RECENT IMPROVEMENTS
The election season shows the value and even the NECESSITY of such technological advances as the DVR and, in its absence, the humble mute button.
Thanks to them I have not yet endured the entirety of a single political advertisement. I began to ponder what other developments in the last quarter century have improved my life.
The first two I thought of are in the realm of food, namely: seedless grapes and watermelons. I’ve found the latter may represent a sacrifice in terms of sweetness but, overall, still an improvement.
GPS devices strike me as wonderful products, helpful without a downside. In a low-tech sort of way, “Post-it” notes are helpful.
At the other end of the spectrum are personal computers. A related development that strikes me, at least, as ambivalent, is the smart phone. Do they make life better? Or is constant connectedness a scourge? Doubtless they are convenient, but they are also intrusive and dangerous when viewed in the context of distracted drivers or pedestrians.
I can’t think of a downside in caller I.D., unless one misses the frisson of suspense in picking up a telephone “unprotected.” For me, Facebook and its ilk are in the “mixed blessing” department. I recognize the joy of those who “stay in touch” with their thousand closest friends. I even succumb myself every week or two just for a peek. But at the risk of sounding like a hopeless curmudgeon, after five or ten minutes the vapidity sends my finger to the “X” button. Still, I admit it’s an easy way to KIT.
Doubtless there are thousands of other developments, big and small, that were barely imaginable when I was a child, that now improve my life. I’ve not even touched on the realms of medicine, science or transportation. Some readers may view hover boards as modern miracles. How about mountain bikes? High-end tennis strings? Yoga pants?
I invite readers to weigh in on the most important developments they enjoy. But for the next two weeks, I’m satisfied to have my mute button and a DVR.
stuartsandersblog 
The mute button, DVR, OnDemand, Netflix and MOST importantly…. GPS navigation. Now that I’m well into middle age, there would be absolutely no way for me to read a map intelligently at this point of my life. While I think there is a downside in that we use our brains a lot less to try to figure out where we’re heading, the upside of actually arriving at the right place without paper maps strewn around the car and fighting with your passenger on which turn it was you were supposed to take is well worth the price, in my estimation.
The next generation may NEVER have learned to read a map. So yes there are positives and negatives… but mostly positive!
Hi Stuart. Here I was expecting you to weigh in on the state of US politics, and my mind went straight to the divided bus load of people where we met during the last US Presidential elections. I can only imagine how much more divided it would be during this election. While we always get a fair dose of US election frenzy here in the land of Oz, this year it is constant. I suspect because the rest of the world is very concerned about the possibility of Trump getting in, its higher profile here at present that Aus politics. Now that could be because ours are very boring and uninspiring or maybe because of the enormous impact of US politics across the world. Glad its you living there and not me mate!! I wish you both well and hope the streets remain calm after the result is announced.