Autopilot Off

Sweaty palm clinch, with knots in my stomach. My eyes darting through the crowd of nameless faces. I inch closer to the stage. “Coming to the stage, MO’NIQUE!” I exhale a final nervous breath, releasing all inhibitions and walking onto the stage becoming Mo’nique. Well, the awkward tween version of her, at least. In the Little Miss Continental Pageant, we were required to introduce ourselves as a well known African American woman, answer questions about current events and raise money for a…

In the op-ed “Barack Obama: Self-driving, Yes, But Also Safe” published in Pittsburgh Sun-Gazette on September 19, 2016, president Obama states that autonomous vehicles will transfer many lives potentially. He also said, “American innovation is driving bigger changes.” America is changing every day and new invention is increasing. He points out how helpful it will be too many Americans such as “senior’s citizens and Americans with disabilities.” He then said that these autonomous vehicles will…

metal. I throw my car into reverse, before jumping out to assess the damage. An otherwise pristine, navy blue BMW is blemished, two chips of paint missing to reveal the white plaster underneath. Acutely aware of the crowded parking lot, I revert to autopilot, parking my car with the careful precision I had not employed since my license test six months earlier. I slowly crawl out of my car to peek at the scratch one more time. Unfortunately, it had not magically disappeared. The driver did not…

sitting in the crowd, watching me in wait. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally began playing. The first half of the show was going well, and I grew more and more comfortable with playing on a real stage; however, I could not take my mind off the fact that at the end of this first half, I was to play a long and drawn out bass solo, with none of my band mates playing with me. In no time it all, I realized that my moment had come. I heard my drummer play the first beats to YYZ by Rush,…

Within the next two years, Tesla and Google will each be releasing their own autonomic automobiles to consumers. They are designed to allow people to travel without the necessity to maneuver a vehicle. This form of transportation will be accessible for the youth and the elderly. There will no longer be a need for designated drivers, a concern for texting while driving, or the stress of other reckless drivers and road rage. Commuting between places can be a time to catch up on some rest with…

A multitude of illicit substances and varieties of alcohol consumed, since early that afternoon, the Frat leaders were working on autopilot. Or was that their normal state of mind, and they'd have struggled to achieve the same situation sober. Whatever, the drugs had released their inhibitions, as they always did, and increased their libido's, which was evidenced by the raging, throbbing erections that met Sofia White, without them having had to warm up or be touched. The drugs enhancing…

could cause the erratic dreams from the Prefrontal Cortex being the area of reasoning and planning. As for Non REM dreams with the brain being inactive, everyday or repetitive activities would be dreamed with your brain being very similarly in an autopilot state. (Grison, Heatherton & Gazzangia, Chapter 3, 2015). Typically dreams are not remembered either being REM or Non REM dreams. This is because dreaming is part of an unconscious, sleeping state. Even though most dreams are forgotten there…

Imagine looking out a car window on the parkway and seeing an empty car. That would freak me out too, but that could soon become routine. Accredited with over 30 years of covering the automotive industry, Paul A. Eisenstein, in his article, “Hands off! Riding along in Ford’s autonomous Fusion”, describes his experience and Ford’s future plans in the autonomous car industry. Eisenstein’s purpose is to inform the general public about the awe inspiring advancement and the effects of this technology…

to do was immerse myself into anything not school-related. Gradually, I became careless about turning in assignments and project, and became the master of procrastination. I was on a solo flight, oblivious to the incoming storms. My life was on autopilot. My worried parents and teachers struggled to understand the decline in performance. When they questioned my mental health, I was jolted out of my daze of indifference. I expected myself to always be competitive and driven, yet longed to be…

In today’s society people see celebrities become trapped within their personas all the time. Amanda Bynes, Lindsay Lohan, Justin Bieber and countless other public idols have, seemingly, just gone off the deep end. But this isn’t new, we’ve seen it millions of times throughout history. We see it in stars, such as Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe, as well as in movies such as The Devil Wears Prada, and even in older works such as H. Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, first performed in the 1870’s.…