Future Culture

Futurist Writer Lei Kalina writes her tongue-in-cheek musings and ramblings on the growing worldwide phenomenon of the growth of the Future Culture in the 21st Century

Future Culture In The 21st Century

Future Culture In the 21st Century

Futures Studies, Foresight, or Futurology , according to Wikipedia, is the science, art and practice of postulating possible, probable, and preferable futures and the worldviews and myths that underlie them. Futures studies (colloquially called "Futures" by many of the field's practitioners) seeks to understand what is likely to continue, what is likely to change, and what is novel. Part of the discipline thus seeks a systematic and pattern-based understanding of past and present, and to determine the likelihood of future events and trends. Futures is an interdisciplinary field, studying yesterday's and today's changes, and aggregating and analyzing both lay and professional strategies, and opinions with respect to tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Barack Obama Watch 2009 : The Inaugural Address

Hi Fellow Futurists,


The vigilant worldwide Obama Watch continues: not just in the US , but in the Philippines as well. Even the global futurists community will be affected by every action at each and every step that newly-inaugurated US President Barack Obama will be taking --- reason for every futurist's vigilant watch on the US Presidency.

And the excitement in Washington DC is felt globally, even here in the Philippines. It's still "honeymoon stage" , and let's hope that it extends for Obama's first one hundred days, at least.


Read on : http://www.mlive. com/news/ bay-city/ index.ssf/ 2009/01/full_ text_of_presiden t_barack. html



Full text of President Barack Obama's inauguration speech

by Associated Press
Tuesday January 20, 2009, 12:28 PM

President Barack Obama delivers his inaugural speech on the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

Text of President Barack Obama's inaugural address, as prepared for delivery and released by the Presidential Inaugural Committee:


My fellow citizens:


I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.


Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace.


Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.


That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.


Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.


These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.


Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America -- they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.


On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.


We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.


The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.


In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less.


It has not been the path for the faint-hearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.


For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.


Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.


This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished.


But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.


For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.


We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.


We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost.


We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.


And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.


Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short.


For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.


What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.


The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.


And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.


Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.


The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.


As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.


Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.


Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.


They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.


Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.


We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan.


With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.


For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers.


We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.


To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West -- know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.


To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.


To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.


And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.


As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains.


They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.


And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.


For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.


It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter' s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.


Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths.


What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.


This is the price and the promise of citizenship.


This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.


This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.


So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river.


The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."


America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come.


Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Latest Artificial Insemination News

Hi Ian , Thanks for these articles :)






http://www.medindia .net/healthnews/ Artificial- Insemination- news.asp
1.
Frozen Embryos may Address Long-term IVF Health Issues

Women opting for IVF treatment would soon get rid of the traumatic drug therapy, for the researchers from Oxford Fertility Unit have found that freezing the embryos can significantly reduce ... Read more
2.
Vatican Newspaper Blames Contraceptive Pill for Male Infertility

The contraceptive pill is polluting the environment and is in part responsible for male infertility, a report in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano said Saturday. The pil... Read more
3.
IVF Miracle and World's Oldest Mom Wants to Have Another Go!!

The world’s oldest mother, who recently gave birth to a baby girl through IVF, is already yearning for a second child! The Indian lady, Rajo Devi, can’t wait to get pregnant –again! Read more
4.
Obese Women Too Can Benefit From IVF Treatment

Obese and overweight women can successfully conceive through fertility treatment as normal weight women, according to a new Scottish study. Study leader Dr Abha Maheshwari, clini... Read more
5.
Frequent Miscarriages, Infertility Treatment Increase Pre-eclampsia Risk for Women

Repeated miscarriages and hormone treatment for infertility may make pregnant women prone to pre-eclampsia, according to a new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. .... Read more
6.
Womb Cancer More Likely To Impinge On IVF Patients

A new study by Israeli researchers has found that drugs designed to help women conceive may increase the risk of cancer of womb. Fertility drugs have been in use for more than 30... Read more
7.
Study Links Infertility In Women To Passive Smoking

Women exposed to second hand smoke, either as children or as adults, are 68 percent more likely to face fertility problems and can also suffer miscarriage, according to a new study. ... Read more
8.
Does the Size of a Sperm Really Matter?

A long trusted medical notion said that the Darwinian concept of “survival of the fittest” applied at the earliest levels of human reproduction- selection of the sperm. However, a new study ... Read more
9.
One Third of Sperm Donors in UK 'are Foreigners'

Almost a third of sperm donors in Britain are foreigners with a majority of Australian backpackers, who want to earn money to support their travels, according to new report. Up ... Read more
10.
Acupuncture Ineffective In Boosting Chances of Conceiving Through IVF

Acupuncture during IVF treatment does not increase women's chances of having successful pregnancies, a new research has shown. The researchers from University of Hong Kong compar... Read more

2008's Interesting ScienceAgogo News

Okay, we're done with the first week of 2009, but still, we cannot overlook the best science news and information last year. ScienceAgogo.com scanned through the 2008 news, and compiled these. Read on.

In case you missed it: 2008's most interesting science news
by Kate Melville

For your enjoyment, we present the most intriguing research news items from the past year. We'll be back early in the New Year and would like to take this opportunity to wish our readers a happy and safe festive season and a prosperous 2009.


11 December 2008
Brainier men have better sperm, suggests new study
UK researchers have found an unexpectedly close relationship between intelligence and sperm quality...

26 November 2008
Organic molecule hints at alien life
Scientists have detected glycolaldehyde (an organic sugar molecule that is directly linked to the origin of life) 26,000 light years from Earth in a region of our galaxy where habitable planets may exist...

24 November 2008
Genital birth defect blamed on hairspray
Pregnant women that are exposed to hairspray in the workplace have more than double the risk of having a son with the penile defect hypospadias, where the urinary opening is displaced to the underside of the penis...

13 November 2008
Ovulation triggers female risk-taking behavior
It has long been recognized that women's preferences for masculine men change throughout their menstrual cycle, but a new study from the Kinsey Institute pinpoints the areas of the brain that change around ovulation and reveals how these changes affect both sensory discrimination and risk processing...

7 November 2008
Social interactions alter gene expression
Our DNA determines a lot about who we are and how we relate to others, but recent animal studies show that the interaction between genes and behavior is more of a two-way street than most of us realize...

30 October 2008
Quake detection gets cheap and cheerful
In the same vein as the SETI@home project, the Quake Catcher Network aims to operate a massive seismic event detection network using the sudden-motion sensors that are incorporated into laptop computers to prevent hard disk damage...

20 October 2008
Slavery to blame for racial disparities in health?
Two new studies contend that poor nutrition and stress - stemming back to the days of slavery - could help explain modern-day black-white differences in cardiovascular health in the United States...

16 October 2008
Social skills predict future earnings better than test scores
Ten years after graduation, high-school students who had been rated as conscientious and cooperative by their teachers were earning more than classmates who had similar test scores but fewer social skills, a new study has found...

9 October 2008
DNA surname profiling mooted in UK
British researchers say there is a strong link between a person's surname and their Y chromosome type, suggesting that surname prediction from DNA alone may be feasible for forensic scientists in the future...

7 October 2008
Visible light data network under development
The next generation of wireless communications technology will use visible light instead of radio waves, with data piggybacking on interior lighting systems which researchers say will offer both greater speed and better security than today's radio networks...

22 September 2008
Academics question surge's success in Baghdad
By tracking the amount of light emitted by Baghdad neighborhoods at night, a team of geographers has uncovered evidence that the U.S. troop surge in Iraq may not have been as effective at improving security as the administration has suggested and that ethnic cleansing by rival Shiites may have been largely responsible for the decrease in violence for which the U.S. military has claimed credit...

13 August 2008
Contraceptive Pill Threatening Genetic Diversity?
British researchers have found that the contraceptive pill appears to disrupt women's natural ability to choose a partner genetically dissimilar to themselves...

8 August 2008
Testosterone Key In Disease Transmission
It's been known for some time that testosterone makes males more susceptible to disease, but new research indicates that high levels of testosterone in an individual can also spur the transmission of disease throughout a population...

7 August 2008
Quantum "Uncollapse" Muddies Definition Of Reality
Measuring (observing) a quantum object forces it to collapse from a waveform into one position. This collapse, according to quantum mechanics dogma, is what makes objects "real," but new verification of "collapse reversal" suggests that we can no longer assume that measurements alone create reality...

5 August 2008
The High Cost Of Intelligence
The metabolic changes responsible for the evolution of human cognitive abilities indicate that the brain may have been pushed to the limit of its capabilities and that schizophrenia may be one of the costly by-products of this evolutionary leap...

29 July 2008
9 Out Of 10 Americans Obese Or Overweight By 2030
Most adults in the United States will be overweight or obese by 2030, with related health care costs hitting nearly a trillion dollars, say the researchers involved in a new multi-institute study...

15 July 2008
Watermelon: The Fruit Of Lerve
Scientists have been taking a closer look at citrulline, one of the phyto-nutrients in watermelon, and have discovered that one of its effects on the body is to relax blood vessels, much like Viagra does...

20 June 2008
Take Two Rads And Call Me In The Morning
Radiation in high enough doses is lethal and chronic exposure is linked to the development of cancer, but one maverick professor believes that short-term controlled exposure to low doses of radiation may significantly improve our health...

19 June 2008
Microbe Colonies Show Sophisticated Learning Behaviors
A cross-disciplinary team of biologists and engineers investigating how simple biochemical networks can perform sophisticated computational tasks have observed bacterial colonies anticipating coming changes in their environment and adjusting their behaviors accordingly...

18 June 2008
Male Homosexuality Placed In Darwinian Context
Italian researchers say that male homosexuality in humans can be explained by a model based on sexually antagonistic selection; where genetic factors spread in the population by giving a reproductive advantage to one sex while disadvantaging the other...

16 June 2008
DNA Precursors In Meteorite Confirmed As Extraterrestrial
Scientists examining pieces of the Murchison meteorite, which crashed in Australia in 1969, say that the nucleobases found in the fragments are almost certainly extraterrestrial in origin, leading them to believe that these important building blocks for DNA and RNA may be common throughout the cosmos...

13 June 2008
Physicists Create Quantum-Entangled Images
Using a technique known as "four-wave mixing," researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute and the University of Maryland have created "quantum images," pairs of information-rich visual patterns whose features are entangled so that changes in one image are instantaneously replicated in the other image, regardless of the distance separating them...

11 June 2008
Omega-6 Intake Can Determine Offspring Gender In Sheep
Researchers at the University of Missouri have established that maternal diet can influence the gender of offspring in sheep, and a diet enriched with omega-6 fats offers a significantly higher chance of male offspring...

5 June 2008
Line-Of-Sight SETI Revamp Proposed
Earth-based astronomers can detect extrasolar planets as they transit across the face of distant stars, so alien astronomers should be able to detect the Earth as it moves across the face of our sun. That's the logic behind a novel proposal to search for extraterrestrial radio signals in a tiny segment of the sky called the ecliptic band...

27 May 2008
Drink-Up For Superior Sperm
Men who drink alcohol regularly are more likely to have better semen quality while men in certain occupations are more likely to have poor semen quality, says a new wide-ranging fertility study carried out by scientists in the UK...

13 May 2008
Cell Phones More Expensive Than Hubble Space Comms
A British space scientist has calculated that cell phone texting is at least four times more expensive than receiving scientific data from the Hubble Space Telescope...

9 May 2008
Folding Proteins For Fun And Profit
A new computer game, called Foldit, turns protein folding into a competitive sport for anyone with a computer. Its creators say Foldit capitalizes on people's natural 3-D problem-solving skills and they hope to get a significant fraction of the world's population working on solving critical health problems...

20 April 2008
Harnessing The Coriolis Force
Created by the rotation of the Earth, the force that causes whirlpools to form in bathtubs could soon be used to boost traditional hydroelectric power generation by 27 percent, says the inventor of a new turbine...

17 April 2008
ETs Very Unlikely, New Calculations Suggest
The chance of intelligent life emerging on another planet is very low - less than 0.01 per cent over four billion years, according to a new mathematical model...

2 April 2008
Paranoia As Common As Depression, Anxiety
A virtual reality subway ride has been used by researchers to reveal the extent that paranoia occurs in the general public...

27 March 2008
Brain Has Sixth Sense For Calories
New research suggests that the brain can "sense" the calories in food, independent of our normal tasting mechanism...

10 March 2008
Brits Invite ET Over For Corn Chips
Snack food company Doritos is sponsoring a competition to beam a user-created advertisement (using a 2-billion watt transmitter) at a solar system 42 light years away from Earth...

5 March 2008
Expensive Placebo Works Better Than Cheap One
A 10-cent pill doesn't kill pain as well as a $2.50 pill, even when they are identical placebos, finds a new study...

4 March 2008
Bacterial Rainmakers Ubiquitous
Scientists have uncovered evidence linking airborne bacteria from plants to the cycle of precipitation, underscoring the complex interplay between our planet's climate and biosphere...

28 February 2008
This Is Your Brain On Jazz
Using fMRI, two scientists have discovered that when jazz musicians improvise, their brains turn off areas linked to self-censoring and inhibition, and turn on those that let self-expression flow...

5 February 2008
Climate "Tipping Points" Identified
An international team of researchers have described a number of small climatic changes that could have large long-term consequences for the planet...

24 January 2008
Liver Recipient Takes On Donor's Immune System
An Australian teenager who received a liver transplant has astonished medical experts by taking on her donor's immune system...

17 January 2008
Parasite Turns Ants Fruity
A newly discovered parasite dramatically changes its ant host into what appears to be a juicy red berry, thus boosting its chances of being eaten by a bird and spread further afield...


Transhumanism Technology

Overheard from www.futureforall.org . Read on, guys . :)


Transhumanism

Wealthy, Healthy and Wise

transhuman girl

Okay, let me see if I've got this right. I could stay young forever? Groovy. A complete backup of my brain? Copy that. What's this? An estimate? I knew it sounded too good to be true.


As with previous medical breakthroughs, it is possible that future human enhancements, like brain-machine interfaces and longevity drugs, at least initially, may only be affordable for the wealthy. The well-to-do well-could-be the next big thing.


What scenarios might lead to human enhancement technologies for all?


Trickle Down Technology


Some future forecasters point out that many medical products and procedures have been expensive when they were first introduced. Prices can drop through competition, lower production costs and after patents run out.


Medical enhancements, however, may encounter unique barriers to lower prices.


Cosmetic surgeries and implants, for example, have been available for decades. Visit Beverly Hills and you'll see more lifts than a crane operator, but you'd be hard pressed to find a tightened temple in my neck of the woods.


What obstacles, wrinkles if you will, face society in providing available and affordable transhuman technology for everyone?


Wrinkle #1 - In the year 2050, 'transhuman technology for all', would mean advanced medical technology for an estimated 9 billion people.


Wrinkle #2 - Medical insurance policies will probably not cover human enhancements.


Wrinkle #3 - The fewer recipients, the higher the value to the consumer. What fun would Jeopardy be if everyone had an encyclopedia implant?


Wrinkle #4 - You just invented the Immortality pill. What price will you set?


Superhuman Compassion


Another proposed path to parity, is that the first transhumans, enlightened by electronics and wise beyond their wires, will become benevolent and intelligent enough to share transtechnologies with the world.


The problem with this scenario, is that transhumans are not posthumans. Transhumans will still have undesirable human characteristics like greed and hate, that posthumans will hopefully transcend.


Misfits and Retrofits


Even with reasonable closing costs, brain implant surgery may not be in the budget for many people living in the transhuman age. No prescription for immortality, for those that cannot afford the pill. In the era of 'half human/machine', the gap between the Halves and the Halve-Nots, will be as large as the profits.


For billions of aspiring species travelers, posthumanity might offer the first chance to board the techno-evolution train. A future departure point where empathetic conductors stop at every station and the journey is always free.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

2008: Great Year For MFS




































Hi Manila Futurists!


What a swift year of 2008! It wheezed and swoooshed ... as if in minutes... and then it's gone ...


But quite a full-packed year of seminar-events, discoveries of the "inner futurist" in all of us ... and discovering the wonder of science and technology ...


Last year was a full year for MFS : two seminar-events last January when we "invaded" all-girls school St. Scholastica's College with our "The Future of Medicine" talk by Harvard lady Dr. Divina Gonzalez...

Later in the same month of January , we had our first foray into the wonderful world of Mapua Makati --- discovering our favorite venue AVR-1, and meeting the soon-to-be Manila Futurists Erwin Donovan Ong ( Mapua Prof) , Gabby Manicio (Mapua Webmasters Guild President ) ... and the sweet tech guys of AVR-1 who were "receipients" of my mini-gifts like McChicken meals , simply because they were always so sweet in helping me out with technical stuff during the programs of MFS at Mapua Makati.


By February, we were at University of Batangas ( upon the suggestion of Dr. Divine), bringing the same seminar talk to her friends at UB, most especially UB President and former Justice Secretary Hernani Perez. I even interrupted their whispering chummy talk during the program ( while they were whispering about Hernani's alleged "anomalies" with GMA), when I introduced Sec. Hernani to do his intro speech --- clueless that they were in the middle of their "whispering hope" gossip about this and that ...


March 2008 was a memorable year when we had "close encounters " (!) with the La Sallista "sweet" girls , who took charge of the program and played "Follow Me" by Uncle Cracker over and over again until our ears were about to bleed ... so we just packed up and left ... I received apologies from the mini-group ( start-up university group from DLSU ) much later . I wonder if they ever got past the "probationary period" of being approved as a legit group ?!?!? Hmmmm...

Anyways from DLSU we got Tori Avalon as joining the group ( we'd love to hear from you, man) , who sometimes forward our posts to his DLSU org ....


April 2008 proved to be our best month, what with DLSU Dean Caslon Chua leading the talk on artificial intelligence ( he's still in Australia, I heard) , really sweet and swell guy ( admittedly and unabashedly my favorite ! ) who also had the best and most-loved talk.


Questions, questions, and more outpouring questions overflowed on the floor, as the non-stop Mapua Makati students got all fired up and excited, and kept on hurling queries for him during the talk, which he gamely all answered. Gabby M, Erwin Donovan Ong, and Kim Gargar ( Prof of Mapua Manila and Makati, also of AGHAM ) were in the audience , also later becoming part of the MFS group ...



May 2008 was kinda ho-hum event at Mapua Makati ( maybe we pushed our luck too far, Kim?) when only a few showed up at our event ... The event was probably not too well-promoted and advertised, but fired up by our energetic speaker from UP ITTC REx Rodriguez waking them up with his talk "THe Future of Computers and IT" during the event . Rex later becomes one of our members, too.


And , of course , who could forget to mention : well-respected in IT circles and in the UP IT arena --- UP ITTC PResident Dr. Jimmy Caro ( now also one of our members) . Dr. Caro is also head of Computer Science Department of UP, among other achievements.



By June 2008 , we had a blast at FEU, gaining new friends via FEU AVP Cecille Anido ( the lady who was founder of Philippine Society of IT Educators ) , and our wonderful speaker Dr. Raffy Saldana from ATeneo de Manila University with his talk " The High-Tech Future of Business and Computing In The 21st Century". Dr. RAffy is also from AGHAM... AGHAM lady Natalie later rushes in to attend the event as part of the audience and giving support to Dr. Raffy.


July 2008: the Manila Futurists had an initial entry into Ateneo University, the "Blue Eagle Country" -- where we had a nice experience with the young Ateneo kids , business majors, who gamely helped us in organizing the event, packing the auditorium with their organization members, and inviting some friends to come over. From the audience we also got members --- especially this good-looking IT guy -- really sorry ( my mind has your name but has slipped my memory at the moment --- apologies! ) ... Will remember in a few minutes ...


August 2008 brought us to Manila via the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila... where we again discussed "THe Future of Health and Medicine In The 21st Century" , with our Harvard guy Dr. Paul Reganit leading the talk, also one of our good speakers for the whole year. Inspite of his "lost" (?) powerpoint presentation , we were able to pull it off which his good rapport with the audience ...

And from PLM we got a new member , sweet lady PLM Science Student Rajean ... I wonder if Noli "Brainiac" , PLM Science student org president, has also become a member of MFS ??

By September we were at Mapua Manila --- the unforgettable (!) event ... MFS member and Mapua Prof Erwin Ong is there again ( seemingly a permanent fixture of our MFS talks ... but I didn't see you last Nov at Mapua Makati , Erwin )


Our topic at Mapua Manila was "Humanity Year 3000: Living in the Brave New Digital World" ... with main man and celebrity blogger Abe Olandres ( later becoming our MFS member) leading the talk. Oh yes, we got raised eyebrows in Mapua Manila ... but ... well... we "crawled" out of the university peacefully
, "unscratched", and in one piece. Right, Abe??


October and November we were back at our favorite venue, Mapua Makati's AVR 1 . October was for the Nursing students of the university, with our anti-aging technology talk led by Dr. Florencio Lucero of Beverly Hills 6750, cosmetologist and stem cell therapist of the stars , yet gamely shared his precious time with the Manila Futurists and the Mapua Nursing audience... Mapua Nursing Dean Grace Valderrama was surprised that our speaker was apparently her long-lost friend from way back ... so it became a mini-reunion for the two old friends . And a full-to-the-brim event!


November at Mapua Makati was with Gabby M's Webmasters' Guild... Gabby , cannot thank you enough for all your efforts in this event ... Much thanks to you and your friends ... While we haven't really packed it in full , we had a cozy talk and we're happy that we pulled it off. If ever we come back in Mapua Makati, you guys may have graduated, but I'm pretty sure Mapua Makati has undoubtedly left a nice imprint on my mind as per the guys' sweet and down-to-earth attitude back there ...


And this December ... was busy with work but managed to peep in our Yahoo!Group from time to time ...


Biggest thanks to our speakers who led our talks, and most especially biggest biggest thanks to our sponsors , Korns Associates --- led by Las Vegas futurists Michael Korns and Gilda Cabral ...


Big thanks to the lovable (!) Mike Du, who never fails to encourage everyone in this group, Wendell Cano, Andrew Moris, Brain Project, Beth ( BBetchaByGollyWow) , among others, our friends from UP ITTC ( Joeboy most especially) , friends from AGHAM, Mapua Makati, the different universities where we had our talks ... WOW... this might take me until year 2010 until I stop myself ...)


Mike Du! You're the man, Man! Keep hurling in those posts and keep us "enlightened!"


And before the year ended... we had Las Vegas futurist Eric joining MFS , also friend of our MFS founders -- LV futurists Mike Korns and Ms. Gilda ...


Here's wishing everyone our Best Year Ever for year 2009!


Cheers!


Lei
Future Culture



(PS. Apologies to names which slipped my mind! ... Thanks to you too )


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