It's set in the exact same time and place, and I think parallels the destructive nature of the Road in a more a direct way.

I think the Road is actually best read once as a teenager, once at midlife. The perspective change is enormous.

The authorities are just itching to have their brains replaced with by dumb computer logic, without regard for community safety and wellbeing.

Every class should start with a why~!

People value not having to step over the homeless to get to work, lower crime, free healthcare, no risk of deportation for having a view on Palestine etc etc

The US isn't that pleasant of a place to live.

But you're completely right, Capital has done amazing job of pulling the wool over our eyes hasn't it.

I work as an regular engineer in construction and I have a very cushy job compared to the boots on the ground working in the mud. I am conveying what I and everyone else thinks about tech working conditions.

Also not against unions, I have to work with unions in my day to day.

Yeah, when people choose to write an article about 'how bad they have it', don't expect sympathy from anyone else if you 'don't have it that bad'. Christ, you all get paid 3 x plus the median salary... Go work a job with better conditions that pays less! Or use your incredible market power to move to a place that does have better conditions (which you all have seem to done anyway!)

Unionise for gods sake, but jeez it would help if some of you had to scrape a little in your past prior.

The rest of the world outside of tech, looks at tech and sees a bunch of very overpaid developers with quite cushy perks...

Like sure, it would be great to unionise... But if tech workers don't acknowledge their privelege, they shouldn't be shocked when no-one else turnsout to support them.

For instance the bombing of England during WW2 didn't break their will to fight. The fire bombing of 95% of Japan's cities didn't diminish their will to fight either.

And let's not forget the vietnam war... didn't seem to be effective for the US...

Bombing civilians rarely achieves any war goals and may actually have the opposite affect.

God they were cheap tickets though..

You will be surprised to find that Champ is the word Aussies will use when unimpressed. For instance, "You alright there Champ?" means " You absolute idiot, what in the hell are you thinking?"

https://douglasadams.com/dna/980707-08-a.html

"and get this, this is a very important and significant part of what happens to you on Hayman Island - staff who don't just say "No worries" when you thank them for topping up your champagne glass, they actually say "No worries at all". They truly and sincerely want you, specifically you, not just any old fat git lying around in a sun hat, but you personally, to feel that there is nothing in this best of all possible worlds that you have come to for you to concern yourself about in any way at all. Really. Really. We don't even despise you. Really. No worries at all."

Walking up a mountain, the public seemed generally unfit in comparison to Australia?