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Alphabet Partners With Chipotle To Deliver Burritos Using Drones (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Google parent company Alphabet is teaming up with fast casual chain Chipotle to test drone delivery for Virginia Tech students, according to a report from Bloomberg. The pilot program marks a turning point for Alphabet's Project Wing division, giving the team ample room to experiment with airborne burrito deliveries in one of the first commercial programs of its kind to be green-lit by the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority. The drones, which will be hybrid aircraft that can both fly and hover in place, will make deliveries coordinated by a Chipotle food truck on campus. Project Wing drones will be guided predominantly by software, but human pilots will be on hand to assume control if necessary. The aircraft are also prohibited from flying directly over human beings. So active participants will be shielded appropriately, according to Alphabet. Project Wing chose to partner with Chipotle because it presented unique challenges: could a drone adequately deliver food using a winch system, and can the food remain hot throughout flight with special packaging? The program will be accessible to select Virginia Tech employees and students.
Knock down the drone, win a burrito.
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
How is this different than the terror bombings from World War 2?
Do you know what those bastards did last time I was in? They gave me a burrito...for free.
That shit could have anthrax sprinkled on it, and I'd probably still nom on it.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
Food poisoning delivered by drones. I'll have mine with extra ptomaine, please.
And what will they do when every single drone is destroyed or stolen? Quietly pretend the service never existed.
The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
I wonder what else is Alphabet involved in?
Ezekiel 23:20
Everyone talks about Western decadence mirroring ancient rome's path to downfall.
Roman decadence peaked in the 1st century AD, but the downfall didn't happen till nearly 400 years later. By then they were nearly all Christians, who, at least in principle, opposed decadence.
Up there!
In the Sky!
It's a bird!
It's a plane!
No, it's E. Coli!
sig: sauer
Didn't anyone learn from existing industry:
Who wants a cold burrito?
In Rain?
And Oily?
And it's Chipotle, which still hasn't solved its bacteria problem.
Just a marketing stunt....which college kids love...
Depends on one's definition of decadence. I don't consider anything beyond the puritanical to necessarily be decadent. However there is a point where self indulgence can go beyond personal enjoyment and cause harm to others, that's about where I draw the decadence line. I think various emperor's crossed that line. I may be wrong but I don't think the Roman ideal of virtue was necessarily puritanical given household paintings and mosaics that have been discovered.
My question was really about whether the leadership's decadence peaked or greatly exceeded the publics in the centuries closer to the fall. Decadence of leadership could contribute to the civil wars and problems with the Germans and hence have a role. Consider if the leadership of those respective time frames was closer to a Cincinnatus than Caligula, just making a point, I don't know if later rulers went that far. I'm more interested in the Republic era with respect to my readings.