Brian Gongol
Podcast: Updated weekly in the wee hours of Sunday night/Monday morning. Subscribe on Stitcher, Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or iHeartRadio
The annual list of words to banish from the English language is out. Among the proposed prohibitions with which I could agree: "Not so much," and "That time of year again." (Of course it's that time of year again...and it will be again next year.)
Some things that should happen in 2009:
- Completion of the Burj Dubai, which is expected to be 2,300 feet tall when it's done
- Commercial space travel, either on Virgin Galactic and their "Space Ship Two" or aboard the Planet Space "Silver Dart"
- Medical microrobots injected into the bloodstream to help fix what's wrong with you
- The Communist regime in Cuba turns 50
- People living in Britain will be issued their first biometric national identity cards (proponents of liberty are not amused)
- China becomes the world's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions -- which begs the question, if we're no longer the world's biggest producers of those gases, does that change our attitudes on whether those emissions should be controlled? It's a lot like driving on a highway -- when you're the biggest speeder, you're not likely to call anyone a "crazy driver". But the minute someone else breezes past you, you're more likely to complain about all those nuts who should have their licenses revoked. Whether you believe in man-made global warming, reject it altogether, or remain on the fence, there's no doubt it puts a different spin on the matter to be knocked out of the #1 position.
Keywords in this show:
biometric identity cards •
Burj Dubai •
China •
Communism •
Cuba •
greenhouse gases •
language •
liberty •
medical microrobots •
microrobots •
predictions •
space travel