Back in my day...

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by McG

BIMD we had one black and white 12" diagonal tv with bunny ears, a tiny speaker, and dials for channels that you had to go to the tv to use.

Sometimes the TV would stop working. You then had to open up the back of the TV, find the burnt out vacuum tube and go buy a new one.

[Notorious Honey Badger]

Back in my day the tv lasted years and years and was a piece of furniture

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Gundo

BIMD - people worked hard, didn't bitch and whine everytime they broke a sweat or had to work some overtime. Kids these days are soft....

To be honest, I think people have been saying that about the next generation for decades.

Back in my day, if your gaming console went on the fritz, the primary repair tool was to blow into it. I'm convinced if I ever get the Red Ring of Death on my XBox, this will be my first move, purely on instinct.

[THE SCUD]

BIMD Chicks actually listened to their guides:

[Vulcan]

Back in my day, we didn't have electricity. It wasn't because there wasn't electricity or we were poor, we just lived in a very remote area. There were no gas generators than either but my mom had a gas powered ringer washer. We had a big tube battery powered radio that we only listened to for about an hour a day, to conserve the battery. We used kerosene lamps for evening lighting.

When I went to Vancouver, I used to be fascinated by the milk man who delivered milk by a horse drawn cart who would navigate the alleys, no crap. It wasn't like I would see horses going down the road but the junkman and the milk man would navigate the alleys.

The phone was on a party line with maybe 4 others sharing your line. Each home would have a distinctive ring, like two longs and a short. When you wanted to make a call, you lifted the receiver and turned a crank so the operator would answer and say, "number please". Often you'd lift the receiver and hear your neighbours talking, so you could listen in some but the click of the receiver could be heard by those talking.

TV came to Vancouver when I was 9 and there was one channel unless you had a big antennae so you'd get Seattle or Bellingham some of the time. Transistor radios were the big thing when I got to my teens. I could put my radio under my pillow and listen to rocknroll, baseball or hockey as I tried to sleep. I earned the radio and my three speed bike by delivering papers, kids did all the newspaper delivering than.

Other things I remember is having a blackout where all the lights were turned off in the city and the blinds drawn. This was a test during the cold war in case we were attacked.

Later I moved out to Port Coquitlam. There was no bus service so anywhere you wanted to go it was by bike, walking or hitchhiking. Bikes weren't cool and parents drove us nowhere so it was shanks pony and or hitchhiking.

My first car was a 53 Ford. Cars of that era only had 6 volt systems so the wipers were run by vacuum off the engine. What happened was if you were too hard on the gas the wipers would stop working so going up a hill you would have to ease off on the gas so you could get a sweep with the wipers.

[Jacks]

After hearing Vulcan's story I feel young again

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Back in my day, we didn't have electricity. It wasn't because there wasn't electricity or we were poor, we just lived in a very remote area. There were no gas generators than either but my mom had a gas powered ringer washer. We had a big tube battery powered radio that we only listened to for about an hour a day, to conserve the battery. We used kerosene lamps for evening lighting.

When I went to Vancouver, I used to be fascinated by the milk man who delivered milk by a horse drawn cart who would navigate the alleys, no crap. It wasn't like I would see horses going down the road but the junkman and the milk man would navigate the alleys.

The phone was on a party line with maybe 4 others sharing your line. Each home would have a distinctive ring, like two longs and a short. When you wanted to make a call, you lifted the receiver and turned a crank so the operator would answer and say, "number please". Often you'd lift the receiver and hear your neighbours talking, so you could listen in some but the click of the receiver could be heard by those talking.

TV came to Vancouver when I was 9 and there was one channel unless you had a big antennae so you'd get Seattle or Bellingham some of the time. Transistor radios were the big thing when I got to my teens. I could put my radio under my pillow and listen to rocknroll, baseball or hockey as I tried to sleep. I earned the radio and my three speed bike by delivering papers, kids did all the newspaper delivering than.

Other things I remember is having a blackout where all the lights were turned off in the city and the blinds drawn. This was a test during the cold war in case we were attacked.

Later I moved out to Port Coquitlam. There was no bus service so anywhere you wanted to go it was by bike, walking or hitchhiking. Bikes weren't cool and parents drove us nowhere so it was shanks pony and or hitchhiking.

My first car was a 53 Ford. Cars of that era only had 6 volt systems so the wipers were run by vacuum off the engine. What happened was if you were too hard on the gas the wipers would stop working so going up a hill you would have to ease off on the gas so you could get a sweep with the wipers.

...eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it

[STeeLy]

Back in my day, when you wanted to rewatch a show, you had to tape it using a VCR onto a VHS.

[bc-chris]

BIMD the younger generation respected their elders and people in authority

BIMD we had to do our homework as soon as we got home, then we were allowed to go outside and play... and our parents never worried about where we were or how to get a hold of us - we just knew when to be home (except for one family on our block... the mom would stand at the end their driveway and blow a whistle when she wanted here kids to come home)

BIMD gas was $0.25/litre when i first started driving... crap that was expensive!

BIMD you could go to a corner store and get a 25 pack of hockey cards WITH the terrible dried out stick of gum for a quarter

BIMD we knew what it meant to "do without" - the early 80's were really lean years (my dad owned a store in southern ontario and times were really tough). people didn't just keep spending on credit - you just did without

BIMD star wars had the most amazing special effects EVER!!! i think i dragged my parents to the theater 10 times as a kid back in 1977!! good times!

[bc-chris]

BIMD the canucks had never won the stanley cup....

ohhhh... the more things change, the more they stay the same!!!!

[J epworth]

BIMD... Channel 2 and 7 Flames games as a kid, dial up internet where loading a single page took about 5 minutes, then someone would try to make a call and the internet would go down. BIMD when the best game ever was original Prince of Persia.. on Floppy.

[woob]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

Back in my day, we had these phones that were plugged into the wall, and you worked them by poking your finger into holes and rotating a dial that had to rotate all the way back before you could dial the next number. And you had to write down all your friends' numbers so you wouldn't forget them because the phone wouldn't remember them for you.

Don't forget the party lines! Picking up the phone and listening in on the cute girl from next door gossip with her friend only to get busted because you snickered at something they said.

[woob]

Originally Posted by J epworth kendal

BIMD... Channel 2 and 7 Flames games as a kid, dial up internet where loading a single page took about 5 minutes, then someone would try to make a call and the internet would go down. BIMD when the best game ever was original Prince of Persia.. on Floppy.

Prince of Persia was pretty sweet. I remember logging hours on Aztec on an Apple IIe (I think).

[jayswin]

BIMD, burning music was just starting. It was funny, when high school started, a couple of nerds started telling everyone that people could give them a list of songs, and they'd burn them on a CD and have it ready for you within a day or two....and for only $8!

Today, that sounds ridiculous, but you wouldn't believe how amazing people thought it was, and how much business those guys got.

The idea of being able to think of 15 songs you like, from different artists, have them put onto a CD for you and be listening to it in your discman within a day or two, and for half the price of CD's at the music store, was just awesome.

[bc-chris]

Originally Posted by J epworth kendal

BIMD... Channel 2 and 7 Flames games as a kid, dial up internet where loading a single page took about 5 minutes, then someone would try to make a call and the internet would go down. BIMD when the best game ever was original Prince of Persia.. on Floppy.

i remember one of my favourite commodore64 games was space invaders.... on cassette!!!

[jayswin]

Did anyone else here go to elementary school at a time when playing oregon trail on a macintosh was the best part of the day?

Then, they started upgrading to Compaq PC's (can't remember the model) and all of a sudden Nibbles became all the rage, before we discovered gorillas, and wait for it..........IT WAS IN COLOR!!!

Oregon trail



Gorillas

[flylock shox]

I think the dawn of video games would be hard to fathom as a kid born today.

How do you convey to a kid who grew up with XBox the glory of Zork?

They will never know the frustration of being eaten by a grue. And worse: only being able to read about it rather than witnessing their demise in mind-blowing CGI.

[CrusaderPi]

Originally Posted by 4X4

BIMD - if you wanted to listen to a bunch of your favorite songs consecutively, you had to invest a couple of hours with a dual tape deck ghetto blaster first. Oh, and you had to buy the tapes.

BIMD we just dubbed of the radio. Power 92 hot 9 at 9 baby. Maybe it was the top 9 at 9. Whatever.

[woob]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

i remember one of my favourite commodore64 games was space invaders.... on cassette!!!

Best Commodore64 game was Barbarian. Decapitating your oponent and then seeing the little green guy kick the head away and haul off the body was epic. California Games was a close second, for me anyways.

[woob]

Or how about this one?

Taipan