On the Road (Day Three)

This is it, this is life, the one you get, so go and have a ball...

Oh, wait. Wrong theme song.

Here is what I learned today: my car gets 47 mpg even when it is packed heavy and set to 72 mph on cruise control (wet pavement or dry).

Here is something I seem to have forgotten, even though I was here in late 2011:

The rest of the time, I was thinking about how I would absolutely try one of these self-driving cars when they become available. I think the biggest problem will be that the system can be overridden and some pinhead will start zipping around and messing up the computer-managed perfection of traffic flow.

The people who ought to be worried, I think, are the truckers. And one thing for sure, we still move lots of stuff by truck. Some day there will be convoys of freight trucks that have their own little frontage highway alongside the one the cars use, and while they might be staffed by a couple of babysitters, the trucks are going to be moving stuff from here to there without benefit of drivers. 

Cars are one thing: it is the person who needs to get from point A to point B. The truck driver, on the other hand, is superfluous to the mission. I can see Fed Ex sending out a little fleet of trucks that need to get from point A to point B. They all line up with their little robotic whirligigs spinning away, and Bill and Ted get in the lead vehicle's cab just to ride shotgun, swapping off naps, because these robo-trucks do not need to stop for anything but petrol. All those ancillary businesses that rely on the truckers as clients better start thinking about something else to do. 

I continue to be impressed that I can pick up the thing I euphemistically call a phone and can just ask it a question, like "Where is the closest Holiday Inn Express?" and within a few moments I have a list, maps and directions. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little trip along the US Interstate System: 75-71-65-40-30-35 (by-passes and beltways not included, but they know who they are)

Honorable Mention goes to the genius who invented the curved shower curtain rod that now rule hotel bathrooms. Such a small and simply idea that creates a more pleasant showering experience. 

Now it seems I need to bid y'all a fond farewell... go rustle me up some victuals (vittles, that is)... and figure out where to buy a kick-ass pair of boots.