Gettysburg on a Segway

[PlowKing]

http://www.slate.com/id/2269604/

neat article.

 

[larry_cockerham]

The gentleman who founded and owned the company died last week.

 

[Nathanb1]

However, it would be nice if this yahoo didn't fall for every myth and wrong fact about historical personages then include it in his blog. Dumb.

 

[Brenal]

The gentleman who founded and owned the company died last week.

He actually rode his segway off of a cliff.
Last I read the police were unsure whether it was an accident or a deliberate act.

 

[larry_cockerham]

Many of these machines are in use by various simi-official folks in downtown Nashville. If the batteries ever get improved, they have a future.

 

[prroh]

Many of these machines are in use by various simi-official folks in downtown Nashville. If the batteries ever get improved, they have a future.

I had heard that the company was in very poor financial shape. Sales have been disappointing.

 

[larry_cockerham]

I had heard that the company was in very poor financial shape. Sales have been disappointing.

Seems to me the retail price was over $6,000. That's a one person occupancy with no roof. Max speed less than 20 mph, though very versatile. I really would not want one if I were paying.

 

[K Hale]

That was just it. Too spendy for a toy, and too impractical for everyday use.

 

[Rob9641]

That was just it. Too spendy for a toy, and too impractical for everyday use.

They're a pain to pedestrians, too, like having skateboarders weaving in and around you when you're trying to walk somewhere.

 

[timk]

I followed this series on Slate last week, and thought it was pretty interesting. There were plenty of mistakes, particularly reporting myths as facts, but overall I found a lot to enjoy about the series. I think the author and his friends started out on this journey to make fun of Civil War buffs (people like us), but over a little time, I think the author (maybe not all his traveling buddies) began to experience the WOW factor that I experienced when I first started learning about the history. I think he wanted to make fun of guides, sites, museums, etc., but actually was humbled by the people and sites. Hard for me to put into words, but I'm willing to overlook a few misrepresentations and mistakes if something goes off in somebody's head that makes them want to learn more about the CW in particular and history in general. I also liked looking at all the pictures he took.

 

[Nathanb1]

They're a pain to pedestrians, too, like having skateboarders weaving in and around you when you're trying to walk somewhere.

And once Niles got one.....

 

[larry_cockerham]

They're a pain to pedestrians, too, like having skateboarders weaving in and around you when you're trying to walk somewhere.

I worked recently for a couple of years in downtown Nashville in an area that doesn't bow to San Francisco too much when it comes to uncomfortable pedestrian grades on the sidewalks. The city hired some young men to make sure our vauluable tourists were doing ok by riding along the walks as you describe. I kept watching them negotiate ADA ramps, fireplugs in the middle of the walk (an old Nashville whch helps keep the population down) and other obstacles thinking one of these overweight kids would soon bust his can. They never did. That gyrscope has it's merits. This may not be and apparently isn't, the perfect vehicle, but it may have a place in our future.