Pineapple Express: Someone Is Wrong on the Internet?

Although some of the features in newer cars are super-handy, I really miss being able to reach over without looking and just press a button or turn a knob. Now I have to navigate a menu while driving. Who thought this was a good idea? In what way is this an improvement? I have ADD - this is deadly! Many's the drive where I had to pull over repeatedly to get something the way I need it. Yeesh.
You just reminded me of something else that I didn't like about the Sentra. In addition to the screen being in both the vertical and horizontal centre of the dashboard, the only way to seemingly interact with it was touch. Rather ironically it's Mazda's idiosyncratic information/entertainment interface that gets the most complaints because the base version is essentially controlled by 4 buttons and a dial, instead of touchscreen. Even the larger 10" screen on the upper models, which has touch, also has the 4 buttons and dial. it took me maybe 5 minutes to get the basics of it and it's rather intuitive in its use. Give me buttons and dials as well.

 
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Although some of the features in newer cars are super-handy, I really miss being able to reach over without looking and just press a button or turn a knob. Now I have to navigate a menu while driving. Who thought this was a good idea? In what way is this an improvement? I have ADD - this is deadly! Many's the drive where I had to pull over repeatedly to get something the way I need it. Yeesh.
I’ve been hating on the changeover from tactile buttons to touchscreens/menus since it started.

I will say, though, there are certain menus on our Mazda CX-9 I can now navigate without looking almost as well as I could do likewise with older controls. Part of that is because certain controls still use buttons/dials. It’s kind of like when someone cracks a safe on TV or in movies: turn dial 2 steps rt, jog it up 1 step, press dial to select.
 

“I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain. One always finds one’s burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself, forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
Albert Camus
-- Michael Scott
 

“I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain. One always finds one’s burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself, forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
―Albert Camus​
Camus can pound sand for that one.
 

For out of town trips and weekend getaways, I'll use a car-sharing app like Zipcar. SO MUCH CHEAPER than a car + gas + insurance + etc., and I never have to worry about parking or someone stealing my catalytic convertor.

I have, for several years, been getting by with Zipcar, and an occasional Uber, when our family car isn't available. For only an occasional use, yes, it works pretty well, and cheaper than the car, gas, and insurance, which is why we donated my old car to charity. And then, with the pandemic, we weren't going anywhere. A second car would have been wasteful. But, times change.

The nearest Zipcar for me is a 15 to 20 minute walk away. It adds a lot of effort to going out to shop for groceries, or pick up the farmshare, or go to a doctor's appointment, especially in a Bostonian winter.

Plus, my wife's work is 100% housecalls. If she doesn't have a car, she doesn't work and has to reschedule a ton of appointments, and sick animals don't get care. So, if anything is wrong with her car, we have to rent something, generally for a few days. When the rental fees for the year start looking about the same as insurance fees for a second car, that second car starts looking quite attractive.
 

I have, for several years, been getting by with Zipcar, and an occasional Uber, when our family car isn't available. For only an occasional use, yes, it works pretty well, and cheaper than the car, gas, and insurance, which is why we donated my old car to charity. And then, with the pandemic, we weren't going anywhere. A second car would have been wasteful. But, times change.

The nearest Zipcar for me is a 15 to 20 minute walk away. It adds a lot of effort to going out to shop for groceries, or pick up the farmshare, or go to a doctor's appointment, especially in a Bostonian winter.

Plus, my wife's work is 100% housecalls. If she doesn't have a car, she doesn't work and has to reschedule a ton of appointments, and sick animals don't get care. So, if anything is wrong with her car, we have to rent something, generally for a few days. When the rental fees for the year start looking about the same as insurance fees for a second car, that second car starts looking quite attractive.
When my wife moved to New Jersey to move in with me, I told her she needed a car. I think a popular conspiracy theory is that the bus system was deliberately crippled to encourage car ownership. I can't speak to that, but you do really need a car to get around at all. Uber and the like are really expensive in this state; we only use them for trips to and from the airport.
 

When my wife moved to New Jersey to move in with me, I told her she needed a car. I think a popular conspiracy theory is that the bus system was deliberately crippled to encourage car ownership.

I'll still be using public transportation for the two days a week I need to be in the office for work, because I'd be crazy to try to drive into downtown Boston and out again at rush hours. The car's for all the getting around to random points in the suburbs I need to do outside of work, and for the occasional longer road trip that would be awkward with charging the electric car.
 
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