Progressives, But The ASCE Infrastructure Grade

Ideological boosters for trillions of dollars in new federal infrastructure spending often prefer to ignore realities. Streetsblog’s Tanya Snyder, with whom I often completely disagree but who is generally a thoughtful Smart Growth advocate, highlights some of the ASCE report’s limitations. After all, these civil engineers constantly complain about not spending enough, but rarely do they focus on maximizing return on investment.

Now, Snyder and the rest of the anti-car, forced density gang don’t really care about return on investment (at least not in real measures of network efficiency) — but they do care a lot about where the money is going, specifically to ideologically preferred low-value projects like streetcars and bike trails. So, while I think this group of advocates is completely lost in the clouds, at least there’s a logical path you can follow to reach their incorrect conclusions.

However, not all responses to the ASCE report have been thoughtful or even coherent. In fact, some have been fact-free political spin. The most bizarre interpretation I’ve seen comes from Travis Waldron, a blogger for the Center for American Progress Action Fund’s Think Progress website, which largely functions as the Obama administration’s cartoonish house organ. Here’s how Waldron opens.

Everyday, technology gets another foothold in our lives. There was a time that a cell phone or even a computer was considered a luxury - now they're seen as necessities. With the yet-to-be-seen iWatch and the forthcoming Google Glass, wearable technology is likely going to become commonplace. Meanwhile, businesses everywhere are trying to cash in on the convenience craze that today's smartphones are allowing for. If there's some way to make our lives easier with tech, chances are they can make money off of indoor positioning system.

Besides the "coolness factor" involved in using your phone to scan your groceries, Walmart pushes another perk to it's iPhone app: keeping you under budget. Using the built-in Smart Shopping List, you can plan your grocery trip ahead of time, getting a confirmation on the aisle number of the item and whether or not your local store even has it. As you scan items, they get crossed off your list.

About the only strange thing in the whole experience is the fact that you can't actually pay for your items using the smartphone app, but I suspect this is more to ensure that at least one set of employee eyes verify that you've paid for your groceries before heading out the door.

A current listing of Scan-and-Go-ready stores doesn't show Oklahoma on the list, but another report says that Walmart will indeed be bringing the service to Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Walmart reports that more than half of the Scan and Go shoppers use the app again.

Additional options include wireless metadata input and variable frame rates. The PX5000G features wireless and wired connectivity with Wi-Fi, USB and Gigabit Ethernet, including wireless control of key camera functions from a smart phone. In addition, an option will support operational integration with live video uplink transmitter devices from partners, LiveU, AVIWEST, Streambox and TVU Networks.

Weighing just over eight pounds, the PX5000G is the first P2 HD camcorder with built-in slots for the company’s new microP2 cards, which have an SD card from factor. The PX5000G has two microP2 slots and two standard P2 card slots, as well as an SD card slot for proxy/metadata recording.

The camcorder will be equipped with chromatic aberration compensation to maximize lens performance; dynamic range stretch function to help compensate for wide variations in lighting; and a highly accurate flash band detection and compensation algorithm that minimizes this effect. The PX5000G is said to deliver seven-mode gamma selection and extensive digital image settings.