Of our hot weather and protecting the stupid...

1. Wake up!

Reported in The Star today: KL - a walkable city?

Read the article. The project is modelled after a similar system in the United States. Hello, don't you guys realize how much different the weather is between our country and theirs? People here tend not to walk due to the sweltering heat of our weather rather than anything else. Late last year, I was fortunate enough to spend 4 days in Sydney, right at the peak of their summer season. Even though on certain days temperatures were reported to be up to 35 degree Celcius, but it felt much, much more comfortable due to the cold winds and low humidity. Heck, I even ran almost the entire city since the weather made me feel so comfortable.

But try to do that in central KL. I'm not surprised to find someone collapsing by the roadside after just 10 minutes. Our weather is just so different. In Sydney people walk all over the place. I never even thought of taking the tram even the station is just in front of me and choose to walk instead. Cars do not need air conditioning, just enough to roll down the windows. Again, try that in KL... Even standing out under the sun doing nothing and not moving will make you sweat like mad. Especially with the exceptionally hot weather nowadays.

These people should not be looking at such facilities in a country with vastly different weather. It's just not the same. I challenge the people who suggested this to use the walkway to work on daily basis when it's ready. See if it's really that practical.

This is almost the same idea as when someone tried to make Putrajaya a cycling city. Asking people to cycle to work instead of driving. I like to cycle in Putrajaya, for my training, but definitely not for work tough as I don't want to arrive at the meeting with my shirt all drenched out and sweat dripping off from my forehead.


2. Protecting the stupid

Also in the The Star: New Lexus fishtailing

An excerpt:

"In this case, Consumer Reports said the Lexus problem occurred during tests on its track. In a standard test, the driver approached a turn unusually fast, then released the accelerator pedal to simulate the response of an alarmed driver. This caused the rear of the vehicle to slide outward.

Under normal circumstances, the electronic stability control should quickly correct the loss of control and keep the SUV on its intended path. But with the GX 460, the stability control took too long to adjust, which could cause a rollover accident if one of the sliding wheels were to strike the curb or another obstacle, said Gabriel Shenhar, Consumer Reports' senior auto test engineer, one of four testers who experienced the problem."

You drive too fast approaching a corner, then lift off, the car will fishtail. See the ACTUAL mistake here? Not the car fishtailing or the electronics reacting too slow, it's the driver approaching the corner too fast! What's next? If you drive fast straight-on into a tree, the car should be intelligent enough to save you from that?

This is what I call, trying to protect the stupid from their own stupidity. Only in the US.