You...younger guys have it easy....

If you have lived as long as i have (or even longer) .....you'll be amazed, as i am, at how much and how fast we (the modern man) have evolved during the last half century ....and made life a little bit easier for all of us.

Consider these:

1. My High School Term Paper (1973):

• Researched by: hours of reading & searching books and writing notes on intermmediate pad paper at the school library; drafts handwritten on pad paper; spellings checked using the thick-volumed dictionary at the library.


• Printed by: bulky manual typewriter using reusable, manually installed and wound nylon ribbon.


• Reproduced by: typing the original with carbon papers and onion skin bond papers underneath.


• Remarks: final product submitted in a hard paper folder.

2. My College Undergraduate Thesis (1979):

• Researched by: hours of reading & searching books and writing notes on individual index cards at the college library or at home if i was lucky enough to have been able to reserve a book for overnight borrowing; drafts handwritten on yellow paper; spellings checked using a pocket dictionary.


• Printed by: portable manual typewriter using manually installed reusable nylon ribbon and sheepskin bond paper.


• Reproduced by: manual typing of the original with carbon papers and onion skin bond papers underneath.


• Remarks: thesis defense done using subject outline, graphs, and tables written or drawn on sheets of manila paper stuck to the walls with wooden stick used as pointer; xerox copiers have just been introduced and the cost per page is very prohibitive, hence, i rarely used xerox copies as notes; besides, the copies are printed on special, thick, heat-sensitive paper using ink with foul odor of chemicals and the print fades within 2 weeks; final products were submitted in hardbound form after one week in the bindery.

3. My Masteral Thesis (1982):

• Researched by: hours of reading & searching books & journals and writing some notes on index cards at the university library; most notes are photocopied (using liqid ink) journal articles; drafts handwritten on yellow pad paper; spellings checked using pocketbook dictionary.


• Printed by: electric typewriter using reusable nylon ribbon; figures drawn by hand, photocopied, handcut, and handpasted on final pages.


• Reproduced by: photocopying using liquid ink on photocopy paper.


• Remarks: thesis defense done using graphs & tables drawn on art paper, subject outline on acetate transparencies, and photos on ectachrome slides and using a collapsible antennae type metal pointer; final product submitted in hardbound form after 3 days in the bindery.

4. My Doctoral Dissertation (1991):

• Researched by: hours of reading, searching, and photocopying (using powder ink) of books & journal articles or ordering printed copies of journal articles by mail; drafts typed in Panasonic Word Processor (with built-in Word Perfect Program and built-in black & white screen and spell checker) and saved in 3.5 ordinary floppy discs (see photo);


• Printed by: the Panasonic Word Processor, using the built-in printer with interchangeable daisy-wheel cartridge for fonts and single-use cartridge ribbon, on ordinary bond paper; figures were handrawn, photographed, then pasted on final pages; photos were pasted directly on final pages.


• Reproduced by: photocopying using powder ink.


• Remarks: dissertation defense done using subject outline, graphs, table, and photos on ectachrome slides and using a laser pointer; final products submitted in hardbound form with gold letterings after overnight binding and in 3.5 ordinary floppy discs.

5. My Professorial Chair Lecture (1994):

• Researched by: hours of reading, searching, and photocopying books and journal articles at the college & university libraries; drafts inputed in the department IBM compatible pc at the office or personal lap top at home, both with Microsoft Word and black & white screens and saved in 3.5 2HD IBM formatted floppy discs; spellings checked using spell checker.


• Printed by: dot matrix printer using black reusable nylon ribbon.


• Reproduced by: photocopying using powder ink.


• Remarks: lecture presented using graphs, tables and photos on ectachrome slides and using a laser pointer; final product submitted in hard bound form after overnight binding.

6. My Technical Presentations to Clients (2005):

• Researched by: a few hours of searching and reading the internet for information and photos with the help of Google or Yahoo browers using the office pc and notebook with colored screens; drafts of notes inputed on Microsoft Word; grammar & syntax and spellings checked by grammar & spell checkers; tables prepared using Microsoft Excel; own photos scanned or taken with digital or cell phone cameras, formatted, and edited using Adobe Photoshop; all these saved in hard disc and/or cd's.


• Printed by: ink-jet printer using black and colored ink cartridges on ordinary bond paper.


• Reproduced by: photocopying using colored photocopier or by making cd copies using cd burner software.


• Remarks: presentations done using Powerpoint on a lap top computer attached to an LCD projector and using a laser pointer.

So what's my point? I just wish to express my gratitude to the people responsible for making all these advancements in technology possible. I urge them not to stop in finding ways to make all our lives richer and better!

Then, maybe, i could finally produce this idea of a mystery- suspense novel that's been in my head for the longest time.... if someone develops a machine that could read my mind and put them down on print ....'coz my brain works faster than my fingers.... or i'm just too plain lazy to type them down!!! hehehehehehe....