It's 2025. What things do you miss now that we used to have?

[Gingerbread Demon]

Oddly enough I miss VCRs. I missed the convenience of being able to record a program when you're home, or to schedule it for when you are out.

Yeah I know they lack in picture quality and all, i just miss using tapes a lot.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

I would have to say the convenience of airline travel. I hate having to arrive at the airport 2-3 hours before your flight just so you can wait in line to be screened by the TSA. Gone are the days when you can pull up to the terminal, get dropped off, sprint to the gate and board the flight with minutes to spare. Also, the legroom as well as the in-flight meals.

 

[LAFR]

Johnny Carson

 

[auntiehill]

Um...I'm going to go with legal rights and government representation. Oh, and human decency.

 

[1001001]

Hope

 

[Tosk]

I know this sounds like real 'old people' talk, but I miss things being really made to last. Not only does a lot of stuff not seem to last now, but "they" have somehow convinced far too many people that it's not cool to still be using something that was made a little while ago.

 

[Velocity]

35 cent Dairy Queen ice cream sodas

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I know this sounds like real 'old people' talk, but I miss things being really made to last. Not only does a lot of stuff not seem to last now, but "they" have somehow convinced far too many people that it's not cool to still be using something that was made a little while ago.

100% agree with this.

Especially true for things like phones. Why can't you still use your phone that you got in 2023 but by clever marketing be made to feel you HAVE TO upgrade to the new model in 2024. I have a G21 that I got in 2022 and it's still going well despite being dropped more than a few times and, well it's still kicking along. Why should I have to change if it does all I want?

 

[HIjol]

Broadsheet Newspapers…with all the sections in the Sunday Editions.

 

[DEWLine]

Sunday editions.

 

[Timewalker]

Oddly enough I miss VCRs. I missed the convenience of being able to record a program when you're home, or to schedule it for when you are out.

Yeah I know they lack in picture quality and all, i just miss using tapes a lot.

There are so many series I had on VHS, whether Star Trek, other shows, movies, and documentaries... holy crap. I had all of James Burke's Connections and The Day the Universe Changed, Michael Woods' history series about Troy/the Trojan War, a six-part series the King's Singers did about madrigals, The Story of English, and a lot of UK/Australian stuff that's hard to get in North America now (Tenko and Bangkok Hilton). I wore out about 3 sets of I, Claudius from rewatching them so often. And I have still have the commercial set of the original Star Wars trilogy that was released before Lucas started "improving" them. In that set, Han shot first.

And so much more. I only just got to rewatch the Richard Chamberlain version of Man in the Iron Mask recently because tubi has a bunch of his movies on offer after his recent death. It's light-years ahead of that ridiculous diCaprio fluff.

I know this sounds like real 'old people' talk, but I miss things being really made to last. Not only does a lot of stuff not seem to last now, but "they" have somehow convinced far too many people that it's not cool to still be using something that was made a little while ago.

The jacket I wear now is the same one I bought in the 1990s. It's not in pristine condition by any stretch, but it does me for spring through -20C (even -25C if there's no wind chill and I'm wearing enough layers underneath).

During my many moves since starting apartment life, people have wondered why I still have a lot of the things my grandparents had. It's because they work. I'm asked why don't I throw them away and get new stuff?

Because new stuff just doesn't last. It's not intended to last. I even still have crossword puzzle books I bought in 1979 and hadn't completed them all. In the meantime I learned how to do some of the types of puzzles I hadn't before, so now I've got a stack of stuff that might be 40 years old, but it's like brand-new as far as some of the content is concerned.

100% agree with this.

Especially true for things like phones. Why can't you still use your phone that you got in 2023 but by clever marketing be made to feel you HAVE TO upgrade to the new model in 2024. I have a G21 that I got in 2022 and it's still going well despite being dropped more than a few times and, well it's still kicking along. Why should I have to change if it does all I want?

My phone is a landline. It doesn't leave the apartment. It's plugged into the jack. It doesn't take pictures, or even messages. And it drives other people crazy when I tell them they can't text me.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

My phone is a landline. It doesn't leave the apartment. It's plugged into the jack. It doesn't take pictures, or even messages. And it drives other people crazy when I tell them they can't text me.

This is the way

 

[Timewalker]

This is the way

And I also don't get Amber Alerts for some kid who went missing 600 miles away, but people have gotten really angry with me for mentioning this, because apparently I should be out scouring the local gas stations and even under my own windows in case this kid from hundreds of miles away magically pops into existence downstairs or down the hill at 3 am.

(I'm not trying to be flippant about child kidnapping or runaways - just don't expect me to do anything about it if there's no realistic chance that I could. That's what cops are for.)

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I would have to say the convenience of airline travel. I hate having to arrive at the airport 2-3 hours before your flight just so you can wait in line to be screened by the TSA. Gone are the days when you can pull up to the terminal, get dropped off, sprint to the gate and board the flight with minutes to spare. Also, the legroom as well as the in-flight meals.

You know, there's a form of transportation with which you can still do that. It's called a "train." Or at least, it still exists until He Who Is Not Named decides to get rid of it.

I miss things being really made to last. Not only does a lot of stuff not seem to last now, but "they" have somehow convinced far too many people that it's not cool to still be using something that was made a little while ago.

Tell me about it. At the Printing Museum, we have linecasting equipment that's 5 years older (and 5 years crankier) than I am, and yet still perfectly serviceable. And we have presses that were already a century old before I was born, and still in regular use.

Luddites of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your upgrade treadmills!

 

[Kraig]

The Gros Michel banana, replaced in the late 1950s by the Cavendish.

 

[Timewalker]

You know, there's a form of transportation with which you can still do that. It's called a "train."

I didn't realize that trains operate over/under/through the Pacific, Atlantic, and the rest of the oceans.

Even where I am, trains aren't an option. We used to have a depot and tracks in town. But "railroad relocation" was a buzzphrase in municipal politics for 20-odd years before they finally went ahead and did it. The tracks are out in the county and the depot got converted to office space. And every time the province gets yapping about high-speed rail between Edmonton and Calgary, it's a case of "yep, just ignore the other cities and towns, thanks so much."

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

Responses.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

Decorum, in general.

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Even where I am, trains aren't an option.

I wasn't aware you were Canadian. I suddenly find myself thinking of my first (partially) Canadian vacation. (I don't do single-destination vacations; I like my vacations complicated.)

At any rate, it was during the first Trump Administration, pre-COVID, and I'd decided that just in case I found myself "no longer joking" about permanently locating to Winnipeg, I should probably at least spend a vacation in Canada, including a Winnipeg stay. And so, on the tail end of a vacation that also included San Francisco and Seattle, I hopped a bus to Vancouver, BC, spent the day at Science World (rather conveniently located a short walk from the train station), and then got on VIA Rail Canada's Canadian, in the cheapest sleeper accommodation they'd sell me.

I quickly found out that while VIA Rail Canada is somewhat more luxurious than Amtrak (the food they serve sleeping car passengers is particularly superb), it has one glaring problem, especially during the wheat harvest season: the trains, at least through the Prairie provinces, run late. So late, they make Amtrak's worst on-time performance seem like Deutsche Bahn.

That trip, I went from Vancouver to Toronto, with a 2 or 3 day layover in Winnipeg (The Canadian only runs 3 times a week, so if you want an intermediate stop, it's going to be more than a 24-hour layover), arriving in Toronto just in time for the traffic jams created by British royalty arriving to attend the Invictus Games (and missing a planned visit to their science museum). A year later, I flew to Toronto, saw the things I'd missed because of the late train, then went on to visit Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island (by bus), and Newfoundland (by air). And so I've been to all 10 Provinces (I'd finished visiting all 50 States some years earlier).

My point, though, was that trains have nicer seats (though not as nice as they had a few years ago), with lots and lots of legroom, and you really can simply show up at the station, with ticket in hand, walk out to the platform, and get on board. It takes a lot longer than flying, but it's relaxing, and it's extremely energy-efficient.

 

[Timewalker]

I wasn't aware you were Canadian. I suddenly find myself thinking of my first (partially) Canadian vacation. (I don't do single-destination vacations; I like my vacations complicated.)

At any rate, it was during the first Trump Administration, pre-COVID, and I'd decided that just in case I found myself "no longer joking" about permanently locating to Winnipeg, I should probably at least spend a vacation in Canada, including a Winnipeg stay. And so, on the tail end of a vacation that also included San Francisco and Seattle, I hopped a bus to Vancouver, BC, spent the day at Science World (rather conveniently located a short walk from the train station), and then got on VIA Rail Canada's Canadian, in the cheapest sleeper accommodation they'd sell me.

I quickly found out that while VIA Rail Canada is somewhat more luxurious than Amtrak (the food they serve sleeping car passengers is particularly superb), it has one glaring problem, especially during the wheat harvest season: the trains, at least through the Prairie provinces, run late. So late, they make Amtrak's worst on-time performance seem like Deutsche Bahn.

That trip, I went from Vancouver to Toronto, with a 2 or 3 day layover in Winnipeg (The Canadian only runs 3 times a week, so if you want an intermediate stop, it's going to be more than a 24-hour layover), arriving in Toronto just in time for the traffic jams created by British royalty arriving to attend the Invictus Games (and missing a planned visit to their science museum). A year later, I flew to Toronto, saw the things I'd missed because of the late train, then went on to visit Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island (by bus), and Newfoundland (by air). And so I've been to all 10 Provinces (I'd finished visiting all 50 States some years earlier).

My point, though, was that trains have nicer seats (though not as nice as they had a few years ago), with lots and lots of legroom, and you really can simply show up at the station, with ticket in hand, walk out to the platform, and get on board. It takes a lot longer than flying, but it's relaxing, and it's extremely energy-efficient.

You've seen a lot more of the country than I have. I've only been in Alberta and BC, but on the other hand, I've seen a lot of both provinces. I'd love to take a trip on VIA. I was trying to talk my grandmother into it when we still had train service here, but by that time she wasn't into much traveling. She said, "You go" and I figured it wouldn't be much fun alone, so I didn't go. Same situation with Expo in 1986. I could have gone, but with nobody to go with, where's the fun?

Besides, the amount of money it would have cost for Expo paid for about 4 science fiction conventions instead. That was a better deal, as far as I was concerned.

As for vacations being complicated, that's very true these days. Most Canadians are boycotting U.S. destinations and even layovers there. Some Americans have this notion that they won't be welcome in Canada for vacations, but that's a mistaken impression. Just don't mention Trump, the "51st state" bullshit, and so forth. We don't take that as a joke here.

There's some BS going around social media that our Prime Minister closed the Alaska highway. That's false. The only concern in that region is due to wildfires. The government doesn't want anyone to risk getting trapped, so some highways may be closed temporarily if the fires are too close.

Oh, and be aware that there's a measles epidemic in Alberta. Our premier is an anti-vaxxer moron, refuses to make measles vaccines mandatory, so the cases are skyrocketing. Plan accordingly, if you haven't had your shots or you/someone you're traveling with may have health complications.