Renting your life (via technology)...

[Victor3]

 I was talking to a friend at work the other day about smart phones, tablets, etc. and how many things we can do with them. I think it's fantastic.
 
 However, I wonder how much of what for decades we've consider basic, practical knowledge/skills will be lost in future generations; people who will more and more depend on 'virtual' items to take the place of physical ones. I can hardly find a young guy who knows how to use a compass or paper map these days.
 
 Many items and skills have of course fallen out of general use due to new inventions over time; not much need for a blacksmith on every corner these days. Seems to me though, that at the pace technology is progressing, many folks will be depending on 'apps' to do more and more for them.
 
 I guess I'm just old fasioned but it seems like it could be a flimsy foundation to place so much weight on...

[Stillkickin]

You're not old fashioned, Victor3, you're spot on.  Back in my working days, I was working on a project with a young, very computer capable, guy.  It would have been impractical and time consuming to go for a circular saw so I grabbed a cross-cut hand saw and went to work.  The kid was awe-struck and said in amazement, "Wow, I never saw anybody use one of those things before."
 
The more people rely upon PCs, ipods, smartphones, etc. to do their thinking, the more braindead those people become.  The digression in the general population's spelling, grammar, and ability to form sentences has been very aptly demonstrated by what is posted on the various internet social pages.  I can see my own abilities slipping away the more time I spend reading other people's texting-style blunders.  If all you read is inaccuracies, you'll never develope a working knowledge of what is proper and correct.  And that is where we are headed.

[BUGEYE]

my skill saw has sat idle for years, my good disston hand saw stays oiled and sharp and useful.

[Old Fart]

Technology is a tool.
Just like when a power saw stops, you need to know how to use a hand saw.
For any who fail to understand manual applications power outages may seem catastrophic.
 
Using technology may make us more efficient, but plan B best be practiced.

[finisher]

I second Stillkickins response. At 40, alot of people on this sight might consider me a "youngster". But I was brought up in the old way (and yes, sometimes it had to be beat into me, although I usually had it coming).
 
I learned how to use my hands and be PHYSICALLY self sufficient; taught by grandparents, mom, brother, uncles, even my best friends dad who taught me most of my shooting skills. Knowing how to do simple tasks like using hand tools, sew bottons and stitchings, fold and iron my clothes, spit shine my shoes.
 
You'd be surprised how many young men out there don't even know how to tie a Double Windsor these days.
 
I hated it as a youngster but was later grateful to my family because those lessons paid long term dividends to me in so many ways.
 
When I fell into the concrete trade at sixteen is when I truly learned what MEN's work was. It made me strong and prepared me for everything I went on to do in the service. Basic was an absolute breeze for me because of the preparation I received both physically and socially.
 
More than anything I remember having my manners "slapped" into me and although I am not as harsh on my own kids, I try to teach them to address their elders as "sir" and "mister", Ms. and Mrs.; to open doors for the ladies, to give up their seats for their elders etc.
 
I know it drifts a little from the original technology topic but it is sort of in the same line as I believe that such technology has also rendered a socially retarded younger generation.
 
I look at so many of my friends that are the same age and I am in better health and physical shape than any of them because I WORKED and took care of my body. When they were getting manicures from their girlfriends or wives I would pick up hot (well, extremely warm) pots off the grill with my bare hands and hand them over just to laugh as the cried. My hands were leather crushers. Use it or lose it I say. But don't abuse it.
 
I confess that I look at many of my elders and think "man, you're out of touch" but I'll also be one of the last generations that remembers them when they're gone. The last great generation that put the Imperialists in the Pacific and the Nazis in Europe down like the pigs they were.
 
Yeah, our views clash in alot of ways, but I love to hear the stories these old guys would tell. Many of my family didn't easilly talk about the war so when they would open up to someone it was special.
 
It is not to down talk our service men of the last twenty or so years (and I'm included in that bunch), but we, so far, have not faced anything even close to what these old guys had to endure.
 
And again, it comes back to TECHNOLOGY. My god! Running through artillary barrages, keeping your gun post through a Kamakazi attack, fighting off Messerschmidts at close range, waves of bayonet charges.
 
These guys were truly HARD WIRED.
 
I for one will weep when the last one who remembers is gone. Because on that day, our nation will have felt a true loss.
 
It's because of them that I wear my scars like medals instead of disfigurements; walk in the rain with my head held high. It's because of them that I try with every ounce of my being to stay ABOVE the influence of technology rather than be under it's influence.
 
It is because of them that I can still tell others FREE YOUR MINDS.
 
I'll continue to work with my hands and get dirty. I like to practice with swords, axes, knives, and bows. I know how to navigate and find my way and I will do my best to keep with the First Law of the Sea and pass on what I have learned.
 
Thank you old timers for paving the way (even if it did make my feet a little soft).
 

[r29l20]

Sad yes, but you can always find out how to do something on the internet.

[Stillkickin]

Well stated, finisher.  I salute you and wish there were a ton more younger folks like you.  Take comfort in the knowledge that your children are being best prepared for their adult lives.

[Sourdough]

finisher:  I commend you for being that way.  You are not alone, many of the people that are of the same views as you are retiring from the military and staying here in Alaska.  We live a much more simpler life here than folks do down in the lower 48. 

Most families have a garden, and raise their own vegetables.  Many people raise goats for milk and meat.  Make cheese, and trades that at the farmer's market.  There are a lot of farmers in the area raising livestock for local use.  I meet people every week that have moved out into the bush, and are living a subsistance life style.  They are totally self sufficient.  They come into town just to stay in touch with what is going on in the world.

These folks get everything they need from nature.  They use hand tools to make Fish Wheels, to gather fish while they are busy working their gardens.  They smoke and can their fish.  They can the produce from their gardens for use during the winter.  Most of their time during the summer is spent getting ready for winter.  during the winter they trap and hunt.  Trapping is the use of a renewable resource.  It also brings in all the money the family needs for the year.  Homes are built by hand, with the only power tool used being a chain saw, sometimes.

 

[finisher]

Sad yes, but you can always find out how to do something on the internet.

****************************
Don't get me wrong. I believe that the internet is a wonderful resource. But like so many other good ideas, commerciallism has left it open to abuse.
 
Stillkickin mentioned the decline of our communication skills and I have seen this as well. Our ability to verbally communicate  face to face is one of our most precious skills as human beings and yet it is one of the most neglected skills as well.
 
In George Orwells 1984, he described how the establishment was working to reduce the vocabulary of the English language in order to limit the ability of the people to express thought. It seems to me that this is happening right now.
 
My Grammer is not as sharp as it once was (working with enlisted sailors and finishers for too long can have that effect), nor is my spelling and punctuation what it once was.
 
People often call me anal because my writings tend to be lengthy as I like to be very concise with what I have to say. But some topics cannot be solved or understood in the short space of a text or the short sighted little quips that many people like to throw around.
 
It is a tragedy that resources such as the internet and television are squandered on the trash that broadcasters televise.
 
One thing that has worked for my wife and myself with our kids is Netflix. We killed our cable TV, I had to give up televised sports (not easy but it can be done and you'de be amazed at how much time you'll find for other pursuits).
 
The benefit is that we have full control over EVERYTHING the kids watch due to the fact that there are no commercials, ever. There are other similar websites as well that speciallize in classic TV shows and the like.
 
One thing that is obvious about TV and the net is that someone is ALWAYS trying to SELL you something with which you usually can live without.
 
They bombard our kids with shallow commercialism and questionable morality.  I'm no saint but sheeesh, my kids don't need to see many of the things that I see other kids watching. How does a parent battle such bombardment while struggling to earn a living.
 
"Dad, I want that gizmo, Jimmy has one" ...well let Jimmy lobotamize himself on a screen if his parents let him. I really try to keep a cap on the "screen time" when I can.
 
Well here I am long winded again. I can go on and on. But it really is a topic that warrants much examination. Surprised that so few have anything to say. Thanks for the opportunity.
 
Finisher
 

[burntmuch]

Well said finisher.
 
I agree with all thats been said. I have 11 year old twin girls & a 4 year old son. My girls already know how to shoot gun & bow. Theyve been taught how to use a compass. This last winter we went for walks in the woods. If the wanted hot cocoa & hot dogs, one of them had to get a fire going. With matches, Small detail, but I had to teach them to strike a match. When it was time to head back to the truck, they had to use the compass. They do chores, feed the pigs & chickens. The 4 year old is learning to gather the eggs. Today after school, we are gonna do some work in the garden, then walking out to a pond behind the house a ways, to do some fishing.
  They are pretty savy with the technology too. I think thats nessasary too.
 

[finisher]

@ burntmuch; I envy the life style. This is what I want to give to my kids and thats why we moved to Oregon from LA (I'm not the typical Southern Califormia profile). The rural areas outside of LA were once a paradise for anyone that loved the outdoor life style. But in the last 20 years or so, they have been raped and pilaged. There is hardly a place to hunt or plink from the coast to the Arizona border.
 
It's funny though, people my age here in Medford have all this beautiful open country and it seems to me like so few of them get out into it much. Even here, techno gizmos are the prefered form of entertainment.
 
My dream is to preserve and live off my own land one day and pass this life to my kids, and you're right, it doesn't hurt to keep up with the times as far as technology goes but only as far as it serves the greater good I say.
 
 
 

[finisher]

One of the things that bothers me the most is when I'm at the park with my kids, coaching soccer, at the cub meeting, or any of the activities with which I try to nurture my kids, and I see half of the parents with their faces stuck in their damn little palm screen instead of paying attention to the kids!
 
Most of the time, the kid with the preocupied parent is usually the worst behaved, disrupting and just being a rude lil sh** in general while the prent is obliviously slouched over the screen running their finger over it ...it kind of reminds me of Golom from Tolkein's Lord of the Rings Trilogy, "the precious, the preciouses, mine, mine"

[Doublebass73]

I work in the high tech field, it's very interesting work but at the same time I see how technology has ruined today's kids. I'm constantly searching for ways to get my kids interested in the outdoors and "old school" stuff. Luckily my son shows some interest in shooting and hunting. I do Cub Scouting with him also, I'm taking my den on a fishing trip this coming Tuesday. I try to make it fun so the kids will stay interested. The more technology advances the more I want to go back in time.

[Victor3]

Sad yes, but you can always find out how to do something on the internet.

****************************
 
Well here I am long winded again. I can go on and on. But it really is a topic that warrants much examination. Surprised that so few have anything to say. Thanks for the opportunity.
 
Finisher

 No problem... Preach it brother. 
 
 As far as finding out "how to do something on the internet" goes, I agree. I've saved a ton of money over the years learning how to do, make, modify and repair things myself. I've been able to buy things at online auctions I never knew existed, and sold things there was no market for locally. However, I've also wasted a ton of time watching guys on FoolTube crash motorcycles.
 
 Anyone can learn how something useful is done via the internet, but how many folks actually take 5% of what they glean in the time they spend online, then go out and do it themselves (in real life)?
 
 As I get older and the years get shorter, the more I realise how much time I've squandered on what's mostly just been entertainment since I got caught up in the interwebs. At the same time, I wouldn't want to be totally without it.
 
 With some folks though, I just don't get how they can't live without their smart phone grafted to their hand. I don't want to be "connected" 24/7. I text a friend in China knowing it's 3:00 AM there and he wakes up and texts me back.    It can wait a few hours, bud!
 
 In my experience, older folks who've embraced the technology are generally able to keep a balance. But many <30 people I know are so caught up in social networking, etc. that everything else seems to have become secondary, including their work. Bathroom stalls have become phone booths to some, and they don't seem to give a thought to how much time they're stealing from the company.