Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who is the creator of the Better Tomorrow Challenges?
A: That would be Jack Decker. Jack was raised in Platteville, Wisconsin (a sleepy, small college town in the southwest corner of that state) and, after being honorably discharged from the military, earned a bachelor's degree in psychology (emphasis: social psychology) with a minor in business administration (emphasis: marketing) from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Since then, he has been a marketing consultant and marketing executive for both for-profit and non-profit organizations as well as has done pro bono work for small businesses, bootstrap entrepreneurs, and failing businesses.
Being a libertarian technophile, Jack is trying to bring about a world that is freer and involves less daily drudgery. A world where we live longer and healthier. A better educated world that costs less but gives more. Jack also wants the world to be a more interesting place. Some of his challenges are not so much meant to make the world better but to make it more interesting. To celebrate its diversity by way of his challenges. And then there are the Statehood challenges whose goal is to make this world safer by uniting more of it together and then, by way of his States First Amendment challenge, stripping and chaining down that federal government to make it as less oppressive as possible and encouraging the States to experiment with new ideas so the best can be adopted by all.
Each original challenge is one that Jack feels is just within our grasp if we just try hard enough. And once it is achieved, the first future challenge then becomes that much easier to reach ... and then the next future challenge and then the future challenge after that one and so on. Jack is both an unashamed optimist and a pragmatic idealist. He believes in Man's ability to become better and holds that technology is the key to that future happiness and prosperity. He feels that if we don't try to achieve the ideal, the ideal will never be achieved. That the act of trying to do so might not achieve the ideal but will achieve something better than if the ideal wasn't the goal.
Q: What is the reward for accomplishing one of the Better Tomorrow Challenges?
A: Initially, recognition of the achievement on the challenge's webpage. Eventually, a translucent-blue-plastic statuette of a Tom Handsome robot (three sketches by Tiffany Petitt of the trophy are below).
Q: How many challenges are there?
A: If you just count "original" challenges, the current number is 250. If you count both original and "future" challenges, that current number is 2755.
Q: Is there an overall theme to the challenges?
A: Yes and no. Yes, there is an overall theme in that the challenges are trying to bring about a better tomorrow or at least a more interesting one. No, they are not intricately related to each other, except through Mr. Decker's very eclectic mind and interests.
Q: Why are so many challenges US-centric?
A: The USA is the world's only superpower, its largest economy, and, via Hollywood, its cultural leader. If the USA does something, the rest of the world tends to follow. It is also a country that is always changing so change comes relatively easy for it.
Q: Why isn't automating a factory a challenge?
A: Simply stating something like "Fully automate a shoe factory." is too broad and overwhelming for most inventors. To properly use a factory as a challenge, you have to break apart its assembly line into its separate parts (those performed by humans) and then make those into step-by-step challenges (a starting challenge and all of its "future challenges"). See AGRICULTURE's Slaughterhouse challenge for an example of this. But even here, you also have to know what parts have already been automated. You can be assured that fully automating factories will be made into step-by-step challenges in the future, and many are currently being worked on.
Q: Why not remove challenges that some people might object to and be turned off by?
A: If all of the challenges that some people might object to were removed, there would likely be no challenges left. Change is almost always opposed by someone. Besides, talk shows seek controversial guests, who make for lively discussions, engage their audiences, get the shows higher ratings, and make the talk show hosts' jobs more interesting. Lastly, Mr. Decker, BTC's creator, thinks all of these challenges will make this a better world or at least a more interesting one. He stands by all of them.
Q: Can challenges be canceled?
A: If it is clear that a challenge can never be accomplished, Mr. Decker will delete it from this website.
Q: What are your goals for BTC?
A: First goal is simply to get Jack Decker, BTC creator, on as many TV/radio/Internet talk shows as possible discussing Better Tomorrow Challenges.
Second goal is qualify for X's monetization program (we meet all qualifications EXCEPT five million impressions in three months so please retweet our tweets!) and then use ALL of that revenue to promote @JackTDecker on X thus promoting BTC.
Third goal is enabling Jack to do this full-time because of #2. Once Jack is able to do this full-time, he will work to meet with all 50 state governors, 50 state assembly speakers, and 50 minority leader of state assemblies to talk to them about his States First Amendment and put those interviews on X.
Fourth goal is to get 1,000,000 X followers whereupon Jack will start work on a paper version (a book) of all of the current challenges. One of the things that will be done for the book will be all new illustrations for the challenges. Any major publishing house that would be interested, contact us at: Book@BetterTomorrowChallenges.com
Fifth goal is ideally Jack getting a doctorate in futurology from good university. Ideally submitting this website as his doctoral thesis. :-) Any university that would be interested in giving Jack such and being publicly promoted as having done so, contact us at: Doctorate@BetterTomorrowChallenges.com
Sixth goal is getting corporate sponsors (e.g., Zoom, Intel, Verizon, Starlink, etc.) to be the "official" BTC sponsor for their product/service category ("Zoom is the official video conference service for Better Tomorrow Challenges.") and when those sponsorships add up to enough, Jack will produce an every-other-day ten-minute-long newsmagazine YouTube/Rumble/X channel. Correspondents would be hired to go and interview inventors, business leaders, politicians, and the general public who are trying to make the world a better place. As host of the channel, Jack would do the introduction, set-up, and follow-up for these videos.
Seventh goal is to do #6 for a broadcast or cable TV network as a weekly hour-long positive-future future-oriented three-segment newsmagazine with Jack as its host.
Q: Did Jack Decker receive any help in coming up with the Better Tomorrow Challenges?
A: Yes. Mr. Decker submitted for review the entire text of the original BTC website with all of its challenges to Jim Logajan, Soren Jensen, and Kirk Pearson, as well as the late Louise Jensen, the late George Demmer and the late Mike Turco. Mr. Decker is greatly indebted to them for their thoughts, suggestions and edits and greatly misses those who have since passed away.
Q: Why isn't this website more polished like how are big corporate websites?
A: First, it is the ideas being promoted by the challenges that is important. If you're turned off by how this website looks, you've missed the point about BTC and we've failed in our mission.
Second, because we're not a big corporation. In fact, right now, "we" is just me, Jack Decker. I'm just a guy with some ideas for making the world a better place. If corporate sponsors come onboard, want this to be a more polished website, AND are willing to fork over the money to make it so, I'll be fine with that and it will happen.
Q: Who made your website?
A: Anaad IT Solutions, https://www.anaad.
Q: Where can I buy a BTC t-shirt or a toy modeled on BTC's unicycle robot?
A: Nowhere currently. We are planning to eventually make them, but that's in the future. Tentatively, the first t-shirt design will be Jack Decker's homepage quote on the front and, on the back, the homepage illustration and URL. As for the toy robots, they will probably be a foot tall, two versions offered (a "male" with blue eyes and markings and a "female" with pink eyes and markings plus eyelashes), and possibly require batteries so their eyes and color markings glow. If you're a t-shirt and/or toy maker who would like to license the manufacture of them from Mr. Decker, email us at: Merchandise@BetterTomorrowChallenges.com
Q: How can I get Jack Decker to come and speak to my college class, at my technology demonstration, before my student assembly, to my corporation, before our convention, for a press interview, etc.?
A: If you're a member of the press and wanting to do an interview with Mr. Decker, send an email to Press@BetterTomorrowChallenges.com.
For all other speaking engagement requests, send an email to: Speech@BetterTomorrowChallenges.com. Mr. Decker doesn't charge a speaking fee to those holding technology demonstrations, college classes, student assemblies, or fan-run science fiction conventions. He does charge a fee to corporations and other for-profit events. Unless you're willing to pay for his transportation to your event, just give Jack an open invitation to it whereby he is welcomed to come by and talk to your event/students when he happens to be in your area in the future and if it is a specific event, when your event is taking place. Jack's preferred speaking style is being interviewed on stage and then opening it up to questions from the audience.
Q: How can I ask a question that wasn't asked and answered above?
A: Just email us at: FAQ@BetterTomorrowChallenges.com. If it becomes a new frequently asked question, it or a variation of it will be added to this FAQs page.
Q: Are you receptive to corporate and/or foundation sponsors?
A: Yes! If you're a corporation or foundation and would like to support Jack Decker's efforts, send an email to: Sponsor@BetterTomorrowChallenges.com Presently, there are three types of sponsorships available.
Website Sponsor The Website Sponsor will get their corporate/foundation name added to the "Better Tomorrow Challenges" banner at the top of every webpage. Your name will be underneath and aligned to the right in small italicized font. Something like, "Sponsored by ACME Corporation" or "Is supported by the Good Foundation". Your corporate/foundation name can be hyperlinked to your website, if you so wish.
Challenge Sponsor A Challenge Sponsor sponsors a specific challenge. You will be identified as that challenge's sponsor in a new last paragraph of the original challenge with your name hyperlinked to your website. You can sponsor more than one challenge.
Newsmagazine Sponsor See the sixth goal of the FAQ "What are your goals for BTC?" on this page.
Q: Are there any sponsorships you won't consider and any you'd like to get?
A: WON'T CONSIDER: No scams (crypto coins, MLMs, etc.) and anything Jack doesn't actually use, especially things to which Jack is allergic. For example, beer and wine (allergic); any other kind of booze (Jack doesn't drink); tobacco products; marijuana products; and food allergies, such as chocolate, nuts (potentially fatal allergy), cow dairy products (goat, sheep and other animal dairy products are fine), fruit with the seeds in the meat (tomatoes, kiwi, raw banana [but can eat banana bread], melons, and such), raw lettuce, raw celery, raw/dried/roasted green peas, toast, and unfortunately more. Which means no pizza delivery sponsors need apply as Jack is allergic to tomatoes, cow cheese, and toasted crusts. :-( As for things Jack doesn't do, he doesn't golf or do anything involving playing on grass (allergic to cut grass); grind poker (which Jack views as another form of Hell); or PVP games (always too many asshole players).
LIKE TO GET Advertisers do email us at Sponsors@BetterTomorrowChallenges.com
Lefse maker. Click on the link if you don't know what it is. Jack loves lefse! The dessert (soft) lefse, not the sandwich (stronger) lefse. While he views himself as just an American, his ancestors were from Denmark and Norway so lefse was part of his upbringing and something his maternal grandmother always made for her grandchildren when they came to visit. Jack would love to spread his love for it to others.
Beef stick maker. Jack loves beef sticks and would love to be the spokesperson for a fat-free dry beef stick. Jack hates greasy beef sticks. Possibly made with Piedmontese cattle meat, centrifuged to remove even more fat (to be able to labeled "fat-free" in the USA, the FDA requires it to be less than 0.5 gram per serving), and, using real wood, double smoked.
Poker site. Jack doesn't views poker tourneys as gambling but a skill-based game and mentally-challenging entertainment. Jack would be interested in promoting a weekly online freeroll No-Limit Texas Hold'em poker tournament. He'd then enter these "Decker Poker" tourneys with a FAT bounty on his head and if he gets knocked out before making the final table, he would get a seat at it with a MASSIVE bounty on his head. Jack would be willing to commit to doing a Decker Poker tournament once a week and livestream them on @JackTDecker IF there is a five-minute delay so players at his table cannot use it to see what his current hand looks like. The freerolls would have offer significant cash prizes, Jack must be able to talk to the table he's playing at, and only those at Jack's table can participate in group chat and then only by way of text.
Cruiseline. As Jack plans to do all of talk show appearances via video conferencing, he could do them from a cruiseship cabin on a round-the-world cruise. This would then be a natural discussion topic for talk shows. "Hey, Jack, as you're on a round-the-world cruise, where are you right now?" If the cruiseline can enable Jack to show their ship-location computer map with a click of a button on his laptop and have their logo on that map, this would give them a visual plug as well.
Additionally, like what was said just above for poker tournaments, Jack would be up for hosting a weekly "Decker Poker" No-Limit Texas Hold'em freeroll poker tournament on a cruiseship and, with a five-minute delay, even livestream it on @JackTDecker. He'd enter as a regular player with a FAT bounty on his head and if he gets knocked out before the final table, he gets a seat at it with a MASSIVE bounty on his head. Jack thinks this would be a very popular sea day activity for cruiseship passengers and the more sea days in a row, the longer the tourney could be scheduled and promoted to run and/or a paid tourney is then run.
Umbrella maker. Jack would love to promote a "walking stick" umbrella with replaceable Kevlar tips.
Q: Who did the illustrations for the challenges?
A: The artists are Tiffany Petitt, Wolf Khlebnikov and Marvel DelosBan.
