Rick-Morgan.com

I’ve been watching a documentary about where the human race will be technologically in the future. Its bitter-sweet to say the least. Apparently by 2035 it will be possible to implant the human brain with a chip that will allow us to soak up knowledge, such as learn a language (via download) in seconds, or increase our reaction times by a massive rate (this has already been done with rats in the lab).
While robotic exo-skeletons are being developed for soldiers to wear on the battle field, soon we’ll be able to add machine parts to our body giving us super human strength from the inside.
Fighter pilots will be able to control their fighter jets by remote control from their base, making the plane more agile and side stepping the problems the human body suffers from G-Force.
As for entertainment, well there’s going to be another dimension. Having a chip in your brain will allow you join a hive human network, in effect a matrix, that should enable us experience everything from flying like a super hero or living out our every fantasy, similar to the virtual reality machines we’ve already seen. The downsides are obvious, you’re allowing access directly to your brain, so as we’ve seen companies such as banks and government departments lose private data on laptops and usb memory chips, so can they be allowed access to your brain? Also that’s when thought crimes will be prosecuted that’s for sure.
Other things like life extension or even living for ever will be possible, with your consciousness being downloaded to the hive/internet. For me that sounds like hell - imagine if you were aware that your body had died but you were aware and living in a digital universe, eesh!
Robots will also be much more advanced, and will perform duties such as cooking and cleaning or even act as a nanny to our children. Their artificial intelligence will be on par or even superior to ours. How long would it take for a robot to get tired of being a slave when it is superior physically and mentally to its master? The future is a scary place!

Well that’s Christmas over with, and New Years too. I’m really glad to see the back of 2008 - For me this year was a washout. I didn’t manage to find a new job so I haven’t been able to pay off any debt like I wanted to. And the world’s economy has hit the skids, just great. People are starting to be made redundant all over the country and bankruptcies are going up. At the bank where my sister works most of her department has been let go, she was one of the lucky ones for now. A good friend of mine has been made redundant from another bank also, which is very sad. He has a mortgage and two children, one under 1 year old, so it’s going to be tough for him. He’s very upbeat at the moment but the longer it takes to get back into work the more uneasy he’ll get I suspect.

2008 hasn’t been a total washout for me, I did achieve a couple of things. I got my brown belt in Ju Jitsu which has been a long time coming. So only one away from black now, I just have to stick at it. I also got to green belt in Karate, which considering I had started on white the previous December. That’s 4 belts in all. It would have been purple (5th Kyu) which is half way to black,  but my hips started to in October and by mid November it was painful even to walk, so I’ve had to take a rest since then. The good thing about martial arts training when you’re unemployed is that it keeps your spirits up. I was getting really depressed up until I started  to take Karate lessons, but thanks to building up my Chi, or Ki as it’s known. I can’t wait until the hip injury is fully healed so I can get back to it. I wanted to get my black belt in Karate in just over two years, but the injury has put a spanner in the works. Patience is a virtue, right?