Some racing games let you race against a ‘ghost’ opponent. This is usually depicted as a translucent figure/car because it’s not solid and you can move through it. The ghost is either another player’s recorded effort or one of your own earlier ones. The purpose is to give you a competitor that you can see and race against without actually needing the opponent to be there live. Plus to race against yourself would require cloning and that’s probably a good three or four years off yet.
I thought it would be neat if I could race against a ghost of myself when I’m out jogging. I can only imagine the psychological boost to be had by zipping ahead of myself, instantly knowing I was running better and faster. Sadly I can’t think of an easy way for this to be implemented without some crazy new tech that could be decades off.
On the plus side they’re also bound to have a decent smart watch by then, too.
Here are my insights (it’s insights all the way down!) on a few from the list:
12. We have become less polite as a society.
Three-in-five British Columbians believe that we have lost our sense of civility, and practically nine-in-ten saw someone swear in public. Most residents blame apathetic parents and cold technology for the rise in unruly behavior.
I don’t know how much apathetic parents are to blame (maybe a little) but technology–in the form of the smartphone–is certainly a culprit. I see many people on transit, on the sidewalk, at school, everywhere, who are more interested in staring into that 4-5 inch screen in front of their face than in anything around them. I like smartphones. They’re useful tools and they’ve opened up the world to things that weren’t possible before. But you do not need to check your Facebook page on an ongoing basis.
Also, I’m pretty sure four-in-five British Columbians would say we’ve lost our sense of civility if they had exclusively polled transit riders. Having used transit since arriving in Vancouver in 1986, I can say unreservedly that people are for more impatient and rude on transit than ever before. From people standing in front of the doors on the SkyTrain platform (blocking the exit for people trying to leave the train) to the mad dash (an actual dash!) to get a seat, people have largely abandoned any attempt to be polite. boo to them, I say.
5. As a society, we believe in some pretty outrageous things.
April Fool’s Day and Halloween provided two opportunities to assess the beliefs of British Columbians. Most claim they believe that UFOs exist, almost half think ghosts and haunted places are real, but just one-in-20 believe Elvis Presley is alive.
I don’t consider believing in UFOs to be outrageous. A UFO is an unidentified flying object and plenty are seen every year. Pedantic? Perhaps, but this framing feels like more of the media’s attempt to marginalize anything it doesn’t deem serious or worthy of study. It is reassuring that only 5% believe Elvis is still alive, however. Actually, no, it’s not. You 5% are dumb. Cut it out!
1. Christy Clark won because voters changed their minds at the last minute.
Since the B.C. provincial election in May, there has been a lot of speculation and introspection about the state of public opinion polling. Our survey conducted immediately after the election found that one-in-five voters settled on a candidate on the last 72 hours of the campaign, and that 17 per cent of actual BC Liberal voters had window-shopped as NDP supporters.
Making up your mind on who to vote for at the last minute is not a good way to vote. It is, in fact, dumb. Stop being dumb, British Columbians. Think logically, rationally and carefully before casting your vote. Don’t be swayed by soundbites or clever ads because that is all BS where politicians (of every affiliation) say anything and promise everything. Do you pride yourself on being persuaded by BS? I suspect not. So think before voting and do so before the election, throughout the election and not just at the last minute because one side or other ran a slick ad. Thanks!
One of the plugins I use on this blog is Better WP Security. Among its features it records any bad login entries. These are people and/or bots trying to enter the admin area of the blog by trying out various username/password combos, hoping to get lucky so they can do all manner of nefarious deeds once allowed in.
As you might guess, the most common username used in these attempts is “admin” and it’s why basic security has you change it from “admin” to anything else (I’ve done this, in case any bots are reading).
Sometimes the username entered is more curious than “admin”. For example:
Bernardo1133
Did Bernardo get misdirected or confused? Did he think he was signing into his own blog? What are the other 1132 Bernardos up to, anyway?
BroderickCrook
Oh, I just bet you are a crook, Broderick! Nice try, buddy.
creolened
Clever bot. But not clever enough.
DebWordenrfai
This one may have been trying to login to World of Warcraft.
What’s sad is the number of legitimate visits to the site is usually in the range of less than 10 per day, meaning the blog on average is more than ten times as popular as a potential hacking target than as something to read. On the plus side that less-than-ten number is still more people than ever read my paper journal.
I came across another article about predicting the future purely by coincidence today. Or was it? (Yes, it was.) In this case it’s Isaac Asimov predicting the world 50 years hence during the World’s Fair of 1964. Asimov was a pretty smart guy so let’s see how he did on a few select predictions.
“[T]he world population will be 6,500,000,000 and the population of the United States will be 350,000,000.” And later he warns that if the population growth continues unchecked, “All earth will be a single choked Manhattan by A.D. 2450 and society will collapse long before that!” As a result, “There will, therefore, be a worldwide propaganda drive in favor of birth control by rational and humane methods and, by 2014, it will undoubtedly have taken serious effect.”
This is fairly accurate in terms of the numbers, though only China had the drive for birth control with its one child per family program. And while the population of the world is bulging, it’s currently 7.2 billion, which the world is sort-of managing (so far).
“Communications will become sight-sound and you will see as well as hear the person you telephone. The screen can be used not only to see the people you call but also for studying documents and photographs and reading passages from books. Synchronous satellites, hovering in space will make it possible for you to direct-dial any spot on earth, including the weather stations in Antarctica.”
“Direct dial”, heh heh heh. Otherwise this is a pretty good description of VOIP, ereader/tablet/Internet technology. This one is a bit of a gimme, though, sort of like predicting color photographs in 1910.
“[M]ankind will suffer badly from the disease of boredom, a disease spreading more widely each year and growing in intensity. This will have serious mental, emotional and sociological consequences, and I dare say that psychiatry will be far and away the most important medical specialty in 2014.”
This is half-accurate and half-old man yelling at kids to get off his lawn (which is to say, an exaggeration). Ennui and shallow over-stimulation are contributing to messed up people, young and old(er) alike, no doubt. In another prediction Asimov foresees automation and machinery leading to an excess of leisure time, suggesting these may be contributing factors to the above. Lingering high unemployment and the growing gulf between the wealthy and everyone else are just as relevant, probably. I wonder, too, what the psychological effects of living in megacities are over the long term.
“Robots will neither be common nor very good in 2014, but they will be in existence.”
Yes, Asimov disses robots. This prediction is not really accurate in 2014. Robots are common (in factories and on assembly lines) and are very good at the limited tasks given them. The SkyNET/take-over-the-world robots still have a ways to go. This means we still have time to prepare so I count it as a good thing.
I will conclude with a prediction for 2064:
Flying cars.
No, just kidding. Here’s a real one:
The world will not be using fossil fuels in 2064.
Now I just need to live to be 100 years old to see if it comes true. I’m feeling spry halfway there. I think I can do it!
Meanwhile, gizmodo has an article from the January 6, 1910 edition of the Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette featuring 41 predictions on what the world would be like in the 21st century. These were predictions made in good faith (presumably). The full list is at the link but here’s a few I liked:
Cure for cancer. [Sadly this remains elusive]
Discovery south pole. [This happened the following year, in 1911]
Create living organisms by artificial means. [Artificial insemination!]
Phonograph records substitute for letter. [This never happened but we now have the even less bulky email instead]
Settle question of communication with Mars. Wonderful astronomical discoveries. [We called, no one was home]
Power of mind over matter a practical science devoid of superstitious elements. [Telekinesis would mean never having to look for the TV remote again but this remains the realm of fiction or all my telekinetic friends are holding out on me]
United States constitution rewritten, providing improved means for conservation of original democratic principles. [LOL?]
Produce rainfall at will. [Seeding clouds makes this sort-of true]
Roads of nation paved. [Dream big, 1910! The prediction today would be: Roads of nation re-paved.]
Cure for and elimination of tuberculosis. [Nope]
Movements for universal language, universal religion, universal money. [Esperanto, (none), Bitcoins. That’s 0 for 3.]
Construction largely of concrete and metal or newly discovered materials. [Yep, especially for large buildings]
Electricity will move world’s wheels. Later radio-activity may substitute. [I don’t think radioactivity means what they thought it means]
Terrors of war so multiplied by death dealing inventions, chances of war minimized. [LOL?]
Population of United States based on present ratio of increased, 1,317,547,000 at opening of twenty-first century. [Off by about a billion. Maybe if they had developed baby machines.]
Machinery largely substituting manual energy, will promote pursuit of finer arts and sciences; give ample opportunity for relaxation and amusement; emancipate wage slaves. Three-hour work day predicted. [This is charmingly optimistic. And horribly wrong.]
Photographs in natural colors. [Yes!]
Women’s political equality. [In the U.S. women got the vote in 1920]
Government control of corporations. [Got this one backwards]
Animated pictures in natural colors, transmitted by wireless. [TV and/or Internet]
Natural colors reproduced in newspaper pictures. [Yes, although newspapers themselves are kind of going extinct]
Reduction of elimination all forms of gambling, including stocks. [LOL?]
Moral, intellectual and economical awakening in dark sections of Africa, China a world power. [“Dark” sections of Africa? Racist! Good call on China, though.]
Due to universal education, with special reference to hygiene, doctors and drugs be largely eliminated; average age to be near 60 years; men taller, stronger, higher intelligence and morals. [This one is funny because after all the lofty changes they still only expect people to live to 60.]
The best thing about 2013 is its mere existence guaranteed an entire branch of doomsday beliefs was neatly cut off as the whole “end of the Mayan calendar on December 21 2012 which must obviously mean THE END OF THE WORLD” has come and gone. So thanks for that, 2013!
Here’s my short take on the year:
Politics
The U.S. spies on everyone and everything. The most alarming aspect is the generally muted response from the U.S. public. Outrage is hard to sustain, all to the benefit of the NSA. The scariest tentacle monster is not to be found in manga.
In Canada the lingering Senate scandal and its handling finally took the shine off the Conservative government and has started the in-fighting. The Opposition, both official (NDP) and unofficial (Liberal) stand to benefit. Justin Trudeau has so far not screwed up as Liberal leader and has plenty of time to fit into his role. Will Mulcair trim his beard to look sexier? Stay tuned!
Entertainment
I am incredibly out of touch with pop culture vs. 20 or 30 years ago when I actually knew most of the current actors, musicians and “artists”. Even with my scant knowledge I can say I’ve had my fill of Miley Cyrus, the latest and perhaps most lamentable example of reworking an image. It is perhaps appropriate that her big hit through this is called “Wrecking Ball” (a song that Wikipedia says took five people to write). For popularizing the term “twerking” alone I’d be happy to never hear about Cyrus again.
On the plus side I discovered through a random comment on Broken Forum the band The Magnetic Fields, one of those great indie bands that never gets the attention it deserves. I have so far picked up their magnum opus, a three disc (remember those?) set called 69 Love Songs which is exactly what it sounds like, a collection of 69 songs about love. The songs are by turns warm and cynical, catchy and irreverent, switching styles as easily as one might switch channels on a TV in the vain hope to find something decent to watch.
And now a little on me:
Running
This was a mediocre year for running, with a combination of cranky feet and work conspiring to restrict my output severely over my banner year of 2012. By the end of the year I just kind of gave up, not even going out on weekends when I had available light (curse the early nights of winter, I sez). One of my resolutions is to get back to running regularly.
Reading
A regular commute that takes a little over an hour meant I had plenty of time to read this year and once I started my commute-based reading the number of books I went through shot up, ending with 24 books read (technically #24 is still being read but I could conceivably finish it today). A lot of this has been catching up on Stephen King novels I’d skipped over and I finally tackled The Dark Tower series more than twenty years after picking up The Gunslinger in paperback. I didn’t read anything I regretted reading, either, always a nice bonus.
Writing
Writing sputtered along. I flamed out halfway through National Novel Writing Month in November thanks to poor planning but may have enough of a novel there to salvage later.
The year was defined not so much by new output but rather old. Specifically I focused on polishing up a bunch of short stories with the intention to self-publish them as a collection. I’ll write more on this in another post but for now will say that the process of examining, editing and rewriting my stories has been a worthy one.
I did not put any notable effort into my 2009 NaNoWriMo novel The Ferry, which I intend to address next year.
Errata
2013 was at times a stressful year and I have ended up with goals partly based on some bad habits I let slip back in. But I got to do things I’ve never done before (fly!), read oodles of books and learned some important things about my writing that I will apply in 2014 and beyond.
Last week we went out for Chinese food and at the end of the meal we got our fortune cookies, which are actually kind of awful in a way, tasting a bit like crunchy sweet cardboard. But never mind that, when I cracked my cookie open I found not one, not two, not three, but FOUR fortunes. It was a fortunecopia, a fortunepalooza, a veritable windfall of fortune.
I figured getting four fortunes for the price of one must mean something so here is my attempt to interpret the deeper meaning of these four cookie-encased slips of paper:
Do not dwell on differences with a loved one – try to compromise.
Okay, I got nothing for this one, it sounds like something from a Dear Abby advice column. Don’t dwell on differences? Compromise? These are not exactly bold ideas.
Your fondest dream will come true within this year.
Does this mean a literal dream, the kind I have when I’m sleeping? I have some nice dreams on occasion but they also tend to bend reality in ways I’m not sure I’d like to actually see happen, so instead I interpret this as “You will win big bucks in the lottery” because…wait, no, that’s not a fond dream. I mean, it fits, with fortune cookie and all but I prefer to think it’s referring to something more fulfilling than a giant pile of money to swim in.
Therefore it must be predicting that I will publish something “within this year” to critical and/or financial success. And by “within the year” must mean the next 12 months because the odds of me publishing something before the end of 2013 in the next two months and change are…well, let’s look at the next fortune….
Do something unusual tomorrow.
Publishing something tomorrow would qualify as unusual, perhaps over-qualify. Since tomorrow has come and gone in relation to getting the fortune I guess I already did something unusual that was also dull, since I can’t recall anything that qualifies. On the other hand, maybe it ties in with the next fortune:
Try a new hat for a change in looks. Be creative!
This isn’t a fortune so much as an imperative to shake things up a little. I normally wear a ball cap most days and sometimes a small toque in the winter, as befits my Canadian heritage. I recently joked about wearing a tam (a Scottish cap similar to a beret but perhaps less [or more?] fancied by hipsters). If I wanted to be really creative I’d probably go full Carmen Miranda and wear a giant headdress of fruit. Or a fedora, as I’d look equally ridiculous with either atop my head.
Okay, so I’m going to wear a silly new hat, publish my writing and be reasonable with my partner. As fortunes go, it could be worse.
September kind of sucked, just like summer kind of sucked.
But rather than dwell on the lowlights (throat infection, lack of running, rampant illness at work, cell phone being stupid, the first major storm coming in early like an unwelcome preview of winter, etc.) I will instead focus on the positives from the month:
I rediscovered a bunch of old music–and still like it!
I’ve started reading The Dark Tower after having bought the first novel decades ago and am finding it a good romp so far.
The last day of summer was pleasantly warm and sunny.
My birthday was quiet but nice.
I got a replacement phone (just today) that will hopefully not excel in mysterious battery drain like its predecessor.
I did not get hit by a blimp.
Onward to October, the first day of which promises to be wet and unseasonably cold. Hooray!
As expected, I used more of my iTunes funds to dig up another relic from my youth, this time the 1980 album The Game by Queen. I originally had this on vinyl and I remember the album slip was very silver and shiny.
How does it rate on the Neil Diamond sparkle shirt scale 33 years later? Let’s find out.
Queen, The Game
“What I knew of Queen in 1980 consisted of a few hits, notably “We are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You”, both of which I found slightly annoying even while admitting they were effective arena/power-anthem songs. I was, however, a huge fan of their silly mini-epic “Bohemian Rhapsody” and played my sister’s 45 enough to get her peeved at me. This was back when media could actually wear out, so her reaction was not entirely inappropriate. She’d also had a lot of her vinyl trashed by being left out in the rain by one or both of my brothers during one of their infamous sibling battles so she was maybe more protective than usual about her music collection. But I digress. I liked the song and yet Queen was never really on my radar.
In 1980 the band released The Game which was the start of a new direction for the group, mainly through the introduction of synthesizers and an overall softer sound. I recall their next album, Hot Space, was condemned in one review as being “over-produced” and The Game was definitely the first step toward that. At the time I wasn’t aware of any of this, all I knew is that “Another One Bites the Dust” was catchy as all get-out and a huge hit and was followed by the equally catchy Elvis callback “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, the video (pre-MTV) of which features the least convincing display of machismo ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE34cSvZCd8
With two solid radio hits I picked the album up and generally lurved it, though it falls into that curious collection of albums I really enjoyed and yet never purchased anything else from the same artist ever again. It remains the only Queen album I’ve ever bought.
Listening to it today some aspects are dated, mainly the way the synths are used, along with reverb and other sound effects. They mostly distract from the music, adding little to the songs.
The songs themselves cover a pleasing variety of styles in the span of a brisk 35 minutes. “Don’t Try Suicide” may still be the catchiest yet most cynical anti-suicide song ever, with lyrics like “Don’t try suicide, nobody cares/Don’t try suicide, nobody gives a damn”. “Rock it (Prime Jive)” features drummer Roger Taylor’s weird growling vocals and Brian May provides an appropriately smooth voice for his ballad “Sail Away Sweet Sister”. The focus remains on Freddie Mercury and he struts through the rest of the tracks with the confidence of a veteran performer (The Game was Queen’s eighth album). There are really no bad songs on the album, though “Rock It” comes across lyrically as a bit inane (Taylor also wrote “Radio Ga Ga”).
While at times a bit dated and dotted with unnecessary flourishes, The Game remains a strong testament to the talent of Queen. I can listen to it now and separate it completely from my time in high school when I originally bought it, which speaks to the overall quality of the music.
The outdoor friend is a very large spider hanging out on the deck, having spun a massive web at the edge of it. I first spotted the spider sitting square in the middle of it but my presence freaked him out and he retreated to a safe position off the web and above it, moving incredibly swiftly in a diagonal line. Sadly today when I checked the spider was still in his safe spot but most of the web had been obliterated, probably due to the storm that swept in earlier today. I am hoping the spider rebuilds because it’s one of the biggest I’ve seen recently.
Tub spider was just that, a large (but not outdoor friend large) spider roaming about the bathtub in the main bathroom. Since there’s no obvious way to get in the tub except via the drain (if you’re a spider, that is), I’m assuming that was where he came in from, but it was clear that even if it was he was in no hurry to return to it. He kept lapping the tub, neatly avoiding the drain each time he neared it. I decided to leave him be, thinking he would eventually give up and return to the drain.
The next day he was still skittering around the tub as before.
The day after that he was no longer skittering. He was sitting, perhaps pondering his probably terrible fate. It was then I fished him up in a glass and found him to still be very agile. I took him outside and tossed him onto the lawn, just past the massive web of his outdoor friend. I like to think he’s off happily hunting bugs now and will know to stay away from drains. I may be expecting too much.
This concludes another “I don’t step on spiders” post.
Since seeing this video I have repeatedly had the stupid song get stuck in my head. I hope that my small part in helping it spread throughout the Internet will purge it from my brain, somehow.
