Things you're tired of seeing in movies

They're just not efficient or convenient. Like all public transport, you have to run on their schedule, not your own. You have to deal with their limitations. They're useless for going to the grocery store and bringing home a dozen bags of groceries. They're useless for going to the hardware store and bringing home 10 sheets of plywood. They're useless if you've got to go when and where you've got to go.

My daughter, who now lives just outside of DC and takes the subway most places has started to realize that.
Long distances, not your local supermarket or any other "small" trip. ;)
 
Cell phones don't take pictures nearly as well as a real dedicated camera. They cannot shoot video as well as a legit video camera. They aren't as comfortable to hold against your head as a corded headset phone. They don't have as consistent reception as a land-line phone. And yet they have captured a lot of the market for cameras and land line phones. Not to mention calendars and many other things.

Electric cars or train-based public transport are different hardware from gasoline cars. They aren't going to drop into exactly the same slots and do the jobs the same way. They don't have to be a perfect match just to have a legit purpose. In the mid-1900s we didn't demand that airplanes cover all the same bases (for the same prices) as ships. We still embraced airplanes as a society.


The near future fix (for EV shortcomings) is probably splitting it with 2-car households. One parent uses a smaller EV and the other has a bigger gasoline truck/SUV.

Another possible fix for the range & cargo issues with EVs is rentals. We could end up with a future where it's more common (and cheap) to rent a gasoline truck/SUV for a weekend. All we need is a fresh batch of real trucks that aren't glitzed-up to sell for $80k. Today they still build Uhaul box trucks with basic dashboards, crank windows, rubber floormats, flat vinyl seats, etc. It's not that hard.
 
Last edited:
Almost any western movie showing the building of the transcontinental railroad shows crews laying down rails and then immediately the rail gets spiked in place.
Yes, they laid track really fast then, but they always made sure the gauge (the space between the rails) was correct before spiking down rails.
 
When I was in medical school, occasionally we would have family members "fall out" in despair. But it seemed to be a cultural thing.
Part traditions/cultural: some Latin/Muslim countries have professional mourners, crying while following the funeral procession. Also, I've noticed that, the death of a child is much more dramatic for families in general.
 
No. We gotta do this as a family.

Fast And Furious Family GIF by The Fast Saga
 
tired of movies and TV where little kids have major roles and are just as or more powerful than adults. sick of it. Wesley Crusher on steroids
or when they are smarter than all the adults around them - only because the adults were written as idiots.
or when the kid's intuition is naturally more meaningful than an adult's rational judgement - e.g. the kid stepping out alone to greet the rabid monster who just ate 30 people so it will see that the kid means no harm and will calm down. It's that kind of magical thinking that created folks like Timothy Treadwell R.I.P.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top