24 January 2014

Birthdays
Matthew Lillard b. 1970 (Scooby-Doo, Thir13n Ghosts, Wing Commander)
Stephanie Romanov b. 1969 (Angel)
David Gerrold b. 1944 (screenwriter, The Trouble With Tribbles)
Ernest Borgnine b. 1917 died 8 July 2012 (Gattaca, Laser Mission, Escape From New York, The Black Hole, Future Cop, The Devil’s Rain, The Neptune Factor)
C. L. Moore b. 1911 died 4 April 1987 (author, Northwest Smith, Cthulhu Mythos)
E.T.A. Hoffmann b. 1776 died 25 June 1822 (author, The Sandman, The Tales of Hoffmann, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King)

Only six birthdays this year and only three of them are still alive. Hoffmann is best known for fantasy stories that have been turned into operas, Catherin L. Moore was a very busy writer back in her day and last year's Picture Slot was filled with a shot of Kirk chest deep in tribbles. Doing today's research, I was surprised at how many genre movies and TV shows Ernest Borgnine was in and he will probably be next year's Picture Slot. But this year, what with me being a sucker for Joss Whedon shows and high cheekbones, we are looking at Stephanie Romanov as Lilah Morgan, the villainous lawyer on Angel. As for Matthew Lillard, I've never been much of a fan of Scooby-Doo, live action or cartoon, so unless he makes a sci-fi hit in the future, his chances for being in the Picture Slot are pretty slim.

Many happy returns of the day for Lillard, Romanov and Gerrold, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
 

Predictor: Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, speaking at a TED Talk in 2006

Prediction: High end computers will cost $10 in 2020.

Reality: Joy said this eight years ago and we are still six years out, so I can't say with 100% confidence that he is wrong. Still, if I had to bet, I'd bet against this one  even if we stipulate that the screen is a separate part. The chips needed for the best possible gaming computer might come down to that range, but the keyboard, mouse and other input devices will cost more than $10 because they are made from plastic.

With this prediction, we bid farewell to TED talks as our regular Friday source of predictions. Next week, we will welcome Wired Long Bets as our new source for predictions. Many of the same people who have given TED talks also will be involved, but this time they actually bet cash money on whether they are right or wrong.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Saturday is our day to go back to 1893 to see what people thought the 20th Century would look like.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!