Friday, February 04, 2005

Technology

Technology, when used properly and honorably, can be a marvelous thing. I awoke this morning at 3:30 a.m. in order to try out a new piece of "technology."

Using a system called IRLP, which linked the radio signal emitted from my personal "ham radio" to the Internet, I was able to converse with some of my old friends and colleagues in Los Angeles (who are also amateur radio operators), from here in England. A true marriage between modern computer technology and the "old" technology originated by the likes of Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Samuel F.B. Morse, and Guglielmo Marconi.

Yes, it would have been easier and more "efficient" to simply use the telephone, or send an email. But, there's no challenge or novelty (or nostalgia) in that, is there? The next time I witness a pair or trio of teenage girls sending each other "instant text messages" to and from their mobile telephones (their interpretation of intellectual conversation), as they stand within a few feet of each other, I'll think about this morning's minor accomplishment...

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