Party like it's 1999

[Frank S.]

Let's play a little intelligence game of predictions.
Either in form of questions or answers.
I had this in the back on my skull after reading threads on military reform, political parties, etc.

So we have a mix of age groups, some folks are active duty, some retired, some planning to or in the process of joining.

Where do you see yourselves in 2020? What do you wish life will be like, and what do you realistically expect it will be like, based on current news analyses?

Vague questions, to be sure, but with the brainpower exhibited on these forums every day, I figure this could be interesting.

[Sisyphus]

Where do you see yourselves in 2020? What do you wish life will be like, and what do you realistically expect it will be like, based on current news analyses?.

Probably, [possibly] pushing up the daisies.

Everyone getting on with his neighbour, accepting differences don't mean you have to be enemies.

I am NOT optimistic. Unless we can get rid of the market-driven 'must have' - 'I see I want' culture the world will remain split into the privileged and those who live subsistence lives, or die, so the rest of us can live unchallenged in our worship of consumerism.

Too many big problems. In the UK, one thing I would like to see is a solution to the Drugs problem. Crime would shrink overnight to the levels we saw back in the 60's. Suddenly the country would seem a much safer place.

[goldie ex rmp]

just having a bud

[ashley]

Hmm, this is difficult to answer. I could be really ambiguous, but that's boring.

Hmm... ok, I just typed some stuff out, but it made no sense. This is hard. I'll have to think more.

[Chris]

i will be 32 man thats old

i know not verry realistic but i think i im gonna be in a Fox Hole somehwre in korea

[Tab]

Pushing up the daises

[voodoo sprout]

Hmm, by thirty five I'll probably be sat behind a desk in one of two remaining EU military establishments (don't think there'll still be a Great Britain by then do you?), placing bets on whether the quartermaster can find larger trousers as quickly as my wasitline expands. I'll be utilising a new doughnut dispensertm to keep the odds even of course . And while doing so, writing up a progess report for Mne X's herpes (he acquired it while peacekeeping in Birmingham you see) using a purple biro by virtue of blue ink being so last year, now let's not get started on black...

But in all seriousness, I'd hope to be a medic running around with/after/from the Royal Marines, skilled in the art of sticking plasters on and scaring people by telling them I'll have to amputate their cut finger .
The political situation is likely going to be similar as it is today, though I imagine the EU would be functioning in a more united fashion with regards to foreign policy, economics etc. If the US recedes into a more isolationist stance as I think it probably will, I'd think conflict would be more localised or just plain ignored by the West, so I can't see stability being seriously harmed.

[Whitey]

I'll be even whiter, beard and all, like uncle Jessie off of the Dukes of Hazard. I'll either be a free man in a Southern Souvergn State or a political prisoner in the Fed's equivalent of the Tower of London.

Why Frank? How about you?

Really if the world keeps this course I doubt any of us will be around. Not much to look forward to when you think about an endless state of war and the attacks potentially worse.

[Frank S.]

I think that in 15-20 years, the aging populations will become a problem, in terms of healthcare and work conditions.
Far as the work conditions, unless the economy grows steadily, many will push their retirement date and continue to work. But they will not be able, let alone willing, to work at the pace we currently are.
I think we'll have to reassess how we measure productivity, among other things.
Conversely, I think younger generations will have the crappy end of the stick: opportunities are shrinking and not just in the short term. Yes, we all converse by electronic medium, but how many would want or be capable of servicing the 'machine'? Incidentally this is a problem we are having with subcontractors in India: they are not available 24/7, 365 days a year. And this is critical in service industries which rely on technology because the yardstick of success is availability.
By availability I mean that clients should be able to access those services at all times, all the time.
The machines never sleep, and the subcontractors' work has to be combed over at every step. Some solutions they propose consist of basing one of their managers in the States to monitor two engineers based in India. At $70/hr, this would eat considerably into American companies' profit margin, while the work itself would remain suspect.
I could go on about this, but not without disclosing stuff I shouldn't.

How many young people on here can envision themselves working in a cube with two or three machines for 40 to 60 hours a week, carrying a cell phone (soon implantable units may be available) and pagers on weekends?

The gross division will become more evidently between the 'knows' and the 'know nots' rather than have and have nots. But it'll be more complicated of course: the demands placed on workers in terms of time will become such that time off may turn into therapy time.
There are already many de facto workaholics who cannot fully enjoy vacation or off time because they dread returning to work to find up to 500 e-mails in their inbox, and because of the intensity and pace of the work, which is difficult to turn off.
So the healthcare/therapy field is bound to grow exponentially to cater to them. Currently, most tech companies offer therapeutic massages to their employees (even though it's often been cut due to economic pressures, it'll come back).

With advances in the field of artificial intelligence and its supporting technology (the computer mouse will soon give way to voice and/or laser input), relationships will change too. From the existing intersection between the porn industry and high tech global corporations will emerge recreational/virtual 'partners' whose moods, performance and attitudes can match the customer's needs. Marriage will decline even faster and population growth will have to rely upon immigration.

Where do I see myself? Preparing to retire in some small town in Georgia or one of the Carolinas, maybe. Unless the government becomes so intrusive as it is in California, causing me to consider another country. Dunno yet.

Further on the horizon, I think there's a 50% chance of a plague sweeping a few continents (not unlike SARS did), and it'll be lethal, either a natural mutation or man-made. And with an aging population, more susceptible to disease, I'm not optimistic....

[Sisyphus]

Conversely, I think younger generations will have the crappy end of the stick

From our perspective I couldn't agree more. Especially, as China becomes the economic powerhouse of the world.

Mind you, it's all relative. If you asked an Indian 7yr old the question he'd be able to show you, today, what his future is. He can point to his 44 yr old father. He's laready working with him 6 x 12 hr days, making bricks in the lovely Indian sunshine. Or working tanning leather in a stinking environment in 90degree heat. [ever smelled a tanning works?]. A lifetime of brickmaking/leather tanning; no childhood; probably won't make it to 55.

I'm just my grandchildren were born where they were. But, like you said, they face a very different future. Already British jobs are being exported abroad. Most of the manufacturing sector has gone and now the service sector is following suit - and it's much easier to export a PC workstation that it is a manufacturing facility.

[lew]

In 2020 ill be 35... hopefully still serving with at least three stripes on my arm... maybe even have a wife and kids never know ...

This may seem simple to the rest of you but as long as I’m happy with my career, have a roof over my head and food on the table what more can I ask for???

As for the politics one of two things will happen, 1, the country will fall ever further into the PC hell that we are beginning to see now, 2, people will say enough is enough and make Britain what it was again, GREAT...

But then again I could also be pushing up the daisy's, you never can tell...


lew

[Tab]

It's nice to see the we have so many children on this site [Grin]

[Shoulderholster]

Probably on this forum still talking about Steve's bloody piles!!.
SH

[Powder monkey]

In 2020 ill be 35... hopefully still serving with at least three stripes on my arm... maybe even have a wife and kids never know ...

This may seem simple to the rest of you but as long as I’m happy with my career, have a roof over my head and food on the table what more can I ask for???

As for the politics one of two things will happen, 1, the country will fall ever further into the PC hell that we are beginning to see now, 2, people will say enough is enough and make Britain what it was again, GREAT...

But then again I could also be pushing up the daisy's, you never can tell...


lew

Crikey ill be 35 asswell.

Its my guess, with all these diferent cultures enriching our society these days, that in 17 years we will be in the middle of a brutaly diverse civil war.

I used to be an optimist asswell

[Cronkilla]

This may seem simple to the rest of you but as long as I’m happy with my career, have a roof over my head and food on the table what more can I ask for???

A beer and a trained child to fetch open and pour it for you

Ive really no idea what ill be doing,im not doing now what i said 2 years ago ,so in 17 years ive not the foggiest.