What's something modern you won't miss when it becomes obsolete?

[Matt Crunk]

The current trend among young (and some not so young) women of putting hard blonde streaks in their hair. I think that looks absolutely ridiculous and is neither sexy nor attractive. I'll be glad when that fad is over.

 

[HudsonHawk]

The current trend among young (and some not so young) women of putting hard blonde streaks in their hair. I think that looks absolutely ridiculous and is neither sexy nor attractive. I'll be glad when that fad is over.

Perhaps it's a function of my age, but for a while now, I've found women with a few streaks of grey to be incredibly sexy. Acquired naturally, of course.

 

[Zombie_61]

Perhaps it's a function of my age, but for a while now, I've found women with a few streaks of grey to be incredibly sexy. Acquired naturally, of course.

I find grey hair to be far more attractive than a poorly-done and obvious dye job. Tonight my wife and I attended a very casual and "unofficial" high school reunion where the people in attendance covered nearly a decade of graduating classes from the 70s. A few of the women had "allowed" their hair to go grey, and at one point or another during the evening each said something to the effect that they had simply gotten tired of the hassles associated with trying to hide or camouflage it.

Conversely, my wife and I have a female friend who has such a strong dislike of grey hair that she believes everyone with grey hair should dye it. Even if I wanted to dye my greying hair and beard, which I don't, I would leave it grey just to get under her skin.

 

[Matt Crunk]

I find grey hair to be far more attractive than a poorly-done and obvious dye job.

I find any natural looking hair color to be far more attractive than an obvious dye-job, a few bleach-blonde starlets from Hollywood's Golden Age excepted.

 

[Gregg Axley]

I won't miss cheaply made tools.
My electric chainsaw gave out yesterday, after only 2yrs of use.
It was only used when large limbs came off the trees (after a storm), and when I needed more pecan wood for cooking out.
Time to research another electric one, based on reviews....
I'd purchase a gas one, but I'm afraid something would dry rot internally between uses.
Plus the neighbors get wound up if I use something like that at 7am.

 

[3fingers]

Car batteries that last only two years before you open up the caps and see a chunk of a plate floating around in the soup. "Heavy Duty" my foot.

It is annoying given what they cost that so many of them don't last. It's a crap shoot. Oscar Auto was on the radio just last night. He told me to pick up a new Autolite battery when I was next in need. Have to keep that in mind.

 

[3fingers]

I won't miss cheaply made tools.
My electric chainsaw gave out yesterday, after only 2yrs of use.
It was only used when large limbs came off the trees (after a storm), and when I needed more pecan wood for cooking out.
Time to research another electric one, based on reviews....
I'd purchase a gas one, but I'm afraid something would dry rot internally between uses.
Plus the neighbors get wound up if I use something like that at 7am.

I think that the manufacturers study these things to figure out how much the average person will use each tool (especially homeowner/consumer type products) in the warranty period and design for 5 minutes more than that. Most have been conditioned to accept this and will just throw the thing away and buy another if it is a couple of years old. The trouble is with many products they are all designed this same way and you can't even buy a better quality one.

 

[jamespowers]

I haven't been to San Francisco in quite some time but, based on previous experiences, I think I'd have to agree. Hollywood Blvd. has it's fair share of, shall we say, "interesting" people, but they're mostly harmless...except for trying to get whatever spare change you might have out of your pockets and into theirs.

Speaking of previous experiences, several years ago I took a quick weekend trip to San Francisco with the friend I mentioned above. Long story short, as the sun was setting and night was fast approaching we were walking to the bus station (to catch the bus that would take us to the airport) when we encountered a guy shambling down the street in the opposite direction. He had a blanket wrapped around his head, shoulders, and arms, and was casually waving his arms as though he was using the blanket as wings and they were his only means of propulsion. As we drew nearer he clearly and obviously aligned his path so that he would walk between my friend and I, so we separated to give him the space to do so. Unsure of his intentions I prepared myself for...well, anything...and as he passed between us he leaned casually towards me, turned his head in my direction, looked me straight in the eyes, and in a perfectly clear and sober voice said, "Go home," without breaking his stride or his pace. :suspicious: In that brief moment I noticed he was far too "manicured" to have been living on the streets--his clothes were rumpled but clean, he had no offensive odor, and his mustache and beard were neatly groomed. Naturally, my friend and I discussed this encounter as we continued towards the bus station, and we could only conclude he was a police officer on some kind of undercover assignment and that was his way of quickly advising us to leave the area without blowing his cover. [huh]

I told you it is The World's Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum. That wasn't a cop. It was one of the inmates.:doh:

 

[jamespowers]

I won't miss cheaply made tools.
My electric chainsaw gave out yesterday, after only 2yrs of use.
It was only used when large limbs came off the trees (after a storm), and when I needed more pecan wood for cooking out.
Time to research another electric one, based on reviews....
I'd purchase a gas one, but I'm afraid something would dry rot internally between uses.
Plus the neighbors get wound up if I use something like that at 7am.

Buy gas one. Electric NEVER lasts. They also have MUCH less power.

 

[Zombie_61]

I think that the manufacturers study these things to figure out how much the average person will use each tool (especially homeowner/consumer type products) in the warranty period and design for 5 minutes more than that. Most have been conditioned to accept this and will just throw the thing away and buy another if it is a couple of years old. The trouble is with many products they are all designed this same way and you can't even buy a better quality one.

At the company I worked for in the late 70s my supervisor was a very interesting older gent who enjoyed sharing his life's observations with people. After all of his diatribes he would conclude his comments with, "But don't listen to me, I'm just another [insert seven-letter slang synonym for the human anus] with an opinion. Judge for yourself and see if you think I'm right." Anyway, one of the things he told me was, "The problem with most American-made products is that they're made to sell, not to use. Once they have your money, they don't really care whether or not it works." Sadly, in most cases he was proven right.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

People who drive down the road oblivious of their surroundings because they have earbuds in.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Anyway, one of the things he told me was, "The problem with most American-made products is that they're made to sell, not to use. Once they have your money, they don't really care whether or not it works." Sadly, in most cases he was proven right.

Read "The Waste Makers" by Vance Packard. The Boys From Marketing have been at this particular little game for about sixty years now.

There are too many "designers" in the world and too few engineers.

 

[3fingers]

There are too many "designers" in the world and too few engineers.

I have a friend who used to work in R&D for a manufacturing company. They would build prototypes based on the requirements they were given and field test extensively until they got it right. After all of the work was done it was demanded nearly every one of those products was cheapened to just above the failure point by the money counting people who wanted a lower unit cost, regardless of the margin built into the planned selling price of the machine. He finally left the industry in frustration.

 

[Zombie_61]

People who drive down the road oblivious of their surroundings because they have earbuds in.

I would expand this to include people who do anything oblivious of their surroundings because they have earbuds in.

...There are too many "designers" in the world and too few engineers.

At my last place of employment where we processed a lot of steel and alloy parts for the aerospace industry, I spoke with a number of machinists and/or machine shop owners over the years who had been forced to engage in lengthy and detailed meetings at one time or another with "fresh from college" engineers to explain to them why their designs might have looked good on paper, but wouldn't work as they had imagined in the real world. As one so eloquently put it, "These kids need to get out from behind their drafting tables more often and come talk to us before they put pencil to paper."

I have a friend who used to work in R&D for a manufacturing company. They would build prototypes based on the requirements they were given and field test extensively until they got it right. After all of the work was done it was demanded nearly every one of those products was cheapened to just above the failure point by the money counting people who wanted a lower unit cost, regardless of the margin built into the planned selling price of the machine. He finally left the industry in frustration.

If the U.S. space program and military can accomplish their goals using equipment that was manufactured (for the most part) by the lowest bidder, it's good enough for the general public. :eusa_doh:

 

[Retro Spectator]

I hate the recent cars that appear to be clone cars. Chevy looks almost exactly like Subaru. Subaru looks almost exactly like Honda. Honda looks almost exactly like Ford. It goes on and on. There are only a select few cars, like the Volkswagen Beetle, the Fiat, the Dodge Challenger, the Nissan Cube, and a few more, that stand out among the clones. And all the cars look fat and clunky, not sleek. They make them "aerodynamic", and "futuristic". But all that "aerodynamic" and "futuristic" styling they do makes the cars look fat and slow, not sleek and aerodynamic.

 

[jamespowers]

I hate the recent cars that appear to be clone cars. Chevy looks almost exactly like Subaru. Subaru looks almost exactly like Honda. Honda looks almost exactly like Ford. It goes on and on. There are only a select few cars, like the Volkswagen Beetle, the Fiat, the Dodge Challenger, the Nissan Cube, and a few more, that stand out among the clones. And all the cars look fat and clunky, not sleek. They make them "aerodynamic", and "futuristic". But all that "aerodynamic" and "futuristic" styling they do makes the cars look fat and slow, not sleek and aerodynamic.

Agreed. There is nothing less innovative than auto body design over the past twenty years.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I kind of like fat and clunky cars, but fat and clunky in a 1940s Mopar kind of fat and clunky. That type of a car looks friendly and inviting to me, not arrogant and sterile.

 

[jamespowers]

I kind of like fat and clunky cars, but fat and clunky in a 1940s Mopar kind of fat and clunky. That type of a car looks friendly and inviting to me, not arrogant and sterile.

Well that is entirely different.
I mean this:


Is definitely better than this:



:rofl:

 

[Retro Spectator]

Exactly what James said. I don't exactly see Golden Era cars as fat, or clunky. I see them as sleek, and a bit fat. Back then cars were like works of art. Nowadays cars are very ugly. I improperly worded my original post. I hate cars which are morbidly obese and "aerodynamic".

I find the ugly triangular "euro" lights make the cars even uglier. It give them a sort of angry frown looking front.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Comparing a Lincoln Continental to an Austrailian Honda subcompact ain't exactly the height of honesty either, however.