Plastics !

[LHookins 3,104]

Martin, you have it exactly backwards.  We are growing the trees to harvest them for wood, perhaps to make paper shopping bags for cats to play in.  Any additional carbon dioxide will help them grow.

Surely you wouldn't deprive your cats of paper shopping bags? 😄 

Hook

[goates 576]

3 hours ago, LHookins said:

And on Iceland, where apparently they never grew.

Iceland had plenty of trees when the Vikings first arrived, but almost all of it was cut down for fuel, building and to make way for crops and pastures.

[birdguy 3,946]

On 4/3/2024 at 2:48 AM, stans said:

Plastics were fantastic and would save the earth.  In the mid-1980's I worked in a grocery store where we asked customers would they prefer a paper bag or to save a tree and use plastic.  Now plastic is destroying the earth and killing everything it touches.  Interesting how things go in circles

Why is it that almost every new technological advance comes back to bite us in the butt?  Unforseen circumstances are seldom recognized before they occur. 

My pet peeve are automobile touch screens.  I have one in my Prius (yes, at the ripe old age of 90 I am still driving...but very carefully).  I need it to change the fan speed on the heater-airconditioner.  I won't do it while driving.  If I have to use the touch screen for anything I park and make the adjustments.  That even goes for changing radio stations.

I recall the olden days when automobiles had knobs on the dash to adjust the heater and change the fan speed or increase the volume of the radio or change stations.  You quickly learned where the position of the knobs were and you never had to take you eyes off the road.

Just because you can do it doesn't mean you should. 

Perhaps of branch of engineering should be developed for just trying to foresee future problems and unforeseen consequences during the design of new materials and products.

Noel

 

[TuFun 440]

My car has the knobs, sliders, and push buttons. The only screen is a top view of a car that shows warning for headlights, brake lights, low fuel, and low window washer fluid.  

[martin-w 3,252]

12 hours ago, LHookins said:

Martin, you have it exactly backwards.  We are growing the trees to harvest them for wood, perhaps to make paper shopping bags for cats to play in.  Any additional carbon dioxide will help them grow.

Surely you wouldn't deprive your cats of paper shopping bags? 😄 

Hook

 

I have been in contact with the feline galactic council. They tell me that they are NOT prepared to wait 40 years for the planted tress to mature enough to provide the large quantity of paper bags and Amazon boxes they require for fun time. 😞

Instead, the FGC favor very rapid paper recycling. Cats need those paper bags and boxes NOW! They will not wait! 😾

 

 

 

Edited April 5 by martin-w

[martin-w 3,252]

9 hours ago, birdguy said:

My pet peeve are automobile touch screens.  I have one in my Prius (yes, at the ripe old age of 90 I am still driving...but very carefully).  I need it to change the fan speed on the heater-airconditioner.  I won't do it while driving.  If I have to use the touch screen for anything I park and make the adjustments.  That even goes for changing radio stations.

I recall the olden days when automobiles had knobs on the dash to adjust the heater and change the fan speed or increase the volume of the radio or change stations.  You quickly learned where the position of the knobs were and you never had to take you eyes off the road.

 

Yes, to be honest, Tesla are the worst for this. The decision to get rid of indicator stalks on the steering column and replace them with silly little buttons you have to struggle to find, and in fact, abandon all stalk's completely, is nuts!. Stalks on steering columns WORK! You don't even have to look to activate your wipers, lights, indicators etc. 

Then we have the central screen with ZERO instrument panel in front of the driver. Not impressed! Its a simple, rapid action to flick your eyes down the an instrument panel in front of the driver, way better than having to direct your attention to the center screen and look for your speed. Heater controls being software driven and requiring access to the screen is nuts too. Give us a KNOB or DIAL!

Same for automatic cars (many EV's) that instead of having a lever for forward, reverse, park etc... that you don't even have to look for, they instead give you a silly button or dial that you have to look down to find.

Tesla Plaid... WHY a stupid yoke and weirdly geared steering to compensate Mr Elon? A round wheel works! We don't always have to (literally) reinvent the wheel.  

 

[stans 705]

11 hours ago, birdguy said:

Why is it that almost every new technological advance comes back to bite us in the butt?  Unforseen circumstances are seldom recognized before they occur. 

My pet peeve are automobile touch screens.  I have one in my Prius (yes, at the ripe old age of 90 I am still driving...but very carefully).  I need it to change the fan speed on the heater-airconditioner.  I won't do it while driving.  If I have to use the touch screen for anything I park and make the adjustments.  That even goes for changing radio stations.

I recall the olden days when automobiles had knobs on the dash to adjust the heater and change the fan speed or increase the volume of the radio or change stations.  You quickly learned where the position of the knobs were and you never had to take you eyes off the road.

Just because you can do it doesn't mean you should. 

Perhaps of branch of engineering should be developed for just trying to foresee future problems and unforeseen consequences during the design of new materials and products.

Noel

 

My SUV is 21 years old, no touch screens at all.  I know where all the switches are located and what they do, I can operate them without looking, but by muscle memory.

[martin-w 3,252]

Well.... its about saving money. Software driven means you don't have to manufacture and install stalk's, buttons, knobs and dials. More profit for the car company. 

[goates 576]

A European safety organization is starting to push back against the trend to move all controls into a touchscreen. Would be better if regulators did too, but this is a start.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/03/carmakers-must-bring-back-buttons-to-get-good-safety-scores-in-europe/

[martin-w 3,252]

17 hours ago, goates said:

A European safety organization is starting to push back against the trend to move all controls into a touchscreen.

 

Good... hopefully common sense will win. 

[stans 705]

2 hours ago, martin-w said:

 

Good... hopefully common sense will win. 

Yes, hopefully.

Edited April 6 by stans