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

[jamespowers]

Boulder has always had Hippies, even before the 60s!

Aha! Now the Hippie, Colorado truth comes out!

 

[jamespowers]

I'd like to know the name of the Boy From Marketing who suggested the idea of printer toner cartridges that automatically shut the printer down when they reach a predetermined toner level, and make it impossible to squeeze out every last bit of the toner you paid for by taking the cartridge and beating it on your desk to redistribute the contents. Because if I knew his name I could hunt him down and beat him to a greasy pulp with one of his own $77 cartridges. And maybe then I could get all the toner I paid for.

Agreed! I hate that!

 

[2jakes]

I'd like to know the name of the Boy From Marketing who suggested the idea of printer toner cartridges that automatically shut the printer down when they reach a predetermined toner level, and make it impossible to squeeze out every last bit of the toner you paid for by taking the cartridge and beating it on your desk to redistribute the contents. Because if I knew his name I could hunt him down and beat him to a greasy pulp with one of his own $77 cartridges. And maybe then I could get all the toner I paid for.

I Found the Boy from Marketing !

 

[Gregg Axley]

I Found the Boy from Marketing !

Wow, even back then James photographed well.
Nice job James. :eusa_clap

 

[jamespowers]

Wow, even back then James photographed well.
Nice job James. :eusa_clap

I do what I can.

 

[2jakes]

I do what I can.

Nice job James ...

 

[LizzieMaine]

** Not being able to take a leisurely drive in the Plodge along the ruralest, backroadiest country road I can find without some testosterone-bloated pinhead in an Escalade riding my tail the whole way.

** Going to buy a bottle of automotive touch-up paint and finding that I can get any color I want as long as it's black, white, or silver.

** Buffoons who speed thru town in pickup trucks with banners, flags, or signs streaming from poles propped in the bed, leaving me to wonder just what will happen if those poles come loose, fly out, and hit me smack in the windshield.

** Walking down the snack-food aisle at the grocery store and feeling like I'm being screamed at by the bags -- JACKED! JACKED! JACKED! 3-D! XTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEME! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! All I want is a plain bag of potato chips. Does every stupid thing in the world have to be geared to the mindset of a caffeine-crazed fifteen-year-old boy?

** Those weird yellow one-eyed mutant Sponge Bob looking things that all of a sudden are everywhere. And I have no idea why.

** People who won't bother to take the stinking filthy cigarette out of their face while they're talking to you. Lucy Page Gaston, where are you now that we need you?

 

[2jakes]

** Not being able to take a leisurely drive in the Plodge along the ruralest, backroadiest country road I can find without some testosterone-bloated pinhead in an Escalade riding my tail the whole way.

** Going to buy a bottle of automotive touch-up paint and finding that I can get any color I want as long as it's black, white, or silver.

** Buffoons who speed thru town in pickup trucks with banners, flags, or signs streaming from poles propped in the bed, leaving me to wonder just what will happen if those poles come loose, fly out, and hit me smack in the windshield.

** Walking down the snack-food aisle at the grocery store and feeling like I'm being screamed at by the bags -- JACKED! JACKED! JACKED! 3-D! XTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEME! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! All I want is a plain bag of potato chips. Does every stupid thing in the world have to be geared to the mindset of a caffeine-crazed fifteen-year-old boy?

** Those weird yellow one-eyed mutant Sponge Bob looking things that all of a sudden are everywhere. And I have no idea why.

** People who won't bother to take the stinking filthy cigarette out of their face while they're talking to you. Lucy Page Gaston, where are you now that we need you?

There are many things that I admire about you.

One is your way of expressing yourself that brings it home.

Another is that I learn about people & things I’ve never heard of before,

And if I don’t know ( which is most of the time) you create the spark to
make me want to search & know more about things .


Btw:
Hope the plodge is running with no more problems .

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I'd like to know the name of the Boy From Marketing who suggested the idea of printer toner cartridges that automatically shut the printer down when they reach a predetermined toner level, and make it impossible to squeeze out every last bit of the toner you paid for by taking the cartridge and beating it on your desk to redistribute the contents. Because if I knew his name I could hunt him down and beat him to a greasy pulp with one of his own $77 cartridges. And maybe then I could get all the toner I paid for.

Be glad that toner ink isn't gas because it would come out to some several thousand dollars a gallon.

 

[Stearmen]

**

** Buffoons who speed thru town in pickup trucks with banners, flags, or signs streaming from poles propped in the bed, leaving me to wonder just what will happen if those poles come loose, fly out, and hit me smack in the windshield.

I have wondered for over a decade now, is it some form of desecration, when their flags are so discolored and tattered from all the road use, and abuse?

 

[Fading Fast]

... Walking down the snack-food aisle at the grocery store and feeling like I'm being screamed at by the bags -- JACKED! JACKED! JACKED! 3-D! XTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEME! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! All I want is a plain bag of potato chips. Does every stupid thing in the world have to be geared to the mindset of a caffeine-crazed fifteen-year-old boy?...

What happened to Wise potato chips? Growing up, they were like Coke to Lays' Pepsi - both were big brands, but Wise seemed the better of the two. Now, at least half the stores (at least in NYC) only carry Lays and no Wise. It seems like the company slipped in its market position.

And yes, we also have all the scream at you bags of this, that and the other thing that, when I do get sucked in and try them, IMHO, all taste very artificial.

 

[Fading Fast]

I'd like to know the name of the Boy From Marketing who suggested the idea of printer toner cartridges that automatically shut the printer down when they reach a predetermined toner level, and make it impossible to squeeze out every last bit of the toner you paid for by taking the cartridge and beating it on your desk to redistribute the contents. Because if I knew his name I could hunt him down and beat him to a greasy pulp with one of his own $77 cartridges. And maybe then I could get all the toner I paid for.

What brand of printer do you have as I need to buy a new one and absolutely, positively want to avoid that? It drives me crazy that at least 100 copies before my ink is done, my printer is sending me an "alert" that I am "low" on toner. Really, I've counted and the message comes when there are at least 100 copies left. It is so obnoxious.

 

[2jakes]

I have a small HP 8600 that does not shut down when the ink level is low.
But I will get the message with an illustration letting me know which ink cartridge is low.



And in Guam & surrounding locations, the humidity is such that potato chips are only available in sealed cans.
And a green powdery mildew starts to develop on the inside of shoes in about 24 hours.
Go inside a steam room & you can expect the same sensation except no one is firing at you.

 

[HudsonHawk]

What happened to Wise potato chips? Growing up, they were like Coke to Lays' Pepsi - both were big brands, but Wise seemed the better of the two. Now, at least half the stores (at least in NYC) only carry Lays and no Wise. It seems like the company slipped in its market position.

And yes, we also have all the scream at you bags of this, that and the other thing that, when I do get sucked in and try them, IMHO, all taste very artificial.

Isn't Wise the "official chip" of everything New York? They used to be, it seemed. Personally, I like Utz, but they're kind of an east coast thing, and I can't get them in Texas. I also remember Charles Chips, which came in a large tin, and was delivered to your door. I haven't seen those in years.

 

[LizzieMaine]

What brand of printer do you have as I need to buy a new one and absolutely, positively want to avoid that? It drives me crazy that at least 100 copies before my ink is done, my printer is sending me an "alert" that I am "low" on toner. Really, I've counted and the message comes when there are at least 100 copies left. It is so obnoxious.

Ours is a "Brother" but I have a better word for it. I can usually get a few more copies out by beating the cartridge on the desk, but I think they've gotten wise to that trick because it doesn't work as well as it used to.

Printers are the old "Gillette" scam in a new form -- give away the razor or sell it really cheap and then charge thru the nose for the blades. Bah.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Isn't Wise the "official chip" of everything New York? They used to be, it seemed. Personally, I like Utz, but they're kind of an east coast thing, and I can't get them in Texas. I also remember Charles Chips, which came in a large tin, and was delivered to your door. I haven't seen those in years.

Lays, Wise and Utz are all over the place here, and have driven out most of our local brands. When I was a kid, Humpty Dumpty, Circus Time and King Cole controlled the entire Maine potato chip market -- made in Maine from Maine potatoes by Maine workers -- but the latter two were crushed into crumbs in the '80s by the megabrand onslaught. Humpty Dumpty survives as a rump brand, but only because it was bought out by a Canadian conglomerate, and the Maine plant was shut down.

Humpties and King Cole both used to come in those big tin cans for home delivery, as well as by the bag in the stores, and a lot of those cans are still in use in old Maine households for storing fabric scraps, buttons, and other assorted attic junk.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Printers are the old "Gillette" scam in a new form -- give away the razor or sell it really cheap and then charge thru the nose for the blades. Bah.

Does Gillette still send out free razors to young men on their 18th birthday? Getting your razor was right up their with getting your draft card (or you Selective Service Registration notice, in my case).

 

[Fading Fast]

Ours is a "Brother" but I have a better word for it. I can usually get a few more copies out by beating the cartridge on the desk, but I think they've gotten wise to that trick because it doesn't work as well as it used to.

Printers are the old "Gillette" scam in a new form -- give away the razor or sell it really cheap and then charge thru the nose for the blades. Bah.

Agreed (same with film and cameras in the old days), what amazes me is that someone hasn't offered a non-dealer approved cartridge for less - the ink is so obviously overpriced that you would think someone would come in and undercut them.

HH, maybe Wise Chips were the chip of NYC at one time, but, at least where I live, Lays has all the mass-market shelf space and then Utz, Cape Cod and other niche brands have most of the rest. I haven't seen a Wise bag in a long time. And growing up, they were, IMHO, a much better tasting chip than Lays which always tasted undercooked to me.

I do remember Charles Chips in the can - I think they are still around, but that's a guess.

One of the ironies of NYC is that because shelf space is so expensive we get less supermarket food variety than most places; hence, I have searched high and low for Utz's Dark Russets (my favorite chip of them all) and know of one obscure store in the city that has them.

 

[LizzieMaine]

**Websites that are so "optimized for mobile" that they're completely useless to my thirteen-year-old desktop computer or my fourteen-year-old laptop. I'm looking straight at you, CNN.com and Boston.com.

 

[Fading Fast]

**Websites that are so "optimized for mobile" that they're completely useless to my thirteen-year-old desktop computer or my fourteen-year-old laptop. I'm looking straight at you, CNN.com and Boston.com.

While the formula is reversed, they now create ex-post-facto obsolescence (versus planned) as they basically write more and more advanced versions of software that (I'll bet) intentionally can't be supported by older platforms. My four year old iPhone 4 won't support more and more apps, upgrades, etc. - basically, Apple is forcing me to buy a new one as I need some of those apps for my business.

That you can use 13 and 14 year old anything is amazing. My experience is - like it or not - the cycle is about five years and, then, you almost have to buy again. That said, If memory serves, you pulled your computer out of a dust bin - so, I'm sure you aren't "upgrading" every five years. I to be clear, I'm expressing admiration.

I have no desire to buy new that often - but my business needs all but make me. My stereo is at least 25 years old, my CD player +/- 19 and one of my two TVs is going on 12, but after 5 or so years, they effectively force me to upgrade my computer or phone. And, any day, I expect my toaster to walk itself over to the garbage can and jump in as a mercy suicide as that poor appliance has been worked to death for, just guessing, about 15 or so years (I really don't remember, but it wasn't expensive, it's been many years and it has been beaten like a 20-1 claimer in the 3rd race as Suffolk Downs on a Tuesday).