I was getting a chuckle today reading an article posted on 6/20/02 at theage.com.au, titled Robot on the Run, about a robot that tried to escape from the experimental center it was housed at, when it occurred to me that the "future" I used to think about 20 years ago reading science fiction is here NOW. So many things I expected to have happened, as an avid sf reader, haven't happened at all (things like establishing a moonbase or space station for commercial enterprise). And other things, like the internet, the explosion of computer and information technology into our homes and daily lives, these were things I personally never expected to see. So much has developed technologically so fast we can barely keep up. Yet we still have age-old human problems plaguing us like never before. Horrific human rights abuses, wars/conflicts between nations, prejudices and discrimination, high levels of poverty in too many places all over the world.
I think there was always a feeling in reading science fiction that somehow the technology would make everything better. And I suppose there is now for me a bit of a sense of disappointment in that incorrect assumption. Surely we as human beings would develop right along with our science, but what I see instead is that we remain true to ourselves, true to human nature, fallible, petty, sometimes rising up to show our better natures, but generally self-absorbed and disconnected in many ways from each other.
I used to love reading the Robot novels of Asimov, thinking how great it would be to have robots in our lives. The fact that these early models mentioned in the article above are already trying to escape...well it makes you wonder. Was the robot escape just a programming glitch? Or was it fed up with its human masters? Probably just a programming thing, after all, even if the future is now, we don't really have thinking robots yet...that has to be in the realm of the far future, right? Yeah. Remember how the idea of a computer more powerful than the one that took us to the moon, a computer that sits on your desk in your home, was just a dream in science fiction? Look out future. Look out robots.
There's a story out today that India says its ruling out war with Pakistan, saying there is "no possibility of war" and I just wonder how they can say that. As the news story from AP news at excite.com points out, a million soldiers are still in place on the border...a MILLION soldiers. This is not insignificant, folks. Nothing has happened to change the conditions that existed a few weeks ago. I guess I think this is just talk, and that nothing has changed that much. Its not a part of the world I'd feel comfortable visiting at this point, that's for sure!
It seems like one minute we were all waiting for these 2 countries to go war, afraid of where it would lead, and then suddenly because the leader of Pakistan says he will stop incursions across the border, we are all supposed to say "Okay, no problem, nothing to worry about"??? Its not that I think we should sit around worrying, but the situation there is terribly fragile. I think there is so much happening all around the world, we could be in danger of losing sight of how serious this particular situation remains.
Over at abcnews.com they have a story about a web site where you can bet on when the first nuke will be dropped in the India/Pakistan confrontation. If there is a tie, the winner is the one who guesses closest to the number of casualties. Supposedly the site is to show how terrible the whole thing would be...it just sounds nuts to me. Surely they aren't really betting on this?? Evidently its part of what is called "Death Pools" where people bet on when someone--a celebrity--is going to die. I know its a free country, a free internet, and people have the right to express their opinions...my opinion however, is that the Indo/Pakistani Death Pool is in really bad taste, as in disgusting.
I have to say that I'm totally impressed with the WNBA audio pass. I signed up for it at the beginning of the season, but only recently have actually started using it. It is such a deal--for only $9.95 you get to listen to ALL the games on radio over your internet connection. And no, they are not paying me to say this. I just think they should advertise this feature more than they do.
The bad news is that you get to listen to favorite players when they lose. Granted, the Detroit Shock has the losing streak of all time going--after tonight they are 0-13 so they have not been having fun yet this season. Tonight they came close, in overtime against Miami. Swin Cash was amazing at the free throw line throughout the game. As the second pick in the draft, she has been proving her worth in Detroit. Let's just hope that they can finally win one soon.
Just finished listening to the Seattle Storm vs. Orlando Miracle (using the WNBA Audio Pass--a great feature at a super cheap price) where the Storm pulled out a win at the 8-second mark after struggling throughout the game. With the addition of Sue Bird this year the Storm are developing into an exciting team to watch--that is, if more of their games were televised! It just totally bums me out that so few of the games I want to see in the WNBA are on tv.
The thing about Sue Bird is that she is not always the high scorer--like tonight Michelle Marciniak made the final winning shot and was the high scorer and Lauren Jackson made the 3-point shot of the game that led to Marciniak's play. But what Sue Bird does is lead the team, setting up the shots, making smart plays. As others have said before, she makes everyone better on whatever team she is on. She is a great role model for young girls and I think she may end up being as fun to watch...er...listen to...in the WNBA as she was at UConn.
The other day (Tues. 6/25/02) I'm listening to the news and I hear that the Atomic Energy Commission is saying that there is radioactive material "out there" that can be obtained by just about anybody, to make a dirty bomb.
What was this news report about? Have they just now discovered radioactive materials laying around everywhere? Are they trying to scare us? Are they trying to cover their butts in case a dirty bomb is exploded in the U.S.? (As in, "Well yeah, this is bad, but at least we warned you about how easy it would be for this to happen.") Or have they known about the problem for quite a while, not known how to fix the problem, or not felt it could possibly happen until after 9/11?
No matter what answer is given to any of these questions, the fact remains that this was a pointless release of news. There is absolutely nothing any of us not in the AEC can do about the problem. It's not like if we just pray enough or pledge the flag enough or donate money or prepare survival equipment that we can stop a dirty bomb. Who should be doing something about the problem? Well, it seems like that would be the job of that aforementioned Atomic Energy Commission, or SOMEone in government/military.
But hey, I'm just a citizen here, no real input. For what its worth, my vote goes for this news item being a scare tactic, covering your butt, and idiocy all rolled into one. I mean, come on...if its out there floating around, go pick it up! duh.