Another off-topic topic

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

Speaking of television, who remembers how exciting it was going from black and white to color?

What kills me about all of these channels is that there still isn't anything worth a crap on to watch.  I speak from experience about that having spent the last two weeks planted on my couch.  Granted we no longer have cable, just a Roku and then have purchased Netflix and a few other services.  But still there are a gazillion shows, etc available and most of them are not worth a crap.  The biggest problem with the Roku is that Amazon has stuck their ugly little finger in the pie.  To watch an episode of The Closer for example, it is like $2.00 an episode.  As many old repeats as we watch, that would add up to a tidy sum in a good month, not to mention this point in time where I'm stuck on the couch. 

Another generation is going to ask what cable is.  LOL

Virginia

[Darren Henry]

I grew up 90 miles NW of Winnipeg (nearest TV stations), so even with a 40 foot tower/all channel antennae/and control box in the house to turn the antennae, we had 3 channels on a good day. CBC french doesn't count because it was more snow than picture and we don't speak french. Colour was a big upgrade---but I grew up "doing stuff". I liked to catch "Get Smart" just before supper, and we did "The wonderful world of Disney" Sunday's at 6:00. If there was nothing on down at the rink or the weather was foul I'd watch " Mary Tyler-Moore" or Bunker with the folks and M*A*S*H was a given just before bed. Later, as a teen, Dad and I liked to catch " The two Ronnies" and later " the Benny Hill show" courtesy of the BBC. Otherwise TV was not a big part of my life.

all of these channels is that there still isn't anything worth a crap on to watch.

Too true! I always laugh about when the smaller satellite dishes ,like your Star choice etc, came out; buddy of ours just had to have one. " Oh man ! over 300 channels and all those networks blah blah blah", so I asked him if he was really going to watch the stock report in Korean, etc....  Two-maybe-3 months later he's over for coffee and starts whining about there is nothing to watch on his dish that we didn't get on our cable. " Uh huh, "here's your sign" [Bill Ingvall, comedian].

[kodydog]

Speaking of television, who remembers how exciting it was going from black and white to color?

What kills me about all of these channels is that there still isn't anything worth a crap on to watch.  I speak from experience about that having spent the last two weeks planted on my couch.  Granted we no longer have cable, just a Roku and then have purchased Netflix and a few other services.  But still there are a gazillion shows, etc available and most of them are not worth a crap.  The biggest problem with the Roku is that Amazon has stuck their ugly little finger in the pie.  To watch an episode of The Closer for example, it is like $2.00 an episode.  As many old repeats as we watch, that would add up to a tidy sum in a good month, not to mention this point in time where I'm stuck on the couch. 

Another generation is going to ask what cable is.  LOL

Virginia

We gave up cable/satellite over 10 years ago for the very reason you mention. We had antenna for about 5 years and that finally crapped out on us. Really don't miss broadcast TV. That and I'm way too cheap to pay for something I just don't enjoy. We have a standing Friday night movie night date with pizza and ice cream. We barrow the movie from the library. How many generations before library's are obsolete.

We visited my 88 year old uncle a couple weeks back. His phone rang and he answered it. My cousin snickered at his flip phone and said, when was the last time you saw one of those. Ha ha. I didn't bother to tell him that's what I use.

I've been hearing rumors in about 10 years you won't be able to do anything without a smart phone. Buy groceries, gas, pay bills, have your sofa recovered, etc, etc.

[Rich]

Discussion has come up on this site about dwindling interest and sofadoc posts an off-topic item and it goes to two pages in two days!
Just a thought, maybe we should convert to a "nostalgia" format:)

Back to the subject, when I was reading the first post, it made me think about how easy it is for a radical idea to be accepted over time since young people have no direct experience with the past. They start from a new baseline which allows them to be more accepting of ideas their parents rejected. Before long, what was considered "off-the-wall" is now endorsed.
I've seen it happen over and over.
Rich

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

Yup, I remember when I was in early grade school shopping down town in the supper.  I saw a gentleman with his Navy tat (think Popeye) on his bicep.  I asked my mother what that was as I had never seen a tattoo before.  She explained what it was, why he had it and followed with something like "only people in the military or ex-convicts have tattoos" and then continued with her rationale which I don't think would pass freshman logic.  But she probably was correct, except that she left out circus performers, in her categories of people who got tattoo'd in the early 60's. 

Turn the clock many decades later and tattoos are commonplace and generally accepted, even among women.  And not just one or two tattoos but covering arms, legs, necks, faces and "scalp" tattoos.

Body piercings are the same, though you don't see as many piercings as you are liable to see tattoos.  But again in my youth and teens, women would have one piercing in each lobe and men never.  Then it became fashionable for men to have one lobe pierced and now anything that can be pierced on both sexes is pierced.

Clothing is interesting as I've lived long enough to watch hemlines go up and down and now up again.  The only thing that shocks me about hemlines now is how short they are.  I've seen teenage girls in shorts so short that you could see several inches of "cheek" when they were standing still -- don't want to think what happened when they actually bent over.  Right before I broke my knee, I altered several prom dresses for "Winter Ball".  One dress was striking - black with silver print on it but it was without a doubt the shortest dress I have ever seen and I wondered how she would possibly be able to dance in it without showing more than should be socially acceptable even in today's standards.  In a few more years, hem lengths will go back down again.  It's the way of the world.

Virginia

[sofadoc]

We gave up cable/satellite over 10 years ago for the very reason you mention. We had antenna for about 5 years and that finally crapped out on us. Really don't miss broadcast TV. That and I'm way too cheap to pay for something I just don't enjoy.

We're all different I guess.

I have the full 200+ channel cable package including all the premium channels (HBO, etc.). Also have Netflix and Amazon Prime, and Hulu. This is just at my house. At my shop, I have a 72 channel cable package. I mainly watch sports. We DVR a few programs that my wife and I watch when we have some downtime.

Between talking on the phone, surfing the net, and watching TV, I pay well over $500 a month. Sometimes over $600 when my grandson starts playing games on my I-phone that cause me to go way over my data plan.

All this talk may seem way off topic. But actually, I enjoy reading about other upholsterer's lifestyles as much as I do shoptalk. In fact, most of the shoptalk here has been over-talked to the point that we're just re-hashing tired old topics.

Virginia: Don't get me started on tattoos. When my daughters turned 18, I told them that even though they were now legal adults, and can do whatever they want, I was retaining ONE jurisdiction over them...........if they ever come home with a tattoo, I'm scrapin' it off with a cheese grater. Even if I have to go clean down to the bone.

I'm not really opposed to tattoos (as long as they're on someone else). Some of them look pretty cool. But there are so many people that just don't know when to quit. Like booze and cigs, I figure the best way to quit, is don't start.

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

LOL, hubby hates tattoos.  I am okay with them if you don't cover every available surface. 

Before I "did" my back, I wanted to get a tattoo.  Bob had a cow and said that people put pictures on their body that they wouldn't think of having on their living room walls.  I started laughing and laughing as all I wanted to do was put a small red Husker "N" on one of my shoulder blades.  At the time, we were at the top of our Husker insanity period.  I walked him into the living room and pointed out the three Husker pictures that were hanging on the walls.  He finally avowed that what I wanted wasn't obnoxious and most people wouldn't ever even see it.

I was going to have it done the next time we were in Grand Island as we still lived in KS then and I wanted to use the tattoo artist that my BIL, George, uses.  Fast forward several months later and I trashed my back and ended up getting a series of epidurals in my lower back.  I almost passed out from the first one it hurt so bad.  Doc told me that I had the thickest layer of inflammation he had ever seen and that was why it hurt so bad.  At that point, I no longer had any desire to have any more needles stuck in my body so I never got my Husker "N" tattoo.  We have now pretty much given up on College sports anyway so I'm just as glad I didn't get it tattoo'd.

Virginia

[SteveA]

I had the roof antenna until it was no longer effective.  We got cable; the full package, and the first series we watched was The Soprano's and were hooked.  Now we have the DVR to tape shows we miss.  I don't mind the cost because it's a luxury we enjoy -
My Children are covered with tattoos - my Wife and I have none.  My Daughter's first rebellious act was a tongue piercing @ 16 - now she's 36.
We wanted to kill her but there was no sense - we couldn't stop her or any of them from that stuff.  They'll never admit they regret it but they do.   

SA

[sofadoc]

They'll never admit they regret it but they do.

Thats the biggest difference I've noticed over the years as public acceptance of tattoos has evolved.

Whereas before, most people eventually regretted their tattoos, nowadays I don't think they do.

Even church going soccer moms don't regret them.

[SteveA]

You're right - it's become part of the landscape but in our Family our daughter no longer has the tongue ring, one tat was covered over with another and two of the boys are cops so they keep covered as best as possible - no face book - no social media
If someone invents a product that removes tats you'll see those soccer Moms lining up
SA

[sofadoc]

The tattoo thing always reminds me of a young waitress who was pouring my coffee about 15 years ago.

She was telling everyone that tomorrow was her 18th birthday, and the first thing she was going to do was get a tattoo.

I asked her if she realized that eventually the day would come when she regretted that tattoo.
She immediately nodded and said "Oh yeah......I know that".

Of course, then I asked "So if you acknowledge that you'll someday regret it, why are you getting one?"

She replied "Just to show my parents that I'm in charge now".

I asked her if she had ever heard the expression "Cutting off your nose to spite your face".

After staring blankly for a few seconds, she said "Oh.....no.....I'm not getting the tattoo on my nose".

I've seen the girl a few times since then. Always at various convenience stores around town. Both arms are now heavily tatted. She is a single mom with 4 kids. She works 2 minimum wage jobs, and starts every day out with a couple of Monster Energy drinks and Power Bars to get her through the day because she can't sleep at night.  She also buys a couple of Mountain Dews to keep her going.

I've subtly suggested that it might be all that artificial energy crap that is preventing her from sleeping at night. But hell, she didn't listen when she was 18, what's the chance now?

[gene]

In my best Mr. Rogers impersonation:

OK boys and girls, here we go.

Does everyone know what a thong is? Some folks call it 'butt floss'. Can you say "thong"? I think that's a fun word to say.

Does everyone know what a tramp stamp is? Can you say "tramp stamp"? That's more difficult to say than "thong", isn't it?

End of Mr. Rogers impersonation.

Several days ago I was in line at a store and a young lady, 20 years old or so, bent over.

She had a tramp stamp of a thong.  ???

What I find most amazing is that I've told this to my wife and a lot of other people and they've all seen it before! I must live a very sheltered life.

gene

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

LOL Gene.

When I worked for the furniture store in KS, my assistant loved her some thongs.  She was in our boss's office one day, listening him to ramble on (for like over an hour) and I could see that she was reaching over her waistband, pulling her thong out and letting it snap her (not hard) and then repeating the process.  Near as I could tell, she did that the entire time she was in the boss's office.  She said he was rambling and that kept her from falling asleep.

Virginia

[Rich]

In my best Mr. Rogers impersonation:

OK boys and girls, here we go.

Does everyone know what a thong is? Some folks call it 'butt floss'. Can you say "thong"? I think that's a fun word to say.

Does everyone know what a tramp stamp is? Can you say "tramp stamp"? That's more difficult to say than "thong", isn't it?

End of Mr. Rogers impersonation.

Several days ago I was in line at a store and a young lady, 20 years old or so, bent over.

She had a tramp stamp of a thong.  ???

What I find most amazing is that I've told this to my wife and a lot of other people and they've all seen it before! I must live a very sheltered life.

gene

Uh oh Gene, sounds like somebody's been in the shop too long ;)
Rich