Welcome to THE FUTURE

It's no secret that I love vintage science fiction. I love seeing how people in the past imagined the future, especially when their future is my present.



I found such a gem at the library, a children's book called Tomorrow's Home by Neil Ardley, published in 1981. I was nine years old in 1981, dreaming of the future.

How does 2010 stack up to what we envisioned back then?

Right in the foreword, we are told that "in the future the members of a family will spend more time together in their home than they do now. The reason is that computers and robots should give us more leisure time in which to be together . . ."

Ah-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaa! Yes, that's true. This "leisure time" is called "unemployment."

(If you think I'm making a joke, check out "The Polarization of Job Opportunities in the U.S. Labor Market" by David Autor of MIT. The report suggests that the decline of the middle class is due, in part, to automation. In other words, the jobs that used to provide a decent middle class living are now predominantly done by computers and robots.)

But enough about the depressing side of life in 2010. We're looking at THE FUTURE.



Well, they got the little robot vacuums right. The artist even imagined the robo-vac terrorizing the cat. I may not have a Roomba, but evidence on YouTube suggests that cats are not particularly alarmed by them.



But as for the rest of the household robots--well, that didn't pan out so much. Look at this little robot bringing this hardworking rancher a drink (while other robots tend his cattle). Where's my robot maid to bring me root beer and M&M's?



But sometimes they take the robot servant thing too far. I mean, look at this.



Is it really all that hard to pour a bowl of cereal? Do you really need two robots to do it for you? No wonder we have an obesity epidemic in the 21st century. We don't get off our butts to do a darned thing. (The book didn't mention that part. I don't think anyone in the past saw the obesity thing coming. If anything, futurists of the past imagined we'd all be skinny and starving from massive food shortages.)

The book hit pretty close on video games. Our games aren't 3D like this one yet (although the explosion of 3D CGI movies in theaters in the last year or so makes me think video games will follow sooner rather than later), but they did correctly predict that the games would be played online with many other players.



Then again, their view of technology was surprisingly limited in other ways. Check out this videophone computer. It's HUGE! This monster would take a whole room of someone's house!



Aren't you glad we got laptops and smartphones instead?



(Yes, I know that's just a static image of me on the computer screen. I don't have wireless internet in my apartment, so it's not like I could connect to Skype without going to the library. But you know what a videoconference looks like. Don't pretend you don't. And if you really don't, then just go watch a commercial for the iPhone 4.)

Overall, the predictions in that 1981 book were not entirely unreasonable. I was surprised at how close some of them came. I suppose the real barrier to every household having the things they describe is cost. That's one thing these futurist books never really seem to address, that some people will have these things, and others will be left wishing they could afford them.

I'm going to leave you with one of the more improbable things described in the book, the ability to watch a movie in your living room AND to act the lead role yourself, replacing the actor who originally starred in the role.



Wow, that sounds pretty farfetched . . . oh wait, it we have that. Yoostar is supposed to do exactly that. I've never had the opportunity to try it, so I don't know how well it works, however it does exist.

I think this pretty well proves that anything you can imagine will eventually come to pass. And I honestly do believe that many inventors are driven to create the sci-fi gadgets that inspired them as children. In fact, the website Technovelgy connects sci-fi ideas of the past with the technologies of today. Everything we have started out with someone saying, "What if . . ."

There are many more predictions in Tomorrow's Home than I actually scanned or mentioned. If you'd like to read it or see the rest of the pictures, check it out at a library near you.

Vacation in Branson

I went to Branson, Missouri, with my mom and stepdad last week. We stayed in a condo right on Table Rock Lake, so we had an amazing view. I would take walks in the morning and enjoy views like this . . .



And close encounters with weeping rock faces, like this . . .



And every evening after we came home from whatever we were doing, we got to witness glorious sunsets across the lake. (These two pictures were taken on different nights.)




At Branson Landing, every hour on the hour, they do a "fire and water" show. Fountains and fire jets are timed to shoot along with a musical selection that is played over the intercom. The angle of the sun was just right to produce a rainbow when the water jets shot high.




Of course, when one thinks of Branson, one thinks of shows. We went to only two shows, but they were both stellar. We saw Six, a group of six brothers who sing without instrumental accompaniment. All of their percussion and other sounds are produced with their own voices. They are a very talented bunch.

We also saw Cassandre' (yes, that's an apostrophe, not an acute--no, I don't know why), a singer from Nebraska (yay!). Turns out, she and my folks have some acquaintances in common from Nebraska music education circles, so they had a nice chat after the show. Cassandre' has a fantastic voice, and she was supported by an excellent ten-piece orchestra, each musician of which played two or more different instruments, depending on the needs of the song (except the pianist, because every song called for the piano). I expected a nice concert (and was not disappointed), but I did not expect the hilarious musical comedy of Cassandre's "Aunt Irma" who took the stage a couple of times. I absolutely adored Auntie's antics.

At dinner one evening at the condo clubhouse, performers from various shows came in to do brief skits or single songs, like commercials. So I suppose that counts as a show, too.

Now, I know it's a requirement that every show in Branson includes a minimum of one hymn and one patriotic tune. No problem there; that's all good. But what I don't get is why all three shows (including the thing at the clubhouse) included the song "Pretty Woman." Is that the new Branson anthem? It's probably just a coincidence, but it was just bizarre hearing three different live renditions of "Pretty Woman" in the space of one week. I could do without hearing that song again for a couple of years.

One day, Mom and I went down to Arkansas to see the Ozark Medieval Fortress and to visit some caves. On the way, we passed through Omaha, Arkansas, population 166. This was tremendously amusing to me, as I live in Omaha, Nebraska, population 454,731.



The Ozark Medieval Fortress is quite amazing, easily my favorite thing that I saw on this trip. They are building a 13th-century-style fortress from locally-quarried stone and local timber, using only 13th-century technology. (The exceptions being modern concessions required by OSHA, such as steel-toed boots and protective eyewear.) Some of the tools they are using are antiques imported from Europe. Many of these tools are no longer made. For example, they are using a stone-splitting tool that is over 700 years old. It was found inside the walls of an old castle in Europe, where apparently some stonemason back then got tired of his job and buried his tools on the site. The fortress is a new attraction, in its first year of construction. It will take them 20 years to complete it, but people are invited to visit the site, observe the progress, and talk to the workers. If I lived within an hour of the site, I'd probably go several times a year just to watch the walls grow.




And check out this medieval crane for lifting heavy stones. Looks like a lot of work for the man in the hamster wheel!



My second favorite site was the caves. We visited two caves which were located on the same grounds, Mystic Cavern and Crystal Dome. We had a fantastic tour guide who provided a lot of the history behind the caves.

The large structure in this picture is called the "Pipe Organ." The reason should be obvious.



Mystic Cavern was home to an illegal still during the Prohibition Era. Soot from the still stains the ceiling and walls of the cavern to this day. Back in the deepest room of the cave, where the bootleggers were operating, the heat from the still permanently damaged the rocks, making them brittle and stopping the growth of the formations. The cave later sustained heavy damage from vandalism, and most of the stalactites, stalagmites, and other formations were broken off. Even so, the cave remains beautiful.

I was fortunate enough to see a salamander in Mystic Cavern.



Only a few hundred feet away, but not actually connected to Mystic Cavern, is Crystal Dome, which was discovered only a few decades ago. This cavern has been protected since it was discovered, and thus it is as close to pristine as any non-geologist is likely to ever see. Some of the crystal formations are pure white, and there are delicate soda straws hanging from the ceiling.



The most stunning feature of this cavern is its namesake: the eight-story dome. Looking up from the bottom fills one with awe and wonder, and makes one just a little dizzy. The picture doesn't begin to do it justice.



And Crystal Dome also contains a funny little ribbon that, from the side, looks just like a delicious slice of bacon. Mmm, bacon. You could almost hear the sizzle.



On another day, we visited the Butterfly Palace in Branson, which is exactly what the name implies--a pretty indoor garden where you can stroll around in the company of hundreds of butterflies.





The last exhibit I visited was Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium, which was a very entertaining collection of bizarre artifacts from around the world. The one that actually made me say "unbelievable" out loud was the glass case containing objects found inside the stomach of a single shark, including multiple anchors, horseshoes, large bones, bathing suits, and piles and piles of other stuff. Must have been one ginormous shark!



Something I saw in passing, and snapped a picture of as we drove by, was this herd of driftwood horses. I would have loved a closer look at those, but we just never got the chance.



Speaking of driftwood, we also stopped by the College of the Ozarks (aka Hard Work U) a couple of times. Their furniture is student-made, and it is beautiful. If you ever have the opportunity to dine at the College of the Ozarks, do. Their student-run restaurant is superb. I had trout there that I think was the most delicious meal I had on this trip, and I had quite a few delicious meals all over.



One of the other lovely meals I had was at the Altenhof Inn, a German restaurant and pizzaria overlooking Table Rock Lake. The place was difficult to find, but the view was top notch. The Jägerschnitzel was quite tasty, too.



One thing about the whole Branson/Table Rock Lake area--there are vultures. In town, out of town--almost anytime you look up, you see vultures. Good thing I like vultures.



The weather for the week was either uncomfortably hot and humid, or raining. We had quite a few thunderstorms. But sometimes they brought rainbows.

You're Registration Form FAIL

On the wild, wild web today . . .



"You're Registration Form has Been Submitted."

AAAAARGH!

You'd think a big company that makes such wonderful eyeglass lenses would be able to hire an English major to catch things like this.

Judging when to use "your" versus "you're" is so easy that it makes this error all the more grating. "You're" is a contraction of "you are." If you can't substitute "you are" in the sentence, then the word you're looking for is "your."

Flooding in Schuyler

These pictures were taken mid-afternoon in Schuyler, Nebraska. I hear the water levels have gone up considerably since then. And thunderstorms are forecast for tonight. I am afraid the whole town will flood.

Here is Shell Creek, at the north-east edge of town.



And here is Lost Creek, at the south-east edge of town.



The ditches and fields are flooded.



The water is halfway up the wheels on these trucks. Note how the exposed wheel plus the reflection forms an almost perfect circle.



This is the golf course. I expect that the geese are the only ones enjoying this situation.



And the bridge by the park is completely covered, with only the railings showing.



I am concerned for all of my family and friends in Schuyler. May you all be safe and well.

Forest Creatures

I went for a walk at Fontenelle Forest this morning. Before I even entered the forest, this baby rabbit crossed my path. He was hanging out near the door of the Nature Center, just hopping back and forth across the sidewalk, nibbling at the leaves of the various garden plants lining the way.



Just as I began my walk, while I was still in sight of the Nature Center, I encountered a family of three woodchucks. Here they are all lined up in a row.



Later on, I encountered a young dear. Notice his little nubby budding antlers.



And, of course, there were turkeys everywhere. I lost count of how many I saw, but I encountered individuals and groups of turkeys throughout my walk, start to finish. And even when I couldn't see them, I could hear them gobbling in the distance.





The neat thing about this tom is that periodically throughout his plumage display, he'd fluff up his feathers with a dramatic whooshing sound, and he'd charge forward a step or two as he did this. It sounded really cool. That's exactly what he's doing at the end of this video, when he goes behind the log and turns away. Unfortunately, the sound was too soft to be heard on the video. Still, he put on quite a show. I watched him for at least five minutes, and I never saw a turkey hen in the vicinity. Maybe he was showing off just for me.

I have more forest photos on Flickr.

More Zoo Pictures

I went to the zoo again yesterday. (Yes, again. There are no individual memberships available, and since I have no spouse or children to take along, that means I need to go to the zoo rather frequently to make the cost of the family membership worthwhile.)

These red river hog babies are not even a month old.



The white-ruffed lemur was sleeping with his paw resting on his friend. The red-ruffed lemur looked a bit annoyed by this.



Most of the lemurs were napping in the grass, but this guy was sprawled on a nice hot rock.



And here's a super close-up of his adorable foot.



But even if the lemurs were all asleep, the ostriches were frisky.



This ostrich mooned me. (Well, actually, he was showing off his plumage to a female that happened to be on the opposite side.) Doesn't the bare underside of an ostrich's wing look freaky?



Look closer . . . see that extra claw or thumb sticking out, about two thirds of the way from the elbow to the wingtip? Weird!



I have more zoo photos on Flickr.

The Unamused Giraffe is Watching You

I ended up renewing my zoo membership after all. It's a nice, safe place to take a walk. Plus, I love checking up on my favorite animals.

Check out my Flickr photostream to see more.