Paper (of different kinds)

Coffee - that elixir (almost) ... If you are out and about, you can walk (or drive) upto a store - order a coffee - and it comes in "paper" - that is also easy to hold ... A drink enjoyed almost anywhere - thanks to the "invention" called "paper" and cups made from paper (there are other materials, ofcourse - but the paper cup seems to dominate) - use it, dispose it, the bacteria then dispose it to the elements - and the cycle begins all over again - A sign of prosperity - almost anyone can have their hot drink for a small amount of money - amazing indeed

A "Dr Who" convention

A TV show, stories enacted on the screen - actors, writers - and almost a thousand people paid significant amount of money to come and have a "convention" - people talked about the show, dressed up as characters in the show - people travelled FROM OTHER STATES to attend the convention - A sign of prosperity that people have the resources to travel, meet up and talk about a TV show - they have the luxury of time to travel and have access to energy that allows them to travel OR hire someone else to help them travel (by air or car) ... Amazing times we live in - when people do not think twice (or seem to anyway) of spending money on leisure - they have time to spend also.

Boats, RV's and more ...

I saw a sign for a "Boating Convention" - I imagine this is for people with boats (I do not have one) ... what I do find interesting is that so many people do have boats - large, small - very small - I imagine they use it for fishing or just being out on the water ... and the people that own boats are not what I would term "rich" by any means - ... and that is indeed a sign of prosperity - a system that allows almost anyone with limited means to have/own a boat - It is not what one earns (in absolute terms) that is important - but what one can afford to purchase (or lease) with what one earns - and there is no doubt in my mind that even accounting for inflation, what anyone earns today goes farther than it ever did - and so what the rich used to enjoy is now available to the not so rich.  

The spoon

Imagine the small stainless steel spoon - it can last forever - a mixture of iron with a few other metals including chromium, nickel - even though it is mostly iron, it does not taste like iron - it is mostly tasteless - so you can taste the food itself and not the spoon - amazing thing is that everytime you use it, a small fraction of the coating (a transparent oxide) is removed/abraded off - and that space is quickly filled with new oxide material - so the iron never "rusts" ... till recently, the "royals" could afford spoons made from silver or gold - and now we can all afford stainless steel - in many cases, better than silver and gold (to eat with anyway)

Learning, books, printed material

Till recently (oh, say a couple of hundred years ago) - knowledge was passed from teacher to student by the spoken word only ... the student had to listen to what the teacher had to offer - and learn.  The printing press changed all that - one did not have to be a "noble" or "royal" person to afford reading and learning - soon, prices started falling and made books and printed material available to just about anyone who wanted it ... yes, there have been times when the prices of books remained a barrier for many (I know, it was for me - there was much I wanted to own, but could not afford to - and went looking for them in libraries, old book stores or road-side merchants in Bombay with all sorts of printed material for sale) ... amazing times we do live in where the only barrier to learn is now within the individual - "knowledge" or "information" is out there - yes, true that learning does require the crucial ingredient of a mentor, teacher - and the internet is changing that also, for the better.

Two weeks down to a few seconds

It used to take two weeks for letters to go from the US to India - and with two weeks back - a minimum of four weeks to communicate ... (sure, there were phones in the late 1970's - in India, I mean - but a one minute call then used to cost around $4 (and in today's dollars, it is equal to about $13 a minute) - and today, calls to India can be had for about $0.10 (10 cents) per minute ... Why?  That is another story ... but amazing how communications have become far, far less expensive - for almost everyone and not just a few ...

Cotton Row, 2014

We live in a world where hundreds and sometimes thousands of people pay a fee to an organization to get up early in the morning and struggle to run (or walk) 5 or 10 kilometers ... and they sometimes travel from city to city - spending their own money, staying in hotels - It is not just the money they spend to "run" - but that they have the time to do so ... amazing sign of prosperity - and no - not everyone who runs or travels is "rich" ... but the world as we know it, makes it possible for ordinary people to take part in such community events - go back to their homes and do it again ... (yea, I did "run" the Huntsville 10K Cotton Row ... "run" is not quite accurate - BUT - I started with everyone and was on the entire course and crossed the finish line ... and there were a few people behind me (!) -