Flying Cars! Flying Cars!!!

It's about damn time.  It was a staple of almost any science fiction version of "the future" that we'd all carry small portable communications devices, talk to each other on video phones, and all drive flying cars.

Ten years into the 21st Century, nearly everyone has a cell phone (many of which double as computers, cameras, and more).  Video conferencing has become more and more ubiquitous - from companies using Skype for web conferences to lonely dudes showing their junk on ChatRoulette.  But despite what we've learned from Blade Runner, Back to the Future, and The Jetsons, we still don't have flying cars.  Where the hell is my flying car?

Oh... here it is!

Say hello to the Terrafugia Transition, which just got a special weight exemption by the FAA and will now be going into production for the public.  Of course the thing will cost about $200,000 so I can only afford one if I sell my house and live out of my new Flying Car.  But it would totally be worth it because I would have a FLYING F$%*ING CAR!

Now all I need is the options package that includes a Flux Capacitor.  And a copy of Gray's Sports Almanac.

Tony Stark can suck it.

Who needs Iron Man when you can fly around in your own jet pack?  It's about damned time.  The personal jetpack is finally here.  And it looks awesome.  I'm saving my money right now...


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/7307195/Flying-into-the-future-New-Zealand-company-to-make-personal-jet-packs.html

Chapter 78.2: Old Friends

I've had a lot on my mind recently. Family. Past. Future. Money. Lack. Vacations. Staycations. Children (which kind of incorporates all the previous thoughts).

It's been hard to sit down and write about things like that on a blog, especially since I don't intend to bare my soul for the world to see here. I probably say too much already.

I'm meeting up with an old friend after work...today. It's been a couple years since I've met up with him. Basically, I want to catch up. Acknowledge my history. Hopefully laugh. But there are many old friends with whom I should do the same thing. It's difficult to restart one's past. You never know if it'll build momentum — and sometimes it was better off left in neutral.

But I try to be hopeful. We are nothing without history.

Chapter 65.6: Parasolar Power

I saw something today I’ve not seen for ... well, I’m not sure I know how long it's been, exactly. But a woman was walking up Fifth Avenue carrying a parasol. For those who didn’t grow up watching Bugs Bunny cartoons or enjoying films depicting the late 19th century and early 20th century, parasols are like umbrellas but designed to block the sun. (The word literally means "for the sun" in Spanish.)

A co-worker uses what looks like a golf umbrella that’s designed to reflect sunlight away from the umbrella and cool the person beneath. Considering the climate change concerns that are so often in the news these days, I suspect we'll see a lot more of these items. I doubt guys will start cruising for chicks by walking down the sidewalk to tip their bowlers at the pairs of women carrying their parasols as they head to the marketplace, like they did long before my parents were born, but I predict pedestrians of the not-so-distant future will look different than they do today. Different accessories, for example. Perhaps Apple can create an "iPodasol" that would allow users to listen to their favorite songs while exercising and keeping out of the sun. They should design it so solar power can keep the device charged throughout the day.

Chapter 59.4: Increasingly Jaded

The more I hear and read about what our current administration is doing -- whether it's the Justice Department problems, the state of the war in Iraq and our inability to quell the Taliban in Afghanistan, or the Katrina response in '05 -- I find myself wondering whether this country will ever recover from the debacle of George W. Bush's presidency. I remember being concerned about the state of the world's affairs during the Reagan era, and I still consider President Reagan the Father of Modern Homelessness, but somehow this period is more frightening.

But what is worse is I haven't seen anyone else step up and demonstrate the capacity to remedy things. I have no faith in Rudy Giuliani or John McCain, I don't believe Barack Obama has the experience to lead our nation yet. And while Hillary Clinton has many of the qualifications, I'm not convinced she can lead us through what may be one of the darkest periods of our nation's history. John Edwards, who I believe has many fine qualities, also is faced with difficult family issues. I know I'd be distracted if, God forbid, something potentially fatal befell my wife.

America may be on the verge of a new series of mediocre presidents who serve one term and are barely remembered for any lasting, positive achievements 20 to 25 years later. And some may be vilified, cast into political perdition like Nixon or Hoover.

The greed of corporate America and the willingness of sycophantic middle class investors to jump on the same bandwagon in the name of seeing their portfolio improve are well on the way to destroying the American Dream. Pensions will evaporate, and several million Baby Boomers will find themselves destitute, clamoring for help from their friends and neighbors, from the government, from the charities they supported when they still had jobs. And it won't be enough.
Having learned of the actions of the current administration -- the phone tapping of American citizens, the blind eye to torture in prisons we control, the disregard for human rights of "enemy combatants" -- and watched the smug attitude toward the middle class and the poor (some of whom may actually have voted for the current administration), I find myself increasingly jaded.

What we need as a nation is a rebirth -- a sense of renewal and freshness, like after a strong spring rain. Instead, it remains cold, wintry, with little hope in sight for a healthy future. Is this the darkness before the dawn?