Is the future what you expected?

[Reaganfan]

The 15 year itch is a bit strange. That's what I call it.

Back in 1995, my mother rented a horror film for her, me and my sister to watch on a Friday night. One she said scared her as a kid. It wasn't full of explicit sex or violence, but it was scary. I was 8 years old. We rented "When a Stranger Calls", a 1979 film with Carol Kane and Charles Durning (still alive, BTW). I also watched many 80s slasher flicks, circa 1980. It was a 15 year-feeling. My mother would say, "Wow...that was out when I was 16 years old just 15 years ago..." ect.

Then by the year 2000, with George Bush running for President suddenly the past politics of the days of Reagan/Bush/Quayle from the 1980/1984/1988 campaigns all came flooding back on television and what not. Around that time I remember hearing about the 15th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, and again, those classic 80s flicks being about 15 years old or so. For my 12th birthday, next to my PlayStation and Super Nintendo and N64, I recieved an original 1985 Nintendo as a gift. I received games like The Paperboy, Super Mario Brothers as well as the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th Nintendo video games. All of this was "about" 15 years ago.

Suddenly, my favorite film, "Armageddon", released in 1998 is 14 years old. Another favorite of mine, "Con-Air", is at the 15 year mark. TWA 800, Bob Dole, and any possibly good 90s pop culture is suddenly becoming dated. Comic books I bought in Very Fine+ condition for cheap in the late 90s now have 15 years more worth to them.

That does sometimes get me feeling a bit depressed. Suddenly we are now six years past a remake of a film I saw when it was 15 years old. Now that movie is 33 years old.

[angus]

Where is my robot maid? The Jetsons promised me a robot maid! And no, the Roomba doesn't count.

The robots we do have are way different than what the Jetsons led us to believe. Rosie was all blinking lights and metal canisters.  So were all my toy robots in the 70s.  But the real robots--you too can have one if you have half a million dollars--are very humanoid.  

They look like this:


Take a look at this guy:
http://www.maniacworld.com/Humanoid-Robot.html

The voices still aren't right, and apparently they have trouble getting subtle looks, fluid movement, and smiles and gestures to look human, but the robots are actually much more advanced than I would have  thought they'd be.

[dead0man]

Why do we want our robots to be all looking like us and stuff?  Plus, making things bipedal is really hard.  Give me a tracked robot any day.  Function before style!

[angus]

Why do we want our robots to be all looking like us and stuff?  

It is my understanding that there is some demand for models that really are anatomically correct and, as Lieutenant Commander Data might say, fully functional.  Why do they need this?  Well, if we knew someone with lots of easy money and a need for vaguely Thai-looking females that roll over on command, we could ask.  If only we had such a poster on this forum, you could ask him.  

[dead0man]

Well, sure "sex" robots should look like us.  I was thinking more of the day to day, wash the dishes, take care of the elderly, make you a sandwich kind of robots.

[Tender Branson]

The 15 year itch is a bit strange. That's what I call it.

Back in 1995, my mother rented a horror film for her, me and my sister to watch on a Friday night. One she said scared her as a kid. It wasn't full of explicit sex or violence, but it was scary. I was 8 years old. We rented "When a Stranger Calls", a 1979 film with Carol Kane and Charles Durning (still alive, BTW). I also watched many 80s slasher flicks, circa 1980. It was a 15 year-feeling. My mother would say, "Wow...that was out when I was 16 years old just 15 years ago..." ect.

Then by the year 2000, with George Bush running for President suddenly the past politics of the days of Reagan/Bush/Quayle from the 1980/1984/1988 campaigns all came flooding back on television and what not. Around that time I remember hearing about the 15th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, and again, those classic 80s flicks being about 15 years old or so. For my 12th birthday, next to my PlayStation and Super Nintendo and N64, I recieved an original 1985 Nintendo as a gift. I received games like The Paperboy, Super Mario Brothers as well as the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th Nintendo video games. All of this was "about" 15 years ago.

Suddenly, my favorite film, "Armageddon", released in 1998 is 14 years old. Another favorite of mine, "Con-Air", is at the 15 year mark. TWA 800, Bob Dole, and any possibly good 90s pop culture is suddenly becoming dated. Comic books I bought in Very Fine+ condition for cheap in the late 90s now have 15 years more worth to them.

That does sometimes get me feeling a bit depressed. Suddenly we are now six years past a remake of a film I saw when it was 15 years old. Now that movie is 33 years old.

I wonder what a person from 1981 who just watched the newly released "The Evil Dead" would say if you'd show him the latest "Saw 57" right after the first one ...

[Reaganfan]

The 15 year itch is a bit strange. That's what I call it.

Back in 1995, my mother rented a horror film for her, me and my sister to watch on a Friday night. One she said scared her as a kid. It wasn't full of explicit sex or violence, but it was scary. I was 8 years old. We rented "When a Stranger Calls", a 1979 film with Carol Kane and Charles Durning (still alive, BTW). I also watched many 80s slasher flicks, circa 1980. It was a 15 year-feeling. My mother would say, "Wow...that was out when I was 16 years old just 15 years ago..." ect.

Then by the year 2000, with George Bush running for President suddenly the past politics of the days of Reagan/Bush/Quayle from the 1980/1984/1988 campaigns all came flooding back on television and what not. Around that time I remember hearing about the 15th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, and again, those classic 80s flicks being about 15 years old or so. For my 12th birthday, next to my PlayStation and Super Nintendo and N64, I recieved an original 1985 Nintendo as a gift. I received games like The Paperboy, Super Mario Brothers as well as the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th Nintendo video games. All of this was "about" 15 years ago.

Suddenly, my favorite film, "Armageddon", released in 1998 is 14 years old. Another favorite of mine, "Con-Air", is at the 15 year mark. TWA 800, Bob Dole, and any possibly good 90s pop culture is suddenly becoming dated. Comic books I bought in Very Fine+ condition for cheap in the late 90s now have 15 years more worth to them.

That does sometimes get me feeling a bit depressed. Suddenly we are now six years past a remake of a film I saw when it was 15 years old. Now that movie is 33 years old.

I wonder what a person from 1981 who just watched the newly released "The Evil Dead" would say if you'd show him the latest "Saw 57" right after the first one ...

I just saw Evil Dead recently. I fell asleep. Just not my thing. I prefer the Halloween movies, and I'm talking Donald Pleasence, not Rob Zombie.

[John Dibble]

Well, sure "sex" robots should look like us.  I was thinking more of the day to day, wash the dishes, take care of the elderly, make you a sandwich kind of robots.

Hey, who says our sex robots couldn't do those things too? I mean, it's probably cheaper to buy one robot that does a bunch of stuff, right?

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

"The future isn't what it used to be." 

[minionofmidas]

Well, sure "sex" robots should look like us.  I was thinking more of the day to day, wash the dishes, take care of the elderly, make you a sandwich kind of robots.

Why not have your cake and fuck it too? If you can't find a real wife [guilty on that account] and have way too much money and no sense of shame [not me]? It's not like you'll be having sex with it 24/7.

[dead0man]

Well, sure "sex" robots should look like us.  I was thinking more of the day to day, wash the dishes, take care of the elderly, make you a sandwich kind of robots.

Hey, who says our sex robots couldn't do those things too? I mean, it's probably cheaper to buy one robot that does a bunch of stuff, right?

Well, sure "sex" robots should look like us.  I was thinking more of the day to day, wash the dishes, take care of the elderly, make you a sandwich kind of robots.

Why not have your cake and fuck it too? If you can't find a real wife [guilty on that account] and have way too much money and no sense of shame [not me]? It's not like you'll be having sex with it 24/7.

You guys are asking an awful lot out of your sex robot.  Maybe third generation sexbots will be able to make a sandwich, but I'm not holding my breath.

[minionofmidas]

We're talking about "the future", are we not?

And I'd certainly expect a sexbot to be able to serve as sandwich filling.