Technology I'm Thankful for

 I was talking to my five year old nephew, Caleb this weekend and we started talking about inventions.  What was an invention, why did someone make them, then we started taking turns saying an invention we liked and why we liked them. That conversation inspired this blog:

--------------------------------------------------------------

Technology I’m Thankful for:

1.     Cell Phones: One price for a call to someone down the street as someone in Conneticut or Kansas, fantastic!  I remember when as a college student I got calling cards to call anyone out of the city I was living in.  Now I can call and text to so many people and afford it!  And when I’m at the store, I can call the house and get grocery ideas.

2.     USB: The number of peripherals since the invention of USB has become incredibl.  No longer is it get one type of cable for one device.  USB has introduced us to a whole new world of computing options. Digital cameras, scanners, web cams, all of these fantastic things would not be nearly as widespread as they are today without USB.

3.     Digital Cameras: What a fantastic idea!  Now I can share pictures with my friends and family via email or facebook, or shoot them a cd chuck full of pictures.  When my nieces and nephews are born and I’m not in town, I can see them the same day!!  Remember the days of film camera?  I would never get a great shot, or have film for a year before developing it.  Then if someone wanted copies, another trip to the store and cost.  I love digital cameras!

4.     Inexpensive Internet: I feel like everything is at the tips of my fingers with internet. It’s so much easier to communicate with others, and the ability to find resources is amazing!  What does a word mean? Why is my washing machine leaking? What recipe can I make with bananas, cornflakes and chocolate chips? Being able to find and share resources quickly has opened the doors to so many possibilities.  And even non-geeks can afford it!

5.     Online Travel Agent:  I used to call a travel agent, or would be with my Dad at the airport to book tickets. Now I can go to Kayak.com and put in the days I want to fly and ask for a buzz and everyday I get an email telling me the cost of flights on the days I requested.  Being able to compare prices quickly I think helps keep the prices down (in some ways).

 

 

My final invention is not a technology one, but one Caleb and I both agreed on.  Chocolate Cake!  The invention of chocolate cake was actually begun as a catalyst for eating chocolate in 1674 in Europe.  So to all my nephews and nieces; Caleb, Joshua, Evelyn, Julia, Nathan, Amberly and Jacob, I look forward to talking about more inventions (or eating chocolate cake) next week at Thanksgiving! Love you à, Aunt Angie   

To everybody else, Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are the cousins all together.  I talk to each through cell phones, they are all snapped with many digital cameras, have parents that blog about them & do lots of plane rides to see each other!