technology and farming , how far have i come?
    remember those old days when a calculator was the greatest invention or maybe it was the portable radio. in first grade , i remember our class visiting another classroom and they had this huge abacus and i was in awe at such a magnificent machine. the chinese  pride themselves in their ability to manipulate the abacus to answer complex math problems. in second grade i remember we would receive a smaller version of the abacus to practice our adding. now i think they use a big yellow bird to teach children our age now , or perhaps several yellow birds at once , depending on the number.
    i was actually taught to count to 100 by the time i entered first grade as i worked in the woods with summer college help and they taught me how to add and subtract. i guess we could compare it to head start program as the department of forestry was paying these youths to work , and not necessarily teach me , but it was better than working for them. but they were thorough when teaching me . they would teach me biology and science related items and to appreciate the woods we were working in. this all took place when i was five and living at our other farm. the department of forestry had hired my grandpa to lead teams of these workers clearing trails and digging out research sites.and i would tag along.
   my next calculator was a slide rule. i think it was mr. dietrich who insisted all chemistry students learn to use a slide rule to calculate math problems.it was a very intimidating stick of wood as it symbolized intelligence . having one in a pocket protector and inserted in a white shirt pocket escalated one to a level of higher learning , whether you knew how to use it or not. i became quite proficient at using it, but always wondered at the how and why someone would ever come up with such a thing. but then i had no idea that x's and o's would the basis of the binary system and that would be the code to tell computers what to do. having achieved the mastery of the slide rule it then prepared me for the next great innovation . the digital calculator.
    they had the old adding machines that would add subtract divide and would figure interest, and these were the workhorse of most accounting systems at the time. this time i am talking about was the early seventies. the excitement in the adding industry came when people started using the digital calculator. my first calculator was the texas instruments ti-50. its bulky design and limitless features(you supplied the needed keystrokes to perform a variety of math related features). but when they came out i recall seeing student after student toting around their own personal computing device and already teachers and educators were begining to examine how these new adding tools would be allowed to be used. in college we were allowed to bring our calculators to take tests, and the only thing was that we had to show our work. some of the calculators i had were capable of storing complete complex math equations , as well as formulas needed to solve problems.
      i had went to an ag college , at ati agricultural technical institute, part of ohio state university, and i was being introduced to a new agriculture based on scientific data, and complex equations to determine such field measurements as soil acidity, moisture, cost per acre, and a variety of things.
     these hand held calculators were a blessing when it came to providing the answers needed by our instructors as they grilled us. tomorrow i will continue with my first introduction to computers and this was around the time i graduated from college. later