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 Forum index » Discussion » Schmooze
Such an amazing time to be alive!
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glow worm



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PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2015 4:02 pm    Post subject:  Such an amazing time to be alive! Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Is Elon Musk the new Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias???

That 10kW/h battery he announced today is going to change so much. Especially at that price.

It’s also got me a bit chuffed. As I started in my new job, I casually opined to my new Team Leader that - in 10-20 years’ time, all lighting installations would be battery driven and that the UK National Grid would be on the way to becoming a back-up power source, for all but heavy industry - or something that was just switched on once or twice a week, so that everyone could charge up.

That and the pictures coming in from outer space - the possibility of polar caps on Pluto, the continuing Rosetta mission and that awesome picture of Hyperion from Cassini. I mean... really... the only thing missing from that image, is the Millennium Falcon being pursued by TIE Fighters.

And then there’s the story that NASA have developed some kind of ‘impossible’ drive that uses microwaves (and therefore needs no fuel), that could propel a ship to the Moon in 4 hours.

This is truly an amazing time to be alive - let's hope we don't blow it all with lots of silly fighting.

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BobTheDog



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PostPosted: Fri May 08, 2015 12:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Doesn't seem so amazing here today.
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mosc
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PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2015 1:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Glow Worm, it is indeed a wonderful time to be alive. Thanks for your enthusiasm. If someone should ever tell you that you're over-enthusiastic thank them for their input and try to avoid them as much as possible.

My grandfather who was born in the 1880s used to say the same thing as you. He saw electric light, heard a phonograph, saw an and airplane and an automobile; all when they were new. Also, he heard a radio, watched TV, and went to the movies. All this was new when he was growing up and when he grew old. Your enthusiasm reminds me of him, and I appreciate it.

He also used to go to concerts by John Phillip Sousa's band in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 19 teens. When I started making electronic music in the 1960s, he was my biggest fan. The Moog Modular amazed him; he loved it. He said it was, "better than Sousa's band".

Anyway, I hope your employer appreciates your forward looking vision. If not, get another employer.

thanks

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mosc
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PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2015 1:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

BobTheDog wrote:
Doesn't seem so amazing here today.


Cheer up, you are amazing; I know from personal experience.

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blue hell
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PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2015 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Laughing

It was around the elections there ... conservatives were quite popular this time ... now if only they'd conserve .. oh well .. let's not get into plottix too much Rolling Eyes but I can understand Andy's disappointment pretty well.

Batteries that actually work .. and lighters maybe please? ... now that would truly be a gods proof Shocked

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also .. could someone please turn down the thermostat a bit.
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BobTheDog



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PostPosted: Sun May 10, 2015 10:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

mosc wrote:
BobTheDog wrote:
Doesn't seem so amazing here today.


Cheer up, you are amazing; I know from personal experience.


Sorry, it was on the day that the conservatives won a majority election here.

A group of people that don't believe in society are now in full power for 5 years.

They won on the day that one of the carers that comes in to look after my dad for an hour a day was explaining why he was so upset; a couple that he helps care for who are in their 90s who were getting 12 hours of care a day from the state had just had their allotment cut to 3 hours a day and he believed this would lead to serious issues for them. In five years time this will probably be cut to nothing. All very depressing.

P.s. The carer unfortunately couldn't vote as he is paid the minimum wage and can't afford to rent or own a house so he lives in a mobile home. If you live in a mobile home here you can't vote but you still have to pay tax.
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mosc
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PostPosted: Sun May 10, 2015 3:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

You are right to be upset about the election. I didn't mean to be too flip. I didn't understand what you were referring to. We lived through 2 elections of W. That was pretty depressing, and the results are still depressing, except for the hundreds of thousands who are now dead as a result; they are cured of depression.

Still, I, perhaps naively, believe that I'd rather be an Englishman, or virtually any other kind of man, now than in 1914 or 1939.

I wish you and your dad all the best. Old age should be a blessing, not a curse.

Anyhow, the OP said this is an amazing time to be alive, not necessarily a wonderful time.

This is amazing:

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CreatorLes



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PostPosted: Thu May 14, 2015 1:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I gotta agree with glowworm here, big time. It's not just that things are advancing progressively or even explosively - it's a synergy of mutually supportive interacting influences if my words are chosen properly. We have many technologies that are all converging to what many believe (as do I) will be the Third Industrial Revolution.

Just like the original Industrial revolution in manufacturing and the second one in computing, we have a paradigm shift; the multiplicative factors that make up a technological maelstrom of advancement are in a sort of mutually beneficial sustained explosion of innovation.

OK, I'll quit with that kind of talk and get back to earth. Many believe that we are also approaching Singularity, the time when, like SkyNet of Terminator fame, machines become smarter and more powerful than man. This can be heavenly or hellish depending on how it plays out and I believe in the positive aspect in humanity's case.

It's not that the machines will serve us, it's that we are wise enough to imbue in their intellect an inherent love of life and nature and yes, even God. This will prevent the Terminator scenario and instead produce a "Heaven for Everyone" scenario as the band Queen referred to in one of their songs.

So yeah, keep on rockin', keep on truckin', and keep a Positive Mental Attitude - Life is good!

Les
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glow worm



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PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2015 2:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

CreatorLes wrote:
...It's not just that things are advancing progressively or even explosively - it's a synergy of mutually supportive interacting influences... we have a paradigm shift; the multiplicative factors that make up a technological maelstrom of advancement are in a sort of mutually beneficial sustained explosion of innovation.

OK, I'll quit with that kind of talk and get back to earth...

No! Please... do go on Smile


mosc wrote:
My grandfather who was born in the 1880s used to say the same thing as you. He saw electric light, heard a phonograph, saw an and airplane and an automobile; all when they were new. Also, he heard a radio, watched TV, and went to the movies. All this was new when he was growing up and when he grew old. Your enthusiasm reminds me of him, and I appreciate it.

Why thank you. There can be a downside, though (sorry).


I recently caught up with a Canadian cousin, who I hadn't seen for years. As we sat over dinner one evening, I said that when I'd hit 40, I'd suddenly realised how my parents must have felt in the 1970s; as I found myself living in a World, which bore little or no resemblance to the one I'd grown up in and felt that I was in danger of becoming lost in it all.

"I'm so glad you said that." she replied, "It's reassuring to know it wasn't just me who felt that way."

It can all get a little bewildering, sometimes Shocked Confused

But yeh - that picture of Hyperion is simply amazing. When I first saw it, it struck me that the only thing missing, was the Millennium Falcon diving for cover, pursued by TIE Fighters.


CreatorLes wrote:
Many believe that we are also approaching Singularity, the time when, like SkyNet of Terminator fame...

...It's not that the machines will serve us, it's that we are wise enough to imbue in their intellect an inherent love of life and nature and yes, even God.

Indeed. Whatever happened to Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics? They seem to have become forgotten in the rush for 'better' technology.

'The Machine Stops' by E. M. Forster should be compulsory reading for all primary school children IMO and simple, 'woodcraft' and survival skills should be a part of the National Curriculum.


mosc wrote:
...the OP said this is an amazing time to be alive, not necessarily a wonderful time.

I'm not without sympathy for the disadvantaged, but I do believe that life is often as wonderful as you make it. These days I reserve my rage for the able-bodied who have chosen a lifetime on welfare as a career, thus depriving those in genuine need of resources.


Blue Hell wrote:
.. oh well .. let's not get into plottix too much Rolling Eyes

Probably - no definitely - a good idea thumleft


CreatorLes wrote:
So yeah, keep on rockin', keep on truckin', and keep a Positive Mental Attitude - Life is good!

May your Locus of Control long remain internalised Ohm...

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Yasha



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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 3:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I'm mostly pessimistic about the future, what with the temperatures rising, oceans dying and resources nearing exhaustion.

But then amazing things happen that I would never have believed could ever happen -- such as seeing recreational cannabis legalized in my state, with only a ten minutes walk to the nearest store.
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glow worm



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PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 9:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Yasha wrote:
I'm mostly pessimistic about the future, what with the temperatures rising, oceans dying and resources nearing exhaustion.

But then amazing things happen that I would never have believed could ever happen -- such as seeing recreational cannabis legalized in my state, with only a ten minutes walk to the nearest store.


Yeh - who'd have thunk it ten years ago? In fact, it was about ten years ago that I was wandering through Amsterdam, listening to a Dutch friend reminiscing about life before coffeeshops...

"You'd have to go on a Friday, to a certain bar, in a certain part of Haarlem and wait for a certain guy to show up. And sometimes he didn't show up and we'd all be unhappy for the weekend, and even when he did show up, he'd only have one or two varieties for sale. Now look..."

Now the Dutch are doing their damdest to close the coffeeshops down (they never did get around to sorting out the 'front door / back door problem'). I hope the American 'experiment' works out better for you guys, than it has done for them.

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