Technology

January 7, 2014

We are still in the deep freeze here in Willard, Ohio. Tomorrow will warm to 13 degrees. I tried the bubbles in the frigid air. They did not freeze as predicted.

Today I am thankful for the technology we now have. Without it, I hate to think how many people would have been harmed in the past days. Using satellites and other radar instruments, meteorologists are able to warn us of storms and hazardous weather almost to the minute.  Also, we are able to Facetime with our daughter and her family in Bowling Green. Like the Jetsons of cartoon fame, we make the call and then see the faces and voices of the recipients- our grandchildren, Ela and Aleks. They wrestle each other over the Ipad. Then Aleks doesn't want to be on camera. And Ela hogs the time they are allowed. She informed us we will need to buy 3 boxes of Girl Scout cookies soon. And Aleks begins to tell jokes. Ela leaves the room to get her joke book then they take turns. Sometimes they both leave to run upstairs for something to show while we wait. It never occurs to them that we might not be there on their return.
Other times we can send messages to be read at their convenience using the Iphone. I like my phone because it keeps me connected when we travel, it gives me directions and lets me play games. Just like my laptop at home. The computer lets me stay in touch with friends and family thru Facebook or email, do my banking, Christmas shopping and order medicine and sell stuff on ebay. Sometimes I wonder what I did before the computer. Lets see-I dealt with paper road maps, I paid the bills by writing checks on Saturday mornings, I made many trips to Mansfield to compare prices and find the right gift and I waited in line hours at Drug Mart to get my meds. If I had not done research on the internet, my MS diagnosis and current medicines could have been too late. So much less paperwork. Distant relatives are found on facebook and some long gone thru Ancestry. I used to use days off to go to the genealogy library in Mansfield to research long dead family. And arrange our family vacation to allow at least a day of research at some distant library or cemetery. Now I can view these online and complete charts easily. I did keep my little notebook of charts though. I can not leave out the photos. My phone camera takes great instant pictures that can be cropped and enhanced right away. And deleted. They can be downloaded to my computer and then used in other programs and saved forever. And with my new wireless printer, there is no reason not to print a few every now and then. I try to save and share old family photos and have thousands on my computer and external drives. And am able to retrieve quickly. Instead of making copies of important documents, I photograph them and save in document files.
Then theres television. We rented a movie to pass the afternoon today. AND we can watch Law and Order 24/7 if we want. Ugg. We use remotes for the heaters and fans and the Bose and to start the car.. Wish there was one to get me out of this chair. Ha!
Years ago, I interviewed for a supervisory job at Pepperidge Farm. One question was "What do you think will be the biggest challenge to the business in the next years?" I replied that the use and knowledge of technological advances would affect the company most. As I see them replacing employee numbers with machinery, I think I was right.
I do need to mention the "1984" aspects of technology. A camera does watch us everywhere we go. And the government listens to our phone conversations. We use numbers for identification that can be stolen. Our food is changed. And the genes in our bodies are mapped. What if your map doesn't look right someday. Will you be discarded?
The world is always changing and we need to go with it sometimes.