Too Easily Impressed?????

G

grouse hunter

Joined
May 30, 2002
Messages
57
I am in my early 50's(young by todays avg. life expectency standards), but I'm still impressed by todays technology.

New to the technology in blade steels I can't begin to comprehend the unlimited types of steel available(and their particular qualities)in one of the most basic tools in history.

As I placed my newly aquired Spyderco Moran DP on my belt it got me thinking about how impressed I was with it; and the technology incoroperated in this simple tool.

Everything from the VG10 blade,lightweight synthetic handle,and Kydex sheath with Teclock fasting system are examples of such technology!!

After spending some time on this forum I sense the average age of the members is in the 20-30 year range,so most have grown up with the technology I'm so impressed with and take it for granted.

I have vague memories of the iceman delivering to our home as a child as well as our first TV (B&W).

I also remember those hot summer nights when even a child has trouble sleeping (no AC).

NOW...a typical day for me:

Wake in an air conditioned BR
Shut off dual mode digital alarm clock (seperate times for me & wife)
Get coffee from auto coffee maker
Watch news on color cable TV
Defrost tonights dinner meat selection in micro wave(while showering)
Retreive perment press cloths from laundry room (no need to iron)
Check e-mails on computer
Jump in SUV (7500mi service intervals,100k plugs)
Stop for self serve gas using CC
Stop at ATM
Make calls on cell phone on way to work (after checking VM for messages)
Use talk dial on cell to make calls
Arrive at work,check VM on office phone
Check production schedule in Germany on computer
Check office e-mails
Print results and fax to customers
Check home answering machine for messages (from work)
Retreive computer generated paper work for clients to sign
And lastly

Check tracking# to see where the knife I ordered on line is(happy to see it at the house already)

Am I too easily impressed.....I don't think so.

GH
 
Grouse: Ain't technology GREAT???!!! I love it! I am 21, yet I too am amazed at how far we've come, even in my life. I remember just a few short years ago, the few "rich people" were lugging cellphones that took up entire briefcases, or were the size of cinder blocks and cost thousands of dollars. Now, they're practically giving away phones that are small enough to lose in your pocket!

I too am amazed that I can communicate with anyone in the world, no matter where I am, or what time it is. Technology is fascinating to me too. Of course, we have to be careful to keep it to its intended use: to bring us closer to those we love, and to make our lives easier, not the opposite.

Look at this forum: I'm communicating and exchanging ideas with people from all over the world, all from the comfort of my home. (Or work...) Not to mention the hundreds of dollars I've spent without even walking into a store! :rolleyes: :D

Anyway, you are not alone in your fascination with technology. Its too cool!

drjones
 
I'm 41 and I love it too! I actually became interested in computers just *before* the Apple II made them available to everyone. :)

Technology is useful but it is also fun! And I would never have believed some of the areas it has touched. Computers and personal electronics are obvious, but who'd have thought it would also bring us ultra-lightweight handguns and knives that can't rust? :)

--Bob Q
 
I am 52, and know exactly what you are talking about with today's technology. In business and with my private life, I am able to accomplish an incredible amount in a very short period of time.

Here is an example: When I first began my "visits" to the orient, I was corresponding via telex machine. Then came the fax. Now the email. Each of these steps saves an unbelieveable amount of time over the previous manner of communicating.

The problem is that everyone is communicating and getting much more "done" in a much shorter period of time. Therefore I am not really ahead of the game at all. I am merely keeping up with the pace!!

In fact, I still remember my dad buying one of the very first remote control B&W TVs. It had a squeeze ball attached to a long tube that ran to the TV. You would literally squeeze the ball and the air pressure would move the channel selector. Yiikes!!

As far as the knife industry is concerned, I find that I am drawn towards some of the newest steels and materials. However, most of the knives I buy are capable of much much more than I would ever need a knife to do. Ths is especially true of the more "custom" and expensive knives. I find myself buying an expensive knife, made with very high grade materials, that ends up sitting in a display case. Then I ask myself why I would spend so much money for something I have no intention of using.
 
Grouse Hunter, you a I are about the same age. I will be 50 in a few months. I carry slipjoints and fixed blades. Not much new technology there. Some new handle materials, but I like natural materials best and most of the steels that I have a preference for have been around a lot longer than I have.

I think all these new technologies and materials are great. Seeing them shows that the knife industry is always trying to find a way to make their products better. It is a fact though that many of the new ideas that we see are brought to market so that company x can keep up with company y. For example, if company y has just come up with a new lock then company x makes it a priority to come up with an even better one(or so their marketing department will claim).

So to tell you the truth, I do not find that all these new technologies are of much importance to me. As far as I am concerned, the simpler the better. These technologies do however lead to some very interesting topics being discussed on BladeForums, and that I find to be a good thing.
 
Retreive perment press cloths from laundry room (no need to iron)

Check e-mails on computer



Those are my two favorites, by far. Those and long-distance telephone calls.

When I was a boy, not to long ago, when Dad had to make an international call, he had to call the operator and request a long distance line. Then, nobody could use the phone until the operator called back with his call for him. It took the operator fifteen minutes or more to place that call because most of it was patched through by hand. Then, once the call was placed, it was frighteningly expensive and you had to shout to hear the other party over the noise. Half of the call consisted of "What?... Say that again... I didn't hear you... Speak up!"

Today, I can call my friend in Estonia by just picking up the phone, dialing the numbers, and we're connected within a second or two. The call quality is on a par with a local call. And the price is quite afordable at about fifty cents a minute.

Even domestic long-distance calls, when I was a boy, required operator assistance though they could usually be placed promptly. We'd call Grandma in Wisconsin a couple of times a year. Each of us was allowed a minute or so to say hello. She sounded a long ways away. It was a noisey, scratchy connection and it was also expensive.

Today, I can make that same call for six cents a minute, dial it direct and be connected with a second or two. The voice at the other end is still weak and there's still a lot of "I didn't hear that", but that's because she's grown weak and frail, not because of telephone problems.

Years ago, I worked for a company that sent a bunch of us off to a place where there were no phones for several weeks. We were each allowed three minutes of personal calls per week on the satellite phone which was a suit-case sized afair with a little dish that you had to set up and align. $12/minute and the connection wasn't that good.

I talked the other day to a friend of mine who's somewhere half-way across the Pacific Ocean. We talked via Iridium satellite. I've seen his Iridium unit. It's not much bigger than a typical hand-held cell phone. The antenna is about three inches long and a half-inch in diameter. It works best on deck so that the antenna has a clear view of the sky, but no alignment is needed. It's still a bit pricey at $5.99/minute, but the connection is remarkably clear. He can send and receive e-mail via the same unit.

The speed of technology change is really just amazing.
 
I am 51 and find technology to be a useful paradox. The web, cellphone, and satellite dish allow me to live on 53 wooded acres in a very rural area while running a home-based business. (Of course, the biz might improve if I spent less time on The Firing Line, GlockTalk, and BladeForums.) I'm also able to draw from an almost limitless pool of information about things I enjoy. And when I choose to utilize some of that info, I can have items at my door with just a few mouse clicks. So, in essence, 21st century technolgoy allows me to live a rustic, peaceful life. Having to collect rainwater in a cistern is an easy tradeoff for all this tranquility (and the hundreds of beautiful wild animals roaming around on my place). Thus the paradox--the latest technology enabling a throw-back lifestyle. Sure works for me.
 
Technology is great and fun when it's used without malice.
 
After reading the replies to my post I started thinking "what product of today's technology has had the BIGGEST impact on my life"....

Hands down, the computer....

Spending most of my free time enjoying outdoor persuits, I was curious as to how many BTUs a 4" candle produces....10mins later I had the answer.(approx 450/hr.)One of countless examples.

A very close second would be GPS....for the avid outdoorsman it's the best thing since the invention of the compass.

Having two sons and wanting them to appreciate what Mother Nature has made available to us in our "own back yard" I would take them on a 100mi. wilderness canoe trip as a rite of passage.

GPS was not available when my oldest son and I took our trip; and I remember spending hours searching for a campsite or more importantly a portage 3mi. across the lake we were on.

GPS was available when my youngest was ready for his adventure...I sat at the kitchen table with the topo map collection I had used for my first trip and entered all the campsites and portages as waypoints in UTM cordinates.It literally made it possible to "find a needle in a haystack".

We used an updated version to assist in our 13,500mi trip to Alaska when he graduated college two years ago.

This is a PRIME example of military technology in civilian use.
 
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