Greg Beato: Stop Complaining About That Flying Car. You Have Amazon.

Amazon

In the 20th century, flying cars expressed the ultimate dream of personal autonomy, the power to propel yourself anywhere. In the 21st century, the stuff we want comes to us. For customers in a handful of cities who pay an annual $299 fee, Amazon promises same-day delivery of 500,000 items-everything from groceries to office equipment. "Place your order by 10 AM and have it by dinner," Amazon's website advises. Soon, writes Greg Beato in the January issue of Reason. you might only have to wait until lunch.

Comments

[Hyperion]

I've received stuff from Amazon same day 2 times now. Not much is available for same day delivery, but occasionally that option pops up. And I didn't pay any fee for it, besides my annual Amazon prime fee.

[Zeb]

There is only so much stuff I need or want delivered to my house. I still want my flying car.

[Hyperion]

Look, you can't just let people be flying around like that. What if they have a gun!? What if they're on that marijuana!?

[Cytotoxic]

Fine.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2.....ght-think/

[Rod Flash]

I've been reading this article for 30 years. Still don't have the flying car.

[Cytotoxic]

IT'S THERE.

[Aloysious]

I love Amazon, but I still want a flying car if for nothing more than to simplify the commute.

Delivery by drone is an exciting prospect. I just hope they figure out a way to minimize the risk of some yahoo shooting the drone delivering my pizza out of the air.

[Hyperion]

This is reason 3,847,215 that we have to ban all guns.

[Aloysious]

In all seriousness, the cynic in me expects to see the headline 'Amazon drones being shot out of the air' sooner rather than later, followed by bed wetters clutching their pearls and decrying American gun culture.

Or some variation of that scenario.

And on a totally different note: my oven just quit working again. rats.

[Hyperion]

That sucks man. I have a gas grill out on my deck and I always keep a spare tank of gas, just in case. Can't cook is right up there in terms of bad with running out of beer on a holiday weekend.

[Faceless Commenter]

Pizza Poaching, the next big thing

[C. Anacreon]

I don't remember any fraternities ever having gang rape initiations, but I do remember a fraternity at my college that would often rob the pizza delivery vehicle while the driver was in a dorm. Then the frat boys would add insult to injury by calling us up (our phone number was on the pizza box) and telling us how yummy our pizza was. And then, of course, after that the pizza place wouldn't deliver to our campus that night, so we had to rummage for saltines and ketchup for dinner.

Speaking of gang rape, did anyone see the Sunday Doonesbury today? Apparently Garry Trudeau swallowed the whole UVa lie hook, line and sinker, and is expressing outrage at rape culture.

[Suthenboy]

Looked it up. What the fuck was that supposed to be? The Jackie rape lie has been completely discredited and they ran that today?

Ten bucks that gets used at evidence in the suits against RS and Erdely.

The RS story is still up too.

Is this going to be one of those flagship cases that, after being proven a compete lie, is kept alive and becomes permanently true in people's memories?

[scooby509]

Considering the expense, they'd have to be working on that.

It'll be some combination of making the drones stealthy, the ability to find and report the shooter, and routing around known bad areas.

[Hyperion]

routing around known bad areas

RACIST!

[Cytotoxic]

Would flying cars really simplify the commute? They can fall out of the air.

[AlmightyJB]

Now people can not use their up/down blinkers

[Suthenboy]

I imagine autopilot will figure in to managing a large population of flying cars.

You just tell it where you want to go, kick back and then pull up Reason on your smart phone and get your smart-ass on. Oh, wait.....

[AlmightyJB]

OT: watching drugs inc on ngeo. Customs Officers checking out flights from Dominican Repubic. Young male traveling alone catches their attention. First they wearch his bags and find nothing. Then they tell him they're taking him back to do a cavity search and find nothing. Then the officer interviews him and concludes his story doesn't add up. He tells him you know you swallowed pellets and so do I. You're not leaving here until we see whats inside you. Then he pressures him into confessing which the kid eventully does so they take him to a medical facility to xray him and have him pass the drugs through. 70 pellets which they aaid was about a kilo of coke. What are rules as far as what they can and cannot do regarding searches and detainment coming back into the country? Since you are getting off the plane and not on I would think even property searhes would require a warrent but I'm guessing that's not the case. And then there is the strip search and the threat of indefinate detainment.

[Zeb]

It appears that Customs can do whatever the fuck they want, even to citizens.

I say that compelling searches of the inside of a person violates the right against self-incrimination. But that might not apply at the border either.

[Cytotoxic]

There's a TV show about Canadian Border Customs that was scientifically designed to piss me off. I love that my tax dollars go towards fighting the menace of people coming here with chicken, or to work. On the bright side, I have better knowledge of how to get around that stuff. Pro-tip: don't leave your work schedule or any reference to your illegal job in your main email account

[ingra.mckee]

just before I saw the receipt which said $5461 , I didnt believe ...that...my mom in-law woz like they say actually bringing in money in their spare time at there labtop. . there sisters roommate has been doing this 4 only about twenty months and by now paid the mortgage on there house and purchased themselves a Audi Quattro . this link...........www.netjob70.com

[Hyperion]

And you don't even have to know how to spell 'their'.

[Hyperion]

Well, it's in already. It's Boosh vs Hitlary in 2016.

Needz moar Boosh Clinton

Am I the only one who is way past sick of the lame stream media and their Bush/Clinton crush?

[Surly Chef]

No, you're not.

[SIV]

Fuck Amazon. Flying cars don't lobby congress to force their competitors to collect sales tax.

[Michael Ejercito]

Flying cars are like sixty-year old technology.

[Malkavian]

Isn't flying car basically like a helicopter utilitywise?

Small footprint for ease of parking? Check.

Travel for a few hundred miles at speeds of 100+ mph? Check.

[Rod Flash]

I'm pretty sure a real flying car as prototyped by George Jetson uses antigravity for life and otherwise uses an engine for thrust and maneuvering rockets.

[Rod Flash]

lift, dammit.

[Suthenboy]

Which will soon be practical, just as soon as Lockheed is cranking out their fusion reactors like potato chips.