@futurebird when we moved into our current house, I put a smart lock on a door that goes to the garage because I figured it would be useful to be able to let contractors in, or neighbors if something happened while we were traveling, etc.

The one non-negotiable was that the lock had to be fully mechanically functional. Keyhole on the front and thumb turn inside, both working with or without power. It's amazing how many didn't meet that very basic criteria!

@futurebird He also had a bit in a novel from the late 60s in which people had access to a global computer network, but used it to play games while they were supposed to be working.

(I wish I could send a message back in time, to tell him that I was chatting about his book with strangers on a global computer network when I was supposed to be working.)

@futurebird Ubik iirc... yes, seemed very funny at the time - and I liked the way the occupant had to wait for a visitor to call to then lend them (again) the cash to open the front door!

As I say... at the time...

@futurebird Been hoping writers will stop writing warning dystopian futures and start writing like...soap operas set in utopian futures.

Folks'll still have people issues if and when the world is better. Let's just show that. Show the world being great, and then have like..whatever human interest set on that backdrop to tell the story.

Or just do like..ted lasso stuff, but in the future, where it's all good people and sometimes people make mistakes and there's competition to have