Solar Powered Stop sign!

[CarolAnn]

Yesterday I saw my first solar powered stop sign. (Not stop light - stop sign! It had a small solar panel attached to the post and each of the eight corners of the sign had a red flashing LED. Cool!

For some reason, new technology doesn't even raise an eyebrow on most folks any longer. My boss was walking around last week with a bluetooth stuck in his ear and I noticed the red flashing light on it. He didn't get it when I said in a monotone, "Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."

I decided it's time to do a survey! Do you have a bluetooth? Know what it is? Have an ipod, iphone or any of that stuff? Listen to records, tapes, or mp3's? Do you pop the trunk or open it with a key?

Or do you remember carbon paper, dippers, rolling up windows? Wire recorders? Transistor radios?

8)

[AlchemyAcres]

"I decided it's time to do a survey! Do you have a bluetooth? "no" Know what it is? "yes" Have an ipod, iphone or any of that stuff? "no" Listen to records, tapes, or mp3's "rarely"? Do you pop the trunk or open it with a key? "screwdriver...LOL...nawww...a key."

Or do you remember carbon paper, dippers, rolling up windows? Wire recorders? Transistor radios? "yep""

~Martin *;)

[333]

Peace,

Yes I know what those things are and no I possess none of them. Grew up with 45s 33s a few 78s then eventually, 8 track, reel to reel and so on, have a tailgate and 8 ft bed so I lift the lever drop the gate ;)

333

[annabella1]

I am probably the only person in the world who prefers a minidisc player to an mp3. Minidisc is what we use in the puppet shows and it is so easy to change what you are doing in mid stream. They are almost impossible to find anymore so I guess I will have to learn new technology. I remember my first job we used an adding machine. Not a calculator, It could only add and subtract. I had only worked there 6 months when they brought in calculators and they were the most amazing things. You could actually multiply and divide on them. I have used a manual typewriter, an electric typewriter, a word processor and now a computer. Things have changed so much in just the last 30 years. Yes when I saw my first solar powered stop sign I thought it was great too. I can also remember when they used to have a generator for the lights on the road construction sawhorses, now most of those are solar powered too.

[oldnndway]

I remember when a coke was still cola and the joint was a bad place to go

I decided it's time to do a survey! Do you have a bluetooth? No Know what it is? yes Have an ipod, iphone or any of that stuff? No but I would like to have an i-pod Listen to records, tapes, or mp3's? CD's Do you pop the trunk or open it with a key? Have a p/u, pop it on my wifes car

Or do you remember carbon paper, dippers, rolling up windows? Wire recorders? Transistor radios? All of that except the wire recorder

I do download music from i-Tunes and burn it to cd's, that's pretty high tech I think.
Here lately I've been listening to the radio more and more on the computer.
i-Tunes has radio stations listed that aren't commercial and are free.
They have about every genre of music you could think of and multiple stations for each one.
I've gotten to where I like to listen to the Electronic stations while I work....beeps and squeaks with a beat.
Pretty trippy stuff actually.
The classic rock listing is good too but sometimes a bit more 80's and up stuff than I care for.

Technology ain't necessarily bad.
Sure has made life a LOT easier in a lot of ways.
My work life went from manual typewriters and BIC pens to computers and cell phones in not that many years.

[MadTripper]

I decided it's time to do a survey! Do you have a bluetooth? Know what it is? Have an ipod, iphone or any of that stuff? Listen to records, tapes, or mp3's? Do you pop the trunk or open it with a key?

Or do you remember carbon paper, dippers, rolling up windows? Wire recorders? Transistor radios?


1. I have a bluetooth although I don't really use it unless I'm driving in N.Y. State.
2. See part 1
3. I have had a Gateway MP3 player for about 5 years and love it. I also have a Pocket PC which is a phone, calendar, video camera, still camera, mp3 player, task reminder..the list goes on...you can see it here. (http://www.mobiletechreview.com/Verizon-XV6700.htm)
4. I love music and primarily listen to mp3's or other digital audio. I also listen to cd's and occasionally cassettes.
5. I open it with a handle (Jeep).
6. Carbon paper is still around. I used it in my drafting classes in college.
7. What is a dipper? In my world its packed between your tooth and gum and is a form of tobacco.
8. I prefer manual windows so yes, I remember them. Power windows are still an option on most vehicles, well the ones I would purchase anyways.
9. Wire recorders....I'm not sure about them.
10. Transistor radios, of course although I can't say they were plentiful as I grew up.

[CarolAnn]

In just a few weeks, I'll be 56, and when I was four years old, (so it would be about 1955) my dad recorded me singing "How much is that doggie in the window" on a reel-to-reel wire recorder. Instead of tape, it looked like aluminum wire! I guess they never really caught on, but it was a lot more durable than a piece of brown tape! ;)

I might add - in 50 years recording technology may have improved, but my singing voice hasn't! ::)

[annabella1]

We had wire recorders for taking letters for the secretaries to type at my first job. We would record what we wanted and they would type it and then we would record over it again. The advantage over regular tape that was available then, is that the secretary could play it back as slow or fast as she wanted. It had a foot pedal that would regulate the speed. The wire would not stretch out of shape and get ruined like magnetic tape would.

[Suzy]

I turned 55 this summer...

When I began reporting in 1980, we all used manual typewriters.....I can remember how excited and fascinated I was when we got our first fax machine!!!

In the late 1980's I bought a "word processor" and then a small ADAM computer (which saved all data on a regular cassette tape!) and we were AMAZED!!!!

Then I started reading about the Internet and thinking of all the worlds that would open to me as a writer!

By the early 1990's we were way into the computer technology but I didn't get Internet until I think 1997....and I've been on this site ever since!!!!

Husband and I have cell phones with me keeping mine in my blue jean pocket all the time....it is JUST a phone but was great when mama was sick so I never worried about being away from the phone....and is great for him at work.....

But most of the other technology just whips on past me and I let it go!

I WANT A SIMPLE LIFE and it seems the more technology gets involved, the more complicated it gets...and to me most of the time I don't really say how technology has helped too much....

It is "easier" for me to send articles on the computer, but there was just something about waiting around for the mailman to come by every day to see if I'd had an article accepted that just doesn't translate to the computer!

Also, we didn't have to worry much about those old manual typewriters going "down." Most of the time those old reliable clunkers just kept right on working as long as we pushed the keys.....Now if the computer or Internet is down, we all panic....

I love my digital camera BUT I think we've lost something in the process....there's nothing like capturing an image on film and then seeing it come to life in a dark room....

So I think we've traded a lot of things for convenience and lost a lot of things in the background....

Me....I'm hoping to buy a RECORD PLAYER soon to play all these all but great records I have been getting for next to nothing at flea markets, garage sales, etc. (I look closely to make sure they are not scratched or anything and don't buy them if they are....unless there is some cover I just really want!)

Anyway, my goats, rabbits, ducks, chickens, cats, and dogs don't really care about technology...UNLESS they are having a problem and I get on the Internet to see how to treat them or care for them! SO that is an option is good...

Technology is a tool, just like hoes and rakes, etc.....it's how we use it, how we let it control our lives, how much we spend on useless stuff....that's what's important.

[TNDadx4]

Do you have a bluetooth? No
Know what it is? Yes

Have an ipod, iphone or any of that stuff? No, but my son has an mp3 player. I like it.

Listen to records, tapes, or mp3's?
Mostly mp3 and some CDs. I used to have 33 1/3 and 45 records

Do you pop the trunk or open it with a key?
Pickup / Other vehicle = key

Or do you remember:
carbon paper: Yes
dippers: I don't know what this is.
rolling up windows: Absolutely
Wire recorders:I don't know what this is, either
Transistor radios: Yes

[wax]

Interesting post CarolAnn, with interesting questions.

Technology is a tool, an extremely powerful tool in today's world.

I don't use any "bluetooth" at this time... well... erm...
I guess I would need to ask what you mean in a way.

You see asking if someone uses bluetooth is sort of like asking (in the early 1920s) if people use that newfangled telephone.
The answer of course is yes... but then no... but of course yes.

For one thing "bluetooth" is an electronic industrial specification protocol, not an object.
It is sort of like asking if anyone reading this has ever used TCP/IP... the answer is obviously yes or they could not read what I have written.

Yes, Bluetooth is used for wireless control of and communication between a mobile phone and a hands-free headset or car kit. This was one of the earliest applications to become popular.

But it is also used for wireless networking between PCs in a confined space and where little bandwidth is required. If you are on the Internet you are "using" bluetooth without knowing it.

Yet if you have ever looked at GPS information, visited a hospital and utilized medical equipment, bought anything and used bar code scanners, driven on public roads (most traffic control devices now use bluetooth), played a Ninntendo Wii[2] or Sony PlayStation 3... well of course the point is that you have also used bluetooth whether you noticed or not.

I finally bowed to mp3 when my children decided that my old tapedeck made them look bad in public.
I would have thrown it out but the sad fact is that my kids know my weaknesses: I can not listen to libertarian podcasts (FreeTalk Live) and other talk formats instead of music. I can even go nuts and listen to paranormal programming like Ghost Talk and Coast to Coast (possibly the funniest talk shows ever created!)

But I digress a bit.

Because you touch on something extremely important: dependence.

[MadTripper]

Interesting post CarolAnn, with interesting questions.

Technology is a tool, an extremely powerful tool in today's world.

I don't use any "bluetooth" at this time... well... erm...
I guess I would need to ask what you mean in a way.

You see asking if someone uses bluetooth is sort of like asking (in the early 1920s) if people use that newfangled telephone.
The answer of course is yes... but then no... but of course yes.

For one thing "bluetooth" is an electronic industrial specification protocol, not an object.
It is sort of like asking if anyone reading this has ever used TCP/IP... the answer is obviously yes or they could not read what I have written.

Yes, Bluetooth is used for wireless control of and communication between a mobile phone and a hands-free headset or car kit. This was one of the earliest applications to become popular.

But it is also used for wireless networking between PCs in a confined space and where little bandwidth is required. If you are on the Internet you are "using" bluetooth without knowing it.

Yet if you have ever looked at GPS information, visited a hospital and utilized medical equipment, bought anything and used bar code scanners, driven on public roads (most traffic control devices now use bluetooth), played a Ninntendo Wii[2] or Sony PlayStation 3... well of course the point is that you have also used bluetooth whether you noticed or not.

I finally bowed to mp3 when my children decided that my old tapedeck made them look bad in public.
I would have thrown it out but the sad fact is that my kids know my weaknesses: I can not listen to libertarian podcasts (FreeTalk Live) and other talk formats instead of music. I can even go nuts and listen to paranormal programming like Ghost Talk and Coast to Coast (possibly the funniest talk shows ever created!)

But I digress a bit.

Because you touch on something extremely important: dependence.


I think there is some confusion here. By being on the internet, you aren't using bluetooth. You are correct in that it is used for plenty of the items you spoke about however far from exclusive. Bluetooth can be used to connect to the internet however it certainly never panned out to work well enough. The uses that seem to be the most common are low level accessories like wireless headsets and mice/keyboards. Mice and keyboards aren't even as responsive as their traditional wireless technologies when using bluetooth technologies.
As far as barcode scanners, there are some bluetooth uses however the wireless 11a/b/g is running those options into the ground since most businesses are finding its easier to use a protocol they already have in place. Of course you have the wired versions and incounter units which are even more common.
GPS receivers can use bluetooth to transmit information to a computer or other system however don't require it at all for day to day operation.

I see that most of your information was almost verbatim from wikipedia. Perhaps a coincidence.

Bluetooth is a replacement for accessory wires and thats about the extent of it. The speeds and distance limitations are just to inhibiting to use it for any type of major communication.

[wax]

I must go on of course... you can't stop me!

I have stood in front of a young woman who read the amount on her cash register and then looked up at me and stated, "That will be $119.90".... at a Kentucky Fried Chicken!
I waited because at heart I am a nice guy even if I am far too harsh sometimes but I really wanted her to realize where she was and what she was saying but instead... she looked down at her little screen and re-iterated, "$119.90 please."

I gave her one more chance, "Are you sure that is how much I owe you?" as the guy behind me chuckled quietly.

Yes she answered... with an assumption of authority.

My wife hates this story because the poor woman was forced to suffer through one of my public rants.
But I did it because I wanted everyone around me to know what the issue was.
I wasn't really angry with the young woman behind the counter but she did need a lesson.

You see... I could wait for a person to hatch eggs and raise the fowl I was about to consume.
I could watch him/her pluck the chicken and process it in a loving way.
I could lie down and have three beautiful women bring the bird to me fully prepared and then wipe my chin as they fed it to me and I would not pay $119.90 for a @%&% chicken dinner!

Now while the rest of the customers laughed quite loudly at my antics the poor young woman became useless. You see the problem was quite clear, the till had told her that I owed more than 100 dollars for an 8 piece meal and well... why would it lie to her?
It never had in such a way, why would it?

But the main problem was that she had suddenly been asked to think, and she never had to think at work before!
She didn't like to think, it was clear.
And the manager didn't like to think either... he tried to explain why the register said $119.90 instead of the $11.99 it was supposed to!
It wasn't until then that I actually became angry!

You see this manager was the same age I was, and he thought I was angry at a machine.
You, dear reader, of course know that I could not have cared less what the machine said.
It could have said forty million but the problem is that a human looked down, read the number, then announced it to be fact.
She had to form words in order to get a fact across.
There are so many places in which her mind functioning on reality should have stepped in but...

You want to have a very sad sort of fun?
Go to buy something extremely simple, like a sparkplug.
Before you walk into the building snip the electrical lines.
Or you can just wait because eventually it will happen as it has to me before.

I walked into a local "NAPA" store where a man (not a kid an adult man) had a line of people waiting for him to serve them.
I was informed that he could not sell me anything "yet" because the "network" was down.

I am not kidding folks, it happened!

What bothered me was what transpired when we customers started to recommend an alternative.
He simply didn't understand:
"Well of course I could right it down but the system won't add up the totals for me!"
"Well I could do that myself but then I wouldn't know the tax totals would I?"
"Well... yes it is a standard seven percent sales tax but I wouldn't have a receipt"
"Well.. yes I could write one I suppose but I can't access any cash to make change unless the system is up!"

He became more and more distraught but he really didn't snap until I tossed a five dollar bill on the counter and told him to keep the difference.

He became shrill in declaring that I could not leave with company "merchandise" as I told him he could always take down my license and call the cops.
I heard him scream as the door shut, "The phone lines don't work!"

Yes... and that is why someday the majority of people in this world are going to fail in the one chance they get to react in order to survive.

Solar powered stop signs are nice but one needs to understand that sometimes the sign itself means absolutely nothing, and whether pleasantly lit or shrouded in darkness should be ignored.

[wax]

Mad- I see that most of your information was almost verbatim from wikipedia. *Perhaps a coincidence.

Wax- No, not a coincidence in that it was grabbed (list of uses and nothing more... and the suggestion that wireless control was "one of the earliest applications to become popular") quickly for reference in order to quickly pass the point along.

You make some good points in that I should not allow confusion concerning "usage" however my overall point was that technology tends to "bleed" all over the society which uses it.

[MadTripper]

Ironically, I can completely agree with you in that technology has become a necessity to so many individuals that they are left dumfounded when asked to perform a simple manual task that is usually taken care of for them. I suppose this adds to my reasoning for wanting to still have a simpler life although technology is my bread and butter. My entire career is based on computers. We are actually implementing classrooms for the future at our school and I have a hard time pushing it out to all of these classrooms. I am a firm believer in the fact that technology is not the complete answer for every aspect of education (in this instance) and should not be shoved down anyones throat. But, anyone familiar with federal and state level grants realizes it is typically all or none.
So, I'll continue to read, research, and implement these technologies because I don't think it is going away nor should it. But simultaneously I continue to keep basic life skills in check and available for my children to realize. There can be a balance and if by some remote chance "the internet" dies, life can still continue in a comfortable manner. Unfortunately, there are a lot of folks who would still want to charge 119.00 for a chicken dinner and stand with their mouths wide open. Me, I'll be raising our own food and moving on to the next stage.

[wax]

I will remit: Technology is a tool, an extremely powerful tool in today's world.

Don't lament using anything and everything at it's very newest form and most affective state!
Many-a-man has mistakenly avoided technology that could make his life easier and more productive while it is in use.

The key of course is as it always has been (historically and pre-historically).
Our strength as a species is clear and as individuals must be supported and upheld: adjustment.

Use everything at hand but prepare for that odd instance in which it must be replaced.

My eldest son is twenty-one years old, I allowed his major education to be public until he was an adult.
He is a good man but he admits his errors concerning the learning process.

By the time he graduated he did not know what an index was, or how to use one.
Why would he?

I have an AAS in Network Services and an Advanced Administration Certificate in Linux from South Central College (MNSCU) so I have absolutely no "problem" with technology.
Like you I have embraced technology and plan to utilize it while it exists.

As you said... there can be a balance.

[wax]

Wow! We can not type Public and then type until without the software deciding that the "c" from public and the "unt" from until might combine a combination we don't want?

Perfect example of my overall complaint.

BTW: This is not a slam on our gracious providers and careful hosts, just another example of technology fulfilling purpose without intent!

[CarolAnn]

Well, you guys have educated me. I thought "bluetooth" refered just to the blinking thingy stuck in my boss's ear. (We won't go into what else is stuck where on him, as it's not that kind of forum!) ;D

Resistance isn't futile . . .yet.


And as for the solar powered stop sign, last night I was noticing that they moved the solar panel up the pole to the top of the sign, and I almost hit the utility truck that was making a turn in front of me from the other direction. Or maybe it was that I was trying to see if the other signs at the four way stop had solar lights hooked up too . . . but you get the idea. The sign became more of a hazard than a safety device when it became a distraction.

Next they'll be adding holographic advertisements to the stop signs!