Nine things we may not have much longer.

[Blagger]

1. Post Office/Royal Mail. It's been dying for years. Mainly ( in the UK, anyway) because it refused to diversify; in that is regarded itself inmune from what's commonly known as "progression". It's dying in the UK because it's also a crooked and notoriously unreliable service. Although (in the UK) it isn't dying, it's just being privitized

2. Cheques. Good riddance.

3. Newspapers. In the physical sense, yes. However, and I speak with some authority on this. Even younger members of society still instinctively trust the well known, pre-online broadsheets. OK, they've had to adapt, but they still possess the talent, resources, econmic experience and contacts to dig-out the groundbreaking scoops. 'New Media' is yet to pose a serious threat to the established names of the old Fleet Street, European and American media outlets. The paywall will ensure their immediate survival.

4. Books. Hmm... That's a tricky one; and there are pros and cons. Pros. E-books will open-up the market to more writing talent compared to the currently contracting, traditional publishing houses. Self-publishing is being rapidly and increasingly facilitated by e-books. Cons. Battery life, although yes, I know that a Kindle's battery is supposed to last for months. People will still crave the historical connection and associated nostalgia of the printed page.

5. Landline telephone. Technology advances. In the next decade, we may well be mourning the loss of the cell phone.

6. Music. I agree, and I disagree. From where I'm sitting, it seems as though you miss the idea of putting on a CD, as opposed to the lifeless files you can select in seconds. To an extent, I share your melancholy. The music industry does also appear to be selecting and backing individuals whose life will spill over into the tabloids. It's becoming more like a production line than something the audience can enjoy and fondly remember. But then again, the advent of the new media platforms is giving us a more diverse spectrum to choose from, whether or not we like what's now on offer is subjective.

7. Electronic consumer goods. See landline telephone.

8. Things I own. They'll change as I get older. I already know what I value enough to keep for a lifetime.

9. Privacy. We all got caught-up in the gradually rising tempo and subsequent hysteria of the internet before anyone had the sense to wonder where it would stop. Although I concede that it's got to the point where the argument "you can just unplug it" no longer applies.


My offering to the discussion.


Distance. The world, after the introduction of the internet and the otherwise arduous services it can now easily accomodate, has got smaller. Long gone are the days of booking an appointment with your travel agent. Now, after more than a few clicks of a mouse and the entry of payment details, I can be, and do, fly to the US twice a year (my wife's American). Pen pal? Never had one, but I, like everyone else on USMB, whatever our political and social differences, genuinely enjoys the fact that we can converse with each other instantly over vast distances. I'm in the UK, but this submittal will be available for you Americans to read almost instantaniously.

Innocence. The world as we know it no longer has the ability to shield us from what we used to balk at. The internet combined with our curiousity and our base, animal interest in the perverse is rapidly eroding shock value.

 

[Blagger]

Oh, and managemant has now become an ever-increasingly frustrating, obstructive and profit swallowing industry of its own.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

1. Cigarettes
Use and frequency is way down as are places to smoke. Prices are way up

There are just personalities and needs. We may see them go all electronic, but
some people need something to suck on, and they need that nicotine goodness.

2. Tombstones
Cremation is gaining acceptance and your future "monument" may be on Facebook

3. Voting Booths
Everyone will be able to vote on-line. No need to pull the lever

I don't like this at all. Fraud is bad enough as it is. Also there is somethng about doing the vote in person in public

4. Classrooms
Kids will attend school through a video link and computer access

I think they will change substantially. But kids learn better from their peers than their teachers. It is the process of working out together than makes learning happen. So replacement of the schoolroom won't happen

5. Playgrounds
They are getting smaller and smaller and less and less fun

I think as cities get more crowded, playgrounds will become more important. What I have seen out of Japan is they get very creative and intense about them there. Space for kids has a huge amount of priority.

 

[xsited1]

Nine things we may not have much longer.

I've already given up most of those so I'm good.

 

[Foxfyre]

Just because we have a new technology that's faster, easier, and more efficient doesn't mean the old technology will disappear. It's really a matter of do we like the old technology.

Just about everybody believed TV would be the end of motion picture theaters. Why do we pay 50 bucks to take a date or the family to a movie when we can choose from thousands of movies to watch at home any time we please for few dollars. We do so because we just like the experience of going out to a movie.

I think there will always be a market for books although they may not be as many produced. The good thing and bad thing about technology is that it is always changing and improving. To read a paper copy of a book, you do not need a special device, you don't need to charge batteries, and there are no compatibly problems. Unlike books on audio tape or web sites that no longer exist, the books in my library are just as readable now as they were 20 years ago. I read books on my iPad, but for me reading a paper copy is totally different experience.

But the thing is, Mr. Foxfyre and I choose NOT to spend that $50 to go to a movie as there are so few really good movies produced any more and the cost just isn't worth it. We would rather spend that $50 on five DVDs of great old movies we love to watch again and again. As a result, when we once had seen every movie nominated for something on the Academy Awards, now we haven't even heard of most of the nominees. Same with music on the Grammy awards--once we knew every melody and arrangement, what studio produced it, what artist sang it. Now we don't bother to even watch.

But maybe there's enough of the younger generations to keep it all going.

But there is a part of me that dreads the change, the loss of the familiar and comfortable as well as enjoyable parts of our life.

 

[CountofTuscany]

They can get rid of checks, but I will NEVER give up CASH.

That is one thing the Government wants to take from you.

 

[CountofTuscany]

Younger people probably don't feel the sense of loss or even distress that some of us in the 'older generation', but the following nine things may not be with us much longer.

Agree? Rebuttal and disagreement would be welcomed.

1. The Post Office.

Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.

2. The Check.

Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.

3. The Newspaper.

The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.

4. The Book.

You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music fromiTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, And can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book. Public libraries are already beginning to convert to more electronic transmission of information with the plus side being able to access that information from your home computer.

5. The Land Line Telephone.

Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes

6. Music.

This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it.. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."

7. Television sets along with DVD recorder/players and other peripherals.

Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Sales of DVD players and similar peripherals for home entertainment centers are declining. Network television, the television sets that receive the signals, and all the gadgets associated will inevitably be discontinued.

8. The "Things" That You Own.

Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof?" Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.

9. Privacy.

If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again. All we will have that can't be changed are memories.

Post Office -Other than nostalgia, not sure I care. But I'm sure once it's gone I'll need it.
Checks - that will take getting used to but is doable
newspaper /books - going to be tough. Online just isn't the same
Land line phone - Don't have one now
Music - Music will always be around. the industry may change
TV - I watch mostly on the computer now anyway
Things I own - debatable, depends how you store them
Privacy - gov't will see to that for sure

 

[Big Black Dog]

Younger people probably don't feel the sense of loss or even distress that some of us in the 'older generation', but the following nine things may not be with us much longer.

Agree? Rebuttal and disagreement would be welcomed.

1. The Post Office.

Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.

2. The Check.

Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.

3. The Newspaper.

The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.

4. The Book.

You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music fromiTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, And can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book. Public libraries are already beginning to convert to more electronic transmission of information with the plus side being able to access that information from your home computer.

5. The Land Line Telephone.

Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes

6. Music.

This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it.. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."

7. Television sets along with DVD recorder/players and other peripherals.

Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Sales of DVD players and similar peripherals for home entertainment centers are declining. Network television, the television sets that receive the signals, and all the gadgets associated will inevitably be discontinued.

8. The "Things" That You Own.

Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof?" Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.

9. Privacy.

If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again. All we will have that can't be changed are memories.

I think we will always have the Post Office. I can't believe we would ever let that go away. If we do, what will pre-teen boys play UPS when they are learning to make out with girls?

I have to disagree. We will always have the check. As a rite of passage, housewifes almost always control the check book and I don't think they would allow that to change therefore, they will never allow the check to disappear from the family financial scene.

Newspapers will also be a part of our daily lives forever. What are you going to line the bottom of your bird cage with, your iPhone?

As long as bachelor men have furniture with faulty legs, especially a coffee table with a short leg, there will always be books. They will continue to print them in various sizes to match that short-legged coffee table, i.e., 1 inch books, 2 inch books, etc.

Land line telephones must still exist for people who have cardiac monitoring devices in their homes supplied to them by the modern cardiologists. They may eventually charge more for them but they will still be around. If land line telephones go away so will telephones and that will be bad news for the millions of birds that like to roost on those telephone lines. Bird watchers won't allow that to happen.

I hate to say it but music has already disappeared. There hasn't been any decent music to listen to since the big band era disappeared. Everything since is simply noise that people dance to. Well, they don't actually dance anymore. They just get out on the dance floor and jump at each other.

Are you kidding? No television sets? This would be wrong on so many levels. What do you do with the remote control if there is no television set? Sorry. I have to throw the yellow flag and call foul on this one...

The things that I own have already disappeared. It happened within the hour after I got married. The wife says "What's mine is mine" and "What's yours is mine." Pretty much the end of that discussion.

Privacy will most likely never completely disappear either. As long as we have a United States Army there will be plenty of privacy in it to make it work.

 

[Two Thumbs]

1. Cigarettes
Use and frequency is way down as are places to smoke. Prices are way up

2. Tombstones
Cremation is gaining acceptance and your future "monument" may be on Facebook

3. Voting Booths
Everyone will be able to vote on-line. No need to pull the lever

4. Classrooms
Kids will attend school through a video link and computer access

5. Playgrounds
They are getting smaller and smaller and less and less fun

My playground was built for speed and no sissies were allowed.

Everything was steel set in concrete that was 'padded' with sand.

Now it's platic set very deep into concrete with ground up rubber as padding.

 

[CountofTuscany]

No. However, take away CASH and there are a whole lot of basic necessities of life (food, etc...) that I refuse to put on a credit card because there is no reason to, which I will not be able to buy.

I refuse to use my cc to pay for food or gas. By the time you get around to paying for it, it's long gone!

We do have oil company credit cards for gasoline purchases because it is soooo convenient to just pull into a pump, insert card, get fuel, and leave. Not only is it convenient, but it helps provide a permanent record for tax purposes. We also prefer to use a credit card for major purchases because of the extra insurance protection it provides--if the product is faulty or is lost or stolen, we have recourse when we use a credit card.

We do pay all credit card bills in full just as soon as the bill arrives though, and never pay a penny in interest or penalties. So far there is no annual fee on any of our cards either.

We write one check a month to the church. All other transactions are via debit card or CC with bills paid on line. If the walk in bank closes and checks go away, I'm sure the church will figure out a way to use debit cards as easily as it accepts checks and cash.

We don't use credit cards ever for food purchases, but do use our debit card in lieu of cash. We carry or need very little cash these days.

I pay as much as possible with the card and accumulate rewards points. I try to take at least one out of the country trip a year and the airline tickets are always covered by the points and somtimes the hotel too. We just booked a trip to Maldives, airfare is covered and 70% of the room, all inclusive. Plus I don't have the hassles of a lot of bills.

 

[rightwinger]

1. Cigarettes
Use and frequency is way down as are places to smoke. Prices are way up

2. Tombstones
Cremation is gaining acceptance and your future "monument" may be on Facebook

3. Voting Booths
Everyone will be able to vote on-line. No need to pull the lever

4. Classrooms
Kids will attend school through a video link and computer access

5. Playgrounds
They are getting smaller and smaller and less and less fun

My playground was built for speed and no sissies were allowed.

Everything was steel set in concrete that was 'padded' with sand.

Now it's platic set very deep into concrete with ground up rubber as padding.

Todays playgrounds are designed by lawyers with the excitement level for a two year old in mind.

No swings, monster slides, monkey bars, seesaws let alone some of the more fun aparatus of our youth (merry-go-rounds)

Even the noble sand box is gone

 

[CountofTuscany]

Younger people probably don't feel the sense of loss or even distress that some of us in the 'older generation', but the following nine things may not be with us much longer.

Agree? Rebuttal and disagreement would be welcomed.

1. The Post Office.

Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.

2. The Check.

Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.

3. The Newspaper.

The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.

4. The Book.

You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music fromiTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, And can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book. Public libraries are already beginning to convert to more electronic transmission of information with the plus side being able to access that information from your home computer.

5. The Land Line Telephone.

Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes

6. Music.

This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it.. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."

7. Television sets along with DVD recorder/players and other peripherals.

Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Sales of DVD players and similar peripherals for home entertainment centers are declining. Network television, the television sets that receive the signals, and all the gadgets associated will inevitably be discontinued.

8. The "Things" That You Own.

Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof?" Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.

9. Privacy.

If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again. All we will have that can't be changed are memories.

I think we will always have the Post Office. I can't believe we would ever let that go away. If we do, what will pre-teen boys play UPS when they are learning to make out with girls?

I have to disagree. We will always have the check. As a rite of passage, housewifes almost always control the check book and I don't think they would allow that to change therefore, they will never allow the check to disappear from the family financial scene.

Newspapers will also be a part of our daily lives forever. What are you going to line the bottom of your bird cage with, your iPhone?

As long as bachelor men have furniture with faulty legs, especially a coffee table with a short leg, there will always be books. They will continue to print them in various sizes to match that short-legged coffee table, i.e., 1 inch books, 2 inch books, etc.

Land line telephones must still exist for people who have cardiac monitoring devices in their homes supplied to them by the modern cardiologists. They may eventually charge more for them but they will still be around. If land line telephones go away so will telephones and that will be bad news for the millions of birds that like to roost on those telephone lines. Bird watchers won't allow that to happen.

I hate to say it but music has already disappeared. There hasn't been any decent music to listen to since the big band era disappeared. Everything since is simply noise that people dance to. Well, they don't actually dance anymore. They just get out on the dance floor and jump at each other.

Are you kidding? No television sets? This would be wrong on so many levels. What do you do with the remote control if there is no television set? Sorry. I have to throw the yellow flag and call foul on this one...

The things that I own have already disappeared. It happened within the hour after I got married. The wife says "What's mine is mine" and "What's yours is mine." Pretty much the end of that discussion.

Privacy will most likely never completely disappear either. As long as we have a United States Army there will be plenty of privacy in it to make it work.

By big band era you do mean Zepplin and the Who right?

 

[Nosmo King]

I gave up on 'popular' music a while back. Come to think of it, it was about the same time I gave up on movies. The same aversion I have to the lack of melody is true for the lack of a plot in movies. If all they (Hollywood) want to give us are films based on comic books and explosions, I guess I'll have to settle for my DVD collection containing Bogart and Hepburn and Grant and Bergman. Seems as if the target audience for movies is now fifteen year old boys.

I would no sooner watch a movie on line than I would bicycle from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. I would rather find myself ensconced in a luxurious chair in front of my television with a movie from the 30's or 40's or 70's playing on the reliable DVD player than seated on my office chair watching the 21" monitor.

As for checks, I write one a month to the water and sewer department because they do not offer on-line bill paying.

I do not, and would prefer never to, own a cellular telephone. I hate the lack of etiquette displayed by cell phone users. Ever talk face-to-face with someone and they get a cell phone call? You're left standing there like last night's beer, flat and spoiled, while they chat with someone obviously more important. Hell! I saw someone take a cell phone call at a funeral parlor while they were right in front of the casket! My sainted Pop was right. "What the hell do they all have to talk about?" he would ask while glancing around a restaurant watching all the telephone callers ignore their dinner partners.

The more I write about this, the more I realize that I'm now the old fart yelling at the kids to "Stay off my lawn!"

 

[Two Thumbs]

1. Cigarettes
Use and frequency is way down as are places to smoke. Prices are way up

2. Tombstones
Cremation is gaining acceptance and your future "monument" may be on Facebook

3. Voting Booths
Everyone will be able to vote on-line. No need to pull the lever

4. Classrooms
Kids will attend school through a video link and computer access

5. Playgrounds
They are getting smaller and smaller and less and less fun

My playground was built for speed and no sissies were allowed.

Everything was steel set in concrete that was 'padded' with sand.

Now it's platic set very deep into concrete with ground up rubber as padding.

Todays playgrounds are designed by lawyers with the excitement level for a two year old in mind.

No swings, monster slides, monkey bars, seesaws let alone some of the more fun aparatus of our youth (merry-go-rounds)

Even the noble sand box is gone

You have to go into small towns to find a sandbox. I found 1 in ~ 10 years. I had to explain what a merry-go-round was to my kids.

We do have a see-saw near by. It's spring loaded so you can't move it more than ~ 8" either way.

Remeber those scooters that were on springs? You could go nuts in those things.
Those are just poles now. They don't move at all.

Monkey bars are completly gone now, and I haven't seen the cross ladder[?] in years.

 

[Nosmo King]

I can't fathom books disappearing. Even if every kid now gets all their text books via Kindle, the physical sensation of holding a book is something deep in the human spirit.

My hometown newspaper has shrunk from a properly sized evening edition to something more like a pamphlet. And the journalism is long gone. The kids running the newspaper can't even find the spell check button. Pop, who owned and operated a print shop, would challenge my brother and me to find the typographical errors in the paper each evening. Today, I think typos are de rigeur.

In short, the printed word is not a passé thing easily abandoned for convenience sake. It's a tangible link to intelligence.

 

[Againsheila]

Great post and I am in agreement with almost everthing, especially #9, Ever notice how almost everone walks around with a phone in their hand. I have never seen so many important people that need to be in instant communications with the world. I left my phone at home yesterday and guess what, the world went on without me. Go figure.

True story. I was in Pier One Imports one day and got a call on my cell...I walked out of the store to chat with my friend as I feel it's rude to talk on the phone in the store unless you are just asking someone at home if you need something specific. As I was talking to my friend, I realized I had walked out of the store with my arms full of my intended purchases. I told her to "hang on" and quickly took them inside and deposited them on a table, then went back out and finished my conversation. Later, at the check stand, I told the clerk how I had "stolen" her merchandise when I answered my phone. She said she'd rather I stole the products than stood there chatting on the phone while she was ringing them up. My sister said, "Well, you may feel that way, but I'll be the manager doesn't." The clerk said "I am the manger."

I think it's rude to be talking on your phone all the time, plus you miss so much. I talk to people wherever I go and I would miss that if I had a phone to my ear the whole time.

 

[Zoom-boing]

The two nimrods in front of me today were both talking on their phones. The first guy (in a pickup truck) completely blew through the red light with zero attempt to break. The light wasn't turning red, it was red. I hope the camera caught him. The second guy realized the light turned red and slammed on the brakes. . . half way into the intersection. No suppose all the other drivers were also on their phones at the same time, not paying attention? Helllooooo? There is NOTHING that is so urgent that you need to be yapping away on your phone while driving and if there IS something that urgent, pull the hell over and talk. I seriously hate how people use cell phones and how rude and stupid those people have become.

 

[Againsheila]

1. Cigarettes
Use and frequency is way down as are places to smoke. Prices are way up

2. Tombstones
Cremation is gaining acceptance and your future "monument" may be on Facebook

3. Voting Booths
Everyone will be able to vote on-line. No need to pull the lever

4. Classrooms
Kids will attend school through a video link and computer access

5. Playgrounds
They are getting smaller and smaller and less and less fun

My playground was built for speed and no sissies were allowed.

Everything was steel set in concrete that was 'padded' with sand.

Now it's platic set very deep into concrete with ground up rubber as padding.

Yeah, we're raising a bunch of whimps. When I was a kid, the monkey bars were 14 feet high over a slab of cement and if you fell and didn't crack your head open you were sent right back out to climb them again. Today they are 5 feet high over 12 inches of foam and if they fall, the school nurse is called to make sure there's no trauma.

 

[Foxfyre]

I hope you're right Nosmo. There for awhile, good writers for movies and television seemed non-existant and we quit watching all television sitcoms and drama preferring the old shows like "Golden Girls" or "Cheers" or even old "M.A.S.H" and "Andy Griffith" reruns. But here lately the writing, plot structure, character development has been improving. "Harry's Law" is a great new dramady that we love though it probably won't make it because they put it in an impossible timeslot and it isn't getting much advertisement. Last week I watched a "Bones" episode that was great. Things are looking up and if the trend continues, it will I think save television for awhile longer.

But I'm also looking at all that we've already lost. Distinctive beautifully designed cars as the norm instead of the cookie cutter models we get now. Incandescent lightbulbs will soon be impossible to get. Saturday double feature westerns at the movies with a cliff hanger short and a wonderfully drawn cartoon that the kids looked forward to going to. And I LOVE our internet communities on Facebook, e-mail, message boards, private websites, etc. Are these things going to disappear into an electronic 'cloud' in cyberspace out there somewhere?

Times change and many of us have witnessed a lot of change over our lifetime.

But some things you really don't want to see go.

 

[Foxfyre]

Even if you have to print your own?

No. However, take away CASH and there are a whole lot of basic necessities of life (food, etc...) that I refuse to put on a credit card because there is no reason to, which I will not be able to buy.

You refuse now because there is an alternative. When there IS no alternative to using a credit card or debit card for food, your choices may be to use those 'conveniences' or steal or starve. That is why I'm feeling some anxiety that we could lose some or all of those nine things because we will then not have the choices we have now.

I, for instance, am very basic and low tech when it comes to working with any kind of electronics. Most of you use words and language that I have no clue what you're talking about. But I am efficient and effective with the low tech devices and programs that I use. And at my age, I am not opposed to change for the better, but in this case I don't really want to have to learn how to do it any differently.

I put it all in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it category."