Back to the future too.

I suspect I am not alone is having spent the best part of October glued to the telly watching the Rugby World Cup. Undoubtedly the best 2 teams did meet in the final (even if I do have a certain sympathy for the Scots who were deprived of a historic semi-final place by a poor refereeing decision against the Aussies). Whether the current All Blacks side is the best ever, I am not so sure. They are a great team to watch but so were the Welsh in the 1970s, and there have been a few All Black and Wallaby teams that would also be staking a claim for that accolade.

Given that the final took place at Halloween I was disappointed that the Aussies did not get into to the spirit, I was rather hoping that the Kiwi Haka would be faced off by the Wallabies sporting werewolf hands, neck bolts and vampire teeth.

Two other events in October caught my eye, one being the Welsh soccer team qualifying for a major championship for the first time since 1958 and the other being Back to the Future Day, which as any film fan could tell you is 21^st October 2015.

Sadly, for the England rugby squad it was more back to the drawing board than back to the future. Like their fellow cricketers and footballers they flattered to deceive and suffered a humbling exit from their own world cup due in part to poor discipline and some strange team selections.

The frailty of the cricket team was once more exposed with the lack of a class spinner and inept batting performances taking their toll in every form of the game.

Once again the hype surrounding our footballers is on the rise; as if nothing has been learned from the debacle that was their world cup exit. So they may be top of their pool in the European championship qualifiers and have the only 100% record, but this is hardly the most challenging of groups. Based on present performances which of our superstars, if anyone, could be considered for a place in a Best in the World squad, let alone command a place in a World XI?

There is a huge element of Groundhog Day to our sporting prowess and it unlikely that much could be learned from a Back to the Future experience if the achievements in each sport over the past 30 years was to be honestly evaluated. The games themselves may have evolved and there have been a few major successes during this period but overall our performances at almost every level have failed to keep pace with the changes while other countries have been quicker and better at adapting to them.

Sport aside, it was good to read some of the comments about Back to the Future 2 which, for me, is as watchable today as it was when it was first released. President Obama tweeted to wish everyone a Happy Back to the Future Day and even David Cameron made a lame reference to the film in a jibe at Jeremy Corbin during Prime Minister's Questions in Parliament.

In Houston, Texas, headquarters of the DeLorean Car company fans of the film gathered to pay homage to the creators of the gull-winged car that was adapted for the film.

The film trilogy may have featured flying cars, hoverboards and self tying shoe laces which may not yet be commercially viable but in may other aspects some of the futuristic predictions are now readily available. Video calls have been around for some time and wearable eye glass screens, which have been used by the military for many years are now slowly finding a use in the public marketplace. 3D movies have been around for some time though opinion regarding their effectiveness remains split and fingerprint technology is becoming increasingly useful in many fields.

Flat screen televisions are not disimilar to the roll-up flat screen TV in the McFly living room. The film was spot on with the prediction that these screen would be voice activated, which is now possible using smart technologies. Computer-controlled door locks were also another successful pointer to the future as was the depiction of drones.

A version of the hoverboard is available though it is reliant on a magnetic track to supply the lift. Nike have a patent for the self-tying laces though these remain a distant objective.

In the film Doc is seen throwing rubbish into the car's waste converter to supply it with power. There are a few trials currently testing the use of recycled food waste and sewage to power buses as well as plans to use agricultural waste as a petrol supplement.

One motoring prediction that did not hit the target was barcode numberplates, which sounds like a good idea but is a bit problematic for visual identification of a vehicle if you don't have a scanner to hand.

Perhaps closer to reality is the fact that the cars in the film made very little noise, not unlike the hybrid and electric cars that are now is use.

The film suggested that faxing would play a significant role in our futures. In itself this would seem to have been a strange choice given that the concept of the fax machine had been around since Napoleonic times. It should also be pointed out that the world wide web was created in 1989, the same year that BTTF2 was released, and it would be a further year until Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the first web browser.

 

I love this sign that appeared on the noticeboard at Waterloo Station.

 

Perhaps less successful with their predictions were the ideas of smart clothing, though this is an area that is currently receiving increasing attention. The film makes use of LED displays on police helmets, technically possible but yet to be adopted by any police authority.

Despite recent advances in weaving technology within different fabrics the possibility of being blown dry by your clothing is likely to remain a distant idyll.

Sadly, many of the thoughts regarding rejuvenation are also likely to remain a distant wish though doubtless millions will continue to search for the holy grail of youthful looks using botox, cosmetic surgery, potions and creams.

The one area that was overlooked completely in the film were the stellar changes to mobile phone technology. Mobile phones were still chunky and expensive back in the 80's and anything but smart.

In hindsight many of these advancements have been fueled by and geared towards consumerism which simply reinforces the belief, if we did not already know it, that progress is driven by the pursuit of money. How many ideas do not make it off the drawing board because the concept is financially unviable.

There is probably more technology on the latest smartphone than there was on the first Apollo spacecraft to land on the moon though for most of us it is simply a toy to enable us to contact our friends and family one way or other, search the internet or take photos.

It is sometimes good to look forward and think of things that we would like to see improved or invented, not everything will be achievable or welcome but that is progress. Part of me wishes that the DeLorean only had a reverse setting, to a time when life was simpler and more fulfilling but there is also that part of me that will always want to know what lies just around the corner, what the next great breakthrough will be and what the future holds for us all.