What Do You Think About Modern Technology?

What would you consider your favorite piece of technology today?

DNA segmenting is part of today's technology
What stated out as a good thing, may become a nightmare.

Today's Plinky prompt is rather open-ended, don't you think? It asks what I consider my favorite technology in today's world.  Personally, I believe most people will jump to the conclusion that technology is automatically concerning the electronic media, such as the internet, and what one can do online. While this is certainly part of today's technology, it certainly is not everything about today's technological advances. 


Over the last century, there have been an untold number of inventions that fall into the category of technological advances. Consider the way wars are fought, that certainly has been the precursor to many if not most of the modern conveniences we enjoy and which most of us use on a daily basis. Consider the microwave oven, digital thermostats most modern homes now have and use to keep their home in a comfortable state, whether it be for the air conditioner or heater. You simply set the desired temperature, as well as the time of day that you wish that temperature to be set, and voila, your home is cooler at night, and somewhat warmer in the day, whether or not you are sleeping, or awake. These temperatures can be reset, for when you may be gone to work, and in preparation for your return home, as well. 


Refrigerators are now made so they defrost themselves, and even recognize when the humidity is high or low, and operate accordingly, helping to prevent excessive ice buildup in the freezer, also helping save electricity, and making the appliance more efficient, thereby using less electricity, hopefully lowering your utility bill.


Today, you might be hard-pressed to find a pay phone, which was not too many years ago, was located at many local gas stations, and many shopping centers, and even smaller convenience stores.  They were often broken into for the loose change, and were costly to maintain as well.  Now, when you can find a pay phone, it is most often owned an operated by someone other than the local telephone company, and they are getting rather  costly to use, as well.  Most people nowadays have cellular phones.  In many homes, they are the only phones used, with wired phones, quickly becoming all but obsolete.  One must wonder how people plan to communicate if those satellites high above the earth are put out of operation, either by someone with evil intent, or maybe even by solar storms, or solar flares, which at times are directed toward the earth.  In the past, such solar flares have affected the electrical grids in many large sections of the United States, as well as in other countries, as well.  Did you know that if you do still have a home telephone, it is recommended to also have at least one hard wired phone in your home?  Your cordless phone will not work in case of a power outage, as it works almost entirely by radio signal.  It needs the electric power in order to function, and send radio signals to your headset.  The base unit which is connected to the wall outlet, only receives the incoming call and without electricity through the transformer which is plugged into the wall, it is useless.  I have my home phone, as well as a cell phone, and I make sure that I have at least one simple hardwired phone to use in case of power failure, or in the event the satellites are nonfunctional for some reason.

ATM Machine

ATM machines are also part of today's modern technology, making money easier to collect whether the bank is open or not. You can now even make ATM deposits without the need of filling out a deposit slip, and even cash, as well as any checks you deposit into the ATM machine is scanned, as proof of your transaction. Any money you deposit is also scanned for verification that the money is indeed real, or counterfeit. 

Space view of a hurricane at sea

You can see from the photo at the left, that modern technology has contributed to advance warning of major storms, such as hurricanes, which is a good thing.  However, now there is also concern over whether weather manipulation may be being used against nations in order to control them, or even to destroy their crops or their means of income, thereby leaving them vulnerable to the whims of other, more powerful nations.

Fill-up Time

You can also buy your fuel and pay at most any gas pump by simply inserting your credit or debit card, entering your PIN (pass code) and you are in and out in record time, eliminating the necessity to even see the person acting as cashier in most cases. 


Due to all of the above, I would really be hard pressed to choose a favorite version of today's technology as a real favorite. While I certainly take advantage of many things in today's technology, such as my iMAC computer, my HP all in one printer/scanner/fax machine, and accessing news and weather in my area or in the world, I also enjoy my electric rice cooker, slow cooker, electric fry pan, and my Scion car, I also recognize that each one of these things are directly affecting the planet's environment in one way or another. 

Let's not forget those little
conveniences we all bought
just a few years ago, many of
which are now obsolete.

I really enjoy using my digital camera, and saving lots of money I would otherwise be spending on film that I would otherwise have to buy. I also like the ability to enlarge my photos enough to see the pixels, so I can repair minor blips that may show up otherwise in my pictures. I love the photography programs that one can use to edit their photos, eliminating things in the photo that may distract from it's intended view. It's interesting how a person can take photos in nearly complete darkness of night, and increase the lighting, allowing you to appreciate what then shows up in your photos. I love taking morning shots, just before or while the sun is rising, and adjusting the light just enough to all so many wonderful hues to become visible which one may not see with the unaided eye. 


Still, while the planet becomes more polluted, man continues to dispose of toxins and waste products from searching for the minerals which he uses to produce these modern conveniences, into the land, sea and the atmosphere, killing off many life-forms and sea-life, now putting life of all creation in jeopardy. 

Industrial Pollution
Maybe it's leaving the US, but
it is growing worldwide, which
still affects everyone on earth,
in one way or another.

Before I was born, and since then, as well, when we did not have all these things to make life easier, did we miss them? Of course not, and most people were certainly closer as families, friends, and neighbors, as well. While modern medicine has provided many helpful advances, it has also provided more toxic products under the name of medication, which has also killed more people, in some cases than it has helped. While antibiotics have saved many lives, (mine included) nowadays, more and more bacteria is resistant to these same antibiotics. Have you not heard of colloidal silver? It is one of nature's own natural antibiotics, and so is simply keeping your body in an alkaline state. Even Cancer cannot live in an alkaline body. Your health will definitely improve if you stop eating sugar, as well as so-called foods which are produced through breaking them down and processing all of the natural nutrients out of them. Even pasteurized milk is not nearly as safe as you have been led to believe. Unpasteurized dairy products and raw fruits and vegetables have enzymes which are essential for your health and your body to function as it was intended. 

Herbs

So, you choose... Which of today's technologies is your favorite? Personally, though I might miss many of the modern conveniences, I am positive that we all would be a lot better off without most of them. If we grew our own foodstuffs, and canned them for off season use, our lives would be more peaceful and we would be more connected to our neighbors and our families, as well as to the earth and the one who created everything on it, as well.