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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: tris on November 16, 2016, 01:29:49 PM

Title: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: tris on November 16, 2016, 01:29:49 PM
I'm sat here in the UK watching the TV and decided to look at a bike on Craigslist in the US.......via my phone

Remarkable

What next

Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: oldbike54 on November 16, 2016, 01:38:40 PM
 Don't spread it around , but I have a cold fusion reactor in a coffee can in my shop . The problem isn't with the reactor , it works fine , the real issue is that no one builds a large enough transformer to step the amperage generated down to some usable amount . Every thing just goes poof when hooked up to the coffee can outlet  :shocked: :rolleyes:

 Dusty
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Phang on November 16, 2016, 01:39:49 PM
I'm sat here in the UK watching the TV and decided to look at a bike on Craigslist in the US.......via my phone

Remarkable

What next

a guy from Singapore says hello to you?
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: oldbike54 on November 16, 2016, 01:45:06 PM
a guy from Singapore says hello to you?

 Yep , or a guy from the middle of the U.S. contacts a guy in NZ who tracks down a friend who has gone feral and returns him home .

 Oh , hello Phang  :thumb:

 Dusty
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: tris on November 16, 2016, 01:48:22 PM
Bugger battery nearly flat  :angry:

Going dark but will be back  :thumb:
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Phang on November 16, 2016, 01:50:58 PM
and seeing what he sees outside of the window at this moment?

Hello Dusty, what is the time over there?

(http://i67.tinypic.com/154ynph.jpg)
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: cloudbase on November 16, 2016, 02:26:03 PM
Still have mine.

(https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.M08056425bb9bc1c25b275a5da2e9426co0&pid=15.1)

Never needs batteries.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: oldbike54 on November 16, 2016, 02:33:18 PM
and seeing what he sees outside of the window at this moment?

Hello Dusty, what is the time over there?

(http://i67.tinypic.com/154ynph.jpg)

 That is very cool Phang  :thumb:

 2:32 PM Central standard time . 75 F , light winds , mostly clear skies .

 Dusty
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Chuck in Indiana on November 16, 2016, 03:53:46 PM
It *is* pretty remarkable. Serious science fiction when I was a kid.. if anyone had told me that I'd be able to carry a device in my pocket that could access about anything that I had to go to a library to read, or talk to about anyone, send them a picture, receive files that I could turn into finished parts.. for almost free?? It's right up there with the flying cars.  :smiley:
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: ken farr on November 16, 2016, 04:00:00 PM
Still have mine.

(https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.M08056425bb9bc1c25b275a5da2e9426co0&pid=15.1)

Never needs batteries.

Yep, nothing new under the sun.
In the 70's I remember a guy wrote into a VW magazine with a problem.  Seems he added a bunch of performance and economy mods, purchased from J.C. Whitney, and with the 5% here and 12% there, was going to save approx. 112% on fuel mileage.  He was asking how he was going to collect all the extra gasoline his vehicle was now going to produce...... :grin:

Yes, modern tech is indeed amazing, I mean I am publishing this worldwide.

kjf
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: oldbike54 on November 16, 2016, 04:07:27 PM
 Oh hell Ken  :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

 Dusty
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Lannis on November 16, 2016, 04:16:58 PM
It *is* pretty remarkable. Serious science fiction when I was a kid.. if anyone had told me that I'd be able to carry a device in my pocket that could access about anything that I had to go to a library to read, or talk to about anyone, send them a picture, receive files that I could turn into finished parts.. for almost free?? It's right up there with the flying cars.  :smiley:

Actually I think there's a BIG difference.   People have been predicting the advent of flying cars for everyone's garage for 75 years, along with personal jet packs, personal helicopters ... every year since WWII, there's an issue of Popular Mechanical Science Mechanix with all that stuff in it.

But NO ONE predicted a Siri-equipped pocket computer with the capability they have today.

I think William Gibson did the best job of prediction of what we're approaching.   Thirty two years ago, he wrote "Neuromancer", which is still a fun read today.   No one else was getting even close on that stuff.

Lannis
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: charlie b on November 16, 2016, 09:34:35 PM
Edward Teller in 1990.  He described what was called the "Briliant Pebbles" program.  Autonomous space missiles that could detect an ICBM in mid trajectory, distinguish between decoys and warhead, track and fire at the intended target and guide to hit at closing speeds of 50,000 kph, all without human intervention.  Someone in the audience told him it would take a Cray supercomputer the size of a shoebox to do the job.  He said it would be here in less than 20yrs.

The Cray computer back then was noted for having a whopping ONE gigabyte of core memory and was the size of a small room.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: oldbike54 on November 16, 2016, 09:59:51 PM
 There is the case of the unpublished Jules Verne manuscript written circa 1865 named "Paris in the 20th century" that predicted fax machines , gasoline powered cars , subways , the electric chair , telephones , computers , and a few other futuristic things . His publisher simply refused to publish the book . There is a very tattered copy of the original , found in a safe .

 Dusty
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: tris on November 17, 2016, 12:05:49 AM
I'm back and once I sort this storage of electricity problem out I'll be a billionaire

Note to self - start work on the storage of electricity problem  :thumb:
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Aaron D. on November 17, 2016, 06:05:03 AM
Actually I think there's a BIG difference.   People have been predicting the advent of flying cars for everyone's garage for 75 years, along with personal jet packs, personal helicopters ... every year since WWII, there's an issue of Popular Mechanical Science Mechanix with all that stuff in it.

But NO ONE predicted a Siri-equipped pocket computer with the capability they have today.

I think William Gibson did the best job of prediction of what we're approaching.   Thirty two years ago, he wrote "Neuromancer", which is still a fun read today.   No one else was getting even close on that stuff.

Lannis

"Shockwave Rider" by John Brunner. Must be near 50 years ago. It introduced most of the terminology we use today, so I'm not the only one who read it!
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Unkept on November 17, 2016, 06:15:41 AM
I'm glad to see people here recognizing how beautiful technology really can be, especially in connecting us with people around the world.

I hear the "Technology is making people anti-social." argument constantly, but it's often ironic as they will state that opinion on Facebook!

My list of people I consider good friends extends all around the country, and to several people around the world (England, Germany, Hungary, Canada) that I would've never met had it not been for the internet and some common interests.

Hell, I'd never have met you crazy lot, or stumbled across Moto Guzzi most likely! (I've never lived anywhere near a Guzzi dealership.)

We'll be moving to Germany soon, but the sting of leaving my friends and family is softened by technology.

-Joe
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Chuck in Indiana on November 17, 2016, 04:00:47 PM
Quote
The Cray computer back then was noted for having a whopping ONE gigabyte of core memory and was the size of a small room.
I'll take your Cray story and raise you one Univac.  :smiley: I took my first computer programming classes (Fortran and Gotran) on one. Vacuum tubes, tape decks, punch cards, and a whopping 16K of memory.  :shocked: :smiley:
It was the size of a fairly large room..
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Muzz on November 17, 2016, 04:41:07 PM
Yep , or a guy from the middle of the U.S. contacts a guy in NZ who tracks down a friend who has gone feral and returns him home .

 Oh , hello Phang  :thumb:

 Dusty

And Dusty, the same guy from NZ tracks down Phang in Singapore for really valuable information to help out his daughter who happens to live in Singapore. :thumb:  Thanks Phang. More :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: oldbike54 on November 17, 2016, 04:46:22 PM
And Dusty, the same guy from NZ tracks down Phang in Singapore for really valuable information to help out his daughter who happens to live in Singapore. :thumb:  Thanks Phang. More :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

 Yep , the internet can be used for good , although as I am learning , many use it for purposes that aren't so great . Thunder UP !

 Dusty
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Aaron D. on November 17, 2016, 05:14:24 PM
In high school we had a demonstration of a computer the size of a bookcase that would do some math and the like.

Later I worked at DEC (Digital Equipment, don't you know) where a mini-computer was pretty derned big.

In the early '80s I arranged for a demo of finite element analysis in our company. That was funny.

Later I made a primitive network using phone cable for data acquisition off the production floor, ran it on my FoxBase program.

Today I told my phone, "Navigate me to..." and it did. Politely. Avoided traffic, too.

Still and all, my HP15C calculator from 1984 has not been bettered in any significant way-and I even have an HP app on my phone that duplicates it...albeit it is much faster.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Kiwi_Roy on November 17, 2016, 05:49:30 PM
My Brother a kiwi named Kev bought home a HP computer with a small screen, it was worth the same as an average house at the time and could play a few crude games.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: rboe on November 17, 2016, 06:00:19 PM
Bought a seat from a guy in OZ that had bought it from a guy in the Eastern US. Ended up buying a windscreen from that same guy in Eastern US.

Bought a telescope eye piece from a buddy in Slovenia.

Had a woodshop instructor in OZ ask me if he could copy some wood working projects I had shared on the astronomy website - that one really threw me for a loop!

The world just keeps shrinking.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Gliderjohn on November 17, 2016, 07:18:09 PM
Quote from Chuck:
Quote
I'll take your Cray story and raise you one Univac.  :smiley: I took my first computer programming classes (Fortran and Gotran) on one. Vacuum tubes, tape decks, punch cards, and a whopping 16K of memory.  :shocked: :smiley:
It was the size of a fairly large room..

When I was in grade school (mid 60s) we toured a large refinery in McPerson, KS that had a computer set up like you described. We could play Tic Tac Toe against it but we were told it was not capable of Checkers let alone Chess. We have come a long way baby!
GliderJohn
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Phang on November 18, 2016, 12:28:16 AM
And Dusty, the same guy from NZ tracks down Phang in Singapore for really valuable information to help out his daughter who happens to live in Singapore. :thumb:  Thanks Phang. More :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

You are welcome  :laugh:

I hope the information is helpful. Competent and honest workshop overhere is as rare as hen's teeth  (I doubt there is any) and being a forigner is a disadvantage when you show up at the local workshops.

I fixed a leaky valve cover seal and cracked water heater pipe of my car last month at home, wife asked why not send it to the workshop.  I told her I can do a better job with significantly less money and no collateral damage.

(http://i68.tinypic.com/hvtr9u.jpg)

(http://i64.tinypic.com/2e3pp9x.jpg)

(http://i67.tinypic.com/jzecfs.jpg)
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Tom on November 18, 2016, 01:04:38 AM
HAH.....hah.....got you all beat.  You can go into McDonald's almost anywhere in the world and get the same Big Mac sandwich.  Now that's technology.  THINK about it.   :cry:   :shocked: :shocked: :shocked:
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: tris on November 18, 2016, 02:16:24 AM
Too True

I can remember me my customer jumping into a car to go and shout at a one of my sub contractors in rural France.

We were starving on the way back and really couldn't be assed to negotiate a meal with our dodgy French.

A Big Mac solved that one PDQ
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: rboe on November 18, 2016, 11:11:41 AM
Tom wins. (damn sneaky if you ask me   :boozing: )

 :azn:
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: rocker59 on November 18, 2016, 01:14:43 PM

I hear the "Technology is making people anti-social." argument constantly, but it's often ironic as they will state that opinion on Facebook!

My list of people I consider good friends extends all around the country, and to several people around the world (England, Germany, Hungary, Canada) that I would've never met had it not been for the internet and some common interests.
 

Interesting dichotomy, no ?
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Muzz on November 18, 2016, 01:34:31 PM
You are welcome  :laugh:

I hope the information is helpful. Competent and honest workshop overhere is as rare as hen's teeth  (I doubt there is any) and being a forigner is a disadvantage when you show up at the local workshops.


So they found. Over $2000 and the car came back with more faults than it started with. First thing I had to do when I lifted the bonnet was to put the entire induction system back together! :shocked: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: They had been "servicing" it for about three years and there was no fluid in the radiator header tank. I did not top it up as they did not have any antifreeze at the apartment. She said the antifreeze is not used in Singapore! More  :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:. I would hate to see the corrosion in some of these alloy motors.

Daughter has just said they are about to send it in. Doorlock system, electric windows and the aircon have all been damaged by those clowns. :evil:
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: not-fishing on November 18, 2016, 01:49:42 PM
Still have mine.

(https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.M08056425bb9bc1c25b275a5da2e9426co0&pid=15.1)

Never needs batteries.

Lucky guy my wife made me change over to (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Boulier1.JPG/220px-Boulier1.JPG)

Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Tom on November 18, 2016, 04:34:50 PM
 :1:  faster for me than an electronic calculator also a pen/paper for simple arithmetic.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: charlie b on November 18, 2016, 09:01:35 PM
I'll take your Cray story and raise you one Univac.  :smiley: I took my first computer programming classes (Fortran and Gotran) on one. Vacuum tubes, tape decks, punch cards, and a whopping 16K of memory.  :shocked: :smiley:
It was the size of a fairly large room..

Yep, Univac was my first computer job too.  Late 60's.

The Cray was after I did my masters.  Had a group of folks at MIT/LL working for me and they needed the Cray for their atmospheric modeling.  $10k for a few minutes of processing time.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: cruzziguzzi on November 20, 2016, 12:30:30 PM
I know I am continually shocked by the most (currently) mundane aspects and communication in particular. My wife, being fully invested in communication advances thought it funny that I was completely amazed by her blutoothing (or whatever) our Mini. We're ridding along and she answers, services and completes a business call without me even really understanding how she could talk to the stereo - which until the call - was playing Garth Brooks.

She finishes the call and remarks upon my amazement. To put it in perspective - THIS IS FRIKKEN STAR TREK! Communicating automatically to the open air of an environment. Really!... Think about how fantastical it was to wrap your head around the Captain of the Enterprise being "hailed" and communicating without touching a device.

Later - the very same day, as a former pal was trying to flesh out an employment opportunity in South Africa, he was communicating with me in Arizona, another pal on a Drop Zone on Fort Campbell, Ky and a fourth pal in Pakistan.

Wonders and amazements for a semi-luddite. My family watches me like I'm about half an imbecile when I, in awe, note advances which they've been vividly aware of for months if not years.


Todd.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Tom on November 20, 2016, 02:11:21 PM
All of the electronic communications are distractions to the real communication of one on one.  I'm seeing more of the younger people having a hard time of looking you in the eye and having a conversation.  To communicate and have a conversation.  The majority of the millennials are hiding behind the anonymity of a text.  A phone call is hard for them. 

The older generation, Gen X and Baby Boomers are being seduced away from conversations by the electronics.  The Baby Boomers are fine but the Gen X have a hard time articulating their ideas.  I don't know about the current young generation that's up and coming.  They have a hard time using a pen and paper to document their ideas.  Not good.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Penderic on November 20, 2016, 02:27:40 PM
I don't know. Stupid computer still talks like a robot. Sheesh.

(http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag77/Penderic/Penderic004/computer68_zpsyki2itx4.jpg)
 :laugh:



Oh Oh. Not good either.....

(http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag77/Penderic/Penderic004/LandruProjection_zpsyddsfhmc.jpg)

Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: johnr on November 20, 2016, 02:35:28 PM
Yep , or a guy from the middle of the U.S. contacts a guy in NZ who tracks down a friend who has gone feral and returns him home .

 Oh , hello Phang  :thumb:

 Dusty

Yeah. My neighbours were particularly impressed by that. I was chuffed to bits too.

Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: rodekyll on November 20, 2016, 02:36:00 PM
I started out with the room-sized univacs, sperrys, and IBMs.  I opened the door and walked inside to service it.  Plenty of room to move around.  In those days the big iron was in "computer service bureaus" that contracted for data crunching jobs from utility companies, businesses and eduction facilities.  Information for personnel records, home ownership, college registration, etc was punched onto cards and reports/billing/paychecks were produced.  The data was held on the cards and tape.  Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and others noted the expense, lack of data security, and the privacy issue as good reasons to invent the PC.  The earl marketing assured us that we could own the computer, software, and printer, and have total control of our privacy and information.

The marketing worked.  Within a few months of the IBM XT rollout, computer service bureaus were a thing of the past.  No longer did you rent time on a mainframe to do word processsing, send your personal information or corporte secrets/product development to a central repository for access, and since these were pre-internet years, viruses and malware were not part of the vocabulary, and your data was secure.

Compare that to what Apple, MS, Google, fcebook, and the "cloud" do now.  We've been thrown under the bus, folks.  All promises have been broken, the security, privacy, and centralization has made a 180 turn, and nothing is secure.  You've traded your birthright for pudding.

And that's why I quit.  The luddite in me just can't sleep at night knowing I'm involved in it.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Nic in Western NYS on November 20, 2016, 02:44:13 PM
Still and all, my HP15C calculator from 1984 has not been bettered in any significant way-and I even have an HP app on my phone that duplicates it...albeit it is much faster.
HP 35, HP 45, HP 55, HP 65, HP 12c - amazing machines.  I have the HP 65 app on my droid.  Don't recall if there's been an HP calculator thread here - cold weather is settling in for those of us in the northern climes, so it might happen.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Penderic on November 20, 2016, 03:55:40 PM
Maybe this is spacecraft's 'impluse' drive? Microwaves into thrust they say, cough cough.  :rolleyes:

http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/1.B36120

 :coffee:

Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Aaron D. on November 20, 2016, 03:59:59 PM
HP calculator thread..it isn't THAT cold! Yet.

Privacy online is easy. If you don't want anyone to know what you are doing don't tell anyone.
If you don't want anyone to know where you are don't carry a cell phone.

My latest phone is being used in my experiment, I'm letting Google have its way with it and using some amazing things that make Star Trek look like, well, a 50 year old TV series.

I needed to know when 45 minutes had passed so I told my phone (by voice) to set an alarm. I did it this morning too for my poached eggs.

Want to see something cool? If you use Google Maps and leave your location services on, check out the "Timeline" feature. It my freak some folks out, as it knows if you went into a particular restaurant!

So far I find the trade-off worth it.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: oldbike54 on November 20, 2016, 04:33:04 PM
 Some of this reminds me of the television smashing parties held in the 1970's and '80's where the organizers made the local news aware of the impending death of several televisions so there would be "film at 9:00" , and then rushed home to watch themselves on the nine 'O clock news . Using modern tech to complain about modern tech  :laugh:

 Dusty
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: giusto on November 20, 2016, 05:09:46 PM
I'm scared...what's next?

a mini drone that flies next to your bike blue toothed to the controls so all we do is balance and steer...but it'll be soooo safe

ugh
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Mr Pootle on November 20, 2016, 05:13:53 PM
And yet....it still takes as long to fly from London to New York as it did in 1971. The planes are still noisy, and they still require long runways.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Lannis on November 20, 2016, 05:24:59 PM
And yet....it still takes as long to fly from London to New York as it did in 1971. The planes are still noisy, and they still require long runways.

Some things are hard to improve on, no matter how "technology" advances.   

The B-52 bomber will be almost 100 years old before it's taken out of service of the last Air Force Reserve units.

Douglas DC-3s are still hauling freight 80 years after first flying.

The Colt 1911 .45 caliber Auto Pistol is still a standard sidearm in many military and police units, 115 years after it was invented.

A 2016 Cadillac and a 1916 Cadillac still have the same gas pedal and brake pedal, the same steering wheel, the same rubber tires on 4 wheels, an electric Bendix starter, a crankshaft, pistons, burn gasoline, have a differential, a radiator, valves, piston rings ....

That's a LOOONG time in a Moore's Law world of electronic advances....

Lannis
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Aaron D. on November 20, 2016, 05:41:17 PM
Actually, and I'm sure everyone knows, it was faster NY/London for a long time than it is now. May someday be faster again, too.

I recently watched a movie called "Bombers B52" with Natalie Wood and Karl Malden, from maybe 1958?
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Kentktk on November 20, 2016, 05:51:07 PM
And yet....it still takes as long to fly from London to New York as it did in 1971. The planes are still noisy, and they still require long runways.

But it costs less in than in 1971. it`s one of the only things that is actually less expensive than 45 years ago. People want cheap so they get relatively slow 1950's technology. Very few would pay even $100 more to get there 90 minutes sooner. As with everything, it`s all about money.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Tom on November 20, 2016, 08:55:58 PM
 :1: with Lannis.  We still cook generally speaking with the same type of arrangement that our grandparents did.  Pots and pans on a stove.  Very little improvement there.  Cars and motorcycles on pneumatic tires.  Drinking water.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Kentktk on November 21, 2016, 02:17:12 AM




Compare that to what Apple, MS, Google, fcebook, and the "cloud" do now.  We've been thrown under the bus, folks.  All promises have been broken, the security, privacy, and centralization has made a 180 turn, and nothing is secure.  You've traded your birthright for pudding.


I agree, people will be in for a rude awakening someday when a cloud service loses your wedding pictures, or decide to up the cost on storage and hold your baby pictures or important documents hostage until you pay up.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Aaron D. on November 21, 2016, 06:14:15 AM
That's funny! I've had a hard drive crash. I've seen prints damaged by humidity and mildew. And many photographer hobbyists have all their collections tossed in the dumpster.

A cloud service isn't so bad. Besides how many cat pictures does the world need?
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: azguzzirep on November 21, 2016, 01:15:54 PM


We'll be moving to Germany soon, but the sting of leaving my friends and family is softened by technology.

-Joe
[/quote]

It made my living here bearable 😊

Tom
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Tom on November 21, 2016, 02:24:39 PM
 :1: on that.  It does help people that move here to stay in touch.  I may crank up Skype for next year when the youngest go off to college.  If not it'll be back to "old school".  Drop in.  He'll hate that. :grin:
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: johnr on November 21, 2016, 05:41:35 PM
The internet has had a very positive effect in my life. It takes up too much of my time, though and in that way it can be a problem. 

Like all technologies  it is a tool for us to use but are not required to use.  It can be a problem for us when a technology becomes an expected norm. 

An example is cell phones. I have one, but I only have a basic flip lid one for emergency use. I have no need for a smart phone and limited use for for my basic one. It spends most of it's time switched off. 

Various people and companies I have dealt with though don't seem to understand the concept of me having a land line as my main phone. They grapple with and sometimes refuse to accept me not providing them with a cell phone number. Some companies ( ISPs ) have told me that they can not proceed without a cell phone number!  Now that is a problem.

When it comes to privacy I put no information about myself on line that could not be easily found using other means. That doesn't leave much that's private when you look at it. 

I don't understand (yet) the 'cloud' so I don't use it. I have also yet to see any need to use it either. 
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Lannis on November 21, 2016, 05:54:29 PM
Some companies ( ISPs ) have told me that they can not proceed without a cell phone number!  Now that is a problem.

Someone (a young millenial Genius in their IT department, I'm sure) recently tried to update the Social Security Administration's on-line security process.

Keep in mind that the majority of the folks who use the SSA's site are 62 years old or over, although there are other folks (disability, etc) who use it too.

They sent out a strongly and obnoxiously worded letter that said that in order to access their website, you must have not only a computer but a text-capable cell phone, and essentially "verify" your on-line login with a text from the cell phone.

Well, I don't have the latter, never will, so I said "Bugger this" and resigned myself to dealing with the SSA (much more interesting now that they send me a check each month) through the phone or personal visits.

But lo and behold, three weeks later comes an apologetic letter, worded appropriately for a a public servant speaking to the people he serves rather than a jack-booted dictator making demands, saying that other security measures have been taken, that the cell-phone thing is being reversed, and you no longer need a text device to access their system.

They've probably never even met any of the people that use their services anyhow, and imagined that everyone on the system was a smart-phone-addicted Borg of some sort.   I'd like to have been the guy who set them straight, but no such luck.

Lannis
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: rodekyll on November 21, 2016, 06:19:24 PM
Do you mind sharing the text of this obnoxiously-worded message that smacks of a "jackbooted dictatorship" in control of SSI?  I for one would REALLY like to read it.  I'm just getting into this level of bureaucracy, and I haven't gotten much mail from them, so I don't doubt what you claim even a little bit.  But your communications seem quite different than the ones I've been reading.  I don't even get jackboot footprints on mine.  Maybe they're saving it until after I'm signed up?   :rolleyes:

I'll excuse your inability to produce it in advance.   :wink:
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Aaron D. on November 21, 2016, 06:23:32 PM
Oh goodness, folks.

Though my dealings with government agencies as a vendor have me nodding in unison with Lannis...there's a place in the world for a bureaucrat, but the wrong person in that position can commit grievous harm.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Lannis on November 21, 2016, 06:28:14 PM
Do you mind sharing the text of this obnoxiously-worded message that smacks of a "jackbooted dictatorship" in control of SSI?  I for one would REALLY like to read it.  I'm just getting into this level of bureaucracy, and I haven't gotten much mail from them, so I don't doubt what you claim even a little bit.  But your communications seem quite different than the ones I've been reading.  I don't even get jackboot footprints on mine.  Maybe they're saving it until after I'm signed up?   :rolleyes:

I'll excuse your inability to produce it in advance.   :wink:

You've got me.   I see jackboots when I read (on-line, in this case) missives from "civil servants" telling me that I either need to comply with an inane policy, or be cut out of the system.

But I'll leave the imagery out of the message next time.   :thumb:  The young borg that wrote it was probably in his pajamas and fuzzy slippers, anyhow ....

Lannis
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: rodekyll on November 21, 2016, 07:09:17 PM
*shrug*

Aaron, a lot of my business was done on government contracts.  It gave me a real education about the meaning and nature of the term "petty bureaucrat".  I saw them more as unimaginitive obstructionists than jackbooted dictators.  I can see the same in my early dealings with SSI.  But it's a loooong stretch from there to jackboots.

Thanks for that, Lannis.  It's good to keep perspective.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: redrider on November 21, 2016, 07:32:30 PM
Amazing? Then why do we endure fogged visors when sci-fi and NASA seem to have the problem solved?
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Penderic on November 21, 2016, 08:43:53 PM
Old tech ...

(http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag77/Penderic/Penderic004/480x400_cwatch-condenses-cuckoo-clock-to-wristwatch-size_zpsrfqmgrd4.jpg)


Modern tech! It's a radio transmitter!

(http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag77/Penderic/Penderic004/dick%20tracy_zpspru3hyco.jpg)


Future tech! Two way TV!   :huh::

(http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag77/Penderic/Penderic004/c-IONTIME-Dick-Tracy-Watch-2013-1_zps0p7g2iyh.jpg)

 :tongue:
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Aaron D. on November 21, 2016, 09:06:03 PM
I seldom get a fogged visor. Arais are best at avoiding it in my experience.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Lannis on November 21, 2016, 09:12:32 PM
Amazing? Then why do we endure fogged visors when sci-fi and NASA seem to have the problem solved?

I realized there was something funny going on when the Olympics were being broadcast from Yugoslavia one year.

So an athlete's image is picked up on a TV camera in Sarajevo.   It goes via a wire to a satellite truck, which sends it via a dish transmitter to a geosynchronous satellite 24,000 miles up there.   The little solar-powered satellite retransmits it to a network satellite dish in New York.

From there it gets transmitted 1000 miles or so to a local network affiliate, then to my TV antenna, then to my TV, where it appears as clear as a bell, every syllable enunciated, every picture clear.

Now, we have some astronauts on the Space Shuttle.   They're 100 miles over my head, that's it.   They transmit straight to the Space Center, with the best equipment money can buy, then to the TV network and to my TV.

And what do I get?   "SSHHHHHTHAT'SSSSHHAFFIRMATIVE HOUSTON CHCHCHCHCHCHPRESSSH SHSHSPARING FOR EVA IN SHCHCHCH MINUS 10" with a crappy picture that looks like a child's toy camera.

I think they degrade it purposely, 'cause we got used to Alan Shepherd and John Glenn and that's what we think "space" is supposed to sound like.   

Lannis
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Wayne Orwig on November 21, 2016, 09:56:20 PM
Amazing? Then why do we endure fogged visors when sci-fi and NASA seem to have the problem solved?
Fog City Fog Shield.
Great invention.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Aaron D. on November 22, 2016, 06:11:54 AM
I backed up my photos to google, which puts a copy on my phone too.

Most are not tagged with a location, but if I search for, say, Grand Canyon, or a city around here, it will pull up pictures from the location, even inside buildings.

Or if I search Camping, it brings up pictures of camping, or campfires. Pretty heady stuff.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: johnr on November 22, 2016, 06:44:27 AM

And what do I get?   "SSHHHHHTHAT'SSSSHHAFFIRMATIVE HOUSTON CHCHCHCHCHCHPRESSSH SHSHSPARING FOR EVA IN SHCHCHCH MINUS 10" with a crappy picture that looks like a child's toy camera.

I think they degrade it purposely, 'cause we got used to Alan Shepherd and John Glenn and that's what we think "space" is supposed to sound like.   

Lannis

Of course they do it on purpose Lannis.  They have to smudge out pics of UFOs, that "other" big satellite out there in it's polar orbit (The Black Knight, if they haven't destroyed it.) and any other anomalies but they don't want it too obvious that they have done it.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: cruzziguzzi on November 22, 2016, 12:53:42 PM
"Hard Drive".... Isn't that the rear drive of my '95 Sport?

Who else distinctly remembers how the irresponsible race to purse and attempt to embrace technological advances was going to lead to "Future Shock"? We we're going to spin off in fits of epizootics, gnaw at our own hands, suicide in droves or simply cower in dark corners of closets due to things like digital watches and microwaves.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/51/Future_shock.png/200px-Future_shock.png)


Todd.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Muzz on November 22, 2016, 01:14:53 PM
Fog City Fog Shield.
Great invention.

I had to look that one up Wayne. That does look good.

I ran out of my antifog which happened to work really well. hunted everywhere for it, and another that was recommended, but all had gone off the market. The stuff I had to get is a waste of time. I carry it with me because it needs to be applied on a VERY regular basis.

Years ago someone posted a home brew they said was good; might have had lemon juice and glycerine in it. Anyone remember it?
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: rodekyll on November 22, 2016, 02:31:58 PM
I had to look that one up Wayne. That does look good.

I ran out of my antifog which happened to work really well. hunted everywhere for it, and another that was recommended, but all had gone off the market. The stuff I had to get is a waste of time. I carry it with me because it needs to be applied on a VERY regular basis.

Years ago someone posted a home brew they said was good; might have had lemon juice and glycerine in it. Anyone remember it?

My Nolan helmet came with a little plastic inner shield called a "pingard" or somesuch.  It's a fog-free insert and works good.  At the end of a long story involving Anchorage, the Nolan rep, and the wrong size pingard for the helmet, I came away with an extra, which I fixed to the bathroom mirror.  It truly does fog.  I can step out of the shower and shave without wiping the mirror.

"Hard Drive".... Isn't that the rear drive of my '95 Sport?

Who else distinctly remembers how the irresponsible race to purse and attempt to embrace technological advances was going to lead to "Future Shock"? We we're going to spin off in fits of epizootics, gnaw at our own hands, suicide in droves or simply cower in dark corners of closets due to things like digital watches and microwaves.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/51/Future_shock.png/200px-Future_shock.png)


Todd.


Be afraid.  Be very afraid.  This modern technology WILL get even with us. 

-- sign me 'Technoluddite'
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: rocker59 on November 22, 2016, 02:38:11 PM
Pinlock.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: rodekyll on November 22, 2016, 06:34:33 PM
Pinlock.  Sounds more righter.   :cheesy:
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Guzzistajohn on November 22, 2016, 06:39:26 PM
Yes modern technology is amazing, but we still don't understand the concept of "slower traffic keep right"

What's up with that?
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: oldbike54 on November 22, 2016, 06:48:47 PM
Yes modern technology is amazing, but we still don't understand the concept of "slower traffic keep right"

What's up with that?

 Oh we understand it  :evil:

 Of course my favorite is "Slow children at play" , I mean why would a town advertise that  :shocked:

 Dusty
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: rocker59 on November 22, 2016, 07:08:49 PM
Pinlock.  Sounds more righter.   :cheesy:

My current Nolan has the pinlock shield and it came with the anti-fog insert.

Quite a revelation, after riding for 30-years with a foggy screen on rainy days and cool days.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Lannis on November 22, 2016, 08:04:35 PM
Oh we understand it  :evil:

 Of course my favorite is "Slow children at play" , I mean why would a town advertise that  :shocked:

 Dusty

I used to feel right sorry for those kids.   

But it's all right, it all comes out OK.

They grow up to be "Slow Men Working".
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: oldbike54 on November 22, 2016, 08:37:21 PM
I used to feel right sorry for those kids.   

But it's all right, it all comes out OK.

They grow up to be "Slow Men Working".

 Never thought of that , although it does seem a natural progression  :laugh:

 Dusty
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Tom H on November 22, 2016, 09:04:54 PM
I was going to quote a number of messages and how funny they were like the NASA and Slow Children, but there were too many.

All I can say is LMAO!!! :evil: :bow: :thumb:

Tom
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: oldbike54 on November 22, 2016, 09:31:33 PM
I was going to quote a number of messages and how funny they were like the NASA and Slow Children, but there were too many.

All I can say is LMAO!!! :evil: :bow: :thumb:

Tom

 There is a very small town just West of me that has a "goat crossing" sign on the hiway . For years I thought it was a joke , but sure enough , there is a small herd of tame goats that live
in town , and as far as the locals are concerned , the goats have the right of way .

 Dusty
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Tom H on November 22, 2016, 09:38:22 PM
IIRC many moons ago up off the Kern River in Ca. i think it was, there was a sign for cattle crossing. Yeah right. Sure enough I got into a cattle drive. Bulls are kinda scary as you pass them on a bike!!

Tom
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: oldbike54 on November 22, 2016, 10:01:49 PM
IIRC many moons ago up off the Kern River in Ca. i think it was, there was a sign for cattle crossing. Yeah right. Sure enough I got into a cattle drive. Bulls are kinda scary as you pass them on a bike!!

Tom

 There are signs in Custer State Park warning folks to stay away from the bison , and yet every year some macho biker decides he is gonna impress his friends and ride one . It never ends well  :evil:

 Dusty
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Tom on November 22, 2016, 10:40:21 PM
Those are the same ones that ride in shorts and get the calf tattoo from the exhaust pipes.   :grin: :grin: :grin:
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: oldbike54 on November 22, 2016, 10:53:26 PM
Those are the same ones that ride in shorts and get the calf tattoo from the exhaust pipes.   :grin: :grin: :grin:

 Yep , and the same ones you encounter in cafes on the way home from the Black Hills Classic that will require treatment for 2nd and in some cases 3rd degree burns  :evil:

 Dusty
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Tom on November 22, 2016, 11:01:59 PM
I can only laugh at them.   :laugh:
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Wayne Orwig on November 23, 2016, 08:42:39 AM
Yes modern technology is amazing, but we still don't understand the concept of "slower traffic keep right"
What's up with that?

Must people don't even know that is a thing that you are supposed to do. Even though there are signs all along the interstates. They are too busy with fecesbook or a tweet or whatever for their brain to grasp that.

As for modern tech, I'm still waiting for a car that has a turn signal that functions 100% of the time. They keep saying that cars will drive themselves in a few years, but they can't make a turn signal work.

Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Lannis on November 23, 2016, 09:14:35 AM
There is a very small town just West of me that has a "goat crossing" sign on the hiway . For years I thought it was a joke , but sure enough , there is a small herd of tame goats that live
in town , and as far as the locals are concerned , the goats have the right of way .

 Dusty

We know nothing, NOTHING, of the hazards of goats in this country.   On the islands in the Irish Sea, the goats are a positive danger.   

Great fanged things they are, man-eaters, and they will come springing out of the gorse before you have a chance to even shout "Look out, there are goats!"

This is the last photo I have of my son ... I don't like to talk about it, it's too terrible ...

(https://photos.smugmug.com/Old-Beemer/i-pRbV3JT/0/X3/SAM_0217-X3.jpg) (https://lannisselz.smugmug.com/Old-Beemer/i-pRbV3JT/A)

Be warned!

Lannis
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Tom on November 23, 2016, 02:36:14 PM
Out here, the goats are smart and they jump out onto the highway.  Then again most spots on island don't have high shrubbery to hide them along the highway.  Wild pigs are the main road kills.
Title: Re: isn't modern technology amazing
Post by: Penderic on November 23, 2016, 05:28:01 PM
And its rutting season!

(http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag77/Penderic/Penderic004/shall%20not%20ram_zpswcwwgl8u.jpg)
 :shocked: