Of course it was on this day in 1969 that Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. It seems to me that the percentage of people who believe it was all staged in a Hollywood studio is increasing dramatically.
While I believe it is healthy to be somewhat of a skeptic about things people believe, automatically rejecting accepted knowledge, the consensus, the popular or the mainstream does not–by itself–make a person smarter than others or better than others or special. It just makes that person a knee-jerk contrarian, which is no more profound or insightful than being a knee-jerk conformist.
I salute the crew of Apollo 11 and the thousands of others who made the mission possible.
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This morning I had a dream that was disturbing in two respects. I dreamt that the Apple devices owned by my wonderful wife and me seemed to be staging a coup. They would only open one app, that app could not be closed and the devices could not be powered down. During the dream, we were both upset that our iPhones and iPad were no longer working. After I woke up, I was disturbed that these devices have become so important that I would have such a dream and feel so disappointed by their failure.
The computing power of an iPhone dwarfs the power of the computers used by NASA to execute the Apollo missions. It is sad to me that people waste this power by taking selfies to post on social media accounts, by blindly following un-vetted ideas that conform to some poorly defined and poorly thought out a priori philosophy. I weep for the future although I will not see it.
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What do you think when you see these car photos?
No, they are not four pictures of the same car. Yes, they are pictures of four different cars. From top to bottom, all 2020 model year: Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Hyundai Sonata, Mazda 6.
As regular readers know I am a big fan of Everyday Driver. In an episode Todd Deeken and Paul Schmucker drove these four cars in a comparison with downtown Denver being the setting. I don’t remember, and honestly don’t care, how they ranked them. All I could think was that the cars were basically the same to me.
I acknowledge that the two hosts have automotive experience that I do not have, which allows them to note differences among cars that I would not notice. Still, the styling of these automobiles is scarily similar to my eyes. The fact that one might have 40 more HP than another or an 8-speed transmission as opposed to a 6-speed does not really distinguish the cars to me.
Of course, to me all pickup trucks and virtually all SUVs look like boxes on wheels. Although Everyday Driver has done episodes featuring reviews of non-cars, the hosts clearly make their preference for cars known. For that I salute them although I think it’s too late to reverse the tide. That doesn’t mean I can’t stay out of the ocean, though.
#MoonDayNotMonday
#AutomobileSameness
#somanyCARSjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
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Disaffected Musings 
Do NOT go in the ocean on a beach in Florida. If you watch enough cable TV shows you will understand.
The four photos you posted are the perfect example of why I say that I do not like most cars built after the Federal Safety Standards took effect. The only way you can you can tell the difference between cars today is by the badging telling you who made it. I will say the color red selected by the show was a wonderful shade. It is not of course the 1994 Ford F-150 Ultra Red, Ford color code M6500 that I will paint my truck project. Except for the grille, which will be 1948 Ford Tucson Tan, Ford code 14227.The Ultra Red is the red used on the 1994 F-150 Lightning. You could only get a Lightning in White, Red or Black. The Tucson Tan is the original grille color of the then new 1948 F-1 pickup. It was also the color of my Dad’s first car he bought after returning from WWII. We vacationed in Yellowstone, driving from Michigan in that 1948 Ford 2-door coupe. I do not remember the trip, but I have pictures to prove I was there.
I remember watching live on TV the first steps Neil and Buzz took on the moon. Sadly, Colonel Aldrin is the only surviving member of the crew, He is out defending his position that he did, in fact, fly to the moon, land on it, walk on it and return home to tell about it. There is a video of him confronting a vocal skeptic of the moon landing and was ready to punch him out for calling him a liar. Do not mess with a combat veteran.
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Thanks, Philip. To be clear, the car photos were not from the show, just four I chose from the Internet and yes, I did intend to show all of them in red.
I think Aldrin actually did punch someone who claimed the moon landings didn’t happen. If ignorance is bliss, then why are so many people unhappy?
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The ignorant only become unhappy when they realize that they are ignorant or what they believed is untrue. Then their bliss evaporates like the rain in Arizona.
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Can’t we just vote on what we think history was? Seems like a good idea to me… >frown<
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You know, JS, I think that’s exactly what some people think we should do.
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What do you think will be the next three cars in space will be? 😃
You write interesting stuff.
Robert.
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Thanks for joining the conversation and thanks for the compliment. Not sure you’re serious with the question. I was surprised Musk sent a Tesla Roadster into space, but maybe I shouldn’t have been. I’d like to see all
Volkswagenssent into space.LikeLike
We are living the old Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” 🙂
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Yes, JS, we are living in times that are, in actuality, too interesting. EVERYTHING has diminishing marginal utility.
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” app could not be closed and the devices could not be powered down.”
There IS a way, however it’s not cheap.
Step 1, beat the dog squeeze out of the device until it’s in at least 20 pieces.
Step 2, buy new device.
Re; cars/vehicles looking the same. Sad/funny story follows.
4-5 years ago I was visiting my dad and being as he didn’t cook beyond microwaving a hot dog, we went out to eat dinner. When we were leaving the restaurant he decided a trip to the men’s room was in order, so I continued out to the parking lot to wait for him. He was driving a RAV4, silver, so I went over and just leaned against it to wait. Few minutes later my dad came out and headed in a different direction. I started think dad was losing his marbles, until he OPENED THE DOOR of the vehicle he had walked over to. Turns out I was leaning against a Ford of the same size, color and shape. Beyond the badges and some minor styling differences, they could have rolled off the same assembly line.
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“There IS a way, however it’s not cheap.
Step 1, beat the dog squeeze out of the device until it’s in at least 20 pieces.
Step 2, buy new device.”
Very funny as usual, sir. Also, thanks for sharing the story about your dad’s RAV4 that looked like all of the other SUVs.
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