That’s an interesting because in some cases for me the contrasts are stark, but I don’t think about it ever. When was the last time I used a fold-out map or printed out directions to go driving? I’m sitting on my balcony now posting here when years ago I would have had to boot up a big tower PC, dial in to a online service, and then wait for all these pages to load. Now I’m doing it in my hand! But I don’t think about it?
How many people can even
read a fold-out map nowadays? Going by the number of times the Amazing Race teams get lost when relying on such maps, I'm guessing it's a skill that not as many people have anymore.
And don't get me started on how many people can't figure out which way is north, when I tell them to go to some landmark they say they know, turn north, go up the hill, and so on until they get to the place where I live. Their first question is always "which way is north?".
People have died due to faulty GPS maps, and they chose to believe the GPS rather than the evidence of their own eyes.
Internet was the big one. 1992-93 for me, a 14400 modem was the first upgrade. Before that I was playing football outside, every day, with neighbouring kids. Lots of people in the neighbourhood - just walked slowly along the promenade, talked to each other, played board games, went to visit each other. Every summer evening the yard was filled with chatter, music. Winter sports in the winter - hockey mostly. And then dad brought me decommissioned IBM 286 from work. The world had changed forever that day. The first game I managed to install and run, after fiddling with an alien thing called Computer for a week, was called Dune. Last I checked, no one is spending time outside in my old neighbourhood anymore. It is not considered appropriate.
Also, 9/11. Before that, airport travel was much more relaxed. There were security checks, obviously, but there were loopholes, negligence in airports small and big could be spotted regularly. Much less security overall. 9/11 reshaped worldwide airports forever. Incidentally, I was flying frequently at the time, so I felt that change and the indignant reaction it was causing in me at times. I also remember a shaky Alitalia flight high above the Alps. Entire airplane filled with Italians was chain-smoking and talking. Something to see! Anyway, every time I have to take my shoes and belt off in a modern airport, take out my devices, have myself scanned by various scanners I remember what was the original reason.
I just
when it comes to ideas about proper parenting nowadays. The idea of kids not being allowed to walk to school alone, not supposed to play in the yard without an adult being right there with them (watching from the window is apparently not good enough), parents getting charged with abuse or negligence for letting their kids ride a bus without them... I read an account one time about a woman who saw a couple of kids walking along a street. She promptly called a friend and told her, "I just saw two kids walking on the sidewalk, without a parent. What should I do about it?" As in should she call the cops, a social worker, someone to get these kids off the street. The kids in question weren't little; they were over the age of 10.
Security means me having to worry about how my mobility devices will be treated, and how the security personnel will treat someone who is physically disabled. I had to explain this to the security people at the court house one time, that I would need to sit to put my shoes back on, since my balance was so shaky that I'd probably fall over if I had to do it while standing, so would they go find a chair? (this was before I had the walker) Bad enough that I had to let them take my canes and warn them that if I lost my balance, they'd have to help me back up.
I definitely felt a distinct shift in my spirit after 9/11.
I felt another shift again in March of 2020.
Have not been the same since. Whenever I see an 80's movie or music video I smile and tear up a little.
When I see a movie or tv show from 2002 - 2019 I still smile but with a slight sadness in my heart.
Watching TV from 2020-2022 was surreal. If it wasn't the news, it looked downright
weird to see people without masks. There are people who never stopped wearing them - the computer techs at London Drugs, for instance, still wear masks. I remember the first time some of the home care people stopped masking. I'd literally never seen their entire faces before.
I've been watching a lot of cruise ship videos (for research purposes, as I intend to set part of the storyline for a fanfic on a transatlantic cruise), and there are people in the video who are masked. It's a logical precaution, considering what happened in late 2019/early 2020.
1992, but for personal reasons only. In fact, I could scarcely say what was going on in the world at that time.
1992, for me, is defined as the year my first cat died. My mental state that year could best be described as a mess.
Either here or in a separate thread, we should ask "What Song Provides Your Frame of Reference"?
I can't hear "Only Time" without thinking of Enya's appearance on
Larry King Live, a few weeks after 9/11.
Tried to cast a wide net for what was going on.
from University and 1 "finished" trade (log builder stuff) school later when first detailed images of Pluto arrived (2015).
