Tech Support Guy banner

Sign of the times

460K views 8K replies 41 participants last post by  ekim68 
#1 ·
#2 ·
I recently read an article that said the the electronic books have taken a 13% share of the book market and the internet is now taking almost 30% of the newspaper business. My daughter works at the local newspaper and in the last several years they've laid off 25% of employees and reduced the size of the paper and started charging more. And they expect more layoffs...I've been reading this for the last 5 years and the stories are the same.
 
#5 ·
Canada has decided to decommission all it's lighthouses. Unless private funding is raised to save any of them they will fall into disrepair.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has declared approximately 480 active lighthouses and approximately 490 inactive lighthouses across Canada surplus to its needs.

It's very sad that something that is deep in the heart of Canada's maritime history is made obsolete by modern electronic technology. The problem with most lighthouses here is that they are in small, remote communities and the upkeep is beyond their financial means. From the article:
Potential owners must submit a business plan that shows their proposed use of the property will be economically viable over the long term, and that they have the capacity to manage the property.
 
  • Sad
Reactions: grandma77
#6 ·
Publisher: Web likely to phase out printed Oxford Dictionary

LONDON (AP) - It's been in print for over a century, but in future the Oxford English Dictionary - the authoritative guide to the English language - may only be available online.

Oxford University Press, the publisher, said Sunday that burgeoning demand for the dictionary's online version has far outpaced demand for the printed versions.

By the time the lexicographers behind the dictionary finish revising and updating the latest edition - a gargantuan task that will take many more years - publishers are doubtful there will still be a market for the printed form.
 
#10 ·
Marcus Dairy Bar Closes Feb. 6

The Marcus Dairy Bar, a hot dog and hamburger stand that offers ice cream, meals, milk, the daily paper and a gathering place for dozens of people every day, will close on Superbowl Sunday this year.

Michael Marcus said the dairy bar will close at the end of business on Feb. 6, and he thanked the Cesca family for its support. The dairy bar and adjoining milk processing and distribution plant will be demolished this spring to make way for a retail shopping center.

"The Marcus Family would like to thank the many customers and employees who have helped make the small dairy bar Jack and Pearl opened in 1948 grow and become a landmark in our community," Marcus said in a prepared statement. "We'd be remiss if we didn't give special thanks to the Cesca family, who worked by our side since opening day."
 
#13 ·
Frank Buckles, Last World War I Doughboy, Is Dead at 110

Frank Buckles, who drove an Army ambulance in France in 1918 and came to symbolize a generation of embattled young Americans as the last of the World War I doughboys, died Sunday at his home in Charles Town, W. Va. He was 110.

His death was announced by a family spokesman, David DeJonge, The Associated Press said.

He was only a corporal and he never got closer than 30 or so miles from the Western Front trenches, but Mr. Buckles became something of a national treasure as the last living link to the two million men who served in the American Expeditionary Forces in France in "the war to end all wars."
 
#15 ·
#16 ·
#17 ·
38 years ago he made the first cell phone call

On this day in 1973 -- on April 3 of that year -- a man did something no one had ever done before.

You may bless him for it or curse him for it. At this juncture, it hardly matters. The impact of what he did is so enormous that judging it now is almost beside the point.

The man's name was Martin Cooper. He was 44 at the time.

He made a cell phone call.

The world's first. At least the first public one; the cell phone had been tested in the lab, but never tried in the real world.
 
#20 ·
I wonder what that phone looked like. My first cell was hooked to a battery pack that was as big as a fanny pack:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_pack
I still have my old 3 watt bag phone - used it up until the start of 2005 when Celular One (now AT&T) forced me into digital rather than analog by running up the cost to use. At the time it would work in areas where no digital would work. Now there are enough towers and no need for the high powered units. If todays cell phones were still 3 watt I expect we'd have many a cooked brain, although I'm guessing the .3 watt have done enough harm.:)

I think I still have my old 'brick' phone, too - just have no idea where it's packed away.:eek:
 
#21 ·
I had a car phone, the central unit of which took up half the boot (trunk) space. That's also where the SIM card went (about the size of 2 standard credit cards) and one would always forget to take it out when parking or, had one remembered, to re-insert before driving off.:D

The hand piece was wired into the dashboard and regularly fell off the cradle.:rolleyes:
 
#22 ·
'Out of gas' calls for help rise with fuel prices

Soaring fuel prices have drivers running on empty.

The Automobile Club of Southern California said nearly 16,000 members a month are making one of those mildly embarrassing "stranded, need gasoline" emergency calls. That's up 13% from the year-earlier pace and represents the biggest jump since California motorists were paying a record average of $4.61 for a gallon of regular gasoline in July 2008.
 
#23 ·
Ever time I get gas it cost more. $3.56 and then $3.86 and then $4.01 and now it's $4.10 a going up. I have gas in the truck but needed a gallon for the mower so that was $4.10 I think.
Plus the summer the price will get even higher.
 
#25 ·
It ain't gonna go down Harry, those were the good old days...
What's sad is there is no reason for the price rise other than speculation and gouging. There is a world wide glut of crude, plenty of finished fuel product. Gas prices are slowing the economy, running up the price on most everything. While I see the need for gasoline prices to rise to force more efficient auto/trucks and to move to alternate fuel(s) (CNG) it still shouldn't be at the ridiculous Mad Max rates of late.
 
#26 ·
The price of nearly everything has risen to 10 X the price since I graduated from high school in 1957 (old codger here) and that includes gasoline and diesel. (prices varied from .25c to .45c depending on price wars)
But house prices rose much faster then gas- few houses cost over $10K and those would compare to $350K homes in todays market. The total price for payments, insurance, maintenance and utilities was expected to be about 25% of take-home wages- now I beleve its much higher.
I agree the gas price is outragious-but myself like others could easily reduce my mileage by half if I scheduled efficiently and shared rides with neighbors and friends- but myself-like others am just too lazy and would rather complain then act.
 
#27 ·
Hewee-
ARco averaging 3.81 Chevron and Shell 4.09 and higher. I suppose if we drive less it will bring gas prices down. Folks tend to drive more in the summer and nicer weather-but maybe not at these high prices. :-(
Coastal
 
Top