Nice meeting everyone 

Botch said:

I let myself in this morning, to see if I could figure out what had commandeered the camera on both my desktop and iPad last night.  Everything worked perfectly.  I did have to re-login my AppleTV this morning, so some kind of WiFi glitch?  
I get so frustrated with this sh*t.  

I probably could have troubleshot that one with you on the call last night, Botch.  Sorry I was a bit late to the party.

I doubt it’s wifi related.  More likely a Zoom/Apple temporary glitch.

GrateEggspectations said:
Despite being a (old) millennial, I largely shun technology (at my own peril). Seems to me like nothing ever works the way it should. iPhone wouldn’t iMessage yesterday. TV wouldn’t connect to wifi today. No rhyme or reason to either, which to me, is the frustrating part. 

Life has become too complicated, IMO. “Off soapbox.”

Totally agree.  One thing that kinda scares me is the amount of electronics in my car.  The Reverse camera won't turn on about one time in five, sometimes the windows won't go down a fraction when I open the door (pulling from the rubber strip, convertible), one morning last summer my heater decided to turn on, full-blast, and I couldn't disable it until I stopped the car and turned it off/restarted.  
Neil deGrasse Tyson predicts all new cars will be self-driving in ten years.  I don't think so/hope not.  

JohnInCarolina said:

The attendees at last night’s Zoom session will attest to the fact that I predicted this blowout of FSU by Georgia.  Still, not sure I would’ve guessed a sixty point differential.

If you are playing a bowl game in December, it doesn’t really matter. 

JohnInCarolina said:

DoubleEgger said:

JohnInCarolina said:

The attendees at last night’s Zoom session will attest to the fact that I predicted this blowout of FSU by Georgia.  Still, not sure I would’ve guessed a sixty point differential.

If you are playing a bowl game in December, it doesn’t really matter. 

I think it may have mattered to the team who felt they belonged in the final four.

“If you ain’t first, you’re last.” - Reese Bobby 

Ozzie_Isaac said:

lousubcap said:

There are systems in today's cars that are safety related.  I am all for those such as, tension sensor seat belts, air bags, anti-lock brakes, stability control and anti-skid sensors.  

In my opinion there are also numerous electronic systems and sensors that enable the driver to be less engaged in "driving" the car.  Lane departure, active cruise control and blind spot alerts come to mind. Never mind the driverless cars of the here and now and expanding. If you are behind the wheel of a few ton vehicle going down the road you need to focus on the vehicle.  Too much of the electronics are designed to give the driver an excuse to focus elsewhere. 

I realize this is "an old man with a lawn" ranting about the future of transportation but there is so much to dial in before the driverless car can even replace a subway ride.  Even then the subway systems have collisions.  Happy eve of 123123.  🥂

I turned a lot of the Nannie’s off because the random full application of brakes causing whiplash to passengers is no fun.  Neither is the hard left into gaps in the roadway markings.  The other day I couldn’t even back out of the garage because the car wouldn’t let me drive over a shadow.

My car yells at me every time I back up off my property, just from the doorframes and the bushes in the yard.  And early on I was approaching the end of my driveway, there was a car approaching from the left and I was moving my foot to the brake (this was all slow) when the radars saw the approaching car and slammed on my brakes.  I thought I had hit something (most hard braking is done going forward; when the brakes are slammed going in Reverse, the brake pads/pins are seated in one direction, and are suddenly slammed the other direction, and it sounds terrible).  I finally figured that out and adapted.
 
However, there was one time, on my last stoplight home, had entered the right-hand turn lane next to a Ford F-OMG50 at a red light.  Car suddenly slammed on the brakes, before I could see around that yuge truck.  And both I and the small girl crossing the street, in front of the truck, were startled.  She was not visible above the truck, and the car saw her/braked before I saw her.  Would I have stopped in time myself?  I don't know.  
I don't think I can disable the "Nannie" that brakes for me in that car, but after that happened, I wouldn't; that scared me.  Score one for the robot.  

@Botch - shortly after getting my latest vehicle, I parked on the side of the street, dropping our youngest off for a practice.  The car was off, but wouldn’t let me open my own door to get out for some reason.

Then a car went whizzing by.

I hadn’t seen it, but the sensors had, and decided that opening the door with a car coming was no bueno.  Blew me away, especially since the car was off.  

Some will say well I really should have looked before trying to open my door, and I agree!  I should have.  But the point is that the sensor stopped my mistake from causing a much bigger one.  We should embrace this sort of thing, while still teaching people to be cautious. 

I know enough about how machine learning algorithms work that I’m not sure I’ll ever fully trust a car steering itself through traffic, to the point where I’ll take my eyes off the road.  Especially those relying on cameras alone (hello Elon, you moron).  But autonomous brakes that rely on radar to prevent collisions?  Give me those any day of the week - as a backup to me and my reflexes, I’m happy to have them.  They will end up saving a lot of lives once almost all of the vehicles on the road have them.  

As an aside, new technology isn't the only interesting thing. With all the technological gizmos in cars and whatnot, here are still old mysteries that the science weenies still haven't figured out For instance, with such short arms, how did the trex masturbate? 

alaskanassasin said:

While we are ranting about cars, we are road tripping and wtf is the move where the guy behind you in the speed lane flashing his lights to get you to move over?  It’s not like people are dawdling, bumper to bumper, speed lane is hauling ass and douche bags in f-150s come to the back of the line and expect to just flash their way to the front. Whatever happened to defensive driving?   I saw it several times, this trip.   When I want someone out of my way and I’m driving a truck I just ride their ass so close all they see is a grill logo in the rear view, I mean cmon have some skin in the game.

So you’d prefer people in F-150s ride your ass if they want you to move out of the way, do I have that right?

Legume said:

alaskanassasin said:

While we are ranting about cars, we are road tripping and wtf is the move where the guy behind you in the speed lane flashing his lights to get you to move over?  It’s not like people are dawdling, bumper to bumper, speed lane is hauling ass and douche bags in f-150s come to the back of the line and expect to just flash their way to the front. Whatever happened to defensive driving?   I saw it several times, this trip.   When I want someone out of my way and I’m driving a truck I just ride their ass so close all they see is a grill logo in the rear view, I mean cmon have some skin in the game.

Every time I run up on a slow car in the fast lane with my 2500 and flash my lights, my son says, “just keeping the stereotype alive”.

I reserve flashing lights for those pacing the car next to them and speed limit or less.

lousubcap said:

Victory has been declared.  Thanks to all who participated.  Engaging and enlightening conversations as always.  Clean up and restocking completed. We will go again in 2024.

Thanks cap for getting me out of box, zoom. Who'da thought you could get me outta the 80's . It was fun and thanks for the password. 
And the sauce 

Botch said:

lousubcap said:

Off-hand I'd say "don't drive slowly in the left lane!"  Slow is relative to the vehicle in front of and behind you. 

Europeans handle this so much better.  

Yep. The rule is slower traffic keeps/moves right.
Seems simple enough to me.