Do you ever "Authenticate" the experience?

[wiskow]

Perhaps they would have been drinking Diet Coke instead of regular Coke.

Or Tab!

After discovering recently that a local grocery store still sells Tab, I've started buying and drinking it.

-Andrew

[Mirage1972]

I've been doing this more and more the older I get (okay, I'm only 36 now, but that's older than I have ever been before!). To me, most everything made today is total junk. And it's getting worse and worse all the time, with more and more being made in China etc. I miss the times of my childhood when people like my grandparents still had a lot of old items around from the '30s through '60s. There was a real quality there. I actually get a little sad about it sometimes, watching old movies (or new movies that bring back memories with their sets). "A Christmas Story" really gets me for that reason.

Anyway, as I age, I appreciate the old things even more, and will enjoy very much once we move into our new house, setting up my retro room with nothing in it newer than about 1985. I even just bought a 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger... they don't make them like they used to!

So, I can very much see where you're coming from. I often listen to older music, and as I age and have more space, I'm sure I'll "role play" times past a lot more often.

[ral-clan]

This makes me think about a thread I've been meaning to post here many times. Do you guys ever think that perhaps what we are doing is kind of a futile nostalgia? i.e. as we are approaching middle age, we are grabbing onto things from our child-hood looking at them through rose-coloured glasses. Are we becoming curmudgeonly - unable to see the good in new things? I am not sure - sometimes my wife tells me I'm too sentimental about old things.

I know every generation of men (seems to be more with men) go through this. I.e. men who grew up in the 50s tend to collect tin toys from the time, or fix cars from the time. Now we're doing it with our "toys".

There are times when I'm in a mental funk and wonder about all this "old junk" I've "hoarded" and I just want to get rid of the clutter. Then there are other days when I am totally GLAD I kept my old VICs and Amigas and the countless other retro-devices - and am so grateful I didn't donate/give/sell them all away.

There are people that come over and see the stuff and can't fathom why I keep it...that sort of makes you question things a bit...then there are other people who come over and totally freak out about how cool the stuff is and wish they had done the same.

On a related note....if you were single and dating would you tell someone right away that you collected/played with old computers. Or would you wait until you knew them more? Would you put that bit of info in your "dating profile"? I have to admit I'd keep that under wraps until the woman knew me better. I think a lot of women would read "collects old computers and video games" and make snap judgements and run the other way.

[Jeff-20]

Although the 80s isn't the time I would want to recreate (except for the computer part), I do think it would be cool to go into a totally re-created early 1980s arcade. Maybe a Chuck-E-Cheeze pizza parlour/arcade recreation. That would be fun.

http://lunacityarcade.com/photos.htm

Look at this guy's home arcade. That's dedication.

[nbla000]

http://lunacityarcade.com/photos.htm

Look at this guy's home arcade. That's dedication.

WOW wonderful atmosphere

look this video and this other too, there is the Original PONG Arcade, fantastic !!!

[PaulQ]

I've been doing this more and more the older I get (okay, I'm only 36 now, but that's older than I have ever been before!). To me, most everything made today is total junk. And it's getting worse and worse all the time, with more and more being made in China etc.

I have to disagree. I think that we've always had junk; especially in the 1980's. Honestly, the Canon digital camcorder I bought a few years back is way beyond anything we had in the 80's; it's easier to use, more capable, more portable, more reliable, and yields a much better image. It was also much cheaper. Mind you, it's made in Japan. Still, it goes to show. Also, a watch I recently bought:



Metal case with genuine mineral crystal and a butter smooth mechanical movement, for $30. With a date complication, luminescent hands and hour markings, and can be hacked. I've only had it for a day, but so far, it's proven to be genuine value for the dollar.

This makes me think about a thread I've been meaning to post here many times. Do you guys ever think that perhaps what we are doing is kind of a futile nostalgia? i.e. as we are approaching middle age, we are grabbing onto things from our child-hood looking at them through rose-coloured glasses. Are we becoming curmudgeonly - unable to see the good in new things? I am not sure - sometimes my wife tells me I'm too sentimental about old things.

Well, I still see the good in new things. A $30 mechanical watch that is well beyond a $30 mechanical watch of the 80's (if you could even find one). A camcorder better than anything in the 80's at a price that you'd be lucky to get a VCR for in the 80's. There's no damned way I would ever fool myself into believing a Vic 20 hooked up to a B&W TV while listening to a tape in a walkman is better than using my modern PC while listening to MP3's. That said, I will challenge any modern keyboard with a model M from that era.

Honestly, for me, it's about visiting a different time. I wasn't even a teenager until the latter part of 1984. There was so much going on, I could not possibly absorb it all! Now I have the time to afford to revisit those days and savour it all. To slow down a little and enjoy it while I can; before it's lost forever. It's a part of me, and it's mine. I can identify with it. I cannot identify with many "New" things today. That's probably why we seem to be "curmudgeonly."

[Jeff-20]

Swatch watch.

[Mirage1972]

I've been doing this more and more the older I get (okay, I'm only 36 now, but that's older than I have ever been before!). To me, most everything made today is total junk. And it's getting worse and worse all the time, with more and more being made in China etc.

I have to disagree. I think that we've always had junk; especially in the 1980's. Honestly, the Canon digital camcorder I bought a few years back is way beyond anything we had in the 80's; it's easier to use, more capable, more portable, more reliable, and yields a much better image. It was also much cheaper. Mind you, it's made in Japan. Still, it goes to show. Also, a watch I recently bought:

Of course digital technology is vastly superior to everything from the past -- that should always be true. And of course there will always be exceptions. Generally speaking though, with day-to-day mechanical household-type devices, I think it's far harder to find quality today than it ever has been in the past. More and more "Made in China" crap. That wasn't even an issue until around the '70s and seems to be a rapidly escalating issue since then. As for Japan -- they have always been the exception, but items made in Japan are rapidly declining as well. Made in Japan has most often meant quality. Cars are the obvious example, and most electronics. Also, the Japanese Fender guitars of the '70s and '80s are usually considered on par (sometimes better) than their American counterparts. Today, the equivalent is made in Mexico (or Baja Mexico) and are far far less desirable than those low-priced Japanese guitars of the past.

So, I don't disagree with anything you have said, but I think you're making a different point (or about a different country) than I was making.

[PaulQ]

Swatch watch.

I had one. Overpriced plastic that fell apart.

Generally speaking though, with day-to-day mechanical household-type devices, I think it's far harder to find quality today than it ever has been in the past.

While I would agree that there's certainly more junk available for sale, I don't think it's necessarily harder to find quality. People tend to walk into stores like Wal-Mart expecting to find quality, but they can't. Many people fail to realize that Wal-Mart is, for all intents and purposes, the modern version of Bi-Way. They are the bottom of the retail store ladder.

The real problem is that our dollar doesn't go as far today. Sure, people are, on average, earning more than people did in the 1960's and the '70's; but things such as houses and cars have become disproportionately more expensive. For example, in the mid 1970's, the average car cost approximately 30% of the average income. Today, the average car now costs approximately 60% of the average income. Back then, the average person could buy the average house for less than 3 years worth of the average wage. Today, that is now over six years. Not to mention, there's more taxes, utilities such as gas and hydro cost more, and, of course, we pay more for gas.

What this means is that people can't really afford the high quality things we used to be able to buy. This is why we find junk filled Wal-Marts everywhere, and why the higher end stores like Sears and The Bay are struggling (which used to be the mainstaples of '75). That said, the quality items are still out there, and relatively easy to find. Problem is, many people balk at the prices, even though, when accounting for inflation, they're actually less expensive than they were in '75.

This is why items like musical instruments seem to be going down in quality. In order to keep Joe Blow interested in putting his kid into music, the instruments need to fit the average modern household budget. Often, this means finding cheaper labour. We aren't allowed to use slaves anymore, but Mexicans are the next best thing.

[Mirage1972]

Swatch watch.

I had one. Overpriced plastic that fell apart.

Generally speaking though, with day-to-day mechanical household-type devices, I think it's far harder to find quality today than it ever has been in the past.

While I would agree that there's certainly more junk available for sale, I don't think it's necessarily harder to find quality. People tend to walk into stores like Wal-Mart expecting to find quality, but they can't. Many people fail to realize that Wal-Mart is, for all intents and purposes, the modern version of Bi-Way. They are the bottom of the retail store ladder.

The real problem is that our dollar doesn't go as far today. Sure, people are, on average, earning more than people did in the 1960's and the '70's; but things such as houses and cars have become disproportionately more expensive. For example, in the mid 1970's, the average car cost approximately 30% of the average income. Today, the average car now costs approximately 60% of the average income. Back then, the average person could buy the average house for less than 3 years worth of the average wage. Today, that is now over six years. Not to mention, there's more taxes, utilities such as gas and hydro cost more, and, of course, we pay more for gas.

What this means is that people can't really afford the high quality things we used to be able to buy. This is why we find junk filled Wal-Marts everywhere, and why the higher end stores like Sears and The Bay are struggling (which used to be the mainstaples of '75). That said, the quality items are still out there, and relatively easy to find. Problem is, many people balk at the prices, even though, when accounting for inflation, they're actually less expensive than they were in '75.

This is why items like musical instruments seem to be going down in quality. In order to keep Joe Blow interested in putting his kid into music, the instruments need to fit the average modern household budget. Often, this means finding cheaper labour. We aren't allowed to use slaves anymore, but Mexicans are the next best thing.

You make some very good points, which I agree with. Quality can be defined in several ways. I definitely see your definition of quality and I agree with it. Another way I'm looking at it, is say, a toaster. Take a very old toaster, and they're often made of a heavy (thick) metal, has some heft to it, and sometimes are nicely chromed. That was the average toaster of yesteryear. If you can find the same quality now, it's going to cost a fortune. Similarly, look at reproduction pieces of kitchen hardware (knobs and such), or reproduction kitchen equipment (for example, in a "retro" diner). If you go to an actual old diner (they're hard to find, but still around in the US at least) with equipment from back in the day, you'll see real quality. In the "retro" diner with new repro equipment, the quality still isn't there. Same goes for old cars. Thick, strong, heavy metal. The new ones are better because they're longer-lasting (sometimes), get much better gas mileage, and most important, are much safer, with crumple zones, air bags, etc. Much tighter fit of parts, too.

If you're looking at actual _usability_, then sure, the new stuff, even the cheap stuff is often better. Like that toaster. Not nearly as safe as a new toaster with modern electrical safety and convenience. But the way it's built -- solid, with good, strong metal. That's the quality I'm talking about, not the usability factor so much.

I still maintain my point, but I absolutely see where you're coming from with your points. If I really had to use only old items, I would very much miss all the technological advances as well! I guess this is a pretty good time to live, since we can easily have both!

[eslapion]

After discovering recently that a local grocery store still sells Tab, I've started buying and drinking it.

What happened to Mountain Dew is just a plain catastrophe.

[PaulQ]

This is my "Beverage of choice" when "Time traveling":



$3.99 for a six pack at the local grocery store. As you can see, I've included a Vic 20 cartridge for size reference. Each one is only 237mL, so guys like pitcalco needn't worry so much about their health when enjoying one. Yes, those are real glass bottles with real bottle caps that need a real bottle opener to get into.

Honestly, these probably date all the way back to the first Coca Cola bottles.

These two are accurate to the Vic 20 era:

[wiskow]

What happened to Mountain Dew is just a plain catastrophe.

What happened to Mountain Dew? They don't sell it in Quebec anymore? Or are you referring to something else?

-Andrew

[pitcalco]

Each one is only 237mL, so guys like pitcalco needn't worry so much about their health when enjoying one.

Hehe. Thanks for keeping me in mind. Tell you what, those 6-packs of coke in 237 mL bottles is exactly what I buy on a Saturday night. Sweet

As for the apparent lack of quality in products today, there may be many reasons for it. It might also just be a perception we have today since, as Digi mentioned, money does not go so far these days and more and more we need to turn to cheaper things.

Myself, I keep from getting too disappointed in things by keeping in mind the old saying "If you want really good jam, you have to make your own."

[6502dude]

What happened to Mountain Dew? They don't sell it in Quebec anymore? Or are you referring to something else?

-Andrew

I think this is referring to Mountain Dew being sold only in non-caffeinated form in Canada.

Apparently there is a regulation requiring beverages with caffeine to be dark in colour.

This is another fine example of government intervention telling us what we can eat, drink, or watch on TV, rather than letting the free market decide.