Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Sputnik launch by Russia, essentially the beginning of the Space Age. It’s times like this that makes one marvel at the capabilities of human ingenuity.

When one considers the hundreds of years it took to go from using stone to bronze to iron, and the thousands of years to just get to the Stone age, it really shows the human potential when you consider the Industrial Revolution was only a mere 150-year span.

In a paltry 50 years, we have a (relatively) stable space program with regular human flight, created a world-wide electronic data network, developed nuclear power and even gave blacks the right to vote.

And now, I can’t help but think what will happen in my lifetime (hopefully another 50 years). Will commercial space flight be available? Will everything be Internet-ready? Will there be a black President?