I try to be observant as I travel about my
daily business.
Sometimes I see some interesting stuff, sometimes not.
I’m pretty confident that when I was younger I wasn’t as aware of things occurring around me.
My Lovely Bride certainly will attest to numerous profound items that have escaped my notice over the years.
Important dates.
Family members’ new hairstyles.
Sometimes I see some interesting stuff, sometimes not.
I’m pretty confident that when I was younger I wasn’t as aware of things occurring around me.
My Lovely Bride certainly will attest to numerous profound items that have escaped my notice over the years.
Important dates.
Family members’ new hairstyles.
Entire rooms of furniture being rearranged.
Historically I just haven’t been very aware of stuff around me.
Lately I’ve been racking my brain trying to recall how the wags and social commentators used to complain, prior to July 20th, 1969, when US astronaut Neil Armstrong uttered,
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
I can’t recall.
I just know that ever since then people have prefaced complaints with,
“They can put a man on the moon, but they can’t…”
Historically I just haven’t been very aware of stuff around me.
Lately I’ve been racking my brain trying to recall how the wags and social commentators used to complain, prior to July 20th, 1969, when US astronaut Neil Armstrong uttered,
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
I can’t recall.
I just know that ever since then people have prefaced complaints with,
“They can put a man on the moon, but they can’t…”
I do recall back in the day that people used to say that things were, “the greatest thing since sliced bread”. I’m old, but not old enough to recall a time when bread didn’t come sliced.
Perhaps years ago the complaint may have been made that,
“They can mass-produce uniformly sliced bread but they can’t…”
Maybe, but most likely not.
At times I wonder whether anyone at NASA, having heard so many complaints qualified with their incredible lunar achievement over the years, ever felt frustrated that their efforts seem to be trivialized.
I hope not.
In spurring the US efforts in the space race, President John F. Kennedy, on May 25th, 1961, asked congress for additional funds for NASA saying that,
“...this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”
On September 12th, 1962, in a speech at Rice University JFK added,
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.”
Almost 50 years to the day after astronauts Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon with an audience of millions, including one short, fat kid, in Bloomington Minnesota, that very kid, now a grampa, has a challenge to issue to the powers that be, or, the “THEY” that sent a man to the moon.
Technology developed by NASA for the space missions has brought us many items that we use each and every day.
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.”
Almost 50 years to the day after astronauts Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon with an audience of millions, including one short, fat kid, in Bloomington Minnesota, that very kid, now a grampa, has a challenge to issue to the powers that be, or, the “THEY” that sent a man to the moon.
Technology developed by NASA for the space missions has brought us many items that we use each and every day.
Eyeglass lenses used to be actual glass back in the day.
Those were dangerous however since they could shatter into shards that might injure the wearer.
In 1972 the US Food and Drug Administration mandated that the lenses for all glasses and sunglasses needed to be shatter-resistance.
That meant plastic, but plastic is prone to scratching.
NASA scientist Tom Wydeven, working out of the Ames Research Center, developed the thin, scratch-resistant coating for space helmet visors that now protects most of the eyeglasses sold in the United States today.
Space capsules have limited stores of water that can be transported to and from
outer space.
NASA engineers, in conjunction with an Oregon company, Umpqua Research, developed cartridges that use iodine to clean water during the space missions. This technology has, since the 1970’s, become an increasingly popular method employed by municipalities to purify the tap water we all drink on a daily basis.
NASA engineers, in conjunction with an Oregon company, Umpqua Research, developed cartridges that use iodine to clean water during the space missions. This technology has, since the 1970’s, become an increasingly popular method employed by municipalities to purify the tap water we all drink on a daily basis.
I just recently heard of medical technology that NASA developed at the Goddard
Space Flight Center that has made a friend’s life easier. Her husband is
diabetic. In the past he had to prick his finger twice a day to check his blood
sugar level and to adjust his diet and meds accordingly.
My friend went about her day with the fear, even though the possibility was remote, that her husband could have had a diabetic reaction, lost consciousness, and been unable to correct the situation.
His newly implanted, NASA developed, insulin pump monitors his vital signs and blood sugar levels and automatically releases insulin as needed.
Further, the pump notifies him, via his cell phone, in case his blood levels spike in either direction, his vitals show irregularities, or if the pump malfunctions.
The added bonus is that the notifications are sent to his wife as well.
My friend relates that the peace of mind that technology provides is priceless to her.
My friend went about her day with the fear, even though the possibility was remote, that her husband could have had a diabetic reaction, lost consciousness, and been unable to correct the situation.
His newly implanted, NASA developed, insulin pump monitors his vital signs and blood sugar levels and automatically releases insulin as needed.
Further, the pump notifies him, via his cell phone, in case his blood levels spike in either direction, his vitals show irregularities, or if the pump malfunctions.
The added bonus is that the notifications are sent to his wife as well.
My friend relates that the peace of mind that technology provides is priceless to her.
Back in the day mood rings became a popular item.
They contained quartz stones bonded with liquid crystals, set in rings that purported to identify the mood of its wearer with changes in color. In reality variations in temperature were the only thing reflected with a mood ring. They became the precursor for those thermometers parents can use by placing them on their child’s forehead.
They contained quartz stones bonded with liquid crystals, set in rings that purported to identify the mood of its wearer with changes in color. In reality variations in temperature were the only thing reflected with a mood ring. They became the precursor for those thermometers parents can use by placing them on their child’s forehead.
A lot of us now where an awful lot of technology on our wrists these days. Fitbits, Apple watches, and Garmins provide us a lot of information, entertainment, and even encouragement.
Noted author David Sedaris tells the tale of how the Fitbit he purchased with a goal of 10,000 steps a day, combined with his obsessive personality, now has him regularly logging 60,000 steps a day. If 10,000 is good, isn’t 20,000 better? And 30,000 even better yet? Etc. etc.
My challenge to the scientists at NASA?
They can put a man on the moon, but 50 years
later they can’t come up with a Fitbit for mental health? Sure I’m issuing a
tough challenge, but didn’t JFK say that we do the hard things?
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) estimates that;
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) estimates that;
●
1 in 5 (46.6 million) adults in
the US experience a mental health condition in a given year.
●
1 in 25 (11.2 million) adults in
the US experience a serious mental illness in a given year.
●
Up to 90% of those who die by
suicide have an underlying mental illness as revealed by psychological autopsy.
46% of those who die by suicide have a diagnosed mental illness.
●
Suicide is the 10th leading cause
of death in the US. With effective care, suicidal thoughts are treatable, and
suicide is preventable.
Mental illness has long held a stigma in our
society so it rarely is openly discussed.
Oftentimes people struggle in silence despite the fact that help is available.
Oftentimes people struggle in silence despite the fact that help is available.
The science is wa-a-ay above my head, but I’d
like to see work dedicated to developing a device, be it a ring, a watch, a
cell phone app, or even an implantable device, that would deliver the promised
feedback of a mood ring, the social acceptance of a Fitbit, and the diagnostic
ability and communication function of an insulin pump.
Who among us wouldn’t welcome a tweet or text informing us that a friend or family is lonely or hurting?
All too often we don’t find out until it is too late.
I’d like to find out earlier so I could offer help.
They say that the Information Age (where info was the point) is ending. We are now entering the Experience Age, whereby pictures and mobile technology make the stories we tell more vivid.
We are entering a “Show, don’t tell” era.
techcrunch.com/2016/05/09/the-information-age-is-over-welcome-to-the-experience-age/
Who among us wouldn’t welcome a tweet or text informing us that a friend or family is lonely or hurting?
All too often we don’t find out until it is too late.
I’d like to find out earlier so I could offer help.
They say that the Information Age (where info was the point) is ending. We are now entering the Experience Age, whereby pictures and mobile technology make the stories we tell more vivid.
We are entering a “Show, don’t tell” era.
techcrunch.com/2016/05/09/the-information-age-is-over-welcome-to-the-experience-age/
If we can put a man on the moon why can’t we make things more bearable for ALL mankind on earth?
