Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Greetings fellow Bizarros:

I can't predict what I'm going to have for lunch this afternoon, but there are people out there called futurologists who claim to be able to make accurate "educated guesses" about what is going to happen in the distant future.

In a story from the BBC two prominent futurologists take some shots at what the world will be like in 100 years. Following are their 10 most likely predictions.

1. Oceans will be extensively farmed and not just for fish.

We will need to feed 10 billion people and nature can't keep up with demand, so we will need much more ocean farming for fish. But algae farming is also on the way for renewable energy.

2. We will have the ability to communicate through thought transmission.

Transmission will be just as easy as other forms of brain augmentation. Picking up thoughts and relaying them to another brain will not be much harder than storing them on the net.

3. Thanks to DNA and robotic engineering, we will have created incredibly intelligent humans who are immortal.

It is more likely that direct brain links using electronics will achieve this, but GM will help a lot by increasing longevity - keeping people alive until electronic immortality technology is freely available at reasonable cost.

4. We will be able to control the weather.

There is already some weather control technology for mediating tornadoes, making it rain and so on, and thanks to climate change concerns, a huge amount of knowledge is being gleaned on how weather works.

5. We will all be wired to computers to make our brains work faster.

We can expect this as soon as 2050 for many people. By 2075 most people in the developed world will use machine augmentation of some sort for their brains and, by the end of the century, pretty much everyone will.

6. We will have figured out nuclear fusion.

This is likely by 2045-2050 and almost certain by 2100. It's widely predicted that we will achieve this. What difference it makes will depend on what other energy technologies we have.

7. There will only be three languages in the world - English, Spanish and Mandarin.

This does look like a powerful trend, other languages don't stand a lot of chance. Minor languages are dying at a huge rate already and the other major ones are mostly in areas where everyone educated speaks at least one of the other three.

8. California will lead the break-up of the US.

There are some indications already that California wants to split off and such pressures tend to build over time. It is hard to see this waiting until the end of the century.

9. Space elevators will make space travel cheap and easy.

First space elevators will certainly be around, and although "cheap" is a relative term, it will certainly be a lot cheaper than conventional space development.

10. Deserts will become tropical forests.

Desert greening is progressing so this is just about possible.

Bizarrely,
Lewis

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*-- Bill almost put him back into hospital --*
NEW YORK - An unemployed New York doorman was cured of pneumonia, but says the $44 million hospital bill almost gave him asthma. Alexis Rodriguez, 28, was one of several hundred patients to receive wildly inflated bills because of a computer error, the New York Daily News reported. The bill from Bronx-Lebanon Hospital should have been for no more than $300, but instead was listed as $44,776,587. Rodriguez told the newspaper, "I almost had an asthma attack." The billing firm, PHY Services, said it wasn't too hard to find the problem -- a subcontractor that prints the bills put the invoice number into the "amount due" space, the Daily News reported.

*-- British man has passport tattooed on back --*
LONDON - A British man had his passport tattooed on his back and even used the image as an ID to take money out of the bank, he said. Richard Ashton, 27, told The Sun he had his passport inked on his back while backpacking in Australia in 2006. "I wanted something to remember my holiday by, but also wanted something patriotic," he said. "My girlfriend at the time thought I was a bit daft, but eventually she found it hilarious. That seems to be the general reaction." The London personal trainer said when he ran out of cash on his trip to Australia, he took off his shirt at a bank to use as ID. "The cashier gave me a strange look. She typed in my name and details after reading my tattoo and allowed me $50." Ashton, who was born in Sydney and holds dual citizenship, said he keeps his tattoo covered up most of the time. "I don't walk around with my top off." British officials said Ashton couldn't use the tattoo as ID to go abroad or enter Britain.

*-- READER COMMENTS --*
I think the TSA is a waste of money. I know they are suppose to prevent bombs, etc. on airlines but there must be a more cost effective way to do this. It has to be one of the most boring jobs in the world. They get decent pensions, medical and pension benefits for doing very little. Sure if it saves one plane from disaster it is worth it but with new security equipment it could be just as effective and save money towards the budget deficit. -Richard
[If it weren't for the TSA who would "reprogram" you into giving up your Fourth Amendment rights?]

Pauline Davis bragged about being a packer with a pecker. But do we know that's the real reason why she was fired? It could've been about poor work performance. Besides, talking about your sexuality on the job, gay or straight, is frowned upon at many workplaces these days so Ms. Davis probably will not win her lawsuit.
[It is practically expected around here.]

Lewis- I understand how this "Birth Certificate "issue seems old had, but fraud is fraud. We have rules, laws and codes of ethics in this world, so we can survive. To ignore facts, or at least complete investigate allegations of improper conduct, by those who want our support is a failure of our own moral code. To allow our government officials to continue to deceive us, for their own purposes, means we get what we deserve. Our officials are destroying the very foundation of this country, our Constitution, by taking away our very RIGHTS, guaranteed under the Bill of Rights, and the people are blindly accepting it. -Larry
[I always tell people to buy guns.]

You haven't seen ANYTHING yet. Wait until the Republicans and their PAC's can spend all their money on attacking President Obama instead of discrediting one another. -Michael
[I'm looking forward to it. It should be quite a show.]

Lewis; While living in Cleveland, Ohio there was a story in the Plain Dealer about a car that was stopped by an officer in the middle of the night that was swerving from one lane to another on a 6 lane highway. When stopped the officer found a legally blind man driving his extremely drunk friend who told the officer that he was guiding his blind friend because he was too drunk to drive. Talk about the blind (drunk) leading the blind.
[Sounds like an urban legend to me, but then we are talking about Cleveland here...so who knows.]

*-- END OF READER COMMENTS --*
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