I'll call Headquarters tomorrow

[1937hd45]

Need to renew my AACA Membership, so I though I'd go "Modern" and do it on line. Guess that is something kids are good at, I'll use the telephone first thing on Monday and talk with a friendly human as in years past. 

 

Bob 

[kgreen]

What?? You still have a land line?  

 

All kidding aside (really, do you still have a land line?), times are changing fast, but I think they changed equally fast for my grandparents who were born just after the turn of the 20th century.  Glad you are renewing, hope to meet you sometime.

 

[1937hd45]

At the rate I misplace or loose, brake eye glasses a cell phone would be the most expensive dumb mistake I could ever make, besides I'm too old to understand how to use one. Bob 

[Terry Bond]

Bob, you don't realize how a tech upgrade could enhance your Hershey experience.   This year I was confined pretty much to my swap spot because of my broken leg.  I enjoyed visiting and vending of course but felt I was missing the shopping piece of the greatest show on earth.  That is until my wife texted me a photo of a neat piece of automobilia that she spotted.   My advice of course - buy it!   She kept sending pics and asking about stuff and I ended up with some super goodies I otherwise would not have found.  The cell-phone pics and text messages were great and extended my reach tremendously.  Even in the cases where we didn't buy something I've still got the photos for my Hershey swap meet photo album.  Realize i got off track here, but ditching my flip phone in favor of a modern unit was a pretty good move.   I also keep a gallery of photos on the phone including some parts photos, and some pics of my brass lamps.  Easier to remember whether it's the left or right one I need to make a pair.   It's replaced the old two way radios we used to see.

Terry

[ply33]

9 hours ago, kgreen said:

What?? You still have a land line?  

 

All kidding aside (really, do you still have a land line?), times are changing fast, but I think they changed equally fast for my grandparents who were born just after the turn of the 20th century.  Glad you are renewing, hope to meet you sometime.

 

 

When my maternal grandfather, born in the 1890s, passed away in the early 1980s it dawned on me that even as a young man automobiles, paved roads, electric lights and telephones were pretty rare. And airplanes, radio and television were non-existent. But he'd lived long enough to see a man land on the moon and to have taken a number of jet airline trips to various parts of the world. Lots of changes in that era.

 

I agree, we aren't the only generation that is or has lived in rapidly changing times.

[Frank DuVal]

I still have a land line so I can talk on the phone at home! I hate the t   xxs    he    s  ome   br   sp  ch  o  he  ell one a om   .

 

Well, that's what the cell phone sound like at home. Any cell phone, any carrier that people who visit use. "Can you hear me now" is still more of the conversation here. Texting works.

 

When we had the earthquake and everybody was on their cell phone with busy signals, the land line worked great for my wife.

 

On the other hand, we have a choice of cable TV providers! Where else does that happen? No Fios, but no need for satellite high seed internet like most of my coworkers have to use. 

[capngrog]

I have a land line.  It has an answering machine.  If you'd like to contact me, leave a message, and I'll get back to you.  I have a cell phone.  It works great when I want it to.  I leave it off most of the time, since I'd rather devote my focus to those I'm with, rather than constantly be interrupted by "more important" messages from people I either don't know or those I know who'd like me to know that they are just now walking into Walmart.  Although I appreciate the many features and advantages of a "smart" phone, I'd rather not be a slave to it.  Oh, by the way, I have a digital camera if I need to photograph something/someone.  I walk around like a normal human being without a smartphone in its holster.

 

End of rant.

 

Cheers,

Grog

[1937hd45]

MAYBE, If someone with a cell phone could show me how it works without an obscenity & expletive filled screaming rant after I ask a simple question there may be some justification to having one, not that I could afford one. 

 

Bob

[1937hd45]

Call was made, I'm an AACA Member for another year! Talking with Karen was far more enjoyable than trying to figure out how the on line mumble jumble crap works. Bob 

Edited February 12, 2018 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[John_S_in_Penna]

On 2/11/2018 at 12:44 PM, kgreen said:

What?? You still have a land line?  

 

I'm a generation or more younger than many of our

region members, and I have a regular home phone.

And I do not have the need for a mobile phone!

 

Surprised?  Cellular phones do everything except

handle calls well.  The best they can possibly do is

approximate the quality of a wired phone.  When I

browse the internet, I have the luxury of a desktop

computer, and I don't do it on a tiny screen.  And surely

you know rural places that don't have cellular coverage.

The $50 to $75 a month ($9000 in ten years) that

someone spends to be checking a mobile device every

5 minutes, I can spend on pleasantly upgrading an

old car or two!

 

Ah, to be free of entangling encumbrances---  

Edited February 12, 2018 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[1937hd45]

John, Has someone started to keep track of the connected cell phone addicts that walk into busses, fall down stairs etc.?  Why do they have the scream into the things when they are 3-5 people behind me on line, I don't have any interest in their useless chatter. Having a cell phone chat before or during a planed Hershey swap meet transaction with me does effect the price of the item, if you can afford to be rude expect to pay for it. Bob 

Edited February 12, 2018 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[C Carl]

Ugh ! John , I never thought of the cumulative cost of wireless connectivity. I am at the point where 10 years of billing would add up to another very nice car. Or two ! My doctors reassure me that at this point , probably a generation older than you , I am far better off not buying any more cars. Now THAT is a relief !  ?    - Carl 

[kgreen]

14 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

MAYBE, If someone with a cell phone could show me how it works without an obscenity & expletive filled screaming rant after I ask a simple question there may be some justification to having one, not that I could afford one. 

 

Bob

Bob, stay where you're comfortable.  You've found your sweet spot, stay there.  I don't think you've missed a thing.  

 

On a similar vein Luther Perkins played guitar for Johnny Cash and always reverted to the style you here on Folsom Prison Blues.  When asked why he didn't change or try something different he said "when you find the winner, you stick with it".

 

 

 

[DB26]

I exclusively use/post/view this forum on my phone. But I do have a very large appreciation and respect for life before the digital age. Hence why I own my Dodge. 

[ply33]

2 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

. . .The $50 to $75 a month ($9000 in ten years) that someone spends to be checking a mobile device every 5 minutes . . .

 

Check out some of the MNVO (Mobile Network Virtual Operators). They basically work by buying bulk from the big boys and reselling discount services. The one I am, Ting Wireless, is costing my spouse and me about $15 to $20 per phone per month for the way we use them. There are other MNVOs, generally tied to specific major carriers so you want to pick one that has good coverage in your area and a pricing plan that works with the way you want to use the phone.

 

We ported our "land line" to a Voice Over IP (VoIP) provider a long, long time ago. While the local phone company, now part of AT&T, had a nominal $13/mo charge for the line by the time manditory fees were added it was closer to $20 for a minimum bill and $25/mo for our usage. With our current VoIP provider we pay about $5/mo and that includes voice mail and really nice call handling including a very effective telemarketer block. Bonus feature: When we moved, we simply plugged our analog phone adaptor into the network at the new house and kept our existing phone number with zero hassles.

 

So our total cell plus land line monthly cost today is about what we were paying a "baby Bell" for just a plain old phone 10 or so years ago.

 

1 hour ago, 1937hd45 said:

John, Has someone started to keep track of the connected cell phone addicts that walk into busses, fall down stairs etc.?  

 

I haven't checked but I'd guess that there are all sorts of YouTube "channels" devoted to that type of thing. Probably make by people using their cell phones to record others while being just as oblivious about their own actions as the ones they were recording.