More Things That Have Changed for the Worst

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In our last episode we covered telephones, garbage pick-up, and doctor visits. All things that have changed for the worst, in my opinion. There's nothing necessarily wrong with changes, per se, but as I pointed out, so much of the time the changes that happen which affect our lives are mostly changes that actually makes things worse, not better.

Let's take cars for our next example. Originally the automobile was a pretty simple machine as machines go. The internal combustion engine works with a fuel that burns in the presence of oxygen and a spark. Explosive combustion pushes a piston into a cylinder. The movement of the piston drives a crankshaft, which drives the wheels of a car. Understanding this stuff wasn't all that difficult and it was taught in auto shop classes in just about every high school in the country. I never took the class, myself, but lots of teenage boys did and totally understood the workings under the hood of a car.

As a driver there was nothing to it. You got into the car, put in the key and turned on the ignition, gave it a little gas then put the car into gear and away you'd go. So pleasant. No GPS, no computer chips. The only chips in your car might be potato chips. You'd turn on the car radio (it had a dial) and found your favorite station. Off you'd go singing along to the Beach Boys or Bobby Darin or maybe Frank Sinatra. So pleasant. "Oh the shark, babe, has such teeth dear and he shows them pearly white…"

Be careful now, don't go too fast. Speed limit on city streets is 35. Watch out for the traffic lights. And don't forget to use your turn signals. Oh wait, it's drizzling a bit, better put on the wipers. And slow down, you know how slippery the streets can get. In our last episode we covered telephones, garbage pick-up, and doctor visits. All things that have changed for the worst, in my opinion. There's nothing necessarily wrong with changes, per se, but as I pointed out, so much of the time the changes that happen which affect our lives are mostly changes that actually makes things worse, not better.

Let's take cars for our next example. Originally the automobile was a pretty simple machine as machines go. The internal combustion engine works with a fuel that burns in the presence of oxygen and a spark. Explosive combustion pushes a piston into a cylinder. The movement of the piston drives a crankshaft, which drives the wheels of a car. Understanding this stuff wasn't all that difficult and it was taught in auto shop classes in just about every high school in the country. I never took the class, myself, but lots of teenage boys did and totally understood the workings under the hood of a car.

As a driver there was nothing to it. You got into the car, put in the key and turned on the ignition, gave it a little gas then put the car into gear and away you'd go. So pleasant. No GPS, no computer chips. The only chips in your car might be potato chips. You'd turn on the car radio (it had a dial) and found your favorite station. Off you'd go singing along to the Beach Boys or Bobby Darin or maybe Frank Sinatra. So pleasant. "Oh the shark, babe, has such teeth dear and he shows them pearly white…"

Be careful now, don't go too fast. Speed limit on city streets is 35. Watch out for the traffic lights. And don't forget to use your turn signals. Oh wait, it's drizzling a bit, better put on the wipers. And slow down, you know how slippery the streets can get. "… Five'll get ya ten, ol' Mackie's back in town…" So pleasant.

Today's cars have more computer electronics on board than the average person knows how to deal with. To fix a car engine you need to have more knowledge than just mechanical auto shop. You need to be a computer geek. And if something goes haywire with the computer chips, well, even if you are a tech wizard, you can't just pop the hood and fix it yourself, you have to order a replacement.

Oh, and there are no more car radios in cars. There are no more cd decks in cars. Want to hear music? Subscribe to Sirius XM for a few hundred dollars a year. Or plug in the music app on your smart phone. Oh, don't have a smart phone? Well that's not so smart. If you can't do any of these things, you can't play music in your car. How's that?

Operating today's new cars takes new knowledge. You just can't hop in, turn on the ignition, pop the clutch and go. Oh no. first of all, there is no more key. You use a computer fob and push a button. And don't look for the parking brake under the dash or on the floor, you won't find it. You must locate the gearshift and find out how to disengage the brake from there.

You must put on your seatbelt before you start the car or it won't start. Your new car will do most of the thinking that you used to do in your old car. It will back up using a camera and beeping if your car is too close to something. Automatic emergency braking system applies the brakes on its own to prevent a collision when it senses a vehicle in its way, or to reduce the force of an impact that can't be avoided. There's also a forward collision warning system that gives you a visual and audio warning to let you know that you going to be in a collision. LOOK OUT!

AI plays a big part in newer cars. Androids talk to you and tell you where to go and if you did something wrong. There is a total 360 degree surround-view camera system on many makes. WiFi hotspot systems are often bundled with telematic systems or upgraded infotainment packages. They provide WiFi in the vehicle, allowing passengers to use mobile devices without eating up their cellular data plans. Often, a hotspot service is free for an introductory period, then owners must pay a monthly fee. Some services offer unlimited data for a flat fee that is less expensive than an unlimited data plan from a wireless phone carrier.

And there's more, including of course self-driving cars. Sure jump in and take a nap, don't worry about a thing, the car will take you there automatically. Unless the system malfunctions and you crash and burn.

Now they're pushing all of us into electric cars. They want to eliminate the gas powered vehicles completely. Never mind that there aren't enough charging stations to accommodate all the e-cars for this country. Never mind that the batteries weigh a ton and are impossible to dispose of. Never mind that they have been known to spontaneously catch fire. Never mind that they are expensive. Never mind that our country's electrical grid could never support the additional electricity that all these cars would need. But it saves the planet, right? NO.

Oops, looks like I ate up most of my space today with the cars. I still have other "things that have changed for the worst" to relate to you. We will go over those at another time.

Until then, drive carefully and be home before midnight or you're grounded. … Five'll get ya ten, ol' Mackie's back in town…" So pleasant.

Today's cars have more computer electronics on board than the average person knows how to deal with. To fix a car engine you need to have more knowledge than just mechanical auto shop. You need to be a computer geek. And if something goes haywire with the computer chips, well, even if you are a tech wizard, you can't just pop the hood and fix it yourself, you have to order a replacement.

Oh, and there are no more car radios in cars. There are no more cd decks in cars. Want to hear music? Subscribe to Sirius XM for a few hundred dollars a year. Or plug in the music app on your smart phone. Oh, don't have a smart phone? Well that's not so smart. If you can't do any of these things, you can't play music in your car. How's that?

Operating today's new cars takes new knowledge. You just can't hop in, turn on the ignition, pop the clutch and go. Oh no. first of all, there is no more key. You use a computer fob and push a button. And don't look for the parking brake under the dash or on the floor, you won't find it. You must locate the gearshift and find out how to disengage the brake from there.

You must put on your seatbelt before you start the car or it won't start. Your new car will do most of the thinking that you used to do in your old car. It will back up using a camera and beeping if your car is too close to something. Automatic emergency braking system applies the brakes on its own to prevent a collision when it senses a vehicle in its way, or to reduce the force of an impact that can't be avoided. There's also a forward collision warning system that gives you a visual and audio warning to let you know that you going to be in a collision. LOOK OUT!

AI plays a big part in newer cars. Androids talk to you and tell you where to go and if you did something wrong. There is a total 360 degree surround-view camera system on many makes. WiFi hotspot systems are often bundled with telematic systems or upgraded infotainment packages. They provide WiFi in the vehicle, allowing passengers to use mobile devices without eating up their cellular data plans. Often, a hotspot service is free for an introductory period, then owners must pay a monthly fee. Some services offer unlimited data for a flat fee that is less expensive than an unlimited data plan from a wireless phone carrier.

And there's more, including of course self-driving cars. Sure jump in and take a nap, don't worry about a thing, the car will take you there automatically. Unless the system malfunctions and you crash and burn.

Now they're pushing all of us into electric cars. They want to eliminate the gas powered vehicles completely. Never mind that there aren't enough charging stations to accommodate all the e-cars for this country. Never mind that the batteries weigh a ton and are impossible to dispose of. Never mind that they have been known to spontaneously catch fire. Never mind that they are expensive. Never mind that our country's electrical grid could never support the additional electricity that all these cars would need. But it saves the planet, right? NO.

Oops, looks like I ate up most of my space today with the cars. I still have other "things that have changed for the worst" to relate to you. We will go over those at another time.

Until then, drive carefully and be home before midnight or you're grounded.

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