Future stuff that never happened

C Montgomery Gurns II

It was with some amusement last night that I read the latest US think tank report on our newest investment scam- driverless vehicles. Apparently, by 2030, within the US (and ergo, us soon after, or even earlier if, like our uptake of the mobile phone by 1999- 2000 we somehow usurp the USA in terms of Joe Public taking to new tech before they do) the vast majority of drivers will be pottering around in flawless, computerised cars. Manned buses, taxis, HGV haulage will all be a distant memory in a shorter time than you can remember the night we crashed out of World Cup 06 qualification with a toothless home draw against Switzerland, and Roy Keane said his second farewell.

It did, however, remind me of several things that never did occur, despite their predictions. Not just invention wise, but political, social, medical.

Off the top of my head

- post 9/11, there were reports that anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand Afghan trained Al Quaeda members had infiltrated the US during the 90's. While I am an unashamedly right wing conservative, it does remind me of the apparent flood of ISIS members we are getting with the current refugee intake. Even one is one too many, and I don't for a second think we should be admitting unchecked male refugees from these areas, but the figures of thousands of trained sleeper agents sent in is frankly bollocks. Pretty much every "ISIS" attack in Europe has been carried out either by European born fighters trained in Syria, lone nutjobs from Europe latching on to ISIS, or lone refugees latching on to ISIS acting out against a host country that they feel failed them because the host government didn't give them enough free cash and housing. Vote Coppinger and Murphy!!!

- the Fedayeen of Iraq. A crack squad of thousands of Saddam Hussein loyalist suicide bombers who would slaughter the 2003 invading forces 10 to every bomber. As it turned out the underpaid, underarmed, undertrained Iraqi troops couldn't wait to give up- it was largely the foreign millitants who came in after the war was "won" who prolonged the war.

- the impending Irish crystal meth and crack epidemic. I don't know if if is because we don't have enough of the raw ingredients here freely available to make meth, and the street level coke is too weak to make crack, but the media has been talking about the impending epidemic for at least 17 years now.

- the Hutch gang spectacular strike back. There is no Hutch gang. They're hyping it worse than Fox News told us 9/11 pt II was coming for about six years.

- the SARS virus. Swine flu. Ebola (times two, I remember reading about an outbreak of it killing a woman in Europe 20 years ago). Chicken flu. A day when we would have to crack open the Iodine tablets the government gave us for when Sellafield got attacked.



So, what's your favourite failed prophecy?

gifted

That life is like a box of chocolates....it's not...chocolates are nice...

YFlyer

Paper clothes.

wakka12

I believe there was nearly a 9/11 part 2. It involved disguising bombs in carbonated drinks bottles and detonating them in planes between britain and usa, the planes falling over urban areas would have killed ten times as many as 9/11 did

Thats why the 100ml rule was introduced

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

In the 60s we were told that mechanisation would leave us with so much free time that our biggest problem would be finding something to occupy ourselves.

Cutie 3.14

Hover boards and shoes that lace themselves up

Cutie 3.14

Cutie 3.14 wrote: »

Hover boards and shoes that lace themselves up

Nike did make those shoes recently

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/nike-self-lacing-trainers

C Montgomery Gurns II

wakka12 wrote: »

I believe there was nearly a 9/11 part 2. It involved disguising bombs in carbonated drinks bottles and detonating them in planes between britain and usa, the planes falling over urban areas would have killed ten times as many as 9/11 did

Thats why the 100ml rule was introduced

That actually is true, however that involved UK born and raised militants (Jeremy Corbyn cause celebres, basically). Within the US there were only a handful of charges brought against foreign/ US nationals who had been proven to have attended AQ training camps.

In saying that there were something like 1000 foreign nationals detained immediately after 9/11 and deported for immigration violations- it is somewhat likely at least some of these people may have been nefarious.

Mena Mitty

My favourite would have to be the elusive Voting machines that one could vote, buy cigarettes, withdraw cash and wash a 10kg load of clothes all at the same time...never took off I hear. Nowadays they're relics of the good old days...shortly to get National Monument status.

buried

All me new year resolutions

C Montgomery Gurns II

Bridget Rancid Barge wrote: »

In the 60s we were told that mechanisation would leave us with so much free time that our biggest problem would be finding something to occupy ourselves.

I guess I could add a WWIII to my initial list.

Putin is so sensitive about holding on to his comfy existence in Moscow that he assassinates journalists and opponents who might try and sway the loyal electorate in a vote he can fix if needs be- he doesn't seem quite the type to launch what would be nothing less than a suicide mission of war against the West.

SEPT 23 1989

Inter continental bolistic nuclear missiles reigning down on the west which was a genuine fear for a child watching the news in the 80's

C Montgomery Gurns II

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Inter continental bolistic nuclear missiles reigning down on the west which was a genuine fear for a child watching the news I'm the 80's

Difference then and now is, none of the 10,000 missiles in Russia were likely to hit Dublin, not because of neutrality, but due to Russian self preservation ideals, for them and their families.

We are importing 250 "boys" from Calais this year. Young, homeless, impressionable, cut away from familial ties.


On your conscience be it Zappone.

Hande hoche!

Colonization of the moon. In fact quite a bit of the space stuff.

Irish people being able to run a country (not into the ground).

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

C Montgomery Gurns II wrote: »

Difference then and now is, none of the 10,000 missiles in Russia were likely to hit Dublin, not because of neutrality, but due to Russian self preservation ideals, for them and their families.

We are importing 250 "boys" from Calais this year. Young, homeless, impressionable, cut away from familial ties.


On your conscience be it Zappone.

Are we on the same topic here?

C Montgomery Gurns II

Bridget Rancid Barge wrote: »

Are we on the same topic here?

Tell us in five years. If you endorse spending 250K per year on adults with no screening masquerading as children so be it.

SEPT 23 1989

Hande hoche! wrote: »

Colonization of the moon. In fact quite a bit of the space stuff.

We went as far as we could

Into orbit

RobbingBandit

Liverpool winning the premier league, Healthy fast food, a working time machine, me being in any kind of relationship, me winning the lottery. Trump not causing a global war.

Nervous Wreck

Kony 2012.

Cutie 3.14

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Nike did make those shoes recently

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/nike-self-lacing-trainers

They made 89 pairs,not exactly on the mass market just yet

Pinch Flat

No monorail between Dublin and London

spacetweek

Driverless vehicles exist, they aren't a pipe dream, and although I'd guess most people will continue to drive their own car, truck and taxi driving have no future beyond the next couple of decades.

I have never once heard the media in this country claim that a crack or meth epidemic was on the way.

C Montgomery Gurns II wrote: »

While I am an unashamedly right wing conservative,

Well, I wouldn't be unashamed of that.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

C Montgomery Gurns II wrote: »

Tell us in five years. If you endorse spending 250K per year on adults with no screening masquerading as children so be it.

"Future stuff that never happened"?

I'm out.

Cutie 3.14

Cutie 3.14 wrote: »

They made 89 pairs,not exactly on the mass market just yet

Ok I've fixed your post :-)

Cutie 3.14 wrote: »

Hover boards and mass marketed shoes that lace themselves up(must be a lot more than 89 pairs to count )

C Montgomery Gurns II

Bridget Rancid Barge wrote: »

"Future stuff that never happened"?

I'm out.

It's quite fashionable to predict the death of work employing men behind a wheel by 2030.


It is quite unfashionable to predict the same problems Germany and Sweden have had with feral "children" in the last few years happening in Ireland.

Tell us how your sisters and mother get along (I presume that due to your virtue signalling here you are rooming them with the family. After all, if you offer the government to give five of them a place to stay in your mam's spare room, that would free up no less than 1.25 million euro in government allocated funds, which could I'm sure be well spent on a cause close to your heart)

Jog on Lily Allen.

el_gaucho

Y2K. Such a disappointment!

C Montgomery Gurns II

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

Kony 2012.

There is a bizarre correlation between Kony 2012 sharers and people who share SF/ AAA- PBP/ Corbyn rubbish on FB.

Unlike most of them, at least since 2012 Joseph Kony has been working.

greencap

The Chinese super trade-hub in Athlone.

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/337acre-chinatown-hub-comes-to-athlone-26848974.html

C Montgomery Gurns II

el_gaucho wrote: »

Y2K. Such a disappointment!

In fairness Boris Yeltsin resigned that night. I'm fairly sure he had been remotely operated for the last few years, I've never been sure if it was a software malfunction that caused his engineers to try and avoid further embarrassment.

PARlance

My eyes never did go square.

Aongus Von Bismarck

There's a huge amount of 'head in the sand' denial about the timelines associated with autonomous vehicles.

I'm never one to speculate without considering all the scenarios, but one can only surmise that those who get most emotional about these things are people who: make a living from driving, consider their antiquated diesel jalopy to be an extension of themselves, cannot get over the idea that machines are far less prone to error in carrying out mundane tasks than humans.

On my last visit to Ireland I picked up the usual BMW 5-Series rental from the airport. Low specification, but I do have a familiarity with the overall ethos behind the cabin design of the range. As I drove to Galway, I couldn't help but think that my time was being wasted with the monotonous task of actually having to drive the car. I was listening to a great podcast related to philosophy, but how can you give it your full attention when you have some moron in a clapped out Ford Mondeo driving in the fast lane as you flash your lights at him?

The reality - unpalatable as it is to some 'truth deniers' - is that the era of human decision involved in private and public transport is coming to an end.

Cee-Jay-Cee

A tunnel between England and France that trains could drive through. Yeah right, of course that's going to happen!

bodhrandude

In fairness this was 1943 but Thomas Watson President of IBM said, 'I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.' http://www.pcworld.com/article/155984/worst_tech_predictions.html

Beyondgone

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

There's a huge amount of 'head in the sand' denial about the timelines associated with autonomous vehicles.

I'm never one to speculate without considering all the scenarios, but one can only surmise that those who get most emotional about these things are people who: make a living from driving, consider their antiquated diesel jalopy to be an extension of themselves, cannot get over the idea that machines are far less prone to error in carrying out mundane tasks than humans.

On my last visit to Ireland I picked up the usual BMW 5-Series rental from the airport. Low specification, but I do have a familiarity with the overall ethos behind the cabin design of the range. As I drove to Galway, I couldn't help but think that my time was being wasted with the monotonous task of actually having to drive the car. I was listening to a great podcast related to philosophy, but how can you give it your full attention when you have some moron in a clapped out Ford Mondeo driving in the fast lane as you flash your lights at him?

The reality - unpalatable as it is to some 'truth deniers' - is that the era of human decision involved in private and public transport is coming to an end.

I work all day, every day with trucks - what they do, where they go, how they dock. I'll personally lie under the first Driverless one that backs in. Not.a.feckin.hope.for.decades.

Yourself isit

Future stuff that never happened?

Flying cars. Proper AI. Mass tourist space travel. Mass faster than sound travel. Home robots. The Martian colonies. 3 day week. Sex robots.

Mostly the sex robots.

Yourself isit

Beyondgone wrote: »

I work all day, every day with trucks - what they do, where they go, how they dock. I'll personally lie under the first Driverless one that backs in. Not.a.feckin.hope.for.decades.

It will never happen. Most futuristic ideas never do.

Beyondgone

Yourself isit wrote: »

Future stuff that never happened?

Flying cars. Proper AI. Mass tourist space travel. Mass faster than sound travel. Home robots. The Martian colonies. 3 day week. Sex robots.

Mostly the sex robots.

Sex robots exist. They're easy.

Try getting a robot to mow the lawn in Ireland.. good luck with that. Or make a sandwich...

Yourself isit

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

A tunnel between England and France that trains could drive through. Yeah right, of course that's going to happen!

You're doing this wrong.

C Montgomery Gurns II

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

There's a huge amount of 'head in the sand' denial about the timelines associated with autonomous vehicles.

I'm never one to speculate without considering all the scenarios, but one can only surmise that those who get most emotional about these things are people who: make a living from driving, consider their antiquated diesel jalopy to be an extension of themselves, cannot get over the idea that machines are far less prone to error in carrying out mundane tasks than humans.

On my last visit to Ireland I picked up the usual BMW 5-Series rental from the airport. Low specification, but I do have a familiarity with the overall ethos behind the cabin design of the range. As I drove to Galway, I couldn't help but think that my time was being wasted with the monotonous task of actually having to drive the car. I was listening to a great podcast related to philosophy, but how can you give it your full attention when you have some moron in a clapped out Ford Mondeo driving in the fast lane as you flash your lights at him?

The reality - unpalatable as it is to some 'truth deniers' - is that the era of human decision involved in private and public transport is coming to an end.

I'm disappointed. The only reference to your lifestyle was the ability to rent a BMW 5

I love your posts. Mainly because of my image of a man in rental allowance accommodation (real dolers don't live in corpos any more- there's more bants to be had living in one halfof a semi that your neighbour is crippled with a 1300 per month mortgage for)) in Mullingar sitting in his pants and a "Benalmedena Gary's Stag 07 Up the Ra" T Shirt waiting for his 188 day, while cultivating the online mystique of a more restrained, classy version of Jordan Belfort. The Aoengus character really needs its own TV show.

The_Valeyard

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Inter continental bolistic nuclear missiles reigning down on the west which was a genuine fear for a child watching the news in the 80's

That movie..... 'threads'.

StupidLikeAFox

bodhrandude wrote: »

In fairness this was 1943 but Thomas Watson President of IBM said, 'I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.' http://www.pcworld.com/article/155984/worst_tech_predictions.html

Well the way things are going with consolidated data centres and cloud computing, maybe he was right!

Beyondgone

The_Valeyard wrote: »

That movie..... 'threads'.

I'm still confused as to what a "bolistic" missile is? I presume there's testicles involved?

bodhrandude

Beyondgone wrote: »

I'm still confused as to what a "bolistic" missile is? I presume there's testicles involved?

I think its missiles with bollards attached them. :pac:

prinzeugen

C Montgomery Gurns II wrote: »

Difference then and now is, none of the 10,000 missiles in Russia were likely to hit Dublin, not because of neutrality, but due to Russian self preservation ideals, for them and their families.

They would have. Dublin Port, Dublin Airport, Casement, Shannon Airport, and any other port that could take a NATO destroyer would have been hit with min 10kt yield bombs.

The Russians have said this was the plan to deny NATO the use of Ireland once its own facilities had been put out of action.

Capt'n Midnight

Beyondgone wrote: »

I'm still confused as to what a "bolistic" missile is? I presume there's testicles involved?

typo should be holistic

ScumLord

spacetweek wrote: »

Driverless vehicles exist, they aren't a pipe dream, and although I'd guess most people will continue to drive their own car, truck and taxi driving have no future beyond the next couple of decades.

I love driving, really love driving. But being stuck in traffic isn't driving, I can't wait for the car to take over that task.

I have never once heard the media in this country claim that a crack or meth epidemic was on the way.

they probably did because they saw it on American news and there was a popular TV show with meth in it, but they didn't take into account the fact that Americans do meth because they can't get the other mainstream drugs. Europeans can get the other drugs so don't need to bother with the likes of crack or meth.

biscuithead

wakka12 wrote: »

I believe there was nearly a 9/11 part 2. It involved disguising bombs in carbonated drinks bottles and detonating them in planes between britain and usa, the planes falling over urban areas would have killed ten times as many as 9/11 did

Thats why the 100ml rule was introduced

Oh boy!

Tell me you are taking the urine.

osarusan

Limerick FC being in Europe within 5 years.

biscuithead

C Montgomery Gurns II wrote: »

It was with some amusement last night that I read the latest US think tank report on our newest investment scam- driverless vehicles. Apparently, by 2030, within the US (and ergo, us soon after, or even earlier if, like our uptake of the mobile phone by 1999- 2000 we somehow usurp the USA in terms of Joe Public taking to new tech before they do) the vast majority of drivers will be pottering around in flawless, computerised cars. Manned buses, taxis, HGV haulage will all be a distant memory in a shorter time than you can remember the night we crashed out of World Cup 06 qualification with a toothless home draw against Switzerland, and Roy Keane said his second farewell.

It did, however, remind me of several things that never did occur, despite their predictions. Not just invention wise, but political, social, medical.

Off the top of my head

- post 9/11, there were reports that anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand Afghan trained Al Quaeda members had infiltrated the US during the 90's. While I am an unashamedly right wing conservative, it does remind me of the apparent flood of ISIS members we are getting with the current refugee intake. Even one is one too many, and I don't for a second think we should be admitting unchecked male refugees from these areas, but the figures of thousands of trained sleeper agents sent in is frankly bollocks. Pretty much every "ISIS" attack in Europe has been carried out either by European born fighters trained in Syria, lone nutjobs from Europe latching on to ISIS, or lone refugees latching on to ISIS acting out against a host country that they feel failed them because the host government didn't give them enough free cash and housing. Vote Coppinger and Murphy!!!

- the Fedayeen of Iraq. A crack squad of thousands of Saddam Hussein loyalist suicide bombers who would slaughter the 2003 invading forces 10 to every bomber. As it turned out the underpaid, underarmed, undertrained Iraqi troops couldn't wait to give up- it was largely the foreign millitants who came in after the war was "won" who prolonged the war.

- the impending Irish crystal meth and crack epidemic. I don't know if if is because we don't have enough of the raw ingredients here freely available to make meth, and the street level coke is too weak to make crack, but the media has been talking about the impending epidemic for at least 17 years now.

- the Hutch gang spectacular strike back. There is no Hutch gang. They're hyping it worse than Fox News told us 9/11 pt II was coming for about six years.

- the SARS virus. Swine flu. Ebola (times two, I remember reading about an outbreak of it killing a woman in Europe 20 years ago). Chicken flu. A day when we would have to crack open the Iodine tablets the government gave us for when Sellafield got attacked.



So, what's your favourite failed prophecy?

Frankly, anything on the news that is supposed to give me cause for concern is utter bollocks. Terrorism, disease, the Russians, the North Koreans, The Iranians, ISIS, all utter bollocks.
I take it all with a truckload of salt. They've lied to me so much that I don't heed a thing.
Y2K bug.....ha!
Swineflu, birdflu, SARS, African bees in mexico.

And if it's so easy to disguise a bomb in a pepsi bottle but so difficult to get it on a plane why not just make loads and leave them on buses, trains, in theatres?

Load of bollocks.

Your Face

Almost every prediction.
Except the Recession because everyone will tell you they seen it coming long before it happened.