Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

[Fading Fast]

I've had friends who've owned cars that were old enough to need hand signals, so I've done it a few times (many years ago) - not fun in really cold weather, but as with so much older technology, you felt much more involved and tactilely connected to the action (that's what I miss).

 

[Zombie_61]

I had to use hand signals with my old VW back in the 80s -- the blinkers quit working and I couldn't afford to get them fixed. Even then people seemed confused -- far too many "waved back."

I wonder if they even teach them in driving classes these days. If someone were to take a poll, I'd bet the result would show most people driving in southern California either wouldn't know what they were, or that those who had even a vague recollection of them would have to spend so much time remembering which signal indicated what that they would be rendered ineffective. Hell, they barely pay attention to turn signals now.

 

[3fingers]

We have bike lanes on major residential through streets. They were a gift from a public works director who was fired shortly after. I don't have an issue with the idea, my problem is with the execution. Anyway, you have to watch the pedalers like a hawk because since they have their own lane on the far right they no longer seem to remember that to turn left they have to cross the right lane of auto traffic. A few do use hand signals but often do so after already cutting dangerously close in front of the automobile in the lane next to them.

 

[Zombie_61]

^ Around here we see a few "serious" bicyclists--the ones with the aerodynamic helmets, and the skin-tight spandex, and the expensive bicycling shoes, and the wristwatch monitors so they can maintain their desired heart rates--and they're usually more considerate and aware of traffic conditions. But the vast majority are "casual" bicyclists who don't seem to care, think they own the road, and occasionally behave as if they're trying to get hit so they can sue the driver and collect a check.

 

[1mach1]

We have bike lanes on major residential through streets. They were a gift from a public works director who was fired shortly after. I don't have an issue with the idea, my problem is with the execution. Anyway, you have to watch the pedalers like a hawk because since they have their own lane on the far right they no longer seem to remember that to turn left they have to cross the right lane of auto traffic. A few do use hand signals but often do so after already cutting dangerously close in front of the automobile in the lane next to them.

You don't have to tell me. I agree with everything you said.

 

[tonyb]

Bicycles and cars and especially trucks sharing the same patches of pavement is a bad proposition for all concerned, for various reasons, the bicyclists' unacceptably high level of exposure to deadly and disabling injury being only one of them.

This is not to say that any given bicyclist is likely to suffer such an injury, but rather that too many will. Hell, I'm a cautious driver whose history and insurance premiums over the past few decades lend credence to that assertion, and even I damn near sent a bicyclist to the hospital a year or so ago. He was in the adjacent lane and God as my witness he was invisible as I turned into that lane. We didn't collide, but ...

I suspect this is one of those things people in some future age will look back upon and shake their heads. True grade separation is what's needed, but that's all but infeasible in most urban cores. So, in what will in all likelihood remain the status quo, I'd advise bicyclists to get a car, and if they won't do that, to assume they are invisible and to have their affairs in order.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Around here it's the casual bicyclists who tend to be more careful, and the ones in the flame-glo superhero suits who tear thru intersections with their heads bent low and their faces contorted as they pedal to the grocery store to get their energy bars.

I've always used hand signals when bike riding, ever since I was taught to do so by an Officer Friendly-type cop in a school presentation in the second grade. It made sense then, and it makes sense now. It helped to reinforce the points when I saw two different friends end up with shattered bones when they ended up plastered across the front of cars.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
Among the more strident "bicyclists' rights" advocates I've encountered is a tendency to insist that motorists follow the rules of the road while they, the human-powered vehicle operators, are free to go through intersections under red lights if it suits them (and there is no immediate crossing traffic, provided they aren't outright suicidal). They also deem themselves pedestrians (while astride their two-wheeled mounts) with the right of way at crosswalks when that suits them, and assert their equal rights to the vehicle traffic lanes, when that suits them.

Not wishing to paint with too broad a brush. Many an adult bicyclist just happens to be a bicyclist. It isn't his religion or his identity or his raison d'etre. He just uses a bike, is all.

 

[Fading Fast]

NYC has greatly increased its bike lanes and other features to encourage bike riding. Rather than drubbing one of the three main groups - drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists - all have good and bad actors, IMHO, if it's all going to work, the police are going to have to arrive at a consistent and enforceable set of protocols, rules and laws and then, well, enforce them.

Right now, all groups have members who cause issue - pedestrians crossing willy nilly, drivers pushing into bike lanes, bicyclists blasting through intersections against the light. The challenge is that too strict an enforcement will prevent the unwritten rules that help things work in a way that's hard to put on paper.

I've seen pedestrians do the right thing and stop even though they have the right of way when an intersection is blocked with cars so as to let traffic flow. I've seen cars do the same thing when human traffic is backing up. There are many examples where some give is needed - common sense, unwritten rules, norms, etc. - but that can be worked out. What the police need to do is aggressively ticket clearly bad actions - that isn't happening enough and there's a lot of chaos out there now. As is usually the case, it's the 10% (or probably less) that cause havoc for the other 90+% that are reasonable.

 

[tmal]

I have not had a Clark bar in 40 years. Are they still the same as I remember?

 

[tmal]

And for the record: I liked necco wafers..

 

[Fading Fast]

I have not had a Clark bar in 40 years. Are they still the same as I remember?

Lizzie is better at picking up on subtle changes in this stuff from when we were kids, but other than getting smaller (like every freakin' candy bar out there - away from the up-priced "king" sizes), it tastes the same to me.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Krawatte? What is that?? Anyone remember???

 

[Fading Fast]

Krawatte? What is that?? Anyone remember???

You might want to post that one on the German-language Fedora Lounge . That said, if the web’s German-to-English dictionary is correct, it’s a necktie. Definitely fading, but I still see them every day, at least in NYC.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Ties are rare enough here that when you see one your first thought is "Auditor or Defendant?"

 

[Fading Fast]

I work from home, so on many days, I don't see another soul save my girlfriend, but I had a few in-person meetings this week which forced me out into the world and, specifically, into the heart of the midtown business district.

Owing to recent conversations here and at one other forum I'm on, I paid close attention to what business people wear in reality and not just as argued about on-line.

There are still plenty of ties as some subset of the business community still does the suit-tie thing, but I did notice that those who do were - overall - particularly well and very expensively dressed, so I'm guessing high-priced lawyers, investment bankers and real estate execs (plus a smattering of other big money makers with high-end clients - auction houses, jewelry wholesalers, retail super-luxury goods, etc.).

Away from that - attire in this businessy area was all over the map. A lot of suits with open-collared shirts (i.e., no ties) - young men look like conformists trying to be rebellious doing this while older men appear like they're trying too hard to look young. Also, plenty of tech-worker uniforms (a general scruffiness clad in skinny chinos or jeans, t-shirts or not-business, but collared shirts) and, of course, the cubicle uniform of not-too-skinny chinos, polo shirts and fleece vests (for some reason, mainly in light grey and mainly from Patagonia).

There's more - the backpack dominates as the grip of choice for all but the uber-expensive-looking suit-and-tie crowd - but the above noted were the main categories of attire.

 

[3fingers]

I don't wear ties regularly given my occupation, but I enjoy the opportunity to be well dressed when it presents itself. I occasionally attend church with my wife and always wear at minimum a shirt and tie. That or a suit used to be standard attire in her congregation but I have noticed a steady decline over the past few years. The last time I was there I was actually accosted by several fellows asking that I refrain from "dressing up". They were worried that their wives would demand that they return to that standard as well if they saw others dressed that way. I personally don't care what you wear as long as it is not wildly inappropriate for the situation, but I do believe that this is a small stone that has helped to crumble the wall of public decorum. I see it as a parallel to the "people of Wal-Mart" effect on society.

 

[ChiTownScion]

You might want to post that one on the German-language Fedora Lounge . That said, if the web’s German-to-English dictionary is correct, it’s a necktie. Definitely fading, but I still see them every day, at least in NYC.

For myself: always for court, a nice dinner, live theatre, or Lodge. Never around heavy machinery.

 

[tonyb]

For myself: always for court, a nice dinner, live theatre, or Lodge. Never around heavy machinery.

There's a good reason that cop uniforms calling for neckties specify that those ties be of the clip-on variety.

 

[scottyrocks]

NYC has greatly increased its bike lanes and other features to encourage bike riding. Rather than drubbing one of the three main groups - drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists - all have good and bad actors, IMHO, if it's all going to work, the police are going to have to arrive at a consistent and enforceable set of protocols, rules and laws and then, well, enforce them.

Right now, all groups have members who cause issue - pedestrians crossing willy nilly, drivers pushing into bike lanes, bicyclists blasting through intersections against the light. The challenge is that too strict an enforcement will prevent the unwritten rules that help things work in a way that's hard to put on paper.

I've seen pedestrians do the right thing and stop even though they have the right of way when an intersection is blocked with cars so as to let traffic flow. I've seen cars do the same thing when human traffic is backing up. There are many examples where some give is needed - common sense, unwritten rules, norms, etc. - but that can be worked out. What the police need to do is aggressively ticket clearly bad actions - that isn't happening enough and there's a lot of chaos out there now. As is usually the case, it's the 10% (or probably less) that cause havoc for the other 90+% that are reasonable.

I had found, many years ago, that the best way to get around NYC is by motorcycle, believe it or not. Parking is the most obvious advantage, but the narrowness of a bike, combined with the ability to move and stop quickly when necessary made my NYC travels about the quickest and most relaxed way I have ever moved around that borough.

Of course, no rocketing down streets is the primary safety consideration. A good rider watches everything, and executes moves carefully, only when assessments say it is okay to do so.