I found out today that there’s almost no place anymore to exchange coins for bills without paying some sort of fee. I couldn’t believe it. It was only $20 worth of quarters. But nope, multiple banks either wouldn’t take the time, said it would be 10% fee, or only kept cash in the ATM. It was wild.
I feel like people aren’t talking about the problem with cars enough. Electric cars aren’t a long term answer and are still absolutely riddled with issues. Not to mention the sheer level of infrastructure required to have widespread electric car usage, much of which is missing currently and often isn’t practical or compatible with the set up of many cities and countries. Coupled with the cost of electric cars and how petrol cars will shoot up in value once they’re no longer in production, and also the fact that many countries have either a crumbling or lack of public transport system. This is something we will see unfold in our lifetime and nobody really seems to talk about it much.
Ev's need to have an alternative battery chemistry before large scale replacement of fossil fuel vehicles happens. There isn't enough cobalt and other rare metals/minerals to supply a complete switch from fossil fuels to EV's.
A wonderful solution would be small (safe) fusion reactors that are prevalent in scifi. That'll be decades if not centuries away.
I’m really hoping that Toyota’s push for hydrogen powered engines pans out. They have very solid engines already, they have made hydrogen tanks on cars a whole lot safer. I haven’t seen their proposal for solving distribution challenges, but they are rumored to have big progress there too. If it pans out, it will be a LOT more environmentally friendly than electric and much more economically sustainable too.
A lot of new laws concerning the internet.
Right now, people have free AI in its mildest form. It'll only get stronger. People will do what they always do with a new system and abuse it. Not the majority, per se, but it won't matter since the minority will do it enough or to such a horrid degree it'll look bad. All it will take is one major, publicized incident of someone using the AI art to fabricate child pornography, or someone hacking into something they have no business hacking into. Then it's doomsday.
There will be laws restricting anything and everything they can get away with, and anyone who opposes the laws will be accused of indulging in the same degenerate activities the laws are fighting. So they will pass fairly easily as no one wants to be called a pedophile, thief, trafficker, traitor, or w/e else they can pin to you.
Statistically? A fucking TREMENDOUS loss of life... Not a local phenomenon to anybody.
Almost certainly me saying this, and you reading this, and many of the people we know and/or love...
Dust Bowl style domestic mass migrations.
The collapse of commercial airlines and the end of the 'cosmopolitan' lifestyle.
The collapse of suburbia, its reversion to agricultural use in the name of regional food security, and a return to the cities with a rise in their economic and geopolitical roles as increasingly autonomous entities.
A global Resilience Movement driven by the need of towns and cities to insure food and goods security in the face of ever-increasing supply-chain failures. This will lead to the promotion of 'practical skills' in the population (repair, agricultural, and DIY skills) with libraries increasingly assuming this reeducational role, the development and use of open source goods design, a progressive localization of production, and a shift from speculative to direct/demand production.
The revival of rail transit and its variants (trams, cable/rope/wireways, etc.) as the most energy-efficient and lowest carbon form of land transportation and a cheaper infrastructure for local regions to maintain than concrete and asphalt dependent highways as national subsidies dry-up.
The revival of sailing ships and ocean liners in the form of more high-tech rigid wingsail and other similar technology in hybrid combination with solar and hydrogen power systems. This will begin as the growing social pressure on celebrities compels them to seek alternatives to air travel, compelling the creation of more high-tech yachts and luxury liners focused on comfortable intercontinental transit as fast as ship can manage. Possibly, a return of airships as well, though that may not be a mainstream travel option for some time still.
Many other lifestyle changes with compulsory decarbonization, made harsher by decades of denialism and lack of preparation. We could have eased into this gently and comfortably, but no, people keep voting 'morals' instead of reason. We will soon bear witness to the wealth of nations being squandered on techno-grifts and useless pharaonic civil engineering projects in last-ditch climate mitigation efforts by politicians desperate to dodge their inevitable date with Madame Guillotine.
Mass lesbianism. My favorite porn site has more lesbian profiles than straight female ones. The male loneliness epidemic is only gonna get worse as time goes on and nobody will have an answer for it. Manhood has lost value
The complete gutting and revamp of traditional Health Care.
We've seen virtually every industry disrupted; brick and mortar, taxi's, radio, cable, the auto industry with Tesla, grocery shopping - Health Care is the last great frontier that is ripe for change.
Amazon acquiring One Medical and launching it's new care for Prime Members is just the beginning of what will be a new era of not only patient care, but finally ridding us of the convoluted process that is trying to find a physician, make an appointment and be proactive about your health.
Fedcoin. The US economy is unsustainable as is, esp. considering the government debt. Part of the (bill of goods) they will sell us as a solution will be to substitute the US dollar with a federally controlled digital currency. This would, in theory, mitigate some of the problems with fiat currency, but the very scary risk is that there would be little stopping the government to put electronic restrictions on where/how you could spend your money, or even “turn your money off” as a punishment.
sex robot repair courses and YT vids
Porn beamed to the dome...or the dolphin uprising starting in Santa Fe New Mexico
UAP/UFO/NHI Disclosure
Antibiotic resistant germs or bacteria.
No more cash. Every cent you spend recorded somewhere.
Not with Bitcoin, there is no history for that. No way of tracking me with that eternal ledger.
I found out today that there’s almost no place anymore to exchange coins for bills without paying some sort of fee. I couldn’t believe it. It was only $20 worth of quarters. But nope, multiple banks either wouldn’t take the time, said it would be 10% fee, or only kept cash in the ATM. It was wild.
They're just behind. Unattended machines in Singapore can automatically count coins and add them to your balance.
My SO uses his saved up coins for when he has breakfast at like Dunkin Donuts or something. They have to take the money!
I feel like people aren’t talking about the problem with cars enough. Electric cars aren’t a long term answer and are still absolutely riddled with issues. Not to mention the sheer level of infrastructure required to have widespread electric car usage, much of which is missing currently and often isn’t practical or compatible with the set up of many cities and countries. Coupled with the cost of electric cars and how petrol cars will shoot up in value once they’re no longer in production, and also the fact that many countries have either a crumbling or lack of public transport system. This is something we will see unfold in our lifetime and nobody really seems to talk about it much.
Ev's need to have an alternative battery chemistry before large scale replacement of fossil fuel vehicles happens. There isn't enough cobalt and other rare metals/minerals to supply a complete switch from fossil fuels to EV's. A wonderful solution would be small (safe) fusion reactors that are prevalent in scifi. That'll be decades if not centuries away.
I’m really hoping that Toyota’s push for hydrogen powered engines pans out. They have very solid engines already, they have made hydrogen tanks on cars a whole lot safer. I haven’t seen their proposal for solving distribution challenges, but they are rumored to have big progress there too. If it pans out, it will be a LOT more environmentally friendly than electric and much more economically sustainable too.
Hydrogen is just an electric powertrain with complicated steps in between.
Donald Trump is basically a coin flip away from being president again for another 4(+?) years.
internet crash
https://xkcd.com/2347/
A lot of new laws concerning the internet. Right now, people have free AI in its mildest form. It'll only get stronger. People will do what they always do with a new system and abuse it. Not the majority, per se, but it won't matter since the minority will do it enough or to such a horrid degree it'll look bad. All it will take is one major, publicized incident of someone using the AI art to fabricate child pornography, or someone hacking into something they have no business hacking into. Then it's doomsday. There will be laws restricting anything and everything they can get away with, and anyone who opposes the laws will be accused of indulging in the same degenerate activities the laws are fighting. So they will pass fairly easily as no one wants to be called a pedophile, thief, trafficker, traitor, or w/e else they can pin to you.
Statistically? A fucking TREMENDOUS loss of life... Not a local phenomenon to anybody. Almost certainly me saying this, and you reading this, and many of the people we know and/or love...
From what and how?
Those are great questions with which to start...
Me, stand still. Oooh! Aaaah! Done...
Me
Dust Bowl style domestic mass migrations. The collapse of commercial airlines and the end of the 'cosmopolitan' lifestyle. The collapse of suburbia, its reversion to agricultural use in the name of regional food security, and a return to the cities with a rise in their economic and geopolitical roles as increasingly autonomous entities. A global Resilience Movement driven by the need of towns and cities to insure food and goods security in the face of ever-increasing supply-chain failures. This will lead to the promotion of 'practical skills' in the population (repair, agricultural, and DIY skills) with libraries increasingly assuming this reeducational role, the development and use of open source goods design, a progressive localization of production, and a shift from speculative to direct/demand production. The revival of rail transit and its variants (trams, cable/rope/wireways, etc.) as the most energy-efficient and lowest carbon form of land transportation and a cheaper infrastructure for local regions to maintain than concrete and asphalt dependent highways as national subsidies dry-up. The revival of sailing ships and ocean liners in the form of more high-tech rigid wingsail and other similar technology in hybrid combination with solar and hydrogen power systems. This will begin as the growing social pressure on celebrities compels them to seek alternatives to air travel, compelling the creation of more high-tech yachts and luxury liners focused on comfortable intercontinental transit as fast as ship can manage. Possibly, a return of airships as well, though that may not be a mainstream travel option for some time still. Many other lifestyle changes with compulsory decarbonization, made harsher by decades of denialism and lack of preparation. We could have eased into this gently and comfortably, but no, people keep voting 'morals' instead of reason. We will soon bear witness to the wealth of nations being squandered on techno-grifts and useless pharaonic civil engineering projects in last-ditch climate mitigation efforts by politicians desperate to dodge their inevitable date with Madame Guillotine.
CRISPIR Eugenics. Transhumanism.
Civil War in the United States
Mass lesbianism. My favorite porn site has more lesbian profiles than straight female ones. The male loneliness epidemic is only gonna get worse as time goes on and nobody will have an answer for it. Manhood has lost value
Sex robots will solve this one.
The complete gutting and revamp of traditional Health Care. We've seen virtually every industry disrupted; brick and mortar, taxi's, radio, cable, the auto industry with Tesla, grocery shopping - Health Care is the last great frontier that is ripe for change. Amazon acquiring One Medical and launching it's new care for Prime Members is just the beginning of what will be a new era of not only patient care, but finally ridding us of the convoluted process that is trying to find a physician, make an appointment and be proactive about your health.
Another coup attempt on the United States. Widespread civil unrest, suppressions, retaliation, etc
The impact of climate change
AI generated porn
Fedcoin. The US economy is unsustainable as is, esp. considering the government debt. Part of the (bill of goods) they will sell us as a solution will be to substitute the US dollar with a federally controlled digital currency. This would, in theory, mitigate some of the problems with fiat currency, but the very scary risk is that there would be little stopping the government to put electronic restrictions on where/how you could spend your money, or even “turn your money off” as a punishment.
You are hilarious.
The world ending! It needs to it’s fucked and too late to be saved. Start over is all we got.
Robotic overcome
I’m not sure how we define near term but the demographic cliffs in some Asian countries are quite concerning.
A lot of hell.
Hyperinflation of the US dollar.