My Day

[BroadAmbition]

WOW.....  Born in the 60s
Never thought of it this way.    

They call us "The Elders" We were born in the 60s
We grew up in the 70s. 
We studied in the 80s. 
We dated in the 80s-90s. 
We got married (or not ) and discovered the world in the 80s-90s. 
We ventured into the 80s-90s.
We stabilized in the 2000s. 
We became wiser in 2010. 
And we are firmly moving beyond 2020. 

It seems like we live in seven different decades... TWO different centuries... TWO separate millennials...

We have gone from a rotary dial telephone with party lines and a long distance operator to video calls anywhere in the world.

We've gone from slides to YouTube, vinyl records to streaming music, handwritten letters to email and WhatsApp. 

From live game radio, to black and white television, to color television and then to 3D HD television. To the video store and now it’s Netflix.

We met the first computers, punched cards, floppy disks and now we have gigabytes and megabytes on our smartphones. 

We dodged infantile paralysis, meningitis, polio, tuberculosis, swine flu and now COVID-19. 

We used to ride roller skates, tricycles, bicycles, mopeds, gasoline or diesel cars and now we drive hybrids or electric cars.

Yes, we've been through a lot, but what a life we've had!!!

They could describe us as "exemplars", people born in that world of the sixties who had an analog childhood and a digital adulthood. Our generation has literally lived and witnessed more than anyone else in all dimensions of life. It is our generation that has literally adapted to more change than any before or since.

A big round of applause to all the members of a very adaptable, very unique generation!

The Best is Yet to Come!

Griff

[dom]

1 hour ago, BroadAmbition said:

We've gone from slides to YouTube, vinyl records to streaming music, handwritten letters to email and WhatsApp.

One of my greatest regrets is that I didn't spend more time with my paternal grandfather (although not entirely by choice).

He was born in 1889 and lived until 1985. He grew up at a time when transport relied on horses and seeing a car would be an event. After doing an apprenticeship in carpentry he married, only for the country to go to war. After serving for the entirety of WW1, he returned to normal life. His first wife then died. Just as he found a new partner, war broke out again and he spent WW2 building aircraft. By the time he died, he'd witnessed the arrival of cars, aircraft, telephones, radio, cinema, TV, and home computers.

I think those of us who are Baby Boomers or Generation X are experiencing some pretty amazing times, but The Greatest Generation really are deserving of the title. I suspect later generations growing up without first hand contact with that generation may well be the cause of many modern issues.

[addicted]

Reading the above, as a parent of a baby boomer my generation has had to cope with all the changes mentioned and it gets harder practically  every day. For example I can no longer park my car in a car park I've habitually   used for 40 years or more because some twit decided  to make the charge payable only by  the use of a smart phone and I don't have one. I don't have one because I simply couldn't get on with the one I tried for a few months. It was anything but smart! I spend an inordinant amount of time these  days on trying to find ways I can avoid being scammed while almost every other call I receive on my land line is from  someone who is hell bent on doing just that! In other words all,these changes are not necessareily for the better.  In  fact I find life pretty difficult these days

Sorry, rant over.

 

Carole

[MargeandParge]

3 hours ago, addicted said:

Reading the above, as a parent of a baby boomer my generation has had to cope with all the changes mentioned and it gets harder practically  every day. For example I can no longer park my car in a car park I've habitually   used for 40 years or more because some twit decided  to make the charge payable only by  the use of a smart phone and I don't have one. I don't have one because I simply couldn't get on with the one I tried for a few months. It was anything but smart! I spend an inordinant amount of time these  days on trying to find ways I can avoid being scammed while almost every other call I receive on my land line is from  someone who is hell bent on doing just that! In other words all,these changes are not necessareily for the better.  In  fact I find life pretty difficult these days

Sorry, rant over.

 

Carole

We never answer the phone unless we know the number. Mobile or land line. If we need to know they will leave us a message and we will reply otherwise we don't need to know

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

 

[ZimbiIV]

If you get spam calls on a mobile, do what I do.

Save the number under the name of, do not answer.

Most mobiles will store many numbers.

paul

[Mouldy]

1 hour ago, ZimbiIV said:

If you get spam calls on a mobile, do what I do.

Save the number under the name of, do not answer.

Most mobiles will store many numbers.

paul

Just block them!  Easy.

[ZimbiIV]

Yes you can block them but I prefer to waste their time, thus maybe preventing them from calling someone who could fall for it.

paul

[floydraser]

1 hour ago, ZimbiIV said:

Yes you can block them but I prefer to waste their time, thus maybe preventing them from calling someone who could fall for it.

paul

Agreed. Try to keep them on the line to stop them bothering anyone else. See it as a challenge. Can be funny but can get nasty.

[kpnut]

4 hours ago, MargeandParge said:

We never answer the phone unless we know the number. Mobile or land line. If we need to know they will leave us a message and we will reply otherwise we don't need to know

That's exactly what I say to Tony. Just don't answer. I then look up the number on the reverse number look up website, and 9 times out of 10 its been previously reported as a scam/cold call. I then block the number.

[dom]

49 minutes ago, floydraser said:

Agreed. Try to keep them on the line to stop them bothering anyone else. See it as a challenge. Can be funny but can get nasty.

If I'm not busy at the time, I like to ask them "when you're on your deathbed looking back at your life, how will you feel when you realise all you've done is scam the old and vulnerable?". Probably hasn't caused any existential crises, but you never know and it definitely makes them stop and think.

[Gracie]

Have a whistle to hand. It may not stop them trying to con the old and the vulnerable, it may even result in you being told to have sex and travel but it will put a bit of a crimp in their day 

Grace x

[floydraser]

4 hours ago, Gracie said:

Have a whistle to hand. It may not stop them trying to con the old and the vulnerable, it may even result in you being told to have sex and travel but it will put a bit of a crimp in their day 

Grace x

Yep, we have an extra large desk bell which one of the offspring bought for us for a laugh. We never thought it would be any use but an earfull down the phone soon shuts them up! 

[Smoggy]

Air powered signal horn anyone?

[grendel]

stunning sunset at astronomy meet up tonight, shame it was just too cloudy to do any stargazing

[BroadAmbition]

Had a good day yesterday,

Got out in t GriffTile van, visited three clients as requested for my advice / estimates.

Got a stack of office work done

Afternoon - Visited Daughter and family - Yet more garden clearance / tree pruning, I was only about 90 odd mins from finishing cutting up the big stuff for drying out (Multi burner arriving in t future) when another family member appeared which resulted in four lads and three dogs going next door but one into the local village pup for an impromptu pint or three. Good stuff but meant I didn't complete my logging task 

Then back to their place to watch the Grand National, I had placed bets on three nags as I do every year - They all came nowhere as they do nearly every year - Mission accomplished

Daughter won £90:00 !  so MrsG was invited round and it was a Chinese takeaway dinner for the seven of us on her

Son-in-law - He won thousands  first time he has a major big win, he's been close a couple of times over the years (He doesn't try that often).  He promptly transferred nearly all of it over to daughter - That'll pay for their upcoming full family bathroom revamp that I'm now involved with whether I like it or not - No surprise there then

Got home about 2030 for a night in with MrsG n Purdey - Tally puppy now back at her place much to Purdey's relief

Today - Been clay shooting this forenoon, now it is tasks in our own garden for a change set by MrsG, then I'll get mysen off to finish the logging.  Then a major tidy out in t GriffTile van required.

Life is sure busy - Wouldn't have it any other way

Griff

[BrundallNavy]

Being a nice sunny and warm day we decided to head out in the Z4 roof down but were to go. We (I) decided on Diddly Squat Farm. As it’s about 40 mins away. Nice drive out admiring the lovely Cotswold cottages on arriving it was incredibly busy the car park is very uneven and took some navigating to avoid being ground out. The farm shop had a queue to get in but was very disappointed as most of the shelves were empty. Bought some chilli marmalade the headed into Chipping Norton for lunch and a coffee. 

[kpnut]

We held my mums 90th birthday family get together weekend very near Diddly Squat Farm. So of course the (adult) youngsters wanted to go, being fans of top gear etc. There was a 2 hour queue to get in the carpark, so the parking attendant said. So they didn’t bother. This was 2021 when I suppose everyone was hankering after getting out and about again. 

[Smoggy]

As I think I may have blagged a free mooring on my local river for the rib that's been sat in my garden for 4 years and was bought on a drunken whim (as you do) I treated it to a quick top up of air, I recon a quick top up is pretty bloody good going for an inflatable boat that I think is 40 years old!

The tubes are mottled and the grp is battle scarred but it's still good, it's an old Dumi, I can see 1984 on the dataplate but have no knowlege of the make so if anyone knows anything......

[grendel]

what a weekend, its been a tad busy, Friday, just after I took my sunset photo I spotted a post from one of my Uncles regarding the passing of one of  my other Uncles (my dads youngest Brother) after getting cancer as a result of exposure to nuclear testing at christmas island back in 1961, and getting treatment back then, he was clear of it until 6 years ago when it came back, ending up last Friday with his passing at the good age of 82, after I got home late from astronomy, i then had an early start to go shopping, then back home and straight out again for my monthly volunteer session at the local repair cafe, after fixing an empire state building, replacing a fuse, replacing batteries and replacing a plug as well as testing some things and fixing someones electric bike charger, it was home again to do some housework, then out again for our monthly astronomy talk (an excellent talk about taking telescopes to Morroco and showing local kids the wonders of the skies, under probably the least polluted skies you will find anywhere). then home again, sunday was a bike ride and more tidying, so it was sunday evening before I found the text message from my ex asking when my uncle had died - this had been sent friday just after lunch- about 6 hours or so before I had found out about his passing, I am only glad that I hadnt found that message earlier. or I would have been most upset with her.

so ended a busy weekend, and its already busy with work this week, apparently every job is urgent- except for the ones that are very urgent, yet only one has given a date when it is required by so that will be the first urgent one done after the one am currently doing

 

[floydraser]

What shall we do today? Check weather - OK. Let's go and see Catherine of Arogan. She won't be good company but it'll be nice to see Peterborough Cathedral and it's excuse to go by train. Fail.

The Stanstead train broke down so we gave up and walked back into Leicester for a coffee. We're not devoutly religious but we are interested in our own history. They've recently finished an expensive refurbishment of Leicester's own cathedral so we decided to nip along and see Richard lll, the well known rhyming slang. Very interesting.

I never knew we had our very own Peregrines: http://leicesterperegrines.org.uk/streaming/

I'll repeat that on the Peregrines thread.

[grendel]

managed to get conned today, came home from shopping and a couple of lads were cutting a neighbours hedge- now my hedge is a bit more than overgrown, so when one approached me and said he would trim it for me while they were in the area and shred and remove the waste, i asked how much (i had been planning to get it trimmed back) well I was quoted £200 which didnt seem unreasonable so I agreed, they set to trimming the hedge and after a couple of hours I went out as I had to take my dad shopping,

it was at this juncture that one of the lads drew me aside to tell me i had rats in the garden pointing out 2 holes. strange I thought as i looked at a piece of wood that had a freshly muddy end near one of the holes, after they pointed out that i could be served with a d10 notice and prosecuted.

i still declined having them clear the rats out while they were here- citing lack of funds (they had asked for cash) at this point as I was due to go out I decided that it was best to pay them what I owed for the work done, so handed over the money. well when I went back out several minutes later they had scarpered, leaving about 3 foot of hedge uncut, and a big pile of the clippings, out on the grass the other side of the pavement. the rat thing had given me a clue as to what to expect i guess, but now i still have the hedge clippings to dispose of- mind you the garden is looking better.

I am generally trusting of others, but never again will I pay before the whole job is completed- this life lesson was learned the hard way, as I have just gone out and purchased a garden shredder for another £179 so I can clear the trimmings left behind- well now I know what I will be doing all day tomorrow.

just disappointed now and this has removed a little bit of my faith in contractors, and hardened my resolve to just get on and do it myself (like I dont have 1001 other things to be doing) at least now I have a garden shredder to assist in disposal of the waste from hedge trimming. did I get the full £200 worth of work, well maybe not, but maybe I got £150 of work completed to a point where I may be able to finish it myself..

[grendel]

The clipping pile and untrimmed hedge yes it was that high all round

 

[Ray]

These people operate day in and day out and are virtually impossible to tell apart from honest guys just trying to make a living. I'd say you did well to get so much work done and not fall for the rat scam! All in all one up to you, you trusted folk like a decent human being but was not taken in 👍

[grendel]

I did find out what a D10 notice was- its part of a divorce proceeding, I did wonder why it sounded vaguely familiar.

[floydraser]

I nipped into Leicester to play trains with the Leicester Society of Model Engineers today. I messaged Mrs Raser to say I'm on the way home, from St Margaret's bus station. "I'm at St Marg.." at which point my phone suggested text gave me "MargeandParge". I think someone from the forum may be taking over the World.