Random Thoughts

[Scott5114]

How does that work as far as accuracy is concerned.  It's route 7A, not just A.

Count the blanks for 24 Down.

[ZLoth]

I am amused that I had to present identification to purchase, of all things, a four pack of compressed air. I suspect that it is related to the fact that the chemicals may be toxic and kids may be "huffing" it to get a euphoric high.

[ZLoth]

From Buzzfeed compiling a list of items from Reddit:

Older Adults Are Sharing How They Could Tell Someone Was Rich Back In The Day, And As A 30-Something, A Lot Of These Surprised Me
"My grandparents, born in 1912, were the first of their MANY siblings to have a bathroom INSIDE their house."

I've always been fascinated by stories from my elders about what life was like before I was born. It's incredible to see how much has changed (and the things that somehow remain the same). Recently, u/helpmegetthrough1 asked older adults on Reddit to share the signs that someone was well off back in the '50s, '60s, and '70s, and a lot of their responses surprised me. Here's what they had to say:

FULL ARTICLE HERE

A few items:
Owning two cars

• A dishwasher
• Going on vacation to somewhere other than visiting relatives; traveling by airplane
• TV Guide instead of the pull-out from the Sunday newspaper
• Paper towels

Some items that I felt were missed:

• Cars that had something better than AM radio, and all the good stations were on FM
• Cruise control, intermittant windshield wipers, and anti-lock brakes were considered expensive options
• More than one television in the home
• Personal computer, never mind a PC with a hard drive
• More than one telephone line in the home
• Touch-tone phone (it was an extra $1 per month, so my parents stuck with rotery)
• VCRs
• Atari 2600 Home gaming console

[Max Rockatansky]

I recall the 2600 being the poverty console circa 1986-1987.  Toys "R" Us was blowing them out the door for $30 a console and something like $5 for a game.  I ended up buying mine with some saved allowance money. I want to say the NES cost around $200 at the time?

[ZLoth]

I recall the 2600 being the poverty console circa 1986-1987.  Toys "R" Us was blowing them out the door for $30 a console and something like $5 for a game.  I ended up buying mine with some saved allowance money. I want to say the NES cost around $200 at the time?

True, but this was after the video game crash of 1983. Prior to that, the Atari 2600 was the console to have. The NES came out in October, 1985 in limited markets and wide release in September, 1986. Because of the crap shovelware cartridges that came out for the Atarti 2600, NES implemented a strict licensing policy for cartridge release including requiring a 10NES chip, and language was used to market the NES as a "toy" to appeal to the retailers burned on the video games only a year or three earlier. The optional R.O.B. accessory was specifically used to market the NES as a "toy" not video game.

[vdeane]

That article is fascinating.  No wonder older people have no sympathy for younger people who complain about the cost of living (although I still think they're underestimating how much housing and education expenses have increased).  I've long thought that the reason why many people whose incomes wouldn't seem to be poor still struggle with finances is because their standard of living creeps up with their income without them even consciously thinking about it, and it looks like this happened on a societal level.  I'd be curious how finances would compare if some people started living like their parents/grandparents did back in the day.  These days we have a tendency to imagine the 50s and 60s as just like today, only with old-fashioned clothes, furniture, and appliances (and no cable/internet/cell phones), minus feminism and the Civil Rights Era changes, but clearly that isn't actually the case.  For example, I didn't know party lines lasted that long (I would have assumed they went extinct in the 40s).

Some things are still signs someone is wealthy, though.  Like the tennis courts or the bedroom for the maid.

[Rothman]

Meh.  My grandfather's income was erratic at best and he was still able to take his family on an occasional vacation, including out to Colorado and Utah at least once.  Ended up moving to Utah from NJ...

[ZLoth]

I just take the view that, in comparison to the time I was growing up (70s-80s), there were things that were better back then, and there were things that are better now. It is too easy to get nostalgic about the past compared to the issues that we are facing today. True, I wish people were politer and a bit better dressed like they did back then. But, do I really want to live without the technological advances?

[kkt]

That article is fascinating.  No wonder older people have no sympathy for younger people who complain about the cost of living (although I still think they're underestimating how much housing and education expenses have increased).  I've long thought that the reason why many people whose incomes wouldn't seem to be poor still struggle with finances is because their standard of living creeps up with their income without them even consciously thinking about it, and it looks like this happened on a societal level.  I'd be curious how finances would compare if some people started living like their parents/grandparents did back in the day.  These days we have a tendency to imagine the 50s and 60s as just like today, only with old-fashioned clothes, furniture, and appliances (and no cable/internet/cell phones), minus feminism and the Civil Rights Era changes, but clearly that isn't actually the case.  For example, I didn't know party lines lasted that long (I would have assumed they went extinct in the 40s).

Some things are still signs someone is wealthy, though.  Like the tennis courts or the bedroom for the maid.

Oh, yes, I remember us having a party line when I was little.  Probably about 1966.  Mustn't just pick up the receiver and dial - must listen for a conversation on the line already.  The phone company was trying to eliminate that level of service so they reduced the single line service to less than a dollar more than party line and then wouldn't sign up new party line subscribers.

[Rothman]

I don't miss all the hours of television I watched before the Internet.

[hotdogPi]

It's World Emoji Day! If we were to pick an emoji for each state with no duplicates allowed:
Alabama🏈
Alaska❄️
Arizona🌵
Arkansas💎
California🌉
Colorado🏔
Connecticut⛹️‍♀️
Delaware🐚
Florida🐊
Georgia🍑
Hawaii🏝
Idaho🥔
Illinois🚇
Indiana🏎
Iowa🌽
Kansas🌪
Kentucky🏇
Louisiana🍤
Maine🦞
Maryland🦀
Massachusetts🤖
Michigan🧊
Minnesota🏒
Mississippi⛪️
Missouri🎷
Montana🏞
Nebraska🐄
Nevada🎰
New Hampshire🫎
New Jersey🏘
New Mexico🛸
New York🗽
North Carolina⛹️‍♂️
North Dakota🥶
Ohio🏡
Oklahoma🚜
Oregon🪵
Pennsylvania🔔
Rhode Island⚓️
South Carolina🌴
South Dakota🏍
Tennessee🎶
Texas🤠
Utah🐝
Vermont⛷️
Virginia🏢
Washington⛴️
West Virginia⛰️
Wisconsin🧀
Wyoming🌋

[Max Rockatansky]

I would have gone with 🚗 for Michigan and 🫓 for Illinois.

[webny99]

Louisiana🍤
Maine🦞
Maryland🦀
Massachusetts🤖
Michigan🧊

Interesting that we could very easily have had 5 aquatic entries in a row.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Louisiana🍤
Maine🦞
Maryland🦀
Massachusetts🤖
Michigan🧊

Interesting that we could very easily have had 5 aquatic entries in a row.

Could have been 6 with Minnesota, which is still technically aquatic with the hockey.

[Scott5114]

I would give Oklahoma 🌪 and have Kansas be 🌻. (🌾 is also a possibility for Kansas, but it is canonically meant to be rice even though it looks more like wheat.)

[mgk920]

I would have used  for Wisconsin.

Mike

[CNGL-Leudimin]

What is the one for New Hampshire? All I can see is a placeholder for pointer U+1FACE.

[hotdogPi]

What is the one for New Hampshire? All I can see is a placeholder for pointer U+1FACE.

It's a moose.

[1995hoo]

[Max Rockatansky]

"CrowdStrike" sounds like the name of a super terrorist organization that would fit into the plot of modern Daniel Craig 007 movies.

[JayhawkCO]

"CrowdStrike" sounds like the name of a super terrorist organization that would fit into the plot of modern Daniel Craig 007 movies.

Definitely gave me and my entire team the BSOD this morning. Fortunately my company's IT team already had a fix.

[Rothman]

Only half my office got the BSOD.

[kurumi]

I used to complain when Crowdstrike would go to 100% CPU on my work macbook. (PyCharm: "hold my beer")

But this morning puts things in perspective.

[formulanone]

"CrowdStrike" sounds like the name of a super terrorist organization that would fit into the plot of modern Daniel Craig 007 movies.

The Butcher of Bakersfield

[Max Rockatansky]

"CrowdStrike" sounds like the name of a super terrorist organization that would fit into the plot of modern Daniel Craig 007 movies.

The Butcher of Bakersfield

The Running Man has only become more of a classic now since that I relocated to Central Valley.