Cell Phone - Topic 1

There are over 260 million active cell phones in the United States today. 78% of those with active cell phones are also drivers. Of those 78% of the drivers/cell phone users, 73% actually talk on the phone while driving. This means that there are nearly 190 million people in the United States that use their phone in the car while driving on a daily basis.

It was studied that driving and talking on the cell phone is like driving while intoxicated. People that do so are 4 times more likely to be in a car accident then those who do not. It is disturbing to read that 86% of young adults, age 18-29 talk on the cell phone while driving. Teens/young adults aged 15-24 are already 4 times more likely to be in a fatal car accident than those aged 26-69.

It is estimated that 2600 people die in cell phone related accidents per year. This is according to studies done previous to June of 2006, so that count is probably much higher now than before.

The concept of cell phones have been around since the late 1940's, but really didn't come into the hands of the public until around 1990. At this time, cell phones were huge bulky things that had horrible reception and just looked rediculous (looking back at them). It is amazing that the boom of sale of cell phones have happened really over the last 10 years. Are these things that we have brought into our lives done more harm than good?

Can cell phones cause cancer? Are they really necessary for us? There are so many questions that we have pertaining to our usage of cell phones. Are more lives saved than lost in the whole scheme of things?

I am so torn on the subject. I have a cell phone, and I really enjoy having one, but I understand how dependent that we have become on them. Can we actually live without them again? I honestly don't think so. I am at a loss when I don't have mine with me, and I really didn't think I would ever be like that.

http://www.articlesbase.com/personal-injury-articles/cell-phone-use-and-car-accidents-669596.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201586,00.html
http://seniorliving.about.com/od/improvepersonalsafety/a/cell_phone_driv.htm
http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa070899.htm

"The First Technological Revolution and Its Lessons" by Peter F. Drucker

Quoting Peter F. Drucker as saying: "If an educated man of those days of the first technological revolution—an educated Sumerian perhaps or an educated ancient Chinese—looked at us today, he would certainly be totally stumped by our technology. But he would, I am sure, find our existing social and political institutions reasonably familiar—they are after all, by and large, not fundamentally different from the institutions he and his contemporaries first fashioned. And, I am quite certain, he would have nothing but a wry smile for both those among us who predict a technological heaven and those who predict a technological hell of "alienation," of "technological unemployment," and so on. He might well mutter to himself, "This is where I came in." But to use he might well say, "A time such as was mine and such as is yours, a time of true technological revolution, is not a time for exultation. It is not a time for despair either. It is a time for work and for responsibility." This pretty much wraps up there entire writing for me.

Mr. Drucker brings up valid points about where we have gone with technology and truly how technology has changed our lives over the centuries. It is hard to look back on ancient and past civilizations and consider new ideas as technology. They are however some sort of technology. Whether it be a wheel that was made round to get move heavy loads, or a computer that can fit in the palm of your hand. Even though the outcomes of past civilizations and current are inherently different, the structure that we have is very similar.

Each generation has brough something to the table that made our lives, as humans, easier. Although, it can be disputed, and even negative at times. Technology isn't always a great way to do something, it's a quick easy fix. The remote control for instance. We no longer have to get up off our lazy butts and change the channel any longer; something I remember having to do as a kid for my Dad.

Each step we take heading towards newer and newer technology, I believe, takes a bit of life away from us all. We no longer have to figure calculations out, because we have a calculator. We no longer have to walk 1/2 mile to the store, because we have cars now. As we go, we are becoming less and less independent, and more dependent on our TiVo's and our alarm clocks.

Favorite American Vacation Destinations

1. America At Leisure (American Memory Project)

The three videos that I watched were, a. the kids on the beach, b. the ball game, c. kids egg rolling.

There is certainly not much that has changed in the behavior of kids over the last 100+ years that I can see, aside from the clothing. The kids at the beach were very excited about being near/in the water. You can see the excitement that they have when they jump up and down. They run from the shore into the water and back out again. The kids encourage the younger ones to join in, even holding their hand and sometimes pulling them into the water. You can see that for these kids it is an experience that they don't have very often.

At the ball game, which to this day is still used as an entertaining sport. People enjoy watching as well as playing in it. For those who play, it is a way that they can get away from their every-day lives and just enjoy the thrill of feeling the bat in your hand connect with a ball being pitched. For those that watch, it's great to encourage the team that you want to win, or encouraging people overall. The thrill that one gets when their team wins is great. It makes you leave the game happy and excited to return in the future.

As for the kids doing the egg rolling, I cringed when I watched some of the little ones get pushed around and run over by the older ones. I seemed to mind it more than the kids themselves did. You can tell that they loved getting that egg. Now, I am just assuming, but it is probably not done that often, considering the kids and their excitement.

2. Disneyland

I believe that the people in the video were truly having the time of their lives. It wasn't just the kids that had the excitement on their faces and enjoying the characters and bands. It is definitely exciting to visit Disneyland, although I have been to Disneyland many many times, there is always some excitement that goes along with it. I have to say there is nothing like going as a child to Disneyland, there is a whole world in front of you that you get to learn about; past, present and future. Just as there is nothing that feels quite the same as showing your kids Disneyland for the first time. See the awe that your child has for the excitement around them.

In some ways, Disneyland has changed, it is very commercial. So much so that it makes me not want to pay the $68/person to go there and get innundated by more shops with more commercial items begging to be purchased. It is so difficult to get past the fact of the cost of Disneyland. Walt Disney would be mortified if he knew how much in fact, we were paying these days, considering he built the parks for the average American family.

In a lot of ways, Disneyland has not changed. Most of the rides are still there. There is still a Main Street where bands play, and each of the lands that you can go to. There is still Space Mountain and Cinderella castle; there is still the teacups that make you throw your head back from spinning so fast.

Disneyland is still that place that can make you smile from thinking of the fun that you had, not only as a kid, but as an adult as well.

"Why We Travel: It whirls you around, turns you upside down and stands everything you took for granted on its head." by Pico Iyer

"Why We Travel: It whirls you around, turns you upside down and stands everything you took for granted on its head.", by Pico Iyer is a writing about traveling. He brings his ideas and his thoughts about why people travel, how we should travel, and even gives us his own definitions of tourists vs. travelers. Mr. Iyer points out that our everyday lives, and how we live it, from the roads we drive on, to the McDonald's in our neighborhood, are as alien to people in other countries as we, as people, are to them.

I have never really thought about it before, but I have to agree with Pico Iyer when he states, "But more significantly, we carry values and beliefs and news to the places we go, and in many parts of the world, we become walking video screens and living newspapers, the only channels that can take people out of the censored limits of their homelands." If we were to travel to Europe, there aren't that many differences between 0ur daily life, and theirs. However, if we travel to Africa and visit towns there, we bring our entire way of life with them. From the foods we eat, to the clothes we wear, and even the way that we act. Sometimes, as Pico states, we are the only connection to the outside world that these people we interact with. We give them a little taste on what it would be like to be in the outside world.

The only point that I have to disagree with Pico Iyer on is the one where he states that tourists are complainers. He says that tourists complain that this isn't how they live, and therefore are very negative about the situation. It is my belief that tourists are not complainers, for the most part. Tourists are the people that have gone to a country knowing that there are some differences in the way of life that the two have, and are interested in finding out more. It isn't until a tourist is really engulfed in the way that the other society lives that they truly understand the differences that each of the cultures have.