Technology

A while back my blogger pal Jaquandor posted this list of "technologies that USA Today touted as the most important to come along since 1982" along with comments of his opinions... I started to do a response at that time but never got it finished. It has been sitting in my "draft" box along with a couple other half finished things for some time. It's a slow blog day here, so I'll just dust this one off and kick it out the door.

1. Cellphones

YES, I have a cell and I use it A LOT. But I almost never go over my minutes because I mainly use it for family who are all SPRINT users. Since my sons live in Michigan and I live in Oregon the free sprint-to-sprint comes in very handy. I do still have a regular land line phone as well, although every month when I pay double phone bills I wonder why.

When I was in Santa Fe recently I was impressed by the fact they have a city ordinance banning use of hand held cell phones while driving. I admit I do talk on the phone while driving. Not terribly responsible of me, now is it?

At least I don't put on mascara while driving, which I witnessed someone doing recently. But then, I don't put on mascara ever except for hot dates and job interviews....but I digress.

2. Laptops

I LOVE the freedom my wireless laptop gives me. I take it with me all over the place. Gives me access to geocache coordinates, blogdom, and my online classes. Also when beloved and I are traveling together it gives me a quiet way to amuse myself in the middle of the night when he's sleeping and I'm up with insomnia.

3. Blackberrys

Don't have one. Don't particularly want one.

4. Debit cards

ABSOLUTELY! I almost never go to banks anymore. My husband and I both have direct deposit of our pay checks. I pay most my bills online. Then when I need cash I just get extra back at the grocery store. I seldom ever carry more than $20 with me, if that--don't need to. My trusty debit card gives me freedom to do most transactions quick and easy AND keeps a record of it.

5. Caller ID

Don't have it, don't want it. Unlike Kelly, I DO answer my phone. If it is someone I don't want to talk to I say so and hang up. Otherwise it is a nice surprise.

Actually we do get LOTS of hang ups on our answering machine that I have NO IDEA who is generating. But I can live with the mystery.

6. DVDs

Nifty little storage units for media. However, they are just one more in a long list...I'm sure these too will go the way of the 8 track before we know it.

7. Lithium rechargeable batteries

I like rechargeable batteries. They're neat. What else to say?

8. IPods

I don't own one yet but this is on my current wish list. Having music at my fingertips would be way cool, but even more than that is my desire to have access to the many educational podcasts or others, such as the ones my pal Papa Herman just let me know about, a three part series regarding Fr. Seraphim Rose featuring interviews with Abbot Gerasim and Fr.
Damascene. Granted, I can listen to these from my computer. But I like the notion of having it mobile.


9. Pay at the pump

This is certainly useful for some folks, but since there is a STATE LAW in Oregon that we cannot pump our own gas it really doesn't enter my radar. I will be doing business with a human being regardless of what sort of technology they have on the pump.

10. Lettuce in a bag

While I have eaten bag-o-salad on occasion I'm MUCH rather make my own, and generally do.

11. Digital cameras

Love 'em. Just wish I could find the lost power charging cord to mine!

12. Doppler radar

Never gave this one much thought. Of course, back when I lived in the Tornado zone of the Midwest it was a different story!

13. Flat-panel TVs

Would be wasted on me. I watch very little TV. I do love my flat panel computer screen.

14. Electronic tolls

I was flabbergasted by tolls when I first moved to Ohio. What do you mean I have to pay money to drive on this road?? But I must say the tollways were the BEST equipped for dealing with snow removal and almost never had pot holes, which is a lot more than I can say for the general freeway system back there. Sure it stinks to have to fork over the cash, but like a lot of other things, we get what we pay for. Seems to me having some sort of electronic debit system would be a lot more convenient that scrounging for quarters.

15. PowerPoint

Really? I'm not so sure how that one made the list. I'm currently involved in a project that has me creating presentations in PowerPoint and then converting them to Flash files. So I think of PowerPoint the same way I do flour and yeast when I'm baking bread - it's an essential ingredient, but not the end product. No matter what Al Goremay think, there are slicker ways to do things

16. Microwave popcorn

I'm not a big popcorn fan, but my beloved treasures his stash of this.

17. High tech footwear

I'm just darn grateful my jock son with the size 15 feet is grown up and emancipated so I will never have to pay for these again.

18. Online stock trading

Never have, don't expect to.

19. Big Bertha golf clubs

See answer above in #18

20. Disposable contact lenses

I am the poster child for Lasik. One of the best investments I ever made.

21. StairMaster

Exercise equipment is one of the most frequently discarded/resold purchases there are. Most of these end up gathering dust.

22. Tivo

Although I don't have it and don't want it and would never pay for it, I CAN see the merit of being able to have what few TV programs I DO like available to watch whenever I care to see them and being able to fast forward through the commercials.

23. Purell

In one of my anthropology classes many moons ago we talked about a study involving two remote villages in Africa that had similar resources, similar customs, yet RADICALLY different mortality rates. What the anthropologists finally figured out was the key difference was that the village with the LOW mortality rate had a case of soap that had been left behind by some missionaries who taught them all to wash their hands. The other group had no soap, nor any training in hygiene practice. It make the difference of who lived and who died. (Particularly since the same people who prepared bodies for burial were preparing food.) Yea, I guess this is important.

24. Home satellite TV
We have dish network so my husband can watch all those hunting /fishing shows he likes so much and I can get BYU TV for conferences, education week and the like. So it has its merits. For the most part however, scrolling through the 100+ channels just means it takes twice as long to find out there is mostly crap on.


25. Karaoke

I know there is a whole social phenomena wrapped up in this, but I am a humanitarian so I don't sing in public.


I also appreciate Kelly's other remarks:

"What about widespread GPS technology? Or the friggin' World Wide Web? Yeah, the bones of the Internet existed before 1982, but not the Web. And I'd cite digital visual effects in movies. Lots of people complain about rampant CGI in movies, but frankly, the crap-to-goodness ratio back in the days when effects were models and matte paintings probably wasn't any less than it is now."

Thoughts?

As for things that have DIRECTLY impacted MY life?

(CAUTION! All male readers may want to stop right here....)

I'm grateful for tampons, control top panty hose, good moisturizer, and my home foot spa!)