Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about:

This is technology that is in active deveopment today. Wether or not this particular project will manifest into usable tech is unimportant; the fact is it is being developed when ten years ago this sort of thing was pure fantasy. Imagine where we'll be in another ten or fifteen...

My good friend (and future roommate) Mike Z. has been on me for awhile to download a recent Diane Rehm episode devoted to futurist Ray Kurzweil and his book The Singularity is Near. Tonight I relented and I'm glad I did.

For one thing, I always take pride in accomplishments by people named Ray. Even, begrudgingly, Ray Romano.

For another, the future is a topic of some interest to me. Particularly, a sooner-then-you-think future in which robots fundamentally alter what it means to be human. So you can imagine my joy at hearing a intelligent-sounding guy named Ray prognosticate about how nano technology will end mortality as we know it within 15 years.

Now you might think that, for me, that experience was a little like the choir streaming a podcast of the preacher's latest sermon, but I have to say this has actually radically alterted my point of view. Previously, I've thought the coming tidal wave of sensient robots would spell certain doom (and gloom) for us lowly biological lifeforms. Yet, despite the fact that Kurzwiel is neither an optimist or a pessimist, he's got me imagining a spectacularly positive future.

Because, if you think about it, the quality of life that we humans have been able to achieve for ourselves so far merely on the strength of our brainpower has been pretty damn good. And the increase in that QoL has been exponential, just as exponential as our technological growth. In fact, I'd bet dollars to donuts that if you chart those two curves over the course of human history, they'd look absolutely identical.

So given that we will soon be able to amplify our intelligence to the point where our biological brains look downright puny, I don't think it's wishful thinking at all to believe that within 15 years we'll have cured cancer, AIDS, heart disease, diabetes, and eliminated aging and death of natural causes. And when that's happened, I see no reason why we can't also instantaneously eliminate poverty, famine, and war.

After all, when we can all live forever -- when infinite youth, not death, is as sure as taxes -- why would we do anything other than pursue our passions and follow our collective dreams?

There are few people in this world that deserve the moniker of "hero" but on this day, Enrique Iglesias became one of them.

According to this link, Mr. Iglesias said:

"I can never find extra-small condoms, and I know it's really embarrassing for people - you know, from experience [...] Hopefully people won't be ashamed when I step forward."

Supposedly, Enrique is going to come out with his own line of small condoms to back things up. The idea is that men will feel less stigmatized about themselves when they can buy the official undersized condoms of the man who nails Anna Kournikova.

Pardon the pun, but given the intense psychological torment we men face when it comes to the size of our penises, and the intense pressure to make innacurate, boastful claims about the size of said penises as a defense mechanism against our true feelings of shame and inadequacy -- for a famous celebrity to come out and say he is smaller... well, let's just say that's awfully big of him.

So, Mr. Iglesias, on behalf of all men everywhere:

I would proudly wear your condoms... but I would totally rip them to shreds.

Seems like I never have time to update this thing. I've got a "To Do" list about a mile long these days...