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Greetings and a happy new year to all! I’m hoping that everyone reading this had a safe holiday season and did not meet with any accidents along the way to your destinations or back. Hopefully those homebodies out there (like myself) that enjoyed a “staycation” did not run afoul of anything physical or life threatening.
I separated from the military back in 2006 for a service related disability. Nothing major, just issues with my knees and lower back. The United States Air Force rated me at 10% disabled and the Veteran’s Association rated me at 0% when I first separated (they now have me rated at 30% due to deterioration over time).
That first time at the VA was my first real experience with seeing, in person, multiple amputees of various conditions. There were people missing hands, arms, and in some cases half their bodies. One guy in particular stood out to me. He was an old marine and he was getting inspected by a doctor at the time I encountered him. He was missing his right arm and both legs but the look on his face was nothing but joy; he was happy just to be alive.
I think Les Baugh (pictured above) might have been in that same boat at one point and just happy that the electrical accident that took his arms spared his life. Now Les has two new robotic arms to enjoy and is able to do things with them that he has been unable to do for the last 40 years.
A new year means new technology on the horizon. Next week the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas will kick off that concept with new toys and innovations that appeal to tech junkies like me all over the world. It is amazing some of the experiences we have been given by the advances in technology. Just last year advances in virtual reality, that are not even commercially available, allowed people that have not left their home in years due to illness experience the world they have been missing.
Eventually we might get to the point where technology is not just replacing limbs but eliminating the risks of losing them in the first place. The military are always experimenting with tech that not only allows a combatant to be taken down in a nonviolent manner but also protects people from disfigurement and amputations like so many of our veterans have experienced.
What do you think we will see this year for new tech advances? Do you think we will finally see the release of commercial VR with the ability to let deployed troops feel like they are in the room right next to their wife and kids that they are missing so much. Will we see new tech that creates new jobs and helps our nation financially? Maybe we will see 3D printers that are finally cheap enough that everyday Joe’s can purchase one and play around with the ability to manufacture at home. No matter what is on the horizon you can be sure that it will just be a stepping stone to something even greater next year.
