tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post5559702068934353181..comments2024-03-28T09:46:22.919-04:00Comments on Borepatch: The technology of growing and making wineBorepatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029434172945099693noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post-44339387745876229212014-02-02T19:34:02.807-05:002014-02-02T19:34:02.807-05:00It's worth remembering that one of the leading...It's worth remembering that one of the leading forces against US modernization of farming has been the United Farm Workers union. The UFW sued the federal government to stop all research into harvest mechanization at any university receiving federal funds in 1978, and won. <br /><br />Put it this way: they want a future with a permanent underclass picking fruit. Little brown people will always clean the floors and wash the dishes. What a progressive vision: replace your washing machine with a Mexican!<br /><br />SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post-13866160350588511842014-02-02T18:25:43.303-05:002014-02-02T18:25:43.303-05:00Assuming the economy doesn't turn into a smoki...Assuming the economy doesn't turn into a smoking crater, the place to be career-wise will be in automation systems and networks to tie them together (plus the security to keep those networks whole). <br /><br />I think we're about to see an absolutely massive push into everything and anything that replaces people. If a company doesn't have people it doesn't care about the US Dept of Labor, the crappy state of the education industry or Obamacare. The new priesthood will be the folks who design, implement and maintain automated systems. And there won't be all that many of them compared to the number of bodies previously needed to make stuff work. <br /><br />And once it progresses beyond a certain point there will be no going back, and no one - and I mean <i> no one</i> will be able to successfully compete against it. Cheap labor in China or India won't mean a thing when your perfectly manufactured gizmo shows up on your doorstep in 8-24 hours, and in your color of choice. <br /><br />UPS and FedEx? Of limited value when the automated system that makes it is 6 blocks away rather than in Milwaukee or Bejing. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com