Don't forget Arthur C Clarke, @NotTelevision .... Hopefully, we find some better way to deal with that situation, since it will end up happening eventually
@NotTelevision He's current, not classic. The series is titled "The Expanse" The final book of a 9 book long series comes out next year. But I like the series so much I've already read every book twice! You can find them on Kindle or traditional paper release. I could not recommend them more!
There's a TV series too, but in my opinion it doesn't come close to the books. They change a lot of things. Some of which I can understand, because it would require too much CG, but more of which I really disagree with. Like changing the characterization of a few people, and dropping a handful of important characters entirely.
Nintendo Switch FC: 4867-2891-2493
Switch username: Em
Discord: Heavyarms55#1475
Pokemon Go FC: 3838 2595 7596
PSN: Heavyarms55zx
@Heavyarms55 Cool. Sounds like an interesting series.
It’s tough adapting larger works of science fiction for the screen. There is only a select few movies/tv shows that equal the source material. Bummer that’s the case though.
I’ve said it before; I’m not worried about robots rebelling, because my microwave can’t even hold time correctly. One of the integral functions of computing can’t even be achieved by a simple mass-produced device. 😂
#MudStrongs
Switch Friend Code: SW-7842-2075-5515 | My Nintendo: HobbitGamr
@NotTelevision I mean, to be fair it's certainly not bad. Before I read the books I binge watched the whole first season in like 2 days. There's a drought of quality sci-fi on TV so it's worth the watch for sure. It's just that once I read the books, going back to the TV show felt like going back to microwave pizza after getting used to pizza from a nice sit down Italian restaurant. Like, I remember why I liked the microwave stuff as a kid, but now that I've had the real thing, it's a step backward. lol
Nintendo Switch FC: 4867-2891-2493
Switch username: Em
Discord: Heavyarms55#1475
Pokemon Go FC: 3838 2595 7596
PSN: Heavyarms55zx
@Tyranexx Well, noisy bars is exactly what I meant. Some bartenders are good enough that they'll remember your face and what you're drinking, so all it'd take is raising a couple of fingers to get another round of the same, but if the place is noisy or crowded, then it may sometimes be handier to just call the tender or waiter over to where you're standing/sitting, so that you can make sure that the order comes through.
And I do know the rock on sign, but that's pretty useless for ordering drinks...
'The console wars are like boobs: Sony and Microsoft fight over which ones look the nicest and Nintendo's are the most fun to play with.'
@bimmy-lee Yeah....you get it. It literally is a nightmare. That said, I think the two factors for such rural areas are that they aren't going to stay rural very long. The urban spread has been expanding at ridiculous pace. Who needs places to grow food? We can just buy it all from Chile without any silly lawsuits about slave undocumented worker abuse. But more importantly in that situation I imagine the "intelligent grid" or such would calculate that the most efficient action is to remain in that location, thus effectively needing parking lots (or parking grass?) in more rural areas. It doesn't seem like a big problem, it's just, like internet, more expensive to do in rural areas. I would guess that would make transportation more costly in rural, thus hastening the "death of rural america" just as high speed internet started. That's an ugly aspect of it, but with internet, we have history suggesting it goes that way. But conversely keeping the manual cars model is completely unusable in denser areas, and, like with internet, we know the future gets built only for dense areas and to squeeze out sparse areas. Moreover, "rural" isn't an issue outside the US, Russia, and China for the most part....for the rest of the world that's not a significant concern in terms of distances, and most of the cars aren't coming from MI anymore as we discussed.... Waiting cars is a more logical outcome than returning empty cars though. It would work like flight plans...you schedule arrival and departure, if known, and they schedule the rides accordingly.
You make me want to move to Portland. Like RIGHT NOW. Though that would involve learning how to smoke a lot of pot and shop only at Whole Foods.... Does anyone not own a Prius there? Literally the only thing that makes getting around daily bearable at all is that I can keep reminding myself I'm not immortal and the misery eventually ends.
@Heavyarms55@NotTelevision I think the automation of roads and the overall automation topic get grouped together in ways that they should not be - I don't think they are the same issue, albeit they slightly overlap in some areas. I absolutely agree with both of you on overall automation. We could have a huge conversation on that alone!
For overall automation we're talking about automating tasks that have NO broader effect beyond simply replacing labor entirely, making production more economically efficient for the stake holders. it also has a self defeating aspect for the rich that in their short-term gains short sightedness they are missing: If they effectively kill most labor, kill a middle class, and end up with a true Feudal system of lords and peasants, they have nobody to actually peddle their automatically made goods to, and they end up going out of business and losing their fortunes. They're missing that labor/production is symbiotic and without well paid consumers they have no business empires at all. Henry Ford may have been a Nazi, but he at least understood that perfectly unlike the modern Harvard Business School set.
And the refrain is always "but people can retrain for better jobs! Wouldn't the factory worker much rather be an engineer? A neurosurgeon? Maybe he's not cut out for that, but he can enjoy a great life of jet setting a different city every week for repairing factory machines! These are such better jobs!" Again...we could have a whole text wall conversation on that garbage.
I agree with you....on both counts. I think their "plan" is effectively that human kind will be raised as pets with an "allowance" - we've already had the roundtable of billionaires with Bezos at the top calling for that. that's of course an absurd and disastrous plan. But I think they see that their plans for automation involve basically the world living in public housing and on an allowance as traditional labor won't exist in their utopia and only the best and brightest need work. Almost eugenics. As though they never learned from the Projects. I think that's plan A which inherently leads to plan B, the Marxist-like revolution. Or just pure anarchy. On the small scale look at the Projects (but not too closely if you don't want to get shot.) The idealist view was if you just give the lowest demographic of society free housing, their lives improve. The reality is they turned into crack dens and gang hideouts overnight. A miserable, hopeless, useless population will act as such. Then the crime and violence start. Then the resistance to that starts.
The last Bildenberg, whatever faith one may or may not want to put into the stories about that, confirmed that many off-record conversations revolved around the long term plans of effectively automating out most labor and its inevitability. The billionaires at this point are very set on a world that exists for, of, and by the most genetically perfect among the species. Like in Feudal times, they see the upper tier as almost a whole separate society if not species versus the masses. We've gone back to the 4th century. The best and brightest are the civilization......everyone else is chattel and peasantry to be maintained just short of killing them.
Which, of course, you already know my view is that WWIV is inevitable, effectively the cycle already started, population centers will be the targets, and a clean half or more of the human race will be, and technically must be, eliminated. The whole automation issue is the late phase of the age of enlightenment IMO....that era will come to a violent close just like very era before it. Every civilization era seems to get to the point it obsoletes its own purpose so that it no longer may function.
BUT, I'd say that the road automation thing is a separate problem. Where the above automation is a transformation of society and economy at a fundamental level by building automation for no purpose but to replace labor, the road issue is different. If we remove all other automation from the conversation and talk only roads - the primary use of roads is not as paid labor. Yes, paid labor drivers exist, and that would be a significant industry hit by it, but they are not the majority of vehicles on the road. The majority use is everybody else either to get to their paid labor, or for recreation, necessity, other functioning in the economy either as labor as consumer. While road automation does displace one industry with paid labor, that's a side effect, not a main purpose, since paid labor isn't the primary activity of the roads. (And ironically automating/displacing labor would actually mitigate the need for road automation, because people would no longer need to use roads to get to their paid labor - Rush hour wouldn't exist anymore...so road auotmation and overall automation are almost opposites.)
Moreover, paid drivers aside, it doesn't, primarily DISPLACE a role humans already occupy, though it does that as a side effect. It's primary role is to CREATE a new function that currently does not exist, and humans currently can't do at all. My analogy to air traffic control and rail ops towers applies - those modes of transportation have a centralized top-down control system monitoring the board and arranging the traffic in real-time. They always have. Even in the 19th century rails had ops towers, of course primitive with switches and light bulbs compared to today's GPS driven "mission control" type setups. But the point is the primary layer of road automation is installing for the first time a "traffic control" system on roads, the only transportation system that does not have such a thing yet. That's the main need for it. Automation is then needed to implement it because where flight and rails have very very highly protocol and procedure driven operations of engineers/pilots that have a specific reporting regiment, procedure, checking in, confirming access, approach, obtaining clearances to move through a signal at danger, clearances to approach runway 9, etc...average drivers would never adapt to a system of "control, I'm approaching the K-Mart, hading South-southwest, to parking space 2-34Zulu at 12MPH on eastbound 1 approach, please confirm." "This is control, negative, you are not clear for K-Mart 3-24Zulu, eastbound 1, please be advised there is a BMW Heavy on parallel coarse, adjusting you to eastbound 2, please proceed to Bed Bath & Beyond 4-23Tango and await further instruction.... "
No, we need to automate that. Pilots and rail engineers can handle the complicated traffic control. The masses can not.
So it's about taking the fact that we have far far far too many people with too many cars and too few roads to the point the system does not actually function, and everyone is aware at some level, the system does not actually function as it is demonstrated in their daily misery. On top of that, cars as they get more complex are getting much more expensive to own and maintain making a greater economic stress as well.
Where the factory and service automation is purely about eliminating labor to benefit the stake holders profit levels, the road automation is about adding something that doesn't exist and can't work without automation to try to fix a system that doesn't work very well with the current population levels. Automation to solve a real problem that can't really be solved well without it is fine. Automation to do nothing but increase profitability by excising labor is not fine. If you conflate those two things (as the status quo crowd likes to do to prevent popular support) that gets lost.
Plus, if we don't include the other automation issues, road automation doesn't necessarily mean excising any labor. Nor is it the "well they can retrain for being senior corporate vice presidents of international sales!" crowd. Along with road automation, mechanics certainly remain in demand, but there's a ton of related systems. Breakdowns will still happen, roadside service will still be required, and on the larger scale, while they keep talking about automating based on "drawing better lines" etc, the reality is it will need to be controlled by a massive grid of sensors and such on the road. That means installing all kinds of new highway equipment, maintaining all kinds of highway equipment, manufacturing all kinds of highway equipment - forever. That's a factory/driver level job that still exists with it - and without needing to drive there, it makes that kind of "on the road job" a lot more pleasant. (in a perfect world.)
Of course the OTHER automation issues make that sketchy...but if we talk ONLY about road automation, I imagine there would be, nationally, more people employed to build/install/maintain the control grid than are currently drivers.
Plus, for package delivery and such, you don't need the UPS guy to drive the truck, but you still need him to sort, and carry packages, the main part of the job....the pay scale may or may not change...but you still need the same number of UPS guys, etc, though they may be able to deliver more packages in a day, thus reducing new hires, because they're not caught in traffic and can eliminate weird moves like "rearranging routes to make right turns only"....
I've decided to pick up my Pokémon game marathon again to try and clear my backlog of that series before Swish (SW/SH) arrives. Finished Alpha Sapphire today - nine down, two more to go (Ultra Sun followed by LG Pikachu). I want to do an Eeveelution run in US and use different Poké Balls for each team member. Trying to catch six Eevee with their 5 % encounter rate will be fun...
@bimmy-lee: Hehe. XD I've never seen bottled tea save for iced tea which does contain tea but isn't exactly what I'd have in mind when someone were to invite me for some. One rooibos coming up! [goes boil some water] I've never seen watermelon tea, this sounds amazing. The closest thing I've ever tried would be melon liqueur - thanks to its screaming green colour I kept some around for when it was time to give a good-bye toast to Miiverse.
Yeah, I can get along with all kinds of animals and love interacting with other people's pets whether it's a dog, a cat or something else entirely, but if I had to pick a pet for myself cats would be pretty far down on that list (too many similarities, too finnicky/high-maintenance, can't handle the smell of wet pet food and I refuse to sacrifice an animal's health since cats have to have wet food). Personally I'd go for a rodent. I have quite a weak spot for them and they are fairly low maintenance in comparison. I used to have guinea pigs but couldn't take care of them anymore when I started university thanks to travelling between homes all the time and being plain too busy to take care of a pet... save for a pet rock maybe (say what you will, when you "clock in" 12+ hours 7 days a week for entire semesters and 17 hours per day during exam/assignment periods, you just don't have the time to take care of anything including yourself).
Aww~ it's always nice when you know your pet so well that you understand them without communication, isn't it? While it's not quite the same to what you have with your dog I could always tell what was going on with my guinea pigs just by sound. There was a certain difference between idle squeaking, "IS THAT FOOD", and "Go away, that's MY food!". I could tell how severe their quips were or if anything needed my attention without looking, too.
Thank you! And dear me, that's quite a lot. I'm merely moving for the fourth time within this decade. I know it won't be the last time either though it's uncertain when the next round will be. It'd help if I had fewer things but alas.
Currently playing: ACNL, Pokémon Pearl, Pokémon Art Academy, Minecraft, Mario Tennis Aces
Sidegames: Super Kirby Clash, Overcooked 2, Kirby's Dream Land 3
Looking forward to: Luigi's Mansion 3, Pokémon Swish
Hyped for: ACNH
@NEStalgia Ok wow. There is a lot to unpack here. In terms of what you are saying about the UBI, I can see the parallel you are making with the projects. It’s weird to think about how most people were just conditioned to accept their existence as sort of a given. I grew up in the New Orleans area and it became common just to see news about some of the horrible events surrounding the Magnolia projects. I guess in some ways that’s the scariest part, just seeing how benignly citizens can act to a community in total disarray. That’s probably the realistic definition of how evil arises, just through callous indiverance and neglect made into a routine. It’s a very pessimistic view of how such a government welfare system would operate under automation, but it’s a distinct possibility 😮.
Like I was saying about the erosion of the employer/employee relationship under automation, it’s not ideal for owners to feel like they have even less accountability. At least to a limited degree the employer needs to satisfy the basic needs of their workers within an industrialized society. Without fear of strike or revolt in an automated factory and their team of investors finding every tax loophole possible the wealthy’s contribution to the average citizen becomes even more null. That’s indeed a very real and dangerous prospect.
I’m not sure what you mean by the Bilderburg meetings. I think they are most likely discussing their own desires and economic interest, but I doubt I doubt a group of egotistical politicians come to any meaningful consensus. If there was any New World Order being established at those meetings, I doubt everyone in attendance would have the moral indifference to stay silent about it. This is just my own speculation and application of Occam’s Razor, to it being essentially a room full of Ganondorfs. Perhaps there are some Ganondorfs there, but too many checks and balances are getting in their way of getting the Triforce (Nintendo site, just bringing it full circle 😁).
In terms of automated roads, I can see what you are saying. Even though a lot of cities have a metro system, the amount of people that need to manage the system efficiently is enormous. I’m not sure if it is as much as a fleet of taxi drivers, but you may be right in saying that an AI driving network wouldn’t necessarily be a job “killer”, as many project. It will require some non automated input to run efficiently (again paralleling a city’s metro system). It also may be a much less wasteful (in terms of time and resources) way to run an urban sprawl’s transport. I’m on board for that.
@BruceCM Well, you never know where the future will take us and what all those tech companies really have up their sleeves. Weirdly enough (notice how I don't say coincidentally?), the real-life versions of the two "Terminator companies" actually have quite a few similarities with their movie counterparts, so who knows where it'll end up going...
@NEStalgia So... are you ready to jump off that bridge yet?
Man, that's a very bleak outlook. I thought I was already quite pessimistic about the future of mankind, but you're taking it to a whole other level...
I am in total agreement in that we have to get rid of all the petrol guzzlers and need to look for more environmental friendly solutions, but other than that, I like to still think that there's some hope left for humankind. I'm envisioning green energy/solar energy taking off more rapidly and widely, and even in those more densely packed areas that you described, possibly being the death of true rural areas, I'd imagine some type of those "Google indoor garden" type places, so that we can at least still have some green in the neighborhood and can at least walk the dog without having to fear anything harmful to happen to us or our pet, because the traffic is too crowded, or we're slowly poisoned by the exhaust fumes...
But something's gotta give, so I guess we agree on some points. (make note of this, hermit. It's not gonna happen that often... )
I am now beginning to see where your love for trains comes from, though.
I'm also imagining that UPS guy you mentioned, simply sitting in his fully automated delivery truck, taking a nap, until the on-board computer wakes him up to let him know that they've arrived at their next destination, so that he can start sorting and delivering the packages...
P.S.
I don't waste time rubbing my FRESH veggies: I just cook and eat 'em...
@KarateLuigi Did someone say he has never drunk melon tea?
But obviously, those are specifically tailored to fans of loose tea. I do drink it sometimes, but more often than not, I just use ready-made teabags, and my go to brand is Pickwick Tea (name inspired by Charles Dickens, in case you're wondering). They have dozens of flavors, also a lot of green, white and Rooibos teas: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=pickwick+tea&i=grocery&r...
There's a pure melon tea in this variety pack that they offer, in case you want to try it out: https://www.dutchexpatshop.com/en/pickwick-fruit-variation-or...
Personally, I really like that specific melon tea. It's also really nice to drink in the summer time.
@Tyranexx Yeah, well... it'll probably look dumb on me, because I'm not really the rocker type, so it'd probably come across as highly unnatural. I do like rock music, but I just don't look like someone who should make rocker signs..
'The console wars are like boobs: Sony and Microsoft fight over which ones look the nicest and Nintendo's are the most fun to play with.'
Sigh I had this annoying little thing in my eye and it really bothering me, so I went and watched a whole bunch of sad things to force some tears to flush it out.
It seems to have worked so far. I hope. Or else I'll have to buy eye drops.
Day two of the audit, and it’s pretty bad. None of my things, mostly clinical documentation timeliness issues. It annoys me because some of the same people that complain about having to work extra are the ones that clearly have not been fulfilling their current job requirements.
At the exit conference I get to be unleashed on folks after the directors have their say. So I get to quantify the amount of money their mistakes cost through mandatory paybacks.
#MudStrongs
Switch Friend Code: SW-7842-2075-5515 | My Nintendo: HobbitGamr
Hey all, a tree branch fell and hit me right in the eye today. Put a good slice in it. Blood came streaming out of my eyeball. Ordinary. Six hours in the ER later, and I’m back home and everything should be fine. Ic can see again, but it’s pretty excruciating. I’d like to make a couple replies, but I don’t have it in me. Figure out world peace while I’m gone, will ya.
@bimmy-lee Aw, man... sounds like you very narrowly escaped a potential horror scenario. Sent shivers down my spine for sure. I'm glad that your eye is still working. Hope you fully recover real soon. Best wishes from that other city that never sleeps...
'The console wars are like boobs: Sony and Microsoft fight over which ones look the nicest and Nintendo's are the most fun to play with.'
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