and electronic governors, it is helpful to turn to the “HEVAmerica, U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity: Toyota Prius” stats, which report that the top speed reached by a US 2004 Prius after one mile of driving was 104.2 mph. Given that the 2004-2007 Prius body styles are aerodynamically identical, all having a coefficient of drag of 0.26, it is reasonable to assume that the top speed of a US Prius is something like 105 mph, giving Woz about 1 mph of headroom on his claim.
Here’s where things make less sense: Woz, in his “guilty with an excuse” courtroom appearance, declared that his scientifically inclined mind and worldly traveling of late put his mind in kilometers per hour mode. This argument has a modicum of truth in one specific situation: if one is accustomed to fixating on the interior region of the speed limit dial, where the units are kilometers. The problem is, the Prius doesn’t have a speed limit dial. It has a digital readout (image from an Edmunds Prius Gallery) of the current speed, with two digital reminders (odometer and speedometer) that the units are in miles per hour. So, yes, the car could’ve gone that speed and no, I do not believe Woz’s weak excuse.
From what I know of Woz, it was probably less of an actual excuse and more his idea of a joke.
He was probably in a hurry to some sports bar with one of his TV interference gadgets. Or perhaps trying to outrun an angry mob of baseball fans.
I don’t believe him either - it’s a stupid excuse. The speed readout is in mph and the speed limit signs are in mph - he can’t tell me he was converting the limit to km/h in his head. Anywhere else, the speed limit signs are in km/h, which also matches your speedo. If he has a “grey import” car with metric instruments that he regularly drives in the US, I could buy it, maybe. But 100mph feels a lot faster than 100km/h no matter how much you travel.
The Prius actually has a button that lets you switch the display from miles per hour to kilometers per hour
In both cases you see the speed displayed as three large numbers with a little MPH or KPH on the side, so it’s easy to switch from MPH to KPH to mess with the person driving.
That being said, the Prius really isn’t meant to go 100 mph, and is much louder that most cars at that speed, so I think that Woz was either making a joke or grasping at straws.
C’mon, it’s Woz! He takes uncut sheets of $2 bills out and cuts them into funny shapes and uses them for tender. He likes tweaking authority!
on my first drive in a prius i hit the km/mi button thinking it just switched the measurement of fuel efficiency (the button is right underneath the readout for liters/100km.)
The Prius has a MPH/KPH switch. When I got mine, it was set to KPH during the test drive, which nearly freaked me out when I thought I was going 90MPH on I-95.
P.S. on my first attempt to post this, I only saw 4 characters, not 6.
So, was he endangering anyone else on the road? That’s about the only thing that matters to me. Personally things don’t get interesting until you hit about 110.
It’s court. Lying is a serious offense under any circumstance. If he really was joking … well even though I love Woz I’m glad they didn’t buy his BS excuse.
I blame Kathy Griffin.
