What's something modern you won't miss when it becomes obsolete?

[scottyrocks]

It's this awful plastic stuff they put on old wood houses. It's sold as a time saver so you don't have to paint anymore and supposedly to protect the house (think of plastic covers for couches). The trouble is, these old homes are rotting underneath that plastic and all kinds of bugs and critters hide in it. After only three years of having that stuff on (the previous owners did it), our house had horrible mold and rot. I can't imagine what the houses around us look like after 40 years of having it on.

Quite frankly, any wood or wood-type fiber house is going to need new siding after 40 years, regardless of what it's covered with. Stone is the exception. I don't think that vinyl siding is appropriate for classic vintage houses, either, but the implication that vinyl siding will create problems 40 years after installation while natural siding won't is a bit misleading. And mold can occur with any type of siding.

 

[rue]

Quite frankly, any wood or wood-type fiber house is going to need new siding after 40 years, regardless of what it's covered with. Stone is the exception. I don't think that vinyl siding is appropriate for classic vintage houses, either, but the implication that vinyl siding will create problems 40 years after installation while natural siding won't is a bit misleading. And mold can occur with any type of siding.

Well, I know that our house had wood siding on it for over one hundred years before they put the plastic on it and it wasn't replaced in all that time and I know from reading restoration books and from experience that plastic siding makes the wood deteriorate faster because it traps moisture. Maybe younger houses are different [huh] I can also see that it might need to be replaced if we lived by the water.


I forgot to add the other reason I don't like that stuff... they say it's to protect the house, but in order to put it on they have to cut off all the beautiful trim to make it fit. We're missing the original wood trim around the windows (it was hacked off) and the corbels attached to the corners.

 

[Philalethes]

Vaccines with harmful or questionable adjuvants: mercury, aluminum, hydrolyzed proteins (MSG), etc.

On that note, MSG in any of its incarnations.

 

[Subvet642]

LizzieMaine, that pretty much sums it up, but I'd like to add: cell phones, "reality TV", talk shows, our modern propensity to navel gaze and medical acronyms.

 

[Hugh]

I can see where both Rue and Scottyrocks are coming from. The problem that Rue is talking about comes from older homes having aluminum/vinyl put on over the old wood siding without wraping the home correctly. Pre 1960 homes don't have vapor barriers built into them which goes between the wall frame and the drywall which is there to prevent condensation building up and rotting the home from within. Newer homes are built with this, so it doesn't pose the same issues. Without putting homewrap around the house (pre 1960) as well as the styrofoam you are basically creating a "greenhouse" under the siding, causing it to rot.

So you're both right, just depends on what age the house is that you're talking about.

 

[John in Covina]

medical acronyms.

I have a general dislike for acronyms seeing them used a lot like texting language, where a new acronym suddenly makes the scene and the "in groups" that are hip use it to make the "out groups" feel stupid and left behind. Oh, you don't know what 'GLT' means? You must be living in a cave

Second is in groups like business, technical stuff and maybe hobbies. Acronyms are used to again keep the outsiders uninformed and bolster the self importance of the in group person.

Have you ever had a repair man fix something and use acronyms and technical jargon so you don't understand what he's doing and making it sound so technically difficult to support the overcharging on the bill? Later you realize you just got charged $100 for someone to replace a bulb but the made it sound like NASA conducting brain surgery.

Have you ever had an interest in a hobby and talk to someone that also uses all acronyms and technical jargon to sound important and confuse the heck out of you?

Have you ever had a conversation with say the IT geek at your work that uses a bunch of acronyms and technical jargon to justify their job?

Have you ever had a conversation with someone in another department at work that uses all of the latest acronyms for the new terminlogy for the same old process or job titles? What is it with people going so far out of their way to come up with new terms for the same old position? If you have ever gone to any online job websites like career builder you won't believe how far they go to disguise what is actually a Sales position.

The basis is the same, to exclude some and include others, to be the most hip and up to date and to gain domination over others.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Vaccines with harmful or questionable adjuvants: mercury, aluminum, hydrolyzed proteins (MSG), etc.

That's why I refuse to get a flu shot. Researchers believe there is a link between the mercury used as a preservative in vaccines to learning disabilities in children, autism, Gulf War Syndrome, Alzheimers, etc.

 

[Lady Day]

Plus, from a projectionist's point of view, the 3D technology itself is rotten -- poorly engineered, overpriced, and underilluminated. We have no plans to install it at work, because with our audience -- which skews heavily to the 50 plus crowd -- it'd put off more people than it would attract, and I couldn't be happier about that.

Out of a lot of film gimmicks, like smell-o-vision, and rumbling seat reactions, this is truly one that I feel is a fad that they are desperately trying to cement into an actual medium. Ever looked through the audience of a 3D movie, half the people take their glasses off every few minutes. I did! It just does not enhance the movie experience for me, and I Don't think it will ever surpass regular film making, even on the animated and computer front.

LD

 

[Indy_Rhodes]

That's why I refuse to get a flu shot. Researchers believe there is a link between the mercury used as a preservative in vaccines to learning disabilities in children, autism, Gulf War Syndrome, Alzheimers, etc.

Hmmm...I respect your choice...but I certainly would not concur. Firstly there is the 'risk element' - a flu shot may have drawbacks, but flu kills. Secondly, there are well proven, massive clinical benefits to vaccination: an individual's choice to forgo immunisation puts them, and those around them, at risk.

There is a lot of pseudoscience around... I'm wary of what a Google search throws up. Anyway...that is my five cent's worth!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Last year I lost my mom to Alzheimers. I'm no medical expert but for 15-20 years she was a fanatic about getting her flu shot every year -- she practically looked forward to it. I don't believe in coincidence but all that build-up of mercury and God knows what else in the body can't be a good thing.

They need to find an alternative to mercury to restore my confidence in vaccines.

 

[Indy_Rhodes]

Very sorry to hear about your mom...personal experience inevitably taints one's view of all things. I certainly meant no offence to you or anyone.

My point was really intended to be a general observation on some modern advances being good - but I would acknowledge that not all of them are!

 

[Marla]

No one has mentioned "skinny" jeans/pants? That includes spandex bottoms as outerwear.

 

[lolly_loisides]

No one has mentioned "skinny" jeans/pants? That includes spandex bottoms as outerwear.

Oh yes! What are those awful tights called.......Jeggins (dreadful, just dreadful).

 

[RichardH]

Oh yes! What are those awful tights called.......Jeggins (dreadful, just dreadful).

I saw Conan "O´bee" O´Brien wear jeggings during a show once... Hilarious! I don´t like jeggings, but i swear by skinny fit jeans though;

One thing i won´t miss are flared jeans.. *shivers*

 

[sheeplady]

I won't miss "greenwashing." Not really an invention, but I'm sick of people thinking that they are an environmentalist and the top of the social ladder because they buy a new green car or buy clothes from a certain company.

And obviously those of us who don't buy such a car or wear certain clothes or whatever the fad is (but actually practice reduce and reuse and recycle) are evil people who hate the planet. Because we don't buy organic bamboo or live in a newly built green house. Ah, greenwashing.

 

[RadioWave]

These...

Always guaranteed to incite rage.

 

[Lily Powers]

I won't miss "greenwashing." Not really an invention, but I'm sick of people thinking that they are an environmentalist and the top of the social ladder because they buy a new green car or buy clothes from a certain company.

And obviously those of us who don't buy such a car or wear certain clothes or whatever the fad is (but actually practice reduce and reuse and recycle) are evil people who hate the planet. Because we don't buy organic bamboo or live in a newly built green house. Ah, greenwashing.

Ah, the "Greener Than Thou" folks. Sometimes I'd like to bop them over their sustainable skulls with an incandescent light bulb.

As for modern inventions... I actually think I could live my life just fine without a cell phone. I don't need to be connected 24-7, or take pics, play games... I really, sometimes, just enjoy the solitude.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Have you ever had a conversation with someone in another department at work that uses all of the latest acronyms for the new terminlogy for the same old process or job titles? What is it with people going so far out of their way to come up with new terms for the same old position? If you have ever gone to any online job websites like career builder you won't believe how far they go to disguise what is actually a Sales position.

The basis is the same, to exclude some and include others, to be the most hip and up to date and to gain domination over others.

One of my pet peeves, and I certainly wouldn't miss it. The idiotic job titles that so many corporations give people to mask the old sideways "promotion". First and foremost being the recent term,"Human Resources", the department from which these imbecilic and diabolic policies originate.
Used to be Personnel, which is what it should be. Human "Resources" implies that the people that work for a company are an expendable commodity like water,or any ingredient used to produce an end product.
"Just use it up and toss it aside,..we can get more where that came from." Sadly enough, this has been the trend with a lot of corporations, just use someone for 15 or 20 years, then kick them to the curb to avoid giving them pay increases, benefits, etc.
I would definitely not miss the policies of Corporate America, as they like to call it.

 

[scottyrocks]

Well, I know that our house had wood siding on it for over one hundred years before they put the plastic on it and it wasn't replaced in all that time and I know from reading restoration books and from experience that plastic siding makes the wood deteriorate faster because it traps moisture. Maybe younger houses are different [huh] I can also see that it might need to be replaced if we lived by the water.


I forgot to add the other reason I don't like that stuff... they say it's to protect the house, but in order to put it on they have to cut off all the beautiful trim to make it fit. We're missing the original wood trim around the windows (it was hacked off) and the corbels attached to the corners.

Yes, I suppose that location makes a big difference. I live on an island, and there is humidity is almost ever-present.

Don't get me wrong, I love the old fashioned stuff. Maybe if I actually lived in a true vintage house I'd be singing a different tune!

And Hugh, thanks for old vs new building 'code' clarifications. I've not the opportunity to dig into a true pre-1960 vintage house as of yet.

 

[rue]

Yes, I suppose that location makes a big difference. I live on an island, and there is humidity is almost ever-present.

Don't get me wrong, I love the old fashioned stuff. Maybe if I actually lived in a true vintage house I'd be singing a different tune!

You'd be singing whistle while you work lol
I love it though and wouldn't have it any other way