Almost five years ago, I wrote the following:
If capitalist society is so good, and the free market by design always gives us riches, why is it that there are more two-income families struggling to make ends meet these days, than there were one-income families doing fine fifty years ago? Don’t blame taxes; they’re lower now than they have been in twenty years, and still a lot of unemployment exists. Why is it? Twenty-three years ago, we were promised a future of abject leisure, not to mention flying cars. Where are the flying cars?
I was, of course, aping Avery Brooks (Captain Sisko from Star Trek: DS9) who appeared on a series of IBM commercials around the year 2000 asking where all the flying cars were — and in a tone of voice that suggested he was quite ticked off that there were no flying cars to be had.
I wonder if somebody listened to him and hurried up to deliver one. Mr. G — Gary Lawrence Murphy — remembered my post, and possibly the fact that it was his website I was talking about, and forwarded me this link:
Is it a car? Is it a plane? Actually it’s both. The first flying automobile, equally at home in the sky or on the road, is scheduled to take to the air next month.
Nine years behind schedule isn’t too bad, is it?
More Photographs from Ottawa
Fallowfield station in Ottawa is probably the most appropriately named station anywhere on VIA Rail’s network. There appears to be very little in the way of civilization as far as they eye can see. It’s not quite true: head south across the next arterial road, and you’ll see some fast food restaurants, and go five minutes in either direction (by car or taxi) and you’ll encounter housing, but right where it is, there’s nothing. Still, during a wintery Sunday, it makes it a somewhat photogenic location.
And it’s a surprisingly useful station, giving access to Ottawa’s western suburbs and saving some doubling back time. Now if only it could get some direct trains from Montreal; right now, such travellers are encouraged to transfer at Ottawa’s main station, fifteen minutes to the east.
Here are some more photographs from Sunday, from my hotel room and from Fallowfield, as Vivian and I headed home.
 | Sunday morning, moon setting over the Ottawa River and the Supreme Court. |
 | Fallowfield station, looking west. |
 | Fallowfield, looking back towards Ottawa. |
 | Snowy fields outside of train window. |