Losing Cruise Control in the Tesla

Posted on October 29, 2021 by way0utwest

This is part of a series that covers my experience with a Tesla Model Y.

The other day the cruise control in the Tesla stopped. I was moving along a road, heard a beep, and then realized the car was slowing quickly. I have the regenerative braking set to the aggresive mode, and so the car was quickly moving from 40mph towards 0. I pressed the accelerator and didn’t think more of it.

Then it happened again a day or two later. Then again.

The third time, I realized each time it had been at night, on a narrow road that has some quick up and down hills. The car has often slowed a bit coming up over the hill, but these times I had been using cruise control to keep the speed steady as I returned home.

The manual notes that autosteer, which I think includes the cruise capabilities as they act similar, can turn off temporarily. Not what you want in a car trying to get to Level 5 autonomy.

My suspicion is that this is because the rapidly rising road seems like an obstructed view. Careful drivers probably slow slightly coming up over the rise, and I have if there is a biker or car on the side of the road. However, the human thing is to assume the road is clear, which is should be, and then brake hard if it’s not. Telsa seems more conservative and tries not to get into the place where it brakes in an emergency.

That’s not a great view, in my opinion. Most cars with adaptive cruise will hold the speed unless there is an obstruction, which shouldn’t be the case with a rising road. I’ve driven cars that did this well, not braking unless a car was actually in front of me.

I wish there were a “report” button on the display that would let me tag a moment with +/- 2 minutes around it and then later add a note to send to Tesla on how the behavior. I realize this would be a lot of reports, but this is the type of feedback they could use to improve their AI/ML models.

Actually, I can give feedback, so I’ll try that the next time something weird happens.

I don’t find this to be a safety issue, as I should be ready to take over, and if the car isn’t sure what to do, then be conservative. I just wish I could let it know that this isn’t a place it needs to be that careful.

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The First Live SQL Saturday in 2021

Posted on October 29, 2021 by way0utwest

I’m getting ready to board a plane now, heading to Orlando for the first live SQL Saturday in 2021. I’m excited and looking forward to seeing friends that I’ve missed. I hope to meet new people and enjoy the event.

This is only a live event, so no hybrid broadcast, but I’ll get pictures and video and write up a report next week on how things went.

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Daily Coping 29 Oct 2021

Posted on October 29, 2021 by way0utwest

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

Today’s tip is to plan a fun or exciting activity for the weekend.

This weekend is SQL Saturday Orlando 2021, and I’m traveling today down to the event. I’ll be there until Sun am, when I’ll head home. It’s a bit of work, but I’m planning on seeing lots of people, during and after the event, which should be great. It’s been a long time.

Also looking forward to a good Cuban sandwich, usually my routine before I return home.

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Daily Coping 28 Oct 2021

Posted on October 28, 2021 by way0utwest

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

Today’s tip is to be kind to yourself; remember progress takes time.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to relax and understand how time impacts my life. While some things seem just a few days ago, I also appreciate all the wonderful memories across the years.

For me, I am stressed now by a lot of chores that need to get completed before winter. A busy spring got me behind, and while I’ve been working to catch up, I’m also trying to live the rest of my life and not get single minded-ly tracked on just chores.

One of my chores, which I’ve written about a few times, is cutting the pastures. 35 acres is a lot of stuff to manage, and I’ve been trying to get out 1-2 times a week and make some progress. It feels like things will never end, but just this week I hit a milestone.

I’d been going out and getting the land in front of and next to the house cut. This is about 15-18 acres of land, and it feels like cutting it cut will take forever. Even with a tractor and PTO mower, it’s slow. I’ve been getting more cut, and this past weekend I went out both days for multiple hours. With the temperatures dropping and wind blowing, not to mention lots of dust, it was a bit miserable.

However, I finally managed to get the front completely cut with the tractor. There are a few spots on the side of the house that I need to cut, but they’re small and the riding mower will work. Getting the majority done means I don’t need to try and get the tractor out from through multiple gates and coordinate with other employees.

It’s taken time, and I kept reminding myself. Now I can see that all that patience paid off.

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Doesn’t look like much, but the 3ft weeds and grasses, not to mention yuccas are gone.

Now I need to work on the other 15 acres of pastures across the next few weeks.

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