What modern invention/innovation do you wish had *never* been developed?

[Zombie_61]

What are you, an idiot? The first offense should be decapitation.

Don't be soft, man. It makes them think they can keep doing it. And if they think they can, they will.

Decapitation as punishment for the first offense is too quick--it doesn't act as a deterrent for those who haven't been caught yet because they'll think, "If I don't get caught, I'll be fine. If I do get caught, it'll be over with in a few seconds." But you show them a group of former malware creators who have to live out their lives blind and handless, and a good percentage of them will re-evaluate their career choices.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The word "amenities" as it is commonly used today. Everytime I hear someone -- a magazine columnist, a real-estate agent, a PR flack -- blathering on about "amenities" I fight The Urge To Kill. "Amenities" are the opiate of the flabby white backside of bourgeois America.

 

[Stearmen]

Expensive custom cars and motorcycles with brand new flat paint jobs!

 

[HudsonHawk]

Expensive custom cars and motorcycles with brand new flat paint jobs!

I don't get that either. But then I don't get spending a fortune on a new custom "rat rod" either.

 

[dh66]

Expensive custom cars and motorcycles with brand new flat paint jobs!

AMEN!!!

Primer black does wonders for a rusty p.o.s. but why anyone would put good money into making something new look like one is beyond me. Even more intriguing is the trend of a $30,000+ paint job complete with faux "patina", rust and fading layers of paint and all.

Then again.....a LOT of people spend a LOT of money on blue jeans and leather jackets that look worn out already. It's almost impossible to find a pair of dark, stiff, unwashed blue jeans anymore.

 

[HudsonHawk]

AMEN!!!

Primer black does wonders for a rusty p.o.s. but why anyone would put good money into making something new look like one is beyond me. Even more intriguing is the trend of a $30,000+ paint job complete with faux "patina", rust and fading layers of paint and all.

Then again.....a LOT of people spend a LOT of money on blue jeans and leather jackets that look worn out already. It's almost impossible to find a pair of dark, stiff, unwashed blue jeans anymore.

I see this all the time with guitars. People pay ridiculous amounts of money to have their guitar scraped and dinged and burned with cigarettes.

 

[dh66]

I see this all the time with guitars. People pay ridiculous amounts of money to have their guitar scraped and dinged and burned with cigarettes.

Yes I've seen that as well.
I think the root of it all is impatience.....in this me first, fast food society no one wants to wait on anything any more. They want to look like they've been wearing those jeans - playing that guitar - riding that chopper all their life.

Edit: it could just be that we live in a society of posers

 

[HudsonHawk]

Yes I've seen that as well.
I think the root of it all is impatience.....in this me first, fast food society no one wants to wait on anything any more. They want to look like they've been wearing those jeans - playing that guitar - riding that chopper all their life.

My buddy the guitar tech says kids come into his shop all the time asking him to "age" their brand new guitar. They then ask him to tune it. He charges $5 to tune it for them.

 

[dh66]

My buddy the guitar tech says kids come into his shop all the time asking him to "age" their brand new guitar. They then ask him to tune it. He charges $5 to tune it for them.

He is undercharging for that service.

 

[HudsonHawk]

He is undercharging for that service.

He's been a musician/teacher/builder/tech for 40 years now, and he's one of those guys who just lives and breaths guitars. He's a guitar encyclopedia, but he's not a guitar snob. He just loves to talk about it with anyone who'll listen. He says he's trying to encourage the kids to spend the $15 for a tuner and learn to do it themselves, but they are a lazy bunch.

 

[LizzieMaine]

What's really hilarious are the pre-ripped/faded/stained baseball caps you see up here on the heads of middle-class transplants who want you to think they've been hard-core bleacher-sitting Red Sox fans since the days of Pumpsie Green. What's even worse is when they wear these "distressed" caps and don't take the labels off.

"Posers" is exactly the right word. Everything is for sale at the store, and nothing is sincere.

 

[HudsonHawk]

What's really hilarious are the pre-ripped/faded/stained baseball caps you see up here on the heads of middle-class transplants who want you to think they've been hard-core bleacher-sitting Red Sox fans since the days of Pumpsie Green. What's even worse is when they wear these "distressed" caps and don't take the labels off.

Man I HATE the labels on the hat. Utterly ridiculous.

Also, bonus points for working Pumpsie Green into the discussion.

 

[Harp]

What's really hilarious are the pre-ripped/faded/stained baseball caps you see up here on the heads of middle-class transplants who want you to think they've been hard-core bleacher-sitting Red Sox fans since the days...

A knee injury plagued Moe Berg's Red Sox batting average-his Princeton plate record and earlier major league tally suggests.:coffee:fftopic:

 

[LizzieMaine]

Ah, Moe. The only Sox player ever invited to appear on "Information Please." Or capable of doing so.

 

[sheeplady]

I see this all the time with guitars. People pay ridiculous amounts of money to have their guitar scraped and dinged and burned with cigarettes.

Well, with the cost of cigarettes, maybe they think they are saving money?

I'd pay 15 dollars to have someone teach me how to tune my guitar. I'm trying to learn and I have an old "auto tuner" but I think it's broken. I'd love to learn how to self tune it. I learn so much better in person than from a video. I need to find a good teacher. I have zero musical ear.

 

[Harp]

...and Moe could recite all of Poe's poetry. A Red Sox nevermore.....

 

[HudsonHawk]

Well, with the cost of cigarettes, maybe they think they are saving money?

I'd pay 15 dollars to have someone teach me how to tune my guitar. I'm trying to learn and I have an old "auto tuner" but I think it's broken. I'd love to learn how to self tune it. I learn so much better in person than from a video. I need to find a good teacher. I have zero musical ear.

If by "self tune" you just mean to tune your own guitar, all you need is the $15 electronic tuner. It's pretty simple. If you mean tune by ear alone, that takes years of work and practice. And without a "musical ear", it's close to impossible.

 

[dh66]

If you have a smartphone of any kind (I know many here are resistant to the technology...I on the other hand wouldn't even be here without one as my access to a PC is limited - my wife is always on it) there are numerous FREE tuner apps for said devices.

 

[Zombie_61]

...If you mean tune by ear alone, that takes years of work and practice. And without a "musical ear", it's close to impossible.

Good point. When I read here that people didn't know how to tune their own guitars my first thought was, "Seriously???" I learned how to tune my guitar about 40 years ago, and I've been doing it ever since (as long as I need it tuned to the key of "E", that is). But I appear to have a "good ear" for tones--I'll pick up on an instrument that's out of tune, or a singer's voice that is either sharp or flat, when most people don't even notice; to me it's worse than fingernails on a chalk board.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Good point. When I read here that people didn't know how to tune their own guitars my first thought was, "Seriously???" I learned how to tune my guitar about 40 years ago, and I've been doing it ever since (as long as I need it tuned to the key of "E", that is). But I appear to have a "good ear" for tones--I'll pick up on an instrument that's out of tune, or a singer's voice that is either sharp or flat, when most people don't even notice; to me it's worse than fingernails on a chalk board.

Some people have a decent enough "musical ear", it just needs training. They can tell when a two notes are the same or when they're not. They'd just need practice tuning an instrument. Some people can't tell the difference. My father is one that has no ear at all. I mean none. Which is weird because he loves music, and it was his collection of Johnny Cash records that first got me listening to music. Anyway, sounds as if you're like me. When I hear a kid playing a guitar out of tune, I want to grab it and say "let me tune that thing before you give us all a headache."