Things that should have improved by now

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HighlyIrregular
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Things that should have improved by now

Post by HighlyIrregular » Sat Oct 02, 2021 3:35 pm

I started watching watch videos and people still say old school digital Casios are good deals. The ones they show look exactly like what I bought 35 years ago and had up until a few years ago. Towards the end I took off the band and kept it in my pocket. So many functions and a good light so no worries about whether a luminous coating on the hands will be good enough. And the one I had is only $10 now, new! BUT why aren't there a gazillion more functions built into it? I mean, I didn't look up the current specs but it looks identical to my old one so I figure the functions are the same. Back then there was a programmable Commodore watch that you could attach to a C-64 computer. Why can't you do something like that with current watches so you could toggle through modes in your chosen order, adjust the display layout, color of the text, etc.? After 35 years they can't do that? At least make them half as thick or something. Or make them $5 or less. They have mechanical watches on Ebay, straight from China, for under $5.

Also abut 35 years ago they came out with no-drill dental fillings. Now you don't hear about them. All I hear about is how the non-metallic white fillings fail after a few years while the old metal ones last some people for 50 years. Well, I also hear that stem cell transplants will grow back teeth in the future, but how about now? We need better fillings!

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SomeInternetBloke
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Re: Things that should have improved by now

Post by SomeInternetBloke » Sat Oct 02, 2021 7:04 pm

Cup noodles. The portion is just too small! I have to eat at least 2 of 'em. But naaaoh. They insist on tiny single serving-sized containers. Which requires emptying the contents of both cups into a large enough bowl. Which results in unnecessary dishes. And then I have to call the old maid with the big fanny over for housework. Ugh.
"My favourite song from one of my favourite albums, Nena asking you to please, please let her be your pirate. So smooth and joyful, I have to listen to it three times if I listen once" - ashi

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Senseye
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Re: Things that should have improved by now

Post by Senseye » Sat Oct 02, 2021 8:06 pm

HighlyIrregular wrote:
Sat Oct 02, 2021 3:35 pm

Also abut 35 years ago they came out with no-drill dental fillings. Now you don't hear about them. All I hear about is how the non-metallic white fillings fail after a few years while the old metal ones last some people for 50 years. Well, I also hear that stem cell transplants will grow back teeth in the future, but how about now? We need better fillings!
I've never had one of those silver amalgam fillings fail. And those are the only kind I've ever gotten. None are quite 50 years old yet, but some are getting there. OTOH, I have had plenty of teeth around the fillings fail (i.e. tooth chips off on one edge or another). The resulting crowns needed after that are both white and seem durable. Pricey though.

One would think they could come up with a filling material as sturdy as silver amalgam and whitish.

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Madrigal
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Re: Things that should have improved by now

Post by Madrigal » Sat Oct 02, 2021 11:43 pm

Considering that every generation has the sense they're living on the brink of unprecedented societal collapse (and I think this is the big one), it's a funny question. Things don't seem to improve, ever.

But I guess there are some moments of collective historic idiocy when we believe such things as technology setting us free, inequality being reduced, ecology becoming important, and just basically looking into the mirror of ourselves as a human race and thinking we're doing good. For the record I don't think this is one of those moments.

In any case, yes, technology should be setting us free, inequality should be reduced, and we shouldn't still be fucking up the planet like irredeemable slobs.

SomeInternetBloke wrote:
Sat Oct 02, 2021 7:04 pm
Cup noodles. The portion is just too small!
If you get the spicy ones then it's more filling. I don't really think they're too small though, I just get annoyed I end up drinking so much water and eating so little food.

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Senseye
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Re: Things that should have improved by now

Post by Senseye » Sun Oct 03, 2021 7:11 pm

Madrigal wrote:
Sat Oct 02, 2021 11:43 pm
Considering that every generation has the sense they're living on the brink of unprecedented societal collapse (and I think this is the big one), it's a funny question. Things don't seem to improve, ever.
I think that is just perception. Remember that quiz somebody posted a while back on the state of the world? And most people (including myself) got quite a few questions wrong because we assumed things are worse that they really are, probably due to bad news stories in the media.

Poverty has been greatly reduced, life expectancy has gone up, and standard of living has gone up in general. The good old days were never that good, it's just that all the people remembering them were young back in the 'good old days' and being young is fun.

But with people being bombarded with TEOTWAWKI media stories constantly (especially now that global warming is always sitting there to be the go to lead crisis story should all wars, migrant shit shows, race violence, etc. ever end) it's hard to perceive anything but clouds on the horizon.

Park
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Re: Things that should have improved by now

Post by Park » Sun Oct 03, 2021 7:57 pm

Senseye wrote:
Sun Oct 03, 2021 7:11 pm
Madrigal wrote:
Sat Oct 02, 2021 11:43 pm
Considering that every generation has the sense they're living on the brink of unprecedented societal collapse (and I think this is the big one), it's a funny question. Things don't seem to improve, ever.
I think that is just perception. Remember that quiz somebody posted a while back on the state of the world? And most people (including myself) got quite a few questions wrong because we assumed things are worse that they really are, probably due to bad news stories in the media.

Poverty has been greatly reduced, life expectancy has gone up, and standard of living has gone up in general. The good old days were never that good, it's just that all the people remembering them were young back in the 'good old days' and being young is fun.

But with people being bombarded with TEOTWAWKI media stories constantly (especially now that global warming is always sitting there to be the go to lead crisis story should all wars, migrant shit shows, race violence, etc. ever end) it's hard to perceive anything but clouds on the horizon.
That was me. Here’s the link https://factfulnessquiz.com
This is also from https://www.gapminder.org/fw/income-levels/ . They have seperated the worlds 7 billion people into 4 economic groups and shown with photos how people on the different levels live, most people live in the middle. This is also interesting https://www.gapminder.org/dollar-street , you can see how people around the world from many different income levels amd cultures lives.

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Madrigal
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Re: Things that should have improved by now

Post by Madrigal » Mon Oct 04, 2021 12:51 pm

Senseye wrote:
Sun Oct 03, 2021 7:11 pm
I think that is just perception. Remember that quiz somebody posted a while back on the state of the world? And most people (including myself) got quite a few questions wrong because we assumed things are worse that they really are, probably due to bad news stories in the media.

Poverty has been greatly reduced, life expectancy has gone up, and standard of living has gone up in general. The good old days were never that good, it's just that all the people remembering them were young back in the 'good old days' and being young is fun.

But with people being bombarded with TEOTWAWKI media stories constantly (especially now that global warming is always sitting there to be the go to lead crisis story should all wars, migrant shit shows, race violence, etc. ever end) it's hard to perceive anything but clouds on the horizon.
I think that anyone who wants to talk about inequality is obliged to refer to Thomas Picketty's Capital in the 21st Century, where he makes the claim, after amassing an amount of statistical information nobody had ever attempted before, that our levels of inequality in the present are starting to resemble Victorian levels of inequality. Personally I can't judge his work (not even having finished the book) but the claim has gone mainstream since and been praised by respectable economists.

Park
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Re: Things that should have improved by now

Post by Park » Mon Oct 04, 2021 1:53 pm

Madrigal wrote:
Mon Oct 04, 2021 12:51 pm
Senseye wrote:
Sun Oct 03, 2021 7:11 pm
I think that is just perception. Remember that quiz somebody posted a while back on the state of the world? And most people (including myself) got quite a few questions wrong because we assumed things are worse that they really are, probably due to bad news stories in the media.

Poverty has been greatly reduced, life expectancy has gone up, and standard of living has gone up in general. The good old days were never that good, it's just that all the people remembering them were young back in the 'good old days' and being young is fun.

But with people being bombarded with TEOTWAWKI media stories constantly (especially now that global warming is always sitting there to be the go to lead crisis story should all wars, migrant shit shows, race violence, etc. ever end) it's hard to perceive anything but clouds on the horizon.
I think that anyone who wants to talk about inequality is obliged to refer to Thomas Picketty's Capital in the 21st Century, where he makes the claim, after amassing an amount of statistical information nobody had ever attempted before, that our levels of inequality in the present are starting to resemble Victorian levels of inequality. Personally I can't judge his work (not even having finished the book) but the claim has gone mainstream since and been praised by respectable economists.
I havn't read Capital in the 21st Century neither (and it's not on my list :D) but growing inequality (due to a small group of extremely rich people) does not exclude people from all over the world from getting richer and obtaining a higher standart of living. It doesn't prevent more children from getting a longer education, people in generel living longer lives and less people living in extreme poverty.

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HighlyIrregular
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Re: Things that should have improved by now

Post by HighlyIrregular » Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:54 pm

Internal radio antennas. I have to tilt my stereo with something to get good reception for some stations.
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