This weekend saw the Linguals at Wired's NextFest. This groovy showcase of all things uber-modern was a postcard to the future; what we hope will evolve in the coming years as part of the technology of our everyday lives. The technology spanned the sublime (the uber-cool vein viewer that means you won't have to suffer through needle sticks at the hospital anymore; and a 3-D visual computer/surgery interaction that will allow doctors to see the body better; and Virgin Galactic's Space plane!) to the ridiculous: weird singing and lighted bunnies--Nabaztag-- *read CREEPY* who change color/song along with the stock market report. I'll also give a quick shout-out here to the Videogame Language Trainer that trains future soldiers how to speak Arabic in 100 hours (!). And, my favorite "fun" technology--brain ball, a "game" that worked on alpha-theta brain waves. Whoever was the most relaxed won!
NextFest was a serious combination of cool and geek. It showcased some of the most interesting thinking of our time. What was particularly revealing, however, was the generation gap. While I was LOVING NASA's display of all things intergalactic and being genuinely excited by the medical advances that will make our lives a little more comfortable, many of the younger kids who were there were patently unimpressed. It's "not bad," I heard one kid say. I watched another kid text message someone and say "it's not that great." One of the things I think our point and click world and our mobile qwerty expectations have bred is an assumption of technology. We regularly see cool technology on television and in movies; we have come to expect it. However, the gap between the visual presentation of that invented technology and actual technology remains wide. So, while NextFest was showing some of the coolest products to come in the next few months and years, there was a serious disconnect between kids' understanding of how cutting edge this stuff was. And, how long it took to invent and create.
That's it for now. More on Robot Row later. Heh heh.
So, as of 11:36 a.m. this morning, it seems Amanda and Melissa aren't fired. Here's from the Edwards' campaign:
The tone and the sentiment of some of Amanda Marcotte's and Melissa McEwan's posts personally offended me. It's not how I talk to people, and it's not how I expect the people who work for me to talk to people. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that kind of intolerant language will not be permitted from anyone on my campaign, whether it's intended as satire, humor, or anything else. But I also believe in giving everyone a fair shake. I've talked to Amanda and Melissa; they have both assured me that it was never their intention to malign anyone's faith, and I take them at their word. We're beginning a great debate about the future of our country, and we can't let it be hijacked. It will take discipline, focus, and courage to build the America we believe in.
But ya know, if John-boy wants to play in the blogosphere he's going to have to be faster than that. It took him way tooooo loooooong to release a statement on a story that's already google worthy in the blogosphere. Plus, he pissed off a whole lot of the "leftosphere." Oh, yeah, and there's still that question about whether bloggers as paid political campaign bloggers works. Does this mean no more Virgin Mary popping Plan B from the likes of Amanda in the blogosphere? Because the loss of that voice would just be a damned shame.
More on this later...
Recent Comments