Entry #3 This dang internets is making some neato stuff!

Ok, so really,  technology is kind of amazing these days.  We live in a time that seems to have endless possibilities because of the existence of technological advancements.  I can have a car parallel park for me instead of trying to get it right with my  five or six attempts.

  We have the ability to communicate from one computer screen to another and have live conversations from one side of the globe to the other with live video feed of ourselves to share with whoever we want to talk with because of computer applications like skype.  We also have the ability to answer all of our questions for our busy day to day lives with an amazing little super computer we almost all keep in a purse or a pocket.  How many of us think we just couldn't make it without our cell phone these days?

So for this post I thought I would talk about some technology I am finding out is making its way into our lives in some pretty incredible ways.  Its friendly enough for even kids to use while having the creative capacity to create a duplicate of itself.  The 3D Printer.

This amazing technology can make anything, with almost any type of material, glass, plastics, metals, and liquids.  This piece of technology can build houses, make edible food, create fine art, print medication, and build machine equipment. Something that struck me about researching the 3D Printer was how user friendly it is.  With multiple types being sold in the market, parents can buy their children one so they can make plastic art and jewelry with ease while adults can tinker with their own projects and ideas. There is also a huge corporate interest in these machines for streamlining production. With online forums there is an ever growing library of downloadable files that you can plug into the printer to make infinite amounts of objects.

So, are there drawbacks to having technology that can make anything we want?  Can the ability to make anything with a few simple swipes of a computer screen be dangerous?  Do we stop enough as a society to ask ourselves if having everything we want literally at the tips of our fingers a good thing?  Well, like so many rhetorical questions, I guess, it just depends on who we ask.  While researching this technology I came across some pretty interesting information, most of which was positive, but some of it definitely impacted me with some feelings that left me unsure if 3D Printing is a 100% a good idea.  Maybe I am hitting a cultural divide with a younger generation who feels technology can be nothing but positive, but after seeing some of the capabilities of 3D printing, I felt downright nervous too.

3D Printing could not only replace what I do for a living in the future, but it could down right murder me too, literally.  Sounds dramatic right? Its still sadly a correct statement.  

So yes, technology does tend to catch up to jobs that require manual labor, but this one is a bit sacred to me.  I have mixed emotions about being replaced by a machine as a possible future outcome if this technology continuous to grow for tattooing. The really scary part of the printers that struck me while researching was the ability to use them for violence.  Apparently, I wasn't the only one either, the U.S. Government noticed as well.  3D printers also have the capacity to make a weapon perfectly in the comfort of your home.  Want a gun to keep you safe at night?  Just download the info on how to from the old internet and plug it into your printer, blammo; you just created a serial number free weapon that can devastate a life or lives.

Unfortunately, just like lots of other things that exist on the internet, there is always a corner that can get quite dangerous with so much information available to the public.  While there has been measures to try to help prevent certain information like weapon making from being shared, it still exists.  So, before you go out and grab one of these sweet boxes of endless possibilities in the future for yourself, maybe have a conversation about it.. Of course its thrilling to have something that just like a genie, grants your every wish, but is it too sweet for our long term health?  Lets no rot out our moral teeth on some really great candy because it tastes good right this moment.  For this lady, I am perfectly alright making my own tattoos, printer free for the time being, (call me a knuckle dragging cave-woman if you must).  Please feel free to share your choice in the comments, I love listening to multiple perspectives.