Anachronism.com, Or How You're Keepin' It Old School

In My Humble Opinion
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At my work, I’m well known as The History Guy, partly from doing things like working out the voltage and plug types for various countries based on who put the power supply in. “Hong Kong? Former British Colony, so they’re 220-240v 60hz, using the British plug. The Philippines? Former American colony, operating on 110v 50hz power, using US-style the 2-pin flat plugs. Indonesia? Former Dutch colony, the power supply is the same as ours, but they use the European 2-pin plugs.”

OK, there’s a list I can look up too, but I like to educate people as well as sell electronics and related stuff to them. :smiley:

I had an older customer today ask for what I thought was an Aldis Lamp, when in reality he was asking for an “LED Lamp”. He laughed and said he hadn’t met anyone under 50 who had any idea what an Aldis Lamp even was.

I was making up some signs with pithy/interesting/amusing quotes on them not long ago, and attributed one (“Political power grows from the barrel of a gun”) to Mao Tse-Tung. Apparently they spell it “Mao Zedong” now; I must have missed a memo somewhere. (A quick wikipedia search tells me that I’m using the Wade-Giles translation system, when apparently now everyone except me at the Republic of China are using Pinyin. I’m glad to see it’s not just me.)

Similarly, I keep wondering if this “Mumbai” place I hear about is anywhere near Bombay, or if this “Uluru” place I’ve seen brochures for is within driving distance of Ayer’s Rock. I know there’s a city called “Canton” not all that far from Hong Kong, but all the maps I have show some place called “Guangzhou”, and I’m not familiar with this “Irian Jaya” place that appears to occupy the same space on the map as West Papua.

On a more practical note, I have a really cool pocketwatch (a birthday present from my fiancee) which gets used regularly, and I’ve mentioned my fondness for Pith Helmets in previous threads. :wink: I hunt and shoot with WWI and WWII vintage rifles, and I know how to work an LP player.

I am, in short, all about the Old School. :wink:

I know I’m not the only one out there with a love of the historic, the arcane, or the just plain old, so tell me… how do you keep it Old School? :slight_smile:

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You can keep calling it “Burma” with all the flush of righteousness; Burmese opposition groups do too, as the change to Myanmar was made by the military junta. (Both Burma and Myanmar derive from the same etymon, anyway.)

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Um, I haven’t replaced my iBook with a MacBook Pro?

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My cell phone not only lacks bells and whistles, it doesn’t even have voicemail! :eek:

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I don’t need no stinking Tivo. If god wanted me to watch The Daily Show on the date it first airs, she’d’a scheduled it at 8:00 PM.

Also, I still cook with butter.

And I’ve never used a Nintendo or any other game system.

And I prefer the Dungeons & Dragons of the late 1970’s.

And I can use the subjunctive, if the need arises.

Harumph.

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Random link my husband showed me last night.

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I sail and help maintain an old wooden boat. It is a Tuckerton Bay Sailing Garvey. The design is from 1733. We hand carved two ten foot sweeps this year for her. We used planes and draw knives to do most of the work.

I own but do not carry a cell phone. I leave it in my car for emergencies and vacations / business trips.

I notices Shoshana’s post: When I play D&D. I still use 1st edition rules.
When I cook (rare) I too use butter. There is no margarine in my house.

I still help put on a yearly folk festival for the environment.

I hand build wooden toys for my kids from designs I dream up with minimal plans. I do much of the shaping with sanding blocks. Of course I also use lots of power tools along the way, but still.

I enjoy visiting castles, old forts and historical sites. My Honeymoon was pretty much touring dozens of castles, ruins and historical sites in Scotland and the Lake Country. If the Dollar ever bounces back, I will return with my kids.

We consider Zoos to be very entertaining and visit many and often.

I think just being a Baseball fanatic makes me old school.

Jim

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[J. Peterman]You may know it better as Myanmar, but it’ll always be Burma to me…

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I not only don’t own a cell phone but, until two years ago, I didn’t even have a cordless phone. People who wanted to use the phone in my house stood in the kitchen like in the proper, God fearing ways of my childhood.

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I also have no cell phone, and we just got wireless phones this year! We’ve got no iPods or video games, no surround sound or subwoofer, no PDAs, no TiVo, no flat panel widescreen digital TV. We’re full to overflowing with books, records and CDs, though.

I have a turntable that will also play 78s, and I have a few boxes of those.
I have five cassette decks. (Haven’t used them in years.)
I’ve got an open-reel tape recorder.
And an eight-track cartridge recorder, too.
There’s a linear-tracking turntable in a box in the closet. Great idea, but only for records that you play on the LTT exclusively. All others sound terrible due to wear from the pivoting arm.
I have a Polaroid camera in a box as well. One day, they were suddenly all obsolete.
I have my mom’s Kodak reflex camera with the viewfinder on top; they don’t make the film it took anymore, and haven’t for decades.

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No cell phone; still using rotary dial.

Still drive a 1965 pickup truck.

Listens to Warrior games on an old Motorola tube radio.

I’ve never watched an episode of Survivor.

Got my son watching The Honeymooners.

Still looking for Bacon Thins.

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I take all my notes in law school using a fountain pen. About 98% of students use laptops, but I’m an anachronism even among the anachronistic hand-writers. Ha!

13

We have cordless phones (as well as two antique style new phones) but God help me, I freqently stand there next to the base and carry on my conversation as though tethered to the spot!

14

Speaking of pith helmets, I’ve seen them made out of reed pith, part of the residue from flax processing.

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We don’t listen to any music made past 1980.

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I still have a tail, I’m so m-fing old school.

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I don’t have TIVO. I refuse to carry a cell phone (although I keep a pay-as-you-go in the car for emergencies.)

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My house was built before 1760 and the main part of the house is still almost completely original. The fireplace in my office still has a swinging cooking hook although I haven’t used it yet. There is a large open well too on the property. After I complete a few key projects I am going to party like it is 1799.

I also use Commodore 64 and NES emulators to play my favorite games. Tecmo Bowl from 1985 is still my favorite game of all time and I play it all the time. I hear about things like Halo 3 and I have no idea what that is about and don’t want to know. Just give me a 2 dimensional game space with little quarterback that can throw the whole length of the field and I am in heaven.

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I read a paper newspaper every day.

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Then why didn’t you say “I can use the subjunctive, if the need arise.”? :stuck_out_tongue: