If you have a hi-bandwidth connection, this video is worth the effort to download. ...Especially if your wife or daughter is a terrible parallel-parker (is that a sexist comment, or realistic generalization)... and you want a glimpse at the cheap technology that will save future repairs.
More than anything else, I think this video shows how combining available mass-produced technologices can produce surprising results - now - no 'breakthrough' needed. Robotics is on the way - and it will arrive faster than most of us realize. The average manufacturing factory, warehouse, even farm of 2010 will likely be populated by mostly robots - with the human jobs being re-programmers and repair mechanics - IOW higher paying than the jobs that were lost.
A larger question is: If you convert 300 minimum wage jobs to 50 decent jobs w/high pay and some sense of worth, how do you come out ahead, considering the plight of the other 250 whose macjobs were lost ?
Economists will say, and I believe that they are correct but in some unknown time-frame, that *eventually* having the added productivity and efficieny will result in demand for 5 extra factories to produce more and more goods... so *eventually* we will have converted ALL those 300 macjobs to decent jobs. All it takes is capital.
I don't know how long "eventually is, but I can see that the captial, the accumulated wealth of America that should be going into this endeavor - NOW- is being rapidly squandered on smart bombs to destroy what we then immediately have to rebuild - in some hostile territory half way around the world, at 10 time more cost than it cost to build anything here, and for the benefit people that will always hate us and never wanted us there to begin with. Not to mention the corruption and graft of the company that has already wasted enough of this precious capital to automate half of America - Hallibuton.
It was supposed to be a trade-off. A short delay in progress towards the American dream in exchange for homeland security.
Do you fell more secure now?
I bet Halliburton does... their wealth has more than doubled in the last 4 years, but of course that has nothing to do with the $35 million dollar 'golden parachute' that they gave to Cheney on his way out of their boardroom and onto the top job in government...
... that being 'puppetmaster' ...
Jones
