Technology Criticism

I'm not sure how this came about in my manic little mind, but I suddenly began thinking about technology. How it's evolved and the different points of view involving it.

I'm not sure where I heard this, but apparently Catholics and some Christians were urging people to turn off their cell phones and computers in order to focus on their relationships with people. I don't honestly understand how this would solve anything. I have family and friends in Florida--Facebook keeps me connected with them. Without my computer and Facebook, I would very rarely get to talk to them. Before I found them on Facebook, I didn't know a thing about them!

I personally believe that we should take technology and embrace it. I see no problem with having online friendships and relationships. One of my favorite websites is called Bzoink.com and on this website, I became good friends with people via the internet! The people on this site no nothing about me but my first name, but I still have a great relationship with them and I'm able to talk to them and laugh with them. Even more helpful is the fact that it is closely monitored by the owner of the website, Andy. He monitors all of the things said and event he personal messages to make sure no one is being harmed or harrassed. If you're not stupid on the internet, you're not going to get hurt unless you're extremely unlucky.

Another thing that I've fallen in love with is the iPhone 3G. I mean, there are some setbacks (not being able to copy and paste, inability to send pictures, etc...) but most of these issues will be worked out with the iPhone 3.0 OS software. I can remember when the RZR, an okay phone that didn't do a whole lot was the thing to have. It was the coolest phone on the market and costed a large price of 350 bucks! I bought my iPhone for 200 and it does pretty much everything. It has a GPS system, internet, mp3, YouTube, endless amounts of free --Anywhere you are for a low price of 30 bucks a month.

So, basically, technology should not be considered a bad thing! It's helped us in so many ways, and people who get hurt from it tend to just be...with lack of a better word...idiots. (Or they have extremely bad luck)

2012, Volcanoes, and Black Holes Eating Us

One thing that's been weighing on my mind for quite some time is the Mayan calender, the super volcanic eruption, black holes eating us all, and overall the end of the world. When this topic
appears, I tend to stray away from talking about it.

I'm a huge history fan and I watch the History Channel a lot--However, a couple of days ago I turned it on, but instead of something on the Great Mississippi Flood or WWI, a segment on the carious possible causes of the apocalypse was on. My first thought was, "What the heck? The apocalypse is in the future. Why is this on the History Channel?" However, I then realized that they were discussing various things that happened in the past that led scientists and historians to believe that they could repeat, thus causing the end of the world.

Intrigued, I continued to watch the show. They began to talk about a super volcano in Yellow Stone Park having a major eruption. I'm thinking, "Oh, I'm miles upon miles away from Yellow Stone. Obviously this doesn't apply to me. To those in Yellow Stone and around that area? Sorry about your luck."

After further investigation involving me sitting on my butt watching the program, I found out that an eight foot layer of heavy ash was supposed to completely cover the entirety of the United States in about a week. Getting out of the US would be pretty much impossible before the ash accumulated on top of your house and cars. Soon enough, you would be inhaling the ash, creating a cement block in your lungs.

At this point, I was completely freaked out and decided to switch the TV over to Mythbusters, one of my favorite shows, on Discovery Channel. Lucky for me, they were doing a pretty funny episode.

But anyway, my question is, why is no one preparing for this stuff? Part of me wants to believe that it isn't really that much of a threat, part of me wants to believe that everyone is just turning a blind eye to it (much like myself). There's also the fact that there are so many threats to the earth that we can't prepare for all of them (and plus, we're only ever focusing on the environment, which I sincerely doubt will be the Earth's downfall.)

So I just decided to prepare myself emotionally if something like that did happen--It's really the only thing I can do.

Now, I know I'm going to get a few comments saying, "Just live life to the fullest." I am--I can promise you that I am--But the fear is still there.

Which leads me to another topic. Death. What happens when we die? While I'm a firm believer in Heaven, Hell, the Trinity and the like, there's still that, "What if?" That lingers in the back of my mind. What if I'm not living like the right way to go to heaven? And even before that, what if I die miserably? What if I die before I get to do what I want? What if I die before I visit Ireland? What if I die before I get to tour around in a van with my band?

These "what ifs" nag me from time to time--Especially with this whole, "Mayan calender 2012" thing. Hell, that's the year after I graduate high school! How much would that suck?

"Yeah, I just graduated high school!"
"Oh, that's exciting. Did you hear that a week from now the entire world will be covered in eight feet of ash?"

I keep telling myself that 2012 is the new Y2K which was the new 1998 (which had almost half of the days of the year presumed as "Doomsdays"). And we're still here.

Also, apparently yesterday (April 27th, 2009) was supposed to be the end of the world. That's comforting.

I'll end with a couple quotes--
"This is not the end. This is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." -Winston Churchill

"No man has learned anything rightly until he knows that everyday is doomsday."-Ralph Waldo Emerson





(A quick extra note. I think I believe this apocalypse theory the most:

4,500,000,000 AD

The sun will swell into a red giant star, swallowing Mercury, Venus, Earth, and perhaps Mars. This will be the true end of the world!

)

"Prophecies of doom are nothing new." -Edward Teller