Ray Kurzweil, a scientist, seems to be talking about science fiction, but according to him, it is all very real.  He sites the extreme acceleration of our understanding of genes and computer technology as the main driver behind these incredible advances.  In around twenty years, he predicts that scientists will be able to reprogram our bodies “stone age software” and then halt, and eventually reverse aging.

According to Mr. Kurzweil, when The Second Third is in its 50’s, our blood cells will be replaced by nanobots that are thousands of times more efficient, we will be able to sprint for 15 minutes without taking a breath, swim for an hour without needing oxygen, write a book in minutes, and use our minds to virtualize any experience.

We will be powered by bionic hearts and artificial organs of every type.  Heart attacks and disease will be a thing of the past.  We will be starting our accent ( or decent) into a future of immortality as cyborgs.

Blah Blah Blah

I certainly hope this is true, but for some reason I remember hearing things like this before.  Actually, my hover-car is about 9 years past due.  Not to mention, I am still waiting for my robot house-maid, personal jet-pack, meal in a pill, my apartment in the sky, city under the sea, hover board,  and my vacation to distant planets.  All of these things were predicted to have happened by the futuristic year 2000.  As a kid I put a great amount of effort into planning on how I would take advantage of all these great things, and I have yet to be rewarded for my efforts.

Keep your fingers crossed, but I get the feeling that none of us are gonna make it out of this alive.

Check out the original article HERE

There were numerous things one could do in a recently concurred tree.  For example, a pine tree is a great place for a smoke, or a sip of whatever alcohol had been pilfered from the parents stash.  Not to mention, the tree tops were the perfect spot to plan an attack, confide in a friend, “read” a Playboy, or hone your woodworking skills building a fort.  It sounds funny, but a lot of life lessons can be leaned in a tree.

It’s a shame that our generation (X) is really the last that will have these fond memories of tree climbing and fort building.  Generations after ours are being raised in such a tech-centric world, climbing trees is the last thing on their minds.  Instead, they choose (or have chosen for them) to be inside watching TV, surfing the internet, or playing video games.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved all of those activities as a kid, but back then, there was some balance.  We loved video games, but we still desired the classic childhood experiences as well.  I remember playing Ghost & Goblins all night long, and then heading out to the woods the next day for a full day of killing the enemy with stick guns.

So if anyone between the ages of 8 and 15 have stumbled upon this blog, I say go ahead – climb a tree, take a sip, have a smoke, fall on your ass, break a bone, it’s good for you.  and if you are over 15, you probably shouldn’t climb a tree, it is subject to diminishing returns, and probably won’t help your social life very much.

I remember watching the planes hit the towers that morning.  I remember watching in amazement, thinking of the death and destruction.  What didn’t occur to me on that day is how it would change our generation forever.  September 11th was the day Generation X grew up.  Before that day we were perceived as unappreciative slackers who were cynical of the government, defied tradition, and lived this life with nothing but our own self interest in mind.

Today, however, we are a generation who has, and will continue to sacrifice so much.  Not just in the deaths of over 5,000 of our friends, brothers, and sisters in the ensuing conflicts, but in the millions of lives that have been altered in the wake of September 11th.  We are no longer assured a life of safety and prosperity.  I guess it never was a guarantee, not for any generation, but now the reality of such a life seems so far away.

It has been said that these uncertainties and struggles are what molds a great generation.  I hope that is the case, because the reality of being blown up has a funny way of sapping the collective potential of a generation.

Here are some pictures I took this evening of the Twin Tower lights.

The article is clearly written by a woman scorned, but I have to agree with some of what she says (but not all).  Whatever her position, today she has made me feel happy to be a thirty-something.  I hope everyone looks upon thirty-something men with such praise, even if it is fueled by jealousy.

Read the article HERE.

This originally came from MadAtoms.  Feel free to check out the original post.

However, if Generation X has been overlooked it is not for our lack of significance, or contributions to culture or history.  Generation X may be unsung, but it is not unaccomplished.

For more on this,  check out this article.  It’s not super new, but it makes some very interesting points.

Also, stop by  Jeff Gordinier’s website. He is the author that inspired the article and his book, X Saves The World, really made me realize how great Generation X truly is.

As far as I’m concerned, joining the ARMY in your thirties is something that should be added to the list of things not to do.  It’s kind of like that idea you had to get a motorcycle when you were in your your twenties.  If you weren’t stupid enough to do it then, you definitely should not be considering it now.  The reason most military recruits are young is because they are naive enough to buy what the ARMY is selling.

The Second Third has the utmost respect for our military and those in it.  Just make sure you know all the facts and have considered all the possible ramifications of starting military service so late in life.

Here is the original article: Thirty-Somethings Find Home in the Army

My mental image of a TWIT does not necessarily agree with the one from the original article.  I seem to remember a bunch of worn out, obnoxious, lung hacking smokers, but maybe things have changed.  Either way, this certainly is representative of the attitudes of many starting The Second Third.  Life does not have to be about doing exactly what previous generations have done.  People should do what they feel is best for their lives and as long as it is not horribly destructive to themselves or others, then what’s the problem?  In my opinion, the more thirty-something women we have out there in the bars the fewer babies there will be on my plane, or crowding me in the elevator with their comically over-sized strollers.  Seriously, have you ever noticed how big some of these strollers are compared to the little lump of flesh riding around in it?  I digress.

Yup, times are changing.  When I used to get in trouble as a child my mom would call me a “little twit”.  If she were to try that today her remark would be comical, yet strangely, it would be infinitely more insulting.

Basically, a mid-life crisis can best be characterized by general depression and an overwhelming feeling of dissatisfaction with the state of you life.  You may laugh and think “If that is the definition, then I have been in a mid-life crisis for most of my life”.  It’s true, a mid-life crisis is nothing special.  It is the same depression and dissatisfaction that we all feel.  The only difference is that is has been neatly packaged and marketed by pop-culture to represent some special phase or point in ones life.  It’s almost as if people want to keep it that way so they have something to look forward to – a special reserved time slot to abandon responsibility and protest the lives they have made.

So, let’s throw away the mid-life crisis term and just talk about what is real – life sucks and it wears you down.  Let me restate that – life can suck if you make the wrong decisions.  Actually, life can suck even if you make all the right decisions.  The point is, people find themselves in this terminal state of dissatisfaction for a few primary reasons:

1. Fear of taking chances - The system is designed to discourage you from taking chances.  From the time we are born we are taught to be risk-adverse.  The safe option may make us feel warm and comfortable, but it may also lead to a life of terminal boredom and regret.  If you read the biographies of Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Tiger Woods, or a million other super successful people,  you will discover that their success and ultra satisfying lives owe nothing to the safe option.  Risk and taking chances are always the underlying theme.  That being said, risk is best in small, calculated doses.
2. Complacency – Number two in the list, but maybe it should be number one.  How many people do you know who want more out of life?  They want a better job, a more satisfying relationship, or more adventure.  Whatever the desire, most people just accept what life gives them and grow used to being dissatisfied.  A lot of people say that this is the only way to make it through the daily grind – just accept it all and you will be happier on a day-today basis.  This may be true, but in the long run, the cumulative effect of these weeks, months, and years of complacency can add up to the explosion of dissatisfaction we know as the mid-life crisis.
3. Following the rules – Another thing we are taught from childhood.  Color in-between the lines, go to school, get a good job in corporate America, get married, have kids, and so on.  When playing Scrabble the rules are definitive.  In life, there are a lot more shades of gray.  Sometime the rules serve as the guide rails that lead us into a pit of unhappy days and disastrous lives.  Remember when you were a kid?  At that point in your life you had more rules than at any other time.  Your actions were restricted, you could not do what you wanted when you wanted, but your mind was still free.  More free than it probably is today.  At that point your mind was unhindered – ready to explore and discover what was truly amazing.  However, as the years go on, adults and our society slowly strip away ones dreams and transform you into a good, sociably compliant bot.  Now as adults, we look back on our childhood dreams as the silly notions of an inexperienced and unaware soul.  In reality though, it was at that point when your thoughts were most acute.  The mind of a child is clean and emotions are in their purest form.  If we were all what we wanted to be when we grow up, there would be way too many firemen, but the world would be a happier place.

Stay tuned for the continuation of this article where we will detail the moves you can make today to avoid the mid-life slump.