I read a joke once that said that computer professionals were the only ones that got excited when things actually worked. The implication being that they understood all the hard work that goes into making something work simply and reliably.

Although I must admit to taking many advances for granted on a daily basis, I am also quite frequently in awe of the many amazing things I work with, and the technological advances humanity has made in my lifetime.

In my lifetime I have seen men go to the moon and back, the creation of personal computers, the creation of a global communications network that is remaking the world. I will see in my lifetime a desktop computer that has processing power equivalent to the human brain, and probably a desktop (or whatever form computers take then) computer with the processing power equivalent to the human race.

Like many, I fear the rise of the idiocracy. I have read several fictional works on the subject. Howevwer, mostly I look forward with the enthusiasm and wonder of a small child.