Comunication (Telephone)

It has always interested me how drastically our communication has changed over the years. Just being around my parents they are struggling to use their iPhone and such and its second nature for us. And then my grandparents still write letters and don't know how to turn on a computer. Its amazing how over the years how evident the changes in technology are. A huge technological advancement within the last 100 or so years was the phone. Our country evolved from using the written word to communicate, (letters, newspapers, etc.) to using a vocal approach. (Telephones, Television) The creation of this new technology made huge improvements to our society. It created a faster, easier and more useful way to communicate. Not only does the cellphone bring a more useful way to communicate but it has evolved many other industries. Phones now have cameras, games, navigation systems, Internet, and multiple other gadgets that make our lives rotate around that little phone. I couldn't even imagine going through my day without a cell phone because of the flexibility it gives me.
As all of these advancements come with the cellphone are people beginning to lose an essential part of their communicating ability. Instead of calling or talking in person now we are able to just text a message to someone. Although nobody really thinks about it because of how easy texting makes our lives are we losing the ability to communicate on a different level? I think an actual experiment of some kind would be very interesting testing the different generations for their ability to communicate in the 2 major forms, in person and on the telephone.

http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display.aspx?
categoryid=27&entryid=263201&searchtext=telephone&type=simple&option=all

"communication revolution of the 19th century." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. .

Transportation Revolution of the 20th Century

Transportation is a neccesity for the lives of people in america. Americans depend on transportation in order to travel from homes to work and also to transport goods. One of the most important technological advancements in the last 120 years is the car and airplane industries. The replacement of a horse and buggy for most people to a car was essential to their success in their businesses while also allowing many people a lot of flexibility in their lives. Something amazing is that actually electic cars were made as early as 1891. I had always thought that these cars were just recent inventions and phenomonal inovative ideas that could change the world forever when in fact these ideas are merely being built off of work people did over a 100 years ago. At the beggining of the automotive era.
Although maintaining these cars was extremely expensive the impact on america can't be heard enough. The ability that these cars gave people, to work in the city while having their family living in the country allowed people to move away from the big cities. The impact these advancements in the automobile industry had can't be overstated.
I think that although these advancements in society have greatly helped our advancements as a country I believe that it will eventually become a 1 step forward and 2 steps backward process. Although we are now able to have all this availability because of this industry eventually once the fossil fuels run out our country will be in desperate need for people to find a permenent solution to these fuel problems. Our country is so used to these advancements that without them it could mean big problems for many people. How could companies afford to transport goods without a convinient system? How could even families still be able to live in rural areas? Although electric cars are being worked on and are seemingly just around the corner, inventors must find a permenent solution fast before it is too late. Our country wouldn't be able to function without the transportation these industries have given us and unfortunatly these industries can't function when the world has given us all it has. We must find a way to save the worlds fossil fuels and also save our own society.

http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display.aspx?categoryid=26&entryid=312726&searchtext=advancements+in+technology&type=simple&option=all

"transportation revolution of the 20th century." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. .

Science and Technology Initial Response

Science and Technology have become a necessity for our societies survival in the 21st century. I'm intrested in this topic because of how great of an impact it has on our society today. I always think about how much technology has transformed even in the last 50 or so years. My mom talked to me about how in medical school their computers they used for reasearch would sometimes take up an entire room. Its amazing to me to see how the same amount of technology has changed from the size of a room to a ipod thats smaller than your hand. Also, i've been wanting to see how the new technology has effected our culture. How have peoples lifes ultimatly been effected? Has the new technology made our lives easier or has it in fact crippled the society. Although new machines and other technologies can do mans work doesn't that just allow our society to become lazy? Will technology ever be able to replace mans work force? The technology era has swept the late 20th and 21st century and might not be a good thing at all.

Obama's State of the Union Adress

I was very interested to see this speech because for Obama there has been so much difficulty in this country. So many people have turned against him and lost faith in what he had initially promised this country. When he said at the beginning of his speech, "It's tempting to look back on these moments and assume that our progress was inevitable – that America was always destined to succeed." I was so amazed by how true and to the point he was. In reality our society has never expected difficulty, with all the new technology and the Internet our society is built around ease for the people. And now that there are difficult times people don't understand how to deal with it. I think Obama understands this completely. That the people are used to success, ease, and progress and in times where these things are few and far between that we must truly be a unified country, and turning against your leader is the first decision on the path to destruction. Obama then says, "So we face big and difficult challenges. And what the American people hope – what they deserve – is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences; to overcome the numbing weight of our politics." Obama realized that in order for this country to overcome these difficulties we must be a united people. As soon as he said this it brought me back to our studying of the preamble and how we discussed the Perfect Union. How this union was necessary in order for this country to flourish. Then Obama said, "Despite our hardships, our union is strong." He is confident that although we have gone through so much as a country in the last couple years that there still is that bright future. That all those that have turned away must understand that only in perfect unity as a country can we ever establish the country that truly is a leader and model.

First Post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThQaYNXXL4Y

Porti Volare is the best song ever.