Chris Pratt and Millie Brown are starring in The Electric State on Netflix, in early 2025, directed by the Russo brothers

The Electric State "takes place in 1994, in the aftermath of a battle between humanity and artificial intelligence that ended in a devastating stalemate. The people who died were buried; the automatons who were destroyed rust away where they fell. The defeated robots have been banished to an 'exclusion zone' in the southwestern desert, while human society attempts to rebuild without the help of the mechanical beings it created,"

The Electric State stars Millie Bobby Brown as Michelle, a young woman searching for a lost brother she once believed dead. As the story begins, he seems to have tracked her down through a remote-controlled bot that looks like a life-sized tin-toy version of his favorite sci-fi hero, Kid Cosmo (an original creation for this story, although he has retro vibes). The robot can only speak in catchphrases, but he’s trying to guide her to his real-life location. Though he looks and sounds like a machine, within this apparent drone she sees the soul of a sibling she thought was gone forever.

Chris Pratt costars as Keats, a veteran of the war who became a long haul trucker, engaged in a smuggling operation with one of his former enemies—a construction machine named Herman (voiced by Anthony Mackie) who’s like a Russian nesting doll, able to hop into increasingly various sized versions of himself. These two are the only ones who can help Michelle venture through hostile territory and track down the missing boy, while also solving the mystery of why he was kidnapped in the first place.

The Electric State also stars Ke Huy Quan as Dr. Amherst, Stanley Tucci as Ethan Skate, and Giancarlo Esposito as Colonel Marshall Bradbury.

The live-action cast also includes Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), Woody Norman (C'mon C'mon), and Martin Klebba (Pirates of the Caribbean). Joining Anthony Mackie as voice actors in the sci-fi movie are Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Billy Bob Thornton, and Alan Tudyk, with Woody Harrelson voicing a robotic Mr. Peanut.

https://www.cbr.com/netflix-the-electric-state-first-look-images-millie-bobby-brown/

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/electric-state-netflix-movie-plot-details-photos

I first learned about this at Comic Con 2019 https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2019/08/during-comic-con-which-is-far-more.html

Then the update was in 2022 https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2022/08/good-news-for-fans-of-electric-state.html

Keanu won the 2009 Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix Pro Celebrity race, and will be competing in the Toyota GR Cup at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for the Eagle Canyon Racing team

https://www.instagram.com/p/C23Y9-oPwY_/

https://www.thedrive.com/news/keanu-reeves-is-racing-a-toyota-gr86-against-pros-at-indy-this-weekend

one of the very few functioning very old gas pumps... still in use.

 I'll guess that the local governments that didn't need to upgrade to a keyfob/credit card authorizing type gas pump, never did, and there may only be a few of these from the 70s still in use

spotted in a high school parking lot this morning... I like the banner stickers of all the race tracks. But, those are only supposed to go on your car when you've had that car on those tracks. Otherwise, you're a wanna be

 

After a 10-month restoration, former Lehigh & New England office car No. 100 is ready to start carrying first-class passengers for its new owner, the Everett Railroad of Pennsylvania

After L&NE quit running in 1961, the car served as a restaurant annex near Philadelphia before trolley broker Ed Metka of Windber, Pa., bought it in 1993.

 He stored it indoors in a former freight-car repair shop, but left it untouched from its days as an eating house, including two gaping doors torched into one side to provide patrons and waitstaff access to the main restaurant building.

Fast forward to 2023. With a now-flourishing tourist business and needing a premium-class car to augment coach seating, Maples last year — out of the blue — remembered the L&NE 100.

With its original exterior appearance of Pullman green with gold L&NE lettering, the 75-foot-long, 60-ton steel car is the only known example of passenger rolling-stock from that anthracite-region line. It was built by American Car & Foundry Co.’s former Jackson & Sharp works in Wilmington, Del., in September 1925. Although it’s a steel car, Maples noted that “it reflects wood-car methods because Jackson & Sharp was primarily a wooden passenger-car builder.”

Now that one project is done, another is in the works. A carnival train was closing out its final runs so Maples made arrangements to buy the former personal car used by the carnival owner and his family. Car No. 21, a former Chesapeake & Ohio heavyweight office car that started life in the same role for the Nickel Plate Road, traveled with the show for many years

When Strates, a Greek immigrant who founded the company in 1923, died in 1959, his son E. James Strates succeeded him. The son acquired the 1925 Pullman-built car from C&O and became, Maples said, “the last show owner to travel by train, and this was the last of the showman’s cars . . . The Strates family’s private car No. 21 was always kept spotless and was clearly the pride of the fleet.”

Maples, who bought the car from the show founder’s grandson, John Strates, intends to restore the car as a rolling tribute to the traveling circus-train and carnival-train era, with corresponding photos and displays. “If a railroad museum got this car, they‘d turn it back to what it was originally,” he said.

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/restored-lehigh-new-england-varnish-ready-to-roll/

https://everettrailroad.com/

https://townandtourist.com/articles/free-fun-things-to-do-in-altoona-pa

The Everett Railroad is a 23-mile Class III Common Carrier freight railroad servicing Blair County’s I-99 corridor, including the communities of Altoona, Hollidaysburg, Roaring Spring, Martinsburg, and Claysburg.

Florida just passed a law that allows Margaritaville themed license plates. The final design has not been decided,

Fees from the sale of the plate will be distributed to Singing for Change (SFC Charitable Foundation, Inc.), which was founded by Buffett in 1995 to "provide grants to nonprofit organizations in communities impacted by natural or manmade disasters for recovery, rebuilding, and future sustainability in those communities and to promote and inspire local grassroots leadership that will work to improve the quality of life in those communities and others in this state."

https://x.com/MrJuanPurdue/status/1807818929815052322

https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/2024/10/01/margaritaville-license-plates-jimmy-buffett-sale-florida/75385944007/

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/restored-lehigh-new-england-varnish-ready-to-roll/

A 1967, 1968, and 1969 Miura in Klein’s collection was a well-kept secret

https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/rk24/lots/

https://www.popsci.com/technology/lamborghini-miuras-junkyard-auction/

California Gov. Newsom has signed into law a ban on leaded aviation gasoline that comes into effect in 2031.

That's the day after the FAA has said it will have a fully approved replacement fuel for 100LL through its End Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) program.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/california-leaded-avgas-ban/

this 1963 Grand Sport replica Vette was commissioned by Tim Allen in the late 1990s when it was rebuilt and fitted with a 327ci, riding on a tube-frame chassis with suspension sourced from a C4 Corvette with Art Morrison rear coilovers.

https://www.hotcars.com/tim-allens-1963-corvette-grand-sport/

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2024/10/ex-tim-allens-1963-corvette-grand-sport-replica-fails-to-meet-reserve-during-recent-auction/

https://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1963_chevrolet_corvette-coupe_img_5939-85774.jpg?fit=940%2C627

'62 Catalina, 4,050-lb, 525 hp and 600 lb-ft. With a best ¼-mile pass of 11.78 at 114 mph at Atco raceway

https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/the-pontiac-legend-was-built-before-the-gto-and-trans-am/

thank you Kim for donating to the cause!

 

You might be asking what cause... and that is the laptop I'll need to get in the upcoming weeks, as mine is about 14 years old, roughly, and the screen developed a couple vertical lines, then one of the speakers died, the 2nd replacement battery needed replacing, and I can't recall what else, but anyways, I went to Ebay, got a used one of the same model, intending to swap screens and speaker, and keyboard... the stuff that wore out. When the plastic keys are wearing through not just the painted letters, but the plastic they are made of? It's obviously had a LOT of typing... about 50,000 posts. 

Instead I pulled the hard drive and installed it in that "parts" laptop. That worked for about 18 months, and the day before yesterday, it died. So, I put the hard drive back into my original, and got back to blogging, but it's clear to me that it's time to get a new laptop for another decade or so. 

And Kim saw that note I made yesterday about the laptop problems, and tossed a donation into the tip jar to help me out. 

Thank you Kim! 

since age 15, Fred wanted a cool '69 Camaro. In his mid 30s, he made it happen, and went all the way to total happiness level of building it. He made it look similar to the Penske Camaro

with an LS2 crate motor, T56 transmission, 12-bolt with 4.11s, putting about 500 hp to the rear wheels and still capable of 28 miles to the gallon

https://www.wheelsof.com/latest/freds-1969-chevrolet-camaro-z28

news to me, some cars that left the factory made of fiberglass that aren't Corvettes

The Lotus Elan, 1962-1999. The Lotus Esprit 1976-2004. The Lotus Elise, 1996-2021

The DeLorean, unknown to me, the stainless steel outer skin, are actually fixed to a fiberglass monocoque, which was then attached to a steel frame.

The Meyers Manx, won't surprise anyone to be made of fiberglass... but it simply hadn't occurred to me to think of it when discussing fiberglass sports cars. And it is. 

BMW Z1, 1989, 90 and 91surprises me. I haven't ever heard about it being made of fiberglass

Lancia Stratos, 1973-78 is another complete surprise. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusiasts/10-production-cars-that-left-the-factory-wearing-a-fiberglass-body/ar-AA1rvIME#

Also, Reliant Robin, Volvo P1900, the Marcos (Thanks to comments and emails for these!)

An 18-year-old behind the wheel of a Honda Pilot realized it was accelerating without a chance of stopping, and he was on a dead end road doing over 110... so, he called 911 to report his Honda Pilot was speeding up by itself and he couldn’t stop it.

Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputies, along with the Minnesota State Patrol, responded, and state patrol trooper Zach Gruver sped to about 130 miles per hour to get his squad car in front of the Honda.

 A Clay County deputy on the phone with Dutcher advised him to crash into the trooper in front of him to stop the SUV.

https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/teen-uncontrollably-going-113mph-is-safe-after-crashing-into-squad-car-used-to-stop-speeding-vehicle/

Obviously Honda can't figure out what happened until they get the vehicle, and try and investigate the parts that control accelerating. 

For now, Honda said "... we encourage the family to have the vehicle towed to an authorized Honda dealer for inspection if that has not already occurred. We also want to talk with the family and want them to know that they can always reach out to Honda Customer Relations at 800-999-1009.“

The RW-5 Voxan recently took to the salt flats at Bonneville for flying mile tests, shattering four separate speed records for an electric bike.

https://newatlas.com/motorcycles/rw-5-voxan-four-speed-records/

how did they build an airport and it's runways, and not find the WW2 bomb under the runway, that exploded randomly today? A 500 pounder

Miyazaki Airport was built in 1943 as a former Imperial Japanese Navy flight training field from which some pilots took off on suicide attack missions. 

 A number of unexploded bombs dropped by the U.S. military during World War II have been unearthed in the area, Defense Ministry officials said.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-bomb-world-war-ii-explodes-japanese-airport-114419077

Car bomb... wasn't that a thing in the 60s? Well, it's in the news today,

A Russian court has sentenced a man convicted in the car bombing of a nationalist writer to life in prison.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/man-gets-life-prison-russia-car-bomb-wounded-114344903

one of my aunts, who must be in her late 70s, to early 80s, is still changing the oil in her truck

that's way cool. I hope I can still get the hell out of a chair in 30 years.  

Good news and bad news... I only posted one thing yesterday because my laptop suicided after I changed the banner

 That's the bad news. 
The good news is that I still had my back up worn out laptop, which functions, mostly. 

So, temporarily, I'm back to blogging, and maybe it will last until the Thanksgiving/Christmas sales, so I can save big on a new laptop. From the way they slash prices on flat screens (35-50 percent off) in the news, I'm guessing that laptops will have similar sale discounts. 

 

I believe this is known as the Law of Diminishing Returns, and the application of it to traveling at car speeds, and how speeding at reckless speeds doesn't seriously improve your arrival time

thanks Bruce! 

makes me wonder, why people pay for a vehicle they abandon, or, pay for insurance while snowbound, or registration fees for a vehicle they are not going to drive for a whole lot of months.

 and the fuel in the tank is possibly going to be garbage when the next person tries to make the engine run. Why not just sell the vehicle when you realize you're done wasting money on insurance and registration, and never going to use it again? 

https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2024/09/see-you-in-springtime.html

interesting and cute promotion, a pizza place is pricing breadsticks and pizza slice @ 64 cents, and a pizza at 1964 price... and giving away a 1964 Impala

Distracted by her cell phone, a woman from Flachgau collided with a Jaguar XK120 that was taking part in the Mille Miglia pre-run

https://www.thedrive.com/news/1948-jaguar-xk120-obliterated-by-regular-traffic-during-mille-miglia-warm-up   via   https://www.krone.at/3542154#/KRN/login

hell of a nice looking design

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10226613738029848&set=a.1617402035143

super impressive engine design, 1930 Bugatti

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10226643648257585&set=a.1617402035143

spotted in front of me in the daily traffic jam

Chula Vista Elementary School District van... the SS Minnow, was in traffic next to me today at a stop light

 

Why has it been labeled the SS Minnow? I can only guess because someone very old, like us, realized it's big and white, like the Minnow. 

A Honda dealership located in Bowie, Maryland, engaged in unfair sales practices during nearly every stage of the new vehicle sales process. The Attorney General of Maryland is taking them to court

the dealership was misleading customers by adding a 2% surcharge to the price of each vehicle, under the guise of a “sales commission”. This fee was not actually a commission, as it was falsely advertised, and many customers were unaware that they could opt out of paying it.

The lawsuit also claims that the dealership has been engaging in these practices since at least January 2019. During this time, DARCARS Honda allegedly listed misleading vehicle prices on its website, giving the impression that buyers were paying one amount when they were being charged significantly more.

These extra charges often included fees for pre-installed equipment and the notorious Adjusted Market Value (AMV) markup, which can increase the cost of a vehicle based on demand. In some instances, the dealership also added fees for unrequested services like “DARCARS protection packages,” which consumers did not ask for but were required to pay for anyway.

https://unionrayo.com/us/honda-taken-court/

oddly, the engines in the the AQM-37 Jayhawk drone, a rocket-powered LR-64 engine, was a Harley Davidson engine, sort of.

AMF (American Machine and Foundry) was developing these rocket engines at the time it bought Harley-Davidson, so, it tasked HD with creating them.  

https://www.slashgear.com/1674937/us-military-drone-missiles-harley-davidson-engines

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