"Humanity"

I am frequently amazed by the accomplishments of our species.  Just in my own lifetime the things we have invented, developed, devised and built is astounding .  From huge feats of construction, to great works of literature, from breakthroughs in medicine to quantum advancements in robotics and computer technology.
 
Did you know for example that they can fish a wire up from your leg, through an artery and into your brain, and that they can watch what they're doing while they coil this bit of high tech wire into an aneurism to repair it?
Did you know that they can now drill for oil in ocean waters almost 4 kms deep, and that the rig is mobile?
Did you know that about 10 years ago the computing power of the average cell phone surpassed that of the first lunar lander?

And if you didn't know any of these things, and a whole lot more for that matter, than just ask my grandson, because he does!

What's relevant in that other than the obvious fact that Colby is brilliant, is the simple truth that everyone knows a lot of stuff, and that any of these great advancements are never the result of ones man's endeavours.  Every one of the worlds great accomplishments has been achieved either through collaboration, or more often I believe through cumulative efforts over time.  One person building on, what someone else built on, what someone else...etc...etc.

I think we should take more pride in ourselves as a species, as opposed to our tendency to hero worship individuals.  For example, I am and always have been a big fan of Steve Jobs, but primarily because of his strong, relatively quiet, but unwavering battle against cancer.  If you actually start reading his bio and his history with Apple, it becomes patently clear (at least to me) that he was only one cog in the construction of the empire that the company is today, and that the actual technology was developed by thousands upon thousands of hard working and very intelligent people. 

So what does all this mean to me?  It means that I get to have toys!!  I want to tell you about a few that have captured my little boy heart over the last several months, and I want to thank you my fellow world citizens for creating them for me.

When I was a kid we put screws in with a screw driver.  Remember them?  Now we have cordless, electric impact drivers that don't weigh much more than the aforementioned screw driver, and that a child could use to drive a screw in one side of a two by four and out the other.  If you have never tried one of these you need to just once...fyi...sister Cory and brother Terry each have one you can borrow any time, and keep for as long as you like!  I just got my own as well but don't even bother to ask

When in our previous marathoning days ( 7-8 years ago) Roo would often do her long runs during the week in order to work around my activities and her parenting functions.  Because I worried about her I would sometimes sneak out of work for an hour or so to see if I could find her, just to check check up on her progress and give her a bit of encouragement. Not anymore.  This is how it works now.  She takes her phone with her (thanks Steve Jobs), and that phone allows her to listen to her music, while at the same time keeps complete and accurate track of her location, her pace, her distance run etc.  And what's more it transmits all of that info to the ethernet where I can then follow it live, (including a map) on my phone or a computer, no matter where I am in the world!  Amazing eh?  But wait!  What about the encouragement part you may ask?  Ha!  No problem.  I can type a message to her, and the little application translates it into speech and interupts her music to announce them to her!  I like to share positive, almost sublimial thoughts like - "Get it in gear you lazy bitch before I come out there and kick your fat ass into tomorrow!"  Now that's amazing!

And one more recent cool bit of  technology that you have helped to create for me, my friends of the human race.  When I was a kid you made your car go fast by pushing the accelerator pedal (well except for my 66 Ford Custom), and you made it slow down by pushing the brake pedal.  Then along came cruise control.  A wonderful invention that allowed you to set your vehicle to a preset speed which it would then maintain. 
Old news my friends!!  My dear spouse just got a new car.  Just a  middle of the road Ford mind you, not a Cadillac or a BMW - she doesn't have that much money - and it takes cruise control to a whole new level.  I just returned from Guelph via the 401, and while on the expressway I drove for 100kms without once touching the gas or the brake!! It has something called 'adaptive cruise control' which automatically adjusts your speed to the vehicle in front of you, governed of course by the maximum speed you set your cruise control to.  If the guy ahead of you is going 10 K slower than you, you can choose to simply stay behind him (without doing anything) or simply glide over to any open lane where your car immediately returns to it's former speed.  Or if some clown suddenly pulls in right front of you it responds immediately by applying the brakes appropriately.  You could be asleep at the time and you would still not hit him.  Astounding!!

So thanks again my friends for all your efforts.  I'm sure it must be gratifying to know that I am reaping the benefits of all of your collaboration and synergies.

I found it interesting that it was almost impossible to find positive quotes about technology, while negative ones seemed to abound. Here's at least one from a guy who imagined things even Steve Jobs never dreamed of.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."---Arthur C. Clarke

Love
Peter