Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
The French recall their Ambassador to the US. Had to be over mean Tweets right? Those pesky mean Tweets. Thank God the adults are back in charge... Still get nostalgic and sad when I see the current Patriots weekly injury report and it doesn't list Tom Brady - which used to be one of the longest running traditions in Boston sports... Things I miss from my childhood - my mom made the world's best peanut butter Rice Krispies squares. I've never found their equal... Wonder if a single person has ever been convinced to sign up for YouTube TV so that they too could watch NBA games whenever they like same as the old Asian woman in the commercial. I chuckle every time I see that spot - one of the least effective commercials ever... I've decided that my new hobby is going to local music open mic nights and singing O Canada acapella. No real reason for this. Just my own private amusement watching the quizzical looks from the audience... Have to wonder how practical it would be to implement Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI - aka Star Wars) today? Back when Reagan proposed it critics scoffed that the technology was decades away. Well it's been decades... Speaking of technology decades away - The Jetsons was based in 2060 which is now just 40-years away. How close are we to flying cars, robot maids, and floating apartment buildings? All but the anti-gravity real estate seem within our grasp (though I don't see a full size vehicle collapsing into a brief case any time soon)...
The "decades away" comment to dismiss potential new technology was one of the most irritating attacks on SDI. Great technological advances are always decades away. People who discourage technological advances for that reason should be laughed at. Predicting the future of invention is a fool's errand. There are dozens of examples, but I'll just cite one of my favorites. In 1899 Charles Duell, the commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents, urged President McKinley to abolish his department, arguing, "Everything that can be invented has been invented."
ReplyDeleteA more recent example was Bill Clinton declining to allow oil exploration in ANWR because he argued that it would take at least 5-years to produce oil. That was in the 1990's. Every President since has made the same excuse.
ReplyDelete