What modern invention/innovation do you wish had *never* been developed?

[Dixie_Amazon]

Earlier training helps too. I recently read that people with perfect (absolute) pitch usually started training before age six. That would probably increase a kid's chance of having relative pitch too.

My husband and I watch The Voice some and he does not notice when are sharp or flat unless they are way off.

 

[Horace Debussy Jones]

Agreed! I won't miss what I call "The Beavis and Butthead Look",...grown men wearing nothing but baggy sloppy looking shorts and equally over-sized T shirts year round, in an effort to hide their ample bellies and appear "hip" and youthful. Who are they trying to kid?? :laugh:

:clap: :clap: :clap: Not so much for the alternative but have always hate the tin suit pants that denim is. They never were comfortable to me. If they disappear then good riddance! Part of the hippie uniform will be gone. Next up---t-shirts worn as shirts----not the underwear that they are.

 

[LizzieMaine]

What we really need to go to war against are the very concepts of "hip" and "cool." Abolish those, and ugly fashion will disappear overnight.

 

[Zombie_61]

...Anyway, sounds as if you're like me. When I hear a kid playing a guitar out of tune, I want to grab it and say "let me tune that thing before you give us all a headache."

Guilty as charged. I've occasionally wanted to do the same thing with bands playing at one local establishment or another, and one of the members hasn't tuned their guitar properly. I mean, really? You're being paid to entertain people and you haven't tuned your guitar? :eusa_doh: lol

 

[sheeplady]

I don't know, I get more upset at auto-tuners that singers use than someone singing a few notes that are flat. I really appreciate when I see a performance on TV where the singer is halfway decent AND it doesn't seem an auto-tuner is being used.

Some people say they can't hear the difference, but I'd rather hear the occasional flat or sharp note than have the blandness of perfection. It's gutsy in this world where the pressure is to use autotune to go on a live show and sing your guts out.

Granted, the person actually has to be able to sing to pull this off. You want authenticity, not crud.

 

[LuvMyMan]

Well...the cell phones issues are really surfacing in my household. I had Sprint for over 10 years. In our area, they have been doing what is called, Upgrading the towers for some new fancy high speed connectivity....but that made all our cell phones NON functional. My Husband had a android, I had a blackberry. So after being billed for two months of normal billing and non of our phones would work any longer, we decided to switch to Verizon. BIG mistake. Very BIG mistake. Verizon is worse then the MOB. I elected to spend the money on phones rather than to buy a new computer as we need to have working phones due to medical emergency issues in our household. So...I buy 4 phones...(one for my Daughter and one for Daniel's Mother) and then one for me and one for Daniel. I pay for the phones all up front. The phones are sent to my home, I take the phones to the Verizon store and have them activated and port over old numbers to the new phones so people and doctors and everyone can call us on our old numbers....then I see on my phone from Verizon what my bill is.....they have charged me for 8 phones. The phone plan I selected is for only 4 lines...for 4 phones...we only have 4 phones......and I only selected a medium size data plan for the 4 phones to share. My bill is for 8 phones.....8 lines....and a date package for all 8 lines and phones....I own only 4 phones....the bill is $600.00 per month! I have called and called and called Verizon. They claim this will be "fixed" but it is now going into month two...not fixed. This is a common problem with Verizon. And they have told me so many lies, I am past wanting to even talk to them, and I am afraid of what Daniel would do if they continue to tell me we owe the $600.00 a month....I have recently been told this would be taken care of, but lied to...they claimed they would call me back...and tell me what the new corrected billing would be...but they have not changed a single thing...they show me owing them $600.00 per month for the phones......I've contacted the BBB but in the mean time if I don't pay the bill, eventually they will shut my phones off and then my credit rating will go down the drain. If I can get this resolved and they will just allow me to cancel the service without forcing me to pay early contract termination fees, I am going to do without cell phones and get a land line. I have even sent an email to the "chief crook" in charge of Verizon, but I am sure it will not produce any resolve. Verizon is a horrid company....I am sure they are really owned and operated by the Mob...nothing else would make sense to me, as to how and why they are so dishonest. So in other words, I wish the Cell Phones had never been invented. I cannot afford to pay them $600.00 a month for phones and they do not do anything actually to fix the issue, they just want their money for the 8 lines I don't have and refuse to resolve the issues. I can't "post" what I'd like to tell them, but you can imagine pretty easily what they would be! :kick:

 

[bbshriver]

Interesting and very strange... I've had no problem with Verizon at all. Have you tried going to one of their stores to straighten it out?

 

[HudsonHawk]

I don't know, I get more upset at auto-tuners that singers use than someone singing a few notes that are flat. I really appreciate when I see a performance on TV where the singer is halfway decent AND it doesn't seem an auto-tuner is being used.

Some people say they can't hear the difference, but I'd rather hear the occasional flat or sharp note than have the blandness of perfection. It's gutsy in this world where the pressure is to use autotune to go on a live show and sing your guts out.

Granted, the person actually has to be able to sing to pull this off. You want authenticity, not crud.

Perhaps I'm not getting what you mean by "autotune". I'm talking about a little device that has a needle that tells you if your guitar string is sharp or flat.



You then tune the string accordingly. Perhaps you're talking about something else, because I can't figure out for the life of me why someone wouldn't want instruments to be in tune.

 

[LuvMyMan]

Interesting and very strange... I've had no problem with Verizon at all. Have you tried going to one of their stores to straighten it out?

Yes. I had the phones initially activated in the Verizon store near me. The Store employees are well aware of the situation. The store employees called and spoke with a billing representative on my behalf while I was right there. No matter what was explained to the Verizon billing person, the result is I have 8 phone lines that I have to pay for! The Store employee stated it was impossible, they are the ones that did the activation and ported my old numbers to the newly purchased phone, however the billing person told them the records indicate 8 lines, that I am going to have to pay for them all! So since I posted this issue over the past hour or so, I have been on the phone with Verizon....they have no resolve for me. They have no answers as to why the bill is the way it is. The "normal" bill should be around $245 or so...I have already paid that much and they tell me I still have an outstanding amount due on the first months bill, and will owe almost $600.00 on my next bill, and that is IF I pay the remainder of the bill I owe now. I explained to the Verizon representative, what are the other four phones I have then? You have a listing of my phones I purchased and activated so where are the other 4 phones at? They have 4 other phone numbers on my bill....aside from the ones I have in use with my phones I purchased. But there are NO phones in my ownership that I have activated, so how in the world could I have 8 total phones and phone lines? So far, they claim what shows up on their end, is what I have to pay for. I filed a claim/complaint to the BBB about this entire affair, and emailed the CEO of Verizon. I did inform the billing person I was talking with, I will not pay for a service I do not have. I only have four phones.....asked them "can you hear me now"? If I can get out of this phone service, and not have to pay for early termination fees, I am heading to AT& T and grabbing a normal land line. If Verizon will not take back their phones....the HTC one phones we have are going to be used for target practice. 9mm time. The entire ordeal is like an insane movie...I sure do not need the extra stress or problems.

 

[LuvMyMan]

Perhaps I'm not getting what you mean by "autotune". I'm talking about a little device that has a needle that tells you if your guitar string is sharp or flat.

View attachment 17705

You then tune the string accordingly. Perhaps you're talking about something else, because I can't figure out for the life of me why someone wouldn't want instruments to be in tune.

Those gadgets are nice and work, but a cheaper way is just a pitch pipe.....but lets say on a Guitar, once a person listens to that fat bass top string, it should be fairly easy to recall the sound...and then the rest of the strings are easy to do the frets down and harmonize the next smaller string down to match the note. Been a long time since I have messed with a Guitar, my Husband has a dozen or more of them floating around.

 

[bbshriver]

Sorry to hear you're having issues, and that's thoroughly bizarre! I've never had an issue being able to edit the service in a store or online..

 

[LuvMyMan]

Sorry to hear you're having issues, and that's thoroughly bizarre! I've never had an issue being able to edit the service in a store or online..

I know...it bugs me so much, I have to ask myself, am I in the "twilight zone"????? How this can be going on is way past me....I have attempted to reason it all out with them at Verizon....even if they charge for phone lines....I have no phones activated to those lines....where are the phones and when did I have phones for those extra 4 lines? I am a NEW customer...so it cannot be I already had 4 phones.....I will hope one of their big shots will contact me due to my email to the CEO and they will listen to me with an open mind....billing people are not bothering to think....logic says, 4 phones and no other "devices" then only 4 phone lines. If they placed phone line numbers on my account, that is THEIR mistake not mine.

 

[sheeplady]

Perhaps I'm not getting what you mean by "autotune". I'm talking about a little device that has a needle that tells you if your guitar string is sharp or flat.

View attachment 17705

You then tune the string accordingly. Perhaps you're talking about something else, because I can't figure out for the life of me why someone wouldn't want instruments to be in tune.

I was having a separate thought. The auto tune that many singers use for live (and increasingly studio) performances uses digital technology to automatically "adjust" pitch. Cher famously used it for artistic purposes in her song "believe" in the studio, but it's gotten to the point where it's being used more and more.

 

[bbshriver]

I know...it bugs me so much, I have to ask myself, am I in the "twilight zone"????? How this can be going on is way past me....I have attempted to reason it all out with them at Verizon....even if they charge for phone lines....I have no phones activated to those lines....where are the phones and when did I have phones for those extra 4 lines? I am a NEW customer...so it cannot be I already had 4 phones.....I will hope one of their big shots will contact me due to my email to the CEO and they will listen to me with an open mind....billing people are not bothering to think....logic says, 4 phones and no other "devices" then only 4 phone lines. If they placed phone line numbers on my account, that is THEIR mistake not mine.

Taking an educated guess here, but I think here's what happened (why they can't resolve it is another question)

You said you got 4 phones, I'm assuming online... then you went to the store and had your old number ported.

I'm guessing the store somehow activated the "ported" number line without replacing the "new" line created when you bought the phones.

If you log onto your Verizon wireless account do you see 4 additional phone #'s?

 

[HudsonHawk]

Those gadgets are nice and work, but a cheaper way is just a pitch pipe.....but lets say on a Guitar, once a person listens to that fat bass top string, it should be fairly easy to recall the sound...and then the rest of the strings are easy to do the frets down and harmonize the next smaller string down to match the note. Been a long time since I have messed with a Guitar, my Husband has a dozen or more of them floating around.

Pitch pipes are not really much cheaper. They run about $12-15. Electronic tuners run $15-20. And the latter is easier, because actually it's not easy to recall the sound of a note. Not at all. In fact, it's extremely difficult. Secondly, matching the sound on the next string is also extremely hard for most people and takes years of practice to learn. With the electronic tuner, there is no excuse for not being in tune all the time, right out of the box.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I was having a separate thought. The auto tune that many singers use for live (and increasingly studio) performances uses digital technology to automatically "adjust" pitch. Cher famously used it for artistic purposes in her song "believe" in the studio, but it's gotten to the point where it's being used more and more.

Oh, ok. I've heard of that, but have never used anything like that.

 

[LuvMyMan]

Taking an educated guess here, but I think here's what happened (why they can't resolve it is another question)

You said you got 4 phones, I'm assuming online... then you went to the store and had your old number ported.

I'm guessing the store somehow activated the "ported" number line without replacing the "new" line created when you bought the phones.

If you log onto your Verizon wireless account do you see 4 additional phone #'s?

You are most likely correct, and as such I asked them about that same issue...it does show 8 lines....however part of this issue also was an activation fee for each of the 8 phone lines. We signed up and had been told they would not charge any activation fees, but that was on the billing.

Now for some good news on all of it...a person from their home office did contact me. This was someone from their corporate management team. The man was totally interested in looking at every single thing to do with the bill, our plan, what we paid, all of it. Having the authority to really fix this mess, he took care of everything for me. He was willing to spend the time to find what we should be billed, over the amount that the billing was saying we owed. So now, I was able to pay only what was owed and not a penny more....which was a entire blessing to have it taken care of. I have no room in my life at the moment for any additional stress or financial hocus pocus from any source. I was given his personal information and a phone number to reach him in case I have any further issues, he also spoke briefly with my Husband, as I had made mention how much this has added to my Husband's stress levels, and a few other things. It is all finally taken care of. I am presuming he is going to also investigate some of the issues with customer service reps that just lied to us, as they had told us too many stories and no facts and no resolve. I can live with the bill now.

Thank you so much for your care and concern. It is greatly appreciated and we love ya for it!

 

[LuvMyMan]

Pitch pipes are not really much cheaper. They run about $12-15. Electronic tuners run $15-20. And the latter is easier, because actually it's not easy to recall the sound of a note. Not at all. In fact, it's extremely difficult. Secondly, matching the sound on the next string is also extremely hard for most people and takes years of practice to learn. With the electronic tuner, there is no excuse for not being in tune all the time, right out of the box.

Wow....I guess prices have gone up since the last time anyone in our home paid for a pitch pipe...maybe since the mid 1970's? LOL They used to be a few bucks at most! You kjow they remind me of an old broken harmonica....lol! I think the pitch pipe we have around here has three notes...G, E, and F. I think if you could blow all three tubes at the same time...you'd have a "goat call"...lol!

 

[LuvMyMan]

I was having a separate thought. The auto tune that many singers use for live (and increasingly studio) performances uses digital technology to automatically "adjust" pitch. Cher famously used it for artistic purposes in her song "believe" in the studio, but it's gotten to the point where it's being used more and more.

I think long ago, such "dubbing" or changing a pitch issue was only done in the studio by a master control. I have heard they have the gizmos you are speaking of, and I am sure you are so very correct about Cher needing to use one. She is NO spring chicken....pluck pluck pluck! LOL!:eeek:

 

[p51]

I would say I wish social media had never been invented, but I guess it was only a matter of time before people used the internet to make themselves think everyone is famous...