What Next???

Halloween is over for another year;

Hello,
Web 2 and soon to be Web 3 are around the corner, with all the other many other new apps and electronic tools and medical procedures brought to us by the new technology will change life and how we live it as drastically in the next 10-15 years as the last 30-50 years have changed life;

40 years ago the cry against technology and Space Exploration was we had to get things straightened up on our planet before we spent money on Space, but now after 40 years and counting, nothing has changed, other than we have more problems than we did in 1964-69 and we didn't get rid of poverty, war, or inequality; sure some places have benefited, like South Africa, Russia and East Germany!! but in reality, we are still a mess, with poverty and hunger in the First World that rivals that in the Third World Countries;

now we have Climate Change and the Fight to reduce CO2 emissions which threatens to stall the economic advances of the Third World, while the stronger Nations, like China, Canada, India, the USA and Russia fight any real attempt at control; and like I said, technological advances are just around the corner that will propel us into the 21st century at light speed ;-) I think it makes the book (WALDEN) on Thoreau's view of life all the more relevant as a means to balance the mental tight rope walk of life in this new age;

While I just lit three candles to see how much light they shine in my little corner display around the computer, Father Christmas and Indonesian Wood Carvings, I am reflecting on what next; last night I was up for 3-4 hours looking through the tech news; don't read the "real" news much; it never really changes except the names and locations; but the Tech news does; there is an Egyptian who is going to revolutionize Canadian telecomm industry by forcing them to compete against him and thus give consumer some real choice; a few new ways to get past the silicon chip (it was discovered in the late 1950's) and make electronics faster, more powerful and smaller; a stem cell was used to create a miniature liver; and of course last spring the creation of heart cells from stem cells; individual genome studies are available online, not sure of the safety of this, but if you know about cloud computing, their technology is akin to that (web 3 ???) soon we will all be able to have our individual genomes read and available for study as easily as we can access our credit reports; have heart disease or kidney disease, get a new one created from your skin cells, no rejection; this week we celebrate 10 years of ISS human occupation; in 10 years they will be deciding whether to extend it's life again; mean while Bigelow will be putting up Space Habitats in LEO and probably between the Earth and the Moon, with plans for a Lunar Base a couple of years down the road; by 2040, at the latest, the first persons born in Space and on another celestial body, will have celebrated their first BD; and a Martian colony is a distinct possibility by the year 2050-60;
last year we changed over here at the Hermitage to the fluorescent low energy lamps; this year our hydro has gone up, and we are planning on investing in LED lamps and motion/proximity detectors to turn off and on lights; last week we bought a LED bulb, with 1.5 watt usage, but 120 Lumen of light production, which is about twice the light as the 3 candles; it cost 9 dollars; for 15 dollars we can get a 220 Lumen bulb, 2.5 watt usage; that and the change over of the Halloween and Christmas decorations to LED and soon LED computer monitors, we hope to cut down the cost of hydro;

but having said that, I am looking at buying a 12" compound mitre saw for 315 dollars including tax for making frames for stretching canvas and framing pictures and painting, as well as other projects; (building another Walden??) all small steps forward;
















But again, WHAT'S NEXT!!??? 52 days to Chrimbo!!