the horror, the horror

Apparently, there's been a rash of keyless car entry remotes not working in Waldorf, D.C., according to this story in the WashPost. And there are similar documented brownspots in other places. Someone page Stephen King.

Three years ago, thousands of drivers in Bremerton, Wash., were stumped on two occasions when their push-button remotes proved impotent. It happened in Las Vegas in February, prompting hundreds of calls to car dealerships and locksmiths. And in May, a two-way radio system being tested at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle jammed remote control garage door openers in communities near the base.

In most cases, remote control failure is little more than a curiosity, as drivers can simply use their keys to unlock the doors. Some cars, however, require the device to deactivate an alarm or start the engine. Charles Vernon, a retiree from Accokeek whose remote first malfunctioned at the mall in Waldorf on May 10, said the problem is a safety issue and an inconvenience.

"You don't buy the car not to be able to use it," he said.

I have to say that the most interesting part of this story to me is how paralyzed by the failure of the smallest technology we can be.

And then there's the paranoia:

There is no shortage of speculation on what is causing the problem in Waldorf. Diana Rucci, the operations director at Waldorf Ford, overheard customers in a local restaurant saying NASA satellites were involved. Others pointed to storm clouds, cell phones, solar flares, the Taliban.

Drake said he's not so sure. "Everybody thinks it's the government," he said with a sly grin. "I think it's aliens."

worm "Teenage Lobotomy," The Ramones

namecheck Al Trautwig sucks!