by Derek—2006.01.31 @ 2038
Enough already about the internet. Blog this; podcast that; download whatever you want; upload your Blackberry; TXT your friend; RSS your favs; sync your stuff; collaborate; communicate; VOIP your family. Computers and internet technology have been developing with leaps and bounds, attracting the attention of virtually every field imaginable. From WAP cell phones to GPS-guided SUVs, wherever people are, you’ll find new connectivity, and likely, the internet. There are even people proposing that technology be used to attain world peace. However, amid the information overload and computer upgrades, there is one field that keeps getting neglected: travel.
Do you realize that the basic combustion engine was concieved as far back as 1509? Even air travel, or lighter-than-air travel was in use back in ancient China. I think I’ve reached the “tipping point” on “internet” and connectivity technologic breakthroughs. I think it is high-time the scientific community switched gears and spent less time collaborating on new internet projects and more time on what we really need: flying cars.
Maybe it’s a result of too much commuting, but I find myself daydreaming of a flying car. I sometimes get so sick of driving an hour or more to work—not because of the distance, but because of the jammed-up traffic. But after the flying-car dream ends, I wake up (don’t worry, in rush hour, I’m parked anyway, going no where), and I realize that flying cars are a bit outside my lifetime, perhaps. Plus, I don’t think I could trust very many people to zip around in a flying vehicle. I mean, I don’t think I could stand flying on a pre-defined course. I would want to just b-line it to my destination. Although, I think if cars could fly, we wouldn’t be constrained to one lane of travel; we could stack lanes vertically too.
Maybe in addition to vertical lanes, the government would create express lanes to communities, so you would only be travelling next to people in your local neighborhood.
I think the first thing to develop, before flying cars, is some kind of renewable energy source, like water. I just want to fill up a little pint of water, walk to my car, and pour it in. A pint should last about a month or so, at which time I could fill-up at any drinking fountain. In fact, on really rainy days, the car could just refuel itself, kind of like how hybrid cars recharge their own batteries when you drive.
Maybe water is way too simple an idea, but something’s got to work. This “gas” thing is just so old. Even hybrid cars still use gasoline. It’s all because we’re still so stuck on the combustion engine. Can’t we think of something better than that?
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