The Robot Menace

[romafan]

I'm sure everyone who has a car made in the last 5 (10?) years has had their chain yanked by their car's 'computer. Scary dashboard light goes on, you bring it in and the guy says something like 'Well, we can't find anything wrong - it's probably just the computer. So they in essence re-boot the thing, the light goes off, and away you drive a couple hundred bucks poorer.

Now I'm hearing more and more stories of perfectly smart people who end up wasting a whole lot of time by listening to their on-board GPS system. We had friends visit us this weekend from the upper west side (smart people who drive all the time and know the city!) who ended up being a half hour late because they listened to their GPS!

 

[thekunk07]

^was looking for a target in suffolk county last week. GPS brought me to a farm, followed by "arriving at destination on the left"

 

[whiteslashasian]

^

I had that issue getting to a wedding. Brought me to a Wal-Mart. Barely made it in time for the ceremony!

 

[Milhouse]

This is why I still navigate with an aviation sextant (it has an artificial horizon, very useful in cities when you can't sight the real horizon like at sea). Sight a few stars or the sun, run a few calcs, and plot your lat/lon on the map. Easy, especially if you have tables ready instead of doing the actual calculations each time.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

My "check engine light" came on a few months ago. I took it to the dealership. Guess what I needed? A new gas cap. Byebye $115...

 

[DocHolliday]

Now who looks prescient?

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=63938

 

[rach2jlc]

The Robot Menace, or the threat of such a thing, is why I have Old Glory Robot Life Insurance.

...for when the metal ones come for you. It is endorsed by Sam Waterson, so I know it's good.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

Robots eat old people' pills.

 

[grimslade]

I just saw a great Avengers episode about robots ("Never, Never Say Die"). The villain is Christopher Lee, 40 years younger.

 

[DocHolliday]

Originally Posted by grimslade

I just saw a great Avengers episode about robots ("Never, Never Say Die"). The villain is Christopher Lee, 40 years younger.

I'm always a sucker for the evil duplicate gimmick. The toy boat scene is amusing too.

I'm glad to see your box set is contributing to an uptick in the number of Avengers-related posts on SF.

 

[Douglas]

I thought this thread was going to be about mafoofan.

 

[rach2jlc]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Slim

Robots eat old people' pills.

When they get you in their big metal claws, you can't break free. Because they're made of metal; and robots are strong.

 

[Beta]

scanner tool FTW

 

[Tokyo Slim]

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

When they get you in their big metal claws, you can't break free. Because they're made of metal; and robots are strong.

Damn right. Thats why I overpay for Robot insurance.

 

[j]

Warning: Persons denying the existence of Robots may be Robots themselves.