https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/142464853/hendo-hoverboards-worlds-first-real-hoverboard

It's funny how the present and our past futures have diverged so much. There's almost nothing in retrofuturity which envisioned our style of computer games and programs - Google Earth? Minecraft? Kerbal? Forget it. But on the other hand, there's very little which assumed we'd still be using mice and MSWord, either.

The internet? It's a major part of many people's lives, but retrofuturity barely takes it beyond 'chat'. Think of all the things you do on the 'net that aren't straight communication...

And... yeah, non-humanoid robots. Fiction and prediction alike have assumed that robots need to be fully aware (or at least capable of simulating it), or they're useless. But we have Roombas (my parents call theirs Dobby), and Siri, and self-driving cars, and...

... well, and all the things we don't even notice, the little automatic algorithms that tag your Facebook pictures, or fill in your username for you, or filter out your spam emails. It's all very very clever. But we're still waiting for those hoverboards.

But... I guess it's the same for everything. Why are dinosaurs and mammoths unspeakably cool, when their direct descendents, swans and elephants, are 'coolish' at best? Why is it that the future you don't have is more exciting than the one you're living in - when the one you've got is way more advanced?

hS

Karate. Specifically Jeet Kune Do, which is Bruce Lee's mixed martial arts style. I'm currently a brown belt, making my goal slightly more plausible but no less painful important and good for my health.

Good luck with your resolutions, whatever they end up being!