As I write this, I’m sitting at Newark International Airport in New Jersey waiting for my flight to Indianapolis to board. My final destination is Bloomington, where my friends from the Indiana Limestone Institute will take me on a tour of several quarries in the area. (Look for a full report on my adventure in the September issue, which will feature a focus on limestone.) During my wait, I ordered something to eat while sitting at a table by my gate. I do this at the touch of my finger tips from a tablet stationed there. My order is placed and a receipt is either sent as a text message or email. They make it so easy … just “tap” what you want and swipe your credit card. The same is true when I purchase a bottle of water and a snack for the flight. In this case, technology eliminates long lines.
Advances in technology are not only found at the airport. There are self-checkout lines at grocery stores, advanced online movie ticket purchases and devices such as “Alexa” and Google Home that allow us to play music, ask for the weather or turn on lights by voice command.