Technology......

Then there are the technological words that change with technology and I’m definitely not able to keep up with these words!  I’m old enough to remember my Dad keying an amateur radio operator in Morse code.  I’m old enough to remember when there were no electric typewriters.  I remember when the first “word processor” came out….it was amazing!!  I remember when there were only dial phones and the phone cord (made of wires covered in a cloth-like material) was only about 1-1/2 ft. long, so you definitely didn’t go walking about the house when you were on the phone.  And…..there was only ONE phone in the house.  I remember when one had to “book” a call if it was to a town outside Colombo, and telegrams were the most urgent method of communication from country to country.  I remember phone booths!  (good thing Superman came around in the era he did…..if he came nowadays he’d be arrested for indecent exposure since there aren’t many phone booths left in the world!).  We were driving through a small town and our daughter asked (pointing to a phone booth) “Mama, what is that thing?”   Yep- I’m older than DIRT!  I remember the very first time I saw something in colour on TV, and remember many years without TV at all in Sri Lanka.  Believe it or not, those were great days because we had CBC (Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation) with two stations (radio) in English, several in Sinhala and several in Tamil.  And…..we had conversations (and built meaningful friendships and relationships because of it).  I remember reel-to-reel tape, records and how “cool” it was when cassettes came along.  I was very popular because my Dad had taught me how to splice reel-to-reel tape…..and when cassette tape broke – I could repair them.  I wasn’t in USA at all when “8-tracks” came out so I didn’t have much to do with them.  Then this “wondrous” invention called a CD came out…..certainly it couldn’t get any better than that, right?

I remember cameras with film and having to wait weeks to have film developed.  Then came 1-hr. photo development…..certainly it couldn’t get any better than that, right?  Then came digital cameras, and phones that had digital cameras.  Then came “texting” which I still don’t understand…didn’t we invent phones so we could talk to one another instead of writing as we used to?  Then came the term “sexting” and I don’t even want to waste time explaining that one. 

I remember when a movie was seen only one place – at a cinema, and if it was a popular film one had to “book” seats in advance.  Then a marvelous invention came out called a VCR and one could actually rent a film and watch it at home!!  Surely it couldn’t get any better than that, right?  But miraculously it did and DVDs came out.  Gee, I wonder how I’m ever going to explain to my future grandchildren that toy “car” that opens up to hold a VHS tape to REWIND!!!  Maybe I should hang on to it…it could be an antique.  Then came DVD recorders.  Now there are Blu-Ray Disc players – a friend of ours (who is technical-minded) tried to explain it to us….I still don’t get it.   Then there were Mp3 (and of course like “Rocky” you have to have sequels “Rocky 2”, etc.)….so, last I heard they’re up to Mp4….but by the time I finish this article they’ll probably be up to Mp17.  People didn’t like to look at photo albums any longer – they preferred to have photos entertain them on a screen.  People became so attached to their computers that a portable version – a laptop – had to be invented.  Then we did a really curious thing as people – instead of going to a library to borrow a book or instead of the fun of going to a bookstore to browse for and buy a book…..we began to “download” them on a device called a “Kindle”…….ipods, smart phones, ipads…..hey, I can’t keep up with it.  Sadly, the more technology we have the less personal interaction we have with others.....no more trips to the library and saying "Hi!" to friends you recognize.  Even TALKING to others has become a lost art...."why talk when you can text" (it's so impersonal).

But as we upgrade, we generally throw away the outdated item.  Somewhere in Kenya or China little children are being paid a few cents to pick through highly toxic e-waste we leave behind as we upgrade.  Sometimes the amount of toxic lead in their bloodstream (from handling the items) leaves them dysfunctional.  “60 Minutes” did a report called “The Wasteland” about e-waste and where it really goes.  By all means,  please watch it:  http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4586903n                                                              

There is another great documentary (you can watch it on You Tube) called “Manufactured Landscapes”.  This is the only planet we have to live on.  If we mess it up…..where do our grandchildren live?    We’re not even just guilty of spreading our outdated e-waste around the world….we’ve also invented plastic bags for “convenience”.  I do remember going to the market (notice, I said market, not supermarket) in Colombo with our straw baskets.  The baskets were usually made from banana or palm leaves.  We used them over and over every time we went to the market.  The only item that was “wrapped” was meat, and it was wrapped in butcher’s paper (sometimes we even washed and dried the paper to reuse for other things).  Then suddenly everyone wanted things to be covered in cellophane to “look fresher and cleaner”.  You’re going to laugh or say “Ew!!!!” but we used to eat “curd” in Sri Lanka…..I guess you’d say “yoghurt”.  A guy would come to the door once a week with his pots of curd.  The pots were made of clay.  If you turned in the old pot you got a considerable discount on the new curd.  Sometimes we didn’t turn the pots in, but preferred to drill a drainage hole and put plants in them.  Those were good days.  Plastic drinking bottles hadn’t been invented either.  Milk came in glass bottles (and was delivered to the door) – you left the empties and they were picked up the following week.  I don’t know which of the two was the more horrifying scene….the Mexican way of dealing with empty plastic bottles (by throwing them out the window…that’s is, just throwing them out the window….plastic doesn’t disintegrate..EVER!)…..or the way Sri Lanka dealt with it when we visited in 2004….they BURN the plastic bottles which emit extremely toxic fumes.  In my point of view neither way is an acceptable way to treat our planet!  We’ve sold our planet for the sake of “convenience” and having the trendiest item.

When I was a kid I only remember one or two people who died of cancer; it was quite rare.  These days I know more and more people who have cancer….something has caused that increase.  Is it the toxins in the plastic containers we are microwaving in?  Is it toxins in our air that we’re breathing in?  Are we doing something in our lifestyles for convenience that changes the balance?

Happily, some stores are becoming more “green” and not using plastic bags at all for merchandise.   But there is also dishonesty in our world – if there was (and there was and still is!) dishonesty in Wall Street….why wouldn’t a company pretend to be “green” for disposing of e-waste and then send it all overseas for little kids to pick through?  I can be a little skeptical at times….I want to believe companies when they advertise how “green” they are and how “greenly” they will dispose of e-waste, but I also know some are dishonest.