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| Celtic Radio Community > General Discussion > Modernization? |
| Posted by: togo 02-Dec-2011, 06:03 PM |
| Being a week without power recently got me to thinking. Why did it take so long to remedy the situation? How have we not have come up with a better system or a "more modern" alternative to our wires hanging from wooden poles in the streets as they have for many so years. Yeah I hear about putting them underground but the cost would be monumental I've been told. Can't we have power to our house like out cell phones, no wires? Well way out of my area of expertise but I like to think ......... So that got me thinking of many other things from our past and into the future. Cell phones and smart phones are awesome! Micowaves are a pretty neat step up from the stove. Computers and the internet I still awe at. The Segway? I marvel at the engineering of it but was it really a hit? Of course the trips to the moon (always remember watching the landing on TV!), the space Shuttle missions were incredble stuff. GPS! I'm still giddy over my mini kegerator! But then I started thinking about things that have NOT progressed as much as I thought it would over my lifetime?? Cars. I thought for sure we would be driving things in the air like the Jetsons by now. Telephone poles (see above). Dammit, I am still holding out hope for time travel. The question is what other things have not progressed as much as you thought they would and what things went beyond your expectations???? |
| Posted by: McRoach 03-Dec-2011, 10:12 PM |
| Well I for one am still very impressed just by cell phones, direct connect devices like nextel radios and the Iphone. Trekkies were only dreaming of a hand held devices they could talk to someone in space with or get a map on and type with just a couple decades back. I thought we would have seen more improvement on our automobiles by now, not necessarily flying but certainly more futuristic than a hybrid Toyota that doesn't seem to like going faster than 60 mph on the highways. I also expected more in the way of ready to eat foods. Some microwave dinners are tasty but they are still very close to what they were back when the microwave first came out in the 80's. I figured we'd have food rehydrators that just required some water and electricity to whip up a meal in seconds. I could get political with this and say that Big Oil and Big Energy are the reason you still have powerlines running through your neighborhood but I guess the real cause of our stagnant progress in some of these advancements comes from too high a cost combined with a real lack of need. How's that saying go? Necessity is the mother of invention. |
| Posted by: Robert Phoenix 04-Dec-2011, 12:42 AM |
| I've been waiting since the 70's for gas mileage to improve on cars. I can remember my ugly Dodge Omni getting 34 miles to the gallon. I don't think a prius even gets close to that now. Still waiting for flying cars. Hell iIwould be happy with a landspeeder. |
| Posted by: togo 28-Dec-2011, 01:21 PM |
| Just got a Smart Phone for Xmas. Now I'm really IMPRESSED. These things are awesome! Taking me a while to get it down. These touch screens are so sensative. I've called a few wrong numbers here and there and hit a few wrong apps. But I'm getting it though. |
| Posted by: tjbren 31-Dec-2011, 09:10 AM |
| Before cell phones, I owned a telephone answering service. It was all computerized and I had to be reachable at all times, so I carried with me a beeper, then a pager and one of the first types of portable phones - it seemed like it was about a 50 pound suitcase...! After I sold the business, I got rid of everything. The only phone in my house was an antique candlestick type, from the 1930s. It was a nice change! Now, I've succumbed to modern life again, to a degree; I have a cell phone that's usually shut off and an answering machine, but that's it. The being connected 24/7 is an unhealthy addiction as far as I'm concerned. What I could not do without now is my Internet! My whole life is in my computer. I'm listening to Celtic Radio as I type this, and I was just doing some genealogy research via websites, adding information to my database. Keeping and organizing digital photos, documents of all kinds, and even some shopping; it's all made easy and possible with my computer. I still eat dinner in candle light and my television may only be turned on for 20 minutes a week, but my computer is my life! |