THE BOOK OF ME WRITTEN BY YOU: TECHNOLOGY

I'm taking  part in a meme started by Julie Goucher of Anglers Rest. Using
prompts from "The Book of Me, Written By You" I'm leaving my memories
of my life for present and future relatives.And this week's entry is a "twofer"
since it's also the latest Saturday Night Genealogy Fun from Randy Seaver
over at Genea-Musings.

   The prompt this week is Technology


    What technology changes did your ancestors see?
    What technology changes have you seen?
    Did your family own one of those early changes? - such as television
    Do you like or dislike technology?
    What do you think has been the best technological change in your lifetime and historically?


I've thought  a lot about this over the years. Starting from the 19th century, my ancestors
saw the coming of the steam engine, the telegraph, the telephone, and photography. In the
19th century my grandparents' lives were changed by electricity, automobiles, the movies, refrigerators, electric washing machines, and gas heating. According to my mother, my McFarland great grandparents were the owners of one of the first houses in the Mission Hill district of Boston that had electric lighting. 

My parents owned a black and white Emerson tv when i was a kid, and my aunt and uncle one of the first color televisions.  Before they died, they saw the first atomic bomb, the first computers, and the first men to walk on the moon.  Since I was born in the mid-20th century, I saw all the things my parents did.

I like technology. It makes my life so much easier and richer in comparison even to what my grandparents had during their lifetimes. I cook using a microwave onion, I watch cable tv, I call my sister on acell phone, and I can send email to my cousins in Ohio.  Even though I still prefer real paper books, I own and use an e-reader.

And I use my computer to research my family tree and blog about it here online.

The technologies I'd choose for the best or for having the most important effects aren't those most people might choose, I think.  To me, the best are things like central heating, urban plumbing and water filtration, and of course the medical technologies. They have made our lives easier, safer and healthier.