technology is a reflection of our time efficient computerized weather sleep beauty all that's gone technology is the human imagination converted into reality but as technology advances we always find time to laugh perhaps too hard at pictures of machines those products of our mind then times making us look ridiculous the f it is funny is that watching the technology take a step backwards watching machines break down in old time movies always seems to take us perhaps it tickles us because we'd rather not think about the problems of machines breaking down in our day and  people and the whole world dependent upon the technology the an enormous sophisticated complex technology that we have created yet despite our depending on it most of us know next to nothing about how it works or how it fails to work we all of us are caught up into a real world a place somewhere between a space technology and the diabolical machines of the silent movies there's no space shuttles in that world no ten lives either but there is the technology that we so very much take for granted now certainly from time to time we know that our cars may not work we may not have maintained them properly or the hot water heater won't give us our share of hot water we may not have taken care or that an electrical appliance will short out we may have overload as a circuit course these are the little problems they only cause anger frustration but what's really important is that they point out the larger responsibilities and potential dangers that are tied in with the technological world perhaps you've read or heard about the pioneer day technology didn't present many problems  our forefathers who their own food supply the materials to furnish their own heat and light and got their own water from the stream or well life was much simpler th but that was a long time ago ironically we can still see traces of some of those early homesteads which fell victim to a lack of technology today many of us have no idea where our food comes from have no idea how or where our electricity and gas arrived have no idea where our drinking water comes from we only see the last at the supermarket the switch the knob the but the actual source of energy to run our industrial world remains a vast mysterious system which somehow seems to work but which many of us don't really understand for so many fundamental needs we depend upon things beyond ourselves things over which we seem to have no control yet on an individual level so there is little we can do to repair our maintain the systems which are so important to us there is much we can do to deal with the particular dangers our technological world may hol brach the most wide ranging technological failure in man's history was the famous blackout which struck the new york city area on november ninth one nine hundred sixty  during the blackout people stayed calm and helped each other overcome an incredible technological disaster less dramatic than a blackout but a situation in which individuals can be of great help is a brownout planned cutback in the electrical power during such a period individuals can work to prevent large scale power failure by not using convenience electrical items like this washers record players  power to by turning off air conditioners by not using more light than necessary and by turning out lights when leaving the room fire another technological disaster during which individuals may be called upon to take quick action conventional wisdom suggests putting water on the fire but in many cases this is exactly the wrong thing to do with an electrical fire be sure to turn the electricity off before applying water if the electricity cannot be turned off smother the fire with sand or c o two from a fire extinguisher the same goes for grease oil fires and in the case of gas fires shut off the burners if you can't get out then call the fire department gas can cause explosions and more fire if you will turn the gas flow off water sand earth or web blankets will all be useful in putting out the remaining fi yet technology places new burdens on all of us burdens our grandparents never dreamed without electricity for example there could be no electrical fires no blackout for that matter personal responsibility from the people who benefit from the individual can help himself and his community by taking these responsibilities seriously and in knowing how to deal with the special problems technology dangers new responsibilities today it is vital to learn enough about these new dangers to be able to make a reasonable action decision when we are confronted with them