Space. The final, frontier. That was said at the beginning of every episode of Star Trek: Next Generation, where the holodeck could create virtually anything they could imagine and they traveled through space as if it was a trip around the block. Where is the technology to make whatever meal you want, clean your house or drive your car? We keep hearing about the advances in technology that are just around the corner, and we still don’t have robot butlers or cars that can go on autopilot. Technology journalists make it seem like the future is bursting at the seams and will explode onto every walk of life, but so far it hasn’t happened. If the technology is really so close, why aren’t we seeing it? My guess is that the journalists see a prototype or a successful experiment and jump to the conclusion that it’s nearly finished when in fact years of development and refinement remain. It’s exciting to imagine what the future will bring, but I’m not holding my breath to be teleported anytime soon and I expect to be driving my own car for many more years to come.