Snargfargle

I remember when gas was 42 cents a gallon at the PX. I never even heard of a gas shortage or gas lines until years afterward as there was plenty of gas to go around on Army bases.

I'd say that autonomous vehicles will eventually be safer than human-driven ones. Not only can a computer assess a situation and come up with a solution faster than a human, these vehicles have no blind spots. Not only that but all the vehicle's systems can be incorporated into the AI so they are less likely to break down or choose the incorrect maneuvers when dealing with adverse road conditions.

Sometime you gotta have a little help to walk like a duck. I believe that's the first time I've ever seen a duck wearing shoes.

Given the fact that human drivers can be untrained, uninsured, distracted, sleepy, intoxicated, emotional, suicidal, or suffer medical issues. Not to mention the fact that drivers oftentimes speed and ignore or are unaware of pedestrians, animals, and other traffic, pass improperly, follow too closely, run stop signs, etc., this may actually make the roads a lot safer. A half-million trucking accidents occur each year in the United States, resulting in about 5,000 deaths.

https://electrek.co/2022/06/23/einride-autonomous-electric-trucks-us/

No skimpy clothes, no twerking or other suggestive gyrations, no glitz and glamor, no "wall of sound" or autotune to hide any deficiencies -- just a girl, a piano, and the song she wrote.

Modern robotic CNC machinery costs a lot up front but then it can produce thousands of exact copies of a part at a low individual price. On the other hand, the knowledge and skill needed to make a working part by hand or on older machinery takes years to develop in an individual, who then will take longer to make oftentimes less precise parts at a higher price. Where the "old school" still shines though is when a "one-off" needs to be produced for an obsolete or rare items as no manufacturing company is likely to create tooling just for just one part. This probably will change though as more and more antique parts are scanned into CAD programs. Scanning technology has come a long way as well. What I find even more interesting is the fact that "fine craftsmanship" of the old days was what many of us wouldn't even consider buying today, even though such pieces are found in the museum archives of nobles and kings who could afford the very best of their times. Sometimes it even takes additional work to de-modernize something produced for a museum. There's a British guy on YouTube who makes reproductions of ancient weapons for museums who has talked about this.

I have a $20 Casio dive watch that I bought in 1992. I mostly keep it in my pocket and have thus washed it countless times. I've even run over it a twice with my truck when it fell out of my pocket in the driveway. It's also been on over 200 scuba dives. I've only had to replace the battery three times in 30 years. For some reason I've gotten into watch repair videos. It's really interesting seeing the precision that those old Swiss watches were hand made to. However, today CNC milling machines have surpassed most humans in their ability to fabricate tiny parts. Thus, a lot of 'knock-off' Rolexes are actually close replicas of the originals. The very best even use the same metals and jewels and sell for around a thousand dollars. They are quality high-end watches in their own right.

There could be only one Far Side but sometimes the knock-offs were halfway decent too. Sort of like a good Chinesium Rolex replica, which is probably a decent value for the $100 you pay for it, unlike the vastly overpriced $20,000 original.

1950 Sci Fi. 2022 reality.

Reminds me of a radio show that used to air on a local station "Bob and Dan, in the morning!"

The fossils over the last 500 million years are identical, not similar. Computer analysis has shown that the structure with its dome of tubes reaching the surface will create a water current in the hexagonal base of tubes. The fossils and extant specimens have been scientifically named Paleodictyon. One current hypothesis is that the structures are used for bacteria farming by the organism that creates them, but what creates them?

And we still don't know what it is. They are still around today! Multiple specimens have been collected but organic and DNA analysis shows no definitive life present. However, no known natural process other than a life form could produce them.