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Technology

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    • Love it or hate it!

      This morning I wired money to a closing agent for the purchase of a new (to me) house. Guess they don't want checks any more. My bank immediately notified me thru my "smart" phone that a huge (to me) amount was withdrawn from my account. So now you can watch money fly out of your accounts, almost in real time! I appreciate the knowledge that some computer is watching out for me, but it was truly disconcerting to see my hard earned money just seemingly vanish in some black hole.

      I know, it's my own fault. Aside from the hiking/technology debate have any of you asked yourself whether all this convenience is worth it? I think I know the answer to that question.

      I need a drink.
    • Computers, smart phones, and other new technology are just the old technology (guns, cars, etc.). They can be used for good or evil, it just matters how people choose to use them. They can provide great convenience, but some times they can be a little startling/shocking at first.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • chief wrote:

      Love it or hate it!

      This morning I wired money to a closing agent for the purchase of a new (to me) house. Guess they don't want checks any more. My bank immediately notified me thru my "smart" phone that a huge (to me) amount was withdrawn from my account. So now you can watch money fly out of your accounts, almost in real time! I appreciate the knowledge that some computer is watching out for me, but it was truly disconcerting to see my hard earned money just seemingly vanish in some black hole.

      I know, it's my own fault. Aside from the hiking/technology debate have any of you asked yourself whether all this convenience is worth it? I think I know the answer to that question.

      I need a drink.
      I hope you enjoy the new home.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • I'm not a big fan of electronic technology.
      I put off getting a computer as long as I could. I finally got one when our first son went off to college. I knew he'd never write us a letter, would only call home if he needed money or something else, but figured he might send us an occasional e-mail. I still don't have a smart phone, my old flip phone serves my needs just fine. I'm thinking of making the change before we do a cross the USA bicycle ride in a few years.
      All that said, I did detect a credit card fraud shortly after it happened because I have our cards set up so the bank sends me an e-mail when the card is used. One call to the credit card people and the transaction was stopped.

      So, like Astro said, it has it's pluses and minuses.

      Now here's an interesting fact I heard on the radio, people who spend more than a certain amount of time on their smart phone a day have a higher rate of depression and suicide. I don't remember the amount of time they talked about.
    • Astro wrote:

      chief wrote:

      Love it or hate it!

      This morning I wired money to a closing agent for the purchase of a new (to me) house. Guess they don't want checks any more. My bank immediately notified me thru my "smart" phone that a huge (to me) amount was withdrawn from my account. So now you can watch money fly out of your accounts, almost in real time! I appreciate the knowledge that some computer is watching out for me, but it was truly disconcerting to see my hard earned money just seemingly vanish in some black hole.

      I know, it's my own fault. Aside from the hiking/technology debate have any of you asked yourself whether all this convenience is worth it? I think I know the answer to that question.

      I need a drink.
      I hope you enjoy the new home.
      Thanks Astro. I'm thrilled to be here. First thing this AM I put my old easy chair in the truck and drove it over here. It's the only furniture in the house on my first day, but it's enough. In for the night.
    • I appreciate technology when it allows me to do things I otherwise couldn't. For example having much of the world's information at your fingertips is life changing. Recently I got distracted during one of my biochemistry lectures and started rambling about the chemistry of ultramarine, a pigment used in Renaissance art which is made from lapis lazuli which comes from a mine in Afghanistan via the silk road that brought the learning of Persian to Europe 1000 years ago including our Arabic numbers popularized by Al Khworezmi whose name gave us the word algorithm and means from Khwaresm, an oasis south of the Aral sea that is drying up due to heavy irrigation of cotton fields in Turkmenistan. After class the students asked how I know these things. I asked how is it they didn't. They have a supercomputer in their pocket they could use to access all this and more, yet they use it to watch cat videos and keep up with the Kardashians.

      What bugs me is that instead of allowing us to do more, tech causes a us to do less. How many times have you heard people say they wouldn't go hiking without a cell phone, or they can't navigate without a GPS. People did these things with no problem for hundreds of thousands of years but now it can't be done without gadgets.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by odd man out ().