Fax Me That Taco! (W4)

It's going to happen whether or not people like to admit it.



Printing out your edibles is something that most people "in the know" say is within a couple of decades away.  Personally, I give it seven years before we can start making rudimentary items.  I see an eventual future where virtually any food item can be recreated with the same common nutrient base (most likely made from recyclables).  Get it efficient enough and you can solve world hunger.  Here's what the experts say about it:  Article Here!

Transhumanist Party Presidential Candidate Travelling in Style (W3)

So  Zoltan Istvan, presidential candidate running under the Transhumanist Party, is hoping to tour in a giant coffin bus type thing.  The vehicle will match the theme of his platform which is, well, transhumanism.  I have been a bit of a fan of Istvan for a while and I agree with much of his sentiments so this bus totally makes sense to me.  To others, maybe not so much.

Sort of what it may look like kinda maybe.  Hopefully.  Fingers crossed.

The Transhumanists don't believe in the superstitions that say "we can't play god" or "we can't participate in our evolution" or "driving coffins is wrong, mkay".  Transhumanism says "screw that, we gonna live forever" and that's the plan.  If there is any group of people with humanity's literal advancement in mind, it's these guys.  In his own words:

“We’re trying to spread a culture that looks positively at indefinite human lifespans,” Istvan told KurzweilAI. “In addition to rallies and events, we hope to visit a number of universities, where futurist and transhumanist student groups have been popping up. We hope to have these groups on board the bus and offer advice on pursing careers in technology, artificial intelligence, and medicine. Our hope is to get youth to pursue science and engineering, instead of, let’s say, advertising or accounting.

“We also plan to visit homes with disabled war veterans, discuss new technologies that might help them live better, like exoskeleton suits, and hold events for LGBT communities that are increasingly considering virtual reality and other new tech as part of their social lives. We hope these collective efforts will help broaden the horizon of the futurist, transhumanist, and longevity communities that are all using technology to move society forward.”

For the full article, click here.

Giving Second Life a Second Chance

Second Life has been around for a while but, while it may be old, it has stood the test of time and has seen countless improvements.



I attempted to use Second Life nearly a decade ago and never really gave it a fair shake.  Being more interested in the visceral aspects of digital environments, Second Life quickly frustrated and bored me.  Now, as an older and wiser chica, I'm giving it another try.

I think one distinction I've made since my first attempt is recognizing it for what it is.  I knew during my first attempt that it was not a "game" but users can certainly create games within it, and I simply didn't have the patience to hunt those down, nor did I value it for what it was.

So far, so good.  Hopefully, my CIS professor didn't just introduce me to something that will suck me in for the rest of the term.  If so, all of my future late work is his fault.

I will update this with a follow-up in the future.

Flower Power, Oh Yeah. (W2)

For under 12,000 bucks, we can get our own solar flower that produces 2.31kw.  It follows the sun based on GPS coordinates and panels expand and retract (essentially blooming), maintaining maximum exposure.



What could this mean for the energy industry?  It's just one more iteration of a frontier that will see several innovations in the near future.  Article here.