Do you remember when,,,,,,,

[Die Judicii]

This is just my example, but please feel free to add your memory of when times and technology were basic and simple.
Once, if you wanted toast you'd get the trusty old fork made out of plain fencing wire and make toast at the woodstove or campfire.

But I remember when electic toasters first became available.

They were simply turned on or off and would toast a maximum of two slices,, and it was totally up to the operator whether or not it came out burnt.
So simple. Unlike todays multi slice monstrocities, and multiple settings, auto eject, re heat function etc etc

[Shootermick]

I remember the old toasters with the flip up sides where you put a slice in each side.

[on_one_wheel]

Using Street directories , Phone books, paying bills at the post office and everyone being able to organise their day with only a landline and a daily planning diary for those who were truly busy.
Going to the library to do your research

Now we can do most of that stuff with our thousand dollar mobile phones with hundred dollar phone plans, pay our excessively high bills, ordering a single shopping bag full of coles home delivery for $150 while laying on the couch feeding your face on overpriced junk food.

What's the future got in store for us

[alexjones]

Remember when........

They would advertise cars for sale with "power windows, aircon and rack and pinion steering". Now that stuff is standard on all cars they don't even advertise it.

Toll roads where you have to stop at the boom gate and pay a human to open it.

Rotary phones

Buying ammo at the servo

TV with no remote control

[alexjones]

Life before the internet and mass mobile phone adoption was a simpler more elegant time.

[rossfrb]

KMART used to sell rifles/shotguns and ammunition, albeit a limited and cheapish selection.
Stirling 22s, Bently pump shotguns and top eject Winchester 30/30 lever actions.

[Bugman]

Using the family's black Bakelite phone.

[Oldbloke]

Walking down the street with sixpence to the pay phone to make a call. Remember the A,B buttons?

[Die Judicii]

Remember when........

Toll roads where you have to stop at the boom gate and pay a human to open it

[Die Judicii]

Oh,,, and I forgot to mention,,,
The toast always tasted better when done over a genuine camp fire.

Using bread that had zero or way less preservatives in it,,,, yet it would last at least a week without going mouldy.

[Die Judicii]

Walking down the street with sixpence to the pay phone to make a call. Remember the A,B buttons?

Not to mention the operators nasal voice.

[wanneroo]

I love the 1980s but you can't go back. I came of age with computers in the house from age 7 and in 1984 we had a modem which could connect to Compuserve and Delphi or to local BBSs. I could see at the time when the technology speed up it would change everything and it did. Time is one commodity you can never get enough of and email, phones, internet, etc. streamlines and allows for instant communication and transfer of information and in my life eliminates a vast quantity of wasted time. I can get or find the products or services I want and need quickly and also allows for me to make money more efficiently.

[Lazarus]

I remember the old phone boxes fondly.

The one nearest my house in the 60s was a reliable source of lollies.

Banging repeatedly on the "B" button would cause a pokie like cascade of zacs and deeners.

[alexjones]

Drive in movie theaters. Although I believe there is still the odd few left around.

[bigrich]

Life before the internet and mass mobile phone adoption was a simpler more elegant time.

Amen to that!

[niteowl]

Drive in movie theaters. Although I believe there is still the odd few left around.

Drive ins, yes, we had one near us and as apprentices, there was a bloke from work who used to work there doing tickets. There were two lines of traffic to the ticket kiosk and you had to "sight up" which side Stanley was working so you could push into the other one if needed. That way he would come to the window (never acknowledging you or the car) and look in at 4 - 5 people and say two and pass the money to the operator. Good old Stanley.
Not like the speedway where you had to have people lying on the floor or in the boot for your cheap entry.

[animalpest]

Going fishing from home to a spot 35km away on our treddlies (push bikes). Some decent hills navigate on our basic bikes.

Funny thing is that we didn't need to carry a big Yeti water bottle.

[Bugman]

Free milk at primary school. All kept in the hot sun BUT covered with a canvas tarp......................................yuck!

[Blr243]

I remember before tracking collars and thermal scopes my wolfhound cross an I were cruising around a boundary fence when we spotted a mob out in the open so we pulled up and got out of the Ute . Checked the wind. I was wearing only runners and a pair of shorts , my left hand clasped the lead as I held her short to manage her excitement as she eagerly focused on the mob In front of us . My right hand loosely held my spear at balance point. As we walked forward I realised this is exactly how men hunted feral pigs centuries ago. Briefly I bathed in the awareness that I felt extremely primitive, as if I had been transcended back in time , but I was soon overcome with the inevitable rush of anxiety adrenaline and excitement that always curses through my body in this situation… it felt good , real good , too good … I have to admit so damn good that I just couldn’t handle it anymore so I Reached for the clip.. with the smell of pigs already inside her nose, at the sound of the unclip maya launched forward with a level of enthusiasm that I had seen many times before and I began my run after her . Man and dog. Teamwork. I’ll never forget that chase

[Blr243]

Thank god for push button phones. Remember the old dial phones ona landline? So slow

[Die Judicii]

100_6585.jpg (345.99 KiB) Viewed 24744 times

Using Street directories , Phone books,

I have this Street Directory of Adelaide (updated version 1948)
Note: the directory is thinner than the biro.

[bladeracer]

Going fishing from home to a spot 35km away on our treddlies (push bikes). Some decent hills navigate on our basic bikes.

Funny thing is that we didn't need to carry a big Yeti water bottle.

We used to ride out to the tip as a group when I was a kid in South Hedland. Looking at Google Earth now it looks like it was only about 4000m of dirt each way, seemed a lot further back then

I don't believe I ever carried water as a kid, even when I was out all day long, though I had a pair of bottles on my rig from Army Cadets. I just drank from the creeks. After a nasty result from drinking from a river in 2006 though, I am very hesitant nowadays to drink from creeks or rivers. I prefer to carry a lot of water, far more than I think I'll need, it's only weight after all. I have one litre on my belt every day anyway, in the summer I'll hang two bottles on there. Lately I've been thinking of switching to a camelback for daily wear to take the weight off my belt.

[on_one_wheel]

The attachment 100_6585.jpg is no longer available

Using Street directories , Phone books,

I have this Street Directory of Adelaide (updated version 1948)
Note: the directory is thinner than the biro.

That's awesome, I doubt many 1948 street directories have survived, its probably worth a few bob now.
Only one of those tram lines (to Glenelg) on the front map have survived till today.
Here's the most recent one I have, it has a 100 page index and 414 pages of maps. :thumbsup

Screenshot_20240418_202208_Gallery.jpg (397.18 KiB) Viewed 24738 times

[Die Judicii]

As opposed to only 25 Maps plus the directory itself.
Map 25 goes all the way up to Waterfall GullyReserve and Crafers.

[alexjones]

Remember with the old credit card imprinter that would make the carbon copy and that "ca-chink" noise. Now it is just a tap and a "beep".

[Oldbloke]

Brownie camera
Old manual typwrter.
Carbon paper

[Jorlcrin]

- Holdens were excitingly sold as having "RTS" - Radial Tuned Suspension.
- Nearly all the milk we had growing up was powdered "CDA" brand.
- Our Phone Number was the town, followed by a single number, and a letter.
- The Phone-line was a single-wire party line, and the handset was a spin-the-handle jobby.
- Our trip to primary school was roughly 45 miles each way, and involved us kids driving about a third of that, and the bus taking us the rest.
- Bushfires were usually co-ordinated by the local telephone exchange operator.
- VHF fire-band radios the size of a suitcase.
- Off-road/Ag motorbikes that had next to zero suspension.
- Mortein concentrate to go into those mister thingeys that you pumped the handle furiously.
- ALL of the meat we ate was kill-your-own; didnt see packaged meat till I was in my teens.
- The TAA Fokker-Friendship aircraft was as loud as anything while taxiing at the local airport.
- The TAA Fokker-Friendship actually ran regular services to about 5 times as many towns in the district.
- The local hospitals actually had doctors that usually knew their stuff, and stayed for more than a 3-month rotation.
- The local clubs would all only allow women as 'Spouse' members; women couldnt be a member in their own right.
- Buying a 'Picture' magazine at the local newsagent earned you 'the eye' of the gent behind the counter..
- Certain pubs in town only served certain clientele.
- The 3rd hot-chip/takeaway shop in town was known as 'Juicy Lucy's', and was well known for frequent food-poisoning incidents, but was never closed for it.
- First TV here was black & white, as we couldnt get a good enough reception for colour; even with an 80ft antenna.

Hmmm... Not all the above was all that great.
As much as I'd like a simpler time as it seemed when I was a kid, I'm not sure I'd be happy giving up some of the conveniences I've grown used to.
I guess you live in the moment.

[Oldbloke]

I remember the old phone boxes fondly.

The one nearest my house in the 60s was a reliable source of lollies.

Banging repeatedly on the "B" button would cause a pokie like cascade of zacs and deeners.

Yep, and,, on the third stroke it will be 9.05 and 30 seconds, beep, beep, beep.

[Oldbloke]

And the outside dunny. Dan, the dunny can man would pick up once a week.

[Die Judicii]

And the outside dunny. Dan, the dunny can man would pick up once a week.

Yep, I know where there is on of those,,,, complete with the can still laying on the ground just behind.
I'll take a pic next time I'm out that way.

It used to be a womans biggest fear,,,,,,,,, to be sitting on the throne when "the dunny can man" arrived for the collection.