A Note from Cecil Adams about the Straight Dope
straightdope.com
straightdope.com
Books and mags like MAD Magazine, Nintendo Power, comic books and more were where you learned about life and it's cynicism, sarcasm and fun aspects, some with great write-ins.
Malls/bookstores where you socialized, record stores and movie theaters where you got your pop culture.
Arcades, convenience stores like 7/11 and video/game rentals to entertain yourself and play with others, bike your way over to the nearest adventure.
Bulletin boards, mailing lists, IRC and message boards of the early internet were really great and in-depth.
All of that greatness is turning to vaporwave nostalgia.
So long Cecil.
You start with this, and then go into more examples of "content that was essentially the internet before the internet" like going to 7/11 with friends, reading Nintendo Power, and riding your bike. That sounds a lot more like missing your childhood than any cultural changes, especially when your pre-internet internet includes things like IRC and message boards. It seems like you're just using "internet" as a synonym for "the present".
> All of that greatness is turning to vaporwave nostalgia.
The only criteria for being included in "that greatness" is that you enjoyed it and it's not popular anymore: it isn't turning to nostalgia, it's nostalgia by definition.
Replace Cecil Adams and the Straight Dope with whatever you like, and this is just as fitting of a sappy eulogy.
Our lived environment now includes a whole different element, that of being ever connected in the present to a global information network.
This means that there is a real loss, to society, of the utility of previously physical common spaces. People derived meaning and value there, and it has gone away.
Losing something meaningful and valuable is sad. The fact that it happens a lot doesn’t make it less so.
Obviously, the WWW offers all sorts of opportunities to create meaning and value, perhaps more.
But something fundamental has changed, in that we now engage in important social activities through telecommunications and mediated is experiences. This is devaluing sone types of social infrastructure that previously provided these functions.
I think we have crossed a “social singularity,” from which there is no going back. Similar to other technologies that changed human societies profoundly, and permanently.
The other I was trying to recall what it felt like to “not have the internet,” and I couldn’t get the feeling back, even though I lived half my life like that.
Car Talk. RIP. :-(
To contribute to the conversation, the fast service convenience chain with ‘hot’ ‘dogs’, an electrical and surprisingly loud ‘nacho’ ‘cheese’ squirting device representing a vast achievement of modern engineering, half gallon fountain beverages, and many delightful American locations is called 7-Eleven. No, I don’t get it either, and I hate that I know it. Merely helping international folks Google just what the hell this thread is about, though I wonder if you were missing much without my aid, because 7-Eleven is practically Americana made into a storefront and I’m pretty sure you already know exactly what goes on at one.
Within this audience, they’re known as the place to step over homeless sleepers and incognito buy cigarettes before their morning standup sees them at Sightglass or Four Barrel or whatever.
A lot of Internet culture comes from, or grows on, newsgroups, web forums, and subreddits. It's hard to quantify what good thing we get out of the existence of these communities -- there is not some metric I can point and say "this -- this is what these forums are worth". But I know it's a big deal.
Nice to see that they recognized the value and are keeping this particular community up and running.
It is funny to go back now and see ones which have obvious errors. They will always have a place in my heart, I'm tempted to pick up all the books now so I will have them to reminisce.
He was right. I immediately fell in love with the combination of trivia and dry humor.
I quickly read through the set, and even sent a letter to Cecil (he did not respond and my letter wasn't published, but I did get a letter back from one of his assistants answering my question).
All things must come to an end, but I'm sad to see it go.
(And yes, I emailed him but got no reply.)
The simple answer is yes, air pressure can push even something limp like spaghetti. And yes, if you increase the pressure the limp spaghetti will be forced in.
Think of a limp bag of water. If you push on the end it just buckles. But if you squeeze everywhere but one, water will come out of that spot.
But despite that, it's a great resource!
Anyone else remember imponderables (the books)?
I used to read those voraciously in the late 80s/early 90s. Going to the book store and seeing that there was a new one was such a treat.
I wonder what experience will be similar for my kids.
Keeping an authorship pseudonymous successfully for 40+ years is rather unusual. I'd argue saying it is a sole author is at least as speculative as saying it is a group.
Cecil Adams is Satoshi Nakamoto.
This makes it pretty clear ;)
So much for the rationalizations. The real reason you're told to use the revolving doors is so the real estate operators of the world can test your willingness to play ball. Do you follow directions and use the revolving door, or are you one of those independent types who insist on doing their own thing and entering through the swinging version? If the latter, be forewarned: when Donald Trump takes over, you're history.
I thought it was funny at the time.
If I were them, I would work with the people who value TSD to find a successor and carry on a good thing.