That post is like some precision engineered engagement bait. There are multiple axes of conflict that ensnare people in the mood to argue or share their opinions.

I haven't commented yet, but consider my situation as an example.

Middle aged, lifelong resident of midwest suburbia, USA. Car-centric infrastructure created long before I was born. Mass transit is a novelty that's only available when visiting the city. All of this to say: Owning a car and driving to every destination is a basic necessity.

I enjoy the sensory experience of driving and I have a small fun car.

But I also try to pay attention to the world around me and care about other people and other life on this planet. So even though I'm a bit of a "car guy" I can definitely say yeah, fuck cars.

And I use the term "cars" lightly. Where I live, if you drive a "car" like a 4-door sedan that seats 5 and weighs under 3,500lbs (1588 kg), you are already in the smallest 10% of vehicles on the road.

MY man!

First, I appreciate that your comment is even longer than mine AND came with the multimedia.

I totally get what you mean about it being an occasion to listen to music with the old equipment. I had at least one portable CD player with no anti-skip. So not only can I feel some of that experience just through nostalgia, but then I start thinking about nerdy little kid me getting a player with anti-skip. It had a clear window on the lid, so I could see how the disc spun at 2x speed for while when starting a song or causing skips. I started to understand how it was filling a buffer and must have had a bit of extra RAM in there. And now middle aged me monitors and controls engine RPM all the time in my automatic car, lol.

On listening to MP3s, I see no issue there, but I have always been more of a videophile and less of an audiophile. However, I have also transitioned away from locally stored music, to just streaming from my Jellyfin server. Thanks to that practically eliminating audio size concerns, I just use FLACs of everything.

As high tech as that sounds, the server capacity also helps me discover music in the old-fashioned & natural way rather than algorithmically. When I realize I am missing some song I want, I will add as much of that band's entire discography as I have available. Then it's just a question of whether I listen to albums or random songs. Any songs that noticeably stroke my neurons the right way gets added to my single playlist of bangers, for when I don't want random or albums.

Finally, a manual transmission midsize sedan can still be had in a few non-BMW forms. I have actually been researching current fun-transmission new cars even though I don't plan to buy anything any time soon. Most of them will be performance oriented models that recommend premium, but most seem to be able to run regular these days with just reduced max hp. So just going off memory for now:

Civic Si - This might be your best bet. High fuel economy, great 6-speed, well equipped, well priced. I think it's in the Car & Driver top 10, with a 10/10 score, alongside the Type R which is like $20K more.

Mazda3 hatchback - ok it's not a sedan, but for some reason you can get a specific premium trim level of the hatchback with a really good 6-speed. It's also a FWD 2.5L that recommends regular unleaded.

Elantra N: 6-speed manual and 8-speed DCT available. Seems like an extremely fun performance bargain. Lots of tech and adjustability, including fancy LSD.

WRX: 6-speed AND full time AWD. I had one long ago and loved it. It isn't regarded as being quite as aggressive and refined as the Si and the N these days I think, but it's definitely a great all around vehicle and you aren't stuck with FWD if that matters to you.

Still insisted that he wanted the billion.

That demonstrates the underlying problem. When you can quantify something, people can compete over it. To most people money is THE quantifiable thing about humans. We literally call a person's money number their "net worth." It's not "oh that guy with all these relationships and virtues and vices has just seen his net assets exceed one billion." It is "he is now worth one billion."

So with it carrying such cultural weight and such quantifiability... I guess what I am trying to say is that sometimes the problem really as is simple as "number go up." Unfortunately, simple problems can still have impossibly complex solutions. How do you change the nature of a person, and then do it en masse? How do you break one feedback loop and get into another? (the people in control would make society more decent if they themselves grew up in a more decent society)

Even living in the US (but being on Lemmy and therefore knowing computers and hating advertising) getting stuck watching cable TV at a relative's house can be a real "boring dystopia" experience.

It can be genuinely disturbing when you realize the majority of the ads you've seen were for ONLY medication and gambling.

Live TV is so bad that I would take $65/mo of corporate streaming services over FREE cable.

I choose neither, but if those were the only two options there's no contest.

I feel at home in this photo. My beard has turned 1% more gray this blessed night.

The key differences I have come from the fact that I am drawn to the "chief engineer turned goose farmer" future even more than the "greybeard recluse inventor" one. I

get to use a Debian machine at work all day anyway, plus of course the home PC runs it. With KDE there is nothing that feels old about it unless I check when the kernel was released.

My car isn't THAT old but it's on its way. I drive an almost 15 year old mazda3, which we have owned for all of those years. I just did my biggest-yet DIY maintenance/repair when I had to replace some disintegrated-yet-seized brake hoses in addition to pads and rotors and flushing the fluid. In my driveway, no garage. I got a bunch of new wrenches and vise grips!

The mazda is an automatic since we originally bought it for my wife. But it was right after the company debuted the Skyactiv stuff. Among other things like great fuel efficiency, that means the transmission locks up the torque converter as often as possible. And it has manual shift mode. So when you're in gear holding some mid-range RPM, you do still feel that direct powertrain connection between engine and wheels.

Part of me is casually keeping tabs on the "fun" new car models out there that still offer a manual transmission or DCT. But another part of me is constantly noting to self how I already have a nearly perfect old familiar car that is fun and practical for the whole family. It has low mileage for the age and a good maintenance history. And it is $FREE versus $30,000+.

Aside from the car difference, I have cast off a bunch of little devices and accessories thanks to my conscious efforts to be less connected and more about experiencing life at my natural pace. I no longer wear a watch, ever, even though I definitely have the chunky leather wallet. Also no glowing visible clocks in the bedroom or family room. And no big stereo because 95% of my music listening is via headphones at work or working outside in my yard.

Even if we assume your opinion/conclusion is true, the fault for that lies with the government and society at large, or maybe just capitalism in general. It is not an individual issue when so many people live in areas that have been designed (often for corrupt/malicious reasons) around individual vehicle use.

I'd say that for individuals the risk is real and we should all try to be prepared for emergencies the best we can. Access to a vehicle is a prerequisite for having an income for many folks though. Other options don't exist, and non-ownership vehicle options are typically more expensive (taxi/uber/lyft) or drag another person into the arrangement.

even though you gain nothing?

I call begging the question!

It assumes a purely capitalist worldview where the only way you can personally gain from an action is via monetary reward. I know I'm preaching to the choir here on Lemmy, but being in the US I think it's still worth pointing out because it's a full-on cultural disease.

Now, if you don't mind, I need to go spend most of my evening doing things that will seemingly gain me nothing. Omg what if I spend some money on materials I need for a hobby? NeGaTiVe gAiNz?!??

It's like the "because double dog go fuck yourself" cherry on top of the layered parfait of redistribution of wealth in the wrong direction the years have given us.

However, if someone went to a phone store with a stock graphene on display and anything else next to it, which one do you think they'll choose?

Given the past couple years I'd like to think the fraction to choose graphene would be multiple times what it would have been 5-10 years ago. But not close to a majority.

I love how this frame captured them both so well. If you look into the candidate's eyes you see frustration. If you look into the Fox drone's eyes, you see a big smiling face on an inflatable clown punching bag that's about to tilt back to the right.