Firm redefines ‘speed dating’
You don’t think traffic is chaotic enough? Well, AutoWeek magazine reports that a Texas company called SameLane has developed software that would enable drivers to make connections with strangers on roadways via cellphones.
Here’s how it would work: Motorists would register their license plate and phone numbers with the company’s website and receive bumper stickers letting the world know of their availability.
Other parties could then call a central number (for a charge), enter the license plate number and be put in touch with the bumper-sticker owner’s phone.
But is this a good idea?
“Think of the opportunities SameLane presents,” AutoWeek wrote. “A stalker can breathe heavy while ogling a sexy Nissan driver up ahead. A sports fan can rag a rival while bobbing and weaving through traffic....”
This isn’t the first attempt to hook up motorists.
A couple of decades ago, the Huntington Beach-based Freeway Singles Club (see accompanying) was formed by a widow who had spotted a distinguished-looking man in a yellow Cadillac but couldn’t think of a way to break the ice.
The Freeway Singles also displayed numbered bumper stickers. Other drivers could jot down the number, write a letter to the club and await a written response. Perhaps the process was too slow for our rush-rush culture, because the club eventually ran out of gas (the widow never did find the man in the yellow Cadillac).
SameLane, of course, would work very quickly, for better or for worse. AutoWeek termed it “very stupid,” adding: “It’s sure to be a success.”
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Off course: In Beverly Hills, Gene Rowe spotted a street sign that was out of whack (see photo). Gee -- wouldn’t you think Beverly Hills could afford a spell-checker?
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Lost in space? An air of mystery surrounded one Singapore Airlines flight, Judy Jenkins of Lake Arrowhead pointed out (see photo).
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LAX is just full of surprises: Rachel Ambrose of the Associated Press was returning to her car in an airport parking lot when she espied a note on her windshield. Uh oh. “It looked like a parking ticket,” she said.
But when she unfurled it, she found a note and two $20 bills. The note said, “Here’s $40 for bumping your plate.... Please call. Sorry!”
Must have been an unusual alignment of the planets that day.
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Take your pick: Susan Hardie of Agua Dulce found a humorous ad in the local Country Journal about a pair of creatures that were available (see accompanying). Only one was a good mouser, though.
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Everyone’s a critic: This was among the unusual 911 calls reported in the latest edition of the Star News, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department publication: “Compton Fire Department says a mariachi-type band is playing loud music directly behind the fire station. They were not invited. Request deputies respond before they turn on the hoses.”
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For your commuting pleasure ... : On Friday morning, a truck spilled a load on the 105 Freeway -- a load of portable toilets.
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miscelLAny: Norman Stevens saw a marquee outside a school on the Westside that said: NO PARKING NY TIME.
Guess that means not even for a New York minute.
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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083; by fax at (213) 237-4712; by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012; and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.
