Getting old department

[soulster]

By the way, we also need to tell these young folk that a quantity of records is not called 'vinyls' but they are still 'vinyl'! Far too often I hear and see the word 'vinyls' when referring to more than one disc. "I've been playing more vinyls recently." It's plural noun - a shepherd doesn't have 50 sheeps!

Amen! That annoys me bigtime! The scientific community uses the term
"vinyls" when discussing various types of vinyl, but, even then, it is used improperly.

[soulster]

But, I have a different issue with aging, and that is when among my own age group, and older, I don't feel like I am part of their generation. We were talking about television earlier. I lived through all that, so there is that shared experience. But, I also identify with the younger generations with most things. I will not, and cannot, blame society's ills on the youth, especially when I know how messed up their parents are. Why are their parents messed up? Because our baby-boom generation raised them! The chain goes on down the line. So, the next time you all feel the need to dump on the "kids" for their embrace of technology, their music, movies, ethics, morality, whatever, look at the man in the mirror.

[marv2]

But, I have a different issue with aging, and that is when among my own age group, and older, I don't feel like I am part of their generation. We were talking about television earlier. I lived through all that, so there is that shared experience. But, I also identify with the younger generations with most things. I will not, and cannot, blame society's ills on the youth, especially when I know how messed up their parents are. Why are their parents messed up? Because our baby-boom generation raised them! The chain goes on down the line. So, the next time you all feel the need to dump on the "kids" for their embrace of technology, their music, movies, ethics, morality, whatever, look at the man in the mirror.

I have to disagree. The Baby Boomers, we were/are great! We weren't just consumers, we stood up and made a difference without any real previous role models [[Anti-War Movement, Civil Rights Movement, Women's Rights Movement,etc.) just to name a few ...............those were OURS!

[soulster]

I have to disagree. The Baby Boomers, we were/are great! We weren't just consumers, we stood up and made a difference without any real previous role models [[Anti-War Movement, Civil Rights Movement, Women's Rights Movement,etc.) just to name a few ...............those were OURS!

Bullshit! Everyone has role models, and the baby-boomers rejected theirs! That is why they led in the civil rights, anti-war, womens lib, and the counter-culture. You should be glad we rejected out role models!

[marv2]

Bullshit! Everyone has role models, and the baby-boomers rejected theirs! That is why they led in the civil rights, anti-war, womens lib, and the counter-culture. You should be glad we rejected out role models!

Nope you're wrong. I sat for nearly 2 hours at a business breakfast and listen to Tom Brokaw drone on and on about "America's Greatest Generation". He was referring to my grandparents generation. The ones that went through the Depression, WWII, built Levittown, etc. and did what they were told to do! These were the parents of the Baby Boom generation and they had very little in common. They were hardly role models for those coming of age in the 60s and 70s! There were no broad-based role models for the counter culture generation. That is why the term "Generation Gap" became popular.

[soulster]

Nope you're wrong. I sat for nearly 2 hours at a business breakfast and listen to Tom Brokaw drone on and on about "America's Greatest Generation". He was referring to my grandparents generation. The ones that went through the Depression, WWII, built Levittown, etc. and did what they were told to do! These were the parents of the Baby Boom generation and they had very little in common. They were hardly role models for those coming of age in the 60s and 70s! There were no broad-based role models for the counter culture generation. That is why the term "Generation Gap" became popular.

Yes, they were told what to do, but, their children didn't listen. If you look at the definition of "role model", it is that they served as models for how to be, positive or negative. The boomers didn't follow them. But, eventually, most of us turn out like our parents anyway because of how we were nurtured.

That "silent generation" didn't do that good of a job. Just because they lived through a depression and went to war means nothing.

[144man]

Don't old folks care about the present?

I was referring to education in schools. Even though we had record players in the 60s, we were taught in school about cylinders and wind-up phonograms.

[marv2]

I was referring to education in schools. Even though we had record players in the 60s, we were taught in school about cylinders and wind-up phonograms.

That is so true! We also learned about artists from the 20s,30s and 40s!

[144man]

That is so true! We also learned about artists from the 20s,30s and 40s!

In some respects, I envy my parents' generation. In the pre-television era, because they only had access to 4 BBC radio stations, they shared a common culture. There is so much choice in broadcasting nowadays that it has resulted in society becoming more fragmented.

[ralpht]

When I first started this post I had no idea it would evolve the way it has. Very interesting gang. A good conversation.

[marv2]

In some respects, I envy my parents' generation. In the pre-television era, because they only had access to 4 BBC radio stations, they shared a common culture. There is so much choice in broadcasting nowadays that it has resulted in society becoming more fragmented.

You are right on the money once more 144man. You see, I can remember in the days when we had fever viewing choices most of all the kids in school would be talking about the same show or shows we all watched the night before. Here in America, EVERYONE seemed to watch "The Ed Sullivan Show" on Sunday nights. The next day all the kids could discuss something we all had in common. Not now, not no way, not no how! 500 channels and still nothing on them. Add in the internet and music downloading, everything is very customized, individualized to the point that we no longer share common memories.

[Bokiluis]

When I first started this post I had no idea it would evolve the way it has. Very interesting gang. A good conversation.

Even the iPod is beginning to loose its hold on the public, as more and more people multi-task on their cellphones.

That said, though I proudly identify as a "child of Motown", I have become so dependent on the various evolutions of mobile music player, I wonder what I did on my first cross country trip to New York without any source of music whatsoever.

And as great mobile music players have become to our lives, we are losing the ability to have a live one on one conversation. That's becoming a lost art, the minute a plane lands 75% of passengers are reaching for their cellphones.

[soulster]

I was referring to education in schools. Even though we had record players in the 60s, we were taught in school about cylinders and wind-up phonograms.

heh! maybe YOU were! How old are you again?

[soulster]

That is so true! We also learned about artists from the 20s,30s and 40s!

When I was in music, and later in band, they didn't teach us about the people who made the music, they just taught the music itself. In Jr. High and High school band, we played music that was from our own time frame of life, starting in about 1960 forward. If it wasn't classical music in marching and concert band, it was pop/rock/jazz in jazz ensemble. That meant stuff like The Beatles, Cliff Nobels, & Co., Jesus Christ Superstar, Chicago, Billy Joel, MFSB, Carpenters, Maynard Ferguson, Herbie Hancock, and the like.

[robb_k]

Bear in mind that in the UK, we had only three channels until 1982, which isn’t really that long ago. Channel 4 launched in 1982, then Channel 5 in 1997, by which time Sky had entered the fray. And sometimes I think there was more worth watching when we had less choice than now...



I’m not really a gadget man, having resisted the lure of CD’s until a good five years after they launched, but I was one of the first in my village to have a Sony Walkman – I got some funny looks down my local when I walked in with that. Anytime I get anything new these days I have to get my son or daughter to programme it for me, including getting the time right on my phone!

In The Netherlands we had only 30 hours of programming per WEEK, as late as 1962, and only 2 channels until 1982, when Sky Channel and Superchannel came in.When TV first started, it was only on sporadically, for an hour or 2 in early evening. When cable came in, all night TV started then. It was pretty much the same in Denmark and Sweden, Germany started some commercial TV alongside the government supported channels a little earlier. But TV in Europe was very limited compared to what was on the airwaves in USA and Canada.

[arr&bee]

You wanna get a laugh?tell a youngster about[black and white tv]and see the looks you get,priceless,haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

[westgrandboulevard]

They think 'vertical hold' and 'horizontal hold' are wrestling terms....

[marv2]

When I was in music, and later in band, they didn't teach us about the people who made the music, they just taught the music itself. In Jr. High and High school band, we played music that was from our own time frame of life, starting in about 1960 forward. If it wasn't classical music in marching and concert band, it was pop/rock/jazz in jazz ensemble. That meant stuff like The Beatles, Cliff Nobels, & Co., Jesus Christ Superstar, Chicago, Billy Joel, MFSB, Carpenters, Maynard Ferguson, Herbie Hancock, and the like.

No, we had to do reports on people like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, etc.

[marv2]

In The Netherlands we had only 30 hours of programming per WEEK, as late as 1962, and only 2 channels until 1982, when Sky Channel and Superchannel came in.When TV first started, it was only on sporadically, for an hour or 2 in early evening. When cable came in, all night TV started then. It was pretty much the same in Denmark and Sweden, Germany started some commercial TV alongside the government supported channels a little earlier. But TV in Europe was very limited compared to what was on the airwaves in USA and Canada.

That sounds a bit severe Robb. Only two channels by 1982? For the entire country? There were no pirate stations like there were in radio?

[Bokiluis]

Bullshit! Everyone has role models, and the baby-boomers rejected theirs! That is why they led in the civil rights, anti-war, womens lib, and the counter-culture. You should be glad we rejected out role models!

Out of those times, the seeds of the digital age was borne by self identified hippies like the late Steve Jobs. The birth of organic foods by visionaries like the conflicted CEO of Whole Foods. Thanks to the hippies, men's fashions expanded from the drab blue and brown suits with the birth of Tom Ford, Yves St. Laurent, Giorgio Armani who would all add flair to their colorful, stylish "designer addicted" haberdashery.
Women freed themselves from the shackles of domestic predictability and would also become CEOs [[though heaven knows with women still paid .77 cents on the dollar, we still have a way to go) Prime Ministers and soon, President of the U.S.A.!

[soulster]

Right on Bokiluis!

[Jerry Oz]

Why did the old 'Family Ties' show just pop into my head, where the former hippy parents had the ultra-conservative, far-right leaning teenage son [[Michael J. Fox)?

[144man]

In the last UK General Election, only half of voters under 25 bothered to register to vote, whereas nearly all of pensioners did. It's obvious who the politicians are going to listen to.

[Hotspurman]

You wanna get a laugh?tell a youngster about[black and white tv]and see the looks you get,priceless,haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

My aunt, who is nearly 70 I think, still works for a major tour company [[Kuoni). As such she is seldom in the country for long, usually just enough time to wash and clean her clothes and pack ready for the next excursion. Similarly, she doesn’t have much time for the usual home comforts. She has a television, but only a black and white set! Every year she goes through the same argument with the television licensing organisation, who simply refuse to believe that in this day and age, any one could still have a black and white television and require a black and white licence [[although their own figures show that there are still some 28,000 homes around the country with a simple black and white set).
The cost of a black and white licence is £49 per annum, compared with £145 for a colour licence. On more than one occasion, she has invited the licensing investigators into her home to check her set and make sure that it is not capable of receiving a colour picture.

[arr&bee]

That's amazing,nothing wrong with a good ol[black and white tv]i actually have one but it's one of the 5inch screens analoge models but i'm keeping it for old times sake....maybe i'm just and old fuddy duddy but all this techno this and that is a bit much,yes i know this is a new century and we're moving at a breakneck pace,but i long for the days when we moved a little slower and enjoyed it more.

[soulster]

My aunt, who is nearly 70 I think, still works for a major tour company [[Kuoni). As such she is seldom in the country for long, usually just enough time to wash and clean her clothes and pack ready for the next excursion. Similarly, she doesn’t have much time for the usual home comforts. She has a television, but only a black and white set! Every year she goes through the same argument with the television licensing organisation, who simply refuse to believe that in this day and age, any one could still have a black and white television and require a black and white licence [[although their own figures show that there are still some 28,000 homes around the country with a simple black and white set).
The cost of a black and white licence is £49 per annum, compared with £145 for a colour licence. On more than one occasion, she has invited the licensing investigators into her home to check her set and make sure that it is not capable of receiving a colour picture.

You have to have a license for a TV in the U.K.???

[westgrandboulevard]

Oh yes, £145.50 for colour, £49.00 for b&w. The BBC is authorised to collect licence payments. Annual licence needs to be paid even if you don't have a TV set, but watch programmes online as they are transmitted....

It's free, if you are 75 years or older. Right now, I'll pay the licence.....

[robb_k]

The Belgian Superchannel was the "pirate TV station". The Sky Channel came in in 1983. Before then one could get Nederland1 and Nederland 2, and the Belgian public channels [[1 and 2), plus the Belgian French channels [[if you undersood French well enough). In the east and northeast one could also pick up nearby German channels[[3 or 4), if you understood German well enough.

[soulster]

Oh yes, £145.50 for colour, £49.00 for b&w. The BBC is authorised to collect licence payments. Annual licence needs to be paid even if you don't have a TV set, but watch programmes online as they are transmitted....

It's free, if you are 75 years or older. Right now, I'll pay the licence.....

Wow!Here in the U.S., it's no one's business if you have a TV or not. No fees or licenses whatsoever. Now, if you want to watch cable or satellite, you'll pay the provider.

[westgrandboulevard]

In simple terms, my understanding is that licence money has always gone to the BBC, which was initially our only broadcaster [[it is currently the oldest national and also the largest broadcasting employer in the world), before Independent Television commercial network [[ITV) began in 1955.

The BBC raises funds from licence money, ITV raises funds from advertising.

[soulster]

In simple terms, my understanding is that licence money has always gone to the BBC, which was initially our only broadcaster [[it is currently the oldest national and also the largest broadcasting employer in the world), before Independent Television commercial network [[ITV) began in 1955.

The BBC raises funds from licence money, ITV raises funds from advertising.

So, is the BBC state run or subsidized?

[westgrandboulevard]

To me, the BBC seems a complicated set-up, so I'm not sure if the following is satisfactorily addressing your question...but here goes....

Ask the average Briton, and they would probably say it is state run, via the government. That said, it does appear to be run as a public corporation, perhaps technically owned by the taxpayer. There are shareholders. It is held in trust for the public by the BBC Trust, and funded in the main by the income from licence payers [[about 75% of total income?), and also by the commercial arm, [[BBC Worldwide Limited) which sells the BBC programmes overseas.

If you've not already done so, try googling the BBC website. Also BBC Wikipedia, which I've studied. It might not, of course, be totally accurate, but does give many details about the operations of the BBC, and might be of interest, especially the more technical details.

[Jerry Oz]

With the exception of the shareholders, it sounds a lot like the United States Postal Service. I'm curious as to how there can be compulsory public contribution for an entity that has shareholders. That sounds like a great racket if you can get in on it.

[westgrandboulevard]

I guess a Trust always has to have shareholders - ? How much they gain financially from their input [[if there actually is any....) is another story, and you wouldn't be the first to make that comment....

I expect many/most/all of the shareholders are [[like us) in the 'Getting Old Department', so we're still on point here!

[arr&bee]

Gee i feel like turning on the tele and watching some good old fashioned black and white westerns.

[Jerry Oz]

As opposed to the modern Black vs. White police drama that seems to play on the news every night?

[marv2]

Gee i feel like turning on the tele and watching some good old fashioned black and white westerns.

Rawhide.....yeah!

[westgrandboulevard]

Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Laramie, Bonanza....

[splanky]

Most of those old televison programs are available on dvds sold online or stocked by public
libraries. I remember enjoying Gunsmoke and Bonanza growing up too. I'm sure most of us
have memories of things, shows and stuff no longer popular or in many cases, no longer in
existence. I can live with that for the most part; what choice do I have? Someone once said
you should surrender youth gracefully...I've kinda spent much of the last 15 or so years going
kicking and screaming...But I'm okay with stuff now. I don't care that the young like my
knuckle headed nephew have never experienced things I've treasured or will never appreciate the music I love. It's not about me or my time anymore. Never really was in the
bigger picture. We're born. We live. We die. I just wanna enjoy whatever I still can while I'm
above ground. I don't feel the need to chase every technological "advancement" either, not
every change is a real improvement. I will say I do love having access to the internet because I love streaming radio stations, reading blogs and being able to find tons of new
as well as old, out of print music. Too, thank goodness for youtube where I can watch
tv shows I used to enjoy if I want or concerts I never did or could attend...

[MIKEW-UK]

Whilst we pay for a licence for BBC services, we have no advertising and commercial interruptions in our programs, no external pressures by commercial interests and advertisers, and as best as can be managed, editorial freedom and no political pressures. With a charter to broadcast a wide range of "quality content" as opposed to chasing ratings, many but not all of us are happy to pay the licence fee which is perhaps trivial compared to many other expenses in life. The anomaly is that you pay the licence even if you choose to watch only non BBC channels!

[westgrandboulevard]

...and we are told that vans from the TV Detector Unit are monitoring our viewing habits, and are able to detect if a licence has not been paid for individual residences. These vans are shrouded in mystery. I don't recall ever seeing one. I think it was once reported that no-one has yet been prosecuted for the offence of watching TV without a licence, although I can't confirm that.

I can confirm that my partner and myself had a TV in the workroom of our previous business premises, and would often have the TV on while we were working. In our current premises, we have no workroom, and a TV was felt not to be required. Four years ago we advised TV Licensing of that, with the understanding that we must not watch live TV online.

Only last week did we receive a notification asking us to confirm online that we are still not using a TV...but that we may receive a visit, to check......

[Hotspurman]

Only the other day, the House of Lords voted to retain the current law where it is a criminal offence to view a television without a valid licence. The current penalty is a court appearance and a fine of up to £1,000, not including legal costs. The exceptions are in Guernsey where the maximum fine is £2,000 and Jersey where it is £500. The licence and fine is ridiculous on so many levels – it raises £4 billion for the BBC, who then proceed to waste most of it [[in my opinion), and your children when they head off to university or college are also required to obtain their own licence!

[Hotspurman]

You have to have a license for a TV in the U.K.???

Technically, you also need a licence for a radio, but that is included in your television licence fee.

[soulster]

Wow. Just...wow.

[144man]

We won't miss the BBC until it's gone.

[nosey]

A little girl came into theoffice one day and saw a typewriter and said, "what's that?"

[marv2]

A little girl came into theoffice one day and saw a typewriter and said, "what's that?"

Nosey remember the Memograph machine? How about the Bell & Howell movie projectors? LOL!

[Jerry Oz]

I still have an analog land telephone line in spite of the phone company trying hard to get me to go cellular or digital. At some point, I'll have to switch because they're about to stop repairing the infrastructure in the US.

I also pay 90% of my retail transactions with cash, which seems to surprise some of the cashiers. And I suspect that I'm in the minority by doing most of my browsing on a PC instead of a laptop, phone or tablet. The good news about all of it is that I can fall off the grid with relative ease if I suddenly need to 'disappear'.

[soulster]

I also pay 90% of my retail transactions with cash, which seems to surprise some of the cashiers. And I suspect that I'm in the minority by doing most of my browsing on a PC instead of a laptop, phone or tablet. The good news about all of it is that I can fall off the grid with relative ease if I suddenly need to 'disappear'.

Cash isn't so bad. I'm shocked when old people still write checks!

I do most of my browsing on a PC and laptop. I gave my tablet to my sister. I have a smartphone, but rarely use it for the internet.

I hope you have an old car, because if you have something like Sirius/XM, a navigational system, or OnStar, they can track you, anyway.

[Jerry Oz]

They can track me by On Star in my truck, even though I don't subscribe. My other car is a 1991 Honda, though.