Once you solve a problem, people will pay you

This week, the podcast is looking at the future of transportation. I feel like I'm an authority in this field given my tragic and also hilariously ironic relationship with Texas roads.

Last year, Volvo Autonomous Solutions brought reporters to their terminal south of Dallas to see self-driving trucks. Texas law now allows self-driving trucks; Volvo designed the truck, and Aurora Innovation designed the computer-machine driver.

They explained the DHL truck would turn onto the frontage road of Interstate 45 just south of Dallas, cross over the highway at the next overpass and then get on 45 south toward Houston.

That may not sound exciting, and that's exactly what Volvo wants you to think. I asked one of their executives if he'd be willing to ride in the truck to Houston. He said he looked forward to showing us how each trip aims to be "appropriately boring."

A computer, he explains, wouldn't start tailgating a guy who cuts it off. The computer machine also doesn't get tired if you send it to El Paso, so it can drive all the way there, get its trailer of REO Speedwagon CDs unloaded and then reloaded with, say, apricots. Then the truck can turn right back around to deliver the apricots' succulence to fruit stands across DFW.

Meantime, the North Central Texas Council of Governments is trying to help people get comfortable with drones. They hosted a drone open house at Executive Airport in Dallas where people could wander in and ask questions.

"They're not your enemy," NCTCOG explains, which is exactly what your enemy would say.

Their aviation planning and education manager says they wanted to show how drones are a tool just like your cell phone, which I also find irritating when I'm trying to enjoy a nice evening with associates.

At the open house, you could see those applications, like how the National Weather Services uses drones to survey storm damage and take readings to hone forecasts.

You could see how fire departments use drones to fight wildfires and how police departments do and do not use drones when they're on a call.

They said it's "very normal" for people to worry drones might used to spy on them, but they say the event could show how a police department might use drones to run intel at a stand-off, but they can't follow you around with a drone or use drones to build a case against someone.

They also wanted to show students practical skills they might use need, so companies were showing how drones are built. A couple business owners highlighted how STEM courses can help kids gain entry into fields that are in demand.

Students can also learn practical skills they might need, so they started debating with business owners about how they would handle the zombie apocalypse.

We learned from the documentary, The Walking Dead, how quickly all our technology would fail, so people would need to collaborate to solve problems. This is an actual exchange from Friday's episode:

Student: Oh, man.

Business owner: Guess what I'm doing?

TV photographer: I would kill you. No, actually, I would not kill you.

Business owner: (pointing to me after I said I would first head to the library to find all the books possible on survival, farming and other skills) As soon as he gets out of the library with his maps, he's going to kill you.

Student: He's going to break his legs.

Business owner: Yes, you need him to be alive for them to eat.

Exeunt

In the end, though, we solved the problem together. Our bait needs to remain alive, otherwise the zombies would keep advancing toward the rest of our group (or "alliance," if you will). We just needed to figure out which one of us would serve as the bait.

I'd suggest that person would not have been the one who went to the library and scavenged for survival books. Maybe he also grabbed the primer, Othello, and read about how that dastardly Iago convinced everyone he was just trying to help.

Regardless, NCTCOG and the businesses say this was an opportunity to show students practical skills.

The owner of a drone company that got a contract from the military says he wants to show kids the importance of working together to find solutions.

"Once you solve a problem, people will pay you," he explains.

He cites the Wright Brothers as an example.

"Dayton, Ohio's Wright Brothers?" I said, leaning forward with interest.

He explained everyone had just accepted the status quo with gliders and hot air balloons. He said the Wright Brothers recognized an opportunity, kept working toward the goal and refused to listen to naysayers (most of whom were likely from Michigan).

The next generation has an opportunity to lead in developing technology to help mankind.

If you're worried about privacy, NCTCOG says we already live in a world where everyone's always recording everyone else all the time (It's possible that's a paraphrase).

If you're worried about self-driving trucks, each one has a safety driver watching how they run right now. Next year, they could go fully autonomous.

Plus, Volvo is only running them from terminals just south of Dallas to just north of Houston, avoiding the urban cores. Human drivers still get to sit in traffic within each city, so the trucks' computers can learn the intricacies of muttering swears when someone drives slowly in the passing lane.