I wish this video had more actual footage from the system, showing what it would be like to use the system to look around the vehicle.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. "

--Ferris Bueller

I was pretty sure this video was sifted already so I looked around and it turned out that I sifted it! hahahah (I should have tagged it better)

The only problem is my video is dead... oh well

http://videosift.com/video/First-Driving-Lesson-Ends-Poorly

@shveddy

I don't buy his overstretched ticking time bomb analogy or the idea of a point of no return. Countless people have predicted peak oil, global resource wars and the like for decades with none of significance eventuating.

Historically this argument would have been even more credible looking around the baby boomer growth of post WWII, because relative population growth was much higher and families were much larger even in developed countries.

Nevertheless, (taking food as an example) agricultural yields multiplied while (taking the US as an example) agricultural employment fell from ~35% in 1900 to <3% today.

Again, pre-GFC, both general food and oil prices were reaching near historic highs. We've since seen moves towards expanding oil/gas supply through fraking and more aggressive and widespread use of GM to enhance yields as well as purely enhancing supply in response to high prices. Both have stayed more or less flat since 08.

The point is, it will be a gradual change, one that society will respond to automatically through price rises, and incentives to create more efficient use of the resources that are available.

Also as far as how to achieve a reduced population as you alluded to, people don't respond to vague global threats that don't immediately impact them currently. Like global warming. Anything other than financial incentives or legal coercion won't have an impact.

Jesus, I feel so much stupider after watching that. It's a great compilation and makes a lot of sense when looking around todays world though. Which came first? The lazy marketing, or the lazy-asses?

Funny. I live in the bay area, and walk my son to soccer in the park all the time with no worries. We can take easy, peaceful strolls outside in the summer and winter. Looking around, it's no Norman Rockwell, but all I see are american families. We are surrounded by the best schools and universities in the country.

As far as Oakland goes, it's a great city to visit and to live. It's not just me that feels this way, demand for housing there has only increased in the past decade. It's expensive to buy there because people want to live there. Alot more than St. Paul, by the way. Last time I checked, St. Paul also had its crime ridden parts; or can you walk anywhere at night in your town?

So these dystopian pictures being painted on this thread exist in this thread only. In real life, Oakland is a thriving city with alot going for it, and the people with means who actually drive the economy agree, and are voting with their feet and wallets, and corporate headquarters.

I visit Oakland often. The last trip, I took my son on a tour of the USS Hornet, where he got to see the first footsteps of the Apollo astronauts after they returned to Earth. Before that, we visited the world class planetarium and took in great views of the valley. I love going to the great restaurants and live music venues downtown.

"Next time I'll look around the back."
You won't find the press box there. Usually.

Looking around the Internet (AFTER making that comment) I find that you are correct:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_opinion_of_same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States
, amongst other sources.
I therefore completely redact my initial statement.
Slight note on my behalf: A link to such a source in addition to calling me "uninformed" instead of using the term "inane" goes a long way in terms of communication and persuasion :-)

I love sport finals. I go over to people's houses for the Grey/Stanley Cup, Superbowl, whatever. I roll in there with my snack food, alcohol, and chips. The mood is electric and as the game is about to begin, I look around the room and ask:

"OK, who is playing?"

Wow, do I get some funny looks. When they ask why I don't know the teams or what is going on I reply very sincerely that I am here to drink alcohol, eat snack foods, and yell at the TV, and this is pretty much the only environment that allows me to do that.

They have fun their way, I have fun mine.

@enoch

There is little doubt that Child Labor, Labor Explotation, and Forced Labor continue to be of a major concern with Africa and Asia/India being particularly problematic. That said, concerted efforts are being made to reduce these numbers and they are improving, but slower than anyone would like. Unfortunately the problem is largely cyclical - even educated youth have trouble finding productive work, so they are forced into unskilled labor, and there is little economic growth.

Again, there is no magic wand that any one organization or person can waive to resolve these issues. The ILO has been trying for almost 100 years...

I would not characterize every person who is lucky or privileged enough that they do not live in those conditions to be terrible people.

Consumerism?
Nor would I characterize people's value as simply being good consumers. The people I know in my life all make contributions to the welfare of those around them and are rewarded for those contributions.

e.g. My best friend, a p.h.d. doing research regarding immunology I can't begin to understand. My fiance, finishing her ER residency at the county hospital. My brother, working as a kayaking guide.

Circling the Drain
Is America really circling the drain? I doubt it. Has it done terrible things? We all know it has.

When I look around I see a lot of problems here. We do have a huge wealth gap. We do have ghettos and crime. We have all sorts of selfcentered ego driven loons.

Yet we also have an enormous pool of talented and intelligent people working on all kinds of things. Some of which are mundane and some of which are really amazing - and many of which are sifted about on this website all the time.

Carlin
I saw Carlin live twice before he died. I own several of his books. I think he is a brilliant comedian and insightful thinker. My point is and was - he saw it as his job to remind us "HEY - look over here. See this shit? This is FUCKED." And he was right.

A little too quiet...

*looks around suspiciously*

They are already. You can go to their homepage and pre-order one right now. The next batch of orders is currently expected to ship out in September, hence the "pre-order" bit. So if you actually want one you can get them within a few months by ordering now, or faster if you get one from eBay (will cost extra though). =)

Though if you're sensible you'd wait for the consumer model, which will have a better screen (higher pixel density to lower the "screendoor" effect, lower switch times for less motion blur, better contrast) as well as other nice features (positional tracking on top of directional tracking, so you can actually look around corners, not just pivot your head). You'll be waiting for those for a year or two though. =)

Seems it survived unscathed ... I just found this:

Brian Kaloper, harbormaster at Seattle’s Elliott Bay Marina, was walking to his office on Monday morning when something caught his eye.

It was a seal on the marina’s G dock. Given that the dock is heavily traveled, Kaloper thought it was odd to see the animal there.

“When I got into my office, we turned on our security cameras to see what was going on,” he said.

Soon, Kaloper was treated to an astonishing sight. As the camera recorded, the seal gave birth to a pup, alternately laboring and taking a few breaks to rest. Immediately after the pup was born, the mother turned around and nudged its face and body, as if to make sure it was alright, then looked around the dock.

Marina staff quickly locked the door to the gate to protect the mother and baby, put up caution tape and kept the dock closed for a few hours, until the mother and newborn were back in the water. Kaloper said though marina staff are used to seeing wildlife around the facilty, the birth was astonishing to witness.

“Our staff sees plenty of seals and pups swimming about, but to catch nature in its most pure form on camera during a regular Monday was unbelievable,” he said.

Oh yes, I told you I spent some time looking around. You're adorable.

I forgot to mention...that's a very cute website you have - I had fun looking around...but I couldn't find that list of foods on there. What heading is it under?