Monday, March 29, 2010

Book delay.

I should have been posting stuff, but instead I sat on my front porch and read The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century.

I have to say that, despite crystal-balling a few wars and a grim prediction on the effects of the "birth dearth", it's a downright sunny view of the future compared to a lot of things I've been reading lately, especially since it doesn't involve fighting corpse-eating rats over cans of Van Camp's in the weed-choked rubble of a balkanized America.

15 comments:

Keads said...

Darn, I was so looking forward to killing the corpse-eating rats while I ate my MRE's, LOL! That's what the .22's are for!

Rabbit said...

I've got enough problems with two aggressive housecats trying to steal my evening ice cream while I watch the late news. Screw a bunch of rats. I'll get Mr. Estwing and be done with that.

wv=oters. Great. Now I'll have cute, playful riverine mammals after my damned icecream, too. I can't win.

Regards,
Rabbit.

Kristophr said...

Damned it ... first they ditched their promises about atomic powered flying cars, and now they are canceling the zombie-apocalypse.

I want my money back!

Keads said...

@Kristopher,

I'm still waiting on my jetpack!

atlharp said...

Damn! It took me hours to learn how to reload my 870 while having a colander strapped to my face. Thanks a lot Tam!

Britt said...

I put the Mexican confrontation a lot closer then the end of this century. Though I think he's spot on about the GWOT being a sideshow in terms of its actual importance. Also was glad to see someone with a little more gravitas then humble me calling China and Russia to be fast burning candles.

I don't know about Japan. They have a true demographic death spiral. This scenario where he has them making a play for dominance in the WestPac theater seems to be kind of weak.

I'm skeptical with regards to space being huge. I hope he's right, that orbital power collectors will run the grid by 2065, but I doubt it. Looking at where we are now, and especially looking at the risk averse culture the country has, I don't see it happening. Plus the usual suspects will insist that instead of "wasting" money on orbital power collectors or asteroid mining we should be giving the Mob their "fair share" in return for their votes.

A rosy view of the next century for sure. You'll notice that the American government throughout the book acts in competent and energetic fashion. Which I don't see as true.

Tam said...

I'm keeping my can opener handy, myself. :)

NMM1AFan said...

Mmmm, beanie weenies...

Earl said...

Living a larger portion of the last Century and seeing how wrong and right that went -- makes me sure this book is going to rank right there with Revelations. Only ninety years to go, right? Or is that only two years to get it Right?

Asian prospects for their and our future depend on their global thought, seen any yet?

Mattexian said...

Can't get much handier than a P-38 on the dogtags.

jimbob86 said...

I fail to see a problem with a "balkanized America" ..... the sooner I can stop having the needs of Charlie Rangel's and Nancy Pelosi's tribes becoming my GRANDCHILDREN'S OBLIGATIONS, the better.

Tam said...

jimbob86,

Balkanization rarely happens peacefully, though. The last time it almost happened here, it cost over half a million dead and at least one state never really recovered.

Bram said...

I'm still voting for economic collapse or revolution within a couple decades. Government has promised too much to too many.

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/obamacare-and-our-debt-death-spiral/

Joanna said...

Don't be hatin' on the beans and weens. That there's good eatin'.

If I may oversimplify: Japan is the wealthy old man who never married and has no heir, so when he dies his fortune will dissapate and his estate will stand empty. As for the BRIC nations, Brazil is currently too illiterate to be, as a whole, really prosperous; Russia will drink itself to death; India will do well if they don't get in a fight with Pakistan (won't matter who starts it); and China is too tied up with the U.S. (and too demographically out-of-whack) to keep up their present pace for long.

Dominoes, anyone?

B Smith said...

As brother P.J. says, " In the next decade, the greatest shift in the third world will be the United States becoming part of it."

Interesting times.