Posts Tagged: ‘Miscellaneous’

Over Datified – Originally Published May 2016

May 8, 2016 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

Tell the truth now!  How many pictures do you have on your disk drive?  When was the last time you actually looked at most of them?  How many files do you have in your documents (and other) folders that you haven’t opened in the last year?  How many USB Flash Drives do you have filled with stuff you don’t ever use?

In this short article, I’m not going to tell you how to clean up those messes.  I’m just going to tell you why I think we are getting “over‑datafied”.  No you won’t find “over-datified” in the dictionary.  I made it up, but maybe it should be!

In this modern day and age, we are constantly being tracked.  Information about our habits are being stored on web servers everywhere.  Law enforcement agencies, business and many other organizations keep track of where we are, what we do and what we buy.  We hear almost daily about the potential harm that may befall us because of all the data mining.  For the most part, I don’t think that really happens very much.

What does happen is the data is often used to better our lives.  Isn’t it nice to just say, “OK Google” and almost immediately find out anything you might want to know.  I personally like it when my pocket computer beeps and tells me that it is time to leave if I don’t want to be late for a club meeting.  I like the fact that the library program suggests books that I might enjoy to reading.  In fact, that is how data mining is supposed to work.  We share information about ourselves and that information is used to make our lives better.

The problem is that I think we are getting to the point where there is just too much data.  There are thousands of apps you can download to your phone that access many data bases.  Do we really need to know where all the bathrooms within fifty miles are?  Is it necessary to keep track of how much coffee is left in the pot?

You can search the WWW and find a database for anything and everything.  We’re definitely “over‑datafied” when we can find out that women blink more than men, that Americans eat more than 100 acres of pizza every day, Vermont has more cows than people or that ingrown toenails are hereditary.

You can’t get through the day without being inundated with useless data.  Just listen to the nightly news.  Twenty-eight percent of the stories have a percentage fact in the story.  Oh well!  I guess there is nothing we can do about being “over‑datafied”.  Now you’ll have to excuse me while I edit the data charts for next months newsletter.

Thanks for reading.

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Reading For Cheap – Originally Published March 2016

March 13, 2016 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

Ever since I learned how, I’ve always been an avid reader.  My parents didn’t have a television until I was about ten years old.  That never bothered me.  The library had a lot of entertainment.  In later life, when I was in the Navy, I seldom watched the ship’s movie.  I was busy finishing reading one more chapter before lights out.  These days, I still read at least a dozen magazines each month.  I am usually reading four or five books at a time.  I’ve got my bedside book, bathroom book, digital book and an audio book for my morning walk.

I could not even estimate how many thousands of dollars I’ve spent buying reading material of one form or another.  In the past three or four years, my reading has all become either digital or audio.  I haven’t been in a bookstore or looked at a magazine display rack in at least a year and a half.  For me, it’s all been for the better.  In this article, I’m going to tell you how you can do the same.

I’ve saved a lot of money with e-books and audio books.  One of the reasons is because it is so easy to check the material out from the Parish library.  From my easy chair I can check out a vast number of books (both digital and audio), magazines, comic books and movies.  I’ve written many times about using the library to download material.  We have had several demonstrations at club meetings and there is a lot of information on our website.  I won’t bore you by repeating the details again.

There are many internet sites where electronic books can be downloaded for no charge.  All of the major booksellers offer some free books, but there are many other places you can get a better selection.  A good place to start your search is at Tech Support Alert’s Free eBooks And Audiobooks To Read Online Or Download.  This is the launch page for other pages that list site with free books.  The lists are broken down by genre.  There is also an alphabetical list at their Best Free eBooks Online.  At the time of this writing there are 913 sites listed.  These pages also have links to sites for downloading comic books, textbooks and online courses.  Bonus tip: if you read the user comments, you will find many other sites.

Some of the sites that I regularly use (in no particular order) are:

  • Project Gutenberg – was one of the first ebook sites.  There are more than 50,000 titles. It has by far the largest list of free titles for downloading and the site is easy to use.
  • LibriVox – is similar to Project Gutenberg except it is all audio books.  Volunteers read and record books and upload them.
  • Open Library – although not technically a download site, the goal is to have a web page for every book ever published.  There are links on these pages where you can get the book.  You can borrow others for a two week period.
  • Bookbub – is a site that I check daily.  It isn’t a download site but lists the latest deals on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Google and Kobo.  Many of the books are for sale (usually $0.99 or $1.99) but it also lists many free books.  Use the link in this article and you won’t have to give them an e-mail address.

I hope this list of sites has piqued your interest and gets you started on ebook reading.  This is nowhere near a complete list of download sites for ebooks.  If you’re like me and like to read, these links should get you started.  If you know of any good book sites, I’d like to know.  Post on our club website or send me an e-mail.

Thanks for reading.

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Too Much Security? – Originally Published February 2016

February 10, 2016 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

Lately I’ve been wondering if it is possible to have too much on line security.  Everyone that knows me will probably tell you that I’m sometimes a little paranoid when it comes to my computing.  I often talk about using a password manager, a virtual private network and encrypting important data on my hard drives.  Although I’ve contacted a few viruses and other malwares, I can honestly say that they haven’t gotten past my defenses and did not do any damage to my computers.

I’ve been reconsidering a little bit.  For the past week, I’ve been aboard a cruise ship.  I’ve been on several cruises, but this one has a major difference for me.  I purchased the satellite internet plan.  They’ve finally lowered the prices to where I can afford it.  It’s not nearly as fast as what I’m used to, but that’s a story for another article.

What led to the idea for this article is the fact that I’m pretty security conscious.  I use a password manager and generate strong passwords, usually 30 characters or more.  I almost always use a Virtual Private Network when I’m online.  All my important data files are encrypted.  (I’ve even got a couple of files where I encrypted the already encrypted file.)

I also use two-factor authentication on sites that allow it.  This caused a few not nice words to escape my lips when I logged into different sites and get the “we have sent a text to your phone, please enter the code in this box.”  This proved to be rather hard to do because there wasn’t a cell phone tower in the middle of the ocean.

That got me to thinking.  Do I really care if my Facebook account gets compromised?  They don’t have any of my credit card information or hardly any other personal data.  Many of my accounts that worry me don’t offer two-factor.  My bank comes immediately to mind.

Could it be that security doesn’t matter any more?  No matter how locked down your data is, there always seem to be companies like Sony, Target, Adobe and Home Depot being compromised releasing our information to the world.  Even many of our governmental agencies contribute to our identities being placed at risk.

If you follow any sites like Krebs on Security, you soon find there is a security breech about every second or third day.  There are also many others that never get reported.  When we do find out, it is often months after the fact.

The simple fact is that if you go online in the modern world, you should assume that your personal data has been compromised.  I guess I was incorrect in my opening paragraph.  You can’t have too much security.

That’s all for this month. Thanks for reading.

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Cruising 2016

January 20, 2016 Posted by Tiny

I’ve been cruising with the Mrs. again.  We usually do two or three a year.  I inevitably write a short article on my observations on how technology is used by both the cruise lines and the passengers reading their books.  This year, I initially started to write about how large screen cell phones really seemed to be more prevalent and how quite a few people had signed up for the ships satellite internet plan.  That all changed because of my shy, introverted personality.

Over a cup of coffee, I got to talking to a gentleman.  He mentioned that this was his eighty-second cruise.   I told him how much I liked to cruise but that it was unfortunately out of my budget to do that many.  He then related to me how he could do it only because of sheer luck.  It turns out that about ten years ago, he got an e-mail from a wealthy foreigner from Nigeria.  It seems that a new government had taken power and tied up all of his funds.  The only way he could reclaim them was to transfer them overseas.  The fellow I met simply had to provide an active banking account for the funds to be transferred to. He also had to initially send a few thousand dollars to bribe some dishonest officials.  For providing the service, he received several million dollars.

Just a few days later, I met a surgeon that told me the strangest tale.  It seems that he was on a cruise that pulled into port.  He had to cancel the remainder of his vacation and immediately fly back home.  It turns out that there was a little girl that needed a life saving operation.  He had agreed to do it provided she could get only ten thousand “likes” on her Facebook page.  The doctor told me that the only reason he had agreed to do it in the first place is because he was sure the child would never get enough responses.  He was true to his word and flew back early to save a life.

One day, in one of the shipboard bars, I told the stories of the millionaire and the doctor to a young lady.  I was pretty sure she would think I was a liar, but then she told me how her belief in people was the cause of her good fortune.  It seems a person on Facebook had bought a Powerball ticket and agreed to share the winnings with fifty random people.  She wouldn’t tell me how much she got, but it sounded like it might have been several thousands of dollars.

I guess I’m just not very lucky.  There was another passenger who had one of the latest iPad tablets.  It seems that there was some minor flooding in a warehouse where thousands of them were stored.  Even though they weren’t damaged, they couldn’t be sold as new.  They were being given away as a promotion.  Like I said, sometimes it is just a matter of luck.

I met another millionaire who became one simply by winning the Irish lottery.  All he had to do was spend a few hundred dollars to pay for taxes and processing.  The funny part was when he told me that he didn’t even remember entering the sweepstakes.

Of course, the more people I talked to, the more it seemed that everyone was much more fortunate than me.   Then I met a fellow cruiser that made his money the old fashioned way, He earned it through plain, hard work.  He started his own home business by stuffing envelopes for various countries.  He used his profits and bought some equipment and was soon processing credit card transactions for some major companies.  A few years later, he expanded his home business into the insurance claims business.

After two weeks, I didn’t think there were any other ways to make a lot of money.  Then I met a man who was in the merchandise resale business.  He went to various auction websites and bid on various items.  He would often get new computers for as little as five dollars or a big screen television for a little more.  He would then take these items and resell them on eBay or Craigs List for an astronomical profit.

Naturally, I checked on many of these profit generating plans and realized that they just wouldn’t work for me because I haven’t been lucky enough to get in on the ground floor.  If anyone has any ideas on how I can finance my next cruise, please let me know.  If you don’t have any ideas, you can just simply send me a dollar instead.  Make sure you forward this article to everyone you know.  You can also feel free to Tweet the link or post it on your Facebook time line.  When you do, make sure to emphasis the fact that they only have to donate one measly dollar to me.  For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, they will not only finance my next cruise, but they can learn the latest methods for becoming a multimillionaire.  If it works, I might not even have to build a new pyramid.

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Things I’ve Unlearned – Originally Published October 2015

October 11, 2015 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

Recently, I was reading an article in “Astronomy Magazine” about the Pluto New Horizons mission.  There was a section on why it was downgraded from planetary status.  Now I’ve got to unlearn some things about the place.  Like so many other things, that got me to thinking about how I’ve had to forget or change my thinking on many other subjects.

For years I’ve saved all my files with an eight character file name.  Back in the DOS and early Windows days, file names were limited to eight characters and three more for the extension.  You had to be creative in naming files so you could remember what they were.  Over the years, most file systems have allowed us to use up to 256 characters.  I finally unlearned using non-descriptive file names.  I still haven’t unlearned that it’s not okay to use a space in a file name.

I’ve had to unlearn a lot of terms over the years.  Sometimes, I still find myself saying, “dial the phone”, even though my pocket computer doesn’t have a dial on it.  Unlike my wife, I’ve finally quit saying “tape a TV show.”  There isn’t any tape in the VCR.  Oops!  I meant DVR.  Many others like myself still, “film a movie”, “roll down the car window”, “blow off steam” and make a “carbon copy.”  People that haven’t unlearned this stuff should “hold their horses” before they start sounding like a “broken record”.

There is a lot of things I haven’t minded unlearning.  It is so much easier to double click an icon to start a program on my computer.  Long gone are the days of having to type “load program name,8,1”.  There were many times I sat and waited for a program to load.  I would finally realize that I had forgotten to hit the return key.

I also don’t mind having to remember to make sure there is enough room on the VHS cassette tape before recording the latest Star Trek program.  The same goes for setting the clock on the machine.

I’ve also have many non-technological things to unlearn.  Before I pour a glass of milk, I still shake the container even though there isn’t any cream to mix in.  I still let the water run before filling my glass.  I don’t want to get a spider in my glass.

About the only thing I’ve found worse than having to unlearn something is the things I’ve had to relearn.  I’ve been teaching the grandson how to code a web page.  Unfortunately, I’ve had to look up some commands that I used to write without even thinking.  One of the problems with programming languages is there are so many of them.

Isn’t technology great? I wonder what I’ll have to unlearn in the future.
Thanks for reading.

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More Things I Hate About Computing – Originally Published July 2015

August 6, 2015 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

Way back in 2009, I wrote an article for the newsletter where I ranted on things I hate about computing.  About the only thing that has changed is that I hardly ever get any forwarded e-mails any more.  Of course, it’s probably because hardly anyone uses e-mail these days.  People have found that it’s easier to just hit a “share” button.

Maybe hate is too strong a word, but there are still a lot of things that I really dislike about electronics, computing and the internet. For instance, “click baiting” seems to be getting worse every day. Simply put, click baiting is where an advertiser pays a web site to put in an article with an interesting headline that just turns out to be advertising. If you want to see a lot of click baits, get a Facebook account. Just make sure you hit the share button to pass it on to your friends.
After giving some thought to the subject, I’ve discovered that there are a lot of other things I hate about computers, the internet and electronics in general.  For instance, I really dislike all of the haters.  Microsoft fan boys are always running down Apple while the Apple fans do the same to Microsoft.  Of course, the Linux users are different.  They hate all the other operating systems.  It goes even further.  If you go to a camera forum, you will find Sony, Canon, Olympus, etc. users at each others throats.  Don’t you miss the old days of “FORD: Fix or repair daily”?  Personally, I’d rather fix a Ford than drive a Chevy.

I really dislike software that isn’t user friendly.  Some programs have windows that can’t be re-sized.  I’m getting older and my eyesight isn’t what it used to be.  If I can’t make the window bigger and re-size the font, I likely won’t use the software.  Then there is software that won’t let you choose where to install it.  I don’t install all of my programs into “program files”.  Lots of times, I don’t even install them on the C drive.  I’m not even going to talk about End User Licensing Agreements or unwanted offers.  One of the worst things is a question similar to: “Click this box if you like this article”.  Then you see a yes box with no alternatives.  You can’t continue if you don’t check the box.

I wonder if Microsoft will ever fix one little thing that has bugged me for as long as I remember.  Whenever you use file explorer to copy, move or delete a list of files, Windows makes an estimate of how long it will take.  Wouldn’t it be nice if the estimate was close once in a while.

Isn’t it amazing how many download sites have succumbed to evil ways?  In times past, CNETs download.com was the premier site to get software.  In recent years, the site has become riddled with malware, drive-by downloads, and other unwanted junk.  Source Forge has joined them.  Some days you can’t keep up with the bad stuff.

Since another thing I hate is long winded diatribes from complainers, I’ll just say, “Thanks for reading.”

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Facebook – The Modern Tabloid – Originally Published June 2015

June 5, 2015 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

You may think that using Facebook is free, but it isn’t.  Facebook is a business, and in business to do just one thing – make money.  You pay by giving personal information which you agreed to when you created an account.  The only way to not do this is to close your account. All your previous postings will remain forever.

You’ve just read one of my many “copy and paste’ responses that I sometimes post on Facebook.  My Facebook usage is usually about ten to twenty minutes each morning.  My friends list is mostly relatives and a few long time Yankee friends.  Some of them spend hours everyday re-posting many rumors on their time line.  I’d guess that at least sixty percent of my posts are links to Snopes articles that tell the truth.

It seems to me that Facebook has replaced some of our previous institutions.  You hear something about Facebook nearly every day.  When was the last time you heard about the “National Enquirer”, “Weekly World News”, “The Weekly Gazette”, “Star Magazine” or any of the other tabloid magazines.

On your weekly grocery shopping trip, you could find out where Elvis was.  If you didn’t believe that Elvis was still alive, you could always read about the latest sighting of an alien.

Facebook has become the tabloid of the new millennium.  Now I can read the latest news about how our president isn’t a citizen.  Although I haven’t noticed any Elvis sightings on the service, there have been a lot of reports of celebrities that were killed by a crazed gunman, died of an obscure disease or were obliterated in a highway wreck.

You don’t need to read your weekly tabloid anymore if you want to get rich by filling envelopes or answering calls for various companies.  Facebook has made it even easier for you.

There are so many people like Bill Gates that are giving away millions of dollars that I think they may put Nigerian princes out of business.  Apple has found so many warehouses full of unsold tablets to give away that I find it hard to believe they even sell any.  One of these days, I know I’ll get lucky and be one of the first hundred people to like the post that is giving away a free car.

Luckily, I can do the same thing on Facebook that I do with the tabloid magazines.  I just read the headlines and ignore the articles.

Thanks for reading.

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Hoopla – Originally Published June 2015

June 5, 2015 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

One of my favorite apps was recently updated.  When I looked back at the list of Android programs I’ve reviewed, I was surprised that I’ve never written about Hoopla.  I remember demonstrating it a long time ago at one of the club meetings, but never in the monthly newsletter.

I like to read.  Over the years, I’ve migrated from paper books to books on tape in a Walkman (before I hated Sony), to books on CDs, e-books and finally to audible books.  These days, I no longer make my bi-weekly trip to the library to check out materials.  I check all of my reading items on line with Zinio, Overdrive and Hoopla.

Hoopla has been around for about a year now. Anyone with a card from a participating library can borrow a digital movie, music album, audio book e-book or comic book.  Our parish library allows up to thirty items to be checked out every month.  There are no limits on the number of people that can borrow an individual title at the same time.  There are no waiting lists, late fees, reservation lists or popular items being out of stock.

Although the user reviews are not high, I have personally found the app to be easy to use.  Many of the bad reviews are from users complaining that they can’t utilize the app, they don’t like the selection or that the lending limit has been exceeded.  Almost all of the problems are because of restrictions established by their local library and not Hoopla.

Any items you check out are downloaded to your device and can be read, viewed and listened to at your convenience.  With a catalog of more than 300,000 titles, I’m sure that you will find something that you like.

To browse all of the titles, go to the Hoopla Web Site.  The mobile app can be downloaded at Google Play, the Amazon App Store or Apple iTunes.

If you like to read, listen to books or watch movies, give Hoopla Digital a try.  I think you might enjoy it.

Thanks for reading.

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Cruising Observations

May 28, 2015 Posted by Tiny

Several times I’ve written about the cruise ships I’ve been on and my observations on the use of technology, both by the cruise line and the passengers.  This time, I thought I’d take a few minutes and tell you my thoughts on how to make a cruise more relaxing and fun.

Every time we go on a cruise, someone asks me if I’m worried about a fire, a breakout of disease, food poisoning, the ship sinking, etc.  I usually respond by saying that I haven’t been that lucky.  If disaster should strike, passengers are often compensated by their monies being refunded and a discounted or free future cruise.  Of course, it’s inconvenient to be stranded out on the ocean.  It’s also inconvenient to be in a car accident, a hurricane, a burning building, etc.  I have never liked the idea of getting on an airplane even though I know that it’s probably safer than driving to the store.

People often ask me why I like to cruise.  I think the biggest reason is that when you get to your stateroom, you unpack your suitcase and put it away until your vacation has ended.  There is no need to find a hotel every night, carry the bags to the room, unpack what you need and then carry them out the next morning.  I think the only bad things about cruising is embarkation and debarkation.  With thousands of people waiting to board the ship, you need a little patience waiting in the line.  At every terminal I’ve been to, I’ve found that it is worthwhile to pull up to the unloading area and check your bags with one of the porters.  It’s well worth a tip to not have to lug your bags from the parking area to the terminal.  When getting off the ship, you have the choice of leaving your bags out the night before or carrying them off the next day.  Many people choose to carry their bags with the misconception that they will get off faster.  It just doesn’t happen and it’s a pain in the you know what to lug your suitcases down the ramp.  The cruise line is going to get you off as fast as they can.  They have to get ready for the next load of passengers and that can’t happen if you’re still on board.  The real delay when you get off the ship is going through customs.

When I retired from the Navy, my wife always wanted to go on a cruise.  I resisted her for many years.  After all, I had been on or under almost every ocean in the world at least once.  I finally let her talk me into going on a three day cruise.  After that, I was hooked.  We’ve been on a lot of cruises since then.  She always asks where I want to go.  I almost always say, I don’t care.  I just like to go.  Almost anyone you ask will tell you that the Alaska inside passage cruises are one of the best.  We’ve been twice and are planning another.  When anyone asks me which cruise ship I think is the best, it’s the same answer as which ship in the Navy is the best: the one I’m on.  Talking with other cruise passengers, I’ve found out that every cruise line and ship is either the very best or the very worst.  All I know is that we’ve cruised almost exclusively with Carnival.  We tried another line and didn’t like it.

If you look at my waistline, you can tell that I enjoy eating.  Aboard a cruise ship, there are a lot of places to eat.  Besides the main dining room, there are usually a half dozen or so assorted buffet lines, pizza places, sandwich shops, etc.  My wife and I seldom eat our meals anywhere except the dining room.  We like the idea of the waiter coming to the table, taking our order and bringing us the food.  Every cruise I’ve been on I’ve met people that never went to the dining room.  I think they are missing out on better food.  Of course that’s a matter of opinion, but it’s my blog so my opinion is the one that counts.  I recommend that you check them all and then go where you like.  Every ship I’ve been on has had great food.  There are also a few premium restaurants where you can pay extra.  I’m pretty cheap and haven’t tried them.  One thing I’ve never understood is that on the last day of the cruise, some people stuff their carry bags with fruit, pastries, etc.  Not only is it illegal (U. S. Customs will fine you if they catch you), I don’t know why you would want food that is already getting old.

When you first get aboard the ship, you soon find out how large it is.  With passengers and crew, there are several thousand people on board, the size of a small city.  It isn’t too hard to get confused as to where exactly you are.  I’m always surprised at how people ask each other how to get somewhere.  The smart thing to do is to ask a crew member, not someone who is probably just as lost as you.  It won’t take long before you learn how to find the three most important places: your stateroom, the places to eat and a comfortable chair.

I can’t believe the number of people that have told me they got bored on a cruise ship.  Each day the Cruise Director publishes a list of the days activities.  There are any number of activities like trivia, bean bag tosses, card games, chess and checkers, bingo etc.  The ship’s casino is more than willing to take your money.  Nightly entertainment includes Las Vegas style stage shows, comedians, singers, different band, etc.  There is even entertainment in the dining room at dinner time.  One of my personal favorite things to do is just find a comfortable chair and watch the people.

Have fun on your cruise.

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Self Driving Cars – Originally Published May 2015

May 24, 2015 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

This month, I’ve been thinking about self driving cars. Every day it looks more and more like we soon will all be riding in one. I just hope the built in GPS will take me where I actually want to go and not a block or two away. In my mind I imagine future car advertisements that induce me to buy their model because it won’t accidentally drive me off of a cliff.

If you do an internet search, you will find all kinds of articles either telling you how great or how bad the technology is. (Doesn’t that sound like you could researching any article about technology?) You can catch a few extra winks on the way to work or you won’t have any control in case an accident is eminent.

Personally, I’m not concerned with any of those mundane arguments. I find myself concerned with other things that might happen.

Just think of all the state highway patrol troopers that could lose their jobs. With self driving cars, accidents will be avoided. With fewer accidents to investigate, less patrol officers will be needed. What will happen to them? They won’t be able to become truck drivers. The trucks will be driving themselves.

The same scenario happens to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Why would a driver’s license be needed? Doesn’t it seem that when you buy a self driving car, the title would include the right to control the vehicle? Do you suppose all of the DMV employees will be relocated to pet licensing?

I can think of several small towns that might go out of existence. Autonomous cars will automatically go the speed limit. The speed trap towns would lose their major source of revenue. Perhaps they will have to start making traffic stops for other reasons. The officer will say, “the reason I pulled you over is because your rear window is dirty.”

It’s long past my time but I sure wish I could have had a programmable car back in the “Can I borrow the car tonight Dad?” era. It sure would have been nice to know where the car was and what time it was going to get home. When the self driving car becomes the norm, do you suppose the youngsters will be asking, “Dad, can I borrow the password for the car tonight?”

Once self driving cars become readily available, I can foresee people buying customized vehicles. Can you imagine your car as a mobile game room? You could have your game console hooked up to a medium sized monitor and play the latest edition of “Grand Theft Auto”. The workaholic could have a desk in the front seat and a secretarial station in the rear. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could sit and relax in your auto spa while your car did the driving? Personally, I’m going to save my money and buy a specially created bathroom car. I do some of my best thinking in the facilities. Just think how many articles I could be writing while on the road.

It’s not a problem for me, but I know lots of people that will be happy that there will be no need for a “back seat driver”. Those people will have to start criticizing the computer programmers. Maybe they’ll have to settle for criticizing the GPS system.

There is one thing that will definitely not change when our cars drive themselves. The monthly car payments will keep our wallet empty.

Thanks for reading.

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