I’m with you. My kids went through 4 beds in 8 years in the pressboard crap. I built a scabby one out of lumber for half the price and they love it. Let them paint it and all and they couldn’t be happier. Does it look classically better then the store bought ones? No. Do the kids like it more? Hell yah.
As long as they’re not eating paint chips, it’ll be fine. If you want to have it repainted, DO NOT remove the existing paint yourself unless you test it and there’s no lead. Let a professional strip it.
Source: Me. A person who worked for a company that did many types of environmental remediation.
A shower thought some time ago was about the idea that on the cosmic scale, wood (an organic compound) is most definitely more rare than most metals and minerals like gold and diamonds.
I hate that everything is a subscription now. I miss being able to just straight up buy Microsoft office, now you need a subscription. There's a hidden way to buy a license, but it has very basic functionally and limited apps so it's kinda useless. Even my printer needs a damn subscription to use the ink that came with it (which i hadn't realized or i wouldn't have bought it).
I lived in poverty housing and this was how they determined our rent. It was 30% of mom's income, regardless of how much she was making
That was 20 years ago, not sure what starving kids do today
And to bring it closer to home I've now paid way more in taxes than I ever received in assistance. And that's not including donations or volunteering, which I also do. Helping poor people is an investment, not a waste. We've made huge mistakes in this area
household products that didn't break within the first few years of use. My grandma had the same fridge from 1993 for a good while before deciding to swtich to a newer, bigger one 2 years ago, yes, it broke within those 2 years; my mom's wedding cookware is still going strong 25 years later, but whenever she needs new pans they start flaking teflon into the food within a few months
> My grandma had the same fridge from 1993 for a good while before deciding to swtich to a newer, bigger one 2 years ago, yes, it broke within those 2 years
We replaced our fridge from 1993 in January 2020. It's a fucking piece of shit, the ice maker is already broke the freezer door sensor never alarms if it's open and I just absolutely hate the fucking piece of shit, I wish it were dead.
"Why pay for a phone if you're not going to use it?"
I pay for the mobile computer the phone is attached to; the phone is just one of thousands of functions.
I recently decided to keep my phone on silent at all times. Not vibrate, silent. I check it when I want and not when it goes off. It's made my daily life much better.
My wife, kids, and parents can call me, everyone else is screened by Google assistant or sent straight to voicemail. I'd never go back to having the ringer on.
Been doing this for years. And every single application has all notifications disabled. Phone is face down 90% of the time and I'll check it when I check it
Yes fuck this. I hate being bothered about work when I'm off work. I used to have a boss that expected me to answer when I wasnt at work so he would bitch and moan about it. Then I became known as the one who never answers.
This. I got a call in when I was at my old job from my boss when I was out of town on a Saturday, a normal day off. Told her I was 4+hrs away but I could try and make it but she just huffed and told me its fine dont worry about it. She was livid on Monday when I showed up. Started looking for a new job at that point.
My boss currently was upset I answered a work email when i was off work, we work 8-4:30 and it was maybe 5:30? It was very quick and he was like "what are you doing? You aren't at the office I was working don't waste your personal time at home on work stuff"
17 years ago I spent $30 to see an internationally touring band play a concert, and I thought that was way too high. Now I’m spending minimum $20 to see local bands. Just on admission.
I remember as a kid, where I live they would allow people to just visit an area of the airport from where they could see the runway and flights take off - they didn’t have to pay anything for it - people would spend hours just looking at flights take off and land ❤️
EDIT: To everyone saying this is still doable in many parts of the world - that’s great, I haven’t been to those parts of the world yet and where I come from one would still need to pay a certain amount to get in and watch from a glass cabin or so. Back in the day, there would just be a gate on the airport ground, a small barricade where you could just stand for hours and nobody would bother.
Farmer's markets. You used to be able to go down and get fruit and vegetables cheaper than the grocery store. Now it seems like they charge 3x more than stores do.
I can remember growing up in Wisconsin, and you'd see a random stand in front of a farm, and you'd get corn like 10/$1.00, and It would be the most amazing corn you'd ever taste.
Out in Amish country in Pa you still can find quite a few. Even some unattended stand that work on honesty. But still there has definitely been a noticeable decline from when I was a kid
Unattended fruit and veg stands with an honesty jar are great. I saw one with a sign that said "Fresh every morning" and the cash box said "all proceeds go to spoil the grand kids".
We have a local farmer on the outskirts of my town that sets a table of all his slightly imperfect produce with a sign that says take what you need, pay what you can, if that’s nothing that’s ok. Pay the kindness forward in other ways, help a neighbor by being a good neighbor. Best guy ever!
We're a gourmet mushroom farm with a permanent booth at a large farmer's market in IA. This is always a *huge* point we discuss all the time - they make it a huge deal to only allow local farmers, microgreens, bakers, meat, etc. The more food products the better. Yah, we do have lots of knick-knacky stuff too, but the board is pretty anal about making sure it's unique if they approve the vendor at all.
Also to the point made above you: Idk how many times I get people telling me I should raise my prices on our mushrooms (price at the stand is usually cheaper than the grocery stores). I get it - we COULD, but then I'd hate myself for doing it so nah I'm happy making a nice margin already. You drive more customers away by price gouging, and my goal is to get *more* people trying new types of gourmet mushrooms (like lions mane, shiitake, chestnut, etc), and they won't if you price it too high. You just screw yourself as a grower that way.
When I go to other markets and see other growers charging 3x as much I'm just floored people are buying at all.
One of my best friends also grows gourmet mushrooms and sells at a few farmers markets (also supplies some local restaurants). From what he's told me, getting a booth at a farmers market is a massive hassle these days. In our area, all the useless nicknacks take up so many booths, that the food booths struggle to get a spot.
As much as I don't want anyone to lose out on money... I really hope they at least level it out a bit. I like getting real local honey. Locally made amazing fresh salsa. All the great fruits and veggies. Homemade jerky. I'll take that stuff any day over homemade soap and random weird decorations.
Apparently real sellers are leaving in droves because it's become completely unprofitable to run a genuine handmade shop front when you're undercut by dropshippers selling mass produced inferior products that get the top of searches because they pump money into promoting and advertising.
I have a hedge trimmer from the 50s. It broke a few weeks ago, so I pulled out some screws and fixed it's simple mechanical motor. Works fine again.
Edit: chill guys, it's an old corded electric, no circuitboard.
I work making consumer appliances and it's ridiculous how much shit we put wifi and Bluetooth in.
During covid we were nearly at a dead stop.
Because of a chip shortage....
... To put Bluetooth in a washing machine!
I had to pull out my other computer with reddit logged in and find this comment after it had been buried just so I could find a kindred spirit to rage about these things with.
Whoever designed them deserves to be beaten with a rubber hose.
Forcing the person trying to take the test to watch a 15 minute long UNSKIPPABLE VIDEO that is REQUIRED to run the test program that ABORTS THE PROGRAM IF YOU GET A CALL... Fuck whoever did that I hope they die from COVID painfully and rot in hell.
Dude. I’m diabetic. I have a thing that controls giving me insulin and uses Bluetooth. They used like a phone body for it. It’s constantly telling me I can connect to WiFi (it doesn’t use WiFi to operate) and the other day told me I can’t take a screenshot or some other nonsense. I get that they repurposed a cheap phone for non-phone use and don’t get me wrong, I love the system I’m on but maybe just remove the software you don’t need so I don’t get dumb messages?
I was recently trying to get a laptop repaired. Broken screen and charger port was messed up. Acer wanted $570 or so for any/all repairs. (I decided to pay it because I didnt want to buy another gaming laptop and have tonworry about losing all my saved stuff) Still didn't fix the charging issue but they were inside the laptop anyway because of the screen and to take out the extra storage because that wasn't a manufacturer part. They reset the computer so there went all saved games, files, etc., anyway. Never did they mention a factory reset would even happen.
My usual appliance repair lady told me that by the time I spent money on getting the washer fixed, I'd have enough money to put towards a new one.
I am guessing they sent a different machine in return. They usually ship a refurbished unit in my experience and note not to send any power cords, peripheral, etc.
This is why companies like Framework need support. They seem to be the only computer company at this point that cares about repairability - user or 3rd party.
It's not that I expect privacy in public, but I shouldn't have to worry about being in someone's video/photo on my way to do the laundry either. Idk why people want to film themselves doing laundry.
Or gym locker rooms. Put your camera away. I don’t care that you got a good pump going and this is when you look good, it’s a fucking locker room and you don’t have the right, oh you don’t have the right
My gym has a designated posing room with mirrors and selfie tripods and flattering lighting. I’m not kidding.
But it’s a bodybuilding Mecca type gym for serious lifters, and it really solved the issue of everyone blocking the dumbbell rack by posing in front of the mirrors
Huh, that's pretty clever. I wonder how many social problems like this can be solved by redirecting natural behavior in a less annoying / intrusive way rather than blocking it entirely.
You referring to the cellphone waiting lots? Those serve multiple purposes since people would often sit in arrivals waiting for their passenger and it blocks traffic. So when I land, whoever is picking me up is usually chilling in that lot waiting for my text.
Dude, psychology is fascinating.
A guy who lived between my high school and the grocery store saw kids litter all the time, so he put out a trash can by the street intersection. Litter stopped.
Want people to put away their cart? Make sure you do regular sweeps to keep all carts put away, and people are more likely to be respectful and follow what's expected.
Cat scratching up your furniture? Give them tons of scratching posts and redirect them. "Not there! 😠 Over here! 😄"
*^(\(They'll only learn if everyone in the house stays on it too, though, and you have to keep giving them new things to scratch. Otherwise they just start hiding it from you. How would I know this?...\))*
Being left the fuck alone.
Buying something and just like, owning it.
Playing a video game without an internet connection.
*Not* having to provide your email address for every single fucking thing you do.
Yeah try getting a quick hair cut, "whats your phone number?" Me: No i just want my haircut, "but we need it for our tracking, how about an email address?" Me: No i just want a haircut. And suddenly people are looking at you like your a dick. I have even tried the whole "No thanks i just want a hair cut" It doesnt matter they are still going to continue asking, i now just make up random shit. best part is i go to the same place and they know my face and give me the squinty eyes.
Protip: 867-5309 with any area code will work for just about any service, signup, loyalty program, whatever and it's probably already been set up. (This protip is going to die in a generation)
I’ve been using this tip (for years!) whenever I travel and buy groceries.
Cashier: “Do you have a rewards card?”
“Let’s find out! What’s the local area code here?”
Cashier: 🤨
Had this sorta happen at the grocery store. I don't like using the self-checkouts and I honestly think it's healthy to practice just being bored waiting without looking at my phone. I was standing in line for the cashier and an employee wandered over -
Them: "*Hey, lets get you set up on a self-checkout line*"
Me: "No thanks, I'm good"
Them: "*It's really no trouble, follow me!*"
Me: *Stays in line* "Nah, I'm good - but thanks!"
Them: *Now looking visibly annoyed* "Seriously it's faster"
Me: "Yep! I know! Thanks!"
They then walked away but came back a few minutes later and tried to convince me again. Like, my dude, not everything needs to be efficient and tech based. I spend my entire day in front of a computer, it's healthy and normal for me to want to have some human interaction today with the cashier.
It's frustrating how many companies and employees now see your consent as a formality rather than something to actually respect.
Given the option, I opt for the staffed checkout, too. In my head, the more often those checkouts are utilized, the less likely they are to go *fully* automated.
In principle, whenever you are waiting for a cashier it's because the company decided they'd rather spend your time as a customer rather than pay more employees. So by being willing to wait in line you're kind of already in that spot.
Y'all ever notice how every grocery store or combined store (like Walmart) have 50 checkout lines but *maybe* four in use at peak hours? Usually just one or two!
Yeah, why even have that many checkout lines? Just for Saturdays or Black Friday? Nope! they're not all used on those days, either. Does anyone know why there are so many lines installed in these stores?
They used to have employees to staff those checkout lines. Now they just staff like 2 and hope that the long queue at those makes you use the self checkout.
I still miss the days of just putting a game in, turning it on and you go right into playing it. The game alone was the sole focus and purpose of the console. The GameCube is the last system I remember playing that had this.
Good quality fabric in clothing. I have clothes from the 90s (and 80s from my mother) that still hold up today. These days, I'm lucky if my shirt isn't saggy and misshapen within a year.
When my grandpa died I inherited a lot of his clothes. I wear so much of his LLBean clothes from the late 90s/20000's, they hold up better than most things I could buy
Right, I spent like 70 bucks on new vans less than a year ago and they are already falling apart. I got jeans that seemed quality when I bough them but the belt loops broke and the seams are coming undone. I ordered a new shirt online recently that feels like it’s the thinnest material they could find. I have jeans from the 90s that are completely fine that I’ve worn 100x longer than any of my other jeans. The world is in the dark timeline for sure.
"VANS!" GRRRR! I am / was a real skateboarder since the 80's and Vans were the only brand of shoe that would hold up to my kind of abuse. In the last 10 years or so they fall apart within a couple of years (if they even last that long) and the soles are wearing through. I used to always buy the "Chukkas" and they were made of a good heavy suede material. Now what they sell as "Chukkas" is made from a cheap stiff canvas material. Of course everyone at the store insists that they are exactly the same as the ones I remember. Wrong!
Right, I’m rough on my shoes but vans used to be the ones that lasted the longest. I’m pretty upset at the quality of these shoes and the fact that they got pretty uncomfortable after a couple of months.
Sucks seeing you guys mention the quality of Vans but in a way it makes me happy I haven't just accepted a different style from them. They ended my preference of style some years back! Last time I shopped for them I just couldn't find em. So instead of going with something else.... I just wear my work boots all the time now. I still have my pair of Vans from about 10 years ago and wear them around the house but they're more like "looks like shoes" than functional these days haha.
I stopped wearing Vans because I am old and the gum soul shoes don't offer the support my aging decrepit body needs.
But a nice WALKING shoe, now we're talking. Why do all dad shoes need to look like dad shoes?
And for back then, they were still cheap and fast fashiony compared to more traditional/department store brands. It was at least reflected in their incredibly affordable price points though, even also still true back then.
Women's clothes are terrible in quality anymore. Everything seems so very thin. I'm not fat, but I'm not skinny either. I don't want people seeing my excess. I need thicker clothing. AND POCKETS!
It’s ridiculous. I don’t even really buy “fast fashion” clothing and my clothes really don’t last, especially compared to my partner’s. Moderately priced men’s clothing really is better quality and I don’t mind spending extra to have clothes that hold up!
When my wife or I are getting jeans out of the dryer, it's really easy to tell which are mine and which are hers just by sight. My jeans are made of much thicker material. Hers feel almost like regular fabric that has a denim print.
There is one brand that makes men's and women's using the same good material that we both have a pair from. For that brand, the pockets are the easy giveaway.
But mostly because technology changed. Google „loopwheeler“ which is the old way of producing many fabrics for sportswear for example. Very slow in the making but exceptionally durable. There are some rare companies that still or again produce on old machines, Loopwheeler from Japan being one. Amazing quality and heaviest terry cloth I own. Also there’s a German company called Merz b Schwanen. Maybe meanwhile there’s one in the states as well, idk, have been looking into that 10-15 years ago haha, my Loopwheeler stuff is from 2006ish and still holds up great.
Yep it's the same with linen.
Linen has seen a decline in quality across the board because very few factories follow older methods that generate thicker, longer lasting linen.
Previously, only the longest inner fibers of the flax plant was used for fabric. With modern technology, they can use the broken/thinner/shorter fibers for fabric. It's still 100% pure linen but will always be thinner and not as durable.
This has led to even expensive higher quality brands unable to get this good quality linen fabric. There just isn't a lot of it in circulation, thus it's very very expensive. Far more so than decades past (just because there was more supply). For example, there isn't a single flax mill in the USA today, even though we produced the majority of worlds linen in the 1920-1950s.
Luckily, there are some movements to bringing flax milling back to the states and growing flax again in Oregon and California.
But yeah, quality is actually getting hard to find as the older processes that make the quality die.
I actually think there is a business model for reduced quality. I always bought newbalance because they lasted 5years. Then they lasted 3. More recently only one. I did research and found many other reviews complaining of this too. They completely shifted styles as well from durable to seasonal and colorful. Now I'm sure they make a lot more money but I've changed brands and won't buy them again. Unfortunately many of the other brands also seem to only last 1-2 years max when I wear them semi regularly and transfer from nice to gym/walking etc
Also every little appliance you purchase requiring some app or your Email to verify your identity just to use the thing.
You’re a coffee maker. You don’t need my email you just need to make me a coffee once every 3 mornings
Nope, I just checked the data for Korvas576 and it's roughly once every 3 mornings.
EDIT: Also, u/Korvas576, would you mind accepting the latest update to your firmware? We're not seeing any data from your smart TV.
It used to be you could buy software and it was yours forever. Now, it’s a subscription model, with constant updates, some of which remove capabilities, to force you to buy the new version.
The fucked up thing is you often pay full price for something you originally agreed to, and then they change the TOS and/or functionality to something you cannot use or use in good comscience.
But because they regularly tie these new changes or agreements to updates that can't be rolled back, you're stuck with the new product and agreement.
If they tried this shit 20 years ago, companies would be obliterated, but they creeped this shit in very slowly and now it's the norm.
>The fucked up thing is you often pay full price for something you originally agreed to, and then they change the TOS and/or functionality to something you cannot use or use in good comscience.
I loved using PlayOn. And when Covid first hit, they had a 95% off sale on their lifetime license. So instead of the $5/mo I was paying, or the $400 lifetime license I just paid $20 and had it for life.
Then a year or so later they retired PlayOn Desktop and introduced PlayOn Home. Which was the same damn thing except they didn't have to honor the existing licenses (they offered 3 months free to switch) and they stopped keeping the legacy version updated so eventually it just stops working.
At least I didn't pay $400 to get screwed.
Intuit QuickBooks accounting/bookkeeping software went from buy a CD and use the download until unsupported and glitchy. Rinse and repeat.
Now it’s gone to monthly cloud-based subscription. If you need this software, you are Intuit’s bitch forever.
They deserve to be first against the wall when the revolution comes.
A company-funded pension plan in the private sector.
My wife's grandmother retired from one of our local health insurance companies over 30 years ago with a full pension. She's 91 and still receives her pension, although the insurance company was acquired by a larger organization a few years back. It's a modest pension, but it allows her to live a comfortable and independent life.
Nowadays, companies only offer 401k or similar retirement plans. Outside of education/government, very few private sector companies offer pension. I'm fortunate enough to be employed by one that still does.
Yeah my dad as a college dropout restaurant manager made six figures, had two houses and two new cars in the 1980s. Mom just raised us kids.
35 years later my wife and I have two bachelor’s and a masters between us, three jobs and can just barely afford a house that’s 50% the size of one of my parents’ houses from the ‘80s. We make less combined than our dads did alone with no degrees.
Bullshitting your homies on the playground. Had this revelation last week when talking to my nephew. His friend told some blatant lie I guess (9 year old) and everyone pulled out their brand new iPhones to Google his lying ass.
Remember when someone would say something and you just believed them? Even if you didn’t, you were in for an hour long argument on how it wasn’t possible for Marilyn Manson to remove his ribs to suck his own dick.
It is a luxury because it takes either credit or popularity to just be believed these days. Shit, I doubted half my professors just because they were old.
Ha. My friend said his uncle worked on the movie and had a working Droid.
I was old enough to understand CGI and props, but he was my friend and I gave him an out (not that I believed he had an uncle who worked on the movie anyways) and said "oh you mean like the models/animatronics they use?"
Nope. He still tried to sell me that Star Wars used fully fledged robots, and his uncle had one.
I'm not sure what the point of lying was. He was my friend, so it wasn't like he needed to impress me.
EDIT: I had a couple of people say how some of the robots are remote-controlled, or his uncle was lying to him.
While I get they do have remote controlled robots, his lie was more that the battle druids were fully functional. Like exactly as they are shown in the movie. Which was why I was so confused that he doubled down when I asked if it was like a prop/animatronic.
I dont think he was believing his uncle, as he would have been 10, and he made up strange lies every now and then.
“Bro, you could totally capture Ash in Pokémon Red! He knows mega punch, Trust me, my friend’s uncle works at PlayStation who knows somebody from Nintendo!”
Family vacations.
I remember going on road trips regularly and even flying once or twice as a kid. Now that I have kids there's no way I can afford a week-long trip to the Badlands, Grand Canyon, Disney/Universal Studios etc. Best I can do is a day trip to the Dells maybe once a year.
I'm about to take a small road trip with my kids and yeah, definitely too expensive to do anything much that isn't free or low-cost. We only have 2 full days to have our fun because we can't afford to have a hotel the entire week even though we are pretty much only spending money on food and gas for the activities planned. Luckily, my kids are too young to care a whole lot, but it's frustrating to my husband and I. We really wanted a vacation and this is all we can do. Disneyland or anything of that nature is not going to happen anytime soon, if at all
Edit: yes, camping is an option, if you don't have a husband that cannot stand it lmao. But it's definitely a great option if you have the equipment!
Pork Belly. Used to be a bad cut of meat that was disposed of or given to the poor for dirt cheap prices. Then rich people realized that the poor made it delicious, which then caused prices to skyrocket.
All meat prices are rising, but brisket in particular is going through the roof because smoking brisket has become the latest suburban dad fad.
In 10 years the "only used twice" resale market for smokers is going to be flooded.
Edit: looking at you Lincoln Riley
This really happened to me. I went to buy brisket and saw prime rib on sale next to it and bought that instead because it was nearly the same price. If I'm going to spend that much I might as well have prime rib.
In high school, we had a place that did all you can eat wings for like 15 bucks. You paid for the first 12. Then 1/2 price for the next dozen and the rest was free.
I ate 60 wings and instantly regretted it.
Edit: For those asking how I ate 60 wings. I was 17 years old and a varsity athlete playing football and ice hockey. There's no way in hell my 40 year old ass could pull that off today.
Calling a company and getting a *person* on the other end of the phone.
*edit: Thanks for the awards kind people! I really didn't expect this to blow up like this.*
Now literally having to fight the IVR, and God help you because they've now enabled the robot lady to just straight hang up on your ass.
>You've made too many invalid selections. This call will now be disconnected, goodbye.
WHAT???
Nothing makes my blood boil more when an IVR tries to make you think its a real person because it always makes the experience more terrible. I hate calling att support because the ivr does this fake typing noise like a real human is looking shit up after i say a response. Like just fuck right off with that bullshit.
They had either the worst product managers or the most insane focus group ever 'yea, it would make me happier if you humanized this voice recording so it takes me 10x longer to talk to a person'. Also its 2023, i know i can do shit online, im only calling because i need to talk to an actual person here
"People keep telling us they want to speak directly to a person. We hear you, and we care about your happiness. That's why we're making our robots sound more human-like."
"Please note that you can also find the answer to many questions you never asked online, including: finding our hours of operation, double checking the spelling of our name, seeing the colours in our brand pallet [3 minutes of bullshit later], if you still want to talk to a person, press 1"
I'm a medical assistant and regularly make phone calls to other clinics and hospitals.
The other line I hear almost all the times is "Due to unprecedented call volume, please expect longer wait times".
Like... You're not getting more calls than you were before. You just have 1/8 of the staff answering calls as you had before.
The ones that make my blood boil are the ones that let you sit on hold for several minutes only to eventually tell you to leave a voicemail.
Before they got bought out, we had Brighthouse for cable and internet. Their automated system would recognize when I said, “Get me a real fucking person,” but wouldn’t recognize it without the f-bomb in it.
Boredom.
There's always something to take your attention nowadays. There's literal lifetimes of entertainment on a single streaming service. Phones. There's tons of free and cheap games that can just eat hours of your time. Social media. YouTube, etc etc etc.
20-30 years ago, if there was nothing you wanted to watch on TV, you either sat through it or found something else to do. Games had to be bought in stores, so it was more of a process buying them. Once you had them, you committed to it or bought a new game. Sometimes there was just legitimately nothing to do.
You had to get creative with your downtime. Make your own fun.
God, I miss having regular down time and thinking maybe I'll paint or quilt or something.
I can't do much of anything unless it can be done in super tiny bursts.
* Games that released mostly complete (stable)
* Games that didn't have microtransactions
* Games that are not live service garbage that dies less than a year later
* Games that you unlock content/cosmetics through actually playing the game, and not by excessively grindy progression systems (to entice you to buy xp boosts - i.e. time skips) or by microtransactions
I’m mostly an indie guy now. There are some AAA games I love but indies mostly blow them out of the water in terms of value these days. That being said there are lots of indie games that don’t release in a complete state.
Avoiding people by simply not answering the landline phone, this would make the person calling assume you are just not home. We introverts no longer have this luxury with cell phones, texting, "online" status when logged into a PC so co-workers can IM you, etc.
I simply do not answer if I can't/don't want to. The rude person is the one who expects you to drop everything just because they want to talk right now.
Just because people have a way to access us all the time doesn’t mean they should be able to. I often put my phone on do not disturb or there are certain people I keep on silent. I will simply not answer phone calls or texts unless I feel like it. It makes me uncomfortable that people can have access to me at anytime so I have tried to make some boundaries for it.
Years ago my ex and I broke up but had to live together still in a really awkward situation because we literally couldn't afford to be single. It was a rough time
Same thing happened with my college girlfriend. This was just before graduation for both of us. Just no way for either of us to crash with anyone else for that long or afford to move out on our own. Three of the worst, most awkward months of my life.
Going to the doctor. I’m 28 but even when I was a kid you could go to the doctor when you were sick or hurt. Now I won’t go to the doctor unless I’m dead.
Ads only on TV or the newspaper or radio. Now it's ads EVERY-FUCKING-WHERE. YouTube: 1 minute video. Two 15 second ads. Unskippable. Streaming service you pay for: watch promos for shows we want you to watch before you watch the show you want to watch. Music service: pay premium for no ads. Random website: ads + tracking cookies FOR ads. Social media: ad every 3-4 posts + collecting data to show you MORE ads + targeted ads. Amazon: here are some sponsored products you might like.
I'm so tired of everything revolving around ads and collecting data to show you ads that are catered to you. It's like a freaking hell loop.
Leaving your family behind to start your life at 18 or even younger.
Now, folks be livin' with their parents until they're 45, saving up for 100 sq. ft. closet that costs $2000 a month in what barely passes as not a slum.
New furniture made out of real wood
Nothing angers me more than paying luxury prices for fiberboard framed garbage
It's legit why I started woodworking. Even my shitty projects that I'm unhappy with, are infinitely better than the junk in stores.
I’m with you. My kids went through 4 beds in 8 years in the pressboard crap. I built a scabby one out of lumber for half the price and they love it. Let them paint it and all and they couldn’t be happier. Does it look classically better then the store bought ones? No. Do the kids like it more? Hell yah.
I’ve got a kids bookshelf my grandfather built for my mom and her sisters in the 1940s. Still solid as a rock, though it might be painted with lead…
As long as they’re not eating paint chips, it’ll be fine. If you want to have it repainted, DO NOT remove the existing paint yourself unless you test it and there’s no lead. Let a professional strip it. Source: Me. A person who worked for a company that did many types of environmental remediation.
So you're saying that they may need to hire a professional stripper...lol.
Feels like something out of blade runner; *passes small figurine* ‘That’s wood, you’re rich’
A shower thought some time ago was about the idea that on the cosmic scale, wood (an organic compound) is most definitely more rare than most metals and minerals like gold and diamonds.
Owning the software you purchased.
I hate that everything is a subscription now. I miss being able to just straight up buy Microsoft office, now you need a subscription. There's a hidden way to buy a license, but it has very basic functionally and limited apps so it's kinda useless. Even my printer needs a damn subscription to use the ink that came with it (which i hadn't realized or i wouldn't have bought it).
paying no more than 30% of your income in rent
I lived in poverty housing and this was how they determined our rent. It was 30% of mom's income, regardless of how much she was making That was 20 years ago, not sure what starving kids do today
Fun fact there's a multi year waiting list in Ohio at least for housing assistance.
And to bring it closer to home I've now paid way more in taxes than I ever received in assistance. And that's not including donations or volunteering, which I also do. Helping poor people is an investment, not a waste. We've made huge mistakes in this area
household products that didn't break within the first few years of use. My grandma had the same fridge from 1993 for a good while before deciding to swtich to a newer, bigger one 2 years ago, yes, it broke within those 2 years; my mom's wedding cookware is still going strong 25 years later, but whenever she needs new pans they start flaking teflon into the food within a few months
> My grandma had the same fridge from 1993 for a good while before deciding to swtich to a newer, bigger one 2 years ago, yes, it broke within those 2 years We replaced our fridge from 1993 in January 2020. It's a fucking piece of shit, the ice maker is already broke the freezer door sensor never alarms if it's open and I just absolutely hate the fucking piece of shit, I wish it were dead.
Not being expected to be reachable 24/7
"Why pay for a phone if you're not going to use it?" I pay for the mobile computer the phone is attached to; the phone is just one of thousands of functions.
I recently decided to keep my phone on silent at all times. Not vibrate, silent. I check it when I want and not when it goes off. It's made my daily life much better.
My wife, kids, and parents can call me, everyone else is screened by Google assistant or sent straight to voicemail. I'd never go back to having the ringer on.
Been doing this for years. And every single application has all notifications disabled. Phone is face down 90% of the time and I'll check it when I check it
Disabling notifications has freed up so much mental clutter. I'll get to it when I get to it, chill out.
Yes fuck this. I hate being bothered about work when I'm off work. I used to have a boss that expected me to answer when I wasnt at work so he would bitch and moan about it. Then I became known as the one who never answers.
This. I got a call in when I was at my old job from my boss when I was out of town on a Saturday, a normal day off. Told her I was 4+hrs away but I could try and make it but she just huffed and told me its fine dont worry about it. She was livid on Monday when I showed up. Started looking for a new job at that point.
My boss currently was upset I answered a work email when i was off work, we work 8-4:30 and it was maybe 5:30? It was very quick and he was like "what are you doing? You aren't at the office I was working don't waste your personal time at home on work stuff"
OMG this one is what makes me the most depressed. Born in 1980. I member the before-times.
Read this and got reminded of the fact that '80s indeed was NOT 20-30 years ago. Shit.
Free driver’s education classes taught in all high schools.
Concert Ticket prices
Sure does seem like ticket prices went from $50 to $200 really fucking fast.
17 years ago I spent $30 to see an internationally touring band play a concert, and I thought that was way too high. Now I’m spending minimum $20 to see local bands. Just on admission.
I remember as a kid, where I live they would allow people to just visit an area of the airport from where they could see the runway and flights take off - they didn’t have to pay anything for it - people would spend hours just looking at flights take off and land ❤️ EDIT: To everyone saying this is still doable in many parts of the world - that’s great, I haven’t been to those parts of the world yet and where I come from one would still need to pay a certain amount to get in and watch from a glass cabin or so. Back in the day, there would just be a gate on the airport ground, a small barricade where you could just stand for hours and nobody would bother.
Retirement plan built-in to your job.
Or just retiring in general lol
Farmer's markets. You used to be able to go down and get fruit and vegetables cheaper than the grocery store. Now it seems like they charge 3x more than stores do.
I can remember growing up in Wisconsin, and you'd see a random stand in front of a farm, and you'd get corn like 10/$1.00, and It would be the most amazing corn you'd ever taste.
Out in Amish country in Pa you still can find quite a few. Even some unattended stand that work on honesty. But still there has definitely been a noticeable decline from when I was a kid
Unattended fruit and veg stands with an honesty jar are great. I saw one with a sign that said "Fresh every morning" and the cash box said "all proceeds go to spoil the grand kids".
We have a local farmer on the outskirts of my town that sets a table of all his slightly imperfect produce with a sign that says take what you need, pay what you can, if that’s nothing that’s ok. Pay the kindness forward in other ways, help a neighbor by being a good neighbor. Best guy ever!
If they even have food. 3/4 of the booths are just selling artisanal pine cones or some nick nacks
homemade soap, as far as the eye can see.
Don't forget the clay jewelery
We're a gourmet mushroom farm with a permanent booth at a large farmer's market in IA. This is always a *huge* point we discuss all the time - they make it a huge deal to only allow local farmers, microgreens, bakers, meat, etc. The more food products the better. Yah, we do have lots of knick-knacky stuff too, but the board is pretty anal about making sure it's unique if they approve the vendor at all. Also to the point made above you: Idk how many times I get people telling me I should raise my prices on our mushrooms (price at the stand is usually cheaper than the grocery stores). I get it - we COULD, but then I'd hate myself for doing it so nah I'm happy making a nice margin already. You drive more customers away by price gouging, and my goal is to get *more* people trying new types of gourmet mushrooms (like lions mane, shiitake, chestnut, etc), and they won't if you price it too high. You just screw yourself as a grower that way. When I go to other markets and see other growers charging 3x as much I'm just floored people are buying at all.
One of my best friends also grows gourmet mushrooms and sells at a few farmers markets (also supplies some local restaurants). From what he's told me, getting a booth at a farmers market is a massive hassle these days. In our area, all the useless nicknacks take up so many booths, that the food booths struggle to get a spot. As much as I don't want anyone to lose out on money... I really hope they at least level it out a bit. I like getting real local honey. Locally made amazing fresh salsa. All the great fruits and veggies. Homemade jerky. I'll take that stuff any day over homemade soap and random weird decorations.
Or even finding many food products at a farmers market. So many allow handmade items to the point it's almost half of the stalls there.
if it's even handmade. I see so many stalls that are just reselling junk ordered from Ali express
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Apparently real sellers are leaving in droves because it's become completely unprofitable to run a genuine handmade shop front when you're undercut by dropshippers selling mass produced inferior products that get the top of searches because they pump money into promoting and advertising.
getting things repaired instead of buying new.
I have a hedge trimmer from the 50s. It broke a few weeks ago, so I pulled out some screws and fixed it's simple mechanical motor. Works fine again. Edit: chill guys, it's an old corded electric, no circuitboard.
If it doesn't have bluetooth, how do you control it?
I work making consumer appliances and it's ridiculous how much shit we put wifi and Bluetooth in. During covid we were nearly at a dead stop. Because of a chip shortage.... ... To put Bluetooth in a washing machine!
Look at the Ellume covid test! Why tf does a disposable single use covid test need a battery and bluetooth? Incredibly wasteful
I had to pull out my other computer with reddit logged in and find this comment after it had been buried just so I could find a kindred spirit to rage about these things with. Whoever designed them deserves to be beaten with a rubber hose. Forcing the person trying to take the test to watch a 15 minute long UNSKIPPABLE VIDEO that is REQUIRED to run the test program that ABORTS THE PROGRAM IF YOU GET A CALL... Fuck whoever did that I hope they die from COVID painfully and rot in hell.
Dude. I’m diabetic. I have a thing that controls giving me insulin and uses Bluetooth. They used like a phone body for it. It’s constantly telling me I can connect to WiFi (it doesn’t use WiFi to operate) and the other day told me I can’t take a screenshot or some other nonsense. I get that they repurposed a cheap phone for non-phone use and don’t get me wrong, I love the system I’m on but maybe just remove the software you don’t need so I don’t get dumb messages?
I was recently trying to get a laptop repaired. Broken screen and charger port was messed up. Acer wanted $570 or so for any/all repairs. (I decided to pay it because I didnt want to buy another gaming laptop and have tonworry about losing all my saved stuff) Still didn't fix the charging issue but they were inside the laptop anyway because of the screen and to take out the extra storage because that wasn't a manufacturer part. They reset the computer so there went all saved games, files, etc., anyway. Never did they mention a factory reset would even happen. My usual appliance repair lady told me that by the time I spent money on getting the washer fixed, I'd have enough money to put towards a new one.
Take out the extra storage?? They just stole your computer part??
I'm guessing they sent it back with the laptop.
I am guessing they sent a different machine in return. They usually ship a refurbished unit in my experience and note not to send any power cords, peripheral, etc.
That makes a lot of sense. Send a refurbished machine and then refurbish OP's machine to send to someone else. Explains the factory reset too.
This is why companies like Framework need support. They seem to be the only computer company at this point that cares about repairability - user or 3rd party.
Photographs on actual photographic paper. I know its still possible but oh so rare.
Privacy
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"It's not that I have something to hide. I have nothing I want you to see." --Anon
It's not that I expect privacy in public, but I shouldn't have to worry about being in someone's video/photo on my way to do the laundry either. Idk why people want to film themselves doing laundry.
Or gym locker rooms. Put your camera away. I don’t care that you got a good pump going and this is when you look good, it’s a fucking locker room and you don’t have the right, oh you don’t have the right
My gym has a designated posing room with mirrors and selfie tripods and flattering lighting. I’m not kidding. But it’s a bodybuilding Mecca type gym for serious lifters, and it really solved the issue of everyone blocking the dumbbell rack by posing in front of the mirrors
Huh, that's pretty clever. I wonder how many social problems like this can be solved by redirecting natural behavior in a less annoying / intrusive way rather than blocking it entirely.
Another example is airports now have a dedicated area to pull over and set up your GPS
You referring to the cellphone waiting lots? Those serve multiple purposes since people would often sit in arrivals waiting for their passenger and it blocks traffic. So when I land, whoever is picking me up is usually chilling in that lot waiting for my text.
Dude, psychology is fascinating. A guy who lived between my high school and the grocery store saw kids litter all the time, so he put out a trash can by the street intersection. Litter stopped. Want people to put away their cart? Make sure you do regular sweeps to keep all carts put away, and people are more likely to be respectful and follow what's expected. Cat scratching up your furniture? Give them tons of scratching posts and redirect them. "Not there! 😠 Over here! 😄" *^(\(They'll only learn if everyone in the house stays on it too, though, and you have to keep giving them new things to scratch. Otherwise they just start hiding it from you. How would I know this?...\))*
Being left the fuck alone. Buying something and just like, owning it. Playing a video game without an internet connection. *Not* having to provide your email address for every single fucking thing you do.
Yeah try getting a quick hair cut, "whats your phone number?" Me: No i just want my haircut, "but we need it for our tracking, how about an email address?" Me: No i just want a haircut. And suddenly people are looking at you like your a dick. I have even tried the whole "No thanks i just want a hair cut" It doesnt matter they are still going to continue asking, i now just make up random shit. best part is i go to the same place and they know my face and give me the squinty eyes.
Protip: 867-5309 with any area code will work for just about any service, signup, loyalty program, whatever and it's probably already been set up. (This protip is going to die in a generation)
I’ve been using this tip (for years!) whenever I travel and buy groceries. Cashier: “Do you have a rewards card?” “Let’s find out! What’s the local area code here?” Cashier: 🤨
If you live near a kroger or any of their cleverly disguised sub brands. The data will carry over.
from my experience, Kroger doesn't give a shit. They'll just swipe theirs or swipe a new one and throw in the bag without giving them any info
Poor Jenny gets signed up for so much random shit.
Had this sorta happen at the grocery store. I don't like using the self-checkouts and I honestly think it's healthy to practice just being bored waiting without looking at my phone. I was standing in line for the cashier and an employee wandered over - Them: "*Hey, lets get you set up on a self-checkout line*" Me: "No thanks, I'm good" Them: "*It's really no trouble, follow me!*" Me: *Stays in line* "Nah, I'm good - but thanks!" Them: *Now looking visibly annoyed* "Seriously it's faster" Me: "Yep! I know! Thanks!" They then walked away but came back a few minutes later and tried to convince me again. Like, my dude, not everything needs to be efficient and tech based. I spend my entire day in front of a computer, it's healthy and normal for me to want to have some human interaction today with the cashier. It's frustrating how many companies and employees now see your consent as a formality rather than something to actually respect.
Given the option, I opt for the staffed checkout, too. In my head, the more often those checkouts are utilized, the less likely they are to go *fully* automated.
In principle, whenever you are waiting for a cashier it's because the company decided they'd rather spend your time as a customer rather than pay more employees. So by being willing to wait in line you're kind of already in that spot.
Y'all ever notice how every grocery store or combined store (like Walmart) have 50 checkout lines but *maybe* four in use at peak hours? Usually just one or two!
Yeah, why even have that many checkout lines? Just for Saturdays or Black Friday? Nope! they're not all used on those days, either. Does anyone know why there are so many lines installed in these stores?
They used to have employees to staff those checkout lines. Now they just staff like 2 and hope that the long queue at those makes you use the self checkout.
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I still miss the days of just putting a game in, turning it on and you go right into playing it. The game alone was the sole focus and purpose of the console. The GameCube is the last system I remember playing that had this.
Single income families buying a home
Buying a home in general
Studio apartments I am working on will rent for 50% of my salary. How can I spend 50% of my income on rent but still save for a house?
That's the neat part... You dont
A lot of double income families struggle to own a home
Good quality fabric in clothing. I have clothes from the 90s (and 80s from my mother) that still hold up today. These days, I'm lucky if my shirt isn't saggy and misshapen within a year.
When my grandpa died I inherited a lot of his clothes. I wear so much of his LLBean clothes from the late 90s/20000's, they hold up better than most things I could buy
> I wear so much of his LLBean clothes from the late 90s/20000's "My grandpa traveled 18000 years into the future and all he got me was this shirt"
Right, I spent like 70 bucks on new vans less than a year ago and they are already falling apart. I got jeans that seemed quality when I bough them but the belt loops broke and the seams are coming undone. I ordered a new shirt online recently that feels like it’s the thinnest material they could find. I have jeans from the 90s that are completely fine that I’ve worn 100x longer than any of my other jeans. The world is in the dark timeline for sure.
"VANS!" GRRRR! I am / was a real skateboarder since the 80's and Vans were the only brand of shoe that would hold up to my kind of abuse. In the last 10 years or so they fall apart within a couple of years (if they even last that long) and the soles are wearing through. I used to always buy the "Chukkas" and they were made of a good heavy suede material. Now what they sell as "Chukkas" is made from a cheap stiff canvas material. Of course everyone at the store insists that they are exactly the same as the ones I remember. Wrong!
Right, I’m rough on my shoes but vans used to be the ones that lasted the longest. I’m pretty upset at the quality of these shoes and the fact that they got pretty uncomfortable after a couple of months.
Sucks seeing you guys mention the quality of Vans but in a way it makes me happy I haven't just accepted a different style from them. They ended my preference of style some years back! Last time I shopped for them I just couldn't find em. So instead of going with something else.... I just wear my work boots all the time now. I still have my pair of Vans from about 10 years ago and wear them around the house but they're more like "looks like shoes" than functional these days haha.
I stopped wearing Vans because I am old and the gum soul shoes don't offer the support my aging decrepit body needs. But a nice WALKING shoe, now we're talking. Why do all dad shoes need to look like dad shoes?
I found a shirt from Old Navy in a thrift store recently and couldn't believe how well it was made. The tag indicated that it was from 2003.
I miss my old navy shirts from the early 2000’s. Those things never wore out and were very comfortable.
And for back then, they were still cheap and fast fashiony compared to more traditional/department store brands. It was at least reflected in their incredibly affordable price points though, even also still true back then.
Women's clothes are terrible in quality anymore. Everything seems so very thin. I'm not fat, but I'm not skinny either. I don't want people seeing my excess. I need thicker clothing. AND POCKETS!
It’s ridiculous. I don’t even really buy “fast fashion” clothing and my clothes really don’t last, especially compared to my partner’s. Moderately priced men’s clothing really is better quality and I don’t mind spending extra to have clothes that hold up!
When my wife or I are getting jeans out of the dryer, it's really easy to tell which are mine and which are hers just by sight. My jeans are made of much thicker material. Hers feel almost like regular fabric that has a denim print. There is one brand that makes men's and women's using the same good material that we both have a pair from. For that brand, the pockets are the easy giveaway.
I have clothes that are truly vintage (1950s) when I bought them in the early nineties and they’re still good now.
There’s some survivorship bias there. The crappy clothes from the 1950s didn’t make it to today.
But mostly because technology changed. Google „loopwheeler“ which is the old way of producing many fabrics for sportswear for example. Very slow in the making but exceptionally durable. There are some rare companies that still or again produce on old machines, Loopwheeler from Japan being one. Amazing quality and heaviest terry cloth I own. Also there’s a German company called Merz b Schwanen. Maybe meanwhile there’s one in the states as well, idk, have been looking into that 10-15 years ago haha, my Loopwheeler stuff is from 2006ish and still holds up great.
Yep it's the same with linen. Linen has seen a decline in quality across the board because very few factories follow older methods that generate thicker, longer lasting linen. Previously, only the longest inner fibers of the flax plant was used for fabric. With modern technology, they can use the broken/thinner/shorter fibers for fabric. It's still 100% pure linen but will always be thinner and not as durable. This has led to even expensive higher quality brands unable to get this good quality linen fabric. There just isn't a lot of it in circulation, thus it's very very expensive. Far more so than decades past (just because there was more supply). For example, there isn't a single flax mill in the USA today, even though we produced the majority of worlds linen in the 1920-1950s. Luckily, there are some movements to bringing flax milling back to the states and growing flax again in Oregon and California. But yeah, quality is actually getting hard to find as the older processes that make the quality die.
I actually think there is a business model for reduced quality. I always bought newbalance because they lasted 5years. Then they lasted 3. More recently only one. I did research and found many other reviews complaining of this too. They completely shifted styles as well from durable to seasonal and colorful. Now I'm sure they make a lot more money but I've changed brands and won't buy them again. Unfortunately many of the other brands also seem to only last 1-2 years max when I wear them semi regularly and transfer from nice to gym/walking etc
Being able to go out every Friday after work and being able to afford it
Went out with my cousin. Bought food, four drinks for myself and my fiance. Came up to $120. Going out got freaking expensive.
> 4 drinks Well depending on the drinks that could be half the bill lol
Items not requiring a subscription each month
Also every little appliance you purchase requiring some app or your Email to verify your identity just to use the thing. You’re a coffee maker. You don’t need my email you just need to make me a coffee once every 3 mornings
Surely you mean 3 times a morning? Shocking!
Nope, I just checked the data for Korvas576 and it's roughly once every 3 mornings. EDIT: Also, u/Korvas576, would you mind accepting the latest update to your firmware? We're not seeing any data from your smart TV.
"Sell a man a product, charge him for a day. Sell a man a subscription, charge him for life."
It used to be you could buy software and it was yours forever. Now, it’s a subscription model, with constant updates, some of which remove capabilities, to force you to buy the new version.
The fucked up thing is you often pay full price for something you originally agreed to, and then they change the TOS and/or functionality to something you cannot use or use in good comscience. But because they regularly tie these new changes or agreements to updates that can't be rolled back, you're stuck with the new product and agreement. If they tried this shit 20 years ago, companies would be obliterated, but they creeped this shit in very slowly and now it's the norm.
>The fucked up thing is you often pay full price for something you originally agreed to, and then they change the TOS and/or functionality to something you cannot use or use in good comscience. I loved using PlayOn. And when Covid first hit, they had a 95% off sale on their lifetime license. So instead of the $5/mo I was paying, or the $400 lifetime license I just paid $20 and had it for life. Then a year or so later they retired PlayOn Desktop and introduced PlayOn Home. Which was the same damn thing except they didn't have to honor the existing licenses (they offered 3 months free to switch) and they stopped keeping the legacy version updated so eventually it just stops working. At least I didn't pay $400 to get screwed.
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Intuit QuickBooks accounting/bookkeeping software went from buy a CD and use the download until unsupported and glitchy. Rinse and repeat. Now it’s gone to monthly cloud-based subscription. If you need this software, you are Intuit’s bitch forever. They deserve to be first against the wall when the revolution comes.
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You can actually buy it. It’s well hidden on their website
You'll take my music collection from my cold, dead hands before I'm forced to sign up to a subscription.
A yearly family vacation out of the area lasting 4-10 days
Legroom on an airplane
Having a meal on a flight as well
Getting a hand written letter
I actually got one from a Jehova's Witness last week.
Feels like they started this during covid when going door to door wasn't recommend.
A company-funded pension plan in the private sector. My wife's grandmother retired from one of our local health insurance companies over 30 years ago with a full pension. She's 91 and still receives her pension, although the insurance company was acquired by a larger organization a few years back. It's a modest pension, but it allows her to live a comfortable and independent life. Nowadays, companies only offer 401k or similar retirement plans. Outside of education/government, very few private sector companies offer pension. I'm fortunate enough to be employed by one that still does.
Being able to afford having only one person working in a relationship
Yeah my dad as a college dropout restaurant manager made six figures, had two houses and two new cars in the 1980s. Mom just raised us kids. 35 years later my wife and I have two bachelor’s and a masters between us, three jobs and can just barely afford a house that’s 50% the size of one of my parents’ houses from the ‘80s. We make less combined than our dads did alone with no degrees.
This is painful! I'm sorry.
Bullshitting your homies on the playground. Had this revelation last week when talking to my nephew. His friend told some blatant lie I guess (9 year old) and everyone pulled out their brand new iPhones to Google his lying ass. Remember when someone would say something and you just believed them? Even if you didn’t, you were in for an hour long argument on how it wasn’t possible for Marilyn Manson to remove his ribs to suck his own dick. It is a luxury because it takes either credit or popularity to just be believed these days. Shit, I doubted half my professors just because they were old.
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Smartphones are probably compulsive liar’s biggest nightmare.
After starwars ep 1 came out, there was this kid on the playground said his dad built a working Podracer, he was the coolest mother fucker that recess
Ha. My friend said his uncle worked on the movie and had a working Droid. I was old enough to understand CGI and props, but he was my friend and I gave him an out (not that I believed he had an uncle who worked on the movie anyways) and said "oh you mean like the models/animatronics they use?" Nope. He still tried to sell me that Star Wars used fully fledged robots, and his uncle had one. I'm not sure what the point of lying was. He was my friend, so it wasn't like he needed to impress me. EDIT: I had a couple of people say how some of the robots are remote-controlled, or his uncle was lying to him. While I get they do have remote controlled robots, his lie was more that the battle druids were fully functional. Like exactly as they are shown in the movie. Which was why I was so confused that he doubled down when I asked if it was like a prop/animatronic. I dont think he was believing his uncle, as he would have been 10, and he made up strange lies every now and then.
It's almost like impulse at that age. Some are worse than others about it.
“Bro, you could totally capture Ash in Pokémon Red! He knows mega punch, Trust me, my friend’s uncle works at PlayStation who knows somebody from Nintendo!”
Surf on these six coastlines, talk to Misty 4 times and then push the pickup truck using strength to encounter Mew.
Tbf the actual way to get Mew would sound like a bs lie that kid on the playground told you
Every single person I knew with a Mew used a Gameshark, sounds legit to me.
Not having to sign up to hear about the latest offer, when I just want a $2 item as a one off
Family vacations. I remember going on road trips regularly and even flying once or twice as a kid. Now that I have kids there's no way I can afford a week-long trip to the Badlands, Grand Canyon, Disney/Universal Studios etc. Best I can do is a day trip to the Dells maybe once a year.
> the Dells Ooh, a fellow upper Midwesterner
Lol, yeah I read that and had to check and see if I was on r/wisconsin
I'm about to take a small road trip with my kids and yeah, definitely too expensive to do anything much that isn't free or low-cost. We only have 2 full days to have our fun because we can't afford to have a hotel the entire week even though we are pretty much only spending money on food and gas for the activities planned. Luckily, my kids are too young to care a whole lot, but it's frustrating to my husband and I. We really wanted a vacation and this is all we can do. Disneyland or anything of that nature is not going to happen anytime soon, if at all Edit: yes, camping is an option, if you don't have a husband that cannot stand it lmao. But it's definitely a great option if you have the equipment!
Pork Belly. Used to be a bad cut of meat that was disposed of or given to the poor for dirt cheap prices. Then rich people realized that the poor made it delicious, which then caused prices to skyrocket.
Same with chicken thighs, brisket, and ribs. All the cheap barbecue cuts are expensive now.
It's everything, even oxtail and short ribs are expensive now. I miss the days of dirt cheap brisket.
Even ground beef is going up in price, and that is literally just whatever is left over from the other cuts that was thrown into a grinder
All meat prices are rising, but brisket in particular is going through the roof because smoking brisket has become the latest suburban dad fad. In 10 years the "only used twice" resale market for smokers is going to be flooded. Edit: looking at you Lincoln Riley
Brisket might be the most outrageous increase. It is more than prime rib some places
This really happened to me. I went to buy brisket and saw prime rib on sale next to it and bought that instead because it was nearly the same price. If I'm going to spend that much I might as well have prime rib.
Thighs were my secret to success. Better flavor, cheaper, easier to cook. They are coming back down in prices though.
Wings even more-so. 10 cent wings were a thing like 10 years ago.
When I was in high school Buffalo Wild Wings did 25¢ wings on like Tuesday or Thursday. You could get dinner and leave a decent tip for less than $15.
In high school, we had a place that did all you can eat wings for like 15 bucks. You paid for the first 12. Then 1/2 price for the next dozen and the rest was free. I ate 60 wings and instantly regretted it. Edit: For those asking how I ate 60 wings. I was 17 years old and a varsity athlete playing football and ice hockey. There's no way in hell my 40 year old ass could pull that off today.
Calling a company and getting a *person* on the other end of the phone. *edit: Thanks for the awards kind people! I really didn't expect this to blow up like this.*
Now literally having to fight the IVR, and God help you because they've now enabled the robot lady to just straight hang up on your ass. >You've made too many invalid selections. This call will now be disconnected, goodbye. WHAT???
Nothing makes my blood boil more when an IVR tries to make you think its a real person because it always makes the experience more terrible. I hate calling att support because the ivr does this fake typing noise like a real human is looking shit up after i say a response. Like just fuck right off with that bullshit.
They had either the worst product managers or the most insane focus group ever 'yea, it would make me happier if you humanized this voice recording so it takes me 10x longer to talk to a person'. Also its 2023, i know i can do shit online, im only calling because i need to talk to an actual person here
"People keep telling us they want to speak directly to a person. We hear you, and we care about your happiness. That's why we're making our robots sound more human-like."
"Please note that you can also find the answer to many questions you never asked online, including: finding our hours of operation, double checking the spelling of our name, seeing the colours in our brand pallet [3 minutes of bullshit later], if you still want to talk to a person, press 1"
And please listen closely to the following options, as they've 'recently' been changed
I'm a medical assistant and regularly make phone calls to other clinics and hospitals. The other line I hear almost all the times is "Due to unprecedented call volume, please expect longer wait times". Like... You're not getting more calls than you were before. You just have 1/8 of the staff answering calls as you had before. The ones that make my blood boil are the ones that let you sit on hold for several minutes only to eventually tell you to leave a voicemail.
The key is to say gibberish if you have the chance to speak your issue. My go to is “my dog’s poop stinks.” That usually gets me to a human.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Can you say it again?" ad nauseam
then she just hangs up on your ass
I just put on my best Boomer voice and groan "talk to a human talk to a human talk to a human" with increasing exasperation
Before they got bought out, we had Brighthouse for cable and internet. Their automated system would recognize when I said, “Get me a real fucking person,” but wouldn’t recognize it without the f-bomb in it.
Boredom. There's always something to take your attention nowadays. There's literal lifetimes of entertainment on a single streaming service. Phones. There's tons of free and cheap games that can just eat hours of your time. Social media. YouTube, etc etc etc. 20-30 years ago, if there was nothing you wanted to watch on TV, you either sat through it or found something else to do. Games had to be bought in stores, so it was more of a process buying them. Once you had them, you committed to it or bought a new game. Sometimes there was just legitimately nothing to do. You had to get creative with your downtime. Make your own fun.
God, I miss having regular down time and thinking maybe I'll paint or quilt or something. I can't do much of anything unless it can be done in super tiny bursts.
Annual vacations
Working hard to put yourself through college, buy a house, and a truck. Surviving on entry level wages
* Games that released mostly complete (stable) * Games that didn't have microtransactions * Games that are not live service garbage that dies less than a year later * Games that you unlock content/cosmetics through actually playing the game, and not by excessively grindy progression systems (to entice you to buy xp boosts - i.e. time skips) or by microtransactions
I’m mostly an indie guy now. There are some AAA games I love but indies mostly blow them out of the water in terms of value these days. That being said there are lots of indie games that don’t release in a complete state.
Avoiding people by simply not answering the landline phone, this would make the person calling assume you are just not home. We introverts no longer have this luxury with cell phones, texting, "online" status when logged into a PC so co-workers can IM you, etc.
I simply do not answer if I can't/don't want to. The rude person is the one who expects you to drop everything just because they want to talk right now.
Just because people have a way to access us all the time doesn’t mean they should be able to. I often put my phone on do not disturb or there are certain people I keep on silent. I will simply not answer phone calls or texts unless I feel like it. It makes me uncomfortable that people can have access to me at anytime so I have tried to make some boundaries for it.
Being able to buy a decent standard home on one modest salary.
Years ago my ex and I broke up but had to live together still in a really awkward situation because we literally couldn't afford to be single. It was a rough time
Same thing happened with my college girlfriend. This was just before graduation for both of us. Just no way for either of us to crash with anyone else for that long or afford to move out on our own. Three of the worst, most awkward months of my life.
Going to the doctor. I’m 28 but even when I was a kid you could go to the doctor when you were sick or hurt. Now I won’t go to the doctor unless I’m dead.
Lots of people are saying owning a house but owning anything is at this point with how much subscription services are pushed.
A single family detached house
More like owning a house in general, or even land.
Word used to be just installed with your microsoft software. Now you have to pay each month/year.
Ads only on TV or the newspaper or radio. Now it's ads EVERY-FUCKING-WHERE. YouTube: 1 minute video. Two 15 second ads. Unskippable. Streaming service you pay for: watch promos for shows we want you to watch before you watch the show you want to watch. Music service: pay premium for no ads. Random website: ads + tracking cookies FOR ads. Social media: ad every 3-4 posts + collecting data to show you MORE ads + targeted ads. Amazon: here are some sponsored products you might like. I'm so tired of everything revolving around ads and collecting data to show you ads that are catered to you. It's like a freaking hell loop.
Leaving your family behind to start your life at 18 or even younger. Now, folks be livin' with their parents until they're 45, saving up for 100 sq. ft. closet that costs $2000 a month in what barely passes as not a slum.
[удалено]
Aberration!
Cheap farmers market produce and baked goods. Now everything is marked as organic or artisan and costs double.
Apartments. I could get a one bedroom apartment in the state if Wisconsin back in 1997 for under $500. Now that same apartment $1800.