For Old Guys Only
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Yeah? Mike, just wait until that computerized Triumph gives up the ghost some day and will need a trip to the dealership to get it running again. I had a 63 Bonny and I could do anything it needed myself, even on the side of the road, although it never left me there.
As far as 'solid state', ha, ha. Unless you have a degree in electronics, or at least a lot of experience, diagnostic equipment and tools, try getting something that is solid state or micro-processed to work again without replacing parts, or paying someone else to fix it for you. That is IF it can be fixed. So many things made today are 'throw-away' items because repair costs are too high or impossible due to unavailability of replacement parts. Built in obsolescence was never even considered in "the good old days". Things were built to perform and to last, not to fill up the landfills with plastic and circuit boards.
As for exhaust smells: I'd much rather be behind a carbureted vehicle that these sulpher smelling, catalytic converted things out there today. I love the smell of hydrocarbons in the morning. It smells like...my youth.
Tom
As far as 'solid state', ha, ha. Unless you have a degree in electronics, or at least a lot of experience, diagnostic equipment and tools, try getting something that is solid state or micro-processed to work again without replacing parts, or paying someone else to fix it for you. That is IF it can be fixed. So many things made today are 'throw-away' items because repair costs are too high or impossible due to unavailability of replacement parts. Built in obsolescence was never even considered in "the good old days". Things were built to perform and to last, not to fill up the landfills with plastic and circuit boards.
As for exhaust smells: I'd much rather be behind a carbureted vehicle that these sulpher smelling, catalytic converted things out there today. I love the smell of hydrocarbons in the morning. It smells like...my youth.
Tom
I paid $150 to fix a TV once. After I fixed it it died 2 years later. For $300 I could have bought a new TV. Never fix commercial electronics, it just not worth it.
Now I built that amplifier, so I know how it works. And I have the manual with all the resistance and voltage checks in it. That I can fix.
Cars I don't even worry about anymore. They are so more reliable than the old stuff there is no comparison. The Japanese forced us to do it. Now US cars are better than ever. Spark plugs last a 100,000 miles. Milage is twice what it used to be.
I like Maryland soft shell crabs. If I want some I just order some up from the internet and that's lots cheaper than sending myself to the east coast. Oh yeah, the internet, the thing that makes all this "new tech" whining possible. You guys are funny.
Now I built that amplifier, so I know how it works. And I have the manual with all the resistance and voltage checks in it. That I can fix.
Cars I don't even worry about anymore. They are so more reliable than the old stuff there is no comparison. The Japanese forced us to do it. Now US cars are better than ever. Spark plugs last a 100,000 miles. Milage is twice what it used to be.
I like Maryland soft shell crabs. If I want some I just order some up from the internet and that's lots cheaper than sending myself to the east coast. Oh yeah, the internet, the thing that makes all this "new tech" whining possible. You guys are funny.
Hey don't get me wrong. I am into modern tech. Always have been. I think todays technology is great and I'm looking forward to tomorrows. I simply don't agree with the way it is to often used...
I often find it difficult to be a modern man with old fashioned values living in a modern world.
I often find it difficult to be a modern man with old fashioned values living in a modern world.
I don't worry about that. I'm just being true to myself. I tell no lies, I make good on my promises and I have as much fun as possible.
I don't want to run anyones life and I won't have anyone run mine.
Life is too short for anything else. It takes as much effort to be miserable as it does to be happy.
I don't want to run anyones life and I won't have anyone run mine.
Life is too short for anything else. It takes as much effort to be miserable as it does to be happy.
Ditto and well said, Mass.
Yeah, I use new tech too, I'm forced to, everyone does but what I'm saying is there are aspects of it that don't, can't compare with some of the earlier concepts and have become cumbersome and user unfriendly. Anyone old enough to have been raised in a less technological era can appreciate what I mean. Faster, more complex, non-adjustable isn't always 'better'. It might be able to be produced cheaper and in greater quantities than the older stuff and it might have some advantages, but that doesn't make it 'better'.
Our age has a lot to do with our views on technology as well as many other aspects of life.
That's why I titled this thread the way I did.
Tom
Lot's of the old stuff was better. Like furnature. Used to be made of wood. Now it's made of particle board.
I refuse to buy that crap. I'll pay more for wood. I refuse to make speaker boxes from it too. Yeah, it's more uniform and supposed to be "better" accousticlly and I did use it before. Which is why I don't use it anymore. That stuff sucks to work. Doesn't make sawdust, it makes a fine smelly powder that gets into everything and hangs in the air forever.
Nope, I use furnature grade plywood. Costs more, has a few voids, I don't care. I'm old fashioned that way -
I refuse to buy that crap. I'll pay more for wood. I refuse to make speaker boxes from it too. Yeah, it's more uniform and supposed to be "better" accousticlly and I did use it before. Which is why I don't use it anymore. That stuff sucks to work. Doesn't make sawdust, it makes a fine smelly powder that gets into everything and hangs in the air forever.
Nope, I use furnature grade plywood. Costs more, has a few voids, I don't care. I'm old fashioned that way -
I have a Phoenix PHA 1 guitar amp. 1970s with valve pre amp and solid state 2nd stage. It has a raw, clear sound that I haven't got from any of the modern ones I've tried. It used to be "worthless", now the prices are climbing.
Some of the modern devices we have are great, I drove a car for years with 1950s tech, it was fun but a pain. Now I have an early 90s camper, I get in, turn the key, go.
And I have just got a bit more done in the creation of the Ultimate Slow bike, modern engine, sparks, in a frame design that goes back 100 years.
Some of the modern devices we have are great, I drove a car for years with 1950s tech, it was fun but a pain. Now I have an early 90s camper, I get in, turn the key, go.
And I have just got a bit more done in the creation of the Ultimate Slow bike, modern engine, sparks, in a frame design that goes back 100 years.
I like the new vehicles with engine management for the ease and comfort but there is nothing like cruising around in a classic, I have never got a thumbs up or a wave while driving my 04 truck but get them all the time in my 70 gmc or my 50 ford. We take a lot of things for granted like heat, my 50 did not come with a heater. It had a radio in at the dealer but my father inlaw said his grandmother would not buy the car unless they removed it, she though music would be too much of a distraction while driving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvQb9qH7ySM&list=PLD65699A87D153B7D oldsmobile
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Omj6zxtIB0&feature=share&list=PLD65699A87D153B7D (loud!) hemi powered rat rod
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Omj6zxtIB0&feature=share&list=PLD65699A87D153B7D (loud!) hemi powered rat rod
Thanks, HC. That was fun. The coupe's windshield view looks just like what I see when I drive my sedan. Except for the six Strombergs. I have a hood. But that mail slot view through a 4" top chop is the same.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMgjszenCnM&feature=youtu.be
Tom
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We are sure some grumpy old men aren't we?
What, 56 pages or so?
I love some of new tech like my 65" flat screen 1080P TV and dual tuner HD DVR as well as my digital camera and kick ass PC but I don't do cell phones at all and laughed my butt off when my wife just spent $100 on a coffee machine that only makes 1 cup at a time via expensive 'coffee cartridges' even though the $15 drip machines we have work just dandy and make a whole pot.
I don't do coffee anymore, I drop 2 green tea bags and a bag of Earl Grey in my cheap drip system for my morning beverage with just a squirt of my own home grown lemon tree juice.
I also don't give a crap what is under the hood in the decade or so old Toyota Carmery, all I know is the thing just keeps running with cheap maintenance I have others do down to oil changes.
The profound changes I have seen over the last couple of decades is how the Internet isn't just for smart people looking for technical answers any more, it is filled with jerk-offs showing their totally ******* side.
ANyway...
I was a kid in the 60's, did higher ed in the 70's, and even endured the 80's so I figure this too shall pass.
I say don't scorn tech, just don't rely on it to survive.
What, 56 pages or so?
I love some of new tech like my 65" flat screen 1080P TV and dual tuner HD DVR as well as my digital camera and kick ass PC but I don't do cell phones at all and laughed my butt off when my wife just spent $100 on a coffee machine that only makes 1 cup at a time via expensive 'coffee cartridges' even though the $15 drip machines we have work just dandy and make a whole pot.
I don't do coffee anymore, I drop 2 green tea bags and a bag of Earl Grey in my cheap drip system for my morning beverage with just a squirt of my own home grown lemon tree juice.
I also don't give a crap what is under the hood in the decade or so old Toyota Carmery, all I know is the thing just keeps running with cheap maintenance I have others do down to oil changes.
The profound changes I have seen over the last couple of decades is how the Internet isn't just for smart people looking for technical answers any more, it is filled with jerk-offs showing their totally ******* side.
ANyway...
I was a kid in the 60's, did higher ed in the 70's, and even endured the 80's so I figure this too shall pass.
I say don't scorn tech, just don't rely on it to survive.
I think I'm getting crotchety too. I found I can go all weekend without touching my smart phone (mostly because I just didn't feel up to interacting with anyone at the time). But I don't miss the stupid "party line" we had as a kid, so some tech isn't so bad.
As vehicles go, my 2000 Dodge Caravan is the most modern thing I've ever driven. It's never really stopped running; it's cheap to maintain; it hauls whatever I need it to, but I can barely figure out what goes on under the hood sometimes. I was happy to figure out how to get the serpentine belt back on when it slipped off after I hit a big puddle.
I find myself missing my Camaros, my Firebird, my Cougar XR7, but mostly my slightly-souped '74 Datsun 260 Z. No power steering, no power brakes, no power windows, no power locks, it even had a manual choke - little black lever next to the gearshift. But the engine had PLENTY of power. Between the rebuilt 240 carbs, the mild-grind racing cam, the custom exhaust with Cherry Bomb muffler, and the slight mill to the head, she was a force to be reckoned with. You'd need a Corvette ZR1, something Italian, or something German to catch my little red rice-burner. Man, I miss that car.
I found a pic, she looked exactly like these:
As vehicles go, my 2000 Dodge Caravan is the most modern thing I've ever driven. It's never really stopped running; it's cheap to maintain; it hauls whatever I need it to, but I can barely figure out what goes on under the hood sometimes. I was happy to figure out how to get the serpentine belt back on when it slipped off after I hit a big puddle.
I find myself missing my Camaros, my Firebird, my Cougar XR7, but mostly my slightly-souped '74 Datsun 260 Z. No power steering, no power brakes, no power windows, no power locks, it even had a manual choke - little black lever next to the gearshift. But the engine had PLENTY of power. Between the rebuilt 240 carbs, the mild-grind racing cam, the custom exhaust with Cherry Bomb muffler, and the slight mill to the head, she was a force to be reckoned with. You'd need a Corvette ZR1, something Italian, or something German to catch my little red rice-burner. Man, I miss that car.
I found a pic, she looked exactly like these:
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