I was tagged by the lovely Ariadne over at Noisy Deadline to answer the Technology Questions Challenge.

Never one to turn down a good challenge …

When did you first get interested in technology?

I would have to say almost at the same time I was starting to read and write. Growing up with two older brothers and a dad who loved to tinker with, well, everything. I learnt a lot about what went on inside radios. And I’m not talking the kind you might be thinking about. But something your grandma might have had back in the day. Those Bakelite behemoths that side on people’s sideboards back in the 50s. Ones that, when you undid the back to look inside, housed vacuum sealed valves that glowed and hummed.

I was endlessly fascinated by how all those weird looking items, together, allowed you to tune into “radio” waves that bounced around the world in the ether.

Fast forward what feels like several decades and those radios were supplanted by a whole host of gadgets. I’m really not afraid of getting inside the guts of a machine, and or getting my hands dirty. But these days? It’s more about coding or tweaking than actually playing with a computer’s innards. I’ll leave that to the experts.

What’s Your Favourite Piece Of Technology All-Time?

My first radio? My first car? My first computer? Hmm … I would have to go way back to when I was about 7 years old and say the first long wave radio my dad bought me one birthday. I had that for years and years. I loved that radio, I loved how it put me in contact with the four corners of my tiny universe, able to listen to programmes and music from anywhere I could tune in a signal. I loved it so much, I went to bed with that thing.

What’s Your Favourite Piece Of Technology Right Now?

Hmm … that’s got to be a toss up between my iPad air and my aging iMac. Both of which I use constantly, though, of course, these days, don’t go to bed with. Now that would be awkward if not, a little uncomfortable.

Name One New Cool Piece Of Technology We’ll Have In 25 Years!

As a huge Star Trek fan, I would love to think that besides the first flip phone, inspired by ST, we could have maybe more medical tech like a bio-bed or tricorder, or less invasive surgery. Though maybe not a phaser or the transporter tech, no thanks. I’m with Dr. McCoy when it comes to transporters, you wouldn’t get me in one for love nor money.

Final thoughts.

Well, that was fun taking a quick trip down memory lane. My thanks again to Ariadne for nominating me.