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Taking time to smell roses ( modern tech is kind of cool )

Every now and then, we all need to stop, take a breath, and realise what an amazing time we live in. Sure all those reading this blog have their fair share of #firstworldproblems but how often do we stop and realise just how cool things are.

Yesterday was one of those days for me. Heading home from work I saw a tweet from a friend saying that it was t-5min to the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The launch of this rocket is 100 kinds of transformational in itself, with NASA handing over supply missions to the ISS to the private sector. But unlike even a few years ago I didn’t miss it.

Waiting for the bus, where I saw the tweet, I clicked on the link to the NASA site, fired up my browser and hit play. As the bus pulled in, I paid for my ticket with an electronic pass and watched the count down in 720HD video. As the bus moved slowly into the traffic, Falcon 9 took off. So there I was watching HD video of a space launch whilst on a moving vehicle.

The launch itself had multiple camera angles in real time HD showing me all the stage separations as well.  Once the launch was complete I could then share in real-time with my friends and followers on Twitter my excitement about the event I had just watched. Had I been at home, I would have the video on one monitor and Twitter on the second monitor.

Now, I can write a blog post and share it to the world, including a copy of the video.

I remember the first Shuttle launch, where I watched a rare live cross on TV. After the event I looked forward to catching up with a friend an hour later to discuss it. Then we waited 10 hours before the evening news to watch the footage again. We didn’t even have a VCR in our house in those days so I couldn’t even tape it.

So stop and smell the tech roses, the world is an amazing place.