Podcast 221

The Negative View of Technology. It seems as though the pessimistic view of the world takes precedence these days, especially when it comes to technology and the future. Autonomous machines, robotics, driverless cars, the Internet, smaller (and larger) personal devices are portrayed as the villain. What happened to the formerly optimistic view of the future as portrayed in ‘Star Trek’, the original TV Series? The Hollywood Lens of tech today makes ‘Blade Runner’ look like a romantic comedy! On a beautiful fall afternoon, The Bob Davis Podcasts escapes the bunker for coffee at a ‘joint’ full of hipsters, working on their wireless devices, and portable computers. As technology frees some, apparently it imprisons others. Or so some commentators would have us believe. Do we view the present, and future, too darkly? With technology on most factory floors of the late 90’s vintage, advancements in technology associated with data storage, energy, materials, 3D printing and the like, there’s plenty of room for growth just doing upgrades! It’s time for an optimistic view of what we can do with science, and technology to produce a better country and a better world. What kind of political system, economic policy and foreign policy do we need to unlock and promote innovation and economic growth, while maintaining security. How are we pushing toward the future, while some parts of the world push toward the past? Why do commentators and reporters have a tendency to take something terrible happening in one small part of the world, and turn it into a crisis everywhere? How can we change our thinking about tech and the future? Finally, when will we develop an intuitive and ‘smart’ ATM? One that won’t charge us 4 dollars to get a hundred? Sponsored by Baklund R&D

Podcast 180

Why polls suck and other updates to the latest stories. What do Americans think of the ‘situation’ in the middle east, asks the media? How do we know, we’re depending on you to tell us what’s going on. Garbage in, garbage out, right? Aren’t you sick of Gallup, and all the other polling agencies that do polls just to get headlines? One analyst says its going to be a ‘Republican Wave’ election, another one says it isn’t, all based on polls. And then there’s Congressman Paul Ryan. Shouldn’t it worry “conservatives” when the left says, “Ryan may have a point”. Is making the federal government stronger a republican value? Plus, Plague in Colorado and China. Chikungunya (no that is not on the menu at your local Indian Restaurant), weed in rental cars in Colorado, weed being bought with EBT cars, and the city of Berkeley, California demanding that homeless be given free pot. Sponsored by Sedation and Implant Dentistry of Saint Paul.

Podcast 73

If there is one topic in the news these days its the failure of Healthcare.gov. Rather than telling everyone what to think about this new policy, I suggest a longer arc, with some ideas to think about going forward. If there was ever a ‘teachable moment’ for policies that extend the power of the state, this is it. Still, what does it mean? What’s the alternative? How do we go about improving it, repealing it, or positioning against it in future elections. Join me for one of the few podcasts exclusively about the ‘Affordable Care Act’ on this late-night podcast. Sponsored by Baklund LLC; The Problem Solvers. www.baklund.com. (By the way election day is November 5th, not the 7th, as stated in the podcast).