It would be good to come here and discuss rational "Personal" solutions for our energy and financial dilemmas, ignoring the big picture, the national fortunes, which we have no control over and can't influence one iota. But alas the house is now haunted by trolls and cornucopian windsocks that can't see past the latest new promised technology, like it was a bowl of ice-cream. Well it's dogshit, just pointless pretend tech now, built on endless Lies about performance and utility and how it will improve your life. Take this home robot crap, like they will be in your house in a few years, doing all the work for under $20k. Next time you make a coffee, like as in spooning in the sugar and pouring in the milk, (and stirring it) just consider how many fine motor movements your arms and hands are performing, and how seamlessly you can do it. Now walk across a room with that near full cup. You'd be unlikely to spill it because of the innate balance we humans have, our feet and torso articulating precisely, our arm and hand moving the cup as we walk, just so, countering any slopping by tiny adjustments.
These robots are light years from that. They walk flat footed, clunk clunk clunk, their upper section swaying to maintain balance with no hope of performing even the simple task of maintaining a level coffee and stop it swishing over the rim. And that's a basic task! How about making a bed, or preparing a meal by cutting veggies and meat, and COOKING IT. Smelling when it's near done, tasting it to see if it needs more salt etc. These are all routine household jobs and many will be impossible for a robot as they have no sense of smell or touch or taste. Lets see one put on a pillow slip or shake out a doona eh?
For decades we have been saturated with movies of humans pretending to be robots, they walk just a little odd, their heads jerk just a tad to give the impression they are robotic, but do we see them making a coffee? And when they do something critical it's always a human movement because these are humans pretending to be futuristic robots. SciFi robots. Now we have labs trying to make Robots act as humans and their efforts are pathetic! Oh just wait, a couple more years...
Utter bullshit! These technologies aren't progressing exponentially, but linearly, slowly, just like computers are now. Computer memory was on an exponential track, that and related systems, miniaturization, due to hundreds of Billions being poured into the sector. But that's basically over now. Why the hell do you think they have to build such MASSIVE data centers? It's because the exponential curve of memory systems has flattened that's why. Look at the phone in your pocket, aside from a better camera and larger screen, faster connectivity, it's little different than the ones we were carrying in 2015, a decade ago. And lets not forget, while we have been diverting trillions into these techno non-necessities the rest of the build economy has been collapsing. What's more important in the end analysis, energy efficient houses for all, made of quality materials, roads networks maintained to a high standard and made safer by the decade, a robust electrical grid, or a little device in your pocket that lets you play games, tweet to people you don't know, and take endless pictures of yourself. Or a Battery powered car or a widescreen TV. They are nothing more than a little shot of heroin in the arm so people feel good about living in a squalid degenerating nation.
I watched part of vid earlier where Elon is on stage talking about the amazing future we will all be living in. Well that's if you're a billionaire who never has to worry about bills, to whom the price of even the most expensive food is irrelevant, who can buy any house in any country or have one custom built from the finest materials money can buy. But that isn't his audience is it. They are just average people, no doubt mired in debt for homes and cars, so much debt they don't even think about it anymore, just look at the monthly repayments and as long as they are covered by their income the world is fine. But the world isn't fine. It's like a super-volcano now and under the surface the lava is rising fast.
When things turn to shit down on main street the Likes of Elon Musk can just jump on a private jet and fly off to a private Island and leave it all behind. And the only reason he can is because he's sucked millions of people (fans) into believing that going into debt for an $80,000 car is the pinnacle of achievement in life. That paying him a monthly service fee of $120 for a starlink connection is smart too. Don't worry that you don't have the cash in the bank to repair your car or pay to get the house painted, you can just add that to your CC, you have hi-speed streaming of garbage movies and games now, so just grab that cheap bag of Cheetos and much away while he shops for another luxury mansion overseas.
No, there is no hope of a rewarding intercourse here now, the rational posters have left the room. I guess they just got sick off all the deniers and dreamers, the ones that just take everything the TV and Government departments and the Corporations spew out as Gospel. I'd like to think I'll still be here when the rugs finally pulled, when they give up pretending they are ever going to fix the national's health. When the true unemployment figures are uncovered, when the real value of the public stock market is exposed. But in reality I have watched it spiral down towards a Mexican style failed state for decades now and most people haven't even noticed the changes? Every state government is technically bankrupt, the rule of law in the cities is in tatters and it's only the free food being dolled out that's preventing mass riots like seen elsewhere in the world.
Living in a nice neighborhood in a typical city won't matter a fuck then. You'll just be a Big Fat target for every disgruntled arsehole on the street. I knew a Yank that emigrated here after the LA riots. His home, though quite nice, was made of ticky tacky, it was right in the middle of those Riots. They slept on the floor because the bullets went right through the walls he told me. He moved out here and started a new life at the back of the Gold Coast and was doing fine last I heard. That's what it'll be like there in the future, one big LA riot from coast to coast. Millions of people who hate each other, an entire society divided in a dozen factions, Blacks, South Americans, trans activists, red necks, Religious nuts armed to the teeth, both Christian and Muslim. it's going to be quite a show
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We're 17 years past the peak now and the 3rd World is going hungry and dark. We'll be next, we're well on the way in fact.
But sales tanked and so they drastically scaled back production of the Lightning and other models, pushing the existing stock out the door at a fraction of the actual production cost. Perhaps they thought if enough people bought them the momentum would lead to better sales in the future? But it wasn't to be. The screwed up. They should gone out before they committed to the buildup and interviewed 1000 average ford buyers, asked them what they thought of EV's, it would have been a reality check. As it was they waited until they had thousands on the lot and discovered the hard way. 
No better than a Laptop, and why should they be, they are full of laptop batteries after all. 
