I remember when a local Sears had still had some "skip tooth" chain on the bottom shelf of the bike and lawn mower parts section. Man, this place is firing some pretty crusty old synapses in my head this evening. 
Remember when . . .
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90's kid chiming in. I definitely can't say I grew up without technology as a kid, but I enjoyed the tech that now seems to be popular at vintage shops... which just makes me feel dated...
I remember listening to Dad's ZZ Top cassette tapes on my Little Tikes tape player/recorder (first band I ever saw in concert,) playing snake on my Dad's hot rod-flamed Nokia (which he never got rid of, even though he no longer uses it,) and watching cartoons both old and new at my grandparents. First game console? Nintendo Entertainment System, which was already old by then. I still remember one of my older cousins beating Super Mario Bros. in one sitting, which as a kid was incredible. Had a ton more fond memories of playing games on PS2 with my brother, though.
I can barely remember riding in my custom stroller as a kid, when Mom and Dad would push my brother and I around at car shows.
Mine's the purple/blue customized steel pedal car (no clue what model,) and my bother's stroller is the custom fiberglass 37 Ford.
I also remember one of the neighborhood kids getting one of those OCC Schwinn Stingrays when they were new. I thought it was one of the coolest bikes I had ever seen. I still kind of want one, actually. I also remember going on plenty of neighborhood bike rides with my family growing up. I had some red 24"? 21 speed Mongoose mountain bike, my younger brother had... well, a few different bikes growing up, and Mom and Dad both rode their identical 1980s Raleigh road/track bikes, which are still in the family. I think I still had as hard of a time pedaling up hills back then as I do now! Actually, I was a toothpick back then, and now I'm a muffin top; same problem, different reasons.
Overall, yeah, I grew up with the gizmos and gadgets you older gents don't particularly care for, but I'm glad I grew up in the 90's the way I did. I experienced both the new(ish) tech for the time, like portable CD players and Gameboy Advances, and the marvels of yesteryear, like classic rock, classic cars and classic cartoons. And as much as I'd rather be back in the 90's than live through another minute of 2020, I'm glad that we all have the internet so us bicycle guys can all geek out over one of our favorite hobbies.
I remember listening to Dad's ZZ Top cassette tapes on my Little Tikes tape player/recorder (first band I ever saw in concert,) playing snake on my Dad's hot rod-flamed Nokia (which he never got rid of, even though he no longer uses it,) and watching cartoons both old and new at my grandparents. First game console? Nintendo Entertainment System, which was already old by then. I still remember one of my older cousins beating Super Mario Bros. in one sitting, which as a kid was incredible. Had a ton more fond memories of playing games on PS2 with my brother, though.
I can barely remember riding in my custom stroller as a kid, when Mom and Dad would push my brother and I around at car shows.
Mine's the purple/blue customized steel pedal car (no clue what model,) and my bother's stroller is the custom fiberglass 37 Ford.
I also remember one of the neighborhood kids getting one of those OCC Schwinn Stingrays when they were new. I thought it was one of the coolest bikes I had ever seen. I still kind of want one, actually. I also remember going on plenty of neighborhood bike rides with my family growing up. I had some red 24"? 21 speed Mongoose mountain bike, my younger brother had... well, a few different bikes growing up, and Mom and Dad both rode their identical 1980s Raleigh road/track bikes, which are still in the family. I think I still had as hard of a time pedaling up hills back then as I do now! Actually, I was a toothpick back then, and now I'm a muffin top; same problem, different reasons.
Overall, yeah, I grew up with the gizmos and gadgets you older gents don't particularly care for, but I'm glad I grew up in the 90's the way I did. I experienced both the new(ish) tech for the time, like portable CD players and Gameboy Advances, and the marvels of yesteryear, like classic rock, classic cars and classic cartoons. And as much as I'd rather be back in the 90's than live through another minute of 2020, I'm glad that we all have the internet so us bicycle guys can all geek out over one of our favorite hobbies.
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
In some ways, I guess I would prefer the simplicity of the '80s (though how much of that perceived simplicity was just from being young and the availability of information more limited, I don't know) with mostly just the binary specter of nuclear annihilation that I never really believed would happen hanging over our heads (literally if talking air burst nukes).
My father was generally really cheap and I always knew the value of things because what they cost became part of their descriptors, usually before what color it was. However, he insecurely felt he had to compete with his younger brother, who did a lot better financially (as far as we know as my father made most of his money in cash and always kept how much he made secret, but always carried a large roll of money—he once flushed $600 down the toilet when it must have fallen in upon using. Shortly later, I found $1 floating in the bowl and was excited as I thought maybe some bank robber or something had tried to hide money in the sewer and it had "floated" up. He was not as excited, but took it in a kind of stride he would not have taken it with had my mother so much as spent half that much on necessities), so once in a while, he'd drop a bunch of money on electronics because it was showy and more in his price range than nice cars. First game I remember (besides their old Pong game) was ColecoVision that he got for the better graphics than Atari (which was accurate, but the game selection wasn't as good, not that he played). We were also one of the first people I knew to get a VCR (VHS over Beta and those who know can take a good guess why and it wasn't the convenience of greater cassette play time) and a "big" 28" TV replaced our ancient cabinet console the same day. When the NES came out, we got the deluxe set with the robot (and which he was too cheap to buy games for, but it was all about the optics). To his credit, the robot did look like it was going to be cool and the let down upon using it was made up for by the gun . . . at least until we got sick of Duck Hunt (the early or maybe just the deluxe NES didn't come with Super Mario—just a split Gyromite/Duck Hunt cassette).
I remember trying to tape songs off the radio and, later, making mix tapes—figuring out song order, getting the length right for each side to not get cut off, but not to leave too much dead space at the end . . . good riddance to some of that old tech! I can't believe cassettes are making a little bit of a comeback with kids as some kind of vintage cool thing. I guess it might be cool when it's not your only option. I'm so glad I've never been afflicted by nostalgia (even less so since completing therapy for PTSD where much of my PTSD-time memories seem to have been wiped out, but not in a bad way) and vintage stuff can be fun, but more and more I understand my late grandfather who would ask, "What do you want that old junk for?" To me, it's cool old stuff that gives an impression of touching the past, but to him it was problematic, limited junk he had to do battle with back in the day. He used to talk fondly about the '28 Packard limo he bought with "ice man" money (bootlegging, I'm pretty sure), but I think if I had the money to have bought him a restored one, he'd have thought I was crazy and would have preferred maybe a new Mustang or something if anything at all (though he preferred new stuff, he was also a simple man who would use and repair things until they were no longer usable). Oi, that's enough boring old man ramblings for the day.
My father was generally really cheap and I always knew the value of things because what they cost became part of their descriptors, usually before what color it was. However, he insecurely felt he had to compete with his younger brother, who did a lot better financially (as far as we know as my father made most of his money in cash and always kept how much he made secret, but always carried a large roll of money—he once flushed $600 down the toilet when it must have fallen in upon using. Shortly later, I found $1 floating in the bowl and was excited as I thought maybe some bank robber or something had tried to hide money in the sewer and it had "floated" up. He was not as excited, but took it in a kind of stride he would not have taken it with had my mother so much as spent half that much on necessities), so once in a while, he'd drop a bunch of money on electronics because it was showy and more in his price range than nice cars. First game I remember (besides their old Pong game) was ColecoVision that he got for the better graphics than Atari (which was accurate, but the game selection wasn't as good, not that he played). We were also one of the first people I knew to get a VCR (VHS over Beta and those who know can take a good guess why and it wasn't the convenience of greater cassette play time) and a "big" 28" TV replaced our ancient cabinet console the same day. When the NES came out, we got the deluxe set with the robot (and which he was too cheap to buy games for, but it was all about the optics). To his credit, the robot did look like it was going to be cool and the let down upon using it was made up for by the gun . . . at least until we got sick of Duck Hunt (the early or maybe just the deluxe NES didn't come with Super Mario—just a split Gyromite/Duck Hunt cassette).
I remember trying to tape songs off the radio and, later, making mix tapes—figuring out song order, getting the length right for each side to not get cut off, but not to leave too much dead space at the end . . . good riddance to some of that old tech! I can't believe cassettes are making a little bit of a comeback with kids as some kind of vintage cool thing. I guess it might be cool when it's not your only option. I'm so glad I've never been afflicted by nostalgia (even less so since completing therapy for PTSD where much of my PTSD-time memories seem to have been wiped out, but not in a bad way) and vintage stuff can be fun, but more and more I understand my late grandfather who would ask, "What do you want that old junk for?" To me, it's cool old stuff that gives an impression of touching the past, but to him it was problematic, limited junk he had to do battle with back in the day. He used to talk fondly about the '28 Packard limo he bought with "ice man" money (bootlegging, I'm pretty sure), but I think if I had the money to have bought him a restored one, he'd have thought I was crazy and would have preferred maybe a new Mustang or something if anything at all (though he preferred new stuff, he was also a simple man who would use and repair things until they were no longer usable). Oi, that's enough boring old man ramblings for the day.
Fortunately, my grandson still experiences the joys of riding bikes. He often cries out "yippee!" on the road. What a wonderful sound! Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, he rides mostly with family members instead of friends.
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I grew up in what I called that bridge era. In America, as a young lad, there were still drive-in restaurants and movie theatres. We had the Atari systems. When I came back to America in 87, cell phones were expensive and complex monstrosities. I sold a few working at Radio Shack, which was a big, fat commission cheque.
Parents of kids with zero social skills wonder how it happens. Stick your kid with an electronic devise in a corner whilst you do your thing and yes- your child will have no clue how to interact with other humans. I didn’t have kids, and maybe I would have participated in the bubble method of child rearing that is the rage.
Parents of kids with zero social skills wonder how it happens. Stick your kid with an electronic devise in a corner whilst you do your thing and yes- your child will have no clue how to interact with other humans. I didn’t have kids, and maybe I would have participated in the bubble method of child rearing that is the rage.
Where is the world keeping all these terrible, socially inept, impatient kids with no grit or problem solving skills, that never go outsite or have any friends? 
I meet some kids who are brats and some kids who are perfectly lovely, normal children amd teens. Just as always.
Though, when I think about all the baby boomers I know. It's truly a miracle that their kids aren't even more screwed up.
I meet some kids who are brats and some kids who are perfectly lovely, normal children amd teens. Just as always.
Though, when I think about all the baby boomers I know. It's truly a miracle that their kids aren't even more screwed up.
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Every day in the 1950s, in the summer, a bunch of us would adventure bike. We would ride three miles to the local swimming hole followed by a two mile park ride, or 8 miles total on a balooner. Or we would ride out to abandoned mines, go down in them, and dig for galena for our our crystal radios. Sometimes we would do something stupid like take inner tubes on our bikes and swim out to a nearby Lake Superior Island and paddle around it, or go rock climbing and slide on sandstone plates and almost go over a cliff. I cringe when college students die doing the same thing now. In the winter we would comb our hair into elaborate DAs (Ducks Butts) and let our wet hair freeze in place while we walked the five blocks to the Palestra, an unheated indoor skating rink. It’s sadly long gone as is our roller rink as kids now a days are too busy learning to speak geek to support such endeavors. Lots of girls there to meet. I made a lot of electronic stuff, amps, radios, power supplies and transmitters but now it’s all integrated parts so you just plug stuff in. I used to design and etch my own circuit boards, when I was in the seventh grade. My friends did the same. The library had all the info required. I also built a working pistol, but I always fired it with a string. The powder was high powered stuff as the city fireworks were set off in a park. If you got up at dawn you could fill up a paper grocery bag with duds. The local pharmacy would sell us anything. In junior high I made nitro glycerine using a library reference and the pharmacy. We made gun cotton, nitro, black powder, and fumanate of mercury using the sample of mercury the dentist always gave us to play with. Rockets were big and ours usually fizzled or turned into pipe bombs. There was always hunting season. Only the geeks were in class during deer season and that is still the case. What changed is that students can no longer keep their rifles and shotguns in their locker so they can skip out early to go hunting. I would hate being a kid now. When I tell young people (30s - 40s) about making all the explosives they call me a terrorist, but I was just one of the guys in the Front Street Gang. Our enemies were the Park Street Gang and we used to fight, sometimes with sling shots and BB guns for control of the Back Woods, a disputed stomping ground. In the fifth and sixth grade we bought bows and arrows and throwing knives from magazines.
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Too old and lazy to do any of that again
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
Technology doesn't separate us by so much, @us56456712 . A lot of your stories sound familiar to this eighties/ninties kid. We did the same crazy outdoor adventures, I remember my mom's reaction when I pointed out some of the trails we rode where they crossed the freeway. Our outdoor shenanigans were just crammed in between Super Mario sessions. I too experimented with at home explosive chemistry, but my napalm recepie came from a printout of the Anarchist Cookbook. Mohawks instead of DAs, fishing instead of hunting. I never made my own circuit board, but I can't do any of whatever it is today either.
I wouldn't want to be a kid these days either, but it's just cuz I'm so good at being a grumpy old man
I wouldn't want to be a kid these days either, but it's just cuz I'm so good at being a grumpy old man
Dad taught me to never injure an animal I didn't intend to kill, and never kill an animal I didn't intend to eat. As I mainly ate vegemite and cheese sandwiches, there wasn't much point in hunting.
Banned from science class for making a flame thrower.
Dug through council pickup piles to find to parts to build a computer.
Broke both bones in my forearm from falling off a cliff while hiking in the bush. Giving myself two elbows in one arm.
Learned the trick of safely handling stinging jellyfish so I could throw them at people.
Got beat up. Vandalized things. Threatened by Nazis.
Set fire to my bed by accident.
Saved up money for a 56k modem, the fastest available at the time, and for a couple of years not very common.
Learned what a DoS attack was...
Grew up.
Every generation has smart kids, dumb kids, reckless kids, adventurous kids, wimpy kids, lucky kids, kids who climb on rocks.
In fact most kids are all those things in different situations.
Kids are kids, no matter the cultural landscape they're born into.
The only reason I wouldn't want to be a kid these day is because I definitely would have posted something stupid on social media that would have ruined my future life.
Banned from science class for making a flame thrower.
Dug through council pickup piles to find to parts to build a computer.
Broke both bones in my forearm from falling off a cliff while hiking in the bush. Giving myself two elbows in one arm.
Learned the trick of safely handling stinging jellyfish so I could throw them at people.
Got beat up. Vandalized things. Threatened by Nazis.
Set fire to my bed by accident.
Saved up money for a 56k modem, the fastest available at the time, and for a couple of years not very common.
Learned what a DoS attack was...
Grew up.
Every generation has smart kids, dumb kids, reckless kids, adventurous kids, wimpy kids, lucky kids, kids who climb on rocks.
In fact most kids are all those things in different situations.
Kids are kids, no matter the cultural landscape they're born into.
The only reason I wouldn't want to be a kid these day is because I definitely would have posted something stupid on social media that would have ruined my future life.
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Reading Duchess' recent post reminded me of the days of mixing tapes with a record player and cassette player. Maybe the reason I have such great eye and hand coordination was working out the exact moment to release the pause button on the cassette player!
20 years ago our only cable network ran a Seinfeld marathon with episodes in order. I decided i was going to record it on VHS tapes. I carefully calculated i needed about 15 8 hour tapes. Went down to JB Hifi (OZ version of Tower records) and found the cheapest I could get. As I was packing the tapes in a massive yellow bag, another bloke turned up and and asked for the same amount of tapes.
20 years ago our only cable network ran a Seinfeld marathon with episodes in order. I decided i was going to record it on VHS tapes. I carefully calculated i needed about 15 8 hour tapes. Went down to JB Hifi (OZ version of Tower records) and found the cheapest I could get. As I was packing the tapes in a massive yellow bag, another bloke turned up and and asked for the same amount of tapes.
