I am Rudi Hoffman in Daytona Beach, FL, and I have been quietly reading these
outstanding posts for about a year...I am so damn glad that there are so many
sharp people out there whose orientation is extropian, and whose biases
reflect my own.
Knowing how we are excited about technology and how it can expand our
effectiveness, I just wanted to post a brag about my new Compaq Presario
4814, obtained thru the magic of signing a Office Depot "Don't even bother to
pay for it for six months plan"...cooolll!...obtained about 6 hours ago...I
could not sleep I was so excited about playing with it..:)
Anyway, it is a screamer! 233 MMX, a 100 meg Zip drive, 24 speed CD rom, 32
MB SyncDram (How is this different than regular RAM, I wonder?), a 56K modem,
and an astonishing 6.5 GIG hard drive. And a 17 inch moniter with seamlessly
integrated speakers!
I want you tech freaks to drool a bit, if you don't mind:)
I think I have more computing power than a government could have afforded
perhaps 25 years ago...maybe 35...
Anyway, Drexler, etc. seem to be right about the costs of storage and
computing power continuing to plummet...
Just finished a tape called "Being Digital" by Negriponti...great, inspiring
stuff.
I correlated it with Gate's "The Road Ahead" (Another enlightening read) and
Drexler's "Engines of Creation " and "Unbounding the Future"...
We are definately leading increasingly "Science Fiction" lifestyles...
What a GREAT time to be alive...
On another thread, I wanted to add my belief / observation / opinion that
psylocybin mushrooms may or may not have added to the evolution of the
race...but they have added a great deal to my personal evolution.
One of the few things, besides technology, skepticism, and cryonics, that I
am "evangelical" about. They should be a "REQUIRED COURSE" in college...I am
only half joking about this. They are great! This posting may keep me from
being president one day...unless we have become VERY Libertarian!
Warmly,
Rudi