In A Complex World..

shailynn
They never tell you what you need to know.
Ever notice how complex everything is these days?

I have to subscribe to 3 services just to watch NFL and CFB football games. Cable, Amazon Prime, ESPN+. I don’t even use Amazon Price but I’m paying around $100 a year to watch around 14 NFL games on Thursday night? I bet I won’t even be home for at least 5 of them.

My job used to be relatively simple, now 200 people email me, txt me, chat group app, I now have 2 freaking phone numbers just for work!

PreCOVID I used to drive my car up to 3 places to get it detailed. I could walk in and sit in the waiting room (and email the 200 people contacting me) for 45 minutes or drop my car off, or walk to a nearby restaurant and have lunch. All 3 places went out of business because they can’t find staff. Now I have to book an appointment, drop the car off, pick it up the next day, and the nearest good place is 20 minutes away.

You can renew tags online for my cars at the DMV website. I did, simple enough, then they never sent me the paperwork, so I had to physically go to the DMV anyway. They caused me double the work.


I think we’ve gotten to the point where all this technology and options is too much and has made daily life overly complex. There’s 200 buttons and switches in my car and I don’t even know what half of them do.

34 comments

Latest

whodey
2 years ago
Would you rather go back to the days of rabbit ear antenna? Just think of how many college football and NFL games you have to choose from these days compared to back then when you'd have to settle for the few games that were on broadcast TV back then.

You can solve your problem about your job becoming too complex by changing jobs to something less complex, but it probably won't pay as well. Maybe you can open your own car detailing business since there seems to be a shortage in your area.

You can find a car with fewer buttons and switches, but then you'd probably complain that it isn't high end enough and doesn't offer the features you are used to.

The DMV will always find a way to be a pain in your ass. That will never change just like old men will always bitch and complain about how new technology is making life too complicated.
JamesSD
2 years ago
You had me until the DMV thing. I rarely have to actually go in and it is amazing.
rattdog
2 years ago
mid 70's i was 5 years old. rabbit ear antennas on top of this big ass zenith television set. i would have to go up to the tv to change the channel. no remote control. to those born in the 90's and onward, yes there actually was time hand held remotes didn't exist. once my father bought a tv with a remote that feeling was fucking heaven.

how about a time when following your favorite NBA team only the away games would be aired on basic tv. only way to get to see the home games one would have to subscribe to a cable network, provided that service was available in your neighborhood.

anybody remember having to know by heart all those telephone numbers, and the ones that you would have a hard time remembering or rarely ever made calls to you would write on a book? cell phones all of changed that. now just only remember my own number.

perhaps to some yeah they can complain modern technological advances are "complex." but to go back to a time when there were way fewer options - no thanks.

conan_mac_morna
2 years ago
Remember when we paid for cable because there no commercials? Now we pay to watch commercials.
TheeOSU
2 years ago
'are you a cock sucker or a pussy?'


in the case of dipsdhitscrub, the answer is yes.
Muddy
2 years ago
Your right I can’t even keep up with all these options. Not to change gears an make it political but it’s a good thing. NBC’s CBS’s and ABC’s all the big networks had such a stranglehold on the narrative of the world for so long. It’s good to be able to hear other voices the difficultly is finding them though.
skibum609
2 years ago
If I am at someone's house with Amazon on Poker night, I will watch Thursday night football in the background. Last week we had no game, so I read a book. In the future it will be "ghost" with the wife. Fuck Amazon. They never get a cent from me.
shailynn
2 years ago
I hate Amazon too but I like Thursday nights football.

Do I need FIVE drive modes on my car? No.

There was a time when all the games I wanted were on my extended cable package. ESPN was pretty good about broadcasting regional stuff so I rarely missed a game I wanted to watch. Today I have to subscribe to 3 platforms to achieve that. Yes ESPN+ gives me more games than before but it’s mostly games I could care less about.

My dad had a similar job to me. 25 years ago he got on a plane, went to talk to someone, came back home and the company paid his visa bill. I think between all those things was a lot of partying. Today I do the same thing but have to send what seems like 50 emails setting up a 15 minute appointment, submit what is basically a spreadsheet detailing every single expense of the trip then I have to write an essay about the trip that nobody probably even reads. Then after the trip have endless recaps. Nobody did this shit 25 years ago.

And to respond to senile bitches like scrub my point is everyone’s life has become so complex it takes 10 hours to do a normal 8 hour job because of all this bullshit that people have to do in addition to their daily tasks at work. One of the biggest things is everyone has to detail in one form or another everything they do everyday already!

And Whodey I do like to detail cars… but I’d imagine any good job these days is overly complex, it’s just the way of the world. Just let me bitch about it now and then!
skibum609
2 years ago
Thursday night football is usually 15 out of the worst 17 games of the entire season. I play a lot of fantasy football, am in a lot of DFS games, play in a bunch of season long leagues and bet on the games with da man. None of it requires watching the games. Hopefully this is a start towards regaining Sunday and Monday, now that Thursday is no longer football.
twentyfive
2 years ago
I don’t like having to hunt all over to find the NFL Games, but if they continue to dilute their own product, my guess is it’s going to lose eyeballs, even though the world is changing pretty fast it doesn’t mean that they’re product will be worth the effort, I see the age of their viewers is rising, we’ll see the trend lines soon enough.
Call.Me.Ishmael
2 years ago
I think some of what you're describing as "complexity" is just "change." I will say that there's far greater opportunity for choice paradox or analysis paralysis. But, there are ways to manage that.

In terms of communications, I tell people that X platform is what I look at a lot. If you want a quick answer, then use that platform. Otherwise, it could be hours or days before you get an answer.

In terms of media viewing, I made decisions about what I really *needed* to watch. I'm down to Netflix and Amazon. It's not like I can't fill all that time I used to spend watching TV...

Also, I haven't been to the DMV in years and it's great.

It's relatively easy to get overwhelmed with new things, especially when there are more new things launched on a daily basis than ever before. You just need to be proactive about what you're willing to take on board.
skibum609
2 years ago
Thursday night football was a shit product. Except for betting money on the under, which was great because every game sucked, there was no intrinsic value. No one went to work Friday talking about the great game, but as long as it was free, it was appropriately valued. Now its not only overpriced, but a company I don't like gets the money. So, it's like tennis; I used to care. No Netflix, no amazon, no streaming, no on-line presence for my firm, or even a sign out front. I suffer all the current technology at work, but I try to let nothing from work poison my real life. A stripper the other day (very cool avid hiker) was amazed we didn't use gps a hiking app.; or that most times we leave our phones in the car. She said she'd be afraid to hike in the woods without technology and I said I'd be afraid to hike in the woods if I felt I needed technology. We make a photocopy of the topographical map and use a compass. We agreed to never hike together, but to go do a room and get totally naked together. I like girls who hike ....
Call.Me.Ishmael
2 years ago
^ I get what you're saying, and I understand that your conversation with the dancer wasn't about safety specifically.

But, a lot of women bring technology (and other deterrents) with them when hiking, jogging, etc., because it allows them to signal for help if they run into someone who poses a danger to them.

This is an area where I'm okay with some added complexity and new technology.
skibum609
2 years ago
^ I agree about the safety issue, but she hikes in a larger, mixed-gender group, and I should have made that clear. When my wife travels, I make sure she has a lot of cash and a fully charged cell phone. We hike the more remote regions of the white mountains so technology is usually just added weight.
Icee Loco (asshole)
2 years ago
Everything is easy and convenient. You're just dumb shailynn
san_jose_guy
2 years ago
Yes, this is a complex world, and it is getting more so. And our economic structure is changing ways which will make it harder.

People need broader educations, more liberal educations, more humanities and arts, more critical theory and more things like Gender Studies and Racial Justice.

SJG
shailynn
2 years ago
Yes Icee in your world where your only worry is to not burn the French fries at work and catch the bus on time to go home from work I can see where life is pretty simple for you.

For us big boys who have real jobs with real responsibilities and travel internationally on a regular basis the world is a little more complex. Please go back to making up stories on an anonymous message board to cope with your miserable life.
Call.Me.Ishmael
2 years ago
@skibum... Off topic, but the White Mountains are great hiking. I've spent a lot of time up there and in neighboring Vermont.
Icee Loco (asshole)
2 years ago
Shailynn. You cant even figure out how to watch TV. And spend your life on here dick riding a dead dead beat dad troll and harassing sjg. You're nothing
skibum609
2 years ago
We're day tripping up to hike on Sunday Ish. Already have the new parking pass affixed. Our goal was to climb all 48 4,000 footers doing only day hikes, but we've fallen short and not sure if we'll ever be in shape to do the 18 1/2 miles out and back to Owl's Head. I'd do a hiking thread but my guess is not a biggie here lol.
shailynn
2 years ago
Icee, sweetheart, you can’t even allegedly keep a drug addicted girlfriend and you claim you’re a drug dealer. Let that sink in for a minute. You even can’t keep your lies straight about what type of car you own on here.

I’m going to play poker tomorrow night, watch football all weekend and have sex. What are you going to be doing all weekend? Ah yeah spending the majority of it starting fights with people on a message board and making up more lies. Way to win at life loser!
Icee Loco (asshole)
2 years ago
Shailynn. You create fantasy narratives about me and troll sjg all day. Youre an idiot who can't even watch TV right. Don't come at me pretending you're anything more than a pathetic retarded troll
Icee Loco (asshole)
2 years ago
If you're so wealthy go donate some money to juices kids.
twentyfive
2 years ago
^ Iceefag the most fantastic thing is, you’re the most prolific troll, and false narrative creator we’ve ever seen.
Take another hit on your meth pipe and gtfoh
docsavage
2 years ago
I have trouble with new technology but that is mostly a case of "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". I keep up with it at work as part of my job but not at home. I don't have cable tv and just watch movies sent to me in the mail by Netflix. I finally got rid of my house phone about twelve years back and switched to a cell phone. If my car breaks down, I know I won't be able to find a phone booth to call someone and therefore need a cell phone. I never bothered to learn how to text on my phone. When strippers want to text me, I tell them that and they look surprised. Young people seem to always be staring at their phone.
san_jose_guy
2 years ago
Losing our payphones is a real issue.

Overall I probably am able to keep my life simpler than many but that is because I make regular use of the middle finger.

SJG

Full Action Uniform, does not need to be taken off. Bondage style, but it probably is not strong enough for real bondage, well maybe.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1196488721/…

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TheeOSU
2 years ago
^


Yup, no phone, library computer, a simple life for a simple mind.
Icee Loco (asshole)
2 years ago
Cell phones even yhe cheapest ones are a huge step up from payphones
san_jose_guy
2 years ago
Payphones were still an important institution.

SJG
ilbbaicnl
2 years ago
Major league sports are monopolies, and those tend to be trouble. When it was on broadcast TV, they'd black out home games to force you to pony up for expensive stadium tickets. They simply can make more money now that they can make each individual viewer pay to see games at their home.

As far as having your car detailed, is it worth it to you what it would cost if the people doing it made at least $15 an hour?

I prefer getting e-mails/texts, rather than phone calls.

Use to be the national panty-bunch was that the youguns were becoming couch potatoes, staring at TV screens all day. Now it's that the younguns are off the couch with their mobile screens.
shailynn
2 years ago
“As far as having your car detailed, is it worth it to you what it would cost if the people doing it made at least $15 an hour?”

Yes, simply because I usually don’t have the time to do it myself although I thoroughly enjoy doing it. If it would double in cost, I’d still pay just wouldn’t go as often.
gammanu95
2 years ago
I hate monthly subscription fees. I can afford to buy almost anything I want outright. The only things I finance are my house and my autos, and I do not even plan to finance my next auto purchase (not at these rates). Of those, the only one which builds equity is the house. However, the cable/satellite company makes you pay monthly to rent the equipment they require you to have to pay another monthly fee to receive their programming. The ISP makes you pay monthly fee to rent their router/modem to receive their internet for which you pay a separate monthly fee. The last ISP where I was able to buy my own top-shelf modems and routers was Comcast in 2012. You can pay to Sirius XM in you car, but then you have to pay monthly to use it.

I understand the concept of recurring revenue, but get your fucking hand out of my pocket. Unless you're a 7+ extras girl... then you're hand is just fine where it is.
gammanu95
2 years ago
*your

Don't you hate it when you try to correct a typo in the bottom line, but hit "post" instead? Do you think Founder will fix this in the next update?
wallanon
2 years ago
Maybe, but unless a post goes out less than half finished I just shrug and don't worry about it if I mishit the post button. Think about the kind of posts that go out here where the person who wrote it thought was perfectly ok.
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