War of 1812. They burned the White House.

Here’s my problem with all of the automation the manufacturers are adding to cars. Not even Autopilot level stuff is potentially a problem - things like adaptive cruise come to mind.

If there’s some kind of bug in that adaptive cruise that puts my car into the bumper of the car in front of me before I can stop it, the very first thing the manufacturer is going to say is:

But the responsibility for safe driving, is on the driver…

And how do we know there isn’t some stupid bug? Our car has plenty of other software bugs in the infotainment system; hopefully they were a little more careful with the safety-critical systems…ha ha, I know. Even the bugs in the infotainment are distracting. But what would the manufacturer say if there was a crash resulting from my moment of distraction, caused by the 18th fucking weather alert in 10 minutes for a county 100 miles away, a feature that I can’t fucking disable?

But the responsibility for safe driving, is on the driver…

In other words, “We bear no responsibility!” So, I have to pay for these “features” and the manufacturer will deny any responsibility if one of them fails and causes a crash. It’s always your fault as the driver, no matter what. The company rolls this shit out to us; we have no choice to buy a new car without it any more, and they don’t even trust it enough to stand behind it.

Maybe you’ll get lucky and enough issues will happen that gov’t regulators will look into it (not in the US any more, of course)…but probably not. You’ll be blamed, and you’ll pay higher insurance, and that will be that.

So now I have to worry not only about other drivers and my own driving, but I also have to be alert that the car will do something unexpected as well. Which has happened, when all this “smart” technology has misunderstood a situation, like slamming on the brakes for a car in another lane. I’ve found I hate having to fight my own car.

Obviously, I very much dislike driving our newer car. It’s primarily my wife’s car, and I only drive it once or twice a week, fortunately.

Ever hear the expression, "Hitler made the trains run on time“?

Thing is, he didn’t. But everyone was afraid to report that they weren’t running on time, so officially they always met their schedules.

That’s where this is heading.

Unfortunately my knowledge of running an anonymous website is very limited.

I would like someone to create a website where we can list the enablers. All of them. Make a list. Start with Trump. Add everyone in his cabinet. Add all of his enablers, down to the people that voted for him.

We’re fucked. It’s all over but the fighting.

Until a few months ago, I was a statistician for the US government. 25 years. I’m so fucking glad I’m out, though I’m making far less than I used to, honestly not enough yet. But I’m glad I’m not under his thumb.

Not for long!

(Too soon?)

Are you talking about the portable ones for inflating tires away from home after a flat?

I’ve used one, I had a flat and was reaching for my co2 cartridge when someone handed over their pump instead. It seemed to work fine, and I liked that they could set the target pressure. I would use a floor pump or air compressor at home, though.

Do a flip!

Let’s not forget this gem.

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Yeah, exactly. So great to be able to say, oh, she’s about 15 minutes away, so I’ll start making dinner. Much easier and safer than texting while driving, too.

We originally set it up so she could make sure I wasn’t laying in a ditch somewhere from a cycling crash.

…the RV means I rarely stay in hotels…

Every day I love my RV more and more.

99% of folks driving during rush hour do not want to be driving

Your comment I was replying to.

I had someone do that same thing one time when I was riding home from work (most rides I do are fitness/recreational, but I did occasionally commute via bicycle). In that case, it was right into the path of a cop going the other way, who had to brake hard to avoid a crash. Nothing came of it, but I had to laugh at the absurdity of it.

Are you sure? I’ve heard that many drivers that support public transit, support it for everyone else. They’ll still want to drive but the roads will be clear because everyone else will be on public transit!

I had to google it…I think he’s referring to the Burning Man term for “Matter Out of Place”. So I think he’s agreeing with you that this link doesn’t belong in this community.

I was hoping the cyclist would lose his balance and fall on the hood of the car when he was rammed. Not that I want the cyclist injured, of course, but damage to the precious car? I’m all for that.

I had a road rage incident while I was out riding yesterday - I was in the middle of the lane passing some pedestrians. Note, this is a country road, and there’s no sidewalk or even shoulder. It’s a pretty popular cycling route, but it’s the first time I’ve seen people walking there (I’m not even sure where they were going). Some jackass rolled up right behind me and blew the horn, as I was next to the pedestrians. I gave the “what the hell” gesture, then after I passed the pedestrians, I moved closer to the right edge of the lane, and he swerved over to run me off the road.

Set a few PRs after that incident. lol Later, the rear derailleur cable broke, and I got rained on, so the end of the ride was less great than the rest of it (which was a pretty good ride aside from those incidents).

All the arguments below, but I’m pretty sure it was a joke. He’s drinking it on the way home instead of the way to work. I laughed.