Category: Fourre-tout

“Control your own destiny or someone else will.”
Jack Welch

Like good fairies, relatives and friends gather around the crib of a newborn baby to look at him and to speculate about his/her future.
When he grows up, what is he going to be?
He has big ears, says one; he will be a musician. She has a big mouth, says a dentist, probably a politician. He cries a lot, says a Republican, he will be a Socialist.

But the future is not what it used to be.
When I was a child it was a mirage shimmering on the horizon. Today it is a harsh reality and it is banging on your door.
And you cannot ignore it because nothing is more dangerous than a lack of information.

So, who owns the future?
Techies and lawyers! That’s who. And plumbers! There is gold in them faucets!

[like]

Techies will routinely outperform Jesus in the miracles department.
They don’t speak Aramaic but communicate through a bizarre combination of digits only understood by their own disciples.
Their altar is a keyboard and they worship a Golden Calf who goes by the name of Logic.

Thanks to them, blind people will see (bionic eyes), cripples will walk (bionic prosthetics), deaf-mute will speak (via brain waves) and lepers will be cured (gene therapy).
In an increasingly politically correct world, even wars will fought with “green ammunition”.

“Green bullet, green ammunition or green ammo are nicknames for a United States Department of Defense program to eliminate the use of hazardous materials from small arms ammunition and from small arms ammunition manufacturing. Initial objectives were elimination of ozone-depleting substances, volatile organic compounds, and heavy metals from primers and projectiles.”

In other words, people will be killed cleanly. This novel idea will definitely please the ecologists.

What about love and emotions?
No worries. Like in India, a machine will pick the right mate for you. And it will do a better job than you would.

So how do we deal with the future?

As Jacques de Chabannes, Lord of La Palice would say, “We must embrace it, because regardless of our age or beliefs the future is here to stay.”

Well said Jacques!

(“…two days before his death / he was still quite alive”.)

Alain

It is “déjà vu” all over again.

Blocked streets, smashed or overturned cars, burning tires, scuffles.
The French are at it again. Doing what they do best. Protest.
When I say French, this time I mean Parisian cab drivers even though all French are born with a “protest “gene.

They are angry at the “Uberification” of their profession.
Unfair competition they say.

Maybe, but first who/what is Uber and why is it such a bugaboo?

Uber is an American international company headquartered in San Francisco, California.
It created and exploits the Uber mobile app, which allows consumers with smartphones to request a car ride from private individuals.

How do you use that thing?

First, you must download the (free) Uber application to your smartphone.
Then you authorize Uber to access your location.
Next you enter your email address and a mobile phone number.
You create a Password.
You enter your First name and Last name.
And finally, you enter a credit card number.

Et voila! You are now part of a growing club whose members can summon a ride at the click of a button.

When you first access Uber on your smartphone, you must select a pickup location, then a destination.

• You then select the car best suited for your ride (sedan or van)
• You tap “Set Pickup Location” to request your ride.
• You tap Fare Estimate to see the range of fares for your trip.
• At the end of a ride, the complete fare is automatically billed to the customer’s credit card.

As you can see, it is very efficient and customers overwhelmingly like it. But cab drivers don’t. Naturellement!

So what’s the big fuss all about anyway?

The cab drivers’ union argues that amateur drivers don’t have to pay a licensing fee ($270,000 in France) to operate their vehicle and that gives them an unfair competitive advantage.
Again maybe.

But the Uber technology is much more efficient (and often cheaper) than the antiquated taxicabs’ monopoly.
And it is not up to the taxi drivers to decide what’s best for the customers. It is the other way around.

In spite of the present ruckus, the transition to Uber technology is inevitable; it is effective and people want it.
And tellingly big smart venture capital (Google) is backing it.

Today’s cab drivers are like stagecoach drivers. A thing of the past.
So cabbies, you must adapt or perish.
If you cannot beat them, it would be wise to join them… and many cab drivers have already done so.

Of course there are still a few kinks in the system but I would bet my bottom dollar that Uber will prevail.

So what do you prefer? Chasing a taxicab or being wooed by it.

A no-brainer!

Alain

“The best path towards reform would be for cities to abolish the need for medallions, by allowing anyone within reason who wishes to drive—whether for cab or rideshare companies—to do so.” Forbes magazine