You know you're old when...

[SpeedBuggy]

I remember my Dad buying a 1960 Oldsmobile, no seat belts, pulling the rear seat out, drilling holes in the floor boards for the straps that held a booster seat in place of my little sister. No seat belts for the booster seat either, just a set of handles on the sides.

Then we got a 1965 Mercury Station wagon, no air conditioning and rear facing rear seat with the air deflector on the roof to direct air into the back of the car. We would fight to sit back there. Dad would put the window down, and off we went with the wind in our faces while facing backwards, breathing in everything, probably including carbon monoxide.

[Artemis]

Not me, but recognizable.

[3.0L]

Actually, 120 VAC.

My dad used to cook hot dogs on an electric device he made in high school. The attached image will give you an idea how it worked, although his was simply 2 vertical spikes and a switch. He'd slide on 4 hot dogs, then hit the switch, sending 120 volts through the meat. Really fun to watch. And dad said, "Don't touch the spikes while it's on." And we didn't. So simple.

[M_Six]

Waaaay back in the 70's my brother made a hotdog cooker that was early solar. Had a big arched reflector and a center spit. The reflected and concentrated sunlight cooked the hotdog. The thing stood about 5ft tall and would only do one dog at a time, so not very practical, but it was a proof of concept thing.

[M_Six]

When you need less sleep?

No sure what changed, but at some point this month I suddenly started waking up feeling fine at 6 or 6:30. My usual bedtime is still 11-11:30PM, but I'm wide awake 7 hours later. I used to need 8 hours or so to feel rested. Now it's 7. I'm not complaining, mind you. I love having more time in the morning. I've always wanted to be a morning person, but for ages my natural wake up time was always 7:30 or 8. No more morning groggies where I feel like crap until I have a couple cups of coffee in me. I like it.

[Buug959]

Originally Posted by wdb

Just for a little added fun (danger???) we used to strap model rocket engines to them and place the rings about a hundred yards apart. Never came close to a bullseye but no-one died.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by M_Six

When you need less sleep?

No sure what changed, but at some point this month I suddenly started waking up feeling fine at 6 or 6:30. My usual bedtime is still 11-11:30PM, but I'm wide awake 7 hours later. I used to need 8 hours or so to feel rested. Now it's 7. I'm not complaining, mind you. I love having more time in the morning. I've always wanted to be a morning person, but for ages my natural wake up time was always 7:30 or 8. No more morning groggies where I feel like crap until I have a couple cups of coffee in me. I like it.

That will all change tomorrow morning, when we spring forward.

Happy shortest weekend of the year.....

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by M_Six

When you need less sleep?

No sure what changed, but at some point this month I suddenly started waking up feeling fine at 6 or 6:30. My usual bedtime is still 11-11:30PM, but I'm wide awake 7 hours later. I used to need 8 hours or so to feel rested. Now it's 7. I'm not complaining, mind you. I love having more time in the morning. I've always wanted to be a morning person, but for ages my natural wake up time was always 7:30 or 8. No more morning groggies where I feel like crap until I have a couple cups of coffee in me. I like it.

As I've gotten older I need less sleep, and less coffee. These days I'm up for 2 or 3 hours before I have my one and only cup of coffee for the day. Go to sleep at about 1am and get up about 7:45am. No alarm.

[cmyx6go]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

That will all change tomorrow morning, when we spring forward.

Happy shortest weekend of the year.....

But the sun won’t set till 7:00 pm. Yay! Say goodbye to my evil twin and hello to my sunny disposition!

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by cmyx6go

But the sun won’t set till 7:00 pm. Yay! Say goodbye to my evil twin and hello to my sunny disposition!

Dracula better minds that...

[Kowalski2011]

In these current times where everything seems to want to divide us, it's refreshing to remember that we have more in common than not.

Who here remembers control line model airplanes with that .049 engine? Loud as hell, and that fuel...

[M_Six]

^^^Never could get mine to fly right. Crashed more often than not. But yeah, those tiny engines were seriously loud.

[vreihen16]

I remember some owners putting a stake in the ground, attaching the control lines to a swivel on the stake, and watching the plane fly from outside the circle until it ran out of fuel.

Speaking of .049 engines, did anyone else have a GALAX IV hovercraft (Internet picture)?????




.

[sygazelle]

...when you used to race slot cars as a kid.

[sygazelle]

....when you don't give a FF what Pete messages to Ye or how Ye responds to Pete or who is Kim or why they are famous or blah blah fkin blah.

[sygazelle]

...while I'm being old and cranky....when you don't give a $hit anymore about the NFL or whether Tom Brady is retired or coming back. Don't care.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

...while I'm being old and cranky....when you don't give a $hit anymore about the NFL or whether Tom Brady is retired or coming back. Don't care.

Yep, don't care.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

...when you used to race slot cars as a kid.

Erasers were an essential tool.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Erasers were an essential tool.

I'd forgotten about that. They were an essential tool.

I had a 40 Ford body with an amazing Kemtron motor. I wish I'd kept it. What great times we had.

[shoei]

FYI, I decided this will be my metric to determine when I'm old. When I can come in here and understand what everyone's talking about and be able to recognize toys in the pictures. I'll check back again in 2023.

That is all. Carry on, gentlemen.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

...when you used to race slot cars as a kid.

and eat end of the day donuts (next door) for a nickel...

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

...when you used to race slot cars as a kid.

...or as an adult!

One of the sports car clubs that I used to be a member of holds slot car races on a portable track at their annual holiday party. Some members go as far as making slot car replicas of their real race cars. Besides my own car replica with all contingency decals, I also have an Audi R10 (LMP1 class) slot car on my shelf that I ran at a few parties.....