random thoughts

i have a lot of time to think while im in the "silence" of the shop i work at -- and heres one that came to me.

- we have come so incredibly far technologically its astonishing - but whats more astonishing is how actually little weve actually advanced in the areas that really matter... with a few small exceptions - everything from material preparations to execution and builds of ALL of our basic infrastructures of society is basically the same as it was in the day of kings court. Little has really changed in road forming, construction, metal working, sewage systems, etc -- it really makes me happy to know that ive spent a lot of my time (said wasting by some) of my life learning bricklaying, metal work, and carpentry -- and know - that these are not just skills and trades - but the livelihood of soo many who came before me - its kinda nuts -- we may be able to built an 80g computer that fits in your pocket - but a working class of heat and hammer nails and brick and mud are still the foundation of our society -
I thought it was something special to share

i know what your sayen but..as much as things change the more they stay the same .
ive been in the con. side of utillies for about 25 years , idont know it all but id like to think i know more than most. i biggest lesson i have learend is that .. if there is anyway or time talk to the old timer that always seems to be around (we call them sidewalk forman) i have learened mountains of knowlege and skills that they have took a life time mastering things you would be hard pressed to find in books or a 80 g comp.
I guess that just the long way of sayen ..embrace to the future ,keep an eye on the past...

What scares me is that a lot of those old skills are being lost. People in earlier times (even 30, 40, 0r 50 years ago) knew how to do things. My Dad and Grandpap built our house with no electric tools........just a hammer and saw basically. Today's generations think everything should come in those little plastic packages and be ready to use.

We are also losing ground to other countries. What pulled our fat out of the fire in two World Wars was our ability to BUILD BETTER THINGS THAN THE ENEMY. We were able to convert car factories to tank and airplane factories, and even women got involved, replacing the men on the assembly lines who were now off to war.

We on these car forums are throwbacks to an earlier time. We actually take an idea in our head and turn it into a car or truck we can get in and drive down the road. That fact astounds most non car people today. I bet all of you get the same reaction sometimes, people will say "You BUILT THIS CAR, YOURSELF?????????????" It is something the vast majority of people today couldn't begin to do.

Don

Don, how true! most people are amazed when I tell them I built the car I drive.[S I've been a carpenter for 39 years and it's something I really enjoy doing. Things that come easy to me have a confusing effect on many others. They just can't figure out how to do these things!

Cantwell, we are definately in an astonishing time for technology and medical advances. On a funny note, I'm attending the University of Pennsylvania to get a degree and I'm one of the older members of my classes. In a history class, the professor asked everyone to tell a little about themselves and tell what time period they would want to have lived in. Many of the young people said they would like to have lived during the 60's. I said now is the period for me because of all the technolocical developments we have gotten in the past few years. Most looked at me like I was crazy because they have grown up with these advances and think that we've alaways had them!...CR

that part about the school is great to hear.
everyone asks me - if you have a degree in psychology
and philosophy, why are you working "here?"

- unlike 95% of people in college - i went for the sake of
going and having an education. - NOT so i could get a better
job and make more money - and people CAN NOT understand
that...

It doesn't matter how much things change or stay the same there's one thing for sure...

No matter where you go,...there you are.

TiredIronGRB said:

It doesn't matter how much things change or stay the same there's one thing for sure...

No matter where you go,...there you are.

Click to expand...

That may be true, but when ya get old you'll wonder why you went.

Humans think they are the smart ones. Birds can fly halfway around the world to the exact same place and we can't even find our way home without a gps.

Willowbilly3 said:

Humans think they are the smart ones. Birds can fly halfway around the world to the exact same place and we can't even find our way home without a gps.

Click to expand...

That's not even funny - one of my daughters friends (17) can't even get the six blocks from his house to ours without GPS. He tried once and got lost?!

A lot of things are becoming a 'lost art' in the USA. Not necessarily in the rest of the world.

THere is this great plaque on my grandmothers wall that I have always loved. "We have done so much with so little for so long that we think we can do anything with nothing at all in no time flat."