Fiction viewpoint from up north

Living in Seattle, we get Vancouver, Canada, news here and there. Typically, it's about a ship than ran aground or word of local orca pods moving into treacherous circumstances. However, this news is more along my line -- fictional viewpoints.

The impetus for the post is the Sputnik anniversary. Google has a little Sputnik drawing embedded into its logo today to celebrate. It was, indeed, a momentous occasion that spoke volumes on human progress.

As you read the article, you may not be able to viscerally relate. If you were merely a glimmer in your parents' eyes at that point in time -- as I was -- the sentiments may escape you. However, if you give it a little thought and mull over your years of stomping on the terra (to quote Lord Buckley), you may still come away with similar amazement.

I like to think about computers and phones in particular...

On computing, my first college course was FORTRAN WAT-5S and I used punch cards to compile my first program. We learned the basic things back then like algorithms and pseudo-code. Considering that I'm typing this entry on a light laptop that's receiving a wireless Internet signal, things have gotten much more user friendly.

With regards to telephones, a similar sense of technological accomplishment hits me when I think back to that trendy candlestick phone we used to have. It was a retro style thing at the time but all phones then were still dialed and connected through a wire. Now I've got this tiny gadget that can call wherever a signal is available (which is virtually everywhere I go) and I can capture and send photos with it. I'm still waiting for Jetsons-style video phones to get smoothly operating. I guess we need to go back to basics on that one...we need a new algorithm for video compression so it's easy to send through phones bilaterally.

It all still amazes me when I reflect on how far we've come even over the last twenty years. I think that Vancouver Sun writer has it right to a degree...but I think we're still seeing science fiction come true. There are actually lots more developments for us to see come to life. We're probably just getting so used to change now that we don't notice it as much.