57 Hours

It took me 57 hours to get from Los Angeles to Cape Town South Africa. Yet it feels like I have not left home. I left my home in LA at 11am on Monday the 26th. Flew to Washington DC and slept about 5 hours in the Dulles Hilton. Boarded South African Airways in the morning, flew to Ghana West Africa then to Johannesburg. Went through customs, boarded a new plane and landed in Cape Town. Rented a car. Drove to our condo in the neighborhood of Clifton. Having only been here for a day, I can’t escape the feeling that I have not left home.

So much seems the same. I’m in a beach town that seems to be a close cousin to San Diego. The plants, quality of light, color of the buildings. I feel like I’m on the coast of California! My impression was only strengthened by the fact that the owner of the condo is off to San Diego for her son’s wedding. Her daughter works in New York as a yoga instructor.

The condo has a great view of the beach. The deck furniture is identical to what I have at home. The walls and furniture are done in tasteful earth tones – right out of a crate and barrel catalog. The insect that landed on my computer screen looks like it came from my back yard.

This morning I took a walk to the beach. All the houses have ADT security signs – just like in Los Angeles. Joggers and cyclist were on the street wearing colorful spandex attire. One gentleman wore a US post office t-shirt another an equinox gym shirt. The cars were the usual: Audi, Mercedes and Toyota. The bougainvillea, prickly pear cactus and palm trees – the same. I did see an unusual looking bird. A local couple informed me that it was a guinea fowl. Then the conversation turned to other things – their children in New York, this morning’s new coverage of the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. Trippy.

I’m not saying that there isn’t an enormous amount of differences between Cape Town and the US. I just haven’t experienced any of it yet. And there is something very odd about traveling 57 miles to a place were you wake up and have Kellogg’s Honey Nut All-Bran and OJ spiked with sugar free Red Bull for breakfast.

Entertainment in the Singularity

I think entertainment is going to get very interesting.

Ray Kurzweil predicts that we will have nanobots in our brain connected to the internet that will allow us to be submerged in virtual reality worlds. For your Star Trek NG fans out there, this would allow us to create holodeck type entertainment scenarios.

Here is the added twist – while you are going through your entertainment scenarios, an AI can be tracking your responses and modulating the experience of the characters around you appropriately.

Let’s say you are recreating the scene from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, when the detective Eddie Valiant goes in the club in toon town where Jessica Rabbit performs.

In this holodeck scenario, you would be the Eddie Valiant character. Depending on what emotions you are feeling – the gorilla doorman might pick you up – or not. Depends on how scared you are. In fact, he could pick you up and growl at your for just the right amount of time to get the desired reaction. If you are over 18, the experience you have with Jessica Rabbit might be very different than if you are a child. The important point here is that the framework for the entertainment will be the same, but your interaction with the characters will be tailor to your demographics, pyschographics and real-time reactions – in a way that is not yet possible. I think this will allow for a level of emotional depth and a richness of experience that we currently only get from time to time when our mood and the movie we are watching sync up. I for one am looking forward to it.

Kurzweil does it again

Sometimes, I find Ray Kurzweil's predictions disturbingly accurate.
The Age of Spiritual Machines states that by the close of this decade (2010) that computers will be completed embedded in our clothing.
When I read this 1999, I was rather skeptical.

Checkout Eleksen. They make “Smart Fabric” – Conducative, washable fabric for integrating computing devices into your clothing. And they aren’t some fringe company. They are partnering with major companies like Logitech, Innovative Sports, O’Neill, and Spyder.

Holiday WishList

With all of this fuss about the future, what am I really interested in getting out of it and when do I think I will get it?

What: Generic Propecia
Why: Save Money!
When: June 2006

What: Universal Bluetooth Headphones
Why: Looking for one headset to mediate my audio input and interface with all of my devices
When: ??

What: Melanotan
Why: Causes body to tan without the sun. Protects against skin cancer. Looks great!
When: ?? The Australian company that is bringing this to market is taking forever.

What: Fat Insulin Receptor Gene Blocker
Why: Eat as much as you want without gaining weight. Live 20-25% longer
When: ?? Anyone want to ask Ray Kurzweil

What: Retinal Display
Why: Supports augemented reality. Would improve telepresence and enable memory assistants
When: ??

Dharamsala

Long before I had this website, I took a trip to Dharamsala India.

Hello world!

We are half way through the first decade of the new millenium. Its time for me make a real website.