Segway SUV
 

You've seen the Segway: the personal transportation vehicle of the future that's here today.

Well, take a look at the iBot Transporter!

This was on Frontline not too long ago. It's really cool to see it rise up onto two wheels and balance itself perfectly while there's a very heavy person sitting in it. I don't think the pictures do this justice. You really just expect it to fall over, but it doesn't.

The movies are pretty good, if you've got the bandwidth.

When you think about the gazillions of dollars required to make buildings "accessible" it seems that we've been looking for solutions from the wrong perspective.

We should have been thinking of using technology to enable people, rather than trying to make all buildings adaptible to the least able-bodied individuals.

I guess some people are thinking ...

Hmm... maybe it was Dateline that I saw it on?

It was only a Matter of Time
 

The First Reported Segway theft.....

Police Report Here

Hrmmmm I think I'll stick with cars...you don't have to chain them up!

Dagney

This is a bit off topic, but I recently bought a scooter.. not one of those little razor things that the little kids run around the neighborhood on, but a real motorscooter. (1985 Yamaha Riva 125, in case you were curious.)

I have to say that I'm a bit paranoid about leaving it out and about. I mean, it's MUCH lighter than a motorcycle, and one or two guys could easily lift it (only about 200lbs.) I'm trying to figure out how paranoid I want to be when I park it. Is it silly to put a bike lock on a motor scooter?

Anything you can do to keep it isn't silly. If you make it so it can't roll then they could pick it up and put it in a truck, but you've eliminated half the thieves. Of course there is nothing you can do to stop someone that really wants it bad enough. The best you can do is balance difficulty against desireability. No offence, but it's not a new Harley. :D

What? I'm so offended!! How dare you compare my cute little machine to one of those beastly things?

Seriously, though, I know it's not worth a lot and if someone wants it, they'll take it. Mostly, I want to discourage kids who might think it's fun to roll off with it. To that end, I usually just lock the front wheel turned all the way to the left, so if you roll it, it just rolls in itty bitty circles.

get one of those padlock type things that go though the holes on the brake disc on the front wheel (not sure about scooters, only seen/used on moterbikes). They're about as secure as you can make it short of bolting it to the pavement.

That means they have to lift the front wheel to drag it off to where they can work on the lock, Locking the back wheel would mean they would have to carry/drag it. Twice more gooder. But, you'll have to access the hassle/risk equation.

I swear it wasn't slang. I was with him the whole time ...