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  • Music in restaurants and bars is just too loud. I know why the music is loud, but I am still going to shake my fist at it like Grandpa Simpson.

    • Same. It's getting worse over time too, I can hardly hear anything anyone is saying in restaurants and bars anymore.

      I felt my inner boomer grow stronger after writing that.

    • I’ve thought this since I was young. Background music? Cool, keep it quiet so we can talk.

      Does this mean loud music is bad? No, I’ve been a put my head in the PA speakers metal head since I was young too. But I don’t expect a waiter to serve me then.

      Beyond that, it’s a known problem that as you get older audio distractions become more severe, and I’m sure there’s a neurodivergent dimension to it too, so it’s one of those things where we are actively punishing people for wanting to be out and socialise. Also sure it’s one of those things where everyone thinks they have to do it but don’t

  • Digital privacy is important, and it's important to be anonymous on the internet

  • When I was a kid, I could go out and play with other kids on the streets, without fear of being snatched or hit by a car or worse. We made Judas ragdolls before Easter just to burn them, and use them for practical jokes. We used to play some child version of cricket, I've even broke a window of a neighbour doing it.

    Children nowadays do not do any of those things dammit. What the fuck? How exactly are you growing up without leaving home? For some it's lack of desire, but for most of them it's outright lack of possibility.

    Screw this shit. The world is becoming worse.

  • Boomer opinions:

    • Stop being so loud.
    • Get off my lawn and please leave me alone.
    • I work in tech, but sometimes tech is added to things needlessly. I just want my washing machine to be a washing machine. I'm tired of being the product.
    • Silicon valley's "disruptors" are usually full of shit. The vast majority of the time: it ain't broke, don't fix it.
    • Don't tell me what to do with my land if you're not willing to pay my taxes (or if you don't have good ecological reasons). I'll paint my shudders whatever color I want to.
    • Bring back the damn knobs, buttons, and switches in my car. I don't need more touchscreens.

    On the other hand...

    • I recognize that the way I feel and some of the opinions I have are based on a context I grew up with that may no longer exist - or at least it may not exist in the form it once did. I recognize how I see things may die with me and my peers, and that's ok. It's a sad truth, but truth, nonetheless.

  • Basically any opinion of the modern Internet I give.

    I'm a certified computer expert, but I sound like a Luddite when it comes to anything mainstream.

  • Sneaker culture is incredibly weird. Shoes made by children in China with a limited edition color are in such high demand that there are sites where people refresh F5 constantly hoping to have the honor to pay hundreds and hundreds for shoes that cost $7.50 to make. Then half of the time people won't even wear them outside, they'll put them in a bag and change shoes when they get to work or whatever. Or some might not even wear the shoes at all and just display them.

    I'm an old soul in this sense. I love a quality goodyear welted shoe, and made in USA, UK, or Italy usually. An Allen Edmonds strandmok is a fantastic everyday shoe for me. I like to purchase nice things in general, use them, take care of them. I really hate throwaway culture as well.

    Please nobody hate me for this, I'm a bit self conscious being an admin of my own instance and don't want to piss people off haha. If you're into gym shoe culture that's awesome. If I knew you in real life I'd probably make fun of you for a minute if I saw you walking outside in socks carrying your $400 limited edition sneakers, but then you can make fun of me for one of the thousands of things I do and it's all in good fun.

  • You should be able to repair your own things, without too much money and effort

  • Notifications fucking suck, if it isn't either my alarm or my grandma's emergency button, my phone ain't gonna do a damn thing to alert me.

  • Physical media is superior. Don't get me wrong, I love the convince of being able to stream any song I want, whenever, from my phone. But you don't actually own that music, not even the digital music you bought.

    So having that physical backup is good. But also, it's just a fundamentally different experience, to have to put a record on a turntable, or a tape in a cassette deck, and listen to an album from back to front.

  • As a person who works in tech and is an early adopter for almost every new gizmo out there, I feel that we were better off back in the day when stuff was all analog and things were done manually.

    Sure it was inconvenient, but it made us experience the world more and actually interacted with real people. I have crappy social skills and I have seen the change in myself over the years. I get anxious when my phone rings now, as opposed to being excited back in the day.

    • This makes me think of a quote by Kurt Vonnegut:

      “I work at home, and if I wanted to, I could have a computer right by my bed, and I’d never have to leave it. But I use a typewriter, and afterward I mark up the pages with a pencil. Then I call up this woman named Carol out in Woodstock and say, “Are you still doing typing?” Sure she is, and her husband is trying to track bluebirds out there and not having much luck, and so we chitchat back and forth, and I say, “Okay, I’ll send you the pages.” Then I go down the steps and my wife calls, “Where are you going?” “Well,” I say, “I’m going to buy an envelope.” And she says, “You’re not a poor man. Why don’t you buy a thousand envelopes? They’ll deliver them, and you can put them in the closet.” And I say, “Hush.” So I go to this newsstand across the street where they sell magazines and lottery tickets and stationery. I have to get in line because there are people buying candy and all that sort of thing, and I talk to them. The woman behind the counter has a jewel between her eyes, and when it’s my turn, I ask her if there have been any big winners lately. I get my envelope and seal it up and go to the postal convenience center down the block at the corner of Forty-seventh Street and Second Avenue, where I’m secretly in love with the woman behind the counter. I keep absolutely poker-faced; I never let her know how I feel about her. One time I had my pocket picked in there and got to meet a cop and tell him about it. Anyway, I address the envelope to Carol in Woodstock. I stamp the envelope and mail it in a mailbox in front of the post office, and I go home. And I’ve had a hell of a good time. I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you any different.”

      I really believe that part of the loneliness and lack of community many people feel nowadays can be attributed to automating everything for convenience. We miss out on these brief interactions and meaningless smalltalk, giving us less chance to practice our social skills in low-stakes situations. I see the change even in myself; in my college days I didn't really experience much social anxiety since I was always surrounded by people, but now I sometimes find a quick trip to the grocery store somewhat difficult. It's really troubling to think about, and it makes me long for the analog past.

  • Dating should go back to face to face meetings. People need to get out and see others more, just generally.

    • No thank you. I can barely stand hearing somebody through a wall, why would I want to see them too?

      • Because dating hopefully takes place with individuums, to whom this limitation does not apply.

  • Google Docs Editors is inferior to any office productuvity suite, and it's overused in the professional world.

    I don't want your fucking Sheets link. Email me the Excel file with _v1 at the end.

95 comments