Biometrics

Imagine never having to remember a password or enter a PIN number again. Your phone, computer, bank account and even your own front door will all be able to recognize you through the use of biometrics. Your fingerprints, ears, voice, face, iris, retina, gait and even your distinct odor can already be used to identify you.

As convenient as it sounds - since you will always have your body with you - some are concerned about the potential for invasion of privacy and also the possibility of security breaches.

Stock Images About Biometrics

If a hacker steals your password, you can create a new one. But, if the computer storing your biometric data is hacked you cannot get a new ear, iris or voice. And since biometric security opens many doors, literally and figuratively, hackers may be able to gain much more than with a single password.

Privacy advocates warn this may be the beginning of Big Brother watching you, and not just online. Facial recognition software can pick an individual out of a football stadium full of people. Security cameras are already prevalent in public places, making it possible for you to be followed by the police, the government,  companies, and hackers. This can happen as you walk down the street, shop, bike, or do anything where security cameras are located.

You may say, "I'm not going to hand over my biometric data to anyone." Well, the truth is you may already have done so.

Touch ID on cell phones and voice-controlled assistants such as Alexa or Echo collect your fingerprints and your voice print. Social media sites such as Facebook already use facial recognition software to label photos of you and your friends. Even your iris can now be scanned from up to 30 feet away without you being aware.

Biometric Coffee Mugs, Beach Towels and more

In short, it looks like biometrics is here to stay as a method of identification and for use in security. One can only hope that those with the data do the best they can to keep your personal face, ear, eye, and other biometric information safe from hackers.  

• theatlantic.com
• engadget.com
• wired.com
• scientificamerican.com

Book a Vacation on the Moon

Bored with traveling to the beach, the mountains or even a big resort? Why not book a trip to outer space? Experts say we may soon be able to enjoy a champagne lunch in orbit, spend a week lounging on the Moon or take an adventurous voyage to Mars.

Space travel is no longer the exclusive realm of big governments. In fact, companies, such as major airlines, are making strides toward space tourism.  

Gift Ideas: Space Tourism Shower Curtains, Coffee Mugs

Aside from fun and adventure, regular space travel can have many benefits for an ever more crowded planet with fewer natural resources. Once us humans get the hang of frequent space flight, we can colonize and gather much-needed resources such as gold, silver, tungsten, nickel, aluminum and even clean water from asteroids. And unlike mining on earth, we would not be harming wildlife or rainforests.

Some forward-thinking scientists have even proposed traveling to Mars and beyond aboard an asteroid colony.  We could build an entire city inside a hollowed out asteroid while using its resources.  And possibly explore outer space even further than ever before.

So, start saving now as tickets will likely start around $250,000 and go into the millions of dollars depending on which adventure you choose.

Images of Space Tourism & the Future of Space Travel

 

• Human Space Exploration,  space.com
• Future of Spaceflight, nationalgeographic.com
• Beyond Planet Earth the Future of Space Exploration, amnh.org
• Torah Kachur, Asteroid Mining,  cbc.ca 
• Colonization of Asteroid, wikipedia.com
• Space Tourism, wikipedia.com