When i was your age....

This is a post dedicated to simpler (and much, much, much, much, much, much, much) better time, the time when i grew up.  Since i don't have kids of my own (ladies, i am accepting applications), i have to be reminscient to my virtual self and a disinterested world. 

When i was your age...
* i was much less jaded
* Dinosaurs roamed the earth, if they had batteries in them (and the remote control).  However some just transformed into vehicles
* There were these things called trees, they have since been replaced by housing developments
* The population of the US seemed to be a lot less, there seemed to be more opportunity (that view drastically changed when i graduated college).  People now seemto be disinterested economic mercenary automatons.  Life seemed so much simpler: there was less crime (outside the Hilltop area) and people didn't seem to be so crazy and/or obsessed. 

Music:
* A cable network called MTV used to show these things called music videos (all of the time).  Music videos were videos that accompanied songs - i know hard to fathom.  These are like the things on YouTube (or Vevo).  It's sister network VH1 (which was my favortie of the two) played videos also
* There were these things called records - they were two sided grooved discs made of vinyl (or some type of plastic) that we used to put on machines that would spin them.  They would play music when an arm with a needle on it was lowered and the needle went through the grooves.  These "records" (or LPs) would occasionally get stuck and repeat words and phrases over and over again.
* While "records" were still on the market, there were these things called "cassette tapes" - they came in a variety of lengths.  You could actually record sound on blank ones.  Thankfully my musicless "demo tape" has long since been destroyed .  There were albums released by music labels on these too.  When one half of the tape was over, you could flip the side.  Unfortunatly, these "cassette tapes" had a problem with getting caught in the player and becomming unspooled.
* After a while, records started to be phased out... they were largely replaced by smaller plastic discs called "compact discs".  Depending on mastering or how the song was done, it sounded a little better than a record or a tape - sometimes.  These discs would spin rapidly while being read by a laser.  i had numerous compact disc growing up. 
* After the labels priced themselves out of the market (and music started to really, really suck) there were these things called MP3s.  These were essentially music files that you could play on your computer or a more portable device.  There was no physical disc anymore.  i know the concept of physical media is seems strange now that everything is stored on your computer. 
* Music used to be better.  It wasn't all rap and the self-indulgent drivel you hear today.  Singers actually had talent and did not lean so heavily production techniques like autotune. Yes, i rocked out to Wham!  Modern music truly seems to be getting worse and less organic (delving into dangerous levels of post production).  It seems to be more about image than actual talent anymore.  If Kesha and the like are the future of music, i weep for the future.  That would be du, du, du, du, du, dumb.
- i feel like music today is mostly a soulless mess mired in a steamy pile of lameness 

If you would like to find out more about Wham! and other awesome 1980s musical acts, consult your local library (or go to wikipedia).

TV:
* When i was a younger kid (chronologically) i only got 5 stations - ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS and KCPQ (ding, ding) which was an independent channel (later becomming a FOX affiliate).  We didn't have cable and 400 channels.
* If we wanted to watch a show, we had to sit infront of the TV on the day it was on.  Eventually, we got a way to record shows and watch them at a later time, but it was nothing compared to later DVR or PVR technology.  It was not like we could go to on demand (or the internet) to watch shows. 
* If i wanted to change a channel, i had to get up and turn the dial on the TV.  We didn't have even have remote controls.
* Growing up, i mosly remember us having a massive 20" Montgomery Ward branded television (actually a Sylvania, probably actually made in the US).  This was an improvement over the previous television that didn't even display in color.
* TV resolution: the resolution on our massive 20" TV was about 720 by 480 (yet still probably weighed 50 pounds).  That is not nearly as high as resolutions today.   
* There were very few "reality TV shows".  If you wanted to be on TV, you had to have talent or somehow find yourself on the news. 
* TV shows seemed to be better (well because they were).  We didn't have shows being required to have certain cast quotas.  There were not overt affronts to the american way of life or massive attention given to more abstract lifestyle choices.  It was less about politics (etc) and more about the show itself.  It is true there were some questionable shows even back in the second golden age of TV (the 80s and early 90s, the primary golden age was the mid 60s). 
* i know this is hard to beleive.... Saturday Night Live used to acutally be funny once.  But i guess it is no longer "prudent at this juncture". 

Movies:
* Back in the good old days moveis seems less derivative.  If you wanted to time travel, you could always use a Delorean or phone booth.  John Hughes was making good movies (look it up), Steven Speilberg and George Lucas were at their best (maybe you need to look them up too).  It didn't seem to be "let's see what TV show or book hasn't been made into a movie yet".  It also wasn't let's see what movie we can shamelessly remake/destroy. 
* Movies used to be shown on big screens in places called movie theaters (or theatres).  These were places with numerous uncomfortable seats (usually over 100) and sticky floors where we would marvel at what we saw on the screen and be blown away by the sound (that was not yet surpassed by home theater systems).  They also sold overpriced popcorn, pop and candy.  i heard rumors that there used to be movie theaters outdoors once (where watching the movie may have been a secondary activity).  Watching a movie in a theater was a different experience than watching movies on release at home like you can now (or someday will be able to).  In a way it was a social experience in a setting where you were supposed to be quiet.  Odd, i know.  i heard that sometimes males and females would go on things called dates to these movie things (i guess there is something to be said for being with a person in a dark room). 

Computers:
* Yes, there was a time where computerized devices were not as powerful as they are today.  They used to be really slow with very little storage capacity.  i once used these disks (yes, computers used to have disk drives) that were actually big and floppy - i think they called them 5 1/4 inch disks.  Their cappacity was under1 megabyte of data.  They were later replace by 3 1/2 discs that could hold an astonishing 1.44 MB of data.  My first computer (IBM PS/1) had a processor that operated at under 25MHz and maybe up to 4 MB of RAM.
* Internet: when i first used the internet (sort of) on my brand new IBM PS/1 (it predated Windows 95) i had to connect to a service called Prodigy (at really slow internet speeds - 2400 bps i think).  i got this at a store called Sears.  To connect we had to use these things called "land lines" - think of it as wired phone.  We couldn't get a telephone call if we were using the modem.  There wasn't really a search option or a browser.  There was a brief period of time when "dial-up" calling a teltphone number on a modem to access the internet was briefly free.  Unfortunately, that did not last long - this is in stark contrast to certain ads by a company called Net Zero. 
* Social Media: there was no Facebook or Twitter back then, there may have been "bulletin boards" but i never used them.  If you wanted to connect with someone you knew, you had to see them in person or call them on the telephone.  So you couldn't tell the world things that nobody cared about and give way too much information at the same time.  You couldn't even write bad blog posts like this one.
* We weren't constantly connected to everyone we ever met.  We didn't check for e-mail, friend requests, etc every hour. 

Telecommunication:
* There was a time where not everybody had a cell phone.  We couldn't "text message" our friends who are in the same room 2 feet away, we had to talk to them.  We only had one phone line - if someone was using it, nobody else could.  Most people could not talk and the phone and drive at the same time.  People definitely couldn't surf the internet or text message while driving.  i know it sounds like the dark ages to some people.

Video Games:
 * There was a time when video game consoles didn't seem so mainstream
* Back in the olden days (the golden days really), we could only do one thing with a video game console - play games.  We had to buy these games at a physical store (doesn't the concept of brick and mortar seem quaint?)
* These games mostly came on these things called cartritdges (cart).  Think of them as big USB drives.  You would insert a cartridge into a game console to play a game.  If you wanted to change a game, you would turn the power off and switch the cart, then turn it on again.  Some times you would have to blow on the cartridge to get it to work.  We couldn't even save these games.  Some would give us level select codes to input into the game.  Eventually, games took up more space and switched to CDs and DVDs and you could actually save a game.
* There used to be a time where video game controllers only had one button, then 3 buttons, then 6 - to where it is now (well other than Kinect).
* i hear there were these things called arcades where people (mostly kids/teenagers) would hang out and play games for quarters.  This was allegedly part of the social experience for many people older than me growing up.  i lived in a small town and rarely saw arcade machines.
* There is a certain charm to these older, more simplistic games.  That is why some of them still live on in various forms.        

Housing:
* There were days where houses were actually affordable to the middle class.  Increased real estate speculation and population increases pretty much put a home out of reach for many. 
* Back in my day, you could buy a decent house for $100,000 (now that same house is probably $300K+).  In 20 years or less, it will probably be "worth" $750K. 

Currency:
* The US dollar used to acutally be worth something.  There was a time where a Canadian dollar was worth 70 cents or so.  i guess gross irresponsibility in government spending and the US consumer attitutdes kind of weakened the dollar (significantly)
* i wouldn't be suprised if in 20 years that the dollar drops in value 50% (who knows if wages will follow, but it is doubtful because the US is overpopulated relative to its economic output potential).

Language:
* Back in my day product packaging was written in one language - English.  Ok, sometimes two if they sold in Canada also (French).  It was never written in Spanish (and it never should have been).  Everyone kind of assumed English was the official language.  Who knows when it got so off track.  Everyone who lives in the US should be expected to know English (at a conversational level), if they don't want to speak English - they can get out. 

Post just to post

Happy now unnamed person (yeah that is right i said "person").  i finally posted here - and it only took me about a month to do so.

Why has it been a while?  Apathy mostly.  Stuff happens, i have just chose not to care - filling my meainingless consumer driven life with other activities like video games.

Some times i go on post rampages, i just haven't felt (or felt strongly) about posting.  This is more of my "ego" blog where i post whatever come into my mind (whatever topic that may be, except maybe politics and video games).   

"All we are is dust in the wind, dude" - Ted Theodore Logan