I think one of the consequences of getting older is finding out that your parents were kind of right when they complained about technology? At least you can see they weren’t entirely wrong.

I’ve been hearing from friends that it’s getting harder to find quality refrigerators that don’t connect to the internet. Why exactly does my refrigerator need wifi? Or even a computer, at that? Older fridges can last decades because they have so few failure points. They have one job and they do it well. 

I tend not to use my smart TV very often because the damn thing glitches and it’s laggy and too much of a hassle unless I am really committed to watching a movie in my living room. And the worse thing is...can you even buy a non-smart TV these days that isn’t secondhand? Are they even making ordinary...yanno...televisions that don’t need software updates and internet connections, anymore?

Someone in the comments of this post asked how bluetooth earbuds are forced and everyone pointed out that a lot of phones (especially iphones) simply do not have the ports to plug in wired headphones anymore. You must get the apple wireless headphones - and I think that’s the crux of the problem. I am glad I have an android phone because I can use the old wired earbuds I've had for over 12 years. If I wanted to, I could buy wireless earbuds and use them instead, because my model of phone gives me that option.

And that's the kicker: the problem is that as things are "advancing," more and more, options are being taken away. It has nothing to do with consumer demand - obviously there are a lot of people that are not happy with these developments. But as we’re seeing, the products being made don’t reflect customer preference or choice. It’s always about is best for the companies making and selling those products.

Every day we’re hearing about new apps and tech startups and really...does anyone really want this shit? Is the nth attempt to make crypto work, the billions spent on the Metaverse, doorbell cameras; is a fridge with an IP address really allow it to do its job better? Is that actually going to improve the lives of anyone who aren’t the developers of that product? Just the other day I was reading about a tech startup that wants to be able to beam ads into your car's GPS screen. Video ads! On a screen! To tell drivers what's nearby when they can just...continue to look out the window because they're supposed to be driving a goddamn car.

The problem of a world run by tech companies is that the tech isn’t being made to accommodate us, we are being forced to accommodate the tech.

I’ve said it before I’ll say it again.

Nostalgia tech is a thing that would make money if they would just fucking do it. That’s why they still make records and record players.

BUT. Now it’s a luxury and luxury items sell. As LUXURYS.

Because it’s now about money. It never was. It’s about control.

Y’all understand? It was always about control.

So I had a new boiler fitted the other day. The old one had done its job for a long time but finally gave up.

It wasn't until the damn thing was all installed and ready to go that I was told that I would need to download an app on my phone and register my details and prescise location in order to set my heating.

I would no longer have a thermostat in my house. I would only be able to control it from my smart phone.

I am 36 years old and I went mad - not at the poor boiler engineer of course, but I refused to do what he was asking. I asked for an alternative. He initially said there wasn't one. I told him to check with the company. He phoned the company and eventually someone spoke to me about it. Explaining that this was the standard for all new boilers. I told them it was ridiculous. What if I was an elderly person living alone who didn't own a smart phone? What if I lost my phone? What if the wifi failed? What if there was an electrical fault?

It took over half an hour of exasperated bargaining before someone agreed to swap out the smart app connected parts of the boiler with a "standard issue thermostat". At first they were gonna charge me an extra £100 to swap it out, but I argued my case there as well.

After a lot of back and forth and effort that totally drained my energy, eventually I got a standard thermostat fitted. No smart phone app or registration needed. No extra charge. Just a lot of extra effort that someone a bit less stubborn and determined to avoid this technological attack on basic living would have easily backed down on.

We are already living in a world run by tech companies, where every. single. thing. in our lives is slowly being transformed into another system where they can track our every move, steal our personal information, and make life that little bit more complicated.

The fact that even white goods like refridgerators and washing machines are starting to require app connections is worrying. It's not a good thing, and its not being done for convenience. It's being done for data tracking, location tracking, and finding new ways to inflict ads on us.

Sorry if this rant derailed the post a bit, but the memory is still fresh and so apparently is my anger! But at least this is an example where being persistent and stubborn does heed results against them!

Hired someone to swap out my mom's programmable thermostat for an old-fashioned analog one. (She has memory loss. The new one confused her.)

The tech arrived with a "simpler" programmable one. That's not what I asked for, I say.

"I get it. Even these are too complicated for some people. What we really recommend is a smart thermostat that her kids can control with an app. It gets too cold in her house, she calls you. I don't even think they make those old round ones any more."

Haha, I have an ace in the hole: I whip out an analog thermostat, which I bought at a hardware store because I knew this was going to happen. He rolls his eyes, but he does install it.

He didn't even work for the people who would benefit from the data! He was a handyman! But he was persuaded that smart tech was smart, and in the end all I could do was persuade him to humor us.

I want the stupidest devices available. Why does my dishwasher need a screen on it? I want a fucking dial and a button.

we are in fact Old™ and we miss the days when washing machines had these fuckers

“the worst they could say is no” true but while they are saying it they very well could hit me with force lightning like palpatine. From star war

hard-right conservatives will be like "question everything" and then accept everything they were ever taught to believe about society plus whatever insane thing they happen to see in an email

The first Italian was from new york

Bro… 11 THOUSAND YEARS???

theyre imprisoning him in a giant cursed crystal

Hey can anyone tell me what the FUCK this behavior means

i don't want a career, i want to do crafts

While I understand this is probably venting, I have some thoughts I wish to share.

If you don't want a career, you want to craft, maybe look into the trades. I've started working as an elevator mechanic recently and, holy shit it's changed my life.

Like, seriously. While the work is tiring, it's deeply satisfying too. To me, very similar to getting a pattern in crochet or sewing figured out. It involves using your hands, using your brain in a similar way crafting does, and it can also pay incredibly well (meaning you can use your left over pay from making things in your day job to making things just cause you want to with your evenings and weekends).

With fewer and fewer people going into trades, there's more and more demand, making it easier to get in. My province is currently paying eligible students to become trade workers, so you can see if you have a similar program where you live. (if there are any Quebecers here interested, check out Operation Main D'oeuvre and call your local Emploi Québec office for information).

And for Mentally ill people, I've found construction insanely helpful for managing my conditions. Like, regular exercice helps the management of so many conditions, right? But I've always hated exercise for the sake of exercise. But now my work has me moving every day, making my depression and ADHD way easier to manage. Nothing like beating a recalcitrant rail support into place to help work off the nervous energy creates by anxiety either. I've been struggling with my mental health for well over a decade and I do not have words to describe how good it feels to wake up and have no dread about the work I have to do today. I might be tired and grumpy, but even then, there's no soul crushing dread.

I've also found it empowering and it helps me with my crafting (it teaches precision and gives you a really good eye for measurements, depending on the trade). It gives you financial power as well as power over your space (I've changed all the switches in my apartment for dimmers, easy peasy).

So yeah, TLDR, don't want a career, want to craft? Maybe manual trades are the route for you. I know they were for me

Computer repair was easily the best most fulfilling work I ever did. Just me and a little puzzle I knew how to solve.

if you have autism please look into welding. you get earplugs and gloves and a cozy helmet. you do the same shit the same way every day. you are surrounded by the weirdest and most dysfunctional men ever invented and you don’t have to respect any of them. you go to your little horse stall and glue bits together until it’s time to go home. it’s exhausting and sometimes painful work but i have worked retail and i have sucked dick for money and i can say with my whole chest that welding is significantly less stressful in terms of time, effort, pain, and dealing-with-people.

if you have ADHD i do have to warn you that welding gets boring after awhile and you are discouraged from making little bugs out of scraps. you can do it anyway. but you have to hide them from your boss.

I want to show you an actual training slide from my customer service job that I had to see yesterday.

everyone in the angry mob thinks they're going to be the one to stab the frankenstein with their pitchfork or burn him with their torch. but realistically only a couple get to

why is this like an infographic about dysphoria

Why does Snoopy AVE A KNOIFE?

I could be the person writing one time verification codes. 873726. 290971. 041452. 667656. It comes naturally to me.

They look so good

You have the best verification codes

I do what I can

Snout Gang