I’m sure you’ve heard of a self playing piano but have you ever heard of a self tuning guitar? Well Gibson has released a Gibson Robot Guitar that uses robotic technology to tune itself.

The way the guitar works is that it has a data transferring bridge, powerehead tuners, and a neck CPU. All you have to do is decide which of the six tuning presets you want by pulling the battery powered selector knob out (obviously not out of the guitar) and make sure you left hand is not touching the neck at all. Then you strum the strings and when all of the letters on the knob are blue you may push the selector knob back into place and then rock on.

Gibson says that none of the robotic components affect the way the guitar sounds or plays. What’s not to like?

Kamki says: I think that’s it’s really cool how it tunes itself! Plus with being able to tune itself it saves you lots of time and gives you more time to rock.

Pop Fiddler Princess says: There absolutely nothing wrong with this guitar, everything about it is unique and a fantastic use of technology. Even I’m interested! (And that’s saying something.)

*Below is the website to the Gibson Robot Guitar Site

http://www.gibson.com/robotguitar/index.html

Rika’s Note

This is a neat device, but it’s a little pricey- $4000. Do we want to pay this much when we can tune the guitar ourselves? Very interesting to read about. Good article!

Almost everyone has seen Star Wars- it’s something that the general population is familiar with. Did you know that this intergalactic wonder ties into history?

The pod racers in episode one, The Phantom Menace, relate to the Roman Empire’s chariot races. Another Roman similarity is the “exile” in episode two The Attack of the Clones, where they force Anakin Skywalker, Padme, and Obi Wan Kenobi in a coliseum for everyone to watch their annihilation. This is similar to when the Romans would take enemies put them in once again a coliseum type thing and then let a lion lose.

Even the infamous Empire has some tie to history. Did you know that the primary colors used in the Empire (red, black, and white) where the same colors that Hitler used during World War 2? Or that Hitler called the bodyguards that he used stormtroopers? But the biggest similarity between World War 2 and the Empire is the helmets of both the stormtroopers and Darth Vader. The helmet is called an upside down kettle and all the Nazi’s used these very same shaped helmets!

It’s amazing to think that a movie that everyone is so familiar with is actually related to history and teaches you things without you even knowing it. In the future will we continue to sneak in a little bit of history? Will people begin to add history to their movies to reminisce parts of history that are similar or that need to live on? Can you think of any history relations to Star Wars or any other movies?

Rika’s Note:

I like how Star Wars seems to go along with the phrase “History repeats itself”. No matter how many years go by, the galaxy is still the same

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially banned Iraq competitors in the 2oo8 Beijing Olympics. The reason Iraq athletes are not able to compete in the 2008 Olympics is because of government interference in sports. Iraq’s government system had began removing officials and replacing them with people the IOC was not familiar with. Iraq was planning on sending seven athletes and those places will now be filled by other countries because of Iraq’s suspension from the committee.

Some believe that it is unfair to not allow all the deserving athletes who trained so hard to get to the Olympics to compete, others think they can wait until the 2012 Olympics.

Iraqi athlete (sprinter) Dana Hussain said “In this horrible situation who can say I’ll even be alive in 2012″. What do you think of the situation? Do have a solution? Let us know below on any thoughts that you have the Iraq athletes not being able to compete.

Kamki says: I think that it’s unfair that the Iraqi athletes can’t compete. However I don’t really know what could be done instead, because you can’t have governments interfering with Olympic committees. You need to make it clear that it’s unacceptable without “punishing” athletes. Well why not just let them compete? We still need to have some type of rule and order within the committees. So it’s just kinda of a lose-lose situation. I do feel bad for the athletes, but really what else can you do?

What do you think that the IOC will do about future conflicts like this? Will they use the same plan that they did this time or will they find new solutions?

What is Meningococcal disease?Meningococcal disease is a bacterial disease spread sharing of drinks and kissing. But the seriousness of the disease is that within several hours it could kill you. Between 10-15% of the people who did survive endured loss of hearing, amputation of limbs, speech disorders, retardation, and paralysis.

Can it be prevented? Well you can’t exactly tell your kids to not share drinks with other people and not to kiss anyone because you could die, but you can find a prevention. A common program for prevention is Menactra. Menactra is just a simple shot usually on the upper arm. This simple shot would prevent you from meningitis and menigocal diseases A, C, Y , and W-135.

Are there any side effects? Does anything these days ever come without side effects? When taking the Menactra vaccine common side effects are redness or pain where shot was given. However this normally goes away in 1-2 days (Similar to the Tetanus and Diphtheria.) Other side effects could be increase in the chance of getting Guillain- Barre syndrome. This vaccine should also be avoided for anyone who has severe allergies to any ingredients in the vaccine including latex which is used in the stopper.

Have you had the vaccine? Let us know your experience with the vaccine. Is the vaccine worth it, and what your opinions are on the need to get a vaccine for Meningitis.

http://www.menactra.com/

*the link above is not active either copy and paste it into navigation bar or simply type it in.

I know what you’re thinking: isn’t Wall-E a children’s movie? That is true, but the plot of this “simple” movie is actually quite interesting. Don’t worry if you haven’t seen it, I’m not going to give anything away. So in the movie, the world becomes so filled with trash that all humans must evacuate into space.

This brings up an important point; where is our trash being disposed? Will our Earth eventually become like the world in Wall-E? Yes, there are solutions to problems and undoubtedly we will eventually find a solution, but how long will that solution take to be uncovered? I mean look how long it took for us to find solutions to Global Warming and we still don’t have full support.

Now let’s consider why the accumulation of trash is a really bad thing:

• With all the trash lying around, we will eventually be living in it. If we’re living in trash, then bacteria is probably living with us as well, and we can expect a sudden decline in healthy citizens.
• What about the water? Trash accumulation is going to pollute the water. People need water to live, and it costs money to purify water.Some countries already can’t afford to purify water.
• Next concept is our food. With all the garbage seeping into our soil it would make it more difficult to sustain healthy plant growth. Are you seeing where I’m going? Just in case you don’t, if you don’t have plants you have no food and more importantly no air. Therefore, Earth is no longer able to sustain life.

So we’ll all move to space! Well Earth is the only planet we know of able to support life as is, and even if there was another ‘Earth’ how long would it take for us to pollute that one, too?

If you have any ideas to get rid of trash with out hurting the environment in the process, or just any ideas in general, let us know!

Now I’ve noted a couple times throughout this site that I love creating videos, short films, the works. Now I’ve created another site dedicated to this hobby! It’s called “Pinky Miranda Productions” and on it I talk about everything from yogurt containers and soap bubbles to how tripods are overrated and the rules of film.

Expect plenty of videos and pictures as you sift through interesting articles and learn more about the tricks of the trade.

-Rika

http://www.pinkymiranda.com

Kudzu, a vine that can grow 6.5 feet a week, may finally be used for something other than annoying the heck out of people and covering acres of land.

I read over in treehugger.com that Kudzu could produce up to 270 gallons of ethanol per acre- do I hear a substitute for corn coming on? Although compared to other plant that 270 gallons isn’t that much, but it is easily as much as corn.

The downside of using the invasive Kudzu for fuel is that this unpredictable plant is almost impossible to harvest- and no one really wants to plant more of this. Domesticating it may be possible, but who knows- anything could go wrong.

To give you a perspective of this pesky plant, know that it can climb up to 98 feet high, and to killing the plant is relatively difficult given the speed of it’s growth.

Trees killed by Kudzu

To be fair, Kudzu has uses including erosion control and a few types of medicine. If we could control and harvest it, Kudzu may be more useful to us.

-Rika

Sources:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/kudzu-biofuel-feedstock.php

Picture source: http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/kudzu_child.shtml

The paparazzi have no respect for people’s rights. They lie, stalk celebrities- basically do anything to get a good story. They drive celebrities over the edge! But how far will they push them? Will they one day go to far? Celebs that have low self esteem- such as Brittney Spears- are constantly attacked by paparazzi. They could eventually go as far as killing themselves. Is that still worth the story?

Everyone is so interested in the negative, scandalous news, we’re overlooking how far of a breach in personal privacy this is. I mean, wouldn’t it be a much better to publish something worth reading thats not as invasive? The world needs to learn to be positive and look for the silver lining in life. There is always good qualities in people, yet that’s not what sells. In the future the paparazzi is only going to get worse if we don’t change our ways and we could eventually push celebs to the brink. Let us know what you think of paparazzi. Should we stop interfering with the lives of celebrities altogether? Or should we just simply change our ways in getting the story? Is there a chance that the paparazzi might finally back off on their own?

But if we do put a stop to the paparazzi, then all the jobs linked to celebrity news could be dangerously crippled. Which is worse; invasive personal stalkers, or a huge loss in jobs?

-Piratical Lord of the Guitars

Hey futurecarz21 thanks for all the compliments they mean a lot to me. Okay so to answer some of your questions. Unfortunately I can not disclose personal information such as my age, so use your imagination I guess. No, I do not have a book out but I have tried to write a few and never seem to finish them, so maybe one day. Also, I did win the staff contest a couple months ago. Yes my name is very long, the staff and I counted once and it’s one letter shorter than the alphabet. As for my missing articles, Rika is working hard to get them all back up, but it was my fault that they are gone, so sorry for any inconvenience. Alright, that covers everything I think and once again thanks for all the nice things. Please feel free to share your opinions with us again anytime you like :).

-Piratical Lord of the Guitars

Thanks to all our readers, you guys are great! I’ve been receiving some link exchange emails recently, and I’d just like to remind everyone that if you want your site to be linked from The Nearby Future, you’ll have to link back to us from your site. Also, your site must be related to the future, the environment, or any other like topics. Email me (my email is on the ‘Contact Us’ page) and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

-Rika

What’s up with all the shout outs? Since when did we ever DO shout outs? Why haven’t you guys kept me posted?

*sigh*

Well, I’m not going to be left out of this party.

Here’s a shout out to the future president: please don’t get into a nuclear war

To the presidential advisers: please advise against going into a nuclear war

To the current president: please don’t get into another war in the short time you have left as president

-Calister F. Wells

Everyone knows probably dozens of musical legends such as Chet Atkins, Eddie Van Halen, and so on. My question is what legends do we have forming now to become future legends?

Well the society we live in today is not one that creates new things, we just redo what others have set forth. The music industry that we are familiar with is not exactly as theatrical or even at the same level that all legends brought to the figurative table. If you sit down and think off all the artist in the music industry today would you be able to say that he or she will be remembered forever because of their incredulous music ability? Granted there are some really good artist but after awhile they soon fade. Only the best of the best stand the test of time.

With the way that the music industry is going, will we have any evidence of our generation of music? Or will we just be the generation who went through a musical slump?

Let me know your thoughts of how our musical industry is doing, what is to happen with it, and what artist you think could make it as a legend.

Television is an important part of our daily lives. But how is television affecting the world? Shows, commercials, and actors have a huge influence over us. Surprisingly, TV is an effective kind of dictator.

Let’s start with the shows themselves. When you watch shows- especially ones you like- you feel like you’re actually in the show. What you absorb from those hours on the couch will eventually seep into different aspects of your life, whether you like it or not. That’s a reason why watching violent TV and movies as a child could make that child become more aggressive as he or she gets older because they are taught by the television that violence is ‘funny’ or ‘cool’.

Commercials influence the lives of people by their crafty nature- they get you thinking about the product. They often influence you to buy the product, companies doing anything for their product to be the ‘best of their brand’. They also use tactics to get you to buy their items like it’s a life or death matter! The advertising war is not a pretty one.

A big part of television and movies is the real life aspect- we watch our favorite stars start trends, and, being the crazed fans most of us are, we follow- no matter how expensive or crazy they are. Pop culture influences our thinking because it gives us more trends, more info, more statements about celebrities to make us feel ‘in the know’.

Television similar to music uses it’s “power” to dictate the way America progresses. If something is not being advertised on television then it is harder to be familiar with a product. Think about it: if you’re searching for a product, and are given several options and are unfamiliar with some of the brands, you’re mostly likely going to pick the one you are familiar with, or the cheapest, but that’s beside the point.

So in conclusion, I say to be careful how much television is changing your life, and how much you are letting your decisions be altered by the world around us. Sometimes I wonder if technology is making us lose our individuality piece by piece.

-Piratical Lord of the Guitars

Quick! What are you drinking at this moment? A double big gulp from seven eleven that has 800 calories? Or a Venti Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino with 380 calories? If the answer is one of these, or anything other than water, you health could be in worse condition than you thought. Sure, I understand that when the morning starts off slow you like to down a Monster energy drink or stop by Starbucks, but you’ve got to realize that your 43rd straight trip to Starbucks isn’t doing you any good.

The Nearby Future Staff has compiled a small list of drinks that could very possibly lead to your demise, that is, if you keep up your religious drinking habits. Alright, maybe that was a little melodramatic.

• Coke, Pepsi, and other sodas: Too much phosphorus (large amounts found in soda) and your bones could start to dissolve, leading to osteoporosis. Sugar and acid in soda can destroy teeth enamel. Consumption of high fructose corn syrup causes obesity. These facts among others are all reasons to give up soda!
• Vitamin Water- On Yahoo, we found a couple articles about this drink, and after some further research, we’re certain that Vitamin Water is not something that you should drink if you’re aiming for a healthy lifestyle. Aside from the added calories, you actually won’t benefit from the vitamins in this water if you have a balanced diet or are eating multivitamins. If you have heart or kidney disease, you certainly want to avoid this because the amount of potassium in certain flavors might interrupt the functions of those organs.
• Zevia, or any other drink with the sweetener Stevia- Usually, when one country bans something, it’s for a good reason. So when Europe banned Stevia, an all natural diet sweetener, we started investigating and decided that if Europe thought it was unsafe for humans to be eating, than we shouldn’t take risks. Artificial sweeteners in general should be avoided at all costs.

With that said, I’d just like to point out that anyone who protests against these points is just trying to justify drinking these unhealthy drinks. It’s common knowledge that sodas are unhealthy. We just don’t usually see how unhealthy they are.

Now that I’ve convinced you to stop drinking sodas and sports/energy drinks, here’s two great substitutes!

• Izze: My most favorite drink, this is basically fruit juice and carbonated water. With as little as nine (or so, depends on the flavor) fruit ingredients, Izze is a perfect substitute for coke- and it tastes great too.
• Tea: Not the bottled or canned kind- I’m talking about the tea that comes in tea bags. Many health benefits are thought to come from tea, and you can chose between decaf or caffeinated. Some tea has Ginseng, which is a natural substitute for caffeine. My favorite kind of tea is Sport Tea.

And with that, I’ll stop writing and hope that I’ve convinced you to live a happier, healthier life.

-Rika

Now many of you who know me well know that I absolutely love dragracing, but it is a very dangerous sport. (In case your wondering I’m talking about NHRA not NASCAR.) Of course why wouldn’t it be dangerous, your only going 330 mph. in 4 seconds! Psh, I do that on the highway! Okay but seriously when you are going speeds like that, many safety precautions are necessary to help protect that mentally insane drivers.

Lately team Castrol, managed by John Force former funny car driver, has begun working on advancements for these deadly machines to make them better and safer. They began this process when a little over a year ago teammate Eric Medlen crashed into a guard rail while testing and passed away. Due to this, they began advancing safety precautions. Some of the things they added were extra support for they head. Before, the drivers’ heads where able to bobble around causing vision to be blurry and more susceptible to head injuries. Now ever since, Castrol has added more support in the cockpit of the car the head is stabled and held into place a little bit better.

Even more recently, Saturday June 22, 2008 to be exact, funny car driver Scott Kalitta passed away in the fourth round of qualifying. Safety procedures are never perfect- accidents can ALWAYS occur. Some say the reason for Kalitta’s death was because the track was not long enough so when he came in contact with the fence at the end of the track the car exploded.

So in the future what safety precautions will be added to make driving NHRA cars safer. Will track regulations be put in place? What other advances will there be to protect the drivers? Let me know your thoughts and ideas below in the comment box.

Every single person on Earth has a birthday or else they wouldn’t be here, and every year people celebrate the very day they were born and rejoice that they have lived another year longer. Today people throw parties, invite zillions of people over have presents, cake, ice cream, and so much more. (Maybe even go all out and go bowling :D) But in the future will birthdays continue in this similar fashion? Or will traditions change the way kids and adults alike celebrate their day of birth? You’re probably wondering what kind of changes could possibly be made to a birthday, well that’s easy just think about it for a moment people.

Let’s start with something simple such as candles on a cake, in the future it just kind of figures that they will most likely advance in technology , correct? Well if this is true why would these use hot waxy candles that drip on your precious cake while some greedy kid takes hours to make a stinking wish. No! They’ll probably invent something crazy like holographic candles that can be “blown out” and yet prevents your cake from being melted and waxy.

But they may not even continue the tradition of cake. Gasp! I know how could I say such things, but if you think about so many people are becoming obese and others have already come to terms with weight issues. So it is very possible in the future that someone will rid cake from birthdays just as they have taken away school ice cream machines, snack bars, and vending machines to make a “healthier” lifestyle.

Already the present legacy has begun deteriorating. Many people are clueless on what to get others when attending birthday parties that they simply buy gift cards or hand out hard cash. Now I don’t know about you but I don’t think gift cards and cash involve that much thought. However there are given times when gift cards are better alternative when your shopping for someone difficult such as *cough cough* Jala. Just plain cash however is a last minute thing and involves no thought process what so ever. Maybe in the future we might just rid of present giving.

Now it’s your turn to think of possible changes in our familiar birthday traditions. What do you think will happen? Will they add new things onto the already existing tradition? Let me know your thoughts and feeling about the Future of Birthdays below in the comment box.

News stations, newspapers, talk shows, daily conversation- in almost every aspect of our lives, doubt seems to be sinking in even more so that global warming, raising oil prices, and many other conflicts will not be solved as cleanly as we all had hoped.

But no, it’s not time to break out singing “It’s the End of the Word as We Know It” because, contrary to spreading belief, it’s not the end of the world, and it won’t be anytime soon.

No, I’m not some crazy optimist who ignores the facts. For any of those who have actually been reading my morbid articles on environmental issues and human rights, you can see that I’m not one to stubbornly oppose facts or be so optimistic that it’s blinding, unlike some people I can think of. (Cough cough politicians)

But you think that everything that we’ve been through, it just can’t end in 2012. Why? The answer should be obvious. How far has the human race really come? (The invention of the ipod aside) How much as really changed? Is there still war? Yes. Is there an increase in peace? Hardly. Does our world even slightly resemble the comforting It’s a Small World ride in Disney land with catchy, brainwashing music and cute dolls playing the ukulele, everyone in the world sharing postcards and holding hands? Not even close.

You’re probably wondering what my harsh negativity has to do with anything at all, but it has a big part. How could the world end when animals are treated worse than they have ever been, some countries still don’t even have the basic, most necessary human rights, a world that is so caught up in materialistic things, come to an end now, without resolutions?

I believe in finished endings. I’m a writer; a sensible, conclusive ending is a condolence to whatever tragedy happened. That’s why I like happy endings. They’re more of a better send off, an ending that makes sense, that prepares for whatever happens in the next book. If the world does really have a creator, (which I do believe it does) than I don’t think they would just send it into oblivion without some sort of parting gift, or without everyone realizing that- hey!- we’ve messed up again and again, so many mistakes being repeated like a broken record player.

This isn’t supposed to defer you in any way to stop trying to change the world. Who knows? Maybe if us humans actually learn that killing and violence is a bad thing, our world will not end for thousands and thousands of years to come!

But until we pull out those white earbuds out of our ears and stop trying to block out that pathetic sound of people in need, children hungry, sick and dying, and those poor tortured animals keening in the night, then we will go nowhere.

Trust me on this. It doesn’t take a mind reader that we’re ready for some change, although it’s no change that a president can bring. It’s one that we instill on ourselves. So start humming a happier tune, and start making a difference. No ukuleles, please, those things give me headaches.

-Rika