Hal - Deliberately Basic

The Boomer generation is without a doubt, living with age-denial syndrome. We not only want to live forever, we want to live forever young. We want health, wealth, and good looks, and we want it now. Every generation must have some weakness; ours is shallow, wishful thinking.

Suppose, for the sake of pros and cons (and because it is interesting to think about) that you could live as long as you desire. Add to this good health and wealth enough to sustain you as long as you live.  But the most important aspect of this hypothetical situation is, you can terminate yourself any time you want. Absolute Immortality with no way out is too fraught with problems to even consider

This is not as absurd as you might think (or maybe it is). Consider this NYT article: Could We Live Forever?
 ”There is no fixed life span,” says Dr. James Vaupel, no wall of death dictated by basic biology that we are edging toward. People are living longer and longer, he said, and he sees no reason to think the trend will slow or stop in the foreseeable future. He should know. Dr. Vaupel is the director of the laboratory of survival and longevity at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany. 

Would you still want to live to say, 200 years old? What are the pros and cons of living beyond 100 years old? We live in a time when there are about 5.3 million people in the world who are centenarians. Does length of life equate with quality of life? After a point, for most people, I don’t think it does.

Here is a fine excerpt from The Physics Forum:
If I were to live forever then I would have so many memories that I wouldn’t know how to deal with it all. Generation after generation would pass by me and I would feel so left out. There would be no family, no friends that would last. One day they would be children and in retrospect it would seem a short time before they would be dead. By removing myself from the natural evolution of the species I would selfishly cheat myself out of any long term enjoyment. Death is a part of what makes life so valuable.

At first this may seem a bit shallow, but consider how long human being have been looking for the fountain of youth. Given the opportunity, what would you do?

I love debunking email “pass it on” messages. This one begs to be taken apart and reconstructed. Long ago I stopped pointing people to snopes.com or other sites to check the facts before accepting anything as truth. We live in a “National Inquirer” world, where yellow journalism and blatant lies are the norm for the written word. Email is fertile soil for anyone to grow the most outrageous lies, and ask that they be passed to everyone in the world as truth.

I got this message from a friend, and its interesting, but not exactly factual. I don’t know when this was written, or who wrote it, but it appears the baby-boomer generation has been forgotten. Also, consider that even though this fictional man was born before some of these things were in wide spread use, he nevertheless had them around the house as a child.

I am in the same age bracket as “Grandpa” - In fact I am a Grandpa. I remember the 50s and 60s well. I grew up in the era, and although I trusted my memory, I did a little research to see what the real story was behind what Grandpa thought he didn’t have.

How old is Grandpa? Really? And has he lost his memory?

—————The Message———–

Stay with this — the answer is at the end. It will blow you away.

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events. The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and things in general. The Grandfather replied, ‘Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:

Television - Facts: First public demonstration 1934. While only 0.5% of U.S. households had a television set in 1946, 55.7% had one in 1954, and 90% by 1962.

Penicillin - Facts: It was developed as a practical antibiotic during the late ’30’s and early ’40’s, becoming available in quantities in time to treat the Allied wounded on D-Day.

Polio shots - Facts: On April 26, 1954, scientists delivered what was called “the shot felt around the world.” In the cafeteria of Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Va. That was 58 years ago folks.

Frozen foods - Facts: To begin with, take away artificial freezing and you have several months in winter. But that aside, The first to harness the power of freezing foods beyond the winter months were the Chinese, who used ice cellars as early as 1000 B.C. My grandmother had an icebox. In 1930 Clarence Birdseye made frozen foods practical. Still, through the 40s and 50s various products were introduced (fish and orange juice for example) and the TV dinner was a prime catalyst for general acceptance for frozen food. And the TV dinner was a 50s product.

Xerox - Facts: Xerox was founded in 1906 as The Haloid Company, which originally manufactured photographic paper and equipment. The company changed its name to Haloid Xerox in 1958 and then simply “Xerox” in 1961. In 1959 the company became a household name, synonymous with copying. The Xerox 914 was the first one-piece plain paper photocopier, and sold in the thousands.

Contact lenses - Facts: Leonardo da Vinci was the first to describe this idea. Thereafter is a long history. The first known contact lens was produced by German glassblower F.A. Muller in 1887. The first fitting was by two Swiss physicians around this same time. William Feinbloom, a New York optometrist, first used plastic and in 1936 and in 1948 optician Kevin Tuohy manufactured lens made completely of plastic. My father wore contact lens in the early 50s, and most of his adult life.

Frisbees - Wham-O (A toy company) first began production in 1957, then called Pluto Platters. This is the same company that made the Hula-Hoop, Super Ball and Water Wiggle. Grandpa, did you ever hear of the Hula-Hoop? Frisbee ® is a registered trademark. In 1964 the first professional model went on sale. Grandpa was not very old in 1964. In 1967 some high school students in New Jersey invented Ultimate Frisbee, a recognized sport that in 1977 became complete with professional playing courses. The Frisbee, now more than 50 years old, is now owned by Mattel.

The pill - Facts: Another long history that started with Margaret Sanger (Planned Parenthood) as early as 1910. The chemistry of the birth control pill was invented in 1951. It was first tested on women in 1954, submitted to the FDA in 1956, approved in 1960. Many more trials and issues occur, especially from the Catholic church during the 1960s, and by 1967 12.5 million women worldwide were using the pill. A hit song from from Loretta Lynn that bode well with millions of women in 1974 was, “The Pill.”
I’m tearin’ down your brooder house
‘Cause now I’ve got the pill
There is a great timeline for the pill on this PBS site.

———–Message continued——

There were no:

Credit cards - Facts: From The Encyclopedia Britannica, “the use of credit cards originated in the United States during the 1920s…” About 1938 companies started to accept each other’s cards. Skipping forward, In 1950, the Diners Club issued their credit card in the United States. American Express issued their first credit card in 1958 and BankAmericard (now Visa) bank credit card later that same year. Although my family was not in the income bracket to have the luxury of a credit card, as a kid in the 50s, I knew others did.

Laser beams - Facts: Realize that there are many different kinds of lasers. In keeping with a short history, Theodore Maiman invented the ruby laser considered to be the first successful optical or light laser, in 1960. The common CD (using laser technology) was invented in 1965, although not mass produced until 1980. Note the date on this post is 2008. Do the math Gramps, even that was 28 years ago.

Ball-point pens - Facts: First invented in 1888, first mass marketing in 1935 by Gimbels in New York. By 1952 they became accepted and marketed as the “Ballpoint Bic.” Unless Grandpa is way beyond his years, he would have worn out many a ball-point pen in school.

—————And More From Gramps faulty memory.———–

Man had not invented:

Pantyhose - Facts: Allen Gant Senior invented pantyhose. In 1959, Glen Raven Mills of North Carolina introduced pantyhose — underpants and stockings all in one garment. In 1965, Glen Raven Mills developed a seamless pantyhose… From About.com

Air conditioners - Facts: As we know it today, invented in 1902. Widely circulated (no pun intended) in the 1950s. Problems with Freon and the environment, so alternatives have been developed.

Dishwashers - Facts: First invented in 1850, hand-cranked mechanical machines followed. Again, in the 1950s dishwashers caught on and came into general use. Grandpa must have been a dull boy.

Clothes dryers - Facts: Electrical, first appeared about 1915. Tiresome as it is, they became popular in the 1950s.

Man hadn’t yet walked on the moon - Facts: No, but as any school kid knows, he did in 1969. Gramps, you were a very young man then.

Your Grandmother and I got married first, . . . then lived together.
Ever hear about Woodstock Gramps? Enough said about moral issues in the sixties.

Every family had a father and a mother.
True, but they didn’t necessarily live in the same house. Divorce happened, much earlier than 1950. In fact the rate was higher in 1950 than it was in 1965. It appears to have peaked in the 1980s and again began a decline. In 1950 the divorce rate per 1000 was 2.6. See this site for a nice graph.

Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, ‘Sir’. And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, ‘Sir.’
Do not call a cop sir. I nearly got my ass kicked once for that. Cops like to be called Officer. Times change as well. Now that I am getting older, I do not like to be called sir. It makes me feel so…old.

We were before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.
You chose not to see that homosexuals existed, women worked, you hired a baby sitter, and some therapy may have kept you from beating your wife and kids. Computer dating may have put you together with someone more compatible than the woman you hooked up with as a matter of chance. Or not.

Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense.
Tell me you never coveted your neighbor’s wife, and I’ll show you a man with no testosterone.

We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.
Did you pass that on to your kids? Do you take any responsibility for a generation that takes no responsibility? I see a generation of kids who live at home, many in their 30s or 40s. I would be embarrassed to have a kid like that.

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.
You must mean as in the Vietnam war. Yes, the 58,000 men who died as a result of Vietnam gave up their lives for what? A privilege to serve?

We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.
White Castle in Wichita, Kansas is credited with being the first fast food restaurant, even though the term “fast food” was not used when the restaurant opened in 1921.

Why is something like this important? As parents and grandparents, we rant about the inferior education our children receive. We blame teachers, the system, the kids, everyone but ourselves. Yet we believe drivel like this, and pass it on the our friends. Imagine a real grandfather teaching his grandson that technology was unheard of and moral values have gone the way of the dinosaur.
“We Have Met The Enemy and He Is Us” — Pogo

The list of things this man believes is straight out of the WWII generation. This might be somewhat believable if he was 90 years old. Every item below can be either proven false, or not generally accepted by this man’s real generation. I have chosen to stop here, and let the rest of this bullshit speak for itself.

• Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.
• Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.
• Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.
• We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.
• We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President’s speeches on our radios.
• And I don’t ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.
• If you saw anything with ‘Made in Japan ‘ on it, it was junk
• The term ‘making out’ referred to how you did on your school exam.
• Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, and instant coffee was unheard of.
• We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.
• Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel
• And if you didn’t want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.
• You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, . . but who could afford one?
• Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

Are you ready ?

This man would be only 59 years old.

Could this be a typo, and he is really 89 years old? That must be the problem. As Gilda Radner, who played Rosanne Rosanna Danna on SNL, used to say,

“Never mind.”

I intend to live forever. So far, so good. ~Steven Wright

If there are any taboos left in the world, smoking must rank near the top of the heap, just below using the N word. Before you faint and fall to the floor at the mere suggestion that you would ever think about smoking a cigarette, at least consider why not.

There is no need to go into the health issues of smoking. If you don’t know that smoking is bad for your health, you have a more serious problem than a cigarette could ever cause. Even before the onslaught of attacks against tobacco companies, children were admonished (read, got their ass whipped) for smoking.As a child, I was warned of the dangers of smoking, especially in school. Smoking will stunt your growth, turn your skin yellow, and make you into a stinking undesirable, antisocial turd. And, it is generally bad for your health.

Nevertheless, in the 50s and 60s most adults and many teens smoked. I started when I was 16. At that time most people didn’t think of it as something that might kill you. Then again, most people didn’t worry about diet, exercise, carcinogens in water and air, seat-belts, growth hormones in livestock, erectile dysfunction, STDs, lead in paint, UV radiation from the sun, asbestos, mercury in fish, electromagnetic radiation, or Atherosclerosis from a Big Mac. Worry causes stress, and stress has been found by experts to be the root cause of all health problems. What conclusion can we draw from this? Medical experts and contradictions abound concerning health issues, and are synonymous in this industry.

Hitler against smoking. Thanks to Prison Planet
Beginning in the early 1930’s, as part of the Nazi agenda for racial purity, Hitler spearheaded a national campaign to ban smoking in all public buildings, and denounced the practice as a betrayal of the fascist drive for bodily purity.”Brother national socialist, do you know that our Führer is against smoking and think that every German is responsible to the whole people for all his deeds and emissions, and does not have the right to damage his body with drugs?” stated one magazine.

What is most important, your rights as a citizen, or government control of what you do? The Nazi regime did not care about the health of German citizens. Taking away personal rights is a way to control people, and that has been the essence of the anti-smoking campaign for the last 40 years.

If you are an ex-smoker, did you enjoy smoking? For a moment, forget about the health issues consistent with smoking, and consider this hypothetical situation. Was smoking a pleasurable thing to do? It was for me. I loved lighting up a pipe, an occasional cigar or a cigarette. It was a great way to relieve stress, or make a stressful situation more bearable.

I have not smoked anything for more than 30 years, and I will never smoke again. But not because of all the bullshit propaganda that has been perpetrated on me by those with ulterior motives. There was a time when I realized that smoking was making me sick, and as a personal choice, I gave up smoking. Never did it enter my mind to quit because someone else, especially the government, told me it was in my best interest to quit.

I once knew a woman (Call her Betty) who worked in the human resource department of a major hospital. The Godfather guy who was chief administrator, decided to enlighten ALL employees on the evils of smoking. He set about instituting a program which required everyone to tour the morgue. The idea was to show human lungs from smokers versus non-smokers. Of course the lungs of smokers were black, while the lungs of non-smokers were pink. Betty was a smoker, and had no desire to view human remains as an object lesson. Nevertheless, she was forced to go, or lose her job. On returning to the office after her tour, she was asked what she thought. She said, “They were all dead, were they not?”

I do not advocate smoking. I have no agenda, no reason to advertise that anyone smoke. In fact, I find that having to breath second hand smoke no longer agrees with me at the physical level. Do I care if someone else, a friend smokes? Not at all. That is his business, not mine. And please, don’t argue that I am helping to shorten his life by not harassing him. I have no right to tell him how to live his life, even if he chooses to dive off a cliff.

I can think of nothing more annoying than a self-righteous ex-smoker.If I could smoke with no ill effects, or health problems, I would would be pulling on a cigarette before finishing this article. I would again experience that pleasure of lighting up with friends, settle back with a good scotch, and relax. Later we might have a T-bone, rippled with enough fat to give it flavor, a potato and salad with lots of creamy fat dressing.

Maybe it’s the rebel in me; telling me I can’t do something has always made me want to do it just to piss off the establishment, murder and felonies excepted in most cases. I was fortunate to have wonderful teachers in school, and above all else I was encouraged to think for myself. Make a choice based on informed and critical thinking. Never allow platitudes, slogans, a mob, or anyone with an agenda influence your thinking. You always have a choice.

You work for years, dreaming of the day when at last you can pursue the things that interest you. It doesn’t matter what your dreams are. They need not be lofty pursuits, maybe you just want to play golf, or walk in the woods. You have finally reached a point in your life you can call your own. This is your time. Then you let it be known you are retired.

The moment you tell working people you are retired, they equate this with you having nothing to do. Suddenly, you have all the time in the world to do whatever your friends, but especially your relatives, want you to do. And just as suddenly, your “me” time is gone.

I have stopped telling people I’m retired. I lie to them. I constantly complain that I don’t have enough time to get all my work done. I commiserate with them about not enough hours in the day.

The last thing a retired person wants to hear is, “You’re retired. What do you have to do?” Or, if you say something such as, “I have to get off the phone now” they want to know why. If you are retired, then what the hell is the hurry. Somehow, by virtue of the fact that you are retired, you have more time for them.

Only boring people have nothing to do. Boring people fail to understand that others may have interests, and do not want to waste time chatting on the phone. Boring people piss me off anyway. There are dullards everywhere, and even these tedious people retire. These people, lacking in imagination, have nothing to do. These are the people who give retirement a bad name.

A measured day is what we have
No more nor less for all
For some the measure is too much
For others much too small

Seize each hour of this day
Yesterday is gone
Tomorrow a mere wisp of hope
In space and time beyond

Have you nothing much to do
Dull slug, bored mindless cretin
Waste not my precious measured day
As you hasten to your coffin