The first computer generation.

[Tim Chavez]

I don't hate your generation. Not my point. My point was made for me by your statements of how things have changed in the current world and how you deal with them. My other point is that while the vast majority of young people in Western nations are like you, the people in the 2nd and 3rd world nations are not, and they will hate you for it. All of the computer literacy and software manipulation skills in the world will not protect the nation from 5th century savages. Some of you will have to step up.

Those kids that grew up stuck behind video game screens are now developing and piloting the drones that certainly do protect us from 5th century savages. And they use their computer literacy and software manipulation to do it. Or does that not count? Different than it used to be does not always mean bad. Technology has opened our eyes up to a world that has been broken for a very long time. And the antiquated education systems bud is talking about literally causes the single minded view that history is being “changed” when in reality we are simply learning it from many more angles than ever before. Not from singularly focused textbooks that were likely written from a biased point of view.

 

[Ranger16]

I fear for my grandchildren.

 

[Bb70charger500]

I wouldn't worry to much about the mellenials , they will kill them selves off . I noticed the really stupid ones won't be breeding any more . The guys dress like girls and put there hair up in buns the girls think the guys are useless so there all going lez . I came out of the store and two guys in there skinny jeans and man buns had a flat tire on there car just standing there pookilo at it! So I wanted to see what happened so I leaned on to my car and watched so they stay they're for 2-3 mins just looking at it . So finlyfi I say it's not going to change it self ! They look at me .... And turn back around . At this point I loose interest as we're not getting anywhere. So I get in the car to leave as I'm driving away I drive by them and say I'd start with witch ever one of you is the man in the relationship should probably jack the car up . Man they got pissed!

 

[Ranger16]

Speaking of computers. I still have one of the first. Just don't remember how to use the damned thing.
Some of you will recognize it.

 

[mopar 3 B]

Speaking of computers. I still have one of the first. Just don't remember how to use the damned thing.
Some of you will recognize it.

View attachment 627164

Would want to make sure nothing was infront of you using that.

 

[Ranger16]

Roger that!

 

[khryslerkid]

Those kids that grew up stuck behind video game screens are now developing and piloting the drones that certainly do protect us from 5th century savages. And they use their computer literacy and software manipulation to do it. Or does that not count? Different than it used to be does not always mean bad. Technology has opened our eyes up to a world that has been broken for a very long time. And the antiquated education systems bud is talking about literally causes the single minded view that history is being “changed” when in reality we are simply learning it from many more angles than ever before. Not from singularly focused textbooks that were likely written from a biased point of view.

The ones that "grew up" behind video games and have used what they learned by doing so and advanced into high tech jobs are an asset. It's the ones that are still playing games at 25 and living off of mom and dad.

I bought our first computer in the 90's to have for my kids to learn with because I could tell this was the way the world was headed. I didn't want them or myself to be left behind. I kept up with what's out there through the years. No way am I educated on any of the latest technology but I keep informed on what's available. My kids learned by trial and error like I did. My daughter was born with common sense, my son had to learn it. They are both independent and can live off the land if things got that bad. I passed on what I know so they will do the same with their kids.

 

[Mike67]

My first cpu was a used set of Encyclopedia Britannica.... I think there were 11 volumes...
I often think back on my childhood and try to figure out sone of the things that made me who I am today.
First we were pretty poor looking back even when mom and dad were married. He was a Tx Highway Patrol and in the early 70s I think he was making like $12k a year, all cops are underpaid...bit agyer they divorced living with mom and my sister I found out what poor really was...seemed like we moved every six months or so...that was tough...made me self reliant and made me make a promise to myself that I would never live like that and I would never bring kids into a situation like that.
Started working when I was 12 helping roof, mow yards clean gutters ect just to buy a new bike so I would be tessed for riding a 2nd hand bike that was 20 yrs old... Kept working moved out and rented a room at 16 ro get away from mom and the self inflicted pity party thay blames everyone else, including me, for her lifes bad decisions...I do love her I just cant be around her...
As I got older I worked my *** off, made a lot of money for a hs dropout ( GED) worked 80-100 hrs a week ...made more than mpst of the journeymen in the company...problem was no one ever taught me about savings, retirement ect...tittie bars, booze, new cars, ski boat were my vices that consumed any gains I made. I guess I was making up for all the things I missed out on , lost or what I felt I should have had....
It wasnt until my late 20s did I start to figure things out ...got married @ 31, first kid @ 32 2nd 4 yrs later....quit the tittie bars and booze, bought my house a while back , recently bought wife a new car, Ive been driving used, sold the boat a long time ago, everything for the family. Built her a Mustang, saving for kids college trying to pay the house off early and finally starting to build my car...have some money in the bank, buily a retirement and am a Facility Director for 2 hospitals...
That all being said I think we are somewhat a victim of our own sucess...we always want more for our kids than what we had...the problem is that we ( society) didnt make them earn things like most did. Not saying my expeirence is a typical for a GenXer ( born in 69) but I think we have spoiled our kids as we prospered. Ive worked very hard trying to instill patriotism, a work ethic and accountability for ones self.
It seems the younger GenXers have followd suit and maybe were even more laxed instilling some of those values and we end up with the millenials.
As a stereotype ( which is probability in my eyes but there are exceptions) millenials are a very spoiled, entitled & clueless sort...again there are exceptions and they are a product of their environment. When a kid is not required to memorize a multiplication table, take spelling test, create research papers/book reports of their own opinions, deductions based on a written text its hard to expect them to know it.
We were required to memorized presidents, the bill of rights, multiplcation tables, spelling words, ten commandments, pledge of allegiance, states and capitols just to name a few...that is not required anymore unfortunately.
To those that have broken from that stereotype I say congratulations, you have a lot to be proud of and you are the future that we hope become the majority.
I am convinced smart phones will be the demise of our society by making us dumb. It removes the curiosity, free thought, inhibits the development of common sense and can plant seeds of false narratives, re-written history and/or celebrates atrocities by giving a sense of belonging/community all without being questioned...
I pray for our future....
Sorry for novel....but I have 2 wonderdul kids one 16 ( who has some preconcieved notions due to the web) and a 12 yo who is self conscious of the time she spends on electronics...I worry about qhete they get their info from daily as not to turn into a 21st century apathetic social media zombie...

 

[Brandy]

Those kids that grew up stuck behind video game screens are now developing and piloting the drones that certainly do protect us from 5th century savages. And they use their computer literacy and software manipulation to do it. Or does that not count? Different than it used to be does not always mean bad. Technology has opened our eyes up to a world that has been broken for a very long time. And the antiquated education systems bud is talking about literally causes the single minded view that history is being “changed” when in reality we are simply learning it from many more angles than ever before. Not from singularly focused textbooks that were likely written from a biased point of view.

It does indeed count, however, those machines are not what will save this Republic from our enemies. Drones are countered daily by rag heads in caves with a laptop. They know about tech too. Tech will only take you so far in the battle, eventually you will need men who are willing and able to fight. Not so many of those around these days. Recruiting numbers for all services are down, and falling. Trades men are scarce now too, plumbers, electricians, etc. Nobody wants to get dirty anymore.

 

[Bill Monk]

Technology is a good thing in any generation but with it comes a responsibility not to become reliant on it. Our greatest enemy is within, not outside our borders. We have to be able to figure things out and if we fail to teach our kids how to do that then all they have to do is kill the grid and we will self destruct. I appreciate being able to use my cell phone calculator but I don't need it to do the math. I appreciate being able to google a destination but I can read a map so I don't need it. I appreciate new car technology but I can still tune an engine by ear. Every generation has a responsibility to teach the next how to stand on their own 2 feet without relying on anything or anyone for help. I'm afraid for the most part, we are loosing that by relying too heavily on tech.

 

[Slap Stick]

Speaking of computers. I still have one of the first. Just don't remember how to use the damned thing.
Some of you will recognize it.

View attachment 627164

Like I said, slide rules are computers.
I gots me a whiz wheel. Damn if I can remember how to use it, too.

 

[Ron H]

My daughters are millennials and very proud of them; they want nothing given to them and work their asses off going beyond working extra hours. Both did excellent in school. Their mom did a fantastic job working with them both educationally and having fun while I was off traveling the country doing my work every other week pursuing the corporate ladder climb. Did that and overall it sucked other than making great money. The corporate politics and some people involved were spineless weasels and finally stopped drinking the Kool-Aid enduring a rough time on my way out. A friend's son a millennial is the best welder I've ever seen and is in demand by employers, talented guy that can do anything handy and does it superbly. His '56 pickup is pristine and he did paint and body work on it and did his dad's car just perfecto work. I think many millennials got it figured out as well or better than their gen before...yeah there are dipshits in every gen...and knew some in the gen before mine too...

 

[steve from staten island]

Those kids that grew up stuck behind video game screens are now developing and piloting the drones that certainly do protect us from 5th century savages. And they use their computer literacy and software manipulation to do it. Or does that not count? Different than it used to be does not always mean bad. Technology has opened our eyes up to a world that has been broken for a very long time. And the antiquated education systems bud is talking about literally causes the single minded view that history is being “changed” when in reality we are simply learning it from many more angles than ever before. Not from singularly focused textbooks that were likely written from a biased point of view.

Your obviously a responsible hard working young man. Pay no attention to the members who knock your generation with there "what i did stories". Trust me they had advantages, there just to much of hypocrites to admit it. My fathers generation knocked mine, now mine knocked the next and so on and so forth. Its all bullshit. The only generation that had it tougher was my fathers and his immigrant fathers. There is simply no comparison. Had my generation had cell phones and computers there faces would be stuck in them as well.
The men and women who sacrifice there lives for this country in the military, the new police and emergency workers, the people who dedicate there lives to medicine and research, whose generation do we think there coming from?
Me? I started out cleaning the locker room. Scrub those urinals. I graduated to shoveling coal for eight hours a day. Dust, coal dust gets everywhere including your dick. Guys died of asbestosis and coal related diseases. I worked my way up and did for my family, had a house and three kids well before i was 30 and you know what? Big F-ing deal, Should i throw that in the face of these younger people who cant find a decent paying job because we outsource everything? My generation had it way easier finding decent employment and dont let anyone tell you different. Blue collar guys like me didn't have to deal with illegals looking to work for **** wages. We didn't have college grads taking jobs that required a HS education. Sure at times the economy was bad but we still produced goods and materials. Do yourself a favor and dont take any of these cry babies nonsense to heart. Keep up the good work, your generation is doing a great job!

 

[Bill Monk]

I don't know why or how these conversations end up going south. I don't believe Ghost was trying to offend or belittle the younger generations, but simple state his observations. I for one am thankful for every technological advance the younger generation has provided and no doubt all of us feel the same that use it everyday. There are a lot of hard working, competent people in every generation and the opposite is also true of every generation. All that said, there is in fact a great dependence on it and for those of us that have lived through the change, we know that some good things are being lost while we learn to use the new good things. It is without controversy that the ability to use a drone to go places that would put American lives in danger is great, no one could argue that. But if that ability were taken away, the question is would this generation be able to overcome it? We all have different perspectives and if we're smart we will listen to the other perspective and learn from it instead of getting mad about it. We are after all in this together

 

[Tim Chavez]

Your obviously a responsible hard working young man. Pay no attention to the members who knock your generation with there "what i did stories". Trust me they had advantages, there just to much of hypocrites to admit it. My fathers generation knocked mine, now mine knocked the next and so on and so forth. Its all bullshit. The only generation that had it tougher was my fathers and his immigrant fathers. There is simply no comparison. Had my generation had cell phones and computers there faces would be stuck in them as well.
The men and women who sacrifice there lives for this country in the military, the new police and emergency workers, the people who dedicate there lives to medicine and research, whose generation do we think there coming from?
Me? I started out cleaning the locker room. Scrub those urinals. I graduated to shoveling coal for eight hours a day. Dust, coal dust gets everywhere including your dick. Guys died of asbestosis and coal related diseases. I worked my way up and did for my family, had a house and three kids well before i was 30 and you know what? Big F-ing deal, Should i throw that in the face of these younger people who cant find a decent paying job because we outsource everything? My generation had it way easier finding decent employment and dont let anyone tell you different. Blue collar guys like me didn't have to deal with illegals looking to work for **** wages. We didn't have college grads taking jobs that required a HS education. Sure at times the economy was bad but we still produced goods and materials. Do yourself a favor and dont take any of these cry babies nonsense to heart. Keep up the good work, your generation is doing a great job!

Haha I appreciate that. One thing I have noticed is that EVERY generation loses skills that the generation before them relied on. How many of us know how to prime a steam engine? Or saddle break a horse? Or rig a sailboat? Who here knows how to build a water wheel that actually works? Or preserve meat without refrigeration? Can/jar excess produce? I guarantee that generations before us considered these skills as essential to survival however these days those skills are obsolete. Yet I don’t hear the arguments from the elders on why their generation didn’t have to learn those skills.

 

[Dibbons]

For your information, that Einstein quotation in post #15 is not true, someone made that up and now everyone is posting it as valid.

 

[Dibbons]

My (probably unique) take on "technology" is this: Since we can evidently use computer chips to program whatever to do whatever, what is the challenge/novelty in that?

For me personally, I define "high tech" as things that work perfectly well without a computer chip. Take grandma's toaster, still works after all these year, and no need for a computer chip. That toaster took some human ingenuity to design, manufacture, market, (and if necessary, repair) and it won't fail when the computer chip shorts out because it does not have one. And i like the way it toasts the bread slices just the way I like it.

 

[Ron H]

Yeah as has been posted life was hard for those in the early 1900's our parents and theirs (if you're a boomer) fought for decent wages and working conditions. They got beat up, killed, as the high and mighty didn't want any infringement on the size of their mansions, 2nd or 3rd homes, or size of their massive home cleaning staffs. Organized labor brought us the weekend and something less than 16 hour workdays and keeping preadolescent's in school rather than in a sweat shop. Enough time has passed to forget about this. They weren't about to give an inch without a battle. When we had phenomenal economic prosperity was when the middle class boomed in the 50's and 60's; houses in the burbs, two cars in the garage, etc. Income inequality of the 1920's slowly dwindled away; but now? Well search the graphs on the net on wealth distribution over the decades in the USA and you'll think we have traveled back 100 years.

 

[mopar 3 B]

Some how I dont miss smolies tables, log rithems or punch cards.
We could go back to rotary phones and human operators. Pony express mail deliveries, out door privies with corn shucks and bucket the water to the house. Or just go all at it a beat each other with mastodon bones and live in caves.
Man survived for millions of years with no written word. Still history was recorded.
The point is we are only here for a short while. We supposedly make life better for the generations after us. We have no control with what they do with it or what is created of it.
Personally I dont think once I gone I am going to give a dam.
Utopia will never occur of mans doing. Its totally against human nature.

 

[Brandy]

My daughters are millennials and very proud of them; they want nothing given to them and work their asses off going beyond working extra hours. Both did excellent in school. Their mom did a fantastic job working with them both educationally and having fun while I was off traveling the country doing my work every other week pursuing the corporate ladder climb. Did that and overall it sucked other than making great money. The corporate politics and some people involved were spineless weasels and finally stopped drinking the Kool-Aid enduring a rough time on my way out. A friend's son a millennial is the best welder I've ever seen and is in demand by employers, talented guy that can do anything handy and does it superbly. His '56 pickup is pristine and he did paint and body work on it and did his dad's car just perfecto work. I think many millennials got it figured out as well or better than their gen before...yeah there are dipshits in every gen...and knew some in the gen before mine too...

There are obviously many in every generation who are outstanding by any measure, I was speaking more generally.