Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

[beans-on-toast]

Oh heartily agree. I'm just surrounded by people who seem to think the grammar and context levels of a normal email are fine for publication. I'm no expert by any means (I'm a designer and engineer) but I do have an idea what to look for. I like my articles to be crafted and well-written, but I seem to be the minority. Of course, the fact that my writing takes about 3 times longer to complete than my contemporaries may have something to do with how management looks at the work.

Engineering has to be precise. Specifications require an attention to detail and critical review. Impact assessments are important. Changing one line in a software routine can have implications where you wouldn’t expect it. One reason why proper documentation is so important.

 

[GwenOnBass]

Have to know the rules of grammar and spelling before you break those rules, say I.

Once and again I might look at the passenger in the seat next to me and wonder what happens if it is his time to go? And I'm not good with that at all. If it's your time to go, write me out of your script. Count me out of your bad endings, I'm off to go play and have fun

 

[markwrob]

Are those of us who won't answer or look at our phones when driving a lost tribe?

No, quite the opposite IME. The drivers looking at their smrtphns are the ones literally lost. They do not take the time to plan a route before the journey; they are looking at the mapper or texting their host for the address yet again, in transit.

Our society have left the era of pre- consideration, of planning, of taking the long view. It's all about now, now, now.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I have to say that not being the literary scholar that some of you are I find the computer aids helpful as a learning tool as far as spelling, word usage, and other aspects. I just got to make sure that the end product is the thought that I was trying to convey.
Improper grammar (whatever that may be...not whatever may be taught in grammar school, I guess) is rampant on the internet and a bit disturbing to me. These bass player forums are surprisingly the opposite. The automotive forum that I frequent is just frustrating to me. There is a total lack of punctuation, capitalization,...any kind of indication where one thought ends and the next starts. It is hard to read through that and respond without getting insulting.
I'll ask the poster to reread what they wrote and see if it makes sense to them. When you do bring that up you get accused of being a grammar nazi. "Gee, I didn't know I was gonna get graded on this". (sigh)

Many can type faster than they can think. That’s one problem. Words are changed by auto-complete. I often have to edit my posts. Now TB has limited my time to do so. It’s a restriction that I don’t appreciate. Charging for the privilege only lowers the quality of the posts.

Typing on a touch-pad doesn’t help!

 

[GwenOnBass]

Many can type faster than they can think. That’s one problem. Words are changed by auto-complete. I often have to edit my posts. Now TB has limited my time to do so. It’s a restriction that I don’t appreciate. Charging for the privilege only lowers the quality of the posts.

Typing on a touch-pad doesn’t help!

Ever meet anyone who runs their mouth before their brain catches up? Me either.


edit
heard a pun. Do you know anyone who wants a package of dead batteries? They're free of charge.

 

[Al Kraft]

I used to enjoy reviewing articles for publication. I’d rip them to shreds. It wasn’t just about grammar but also technical content and order/logic of presentation. The papers would wind up very different. It does help a lot to have things reviewed from a distant perspective. It’s a matter of scale. Writers would often get lost working up close, you need to see it by standing further back.

This is similar to most of what I'm asked to do these days. Occasionally I will author technical material from scratch, but primarily I help others with fine tuning their key message(s) on technical subjects. I have really enjoyed working with Andy Field on the Mesa Subway manuals.

 

[gtmalone]

I stopped riding motorcycles after many years with them. The roads got more and more crowded. Car drivers lost all common sense. It got a lot more dangerous, I saw too many serious accidents. The number of inexperienced bikers went through the roof when biking became more popular. I also got fed up with riding in cold weather.

I don’t know if it’s just the lower cost of technology now but I’m seeing more people out walking with body cams. Many vehicles have them as well. Maybe it’s just fun to document where you go. Some seem to want that extra security though.

Especially with the advent of cell phones and distracting features in cars. I'm guilty of it, too. Hey, what's that song playing - have to look at the screen to see what it is.

 

[gtmalone]

Reminds me a bit of these boys. Saw 'em once quite a few years back now.

Bass player in the back, in the dark, as usual. lol.

 

[GwenOnBass]

A road atlas in the car is just the analog version of a smrtphn satnav, and likely no safer to use when driving. Drivers in the Targa Florio took navigators. In days of old.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

...Are those of us who won't answer or look at our phones when driving a lost tribe? I fear so. The divide between the drivers and the non-drivers will probably be a wedge that will come up as 'self-driving' cars become more of a thing. I'm already hearing that classic cars are going to become more difficult to own as more electrics come on line and gas becomes less common.

Is this post grumpy enough for this thread, or do I need to up my game?

I did my part by not having kids. Not that it was a choice...

No, quite the opposite IME. The drivers looking at their smrtphns are the ones literally lost. They do not take the time to plan a route before the journey; they are looking at the mapper or texting their host for the address yet again, in transit.

Our society have left the era of pre- consideration, of planning, of taking the long view. It's all about now, now, now.

I did think the first one was a little weak on the GOF factor. Maybe a 6.5?

Nice save on your followup post though- at least an 8, until @markwrob beat you out!

You can both get off my lawn...

 

[Winslow]

A road atlas in the car is just the analog version of a smrtphn satnav, and likely no safer to use when driving.

The safe thing to do is pull over to look at the atlas...

Otherwise, yes, passengers are assigned duties of navigation, poking at GPS screens, etc.

 

[markwrob]

Bass player in the back, in the dark, as usual. lol.

The time I took em in, Nick was holding down the bottom. Fun stuff!

 

[gtmalone]

doesn't anyone use anything organic any more? A Book!
I do channel my inner Miss Thistlebottom now and again

Book? What's that? lol. I prefer reading on Kindle but many things I want in hard copy.

 

[gtmalone]

Among the few things I kept in the time of the great shift is

View attachment 4396452​

That's a lost art. My mom had beautiful handwriting. I've always found handwriting tedious. I got an F in handwritting in the 5th grade. I stopped doing cursive many years ago. I can print faster than I could ever write cursive. Printing came about because of jobs - aircraft work orders had to be legible, writing computer code on paper had to be legible. My signature now is cursive printing for lack of a better term. In a few years it will be a something that looks like a G and an M followed by humps and scribbles. I may have a career as a doctor.

 

[gtmalone]

.

The safe thing to do is pull over to look at the atlas...

Otherwise, yes, passengers are assigned duties of navigation, poking at GPS screens, etc.

I use Rand McNally on the scooter trips and car trips. The Honda has nav but the road altas is better for the big picture.

I have friends with either GPS or a cell phone mounted on the handlebars. It's difficult enough to stay focused on the ride without GPS, music playing, intercoms, etc. Let's also say the GPS got them lost a few times because they didn't bother to look at the big picture. If you find yourself turning into a field turn row, you might have a problem. That happened to a friend. lol.

The only problem I've had with the road atlas is the wind keeps flipping the pages while I'm riding.

 

[Al Kraft]

A road atlas in the car is just the analog version of a smrtphn satnav, and likely no safer to use when driving. Drivers in the Targa Florio took navigators. In days of old.

Assuming one exercises common sense, the Garmin voice directions can be useful cues if you reviewed your route ahead of time and ignore the occasional aberrant instruction to turn right or left 500 feet ahead into something like a lake, building, one way street, etc.

FWIW, and it could be my aviation background, but I always print out a current map and thoroughly review my route and waypoints before going somewhere I have never been, or haven't been in a while.

 

[gtmalone]

Yep. Sounds like the kinda stuff my daddy used to listen to, and I hated! Now, I'd love for my Bluegrass Jam group to play some Beatles, but they're too serious for that. (sigh)
.

I grew up with stuff like this. Loved it then and still do!




I went to school with a guy who played with Marty Robbins for several years.
First Security Bank - Only in Arkansas

 

[markwrob]

This is similar to most of what I'm asked to do these days. Occasionally I will author technical material from scratch, but primarily I help others with fine tuning their key message(s) on technical subjects. I have really enjoyed working with Andy Field on the Mesa Subway manuals.

Cool beans! I've been reading a lot here about the D-800 as I prepare to pick one up. I love the fact that AgedHorse is so helpful and patient with folks who are genuinely seeking info. So mayhaps I'll be reading your work very soon!

 

[steve_rolfeca]

...Those motor assist bicycles are very interesting. I see a lot of people using them, they are even available for rental on the bike paths. Technology has really moved forward. I was talking to a guy with a wheelchair the other day.

...he said that he can go to particular market and back and the battery status meter barely moves. That’s a difficult three hour round trip walk for me up and down hills. As long as he plugs it in every night, he’s fine.

I first started jonesing for one after testing a Bionx conversion about 10 years ago.

Bionx was a small company out of Quebec. They offered sophisticated torque-sensing assist and a beautifully engineered direct drive hub motor with regen. Expensive, but very sophisticated- their second-generation version used CANBUS, just like your car. Riding a Bionx conversion was nearly silent, and felt very much like riding an unmodified bike, except that the wind always seemed to be at your back. It was very appealing.

At the time, the rest of the market revolved around DIY kits using cheesy Chinese-sourced hub motors with plastic internal reduction gears and lousy weather sealing, crude speed controllers and harnesses, and questionable battery packs.

Torque assist was available, but overpriced and poorly engineered Most people used a thumb throttle, so they were basically electric mopeds. There was no systems integration, and forums were full of enthusiasts trying to figure out how the magic smoke got out.

Sadly, Bionx failed to survive the transition to volume production, and went out of business in 2018. Thankfully, bigger players were already running with the ball- Yamaha was big in Japan by 2008, with 1 million purpose-built bikes sold. Their first mass-market mid-drive unit came out in 2013, and Bosch emerged as a major supplier the next year. The two of them still own most of the premium market, and their products benefit from being engineered to automotive quality standards.

I was skeptical about mid-drives at first, but using conventional gearing to multiply the motor's torque allows for longer range from less power. My 250 watt Gazelle pulls a lot harder, feels even more seamless in the way it provides power assist, and weighs less than the final 500 watt Bionx conversion kit. All of this while getting nearly double the range out of a smaller battery. I'm atypical in that I don't use a lot of assist, but I usually get around 80 miles to a charge.

I don't know about mountain biking, but for commuter/ recreational riding, the better bikes are very economical to operate. If you shop carefully, you can bypass the Chinese junk offered by most resellers, and pay about the same for something that's built to last. Even with the weak Canadian dollar, I could easily do 2,500 miles a year on $25 worth of electricity. Purpose-made tires from companies like Schwalbe can easily last a couple of thousand miles, as can disk brake pads. The better drive units easily rack up at least a couple of thou before they need even minor service.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I mostly use the crabby GPS lady that lives in my phone for directions. Not because I need directions to get home but she knows about road closures and detours.