Old skills and Nostalgia-- what to save, what to trash
Posted by Specialist-Leek8645@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 99 comments
Doesn't it feel like we've been holding on to the Old Era skills we internalized while trying to keep up with tech? Now there's a huge nostalgia boom that feels like our whole society misses the old times, even those born recently. Suddenly deep memories keep getting exhumed. I mean Hell, last night my RM was browsing and a kid talking about The Elephant Show came on. Skinamarinkidink! I see talk of wanting the old Internet back. It would have to be us who build that one too if we want any of the old personality to persist in V2.0. Or should that die with us? Did we mess up?
We have a lot of "obsolete" skills. What do you think younger ppl don't know how to do that they should? What skills should we try to pass on that we could be the last to know about? How to write a check? How to drive stick shift? Do ppl still use the hanging scales at grocery stores? Always feel like you're in the past, there.
elektrik_noise@reddit
I have 2 friends that are teachers and apparently bc of growing up on tablets a lot of kids don't know how to type. Like, it was a blind spot bc we just assumed since they "grew up with technology" they'd figure it out. They didn't have message boards in the early 00s that required the absolute highest exertion of passion, thus teaching us to type faster than those stupid cardboard keyboard covers ever did lol.
aaaa, bbbb, cccc... fml I hated that!
Big-Honeydew-961@reddit
I took keyboarding in high school. I’m a WPM wizard.
Tripl3Dee@reddit
I can typing as one of those skills that'll fade away in importance as voice to text gets better.
tagehring@reddit
But not proofreading. ;)
(I kid, I kid.)
Tripl3Dee@reddit
Ha! Leaving it in place for posterity, lol
tagehring@reddit
The real MVP.
jessek@reddit
I have a theory that really only younger Gen X and Millennials know how to use computers. There are exceptions of course, like baby boomers who were engineers or young kids who are nerdy, but the xennial age group grew up with using computers when they were difficult to use and developed actual knowledge.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
(Elder Millennial) I started shoving hardware together pretty early, before I knew much about software. We were kinda taught to just sit in the pile of toys and entertain ourselves, I think. Many of us liked tinkering and experimenting to see what worked and what didn't. Our games were all trial and error, fail after fail after fail. Get back up, keep going. We taught ourselves a lot of random things bc we didn't have instant access to information. We figured it out ourselves.
tagehring@reddit
I remember being handed a hand-me-down TRS-80 Model 4 as an 11 year old with some disks and the manual and being told to have fun.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
haha nice! My first computer was from an uncle's job after an upgrade. It had two 5.25" floppy drives, that's it. I'm so happy to see kids playing w the old machines we left behind.
tagehring@reddit
These were being cast off from the newsroom of the Daily Press newspaper in Newport News, Virginia in the early '90s, I think that was when they finally upgraded to Macs. A friend's dad was a reporter there and scored a couple.
elektrik_noise@reddit
I would tend to agree. We were able to grow and evolve with computers. Like yeah, we can use tablets too bc they're high powered idiot versions of actual computers. But actually knowing how to use a computer and become at least proficient in MS Office suite is a dying art. Which is wild bc, while it is kind of acceptable to not be a wiz in Excel, the rest of the suite was always very user friendly to me.
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
It's funny you call tablets "idiot versions of actual computers." While I enjoy the convenience of having a tablet when I fly because I can watch a movie on them or something like that, I otherwise have a disdain for them. Give me a real computer any day of the week. Apparently, it makes me a bit of an old fogey to prefer a laptop, though.
tagehring@reddit
I *need* a physical keyboard. The tactile feedback is crucial.
elektrik_noise@reddit
I'm sorry, I didn't mean they're for idiots bc their interfaces are much simpler. I kind of meant it like smart phone vs dumb phones. But they are much more powerful than the laptops or desktops we came up with. Sorry for the confusion.
Also laptop always for me. I'll use it on a plane without issue. It's a macbook so it's pretty slim and I like having it sit on the tray table securely in case of turbulence.
tagehring@reddit
Which baffles me, because Excel is... stupidly easy to use. I can't function without having an open spreadsheet to jot notes or do quick back of the envelope calculations in.
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
This was an issue with our son. I'll never forget he had to write a paper on his computer and he was hunting and pecking slower than my grandma. I had to figure out a fun way to get his speed up, so I taught him how to place his hands and I downloaded Typing of the Dead and let him play that game to get his speed up.
It was a little awkward having him type curse words and see zombie titties bouncing everywhere, but it worked.
Silas_Akron@reddit
I sure tried to type like most humans but my hands simply won't accept those types of brain requests, lol. That said, I was eventually able to figure out how to type with three fingers and maintain around 40 WPM, which works well enough (luckily for me, fast typing speed has never been something I've ever needed professionally).
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
I don't think I'll ever be able to type on a phone screen without swearing.
_buffy_summers@reddit
My daughter learned how to type pretty early because she would watch me type on my keyboard, and she'd sit down and pretend she was typing. One of her favorite things to do, as a toddler, was wait until I was in the bathroom so that she could go type her name on my computer and then run off before I could catch her doing it. When she got old enough, I introduced her to typing tutor and stuff like Number Munchers.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
That's precious. I could imagine getting yelled at for doing that lol. She was copying you and playing. Wanting to learn to type to be like your parent so they're proud of you sounds pretty good.
Mr_Perfect22@reddit
RM?
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
Sry, I never know which of my abbreviations are normal haha
RoomMate
kellyasksthings@reddit
Raising my kids has really had me thinking of my memories of generations past and their little quirks, sayings, lingo, songs/rhymes, habits, traditions, foods and social histories etc etc and how those things can just pass out of existence if I don’t pass them on. It’s crazy that our generation is the one with memories of those older generations, and when we’re gone their memory will be gone. Just as I never really appreciated that my grandparents had personal, lived memories of my great great grandparents.
I have been intentional about using more interesting and archaic language on occasion with my kids, teaching old schoolyard rhymes, and how to play “grandmother, grandmother, pop out of bed” with convolvulus.
Lots of people are cancelling their subscriptions due to cost and shitty services. I wonder if making models of churches and sailing ships from matchsticks will ever come back in fashion? And all the weird seashell crafts, collecting stamps/coins, pressing flowers, quilling paper. The finished product was never the point, it was always the process.
I’m steadily working on acquiring all my grandma skills. Vege gardening, canning, fermenting, baking, thrifty cooking (not just fancy recipes with lots of food waste), making herbal medicines, embroidery. I’m intimidated by knitting bc I’m a bit kack handed.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
When I was a toddler I knew I wanted to be just like Grandma. I learned as much as I could but there could have been more.
These old skills now feel more like emergency activities for a storm / power outage. Bring out the board games. Power is too reliable now; parents would need to schedule a low-tech day. Cut the power. Kinda reminds me of Shabbat..
Grandma had lots of weird things she'd say, but it was mostly broken Portuguese mixed with English, having sat for a generation. Foods, expressions, rhymes about a rat stealing your cheese. Years later, I learned what actual Portuguese words she was trying to say and it all made sense. She taught me crochet, old ladies often have their preference. I prefer knitting bc I like the security of having my tension on the needles. I ended up learning skills she didn't have, but could have, like spinning wool. I'll never forget her story about how to butcher a pig, tho.
lol are you UK? I kinda like "Kack Handed"
"The finished product was never the point." --- YES, exactly, you get it. We need to say it this way. That's the key to this.
Balthierlives@reddit
I was just thinking back to a job I had like 20 years ago where I was doing g a lot of translating. I had quite a lot of time to sit there are translate our financial earnings statements and what not.
I’m sure all of that work has been automated now and there’s zero reason to really hire a person to hand translate everything at least to the extent. This was a time when we were thrilled to just have the online dictionaries that existed.
And it’s probably better the way it is now. Though of course anytime you actually have to do something rather than ask a tool to do it for you you do learn more I guess. I remember really getting certain sentence structures down in my mind and what not. Probably a lot more than you would get today.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
Yeah, right after I got my French/German degree things started changing, but it's not like I would have had a ton of options anyway. Now there's definitely no way to get a language job as a non-native speaker.
My other idea was to go for a masters in Egyptology, of which those languages are prerequisites. I wish I had, but am glad I didn't.
As a society we don't prioritize self-control or discipline (no, we don't need Hegseth's toxic masc). I'm ready for Matriarchy. We have to be careful balancing concepts like "online time," which was literally just invented. I can have every webpage instantly translated for me, but I have to say no sometimes. Why did I make Language my passion if I'm going to use those? I used to spend hours as a kid doodling glyphs, inventing alphabets and language systems. It was my favorite thing.
Edgarmustavas@reddit
Breaking an elbow into ozs and halves using a cheap, metal mail scale, then deciding what to do with the shake, stems, and thousands of seeds.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
lol The era of Weeds. Good show. ;D
BobbyP27@reddit
I can still remember the home phone numbers of several of my friends from the mid 1990s.
worlds_okayest_skier@reddit
Bring back Geocities!
Verbull710@reddit
They deleted shop and home ec right after my class went through
start with those
LumpyJump6091@reddit
I told my mom a while back that one of my biggest high school regrets is not taking home ec. I've gotten pretty good at cooking/budgeting/meal planning over the years, but I still can't sew worth a damn except for putting a button back on.
cmgww@reddit
At least in my school district, they are opening a brand new career center… welding, pipe fitting, electrician training, nursing pre-training, all kinds of vocational stuff. I am glad they are doing it, luckily the school has a great FACS (family & consumer sciences) program….The more modern term for home/ec, and they still have industrial arts but it was outsourced in the past decade or so. With the way things are going all of my three boys will be going into the trades…. Or at least a specific certification program. I am not pushing them towards a useless college degree, especially with the rise of AI.
ONROSREPUS@reddit
Agree. Plus maybe some more money management classes that need to be required.
seamonkey420@reddit
yea, they REALLY need to teach personal finance and budgeting in high school.
Fickle_Wrangler_7439@reddit
They do though. I distinctly remember having budgeting and investment classes and helping my much younger half sister with her homework.
It's not the teachers' fault if y'all aren't paying attention...
seamonkey420@reddit
ok buddy... as i sit here retired...
Astrazigniferi@reddit
They absolutely do teach those in high school, but it’s the class that everybody skips. At my high school, it included a unit on birth control, so the crazy families exempted their kids from the whole class.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
And apparently, how to keep track of your subscription services... Do ppl not see how these are being defined like a Utility bill? I don't even have those on autopay. I over complicate everything, but maybe a spreadsheet is still better than an app for finances.
MrVeazey@reddit
If it's too easy, you don't notice the money leaving your account. The people taking it from you want you not to notice.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
Oh of course it's 100% intentional. Life Skills are things we need to survive, including against rogue capitalism. We should teach how to not get swindled into every popup ad. Clear psychology being used; once you see it you can't not see it. They're trying to convince you that you need smthing. Did you need it before they shoved it into your face?
Astrazigniferi@reddit
I wish they’d bring back Home Economics the way it was originally created - as the knowledge for running a household. Budgeting, home maintenance, the chemistry of cleaning products, knowing when it’s worth fixing something vs time to get a new one, organizational systems, how to record finances, how to make food stretch to fit the budget while maintaining food safety. Home ec was watered down over the decades until it was just sewing and cooking, which was easy to eliminate as a fluff elective. Originally, it was real life skills.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
We had Shop but they shifted the focus to a practical tech class where we used LEGO Technic to build robots. Bridges, towers, weight-bearing experiments. It would have been nice to learn woodworking like my grandfather but my family were not great teachers.. Mom had Home Ec and I tried to learn some of that from her but the woman had a panic attack trying to thread the sewing machine so I taught myself.
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
My school didn't have wood shop, but we had a mechanic shop and we had a welding shop. All the backwoods types took the welding classes, and their final at the end of the year would be to build an offset smoker.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
The way you say "backwoods types" make me think you're from my hometown. Sounds like my brother and his friends. He taught himself to drive when he was 12, I think. They would have ridden dirt bikes to school if they could have. I remember one party he threw where they had a mattress bonfire and shot guns into the woods at night. Memories.
The smoker sounds awesome tho, ngl.
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
I went to high school in what used to be a rural area, but was developed more into an exurb, but there were still lots of people whose families were from around back in the day. You know, the good ol' boy huntin' and fishin' types. The kind who wear camo everywhere. Those were the guys who took those classes. lol
I can say I've definitely been to my share of bonfires out in the oilfields.
Silas_Akron@reddit
I loved home-ec! So few people took it, even 30 years ago. My high school didn't even have a "shop" class, they were rare in my area. Personal finance wasn't talked about anywhere I existed... except at home. That's the thing - if parents don't reinforce and encourage a lot of behaviors and interests, they're less likely to stick and/or to be valued by kids. Kinda has to be an attack on both fronts.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
I got the impression that my parents' generation didn't feel they needed Home-Ec, graduating into the 80s. Talking about finances at home has decreased to only affluent families. Schools always assumed your parents would teach you but it's been a long time that we've needed widespread financial literacy classes in HS. If we can handle that, I think we should teach those concepts even younger. It's resource management. When to give away all your apples and when to put some aside for later.
CubicleHermit@reddit
Already gone by the time I got to high school - although my high school was a weird one (exam-based and 100% college prep back to long I was born) and I'm not sure it ever had shop. It did have home ec at one point but long gone by the time I got there.
lavasca@reddit
My school never had those. I remember seeing tv shows referring to them. I so looked forward to those and the egg quality.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
I looked forward to them too but they were never offered in my small town. :[
SeaSkimmer2@reddit
That starting a cold, old, carbureted vehicle will take a little longer and a little patience.
And when you turn the key off after a fully-warmed up run, the engine may still lug on its own for a little bit.
CubicleHermit@reddit
I've never had a carb in a car, just in motorcycles, and I'm so glad it's a dead technology. Never having to pay to have someone clean out a carb for me is a good thing.
MilitantApathist@reddit
Counterpoint... I'll happily keep carbs and distributor caps and simple wiring harnesses and mechanical fuel pumps and manual transmissions and so on until it becomes literally impossible to find them anymore. I much prefer that to the modern alternatives where whenever anything goes wrong, the only solution is to pay the dealer a bunch of money to plug your car into a proprietary computer to tweak proprietary software that is either ridiculously expensive or you just aren't allowed to own.
No complaints if drum brakes completely fade from existence, though.
CubicleHermit@reddit
There's a long way in between; you have 1980s-style throttle-body injection is nearly as simple as a carb, but requires hugely less maintenance. MPFI dates back to the 1980s as well, and the versions back then are still something anybody can learn to work on.
I've never had a car with a distributor, but the 1980s-style electronic ignition is typically a cheap part to replace, and no points to eff around with.
OBD-II isn't proprietary, and by the time a car gets old enough to need debugging, most of the data behind it won't be either.
The most recent car I've owned that needed any kind of non-recall repair work was a 2006 (the 2012 having been destroyed by flooding at about 12 years old, without ever having needed a repair) and a $20 bluetooth code scanner and some free software on Android plus a google search told me exactly what part to replace. Paid my local guy to do it for me, but no dealer needed.
Beat the heck out of figuring out why my college car (an '87 Fiero) was backfiring and having to replace emissions bits by trial and error. Although that was a darn easy car to work on with the 4-cyl, the engine bay was huge by comparison.
If I'm going to complain about something, it's the move to integrated "infotainment" systems rather than just having a radio head unit I can replace, completely separate from the car's systems. I don't see one bit of value in having my heater/AC controls having to be through a screen, and not being able to upgrade the audio as cars go out of date is a real loss.
MilitantApathist@reddit
Totally agree about the infotainment systems, and yeah obd-ii is not propriety and is totally fine for reading codes. That'll tell you if you've got a bad o2 sensor or something like that, but I was talking more about the dealer software to modify the ECU. Throttle response, air fuel mix, idle speed, and things like that. Dead simple with carbs (or early fuel injection systems), not so much when it's all dictated by the ECU.
Hell, even my chainsaw "automatically" adjusts for elevation, fuel quality, and temp changes. That's great when it's working the way it's supposed to, but when it's not, it turns an issue that could have been easily fixed in five minutes with a screwdriver into something that requires a trip to an authorized Stihl dealer.
BasvanS@reddit
Drum brakes are making a comeback though, in EVs. Since braking is mainly done via the engine, putting power back into the battery, the pure brake mechanism is there as a backup. Drum brakes are the perfect system for that.
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
One of the reasons I got rid of my classic mustang when I was in high school (which I still regret, btw) was because I got tired of getting stuck in the school parking lot after school because I flooded the carb.
Silas_Akron@reddit
Depends on the carb/engine and how well maintained it is... or isn't, haha. For example, a nicely maintained 350 Olds I had with a Quadrajet on top would start even on the coldest of days with just two pumps of the accelerator. However, I also had a 410 Mercury + Autolite 4100 with manual choke that refused to start in all but perfect conditions unless you poured around 4oz of fuel into the intake then waited for about 60 seconds, choke input be damned. I never had anything that'd diesel due to deposits luckily. Glad we no longer have to take heads off car engines to de-coke chambers and whatnot.
SeaSkimmer2@reddit
Yeah, I had a 305 in a crapped out Camaro that probably shouldn’t have even been on the road, which I now believe had a bad accelerator pump. Drove that shitbox for about 9 months, no A/C in Florida, and each Flowmaster tailpipe I had installed was probably worth more than the car, let alone the soundsystem I installed. 🤘 But hey, it had 4 wheels and (barely) got me from A to B, and I learned alot about cars from that experience.
Silas_Akron@reddit
Owning junk was a formative and important experience for many of us! I'm over problem-children vehicles at this point though, they're just not fun (or cheap!) anymore.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
See, you explained the WHY. That's important.
WintryLadyBits@reddit
Oh we are definitely in the past with some stuff. I still memorize phone numbers when these days they are easily saved on my cellphone. But if your phone dies when you are stranded somewhere you will be glad you know those numbers.
The big one for me is maintaining privacy online. Don’t doxx yourself. Don’t put everything you do online with ten pictures. Don’t put your little kids faces and activities all over social media. And for the love of god don’t publicize that you are on vacation. I don’t know how younger people don’t think someone will break into their house while they are away.
The second one is talking to your neighbors. Don’t even get me started on the lack of community and not knowing how to relate to people different than you.
CubicleHermit@reddit
This may be one of the places where I fall more GenX than Xennial, but I came up on the early internet where nobody bothered to be anonymous, and I've got embarrassing Usenet posts out there archived back to barely into 1993 which was my junior year of high school (I think the Fido archives luckily never archived my corner of the net, or it would be even earlier.)
iamthe0ther0ne@reddit
WTF I THOUGHT I WAS SAFE
Now I have to go see if my years on alt.suicide.holiday and alt.bdsm got archived. fm
tagehring@reddit
One of the Eternal September cohort, I see.
WintryLadyBits@reddit
Yeah maybe I should have phrased that better. Let’s say that some of us know how to use more caution, because we have been online since the internet’s olden days. We are fully aware that whatever you put online will follow you around forevermore.
But yeah maybe I’m way more geriatric millennial with that. As a young girl on their internet back then I was always aware that a little paranoia would be helpful and necessary to stay safe. Same as with everything while woman to be honest.
I didn’t just assume that everyone online was a dangerous predatory weirdo, but I knew full well that those existed too. I loved talking to people on stuff like the AOL chat rooms, and other places like it. The feeling of global community and shared interests was awesome. But every time someone asked me"ASL?" I was like nope! Always was as vague as possible. And I never gave my name nor sent a picture as a file transfer. Does that make sense?
It is lovely that you met your wife when she responded to you. And it’s kind of cute that google groups still has it. But that is kind of my point. EVERYTHING is online for people now for their whole lives. Hell, I still get reminders on Facebook (yes still have to use it) for birthdays of people that are dead. Accompanied by their pictures.
grummanae@reddit
My job is unique in IT Id call myself a low voltage systems tech with networking and windows background
I can program a hosted or premises IP based PBX ... but also troubleshoot older analog and digital systems
Same with Camera and alarm systems i guess electric theory in A school paid off
frawgster@reddit
They should learn how to navigate thru the world without these stupid, magical computers in their pockets.
One of my cousins has a 9 year old kid that’s disallowed from interacting with screens, outside of school hours, unless mom gives her permission. The kid spends almost all her free time reading books, talking to her mother, and playing with their pets. Road trips are taken with physical books and magazines. She’s the most balanced, intelligent, normal (normal to me, at least) kid I know. She reminds me of what people from our generation were like at 9 years old. School effectively forces her to embrace technology just enough to be tech savvy enough to keep up with her peers and to begin to be a well-prepared young adult. At the same time, the restriction mom has keeps her away from the “toxic embrace” that being ruled by tech offers.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
The idea is catching on through observation and scientific studies that the fancier we make education the less effective it is. We expect our biology to keep up with what we want for society but our brains still want to learn with pencil and paper. If we are stubborn and don't switch back, there could be bad downstream effects. Why do they need screens at school again? Let's try overhead projectors and a computer safety class in a lab in a separate room, that's it for tech. Rotate outdoor classes when it's feasible. They can have a few hours online at home if the parents are prepared to monitor.
The online layer of society is evolved on top of the real world. We need need to grow and develop after birth the same way an embryo remembers ancestral animals as our flippers grow into fingers. Make childhood about Nature, young adulthood to learn about the real world and how to act in society, THEN when our minds have caught up we can enter the perilous online world already knowing about scams and flattery and basic human decency. Sounds like an alternate timeline. That's my take on it.
tagehring@reddit
"She reminds me of what people from our generation were like at 9 years old."
Sadly, she doesn't have a pack of similar 9-year-olds to go raise hell with.
CaptServo@reddit
navigating a dos prompt
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
In recent years I got back into Linux. At first, I kept finding myself typing DIR instead of LS but it came back to me. cd ..
CubicleHermit@reddit
The really old distributions used to alias
dirtols -l; these days, working with Linux professionally I have the opposite problem - I'll use the Unix shortcuts on the Windows command line.Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
Oh really? That's interesting I didn't know that. I feel ya, I bounce between MacOS and Linux. Gotta remember to swap ctrl for cmd all the time.
CubicleHermit@reddit
I have to go back and forth between all three (including Windows - my last job dropped Linux support directly so I was basically in WSL all day, plus a little use for gaming.)
I never got the hang of switching keyboard layouts - even on the Linux GUI I just use KDE with the old CUA shortcuts that Windows mostly uses - but with MacOS it's not too hard to reprogram it to use the same keyboard shortcuts.
For an OS I used to think of as very "our way or the highway" from back in the OS 7-8 days, it's actually pretty flexible now. There's a config file under
Library(or various third party tools that do remapping.)redditydothis@reddit
Fun fact. You can use some Linux commands in the powershell no on windows. Give ls a try!
RudyPup@reddit
Why the hell would anyone need to know dos anymore? They are only used really in legacy systems, and you learn those if you need to, or by higher end techs who use it to troubleshoot.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
To study the foundation of the house they will be building on to.
SlackerDS5@reddit
No. If you are smart you find a way to integrate them or transfer your base skills to something new.
I work in a government job. I remember codes and phone numbers to provide services. I have to look at and read maps in order to determine jurisdiction work. Or I go touch grass and look at trees, so I still use maps. I cook and do yard work so my home ec and shop classes have not gone to waste at all.
greendress888@reddit
Reading a map!!!
SickOfNormal@reddit
Is this considered a skill now?! I thought it was just common sense.... plus it gives you a bigger picture of where you are than looking at a zoomed in version on your phone.
premi3_m0m@reddit
Yes, I am proud to know this skill! We’re doing a roadtrip this summer to Colorado and was thinking do we need to get maps in case the gps goes out? Does AAA still have them? Where can get them now?🤔
greendress888@reddit
One of my very favorite "hacks" for a much anticipated vacation is months ahead, go to the state's website and request maps, brochures and travel information about which ever area you are going to. We did this when I was a kid and I literally just recently did this bc I am preparing for an out of state move. Grew up super poor and getting all the brochures and maps and magazines really pulled out every ounce of anticipation and planning and looking at the pictures. My mom carefully planned with us the things we most wanted to do and least wanted to do. Having those rankings helped her with budgeting for the trip. I also very much enjoyed those vacations the most.
po_ta_toes_80@reddit
As someone working in navigation, this is so true!
SickOfNormal@reddit
I fix my own car. I repair analog audio record players and receivers. Collect and listen to records. Still have a stack of speakers in my living room.
All the stuff I learned from the 80s/90s I still use. And the old timers on Youtube have taught me how to fix analog stuff from the 70's.
lickmybrian@reddit
Finding your identity without seeking the approval of strangers online
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit (OP)
Yeah, we are the last to remember not being online. Supposedly, a theory on the "Gen Z Stare" is that they're so afraid of being judged and criticized that they blank their faces into a mask to avoid being "cringe." Kinda makes sense. Maybe we need to bring back Cass Elliot!
lickmybrian@reddit
I can see the sense in that theory, having to constantly perform must get old.. I hate all the labels we have nowadays, I dont blame them for wanting to avoid it. Totally need to bring her back.
meenoSparq@reddit
I think the skill worth saving is patience. Waiting for a song to download, reading a manual, figuring something out without a tutorial video. That sounds boring, but it builds a weird kind of confidence.
j____b____@reddit
Woodworking and metalworking.
JamesMattDillon@reddit
Should have saved the shop classes.
moleculariant@reddit
I bet you could really impress people you want to keep in your life just by randomly reciting their own phone number to them. It's up to you if you want to devote time to that, but I bet you could resume the habit, if that strikes you as a worthy pursuit.
RudyPup@reddit
You sound like grandpa complaining about cursive. JFC
metmerc@reddit
I don't feel a strong need to keep a lot of the old era tech skills, especially with computers, but I do strongly value the foundational experience acquiring those skills. Having to navigate file systems in DOS and early Windows applications taught us where our files are on a computer. If the search fails me on, for example, Google Drive, I still know where I put that shit.
Ancillary to that, I think we had to do a lot more figuring stuff out than people need to do now. We didn't have YouTube to show us how to fix every little thing. In order to fix something, we had to look at it and figure out how it works to determine how to fix it. I have a lot of confidence that I can fix random mechanical things because of this.
MrMeesesPieces@reddit
Driving stick
FrenchFine@reddit
No don’t teach ‘em stick shift-it’s a built in anti-theft device!
KhalilRavana@reddit
I love you in the morning and in the afternoon. I love you in the evening underneath the Moon.
Not sorry. Now I have to go play with an elephant upon a spiderweb.