Sleepless in Midland

How long before the computers that run our cars get hacked

The highly publicized computer hack of Target store credit card information was a loud wake up call. If we didn't already know that computers are vulnerable to hackers, we certainly do now.

So along comes these guys who have developed a little device that when installed in a vehicle can control the computers in that vehicle which control just about everything the vehicle can do. See Forbes.com -- This iPhone-Sized Device Can Hack A Car, Researchers Plan To Demonstrate. But their device has its limits:

For now, the tool communicates via only Bluetooth, limiting the range of any wireless attack to a few feet. But by the time the two researchers present their research in Singapore, they say they’ll upgrade it to use a GSM cellular radio instead that would make it possible to control the device from miles away.

Terrific. If these white hat hackers can develop such a system it's only a matter of time before the criminal hackers can do it.

Via dailycaller.com.

photo ID -- not so easy to get

Trying to do a good deed sometimes sends you jumping through dozens of government made hoops. In this case your loyal blogger was trying to help an elderly person sell a 20 year old automobile that hasn't been driven in a while. So what might that entail? Well, it might involve a few minor repairs to get it street legal and running. But an important part of the sale of an automobile involves a transfer of a document called a title, so before opening the hood it might be worthwhile to locate the title. And that's where the problem begins. There's a title somewhere, but it has long been absorbed somewhere within one of numerous hills of papers, mail, photos, and cat hair.

Solution: Obtain a duplicate title from the Texas DMV. Simple, right? Well, that depends on whether you've got the proper identification. In order to obtain a duplicate car title the applicant must have a photo ID. And in this case, the owner's Texas driver's license had expired two and a half years ago, so the DMV refused to accept it. Their advice was to obtain and submit a new driver's license or a state photo ID.

OK, so they threw a small hurdle in the way. No biggie. It shouldn't be that hard to obtain a photo ID from the same agency that issued the driver's license, should it? Not so fast. The DPS has its own set of requirements for a state photo ID which include proof of identification, citizenship, and Texas residency.

Click on the links to see exactly what they'll take. But in sum, they want one Primary Identity Document, or if one isn't available, then they'll take two Secondary Identity Documents. If the applicant can't produce two of those, then he/she can supply one Secondary Identity Document and two Supporting Identity Documents.

An expired Texas driver's license will serve as a Primary if it expired within the past two years. In our case we're SOL on that one, so we're down to the Secondaries. The easiest of the Secondaries would seem to be a certified copy of a birth certificate. If you're old enough you may remember when you could write a letter to the county clerk of the county of your birth, and with a small fee, get a certified copy of your birth certificate. Not today.

In the state of Texas they have to come from the Department of State Health Services. And right there in bold letters on the application (PDF) is this:

INCLUDE A PHOTOCOPY OF YOUR VALID PHOTO ID WHEN SENDING THE REQUEST

And farther down:

(APPLICATIONS WITHOUT PHOTO ID WILL NOT BE PROCESSED)

So you need a photo ID to get a photo ID. What would we do without bureaucrats?

As for the car, a junk dealer will pay $200 without a title. That's starting to look better and better.

Local vehicle crashes - causes and locations

Tailgating, day dreaming, and speeding. These were the top three causes of vehicle crashes in the city of Midland, Texas, between July, August and September of this year, according to a news release from the city information desk.

And it pretty much puts a lie to the theory that red light cameras would contribute to driver safety rather than city coffers. I wish some watchdog would obtain copies of the correspondence among red light camera companies and city staff, mayor and council members. That might shed some light on the reason the idea gets floated so frequently in non-election years.

Here's the full text of the city's news release:

News for Release 10/22/13

Quarter 3 Crash Analysis Shows Driver Behavior as Major Factor in Accidents

The Midland Police Department's crash analysis results from the third quarter of 2013 show that driver behavior was the most prominent factor in accidents happening across Midland in the months of July through September. This analysis is regularly pulled from police data to ensure proper distribution of law enforcement resources in Midland.

The top three contribution factors to crashes during these months were:

Following too closely - 174 crashes
Driver inattention - 156 crashes
Failure to control speed - 104 crashes

The five intersections with the highest number of crashes during these months were:

Midkiff Drive and Interstate 20 - 21 crashes
Rankin Highway and Interstate 20 - 17 crashes
Andrews Highway and Loop 250 - 16 crashes
Midland Drive and Loop 250 - 14 crashes
Midkiff Drive and Loop 250 - 12 crashes

Between 15 and 18 percent of the crashes occurred each weekday, with 14 percent of crashes occurring between 7 and 9 a.m. and 26 percent of crashes occurring between 4 and 7 p.m.

Post Script: Click on the thumbnail to see the five hot spots with the accident numbers in red. Note the one thing all five have in common: A street intersects the interstate or the loop. If anyone is serious about reducing the accident rate those intersections need some analysis.

Post Post Script: The morning paper yesterday reported this news release with the byline: From staff reports. So now we know what that phrase really means: Here's a press release someone sent us.

Replacing a lost fob (electronic car key)

Most cars manufactured in the last few years don't have the type metal key we grew up with -- the kind you could get replaced for about a buck.

These days a car has a battery powered fob which allows the car to be started with the press of a button as long as the fob is on or about the driver's person. So, have you ever tried to replace one of those doodads?

I lost one last year and sought to replace it. A local locksmith said he had never done one, so I went back to the car dealer where I bought the car. And here's what it cost:

Transmitter: $208.68
valet key: $75.90
freight: $14.00
tax: $23.48
reprogramming fee: $110.00
Grand total: $432.06

I was worried that someone might find the one I lost and eventually locate my car in a parking lot by sounding the horn with the panic button. Not to worry.  I was told by a service rep at the dealership that they wouldn't simply reprogram the new fob, they would reprogram the new fob, my spare fob and the car so that the old fob would be useless.

Sounded great, and I forked over the money to have it done.

Lo and behold, some months later I found the lost fob in a seldom used shoe on the closet floor. Must have fallen out of my hand the day I lost it. And sure enough, the electronic component didn't work. No car start, no horn honk, no door unlock, etc.

So I made an appointment with the dealer to have the old one reprogrammed to match the other two. The night before my appointment I realized that I should probably replace the battery in the old fob as it would probably be cheaper to buy one at the store than at the car dealer. Once the battery was replaced I tried it again. And presto, it worked perfectly!

The doors unlocked, the horn honked, the car started, and it did all the things the new one did. If I had lost it in the city and a potential car thief found it, my car would have been like a full wallet in a Walmart parking lot. Imagine trying to explain that to the insurance company.

So what did we learn from this? First, keep a better grip on the key. Second, a healthy dose of skepticism is never a bad thing when dealing with car dealerships and others (cough -- politicians -- cough).

Stealth cop cars

Last weekend we noted an intersection here in Midland, Texas, which is where a lot of traffic accidents occur. In fact, depending on the time frame, it's either number one or near number one in terms of accidents. Our simple suggestion was to paint lane markers to help drivers stay in the correct lane while turning left.

The city has come up with its own solution: *stealth cop cars to catch law breakers.

While I have my own opinion, I'll leave it to the experts to tell us whether high visible or stealth police presence does a better job of encouraging traffic law obedience.

However, since no one has been able to see one of those stealth police cars with the naked eye, we have to speculate. Perhaps they look like the one in this photo.

Photo source.

*From the news release: While citizens can expect to continue seeing a strong police presence keeping our roads safe, officers have plans to deploy less visible techniques to catch habitual offenders. One example is a plan to implement ghost lettering on traffic units, which will help officers blend in with other cars on the road while remaining clearly marked for identification purposes.

More car wrecks

With the economic boom comes traffic jams and car wrecks. The city released some stats the other day, which MyWestTexas.com passed along to us, which tell us that traffic has increase 10.07% and traffic accidents have increased 13.5%.

Maybe that's a good time to repeat a truism: The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that deep down inside we ALL believe we are good drivers.

The city council intends to put stop to that. Another MyWestTexas.com article tell us they plan to seek a traffic study to address solutions to traffic problems. Hopefully, some of those solutions will help traffic flow -- like coordinated traffic lights -- rather than slowing it down.

(Apology: I intended to reference some of the prior traffic reports to note that the intersections with the most accidents are not always the same from year to year, and maybe include a good wreck photo. But that will have to wait due to time restraints and a 2012 report that didn't contain as much intersection information as the previous ones. Hopefully, the company that gets the contract won't focus only on the intersections topping the 2012 list.)

Slime and TPMS

Can TPMS tolerate Slime?

TPMS, or tire pressure maintenance system, is the system in cars which alerts the driver when the pressure is low in one or more of the tires. It would be a nice convenience, and it might have been a nice option for car buyers to consider. But thanks to the Clinton administration, it's not an option. It's required by law in new cars sold after 9/1/2007 because nanny lawmakers thought drivers shouldn't have to check their tire pressure the old fashioned way.

I had some Uniroyal tires with a factory installed sealant in them called "Nailguard" that stopped up any holes that developed. That was a great feature, and I never had a flat while I owned those tires. On one occasion I pulled out a screw, the sealant plugged the hole, and I was on my way. But those tires are no longer available because sealants would ruin the TPMS in any tire that had it.

I've complained about this before in case this particular rant sounds familiar. See Things we didn't need -- Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems in our cars.

So here's the reason this comes up again today. Walmart sells a tire sealant called Slime which says on the label that it's OK to use on tires with TPMS. This is from the Slime website:

Does your vehicle have a TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System)? Use our yellow label sealants with the TPMS Safe icon. They are specially designed for use in tires with these systems.

Hooray for American ingenuity. It's just a shame that so much effort has to expended to get around useless laws.

Mercedes invisible car

If the prospect of a fuel celled car isn't remarkable enough -- hydrogen is mixed with oxygen to produce electricity which is stored in lithium batteries -- Mercedes promoted it in an amazing way, by making it invisible. Via Yahoo.com.

They covered one side of the car with flexible mats covered with led lights and put a camera on the other side. Someone watching the led side would see what's on the other side of the car as if the car were transparent. See for yourself. It's quite entertaining.

I don't own a Mercedes, but it would seem that half the benefit of owning one has to be the look-at-me factor. So making it invisible would seem counterproductive.

But never mind. It's a cool video. And the point they are trying to make is that there's no smoke coming from the tail pipe. If you buy one, you're on you own procuring the hydrogen.

You are what you drive

The big Silicon Valley company people probably have lots of discretionary cash, and they've got the fancy cars to prove it. That's according to Businessinsider.com. See Check Out The Hottest Cars At Apple, Facebook, Google And Other Silicon Valley Spots to see a Tesla Roadster, a Maserati, some Porsches, a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, and as you would expect, there had to be an electric vehicle.

Tooling around the parking lots here in Midland, Texas, doesn't give an amateur photog a shot at very many exotic cars. Although, we do have the occasional Porsche. (That one was in a hospital parking spot for docs only.)

West Texans are a humble lot, and while there might be some outrageously expensive cars in town, they rest quietly in garages, not driven but gazed upon by the owners, like some priceless art pieces kept hidden from view by eccentric, reclusive owners.

Furthermore, West Texans are practical. How many sensible vehicles could someone purchase for the price of one Ferrari?

Salesman: Good morning sir. I could see from the second you walked in that you are someone to reckon with, a man of importance, power, substance. And I'm certain we can put you in a vehicle that when people see you behind the wheel they will stare in awe and say, 'That is an important man. I envy that man. I want to be that man.' Tell me sir, what would it take to put you in a this exotic sports car today?

Customer: Gimme five pickups. White.

Moving right along. If a vehicle makes a statement, take a gander at "The Sticker Bus." Talk about sending a message. This one sends more messages than you can count.

Now that's making a statement.