Man I feel old reading this

[Jay481985]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100817/ap_on_re_us/us_mindset_list

In the article people do not remember using a corded phone, who Dr. Kevorkian, Dan Quayle or Rodney King

Damn I feel old

MILWAUKEE – For students entering college this fall, e-mail is too
slow, phones have never had cords and the computers they played with as
kids are now in museums.

The Class of 2014 thinks of Clint Eastwood more as a
sensitive director than as Dirty Harry urging punks to "go ahead, make
my day." Few incoming freshmen know how to write in cursive or have ever
worn a wristwatch.

These are among the 75 items on this year's Beloit College
Mindset List. The compilation, released Tuesday, is assembled each year
by two officials at this private school of about 1,400 students in
Beloit, Wis.

The list is meant to remind teachers that cultural references familiar to them might draw blank stares from college freshmen born mostly in 1992.

Of course, it can also have the unintended consequence of making people feel old.

[Related: America's best colleges ranked in new report]

Remember when Dr. Jack Kevorkian, Dan Quayle or Rodney King were in the news? These kids don't.

Ever worry about a Russian missile strike on the U.S.? During these students' lives, Russians and Americans have always been living together in outer space.

Being aware of the generation gap helps professors
craft lesson plans that are more meaningful, said Ron Nief, a former
public affairs director at Beloit College and one of the list's
creators.

Nief and English professor Tom McBride have assembled the Mindset List for 13 years. They say it's given them an unusual perspective on cultural shifts.

For example, as item No. 13 on the list says,
"Parents and teachers feared that Beavis and Butt-head might be the
voice of a lost generation."

With far edgier content available today, such as
"South Park" or online videos that push the envelope, there's something
quaint about recalling the hand-wringing that the MTV cartoon prompted,
Nief said.

"I think we do that with every generation — we look
back and say, what were we getting so upset about?" he said. "A, kids
outgrow it and B, in retrospect we realize it really wasn't that bad."

Another Mindset List item reflects a possible shift
in Hollywood attitudes. Item No. 12 notes: "Clint Eastwood is better
known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry."

A number of incoming freshmen
said they partially agreed with the item, noting they were familiar
with Eastwood's work as an actor even if they hadn't seen his films.

"I know he directed movies but I also know he's supposed to be sort of bad-***," said Aaron Ziontz, 18, from Seattle.

Jessica Peck, a 17-year-old from Portland, Ore.,
disagreed with two items on the list — one that says few students know
how to write in cursive, and another that suggests this generation
seldom if ever uses snail mail.

"Snail mail's kind of fun. When I have time I like
writing letters to friends and family," she said. "It's just a bit more
personal. And yes, I write in cursive."

Peck did agree with the item pointing out that most teens have never used telephones with cords.

"Yes, I've used them but only at my grandparents' house," she said.

That's the sort of comment that can make a person feel old. McBride
jokes that he's not immune from feeling ancient just because he compiles
the items. But the 65-year-old said the lists can also reveal a larger
truth about tolerance.

The "Beavis and Butt-head" item suggests that maybe parents shouldn't
overreact every time a controversy arises, he noted. For example, maybe
it's no big deal if college freshmen misspell words when they text, and
maybe their attention spans will be just fine even though they grew up
in the Internet age, he said.

"There's something about the resilience of human nature that renders
these gloom-and-doom prophesies moot after a while," he said. "I can't
say for sure, but it looks like the track record of these very anxious
prophets has not been impressive over the years."

[Arky]

I hear ya, but they missed out on the good stuff.

[dtel]

Jay you think you feel old, how do you think the old people feel ?

Things have changed so fast young people today expect things to change at this pace. My kids can't remember a TV without a remote, I was my Dads remote, I would have to get up and change it to any of the 3 channels or the 1 public channel.

[Ironsave]

Jay you think you feel old, how do you think the old people feel ?

BWAHAHAHA!.... LMAO! []

[BigStewMan]

this lady at work says to me, "remember back in high school when a guy or girl would make a CD of their favorites songs for their boyfriend or girlfriend?

my reply was, they didn't have CDs when i was in High School--we were still using 8-Tracks.

[Fish]

You're not old Jay, just well informed.

[Jay481985]

this lady at work says to me, "remember back in high school when a guy or girl would make a CD of their favorites songs for their boyfriend or girlfriend?

my reply was, they didn't have CDs when i was in High School--we were still using 8-Tracks.

Uh what's an 8-track.... I seen them but never really used or heard one to be honest. I grew up with cassette tapes and cds being a new and weird thing that had something to do with lasers. I do remember laserdiscs, they were shiny lps!

[Mallette]

Uh what's an 8-track....

New technology that replaced the 45rpm record changer I had under my dash. Didn't sound remotely as good...

Dave

[skonopa]

Things have changed so fast young people today expect things to change at this pace. My kids can't remember a TV without a remote, I was my Dads remote, I would have to get up and change it to any of the 3 channels or the 1 public channel.

Same here. Used to drive me nuts. Of course, when he wants to change the channels, I'd have to stand up there, and of course, have to wait for the commericlas to end to see what is actually on. Not only that, changing the channel also often required have to set the antenna rotator, so I'd have to wait for that as well. I am like, come-on, lets just agree that there is indeed absolutly nothing on TV so I can go back up stairs and continue that game of Monopoly with my brother!

Thank god for remotes, electronic guides, and that most wonderful of all TV-based technologies - the DVR. Oh how I so remember being a kid and saying how awesome it would be to have technology that would let us skip the commercials!

These kids today probably don't even know what life was like without internet access and cell phones.

And an aside - kinda cool seeing my old hometown of Beloit, WI being mentioned. I remember as kids riding our bikes through the Beloit College campus a lot as well as using the library there. Also remember going to the anthropology museum they had on campus a few times as well. There are a lot of Indian burial mounds in and around town, especially on that campus and the college has excavated a few of them.

[germerikan]

Even I can still rember not only corded phones but also the ones with dials that would sometimes break your finger using them..

OK, now I realize that I´m gettin old to....thanks a million!!! []

[Mallette]

Even I can still rember not only corded phones but also the ones with dials that would sometimes break your finger using them..

That's because they were made in America to last a lifetime. What about a time when there was no such phrase as "dropped call" because it was extremely rare that what was then referred to as "being cut off" happened because about the only way it could occur was if someone "hung up" on purpose or the phone lines were physically destroyed by a vehicle, tornado, or other violent force.

Dave

[Invidiosulus]

I've never owned or driven a car with a carburetor.

[Bill H.]

You know your old, when the All in One, receiver/turntable/speaker combo- that comes in a small case- appears as an Antique Item now adays.....................[H]

[jacksonbart]

I still just pick up the mouth piece and let Sarah (the operator) connect me to whom ever I am calling, I just wish Aunt Bee wouldn't tie up the line all day talking with Clara Edwards. Oh well, time for some bourbon and a ritz cracker.

[CECAA850]

I've never owned or driven a car with a carburetor.

I guess you've never adjusted points then either.

[WS65711]

this lady at work says to me, "remember back in high school when a guy or girl would make a CD of their favorites songs for their boyfriend or girlfriend?

my reply was, they didn't have CDs when i was in High School--we were still using 8-Tracks.

I was kinda popular in high school........... 'cause I had one of these -> http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Roberts-778X-Reel-Reel-8-Track-Tape-/300456249989

http://books.google.com/books?id=NllQ06_Nf6kC&pg=PT107&lpg=PT107&dq=roberts+778x&source=bl&ots=hxk49ZAyly&sig=TKKjxmMyIobqmWykZ_T6jAHITGE&hl=en&ei=u4RtTP2qNYP68AaB7JC7DA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CCsQ6AEwBjgK#v=onepage&q=roberts%20778x&f=false

[USNRET]

I installed a 4 track player in my parent's '63 Impala (not a very good Impala, 2 cylinder w/powerglide).
I didn't have a music source in Jr High so I ran two wires to my neighbors across the street and listened to his recording of Inna Gadda Divida

[WS65711]

I installed a 4 track player in my parent's '63 Impala (not a very good Impala, 2 cylinder w/powerglide).
I didn't have a music source in Jr High so I ran two wires to my neighbors across the street and listened to his recording of Inna Gadda Divida

Man, you MUST be old !!!!! I sure don't remember any two cylinder Impala's. [*-)]

[USNRET]

Man, you MUST be old !!!!! I sure don't remember any two cylinder Impala's.

As you see my eye sight has failed as well (6 vs. 2), like me telling the wife how big it is. [:$]

[HarryO]

I always hated the whine and 3 hour delay waiting on the Powerglide to shift into high gear. LOL!

You're not old. I still have some of my original Led Zepplin, The Who, Stones, Grand Funk etc on 8 track.

I had a nice 8 track player behind the tach on my '65 GTO console. My first car amp was a Spark-0-Matic 20 watt static monster but it sure kicked the original speakers