Thinking back to how exited I used to be about my life, I can only say that little has changed except my anticipation of what may come.

When you are young/er, you are never living your life, you are always living in anticipation of it, and so if it is good today, you are stealing a lick…since you are really preparing for tomorrow, and anything you may suffer today is in preparation for the great arrival that you will have later.

Anticipation is a great thing, since it is hard to be let down…you just imagine what you want, and try to move towards it, and as long as you are trying and making small progress, well…its out there to be had.  You are always moving forward towards some great unknown that will surely be more wonderful that what you have today.  If you take a step backwards…no biggie…its all still out there; you’ve just had a “learning experience”.

The rub is that you must one day LIVE your life, instead of live in anticpation of it.  That is something I have not learned well.  I always thought that living in the present is rather bunk.  The present is so blasse.  It is in quiet anticipation of the future and warm reminiscence of the past that you find great joys as well.

One day the present arrives though, and anticipation leaves you a bit cold….anticipate what?  Will it ever be the time now?  Anticipation is a youthful activity.  Adults cannot afford to anticipate….the must simply “cipate” or “pate” or whatever word you want to invent.

I think of this because I always hear “be in the present”, and you will be happy.  Well, the present for me is sometimes good, and sometimes bad.  The past can also be good or bad, depending on what you choose to remember; however, THE FUTURE….its always good.  You can anticipate whatever you like.

As an adult, being robbed of the eternal anticipation of my life is something I’ve never dealt with.

I have already professed my love for the iPhone.  Only cheap women and stiff drinks are better on a lonely night.

Even though I just recently plopped down $400+ for iPhone 1.0, I still thought I might upgrade.  I watched a gaunt Steve Jobs in his little black turtleneck deliver the keynote on the iPhone 2.0 with great anticipation.

Alas, it is not to be.

The iPhone 2.0 does have wireless high speed Internet, and true GPS positioning….but:

iPhone 1.0 will still connect to a wireless LAN at high speed if one is avlb.  The positioning function on the first iPhone is pretty darn adequate, and it was mentioned that 2.0 still doesn’t have turn-by-turn GPS, like the Garmins do.

There are other functions the new iPhone has too, and some that I’d like…..but they’re all software related. I can just wait for the new firmware to come out and I’ll have that functionality too…no need to upgrade.  That’s what’s so yummy about the iPhone compared to other phones:  it continues to get better even after you buy it.  As mentioned, its really a little computer, not a cell phone.

Here are features that I’ll get with the new firmware:  push email, search contacts, save photos from web, VPN, better support for viewing Office documents, and my favorite:  third party applications.

Here is what it doesn’t have…that I’d really like; however, these will be software upgrades not hardware, so I’d still not have to buy iPhone 2.0:  wireless modem capabilities (so I could use it as a mobile internet connection for a laptop), cut and paste, MMS instead of just SMS, iDisk (that’s my term, but I’d like to be able to use it to store files other than mp3s).

So what would make me upgrade?  A better camera (the camera is unchanged).  The camera on iPhone 1.0 is not bad under certain conditions, but its not ready to replace a stand-alone digital camera yet.  Its very convenient not to have to take a camera to a party or a gathering, but always have a good camera handy (because its your phone).  I would take more pictures under more candid conditions.  I’d be willing to pay for that.

At least iPhone 2.0 got rid of that stupid recessed headphone jack.  That’s the only thing I don’t like about it.

I’ve read a fair amount lately about resveratrol (found in red wine, said to slow aging), and other related compounds that affect SIRT1 and SIRT2 gene expression, as well as people trying to mimic the effects by caloric restriction (something found to increase life spans pretty dramatically in lab animals). Then there are those chasing drugs that lengthen telomeres, bind free radicals, repair mitochondrial DNA, etc., etc…..blah, blah, and so on.

I’m not going to comment about whether or not I think any of it works currently…since I don’t know; however, I do know that whether or not we are genetically programmed with a clock that runs out, or we die simply because we wear down…..you can slow, and perhaps stop the process of aging. It will happen. It is definitely possible. Its not even worth arguing.

What puzzles me is how short sighted people have been about the importance of the research. We pour billions and billions and billions of dollars into cancer research, heart disease prevention, obesity treatments, Alzheimer, Diabetes, Parkinson’s, Strokes etc., etc.

Guess what? Those (and many more I couldn’t think of off the top of my head) are all diseases of aging. I can cure 8 of the top 10 causes of death in the US with ONE DRUG, one that stops aging.

This is the f#cking mother load of drugs. It is a literal cure-all. It will also cure or slow wrinkles, improve fitness, decrease chronic pain…..I could go on and on. It is the single most important thing to ever happen to medicine, perhaps to mankind.

It will extend productive working years. Think of how much more inventive our greatest minds will be if they don’t age?? Einstein could’ve kept on thinking, more sharply, for decades. The economy will prosper like never before. It will be a literal golden age. (yes, overcrowding will become a problem…but people living in space will happen more quickly.)

In short, pretty much ALL money currently being spent on medical research should be diverted to the study of aging. The government should be handing out grants in flocks; its in their best interest to keep us alive, healthy, and working.

Why try to beat stroke, cancer, heart disease, obesity, Alzheimer’s and diabetes???….when its plain that young people do not suffer from these ailments to nearly the same degree as the elderly. ONE DRUG….cures them all.

Anyway, mark my words…..Nanotechnology, cold fusion, gene therapy, stem cells, quantum computers, whatever….they’re all bunk. Anti-aging medicine will be the biggest thing to hit mankind….like, pretty much ever.

I played tennis with the CEO of a Fortune 1000 company today.  He came to the office, as he does every once in a while, to give an update on business, answer questions, etc…sort of a Town Hall meeting.

He was using one of the empty offices near my cube afterwards, and I’d heard he was an avid tennis player, so I stopped by his desk to say hello and ask if he wanted to play.  He’s a fairly funny, engaging guy…fit looking, so I figured he might want to get some exercise.  I didn’t think he’d say yes.

I picked him up at the office after work, and loaned him a racquet.  Luckily my car was fairly clean.

I learned traveling that all people are pretty much the same, so I am not intimidated.  We had a good time.  As expected, he’s a nice guy…two kids just out of college.  I asked him about pretty much everything but work.  I’m sure he’s tired of talking about that.

He asked me about my background, and I talked a little about what I did at Hewitt…not much though.  Even if I were a super star at my job now, it would be 5 to 10 years before I would be even a blip on his radar screen…if I were even interested.

He’s also a pretty good tennis player:  intense, very consistent.  I won the set 6-3.  I was surprised he actually wanted to play.  I do have the wrist injury, so I can’t really play that hard, but he won the points he won.  I didn’t give him anything.  He was competitive but gracious.

Anyway, most days are pretty boring, so when something interesting happens, I thought I would share it.