it's really goodIn every age humanity is in its worst state ever, and ours is no exception.
i sometimes think and feel that things used to be better. i'm not pessimistic really and come to realize that in this life, are things really worse?
here's a list i have stumble upon...that makes a meaningful difference:
Coffee. Thank goodness for starbucks.
Fully automatic cameras. For most of us, focusing is a very bad thing.
Digital cameras. When large quantities of pictures are needed but not likely to be treasured, this is a great advance.
Disposable diapers. Camcorders. Daycare. It ought to be better and more available, not that i need it at this time, but it's there.
Central air. Bye to box type A/C.
Decent cheap furniture. The stuff they sell won't last forever, but it is sensible, smartly designed and affordable.
Puffs Plus. Greasy tissues seem pretty superfluous, except on the fifth day of a nasty cold.
Credit cards and ATMs. They freed consumers from the paper chain.
Bank by phone and online. A modest advance, but being able to check balances and cleared checks from home or work prevents a lot of financial turmoil.
Vending machines. Discount stores. UPC. Fastest way to get out of store.
Fresh seafood everywhere. No more fish sticks and frozen filets.
Fresh produce everywhere. Huge variety of ethnic restaurants. There was a time when pizza and chop suey were the most exotic foods in most American cities.
Ethnic groceries and ethnic sections in supermarkets. Similar to the restaurant situation. It's no longer just LaChoy and Old El Paso, at least in the better city groceries.
TV's, They're in color now.
Widescreen DVD's. Remote control. The idea of having to walk up to the set to change channels or adjust volume seems barbaric.
DVR's. You can control what you watch, when, and you can skip commercials.
LCD's and Plasma. lighter, sleek and uses up just little space.
Quality sound. There was a time when the option of running sound through your stereo didn't exist. Short of that, the speakers on some sets are now as good as you get with a cheap stereo system.
Portable DVD players. Can't wait until they're affordable.
The Web. No tedious commentary here, but it's already indispensable.
Movies. Wide and shallow theaters, with cupholders!
Email. Also indispensable.
Tolerance of expression. However bland and corporate-dominated mass communication is, there is far more weird and offensive stuff being distributed openly now than 40 years ago.
Stereo. Reproduced sound once was flat. Now it has dimension.
Ipod. No more skipping cd's.
CDs. Much cleaner sound with many fewer trips to the turntable.
Sometimes faster. Airplanes have become more miserably crowded, but they still don't seem to spend nearly as much time circling airports as they did in the '70s.
Sometimes easier. Airport counters are much more efficient, presumably a contribution of modern computing.
Etickets. They remove one more nuisance.
Frequent flier programs. They're a gimmick, but they do make flying first class an occasional option.
Name-brand restaurants and stores in airports. No more overpriced mystery hot dogs.
Self-service. Checking flights, fares and seats online give you a little more control over travel arrangements.
Very small computers. I know this is another symptom of corporate brainwashing, but I still think it's really cool that you can easily haul around with you the sum of your work and creativity and life organization. When PDAs match today's desktop for capacity and speed, I won't complain.
Pens. Smooth and more reliable Uniballs mean no regrets for Bic stick pens or even Parker T-Ball Jotters.
Plain paper photocopiers. In the somewhat old days copies were messy, smelly and expensive.
Feminism. Anyone who doesn't think this has made a huge difference is deeply reactionary or deeply ignorant.
Racial equality. It's a standard, even if not close to being realized.
Palatable children's medicines. I still remember the quasi-orange-flavored children's aspirin I had to take. They finally figured out how to make them taste like something halfway appealing.
Antidepressants. They work sometimes, and can mean everything for the people who benefit.
Epidurals. Maintaining consciousness while avoiding enormous pain is a big plus.
Disposable contact lenses. You can wear them comfortably until they break.
Light-weight plastic-lensed glasses. Heads are happier.
Plastic shampoo bottles. One less little thing to worry about.
Warning of childhood diseases. Let's not kid ourselves how important this is. It is difficult for those born in the post-war West to conceive what it meant that a baby was as likely to die in childhood as to grow up.
We pocket them. They can be cordless, they can be cellular, they can be tiny, which all add up to freedom of movement.
Long-distance. Once was like cellular, but worse. Scratchy connections that were extremely expensive and time-consuming to make were the rule. Now long distance is clear, cheap and immediate.
Touch-tone dialing. Push-button phones once seemed like an astounding improvement over fumbling with dials, which seems like barbarism in retrospect.
