Smudger Snippets: Keeping Up
Created | Updated Feb 19, 2012
I suppose it's because I have so much time on my hands these days, that all these memories come flooding back to me.
Keeping Up
Mk2 (my wife) in her infinite wisdom decided to get me a new mobile phone as a present, and not just any phone, either, she got the latest iPhone 4s. It's on a contract, which is handy really, as it comes with ten hours of talk time, and 500 texts a month, so no more quick and shortened phone calls home, when I'm out and about.
Due to my wife's illness, I always keep in touch with her when I have to go out to the shops, as with her poor appetite, I always call her when I see something she might like and describe to her what it is.
Now with this new phone I can do a lot more, but I am not going to get into all that, just to say that the options available seem unlimited.
A couple of years ago her youngest lad and I bought her an iPad, as the small note book that I got her earlier was just no good – even with the text at full size, she still had problems reading it, and with using the touch pad. There was of course an ulterior reason for us buying her that iPad, and that was to stop her nagging me for being on my computer so much. It worked, as she is now an avid silver surfer just like me.
It's funny in a way really, as our generation has seen the invention and demise of a few things, like video, which went on to be replaced by DVDs and now flash drives and even tiny SD cards. Also with the old eight track tapes, which led to cassette tapes, which then gave way to CDs then Mp3 players, and now we even have built in Mp3 players in our mobile phones. I can still remember how proud I was to have the "walk-man Cassette player" which in its day was equivalent to the iPhone 4s is now.
So we've seen a lot of changes in our lifetimes: I can still remember years ago when some inventor had found a way of playing the old 45 vinyl records in a moving car, which was considered to be high-tech at that time; this was before the early eight track tape players appeared. Tell the truth, I quite liked them, yet I had no idea back then, that in the years to come I would be able to download my own choice of music from a computer and burn it to a CD that could then be played in my car.
Of course as progress moves on we have to learn along with it. For example, my wife has XP on her note book, my laptop has Vista and our desk top has Windows 7, and just when I got the hang of all that, we now have an iPad and an iPhone 4s to keep up with!
We have also seen many changes in other things during our lifetimes, and I think if home entertainment was number one, then the motor car would definitely be the number two. Not only the design and shape of them, but the engine technology has just been amazing. A far cry from the black taxis, with running boards which had a recess in them to hold the spare fuel container at the bottom of them, that our neighbour across the street used to park on my Dad's yard, back in the 1950s.
He even had a taxi that had a leather strap across the bonnet to stop it flying open as the car picked up speed, which was actually factory spec. I personally have enjoyed driving through the years as the cars have improved in design, performance and comfort, I can remember when a heated rear window and even a heater itself was classed as an optional extra in some cars.
Back in the 1980s I owned a 2Ltr Renault, which used to cruise at a steady 70 mph while revving at 3000 revs. Which I was well impressed with. Yet here I am in 2012 driving a really small Smart car which has a small 700 cc engine in it, yet when it's in 6th gear it can cruise at the exact same speed and revs as that Renault could. The reason we got that small car was purely economic, and the fact that it suits our motoring needs as they are now. In fact, although I was a bit apprehensive at first, as I have always had a large car, I find it really good fun to drive.
It won't be long before we are driving around in cars powered by electric or even hydrogen. I only hope that I will still be around to see that. If not, I can't really complain, as I mentioned earlier, I have already seen my fair share of progress in technology. Who knows, in years to come someone might find this Snippet, and ask just what is this old fart going on about, we have been driving solar powered for years now…
