You know you are getting old when:

[Stearmen]

I did not get a computer until 1998. I kept that one for over a decade. I saw one giant computer when I was in High School, with the big real to real tape job in front. When I went to upgrade, the young sales man said to me, "why don't you build one?" I said I don't know that much about computers. He sad, "you build custom motorcycles, you can build a computer!" It took some time to learn how to get the operating system to work the way I want, but it was worth it. I have stopped calling India, I found out I was better at solving my problems then they were. They are just machines, they do what you want them to do, no more and no less. I don't text, but I do like having the internet with me, I don't get lost any more. Just today it saved me hundreds of dollars, when I was having electrical problems I could not figure out, just spoke into it and all my prayers were answered!

 

[2jakes]

I think if you are old enough to remember all the trucker movies, you know the phrase, "what's your 20!" If you watched Adam 12, then all I want to know is, 10-20?

That's a big 10-4 :rockon:

 

[Zombie_61]

Wasn't exactly sure what you meant by "textspeak" until I looked it up.
I was doing it somehow & didn't even realize it (e.g., on the radio in the news truck)

"unit 3 to base , I'm 10-8 ...10-4 ?

10-4 ...what's your 20 ?"

To this day I'll ask , what's your 20 ? forgetting that not everyone understands

Ten-codes differ from textspeak simply because they were developed for practical purposes; textspeak is just laziness.

 

[GHT]

Just today it saved me hundreds of dollars, when I was having electrical problems I could not figure out, just spoke into it and all my prayers were answered!

Yes, such things I too have learned along the way. A valuable lesson once came by the garage owner who services my fleet of vans and trucks. He was after a particular part, typed the part number into search and all these choices came up. I just stood there doing goldfish impressions. He smiled and said: "Now you know what to do if you can't find a part for that classic car of your's." It just blew me away.

Ten-codes differ from textspeak simply because they were developed for practical purposes; textspeak is just laziness.

Absolutely, I hate text speak, I just thought it was unique to our island. Text speak for those who are not sure usually omits vowels, uses numbers and replaces whole words with single letters, for example: Anyone becomes: n e 1. Are you sure becomes: r u sure. Tomorrow becomes: 2moro.

It just looks so gross to the eye. But, I did have to concede that text speak has been around much longer than smart phones. Maybe it was here in The Lounge that I saw it, maybe it was elsewhere, but abbreviated written speech was used extensively when telegrams were commonplace. The cost of those telegrams were priced by spaced used, so it quickly became the norm to "text speak."

 

[2jakes]

Ten-codes differ from textspeak simply because they were developed for practical purposes; textspeak is just laziness.

LAZINESS...:eeek:
And here I was thinking that all my friends were into the 21st century...
& I was still in "1999"....when all they are is just a bunch of "lazy yahoos"....


(thx fr info )

 

[Stanley Doble]

A version of "text speak" was seen in humorous stories from the US in the 19th century when bad spelling was comical. As for example "that wuz 2 mutch"

 

[2jakes]

Brief Urgent "textspeak" !
General Custer @ Little Big Horn

"Benteen.
Come on. Big village
Be quick, bring packs,
p.s. Bring Packs "


And more brief "textspeak"

'Nuts !"

By Brigadier General McAuliffe...
his reply in response to German surrender ultimatum. :eusa_clap

 

[vitanola]

Then ther is the radio telegraph "QR" or "Quick Response" code, standardized by the International Radiotelegraph Convention of 1912:

QRA What ship or coast station is that? This is ____.
QRB What is your distance? My distance is ____.
QRC What is your true bearing? My true bearing is ____ degrees.
QRD Where are you bound for? I am bound for ____.
QRF Where are you bound from? I am bound from ____.
QRG What line do you belong to? I belong to the ____ Line.
QRH What is your wavelength in meters? My wavelength is ____ meters.
QRJ How many words have you to send? I have ____ words to send.
QRK How do you receive me? I am receiving (1–5) where 1 is unreadable and 5 is perfect.
QRL Are you busy? I am busy.
QRM Are you being interfered with? I am being interfered with.
QRN Are the atmospherics strong? Atmospherics are very strong.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think if you are old enough to remember all the trucker movies, you know the phrase, "what's your 20!" If you watched Adam 12, then all I want to know is, 10-20?

Even after being out of the news business for almost twenty years now, I still think of a car accident as "a 10-55."

 

[Feraud]

My son is studying for the MCAT..I feel ancient.

 

[Zombie_61]

But, I did have to concede that text speak has been around much longer than smart phones. Maybe it was here in The Lounge that I saw it, maybe it was elsewhere, but abbreviated written speech was used extensively when telegrams were commonplace. The cost of those telegrams were priced by spaced used, so it quickly became the norm to "text speak."

Again, that was a matter of practicality--trying to save money in an era when every penny counted.

Maybe the same was true in the early days of cell phone texting? I don't know if there was a time when charges for texting were accrued by the number of characters used because I got my first cell phone much later. But these days when cell phone contracts and fees are, for the most part, all-encompassing, it's just laziness...or trying to fit in with the "cool/hip" crowd.

Back in the days when we all had the "flip phone" type cell phones, I had a discussion with a good friend during which I pointed out that texting "l8tr" actually required more button-pushing than simply texting "later". She laughed and admitted she had noticed this some time before, but continued to use textspeak for the sole reason that she knew it annoyed me; i.e., she was pushing more buttons than were found on her phone. I had to respect that.

Even after being out of the news business for almost twenty years now, I still think of a car accident as "a 10-55."

I have a good friend who had made the progression from firefighter to paramedic to EMT to emergency services dispatcher over the course of more than three decades. As such, the majority of his friends were people he had worked with through the years, and they all used ten-codes as part of their usual conversations. He'd often say things like, "So we were 10-76 to a 10-50..." and, not having been a member of this profession, I had to constantly remind him that I had no idea what he was talking about. lol

 

[Stearmen]

It just looks so gross to the eye. But, I did have to concede that text speak has been around much longer than smart phones. Maybe it was here in The Lounge that I saw it, maybe it was elsewhere, but abbreviated written speech was used extensively when telegrams were commonplace. The cost of those telegrams were priced by spaced used, so it quickly became the norm to "text speak."

My favorite telegram, was sent by a Barnstormer to his boss, it read, "Swede killed by prop, send prop!"

 

[Stearmen]

I like that I can get things done on the internet that in the past I would be waiting in line for long time.
I have discovered music that I never thought possible I would ever find. Same with leather jackets, bikes,
1920s Parker Big Red fountain pens. Today I received the 1937 Bausch & Lomb Ray-Ban sunglasses
in "green" tint . also including the leather case,Ray-Ban cloth & pamphlet in mint condition at a very
good price.
I can go online for the lowest price location for gasoline ($1.45) That has got to be the lowest I've seen
in a long time.
There's more...but I'm rambling too much ! That's when I know I'm getting old...

I just bought three sets of Victorian Eastlake hinges that match the ones in my house. Back in the 80s, I could go to every antique shop in town, and never find one set! I also found three sets of F.C. Linde c 1885 mortise locks and knobs, try finding those with out the internet!

 

[GHT]

Back in the days when we all had the "flip phone" type cell phones, I had a discussion with a good friend during which I pointed out that texting "l8tr" actually required more button-pushing than simply texting "later".

From 1963, the licence plate on our cars, or registration plate, as we call them, had an extra character added to help identify the year of the car's registration. Meaning when it was sold as new. Pre 1963 plates were still legal and these became much sort after, especially if they spelt out a name like Bob, Pat, Ann & so on. We call them cherished plates. When I was a youngster, there lived a potato merchant near me, his truck had the plate: POT 80. It baffled me as to it's meaning. Fast forward many decades to an advert on a bus shelter for either a phone or message package deal. There's a picture of the phone's screen with the message: "Wow Pete, she's gr8, has she got a m8? (brit speak for friend) It took 50 or 60 years for the penny to drop, but in that moment I remembered the potato merchant: POT 80. Pot-eight-oh!

 

[Dan Allen]

How many are old enough to remember calling back home "person to person" for "yourself" when traveling to let everyone know you had made it to you destination. To actually call was too expensive.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I have a good friend who had made the progression from firefighter to paramedic to EMT to emergency services dispatcher over the course of more than three decades. As such, the majority of his friends were people he had worked with through the years, and they all used ten-codes as part of their usual conversations. He'd often say things like, "So we were 10-76 to a 10-50..." and, not having been a member of this profession, I had to constantly remind him that I had no idea what he was talking about. lol

Maine 10-codes could be delightfully obscure, and had things you're unlikely to run into in other states. A 10-63 meant someone was jacking deer. A 10-64 meant someone's dog was harassing deer. One morning I was at work, with the scanner on in the background, and I looked out the window to see a moose wandering around in the middle of Main Street. As he was trying to figure out how to get back to wherever he had come from I heard the scanner crackle out -- "We got a 10-- a 10--- aw, there's a MOOSE OUT HERE!"

 

[Fading Fast]

How many are old enough to remember calling back home "person to person" for "yourself" when traveling to let everyone know you had made it to you destination. To actually call was too expensive.

Yes, we did that when I was growing up. Then when I asked my Dad why and when he explained it, I asked him if we weren't cheating the phone company - he had taught us well. After a flash of anger, he said I was right and we stopped doing it.

But you also hint at something else - travel was less common and more worried about. Getting on a plane was a big deal and letting someone know you arrived safely was common. At least in my family, we don't do that anymore unless it's with my mom as she is in her '80s and we just worry due to her age.

 

[LuvMyMan]

How many are old enough to remember calling back home "person to person" for "yourself" when traveling to let everyone know you had made it to you destination. To actually call was too expensive.

That was something done in our household....even using names for a code...."person to person for Grandpa" meant will call back tomorrow, too late to speak at the moment, things like that to make the phone calls a bit cheaper. Long distance charges have always been a bit crazy and still are today.

Even though most people use cell phones today, when you look at what the bill comes to....I think maybe going back to a regular land line could be a best choice financially.... Our cell phone bill is always around $270.00 per month. I can recall a normal phone bill for a land line making me upset if it was over $100.00 for the month. We have been thinking about getting the old CB set radios......recall you could get what was called a side band set up and using a CB set you could talk to someone fairly much a very long distance away from you.

 

[2jakes]

That was something done in our household....even using names for a code...."person to person for Grandpa" meant will call back tomorrow, too late to speak at the moment, things like that to make the phone calls a bit cheaper. Long distance charges have always been a bit crazy and still are today.

Even though most people use cell phones today, when you look at what the bill comes to....I think maybe going back to a regular land line could be a best choice financially.... Our cell phone bill is always around $270.00 per month. I can recall a normal phone bill for a land line making me upset if it was over $100.00 for the month. We have been thinking about getting the old CB set radios......recall you could get what was called a side band set up and using a CB set you could talk to someone fairly much a very long distance away from you.

About the only time I've had to use the cell phone that came in handy was to check
where my friend is located at the mall...

There are some apps on the iPhone that I enjoy while I have to wait.
But it is getting to be $$$$ :eeek:

 

[Zombie_61]

How many are old enough to remember calling back home "person to person" for "yourself" when traveling to let everyone know you had made it to you destination. To actually call was too expensive.

That was something done in our household....even using names for a code...."person to person for Grandpa" meant will call back tomorrow, too late to speak at the moment, things like that to make the phone calls a bit cheaper...

This reminds me of an old joke about a middle-aged couple waiting at home for news of their daughter's and son-in-law's newest addition to the family. I've forgotten how the joke goes, but the punchline was the husband answering the phone to hear the long-distance operator ask, "Will you accept a collect call from Mr. Hadthebabyitsaboy?"