The Next Step in Evolution

All animals evolve to adapt to their environment. To get the berries off the tallest of trees the giraffe with the longest neck becomes the norm. Because it's fur fit in with the environment more the brown mouse survives and reproduces while the bright white one is eaten. Evolution is quite simple and basically just common sense, the organism best fit to survive in it's environment, does. But what if and animal was to adapt the environment to IT.

Man gets cold so as well as growing hair, he builds a shelter. His prey is stronger or faster than him so he builds weapons to take it down with better efficiency. Because of all the modifications man does to the environment we have halted evolution for our species. Other than getting slightly taller, man has not physically changed in a long time. We have gotten smarter yes, but have we gotten weaker? Is all of our technology and modern inventions helped man or hindered him? In a hand to hand fight between a man and a bear, man cannot win. But our superior intelligence gives us an edge and allows us not to get into that hand to hand situation.

So if we are not evolving, how does man reach the next step, how do we as a species grow and progress. To this question the answer is technology. If our skin isn't going to become rhino skin tough in time, how do we become a more formidable foe to a possible alien encounter? Well we replace it of course. Unless we discover an extremely light yet durable metallic material, we cannot wear super suit-like things because its A. not permanent, and B. too heavy. Soldiers are already getting over encumbered with the supplies they carry today so cross off a sweet robo suit. Instead a more permanent and probably less popular solution is to replace our limbs and extremities with robotic ones. They would be much more durable and strong than what we have now. To make it look natural we could put a thin 'skin' layer over the wiring and machinery. Think, far far into the future, a place where the only organic or "human" part of a human, is the brain. Eyes replaced by zoom-able, night vision, less fragile eyes. Our ears replaced with hyper sensitive, adjustable ears. Don't like your voice? Replaced by an organic, flawlessly sounding voice box. Want the body of a body builder, replace yours with it. Want everything to taste like chocolate, replace your taste buds and have a tongue that sends signals to your brain that makes you taste chocolate. A creepy yet interesting thought is it not? It would really show what our society thinks is 'ideal' for a person to be. Anyone and everyone could be what we strive to be or look like today. Sounds like a much duller world. Very generic. Everyone would be beautiful which would make beauty nonexistent. Everyone would just be, normal. Every few years we would replace our old parts with new ones and nobody would be able to tell your actual age. This whole thing sounds like an odd, late night science fiction horror flick. And maybe sense humans are all so diverse and everyone's perception of perfection is something a little different, this future will never exist. So looking forward, as the human race advances as a species, hopefully while becoming more unified and tougher, we also become more diverse and intriguing.

Nightfall

A new Halo series has been showing once a week for a few weeks and I think I have the feel for what it is by now, and at this moment in time, my thoughts are, meh. I don't want to call it bad, because I've keep watching it once a week, but I am not going to call it good because I don't really care for it at the same time. Lets go through what Nightfall is doing right.

Nightfall is about Halo, which is about science fiction, boom, its already in the green. It has a pretty good plot. It also has decent characters, and the whole thing takes place on a Halo ring. Now we can get into what I dislike about it. At times the CGI is terrible. In the first episode there is and elite that just looks off and out of place, and every time I saw it, I wanted it to go away. I also don't care for the small, 15 minute chunks that it comes out in. Most likely I am going to watch the entire thing just at once in about a month because every time something ACTUALLY is about to happen, it ends, and then the same exact thing happens next week.

I don't want you to think that it is something a Halo fan wouldn't enjoy, but honestly if I weren't a fan of the series, I would not watch it; although how could you if you weren't a fan, you need the game to watch it... Well maybe you know someone who is a fan, nevertheless it isn't going to rope you into Halo like Forward Unto Dawn. THAT series was infinitely better than this, and that reason is why I'm most disappointed. Forward Unto Dawn was so great that my family who are not fans of the series, enjoyed and appreciated, but this isn't that. I cannot put a finger on what sets me off about it, it must be a combination of little things but when you go in with so much hype for something and it is, lackluster. So watch it if you are a Halo fan, but if you haven't seen Forward Unto Dawn, I can guarantee you will enjoy that better. Maybe it is the 15 minute bursts that ruin it. Maybe, watching the entire thing, start to finish, will shine some light on it. Another possibility is I am judging it to early. It's like I am sitting down and watching the first 30-35 minutes of a movie and then getting up, leaving, and declaring it lacking. If you have been keeping up with it maybe you already know the answer, or you are like me and have waited. I may come back to this subject at a later date, if my opinion differs then.

Virtual and Social Gaming

A virtual reality has really come close to becoming, reality. Virtual reality is basically what the title says, a virtual reality. It mimics real life but in something like a videogame or movie, anything virtual. Devices like the Oculus Rift which augment your vision so when you look around in real life, you look around in the game. Its just a helmet with a screen in it that displays the game, alone I dont see much of a future for the Oculus Rift because it doesn't quite blow television away, alone at least. But think of the possibilities if we combine that with a 360 degree treadmill. I'm honestly not quite sure what the actual name is for these devices but they are a treadmill you can run in any direction. Not much work has been done in this area, and it is really quite obvious. If you find pictures of it online it looks like a baby chair and I'm sure would feel equally ridiculous to use as is appears. So as long as nobody ever sees you using this it is the coolest thing ever...

I hope in my lifetime technology can reach the peak of virtual reality. I want to be able to go home from work and get immersed in a game literally. I could get sucked into the game and run around inside of another, more interesting, more engaging world. Not to mentions the benefits of this compared to modern day gaming. If the treadmill does end up being used, imagine the health benefits. Gaming sessions can last hours at a time and if your running around for hours it would make the ideal "gamer" much more fit, while at the same time making running and working out that much more interesting. Multiple studies have shown that videogames along with relieving stress, also help brain function and activity. Combine that with now physical fitness and gaming would be quite the recreational activity. That is probably the outcome I look forward to the most about this. Gaming has such a negative connotation with most people. When you say I'm a gamer to someone, the general population begins to think, "lazy", "stupid", "slacker", or/and "obnoxious". Although those stereotypes are true for some of the more, vocal gamers, it isn't true for all. My group of friends and I are all gamers and we are straight A kids with jobs, and although sometimes we wish games could be a priority it never is over our work. Gaming is growing and with that the stereotype will decrease, and if gamers become the majority, they also become the smartest and most fit aswell. I'm just waiting for the day when I can 'step out of the shadows' if you will and not hide behind my other interests in hope that people don't think negatively about my true pass-time. A time where all of us can come out of the dark and talk publically about the new Halo game or the unreal trailer for The Division or that incredibly card draw in Hearthstone, that will be the day...

More Star Wars

There has been a bit of new news to come out, yes even more. The characters in the teaser have been named. Im not going to go through them all because you can look it up yourself if you want, or you probably already have. Something interesting to point out about the names. All were named first and last name, all except two. Finn, the frightened stormtrooper at the beginning and Rey, the woman on the speeder bike that looked like a fridge. Not giving these characters last names leads me to believe that they are quite important last names, a certain Skywalker or Solo possibly? I suppose we will find out.

Something else I want to also jump back into is another possible plot to the movie. Now that the rebels are becoming the large power in the galaxy and the empire is becoming the underdog, planets may realize that the rebels are just as commanding, or places that are no longer under rebel control turn chaotic. Wouldn't it be cool, if we had to choose a side based on our belief of whats better? There isnt just a clear cut good guy vs bad guy, both sides have pros and cons. Just a cool thought i had, i would love that to be the actual plot just because it provides some almost necessary grey area that would fit into the Star Wars universe nicely.

Future of Warfare

Warfare on the modern battlefield has gotten quite technical. Think back just 100 years when the tactic was hide in a trench and suffer huge casualties. Think back 100 years before that when the tactic was charge each other and the side with more soldiers usually came out on top. Yes, now we can launch missles from the sky and use remote controls and robots to do some of the fighting. But man is still an integral part of warfare. But man is not alone, he is accompanied by quite a bit of gear and tech. Between his rifle, ammo, helmet, rations, boots, backpack and everything inside. Yes the soldier is quite over encumbered. In fact, multiple studies suggest just that. The modern day carries so much weight it just isn't healthy. Going to another topic I have hinted on and may be talking about more is the solution, a robotic solution. But not the replacement of limbs, just an exo suit. An exo suit is just an exo-skeleton. Something that would increase not only weight capacity, but speed, agility, most physical preformances. Plus it looks cool. A lot of video games have been showcasing exo suits, and we draw alot from science fiction while we move into the nonfictional future. Who knows, the next soldier could appear to be the same as a Call of Duty coverphoto.

Future of Sports

I love soccer/football and wonder what the future holds for sports in general. Will we have something like Podracing in Star Wars or something more chill and less... Dangerous?. Looking into news on sports lately, a lot of changes and questions revolve around the safety role in sports. The rise in safety concerns isn't due to these sports being safer, rather the reason is it's easier to detect problems or health damage. If anything sports have gotten safer over the years. Look at football uniforms from 20-30 years ago and compare them to now. They are much more bulky and padded than before. Over time, sports will inevitably get safer just because of better health practices and treatments. But with them possibly being a problem, could it lead to something else playing the sport. With robotic advancements possibly the future would have Robot fighting sports, like Real Steel. Without having to pay contracts to robots like human players, it would be cheaper, it also eliminates the health concern, plus it would be cool to watch. But if mankind devolves into madness or some economic depression hits us, leaving us to worry about more important things like food on the table and not about others bruises and scratches, then possibly we could get some interesting Jabba the Hutt mobster sports...

Interstellar

The movie Interstellar isn't brand new, but its still worth talking about. I recently saw it over the weekend and it was surprisingly good and made me wonder why not many people were talking about it. I knew hardly anything about the movie going in, but that wasn't a bad thing at all. It has a lot of plot twists, making mystery a big part of the movie. Hopefully Without spoiling anything, I'll talk about what Interstellar did right.

To start it off, it was actual good science fiction. All ships and wormholes were all based on science, well, at least scientific theory. In fact, some say Interstellar's black hole and wormhole are the most scientifically accurate ever portrayed, and I believe it. The visuals and effects in this movie were fantastic, nothing was cringeworthy CGI or unnecessarily added special effects. Not only that, but the planets in the movie are incredibly  believable. I almost wish that it was just a 3 hour movie of planet exploring because it was all so interesting seeing these really foreign planets. It was interesting seeing how different factors affect how a planet forms and what the weather is like, etc. every part of this movie seemed like they put a lot of work into studying the theories and making sure all scenes were spot on, which made the movie constantly engaging with surprisingly little slow parts throughout the 3 hour span of the movie. One sidenote thing about the movie that I really liked were the robots. They weren't the typical humanoid machine we are seeing, in fact they looked more like a vending machine or a refrigerator than anything. What makes them useful is the shaped they can turn into, becoming extra mobile in rough terrain or folding in to become a ships onboard AI in a way. The robots just like the movie were a refreshing switch up from the typical science fiction thriller we are all used to seeing.

Star Wars Teaser

Over the weekend, something dropped onto the internet. A certain trailer for a certain movie that looks to have high hopes. Yes the new Star Wars teaser trailer came out over the weekend and I have watched it at least 10 times. I knew it was coming but I had assumed only to those select few theaters and I don't live in those areas. But now anyone can see it online and I highly suggest that everyone does because it is fantastic.

If you had any fear about the direction that Disney was taking the new Star Wars movie than hopefully this clears that up. It is short but in about 5 or 6 twelve second long scenes it is clear that mystery and darkness are going to be key underlying themes here. It opens with the sprawling dunes of Tatooine and the a man wearing what appears to be Stormtrooper armor frighteningly pops up onto the screen from below. The man is sweaty and looks frightened by something, like he is running from something. He is either a Stormtrooper (which would be great to have a main character as a Stormtrooper,) or he is in disguise like Han and Luke in A New Hope. This fits with another part where a woman on a speeder that looks like a fridge quickly puts on her goggles and rides, 2 people in a hurry, both adding to the mystery. Another scene shows off the Stormtrooper armor a bit better. The scene seems to be Stormtroopers in a ship, most likely assaulting somewhere because they are experiencing turbulence and the lights are flickering, a door begins to open and then the scene ends. The rebels are also featured in this, some X-wings fly over a lake on what could be Yavin and the Millennium Falcon does a ridiculous spin move evading some Tie-fighters. But out of the whole thing, none of those were as controversial as the darkside scene. A sith-type character walking in a snowy forest and whips out what appears to be a lightsaber, but then two more beams come out the side. I have two different theories. One is that it is a hilt, preventing certain hand accidents that happen far too often in the Star Wars universe. The other is they are exaust ports for the saber itself and it is heat coming out. The saber looks unstable so it is possible he made it himself and it needs those modifications. I don't know what the uproar is about it looks fine. All in all I am very happy with the way this movie feels, after dealing with a lot of crappy Star Wars products over the last few years, its nice to see something Star Wars that lives up to the Star Wars name.

The Final Frontier

Space may be thought of as the vast, open frontier. Endless possibilities that mankind is bound to never uncover. Although all that is true, there is another place that holds just as many questions as space does. There is place that contains species that are one would make one think they came from a nightmare. There is a place that the knowledge of man is more scarce than that of space. Of course I am talking about the deep, depths of the ocean.

You may not believe me, but the ocean is full of mystery, and it is shown in many ways. Think of the Lochness monster, or the Giant squid. Those things were imagined by people undoubtedly curiously afraid of the mystery that lies in the aquatic sandbox that is the sea. The Giant Squid has turned out to actually be a thing, so just saying, keep one eye open out there in the water. But in all seriousness, humans only make stories, fictional settings, or monsters up for things that they just plain don't understand, it isn't a new concept.

One reason the deep blue sea is an area lacking in knowledge is that is is hard to reach. It is just as hard to get to the bottom of the deepest parts of the ocean, as it is to get to space, almost harder one could argue. We could send a probe out into space no problem and it can relay information back from far distances, we are already doing this, its just excruciatingly long to do. But the pressure of the water and the temperature are some factors that make it harder to reach. Combine the difficulty to get there with the possibility for life we cannot even comprehend it makes the sea seem like the most curious place there is. Scientists find new life down there all the time, usually creepy but hey. We still aren't even sure life is out there in space which is why I and many others, deem the ocean, the true final frontier.

The Force Awakens

It has become increasingly obvious to those reading and myself included that Star Wars is a popular topic of mine. Although this post is a bit different. I am not going to talk about the probability of something or the quality of one of the movies at all. Instead, I am going to hypothesize and ponder things about the new Star Wars movie. Particularly pertaining to the title of the movie.

The new title was recently announced to Episode VII and it will be called "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" Now as interesting, mysterious, and thought-provoking this name is, it is equally as cool. Stepping back and thinking a minute, it's close to best title for any of the trilogies titles. "Revenge of the Sith," "Empire Strikes Back," and "Phantom Menace" are my favorites to date. In a strange coincidence it just so happens all of those have negative connotations in their meaning. This leads to my next point, could the new title be somewhat negative or evil?

What I mean by this is that is the Force Awakens, the same as the Beast Awakens, or the Kraken is released or something else along those lines. Could something have happened that the dark side has turned into something bigger/more threatening. We already know that 0 sith will appear in the movie, but jedi hunter-like people will be a threat. Maybe the force has become stronger and accidentally harmed some people and now the jedi's are to blame, like an uncontrollable power. Therefore hunters are after them. Luke may have to recruit new jedi to help combat the new threat but it could be hard because the force may have negative connotations along with it. A plot line like this is possible, or something that somewhat resembles it. Although this obviously isn't the only possibly outcome, it could just as likely positive as it is negative. The Awakening could be like the religious

Another thought I had from the title is that the (light) side of the force is making a comeback. Think for a second, back to the prequels. In the prequels, jedi were abundant. There were masters and padawans, large temples for them to study, and a council. The original trilogy only featured a Obi-wan who dies, Yoda who dies, and Luke. So the universe is technically left with one jedi. Now, with the darkside defeated, Luke could possible recreate what the prequels inspired. A jedi sanctuary/ home if you will, where Luke teaches new Padawans. He starts gaining followers and new jedi thus AWAKENING the force. Again though, all of this is hypothetical. I'm not sure what the actual movie will pertain at all. Take everything I have said here with a grain of salt because it is just analyzing a title... A title this fan is excited for.

Prequels vs Originals

I've talked a lot about Star Wars, and you should be ok with that because Star Wars is worth talking about. But I'm going to get "ranty" and talk about the pros and cons of the prequels and originals of Star Wars. Obviously this is all my opinion so take it with a grain of salt and don't get all flustered or salty with my opinions.

Lets start with the story aspect of both. Both are influenced highly by fantasy and have a lot of fantasy elements in the story. The prequels story mostly follows Anakin and his path to the darkside. Overall he has to much emotion to be a Jedi and is lured to the darkside to try to save his love Padmè. But this is conflicting because he isn't a bad guy, hes just confused and conflicted. The originals story follows Luke, and his conflicts with the darkside of the force. He is unable to be swayed to the darkside, unlike his father, but in doing this gets his father to side with him. Personally I enjoy the prequels better because it's alittle darker than the originals which can be a bit over the top at times. I think these stories show that there is a bit of gray zone, it isnt just darkside and lightside, that there is some good in all, scratch that, most of us.

Now onto visuals of both trilogies. I'm going to say it outright, the originals did it better. Yes, the 30 years older trilogy beats the coming of age technology in the prequels, but heres why. The prequels got to caught up in CGI that the movies at times felt, empty or inorganic. Not a single set of clone armor was built, all CGI. The originals used props, people in costumes, and miniatures which in some ways were more convincing. For this reason I'm glad they are returning to their roots and using mostly props for episode VII.

I am not going to say one trilogy is better than the other, because one isn't. They are both great, but at the same time, so different from one another. I wouldn't want to live in a world where one existed and the other didn't because they are both fantasic, they are both Star Wars.

Laser Technology

When most people think lasers, they obviously think science fiction. Lasers are present in a lot of science fiction movies, like Star Wars for example, so it makes sense why they would think that. That preconception may begin to change though. Lasers may not be science fiction for long, in fact, they already exist.

You probably know about small lasers that are only dangerous if you look right into the beam, such as a laser pointer. Although those are considered, lasers, they are not what I am talking about. What I am talking about are lasers that for lack of a better word, destroy things. You may not believe it but these lasers do in fact exist. Aboard some modern day battleships are actual lasers, but not to the extent of Star Wars... How they function as a weapon is relatively simple. They can take down aircraft quite easily by pointing the laser at the jet. More precisely, they point it at a mirror on the jet that then ignites the bottom of the jet into flames. It's really cool to see and there are videos online if you are curious or you don't believe me. Since this technology already exists it begs the question can we take it a step further. Can we turn this into some kind of concentrated shot that can be fired out of say, a rifle.

I really do hope so even if its just for a cool factor at best. But the odds are not in this technologies favor. Think about it, light travels extremely fast, faster than the naked eye can detect. If we created this laser rifle it wouldn't fire cool big red blasts that are observable, the effect would be along the lines of turning a laser pointer on and off again. So there probably won't be a laser rifle that functions like I want it, the answer most likely lies in plasma as it usually does. Tech that could fire a small dose of plasma is definitely more plausible than lasers, and it would undoubtedly be much more effective, and cool.

Empire Strikes Back

Often regarded as the best Star Wars has to offer, Empire Strikes Back does live up to that. Unlike the other films it has few flaws, a less cheesy story and plot, while still retaining that Star Wars magic. I think the key is in the director. George Lucas is a great writer and story creator, but executing his script and ideas onto the screen has always been poor or lackluster in my opinion. All the prequels were directed by him and they are disliked by many who love the originals, and I'm not sure if that's a coincidence.

It does not take this movie long to get into the action. Fairly quickly the rebel base is found on Hoth and a massive battle with towering vehicles begin firing. The entire movie it feels like they are being chased or hiding, but the movie is called "Empire Strikes Back", so it's almost expected. Even in Luke's training the movie continues that feeling. Since Luke cannot get this new force thing down and is still having problems with his fears. This movie not only has action but emotion as well. When Luke learns that Darth Vader is his father it is a very serious scene that makes you rethink everything. Nowadays everyone goes into the Star Wars movie knowing that Vader is Lukes father but thats because its the biggest plot twist ever basically.

Time Travel

Time travel is a complicated thing. If we go back in time, we could mess up the present. If we go forward in time, there is so much unknown that it would be extremely dangerous. So obviously it is a risky and dangerous idea in general. But, plenty of movies capture what would be wrong with time travel, think about it. There isn't a lot of time travel movies where the time travelers don't end up in some sort of predicament, it wouldn't be interesting if they traveled back in time and everything went according to plan anyway.

So what is the point of time travel in general. Well, travelling back in time would be used to study history, prevent something historic from happening, or for self gain, kind of like the plot in Back to the Future movies. Honestly it wouldn't be that hard to make a living traveling back in time. If you just brought your cell phone back to the early 1900's it would amaze everyone. Go back any farther and it might scare people, some may call you a witch and burn you for your cell phone. But dangerous problems also arrive when traveling to the future. How do you know when you travel forward in time, Earth will even be there. What if aliens came with a death star and blew Earth up. You would have a giant problem as your gasping for air out in space.

But that brings me to my next point/problem/confusion about time travel. Say I traveled forward in time, 2 years. Assuming the time machine works the year would be 2016. But where would I be in 2016. When I came out of time travel am I where I was when I began traveling, because with Earths orbit I wouldn't be in the EXACT spot I was, again, I would be floating in space dying. So if a machine were to exist, we would need to make it place you on Earth, but even at that what if you time traveled back in time and you were placed inside of a building that used to be standing there. Not inside the building like in a room, but inside the wall of a building, or ceiling, or floor.

All of this is the confusion I have with time travel in general, and if you know the answers then go ahead and tell me. In my opinion, I hope that time travel never does exist, because if it did, all of these problems are a concern. But if you think about it, if time travel did exist, wouldn't someone from the future have traveled to the past at one point. Maybe there is a rule against it, or maybe, people from the future visit us all the time, we just don't know it. As long as they dressed the part for walking about in 1814 or 2014, there would be no way of telling where they came from, or WHEN they came from.

Prequels vs Originals

I've talked a lot about Star Wars, and you should be ok with that because Star Wars is worth talking about. But I'm going to get "ranty" and talk about the pros and cons of the prequels and originals of Star Wars. Obviously this is all my opinion so take it with a grain of salt and don't get all flustered or salty with my opinions.

Lets start with the story aspect of both. Both are influenced highly by fantasy and have a lot of fantasy elements in the story. The prequels story mostly follows Anakin and his path to the darkside. Overall he has to much emotion to be a Jedi and is lured to the darkside to try to save his love Padmè. But this is conflicting because he isn't a bad guy, hes just confused and conflicted. The originals story follows Luke, and his conflicts with the darkside of the force. He is unable to be swayed to the darkside, unlike his father, but in doing this gets his father to side with him. Personally I enjoy the prequels better because it's alittle darker than the originals which can be a bit over the top at times. I think these stories show that there is a bit of gray zone, it isnt just darkside and lightside, that there is some good in all, scratch that, most of us.

Now onto visuals of both trilogies. I'm going to say it outright, the originals did it better. Yes, the 30 years older trilogy beats the coming of age technology in the prequels, but heres why. The prequels got to caught up in CGI that the movies at times felt, empty or inorganic. Not a single set of clone armor was built, all CGI. The originals used props, people in costumes, and miniatures which in some ways were more convincing. For this reason I'm glad they are returning to their roots and using mostly props for episode VII.

I am not going to say one trilogy is better than the other, because one isn't. They are both great, but at the same time, so different from one another. I wouldn't want to live in a world where one existed and the other didn't because they are both fantasic, they are both Star Wars.

Zombies and Disease

Zombies are definitely 'in' right now. Movies like DayZ and TV shows like Walking Dead show that the mindless walkers are huge in pop culture. And with Halloween coming up why not talk about zombies, it's fitting. Plus zombies themselves are quite interesting on their own.

First off, let me scare you by saying zombies are probably the most plausible thing I have mentioned. Take rabies for example, rabies patients begin to lose their mind and bite others, which transfers the disease. The only thing that keeps rabies at bay is that theres treatment and it is really hard to spread. But that doesn't mean the disease cannot evolve making it spread much easier leading to worldwide pandemics.

So lets say a worldwide outbreak of a zombie like infection occurs, what next? The government would obviously intervene. I assume the most logical thing to do is evacuate the cities, then bomb them, depending on how out of hand things are. If things are too bad in the United States there is a military base basically inside of a mountain. It is protected by a huge door and has tons of firepower inside, to me that sounds like the best place to be. And the soldiers who are stationed in places like that have to feel extremely safe, considering they are in modern day castles and fortresses.

With all of the commotion about Ebola outbreaks lately it needs to be said that occurrences like this are highly unlikely. An outbreak of catastrophic proportions like the Black Plague would be hard to reach with all the knowledge modern medicine has. If your worried a second Plague is afoot know that people in those times threw fecal matter onto roadsides, rarely washed their hands, or bathed entirely for that matter, and rarely washed any tools either, including surgical equipment... but they had no idea thats what caused it. But its basic knowledge that eating that spoiled meat is going to make you sick today and you have modern medical practices to thank for that. So to wrap up, an outbreak is probably not going to happen, but if history repeats itself and we live like pigs, than don't blame me because I told you better!

Spartan Program

If you know anything about science fiction, or videogames, or most likely both, than you know Halo. If you don't than get out. Close this window and/or look up what it is because A. I don't have the time to explain EVERYTHING, and B. Its awesome and you should know about it. Ill give you a little info... In Halo humanity has created super soldiers named Spartans. They are incredibly strong, quick, and deadly. And these guys are needed to fight aliens, so they gotta be good.

Spartans are genetically modified, and that is how they are incredible at all attributes. In Halo, this Spartan program is seriously ethnically and morally wrong because the Spartans were basically kidnapped as children and turned into soldiers. In the world we live in it would be morally wrong as well obviously but it begs the question, can Spartans be made? And if they could be, would humanity react the same way?

To answer the first question, yes, they can most definitely be created. Getting a really buff guy on steroids makes him stronger than the normal human. Combine that with Exo-suits modern scientists have been working on and we have a close similarity. It isn't quite battling the Covenant in space ready but still, it's an improvement on the modern soldier. But if they did exist in our world it would most likely be the way I previously described it. Our government's PR would have no excuse to back up why they kidnapped innocent children and trained them to be super soldiers, no matter what it was for. People would get enraged that the government has that kind of power, and they wouldn't be wrong in doing so. Many people are upset already with things like the NSA "spying" on them, even if it is for their own good. But to contrast with the popular opinion, creating these immoral super soldiers could end up being a necessary evil in order to keep humanity alive. My thoughts on this are, if a small sacrifice has to be made to save more, or that the pros do outweigh the cons, than take that chance. Nobody can be that selfish in saying their life or their child's life is more important than the human race as a whole. For this reason I'm going to have to side with the Spartan program, that I would hope humanity could muster up a fighting force like that.

A New Hope

The iconic movie. The one that started it all. The first Star Wars movie is fantastic. An unsuspecting farm boy ends up being a key player in saving the galaxy. Along the way he meets memorable characters. Not a very groundbreaking plot really but who cares, its Star Wars. So, what are my thoughts on the movie (you can probably already tell).

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the prequels just as much as the originals and the originals just as much as the prequels, but a huge plus to the originals is the props. In this movie, all of the props, scenes, etc. it all is a miniature, a costume, or a painted cardboard set. Compare this to the prequel movies where everything and everyone is CGI, this movie holds up better than some of those do. It makes it much more believable. For this reason I am incredibly happy that episode VII will use very little CGI characters and props.

The story of this movie is fine, Luke can seem a bit, whiney, at times but it never takes away from the movie. Honestly I only have one problem with this movie, The Death Star. I mean, if you have a giant space station, why would the hole that could be the end of said space station not be heavily guarded? My problem isn't with the hole itself rather the particularly easy way of getting to the hole. The trench to get there seems needless and there is only a few turrets in that trench. I would have like 4 turrets sitting and waiting at the end of that trench that blew away anyone who came through it. Its stupid simple and seems lazy, even if it is a cool scene. All I'm asking for is a shield there, just something so a small squad of fighters can take thousands of lives with a single missile.

Life without Gravity

Gravity, what comes up must come down. You may not know it but gravity plays a bigger role in your life than you think. Not only does it keep everything on earth but it also keeps your body pretty functional too.

Throughout time, all species on Earth have evolved in some way. A factor in that evolution is gravity, expecially with land mammals. We have evolved to function with Earths gravity. Gravity affects how we grow and without it weird things start happening.

Without gravity we would be immensely weaker. With less pressure on us our muscles would be much weaker. Bones also wouldn't grow as "correctly" as they do now. All of this would probably lead to shorter lifetimes as well.

Even astronauts today who stay up in space for extended periods of time have minor problems that start appearing. Not as severe as the ones previously mentioned but still. So obviously getting to space is one thing, but this proves that staying there is something else. I would be extremely happy to just go to space so I'm not complaining, its just a concern of mine.

Mind Vacation

Remember the movie Total Recall, the old one (good one) not the new one (bad one). If not, in the movie there are machines that basically give you the feeling of doing something so that it feels like a memory you had. For example, want a vacation to Paris but don't have the time, this machine would replicate the experience in your mind; like a dream you get the sense you went on that vacation or that you used to be an astronaut or possibly lived a nicer, more interesting life.

What could technology like this do in the real world? Obviously all of the above was covered in the movie, but what about learning a new subject or language. If this existed theoretically couldn't we just put this machine on and in an hour we learned what could've taken a month of schooling? Think about the extra time people would have. So much more could be accomplished tech like this existed. More people would know more of every subject. Mechanics wouldn't be needed as much because everyone knows how to fix their car, basically most service jobs would be a lot less necessary. Professionals would be less important because most could do what they do. Honestly the world would seem a little more dull, people would be less unique, unemployment would be an issue because everyone can do what you do as good as you do it...

No need to worry though, technology like this is far from reality. There is still alot about the mind and about dreams we don't know yet. We know about dreams, and where they are active in the brain, but there are so many more unknowns. You could think your recalling a past experience when possibly it was all just a dream you had had. See, it isn't far fetched that a machine like this could be used to gain knowledge. A problem that comes to mind is a problem with dreams aswell. Would information gathered while in this machine quickly fade from memory like a dream. Only on rare occation can I ever remember my dreams 10 minutes after I wake up, so does that mean the information would flee my head aswell or would it somehow stick in my memories.

Revenge of the Sith

The third time really must be the charm. The third installment of the prequel trilogy of Star Wars is leaps and bounds better than the first 2 were. Revenge of the Sith is honestly my favorite Star Wars movie, it has everything and very little errors, but could it have done anything better?

Well some complain that Anakins change to the dark side was too abrupt, but I disagree. The Emperor gets in his head and makes him think the jedi are traitorous and evil. Therefore to stop them they must be terminated, and he has to save the love of his life, sure. But killing children is slightly overdoing it...

Next jump to the end when Padmè dies of "heartbreak", what? I mean Anakin force chokes her and she dies of hearthbreak, loses the will to live. I mean couldn't her windpipe have been crushed or something I mean, come on. Its just silly I'm sorry if you think otherwise.

Hold up, one more problem. This time with the script. Before the battle between Anakin and Obi wan, Obi wan says "only a sith deals an absolute". That is an absolute... Are you a sith Obi? How did they not notice this, i mean, it has the word ONLY in it. Its a cool line, but it makes no sense.

Overall still the best of the films in my mind. It's problems are far more minor than the other movies. And since they figured it out mostly at the end I am confident that episode 7 will live up to Star Wars high standard.

Dinosaurs Reborn

Most people know anout the classic Jurassic Park movies. And most people have probably thought, how cool would it be if dinosaurs still existed. Well it's not a subject that could remain science "fiction" for long.

Scientist have been working quite closely in this field. An example is there are plans of placing preserved Wolly Mammoth DNA in an elephant so the elephant gives birth to a "new" species. Think about that, pretty cool. But in a world where polar bears are becoming extinct I'm not so sure a wolly mammoth is the greatest idea.

But if one was to combine that kind of technology with another species we could get some interesting results, or some monstrous results. Because I'm not sure what would give birth to a T-rex. A gorilla? A feret? A lizard? So maybe its less possible than originally thought. Because an elephant and a wolly mammoth are very similar species so one birthing another is possible. With most other dinos a different strategy would have to be in place, if any.

Still, if we did have dinosaurs it wouldn't be like an apocalypse. Obviously we would have some sort of control over them like in jurassic park. Although they had a way of controlling them and it still went wrong. So maybe we stick with the nice dinos, non-human eating ones yes? Sounds good to me.

Attack of the Clones

The second movie in the Star Wars prequels is also very, very unpopular among some fans. The only thing I find repulsive about the movie is the painfully forced romance scenes. If you take those scenes away the movie holds up alright, but is there anything else wrong with it?

It begins with bounty hunters going after Padmè. Obi-wan leaves to search for the assassin and this is where my first question lies. Obi-wan stumbles apon a planet that is manufacturing a clone army for the republic. But nobody knew about this except for Count Dooku who began construction. How did nobody know about this. I assume i cost the Republic a large sum of money so why were no questions asked. And if Count Dooku made the plans for an army why didn't he go and stop construction on the clones once he switched sides, I mean, it would've made his life A LOT easier.

The movies arena battle is one of the coolest parts of Star Wars. It is filled with action, even if it is the most inefficient way of killing a jedi. Its questionable how all those jedi got into the stadium to help, and why they didn't help a lot sooner, but it makes for a cool battle.

All in all the movies action itself holds up well enough and the movie is a step up from Phantom Menace. But it could just be me blinded by nostalgia.

Phantom Menace

The "first" Star Wars movie is often considered the worst of the Star Wars trilogies. It has a few great scenes but mostly it is a lot of  unnecessary background junk, and of course way to much JarJar. But is there more than just the obvious story flaws to this movie?

It begins fine aside from the painful JarJar commentary. When you see the underwater city for the first time you think "cool, its like living in bubbles". But a few scenes later and there are huge monster-fish eating other monster-fish and immediately you think, "why don't those fish go to the underwater city and completely wreck it"? I mean, those creatures are like 5 minutes away, It makes no sense...

Fastforward to tatooine and we meet a creature named Watto. Watto is a chunky thing so let me ask, how do those small, thin, dragonfly-like wings keep him in the air? Ah, because he is mostly gas and very lightweight, so my problem isn't there. My problem is what he says, "Jedi mind tricks don't work on me", yeah no. So stormtroopers, perfectly cloned soldiers are weak minded, but a fat, stingy bug creature is invulnerable because he is greedy? At least try to make sense!

Lastly, towards the end of the movie we see child anakin begin to pilot one of the naboo fighters. He somehow turns it on and begins to fly right into a space battle. In this battle he manages to fly into the droid command ship and blow it up. How does a small child who has never flown before, accomplish such a task. And if it was that easy to get into the ship and blow it up, why was nobody doing it?

These are just a few complaints I have about the movie. Don't get me wrong, it had great parts, like the fight with darth maul, or the podraces. But some things in this movie just make you stop and think, what? Why? And take away from the movie.

Self-Aware Cars

First question is, what is a self aware car? Well, think of Jonny Cab from Total Recall. Its only there for a small amount of time, but its a good example. Its a car that can drive itself through some kind of technology. Tech like this isn't far-fetched at all though.

A modern day example would be Google's self driving car. Real strides have been made in this area. It can use GPS technology to know where it, what road its on, and where its going. And at the same time uses sonar- like technology to see where other cars are, and what they are doing.

You may not like it but this may be the future. Instead of driving yourself the car drives you to your destination. With multi-tasking being as big as it is this wouldn't really be that big of a deal. Especially since self driving cars would be safer than human controlled cars. Accident rates would go down, drunk drivers wouldn't exist, leaving this reality a very plausible one indeed.

Force Abilities

"Use the force Luke" is a popular line in Star Wars. In Star Wars (the originals), the force is almost like a religion. To become a "master" one would need to meditate, clear their mind, and have a mentor, not unlike praying in church or listening to a pastor. The prequels make some confusing lore about midichlorians, stating that the force is a bunch of micro-organisms that are around you and one would need to be able to control them. But all that is just a poor attempt at making Star Wars more science fiction and less fantasy and you cannot change it after something has already been established... But enough of that. If the force were to exist, how could it? We all have tried it, and we all have failed, but how long until i reach for the TV remote and it flies from the floor into my hand.

Well its not impossible, through sound waves we can get things to move, not very much but enough. Like a dragonborn from skyrim, blasting people back with soundwaves. If we made a machine that could replicate that, force is possible. But not by having a high midichlorian count...

End of the World

There are a few movies that depict a future where planet Earth is becoming non-hospitable. Either mankind has run out of Earths resources or just overpopulated the planet kind of like Elysium. What happens then, where does mankind turn when the place we have called home for centuries is gone? Do we make a giant spaceship like Wall-E and just live out our lives in it, or do we go around looking for a new place to stay and possibly colonize a new planet.

Well why would we have to leave, I mean, Earth is great so the only reason we would permanently leave is if something was forcing us to leave. One factor could be that the sun is burning out. The sun will eventually go dark, but not for millions and millions, which gives us time. Hopefully by then we have a plan B that can save us. By that time we possibly could have a concept that "re-energizes" the sun, keeping it going, making it so we did not have to go anywhere. This defeats the need to leave which means something else has to kick us off the planet.

Another possibility is that we have overpopulated the planet. Assuming the population will continue to grow at the rate it is growing this is a very real possibility that isn't so far away. Hopefully, the solution isn't kill off a third of the population, and lets say that castrating a third of mankind isn't the solution either. Some would definitely need to leave the planet and look for another home. Who? I don't know, but staying on Earth after awhile would probably be just as safe as travelling into space and searching for a home.

The most ideal out of all of the scenarios is most likely we would build a giant space station or ship that could hold a majority of the population. We already can grow food in 0g, but we cannot really live our lifetimes in 0g. Our bodies are built and grow because of gravity. Extended periods of time without gravity really messes with our bone structure and other parts of the body. We could survive, but we would most likely be extremely weak and frail and just messed up. But if we were to stay alive this is possibly the only way to do so, but let's hope that we don't get forced into these situations.

Is Star War Syfy or Fantasy

Star Wars is an iconic science fiction film, but is it even science fiction? Science fiction is classified as some thing that could be possible in the future, fantasy is more mystical and imaginary ideals. So which is it? Well Star Wars kind of has both elements, trust me I can explain.

Star Wars has some science fiction elements. The ability for interplanetary travel is possible, the planets and moons themselves are not blown out of scientific proportion either. Desert, lava, forest-like planets are all somewhat possible. The engines the vehicles run on are based on real science, and there are other examples than these that can put Star Wars into the science fiction category.

The force aspect is when Star Wars gets more into fantasy. The force seems more like a religion, a mystical energy field around you. In the prequels they tried to make it more syfy with midi-chlorians but its was mainly just confusing and contradictory with the originals.

All in all Star Wars kind of makes its own genre, a science fantasy genre. But why is that a bad thing? It's kind of a cop out but Star Wars really doesn't fit into one category, which is  why it is so cool, because it can reach multiple audiences and connect with so many different people.

Robots and AI

Scientists now have been getting really far in the robot field. In this post I'm not talking about the robots that are mechanical arms that create the car you drive, or the device that is actually driving your car for you. That I will discuss in another story. What i am talking about is a more humanoid robot, one that fights battles like in Star Wars Prequels, or one that serves as your personal butler, like C-3PO. Yes, how long until that kind of technology is available to the population.

The robots in "I-Robot" are a good example of whats to come. In a theoretical future where robots do exist, lets think about the features that these robots would have. One would think they would have legs because although they are more complicated than say a wheel, they are much easier to get around than a wheel. Animals have adapted to develop legs because in rough terrain a leg doesn't get stuck between a rock or stumped by a ledge. But these legs along with arms would be stronger, so they can save people jump to greater heights or get through tougher material in case of an emergency. It would need to be smart, this is where AI (artificial inteligence) comes in. All of the robotic parts already exist, mostly, but AI is more complicated. It is like the brain of the robot, it contains the knowleged and "personality" of the robot. If we can conquer the brain portion, it wont be long until robots are as a part of everyday life as a car, or TV.

Colonizing Planets

For years we now we have been going up into space, visiting the Space Station, and coming back down to Earth. But I want to ask how long until we can go up into space and not return. I'm not talking about just going up and dying in space, but taking humans another planet. And even more than that, i wonder when we can start colonizing said planet so that it is fit for survival, able to stand the test of time and support human life for centuries.

For a small amount of time now, private companies have tried getting funds for these projects. Mars One is trying but hundreds of thousands of dollars later there has been no news on the project, all that is known is a plan for 2024, and one would think its because it was a scam. That is the problem with fan-fund raised projects like this, not that Mars one is necessarily a scam just the majority would seem that way. But who knows, it could be just the time needed for preparation.

So even though that some are failures, some are legit. Plans to colonize planets exist now but they do take years of preparation. The shuttle to get there, setting up food and power. All of this work for a trip that could backfire in a week because the oxygen supply was too low. This is why only the best of the best are chosen to go. One would need to be smart and a good problem solver, no or little history of genetic diseases, or any diseases for obvious reasons. But how many people would need to be sent on this one way trip to almost certain death? I think the number of people that would need to be sent is around 16 (as to avoid eventual incest...). So if you meet all of these criteria than you would have a chance if a situation like this came up.

With overpopulation being a big problem in the near future, this could be a really cool solution. Would you go on a one way trip to another planet if offered? I would, just to be a part of something that would make history, even if I died within a month I would still be among the first people to die on a planet other than Earth.

Alien Contact

Lets assume aliens are coming into contact with us for the first time. There are multiple senarios. 1. The aliens are hostile like in War of the Worlds. 2. The aliens are friendly like in E.T. Or 3. The aliens are just a bunch of bacteria or small organisms on a planet we've discovered. Lets look into this deeper.

So aliens have arrived, but they are here to take the planet either for the resources on Earth, or the resources LIVING on Earth (people). We most likely will not just let them take it and leave, we have nowhere to go! So war is inevitable. If this is the case we will probably lose. If they found us first that means they are much more advanced than us and it would be a quick fight. We depend on electronics for a lot now a days and the aliens would exploit that weakness quickly, leaving us in the dark and soon, dead.

If they are friendly it wouldn't be all sunshine either. I mean, i would love a sweet alien sidekick like chewbacca but that is best case senario. Say they gave us their future technology, how do we know mankind could handle it. Would we kill eachother over the space laser or teleportation pad? Nuclear warfare prompted by alien gifts... Or another situation could be radical humans who didn't trust/like the aliens could soon drive them away or attack turning them hostile. There are almost too many unknowns in this scenario.

Even if the aliens were mindless lumps of bacteria we could STILL all die. The aliens could and most likely would bring bacteria that our bodies cannot fight off. The Europeans sailing over to the Native Americans brought plenty of diease with them that killed thousands of natives but was harmless to the Europeans. The same goes with all 3 alien contact senarios, once we met them everything would need to be quarantined as to not wipe everyone off this Earth.

Even though the result of contacting aliens is extremely dangerous I do hope something else is still out there. SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intellegence) is searching and sending signals out into space, hoping for a response even though the odds are against us the aliens will be helpful. Thats probably because It's a creepy feeling to think we are alone in this universe, plus if they do find anything I still need my Chewbacca sidekick.

Mutation Probability

Mutations exist in science fiction films or comic books. They are almost like special "powers" that give a person abilities others don't possess. We all would love to have claws that shot out of our hands on command or the ability to move metal objects through the air with our minds. So the question is, can humans ever spawn a mutation with X-men like capabilities?

Well curently we can tamper with genes to create some pretty weird things. I could put extra legs on a fly's head or increase a monkey's muscle size. None of those examples are practical but the point is they are possible.

So it is possible, but is that it? Just a possibility? No in fact, humans have mutated before. About 7,500 years ago humans gained an incredible ability, the ability to process lactose. Now its not super strength but it is something, i mean, we all eat cheese.

If we leave mutations up to nature it is a much, much slower process. Animals adapt to survive, but not in a day. It takes hundreds of years for mutations and adaptions to show if any are needed. And humans change their environment to suit their needs, like if its cold you get a coat, not grow your body hair out 3 inches. This means no baby is probably going to be born today that can breathe under water or shoot webs out of his hands, probably.

If you think about it one way we already can mutate organisms in different ways. But the mutations you and I are looking for are much more difficult to achieve. The mutations we want are something that could allow flight or super vision. But the likelyhood of that happening is extremely slim. And if it did it would most likely show in small, slightly noticable changes to the DNA of organisms through time. If humans take the matter into our own hands its not a shoe-in either. There are very real and very serious side effects that could occur from tampering with genes. Godzilla-like monsters come to mind and are a possibility when going down this path, and all so man could one day grow a third leg or lift an extra 40 lbs. Is it worth it? Do the pros outway the cons? Or should stuff like this stay science fiction.

Lightsaber Probability

Everyone knows the iconic blade from the Star Wars trilogy. They have the ability to cut through most materials, deflect incoming projectiles, and most of all, they look really cool. What I want to ask is could mankind ever be the wielder of one of these luminous swords?

In a word, no, but stay with me. The only material that we know at this time that the blade could be made of is plasma. Plasma is the 4th state of matter and can be solid, liquid, whatever. But plasma isn’t going to slice through metal as if it were paper like in the movies, so we would need to heat it, which is possible. If we could fit a device into the handle that heats up the plasma then it should work yes? Not quite because this is where another improbable part comes in. Say that there was a machine that could heat up a lightsaber hot enough for it to cut through metal, the heat emitting from the plasma would likely melt your hands off in the process, sorry, but what a sweet 3 seconds!

Sadly that isn’t the only flaw in the lightsaber. Let’s pretend here, (as if we weren't already), that you had gloves of some sort that would let you hold the handle without being in excruciating pain the entire time because your hands were melting off. Well you wouldn’t be able to grab the lightsaber in the first place because in order to heat the plasma to the temperature desired, the plasma would need to be connected to a machine the size of a bathroom. So instead of it being a lightsaber its more of a giant machine with a really hot rod sticking out of it.

Finally, if the previous two flaws were somehow worked around, the “light” part of the saber wouldn’t end abruptly like in the movies. The plasma would just trail off into the distance. There is nothing to stop the plasma once it gets out to the length you would want it to end. Instead of a lightsaber think of a really hot flashlight.

So probably no lightsabers in our lifetime, sorry. But nobody watches Star Wars because of its realistic interpretations of the future. At the same time it still is cool to think about and theorize the possibility of one in a galaxy far far away.