Save Our Historic Parking Lots

HT to Bob

The Ultron Effect of the Automobile

This cartoon was referenced in a Wired magazine article that discusses the psychological transformation when a normal pleasant person inserts himself into a machine.
They don't stress the isolation factor so much but does recommend the use of passengers.

Shiva and the Autonomous Auto

With the advent of the self driving car, people's driving habits as well as car ownership habits are going to change.
This article at NBR discusses how some auto manufacturers will likely not survive the transition. They suggest people will likely cut back on or eliminate car ownership and use 'shared' vehicles - essentially using cabs without drivers. So cabbies are going to take a hit, too.
But with larger fleets of cab like vehicles there will probably be more jobs cleaning the things. People won't be driving so they will likely engage in other activities, like eating, drinking, taking drugs & having sex. There's going to be a lot more cleaning than nowadays with crumbs, popcorn, stains & such.
But will this really mean more low level jobs or will robots take over this sector as well? If the vehicles are designed to be easily cleaned, OK. But it might just be one of those jobs that will require humans. Low level transhumans maybe, transubhumans?

Drive Thru Visitations

When I first heard about the Paradise Funeral Home's drive through visitation system on NPR, I thought, great, more lazy, asocial, car addicts…
This article at WLWT, gets into it a little more & points out the service is additional & geared towards people who can't make the regular services.
Seems like there could be some odd scheduling problems if it caught on. Maybe they would need some sort of turntable if there were multiple stiffs to display. Unhappy relatives could vandalize the equipment. Neighbors might will complain about the music.
It seems ok in the light the director puts it in, but will it be abused by the lazy, asocial, car addicts, eating take out while paying last respects to uncle Joe?

UPDATE: Connecting Directors article cites problems with vandalism at other drive thru funeral homes.

Let's Kill the Dead !

Motorists, not content with slaughtering live people, have decided the dead should be added to their litany of mayhem. This TBoning went beyond running a static light up in the air but careened past police with flashing lights as it smashed into a hearse leading a funeral procession injuring a priest & funeral director in the process. No doubt the careless motorist added more stress to the loved ones of the deceased.

WKRP story here.

Should Automobiles Come With Warning Labels ?

When ascertaining wether a person is an addict or not, asking the person if they have changed their behavior to accommodate their addiction. With the common automobile addict, he frequently won't go to places due to a real or perceived lack of parking for his car, regardless as to how easy it might be to get to said place via walking, riding a bike, taking mass transit or using a cab.
Add to this the health issues that driving can cause with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hyper tension, obesity and other problems that come with the sedentary lifestyle of the motorist.
And to top it off, there's the possibility of death, dismemberment, and paralysis that can result from flying around at a mile a minute amongst a sea of other motorists doing the same thing.
Seems a large warning label posted clearly on the hood of every car in America is what we need to warn people of the potential dangers of this appliance.

In 48 hours, Cincinnati area motorists managed to run into 5 buildings. The buildings were not moving. At least one had been sitting in the same spot for about a hundred years.
Ohio legislator's response? Raise the speed limit.
yeah! That'll show those damn buildings!