Fred Townsend:  

May you live in interesting times, often referred to as the Chinese curse, is reputed to be the English translation of an ancient Chinese proverb and curse,’¦’™ Wikipedia. Proverb or curse? Good times or bad? I would have to say Good times and definitely not a curse. Another proverb: To the Carpenter, Everything Looks Like A Nail. I am an electronic engineer so I see the world through electronics. In my lifetime I have seen the birth of television, the transistor, the integrated circuit, electronic calculator, microprocessor, digital computer, the Internet, the World Wide Web, e-mail, cell phone, and GPS. At a time when most of our generation is learning computers from our grandchildren I taught computers to your grandchildren. I have also visited the Mecca of the transistor, Bell Labs; and the Mecca of Software, Redmond Washington. I have sent my designs high in the air and into deep into space and deep under the oceans. I have also seen weapons so accurate that death a thousand miles away is assured by the push of a button. I think we indeed have been blessed to have lived in these interesting times. I wonder if it will be the same for my grandchildren. Some things frighten me. Some years ago the California Secretary of Ed...Expand for more