According to a new study published by the Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), peak oil is a faulty theory. CERA argues that the world oil resource base is triple what peak oil proponents argue, and that rather than a single peak production will reach an undulating series of peaks. [kurzweil]

We’ll be upgrading the Movable Type engine that keeps Futurismic chugging along tonight, so expect some weirdness as we work through the upgrade issues.

The problems with human employees are the obvious ones – they need to eat, sleep and take various other bio-breaks, and their rights to do so are unfortunately protected by law. Well, if you’re paying by the hour, why not get real value for money? Japanese businesses can now rent robotic receptionists at an hourly rate which, at $445 for sixty minutes, isn’t going to scale to well for a while yet. But give it few years, factor in employee insurance and benefits, and the pink slips will start flying …

Heartened by their early success with the first Genesis inflatable habitat (which is still operating now, five months later), Bigelow Aerospace are busily preparing its experiment-laden successor for launch around springtime next year. But they are also looking forward further, projecting the launch of a prototype capsule capable of housing three crew with full life support by the end of the decade. If that’s not just big talk, the nation-states have a challenge on their hands.

Good news for the average consumer netizen – Google have announced an expansion of functionality to the Booksearch service, largely aimed at making the interface a little more friendly and the displayed pages more enjoyable to read. However, there may be a small section of the population who are somewhat more alarmed by the increased ease with which the text of books can be searched – namely authors who have plagiarised in the course of their work.