We live in an age of wonders and miracles, occurring around us so often that we take them for granted. With some microchips and a telephone line, you can communicate with people half a world away. Heck, you don't even need a telephone line.

Routinely, surgeons perform procedures that were impossible just a few years ago. Your car can send you an e-mail telling you that it needs its oil changed. There are new refrigerators that are so smart, they can order the foods you run out of (providing you hook it up to the Internet and have online grocery shopping capabilities).

It can all be a bit daunting, to say the least. I saw a segment on 60 Minutes last week about the proliferation of microchips in appliances and a program on the History Channel about the advances of technology. It's amazing what lies ahead, but also more than a bit intimidating.

A professor from M.I.T. was discussing the expanding power of computer microchips and the miniaturization and decrease in prices that will occur over the coming years. The professor was theorizing that these very small, very powerful computer chips could be implanted into the brains of people suffering from diseases, such as Parkinson's, and act as a replacement for the part of your brain that was affected by the disease.

Cool but creepy.

He further theorized that within 50 years, computers would have progressed to the point where they would be able to do computations as fast or faster than the human brain. In theory, you would be able to download the contents of your brain and place them in a new body, in essence, living forever.

I think that's what that Frankenstein guy was trying to do, but this would be a much cooler lab, definitely not located in a castle. Perhaps your brain could be downloaded to an iPod until a suitable replacement is found.

Throughout history, we have been on a constant march to make things bigger, faster, better and cheaper. Often the advances come before we are ready as a society to be able to deal with the unintended consequences of technology. There are economic, social and ethical questions that quite often are not thought out before the technology genie is out of the bottle. It seems that we have already become slaves to the devices that were supposed to make our lives easier.

How many of you struggled to set the clock on your VCR? There was a vendor that sold black tape to cover up the blinking 12:01 on the display, remember? Wait, in these days of digital video recorders (DVR) and TiVo, does anyone even remember VCRs?

We are constantly spoon fed a diet that tells us that without the latest and greatest technology, our lives will be miserable.

What actually happens is quite different. We end up buying the latest and greatest (fill in product that your life will be miserable without), paying the least we can (so we can afford the extra bells and whistles, can't have the neighbor out belling or out whistling you), get the product home, confident that we can make it do what we want it to do. Hours later, after talking with technical support, many of us simply snap. According to one survey, 29 percent of all callers swear at their customer service representative, 21 percent just scream.

Life is better, right?

I tread water the best I can in this technology ocean, and savor my small victories over machines. When I become frustrated, I remember the advice of my father, who worked as an auto mechanic in the days before computerized cars: machines are stupid objects that will only do what you tell them to do. Think like a machine, not a person, and you will have better luck solving problems. Never let an inanimate object defeat you.

Of course, I had to reset the time on his VCR twice a year, but you get the idea.

The whole idea of "smart" appliances communicating with one another in my home sounds a bit too much like the "Terminator" movies. I'm not going to be a slave to a toaster overlord. I'll keep my freedom for as long as I can.

I do know how to throw a breaker switch.

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@lemarscomm.net, telephone 712-546-7031, x40 or toll free 1-800-728-0066 x40.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.