![]() Good morning everybody. Hey, it’s Wednesday, mid-week, you’ll make it to the weekend. Just you wait and see! Seriously, it’ll turn out a lot better than last week. Well, maybe…as long as that stupid woman in HR doesn’t take another bite out of your peanut butter-sardine, red onion, and mustard sandwich on Wonder Bread (a Wednesday tradition) as she did last week. You seriously need to find a new job. Update on the Burning Man festival road trip. Friend Lamont called yesterday to tell us that his RV is serviced and ready to go. Today the window goes up on ticket sales again and Cousin Fred is ready. Speaking of that fool (Cousin Fred), I caught him calling around to skydiving services in the Reno area yesterday. He was trying to figure out what it would cost for someone to carry us all aloft and parachute us into the festival site. While that might make for a grand entrance, I’ll grant you, I’m not sure I want to venture out into that desert without the comforts of an RV. The Hairdressing Hydrologist Gigi wants to come along. She’s insisting that Cousin Fred buy her a pass along with those he’s buying for Friend Lamont and me. Cousin Fred is resisting, but he’s a weak simpleton. Eh, if I get cold feet she can have my pass and I’ll stay at The Compound keeping the looters at bay (oh, they’re out there). Friends, I don’t recall if I’ve ever mentioned it in these blog posts, but I had two occasions over the years to sit in a room as the great futurist Alvin Toffler discussed the future of technology and its potential effects on humanity. The first time, I was a bit star-struck. I had read his seminal book, Future Shock, when I was 12 years old. I should say, I devoured that book when I was 12. So, there I was in my early 30s and one of 10 people in a room with the great Alvin Toffler. I couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say. But, you know what? It was a bit disappointing. If you asked a specific question, he was evasive in his answer. He kept saying that we should ask Heidi (his wife and partner) about that – whatever that was. So, the second go around, I was better prepared personally and before the meeting mentioned to my colleagues not to expect any astounding predictions or futurist proclamations. Again, Mr. Toffler offered not very much. He attentively listened to what people had to say and then would provide a very contemplative “hmmmm” and “uh huh” but nothing substantive. Again, there was a “you should ask Heidi about that.” I came out the second time thinking, if there was ever a next time, I would insist that Heidi be part of the package or no package. Alvin Toffler wasn’t the only futurist I met over the years. The others were pretty much the same. Very evasive about specific answers to direct questions. I heard one, don’t recall her name, actually use the phrase, “If I could answer questions like that, I’d win the lottery.” Yeah, thanks, very helpful. The point in relating those anecdotes is that I came to realize that futurists make their livings spending a lot time in deep thought about crap. Tossing the pros and cons of one concept or another around until they can come up with a reasonable idea. Great work if you can get it. I also came to realize that not all futurist “predictions” work out as predicted – in fact, I suspect they rarely do. If you’re a futurist nerd and keep track of such stats, please let me know. Take for instance, a recent concept known as “electronic immortality” is being pushed forward by a futurist named Ian Pearson. Dr. Pearson sees a time in the future (he pinned it as 2050) when we will be able to achieve a form of immortality by merging our brains with cloud technology. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, “head in the clouds.” The salacious details, there must be those - futurists make their living with this stuff after all, includes being able to attend your own funeral. Or attaching your cloud brain to a new improved android body and living forever. For life pigs, like me, that has appeal. Dr. Pearson however cautions that once our minds move to the cloud, we would no longer own it. His concern is that we would become enslaved artificial organisms. Damn you and your ethical dilemmas Pearson! Other futurists are jumping on the band wagon. Some saying the time could come as early 2045. Others, saying the idea is transhumanism, which has a lot of bad connotations attached to it (again, with the ethics). I’ve decided it’s time to become a futurist myself. Why not? Doesn’t require a license or anything, right? I’ll start small. For instance, I see a Sonic breakfast burrito and a cup of coffee in my immediate future. See? I’m one for one, so far…or will be soon. That is all! Comments are closed.
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