The construction industry. It would be logical, nay absurdly easy, to build houses using modular units pre-fabricated at a factory. But no, a house MUST be built from the brick, board and nail level up. To ensure this, the old way of doing things has been codified in the standards a house must meet for plumbing, electricity, etc. It sort of as if you had to hire a telephone or telegraph operator to make sure your computer “met FCC standard” every time you logged on the Internet.
I’m glad that sentient lizards from Tau Ceti didn’t invade the earth part way through World War 2.
Leonard? Is that you?
I’m glad that all technology and gunpowder has NOT stopped working, and I’m doubly glad that psychotic, homicidal, history professor warlords have NOT tried to re-create the middle-age’s political system.
But they can’t play football worth a damn.
How do you know that?
NASA has built a system to manage air traffic control for flying cars.
Why?
I can still wipe my ass with toilet paper and not with three sea shells.
Nay, sir, for the future is now. I spent the majority of my life in factory-built, pre-fabricated housing. We call them ‘trailers’ hereabouts. Okay, sure, most people don’t consider them ‘houses’, but they’re dwellings nevertheless.
I’m glad the cake is not a lie.
pushes play on iPod
“Heading out to Eden, yay brother!
No more trouble in my body or my mind.
Gonna live like a king on whatever I find.
Gonna eat all the fruit and throw away the rind.”
Noooooooooo!!!
I have a real live dog and not an electronic sheep!
As of this particular moment, I have no fear at all that some mad scientist, working in his basement, has produced a weapon capable of destroying the world and is holding it hostage for one million dollars, after reciept of which hye will try to destroy the earth anyway, only to be foiled at the last minute by a sexy British MI6 agent and a random hot woman he shagged.
This sounds very interesting what is it from?
A short story from my mother’s collections of sci-fi/fantasy from the 50s/60s. I don’t recall the title, and the books are in boxes at the moment.
…people aren’t walking around in form-fitting spandex outfits!
-that we all don’t have TV phones
-that we don’t live on concentrated food tablets (maybe compressed vegemite?)
-that giant humanoid robots aren’t out directing traffic
My “sci-fi” ideal would be modern technology with mid-Victorian dress styles-I’d love to have a car with exposed rivet heads!
It’s not quite spandex, but they are trying to develop what’s variously known as a Space Activity Suit or Mechanical Counter Pressure (MCP) Suit. A spacesuit that maintains pressure simply by being tight fitting and elastic. Here’s Professor Dava J. Newman modeling one prototype.
It’s not just trailers- there are lots of “manufactured homes” which we used to call mobile homes, even though they aren’t. My house was mostly built in a factory, if what I can remember from kindergarten is correct- I’m sure it is, since in 4th grade we went to a lilac garden next to a house factory and the parents said the factory was the “home” of our house. Builders had to install the flooring, cabinetry, and I guess the dry wall, interior doors, and windows? It came here in two halves on a truck.
Why am I glad Sci-Fi hasn’t become reality?
- No Reavers.
- No solely computer-based education- it really wouldn’t work for theatre majors.
- There’s more entertainment than the holodeck or bands playing “classical” music that’s contemporary/within 100 years of the movie/TV shows production date.
- I’d say no random dinosaurs/prehistoric creatures, but it would be cool to have a pterodactyl, especially if he could be trained to eat invasive species.
- I still get to cook real food with real booze in it- cider is great for cooking ham; Cointreau helps with chocolate tangerine cake. Replicated food and synthehol just wouldn’t be the same.
- No Borg!
Excuse me - I have Bjorn Borg pants in my underwear drawer, so no idea what you’re talking about.
What do you call Skype?