Two things happened within the past several weeks that inspired this rant. Deb ordered a new laptop thru Amazon and it was promptly delivered by FedEx, but with a small rip in the box. In setting it up the “windows defender” program was taking a long time to load. Finally she called Microsoft and they found that seven people were logged on to it. The computer had been hacked before it even arrived at our house. It took a day to get it cleared up. But I must add that Microsoft’s customer support was top-notch with their follow-up.

The second incident was the fatal Uber crash. The computer (nor the human back-up) didn’t see the pedestrian crossing the roadway until it was too late. The human was obviously not paying attention and the computer was being a computer. How long can a person pay attention to the road in an autonomous vehicle when the car does all the work and all that the driver does is just sit there?
There are a lot of unanswered questions. For those of you who may be conspiracy theorists, is this just another way for the government to track you? Or a tool for divorce attorneys? What happens when the Russians, terrorists, or knuckle-headed kids hack the system and shut it down or intentionally cause wrecks? Would the air bag ask “are you sure?” before deploying? Who knows where the car will take you using Google maps? You might be headed home from the local bar and wake up in Oshkosh Wisconsin. (‘Course that’s never happened to me before.) For no apparent reason your car would “crash” twice a day.

The main question is, who wants autonomous cars? Might be nice in bumper-to-bumper traffic, if you can trust them. Or perhaps instead of driving, a Silicon Valley techno-nerd can read PC Magazine, or a silicone blonde can put on makeup. But for me, no, thank you too very much. And please excuse the sexist remark.

Note: In proofing this Deb said that the “to it” in paragraph one sentence four was superfluous. I’m not sure what she meant because I never get around to it. Or even a square one.

~~ Bill Mennell    

Natter n Noggin --- New Venue. Even month’s location The monthly meeting of club members gathering for livid conversation while enjoying a wee libation has run into a snag. The meeting place for this event on even months (held ‘down south)’ was at Roundhead's Pub in Lombard. Unfortunately the establishment closed its doors. Fortunately there are many sites along Roosevelt Road to take up the slack. We have agreed upon meeting at Anyway’s Pub in Oakbrook Terrace—about 2.5 miles east of Roundhead’s location. It has plenty of parking and was rated as one of the 10 Best Villa Park Restaurants in 2018 by TripAdvisor. Hope to see you there!! Anyway’s Pub 5 E Roosevelt Rd, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 (630) 932-9323