It's almost finished now, so this is a little late in being posted, but the Washington Post has been running a week-long series of on-line chats with noted "futurists," under the title Beyond the Future. I'm a little dubious about most "futurism," but reading about people's predictions for future trends and gadgets can be a good way to waste a little time on a Friday afternoon, if you're so inclined...
(Sadly, I can't really afford the time-- I've got to get back to my windowless basement lab, and align some optics...)
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21 December 2012 - filling of the 13th and final baktun of the Maya Long Count; the end of time. Take Christmas early that year.
~2015 - Baby Boomer retirement causes phase transition of the Welfare State. 80 million infinitely plunderable pockets suddenly cry "GIMME!" without end. Whipped cream turns into grease, New World and Old World.
~2050 - the end of petroleum. We will have burned all 60 cubic miles of the OEM fill.
More than a billion Mexicans in Mexico, almost 2 billion Blacks in sub-Saharan Africa, 2 billion East Indians, 2 billion Chinese. What future?