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I'm not a believer in there being a hyper-advanced society that's learned to bypass E=mc2 yet. That's due to the universe still being relatively young. It took several starts and stops for a lifeform like humans to evolve and that's after several mass extinctions. On top of that our solar system is still relatively close to the beginning of the universe and probably on par with the older life-sustaining solar systems. We are probably in a group of civilizations that would fit as the "old ones" you see mentioned in sci-fi instead of a young civilization.

So, why haven't we met aliens yet? Maybe it has less to do with scarcity of life in the galaxy as it does how huge the distance is between potential refuges for it. In this video you'll see a scale model of distance between our sun (represented by a pea) to the next sun (also a pea). Spoiler: the person making the model had to drive more than 100 miles and across state lines for this model:

Don't feel bad about a bad date, just consider it practice. Most people who are starting out need a lot of practice. Also, don't talk about Star Trek unless he/she brings it up (don't know your preference). Even then, try to move on as fast as possible. Familiarize yourself with reality TV. Women in their 30s and 40s seem to be really into that. Don't talk about politics because when you talk about it, it sounds like you're about to move into a bunker.

I don't know if you'll find an industry as full of craziness and crazy people as the music industry, except for pro-wrestling ... politics maybe.

I have the same sentiment. For me the only two that jump in mind that I'd generally recommend to watch is the one about the farmers and the one about the robots wandering through human ruins. The one about the naked woman running around the city I remember, but mostly for being terrible in an Ed Wood sort of way. Aside from that, there was one about two guys in the desert I liked, mainly for the visuals.

First saw Lister in No Holds Barred when I was a kid. That impression of him has always stuck with me.

Yeah, I just remembered the Cubs games were their big thing. I still remember the doomsday commercial by Budweiser (I think) mentioning that "They put lights in Wrigley Field" in a menacing tone.

I think they were trying to replicate what Turner did with TBS. It may have been that they just didn't have the same quality of programming outside of their kids lineup. I remember TBS having all the Clint Eastwood Movies (along with Grandpa Munster Saturday mornings) and USA having all the horror movies and comedies (with Commander USA on Saturdays). I to this day can't remember ever watching a movie on WGN outside of G.I. Joe the movies. It may just be that they didn't jump on the ball when it came to hosted programming. I spent many a weekend as a kid watching USA Up All Night and Night Tracks on TBS. TBS and USA were like WGN in that they didn't have a lot of their own original programming, but they were able to package the B-movies and old flicks in a way that felt like you were kind of at a party whereas WGN had the kids stuff and the News at 9. Of course, USA and TBS had wrestling. Looking back, WGN probably should have tried their hand at it too. They still had a chance with AWA, World Class and Mid-South still being around.

It was one of the 20-something basic channels when my family first got cable. I don't think they split into a local and cable until they acquired WB programming. I mostly remember WGN for having hours of Bozo. I still remember an episode where he was calling for the kids to toss a ball in the buckets and wound up picking the name of a teenager who seemed to be there with a group for giggles. I think they may have been the last channel to carry Bozo. We had our own Bozo on our local affiliate, but I think he ended around 82-83.

Get ready to start your early investments: It may not be accepted by 2030, but you'll see at least as much of it as regular meat by 2040 and it is very possible that it will pass regular meat in consumption by 2050. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-10/lab-meat-is-getting-closer-to-supermarket-shelves

Laverne & Shirley was one of my mom's "must watch" sitcoms when I was a kid. If I remember right, it followed Happy Days on ABC on Tuesday nights. I could be wrong, I was five when it went off the air.

They actually managed to accomplish something similar in my state. It's illegal to call any sort of vegetarian product with a meat referencing name. I'd be happy to see most farms disappear. The poultry industry has taken advantage of the lack of regulation in this state so you have huge chicken houses popping up in residential areas and stinking up the place. When it comes to beef and other four legged food products, the amount of deforestation, wildlife killing and water pollution is atrocious. Just look at what they do for the beef and poultry industry when it comes to the Amazon. Fuck those farmers.

I totally expect lobbying groups like the U.S. Cattlemen's Association to ramp up their misinformation campaign about cultured meat. Of course, I'm sure many red state politicians will follow their lead, but history is proven that the market eventually favors better technology that's hit a certain price level.

They're close if not already there: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/lab-grown-meat-starting-feel-real-deal

From what I understand texture has been one of the primary focuses during its development. I figure that most people won't miss those leftovers if the quality meat is cheaper overall. If there is a demand, I don't see it being that difficult to manufacture pink slime or whatever you want to call it.

So, it looks like price is now linked to scale. When production ramps up price will go down. In the next few years you're going to see cultured meat on supermarket shelves here. Livestock agriculture combined with growing global demand for meat has been one of the driving factors of climate change and deforestation. Eliminating a majority of livestock will result in cleaner water and air in many places as well as the chance for wildlife to return to its native areas. Just got to get past the tinfoil hat wearing anti-GMO crowd who wield a disproportional influence. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/02/no-kill-lab-grown-meat-to-go-on-sale-for-first-time

Twitter ... the place where every person who thinks they have an ounce of fame feel the need to post every brain fart and unasked for opinion. Is it really that hard for people to just keep their more socially unacceptable opinions in their circle of friends and family instead of grabbing a bullhorn and saying "here's what I think, FIRE ME!" (posting anonymously on a message board works too)

I'm sort of apprehensive about it because Villeneuve is directing it. He makes visually great movies but he doesn't seem to bring the same spark to his actors. It usually feels like they're just there to wander around these spectacular set pieces. I'm not getting much of different impression with this. Say what you want about Lynch's Dune, but he brought that extra something out of his cast that still strikes a chord. Plus the costumes were great. It was kind of the same story with Blade Runner 2049, which I looked forward to. Upon seeing it though, I thought the visuals were great but all the actors pretty much maintained the same, almost uninterested, expressions throughout the movie no matter what was happening. Again, Scott was able to bring something out of his cast that Villeneuve wasn't.

Maybe not, but we do have food printers. They're limited right now, but eventually we may be able to break things down to a handful of proteins, starches and sugars so that we would have the biological goo to create almost anything at a cellular level. I figure we'll eventually see fast food line cooks replaced by them.

I'm dreading the next couple of months. I still have my job but we've taken a lot of hits from the virus. It is looking like it may be worse than predictions between now and February so I'm already planning ahead for hard times.

Kevin Bacon bacon anyone? https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/02/27/celebrity-salami-bite-labs/5861595/

Tyson and Cargill have already done that. We're in the phase where the public is still apprehensive about it, but that's been the way of all technological advances.

It's not the price of a sports car. The cost of the patties are expected to drop to $10 next year, largely because production is being upscaled. The meat at the Israeli Restaurant is free because they want feedback from customers. https://vegnews.com/2019/7/price-of-lab-grown-meat-to-plummet-from-280000-to-10-per-patty-by-2021 There's also companies that specialize in the research of cultured fats in order to improve taste and texture: https://www.supertrends.com/cultured-fats-for-food/ This is what I mean about designer food being on the horizon. It's not just going to be producing this meat without an animal, but also making food that's specifically meant for the individual.

Probably, though, I'm guessing it would still be taboo.

Less than 10 years ago a burger made with cultured meat cost $300,000. Now the same burger can be produced for $13. What's happening in Israel are the first steps toward not only the acceptance of cultured meat, but also a potential market for designer food: https://www.fastcompany.com/90572093/at-the-first-lab-grown-meat-restaurant-you-can-eat-a-cultured-chicken-sandwich Keep in mind, we may be some time away. But as the technology progresses, sometime in the future you may go into a restaurant and not only be given the choice of "medium rare or well done" but also options for texture and taste. It may sound weird in 2020, but in 2030 you may have already started eating this stuff.