...the many things that you remember as a kid or teenager...

[Converse]

The other day I was in a local independent supermarket and I was actually happy to see they still had some home brand cat food cans on the shelf that were the old school type with no easy to use ringpull where you need a classic can opener to open them. I haven't seen a can like that for years in the other major supermarkets around here...lol

Another one I remember when I was younger was the old "SPAM" tins where you had to break off the little metal key and use it to roll around the metal strip to open up the can. I am amazed that we didn't end up slicing our fingers back in those days using these old things...lol

Just an update on these classic style tins, I noticed that these style of tins still exist to this day and are still being used on current beef tins in the supermarket. I found these corned beef tins for sale in both Coles and Safeway (Woolworths) here in Melbourne so when I saw the classic style opener I just had to grab one to put in the cupboard...lol. I seriously didn't think they would still have this style of opener when most other tins now all have those easy to use ringpulls on them.

So for some nostalgia I bought one today and took some photo's of it to share on here. Who knows how much longer these style of openers will still be around for. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them on the shelf at the local supermarket today. Cheers!

 

[Mr Stickyfingers]

lol, we used to do stuff like that aswell when we were younger. One song that I reckon many used to sing to was that song from the "The Angels" called "Am I Ever Going To See Your Face Again". Anyway after he says in the song "am I ever going to see your face again" we would then sing "no way, get fucked, fuck off"...LOL!

…so funny… we did the same with that song… although our lyrics were a tad bit different… we used to sing “are you ever going to sit on my face again… no way… get fucked… fuck off!”… we watched The Angels live in concert a couple of times and to hear the whole audience singing it at the same time was funny as well as being quite mind blowing lol!… cheers.

 

[BBpenguin88]

I like remembering when gasoline wasn't nearly $7/gallon grrrrrr...I'll think of something more fun & lighthearted when I've slept a bit (2 45 am now in California)

 

[BBpenguin88]

My d/art account --> https://www.deviantart.com/petersheppley
(ignore the name contradiction, it's just a pseudonym...)

Golly! Gobsmacked! The way your art is both realistic & fantasy driven is amazing. Should be in a film or video game!

 

[BBpenguin88]

Ummm... You have my family to partially blame for that. Starlings too...

I had an uncle on my mother's side back in the 1800's who exported native birds to the UK (Cockatoos, Budgies and the like) and so that the cages didn't come back empty, would import and release native UK birds to make it seem 'more like England...' for all the homesick colonists.

Starlings are now declared vermin and are to be reported and shot on sight. :+/

In the US, we have trouble w/cats

How Many Birds Do Cats Kill? 2023 Statistics | Hepper

Cats, whether domestic or feral, have an instinct to catch and kill birds so if you have ever seen your cat bring home a dead bird, you may have wondered how many birds do cats kill.

www.hepper.com

 

[BBpenguin88]

I wish can openers were a thing of the past... Sadly most cans still require one in this part of the world.

 

[Converse]

This also reminds me many years ago probably around the mid 1990's silly me saw those classic style glass coke bottles for sale in the 7-eleven store at Flinders St in the CBD of Melbourne. Anyway this thing was literally a genuine classic coke bottle that you had to open with a bottle opener (I thought it was a twist off cap like most beer bottles were at the time). Anyway after I realised I couldn't twist open the bugger I then do remember trying to pry the bottle cap off on those old style green steel metal fencing that were around Flinders St train station back then. I think after a couple of hits right on the edge of the cap I ended up getting the cap off to try and have a drink...LOL! I do remember some passers by looking at me weird trying to open a bottle of drink of the metal fencing...lol

Here is a picture I found on the net of what the bottle of coke was like. Lesson learnt here, don't purchase any classic looking glasses with original style bottle caps from your local convenience store unless you have a bottle cap opener on hand...lol. Cheers!

 

[BBpenguin88]

This also reminds me many years ago probably around the mid 1990's silly me saw those classic style glass coke bottles for sale in the 7-eleven store at Flinders St in the CBD of Melbourne. Anyway this thing was literally a genuine classic coke bottle that you had to open with a bottle opener (I thought it was a twist off cap like most beer bottles were at the time). Anyway after I realised I couldn't twist open the bugger I then do remember trying to pry the bottle cap off on those old style green steel metal fencing that were around Flinders St train station back then. I think after a couple of hits right on the edge of the cap I ended up getting the cap off to try and have a drink...LOL! I do remember some passers by looking at me weird trying to open a bottle of drink of the metal fencing...lol

Here is a picture I found on the net of what the bottle of coke was like. Lesson learnt here, don't purchase any classic looking glasses with original style bottle caps from your local convenience store unless you have a bottle cap opener on hand...lol. Cheers!

View attachment 57601

haha don't give up so easily

 

[Converse]

I just changed the time on some clocks here as we put our time one our back again for daylight savings and it makes me remember how bad and dodgy modern electronic devices are when compared to electronics that were made a long time ago. I remember I used to have an old clock radio and it only ever used to drift a couple of minutes in 6 months when it was time to go forward or back one hour. I bought a brand new Sony clock radio a few years ago now and it's absolute garbage when it comes to accuracy. It will drift probably 10 or more minutes in 6 months from when you set it.

It's also the same with a 35 year old Sharp VCR which I have in the loungeroom which only displays the time these days. It's so accurate it's not funny even after 35 years the time on this thing will only maybe drift a minute or two in 6 months. They certainly don't make things like they used to!

Why can't they make a modern damn clock radio which has the same time accuracy as a clock radio and other electronics devices that were made around 35 years ago...

 

[Mr Stickyfingers]

…wow!… you have a VCR?… I’m impressed!… not many people still have them nowadays… ** bursts out into song **… memories… so much sweeter than they aaaaaaaaaare!… cheers.

 

[BBpenguin88]

…wow!… you have a VCR?… I’m impressed!… not many people still have them nowadays… ** bursts out into song **… memories… so much sweeter than they aaaaaaaaaare!… cheers.

do you have an 8 track? butter churn, black & white telly? lol

 

[Converse]

…wow!… you have a VCR?… I’m impressed!… not many people still have them nowadays… ** bursts out into song **… memories… so much sweeter than they aaaaaaaaaare!… cheers.

do you have an 8 track? butter churn, black & white telly? lol

LOL! Yes I love all old school technology which I grew up with, I have not thrown nothing away throughout the years as technology changes I only buy what I have to and keep the old stuff stashed away here and there...lol

I also have an old Panasonic VCR next to the PC here in my room here which also now pretty much just displays the time on the display it's not used at all these days. But I know if I ever want to go back and convert some old recorded tv shows from VHS tapes into a digital format to upload onto youtube or whatever I can still do it quite easily. I also still have a bunch of old VHS tapes on the table next to me from back when analogue tv was the going thing and I tried to record as many of my favourite tv shows as I could onto VHS tapes...lol

As for 8 track, I think they were a bit before my time but I love the old analogue cassette tapes though...lol. I grew up with these and have stacks of old tapes and I also have a few old cassette decks which don't get used much these days. The car also still has a good old cassette player in it...lol

As for televisions, the last black and white television that I still used was on my bedside clock radio combo. Sadly that one stopped working many years ago then as I mentioned in the earlier post here I bought a brand new Sony clock radio a few years ago with a digital clock that drifts far too much. That old 35 year old tv/clock radio combo had a really accurate clock and I wish it still worked the new stuff is just junk when compared to the old one.

I also have a few old CRT television sets stashed away in the shed. I don't know if you guys remember a good old brand of TV sets called "Rank Arena"? Anyway we had one in the family since I was a kid in the 1980's and this thing was still working perfectly up until when they switched off the analogue broadcast signals in 2013! So that's a tv that was working great for over 30 years and the only reason I stopped using it and put it away was because it never worked right with those digital set top boxes. I guess it was finally time to just purchase a new modern tv for the new digital tv signals. I actually found about 4 of the exact same "Rank Arena" tv sets like our original one dumped on nature strips around here. Yes I picked them all up with the car as I know these things were just built to last! Every one that I found I just cleaned up a little bit and plugged them in and they all work great! Here's a picture below of the exact same Rank Arena TV set which was in the family for over 30 years, I also have another 4 of these which I found over the years stashed away next to our original one...lol Cheers!

 

[BBpenguin88]

LOL! Yes I love all old school technology which I grew up with, I have not thrown nothing away throughout the years as technology changes I only buy what I have to and keep the old stuff stashed away here and there...lol

I also have an old Panasonic VCR next to the PC here in my room here which also now pretty much just displays the time on the display it's not used at all these days. But I know if I ever want to go back and convert some old recorded tv shows from VHS tapes into a digital format to upload onto youtube or whatever I can still do it quite easily. I also still have a bunch of old VHS tapes on the table next to me from back when analogue tv was the going thing and I tried to record as many of my favourite tv shows as I could onto VHS tapes...lol

As for 8 track, I think they were a bit before my time but I love the old analogue cassette tapes though...lol. I grew up with these and have stacks of old tapes and I also have a few old cassette decks which don't get used much these days. The car also still has a good old cassette player in it...lol

As for televisions, the last black and white television that I still used was on my bedside clock radio combo. Sadly that one stopped working many years ago then as I mentioned in the earlier post here I bought a brand new Sony clock radio a few years ago with a digital clock that drifts far too much. That old 35 year old tv/clock radio combo had a really accurate clock and I wish it still worked the new stuff is just junk when compared to the old one.

I also have a few old CRT television sets stashed away in the shed. I don't know if you guys remember a good old brand of TV sets called "Rank Arena"? Anyway we had one in the family since I was a kid in the 1980's and this thing was still working perfectly up until when they switched off the analogue broadcast signals in 2013! So that's a tv that was working great for over 30 years and the only reason I stopped using it and put it away was because it never worked right with those digital set top boxes. I guess it was finally time to just purchase a new modern tv for the new digital tv signals. I actually found about 4 of the exact same "Rank Arena" tv sets like our original one dumped on nature strips around here. Yes I picked them all up with the car as I know these things were just built to last! Every one that I found I just cleaned up a little bit and plugged them in and they all work great! Here's a picture below of the exact same Rank Arena TV set which was in the family for over 30 years, I also have another 4 of these which I found over the years stashed away next to our original one...lol Cheers!

View attachment 57617

I also have a lot of old things. However, since you don't know my age, is it mine or my families' stuff. I had an Amiga 500 which my then hubby turned into a 1000 & he had the 1000 into a 2000. Blew his colleague's minds using both Macintosh & Ibm technology w/their respective floppy disks. Cool chat!

 

[Mr Stickyfingers]

LOL! Yes I love all old school technology which I grew up with, I have not thrown nothing away throughout the years as technology changes I only buy what I have to and keep the old stuff stashed away here and there...lol

I also have an old Panasonic VCR next to the PC here in my room here which also now pretty much just displays the time on the display it's not used at all these days. But I know if I ever want to go back and convert some old recorded tv shows from VHS tapes into a digital format to upload onto youtube or whatever I can still do it quite easily. I also still have a bunch of old VHS tapes on the table next to me from back when analogue tv was the going thing and I tried to record as many of my favourite tv shows as I could onto VHS tapes...lol

As for 8 track, I think they were a bit before my time but I love the old analogue cassette tapes though...lol. I grew up with these and have stacks of old tapes and I also have a few old cassette decks which don't get used much these days. The car also still has a good old cassette player in it...lol

As for televisions, the last black and white television that I still used was on my bedside clock radio combo. Sadly that one stopped working many years ago then as I mentioned in the earlier post here I bought a brand new Sony clock radio a few years ago with a digital clock that drifts far too much. That old 35 year old tv/clock radio combo had a really accurate clock and I wish it still worked the new stuff is just junk when compared to the old one.

I also have a few old CRT television sets stashed away in the shed. I don't know if you guys remember a good old brand of TV sets called "Rank Arena"? Anyway we had one in the family since I was a kid in the 1980's and this thing was still working perfectly up until when they switched off the analogue broadcast signals in 2013! So that's a tv that was working great for over 30 years and the only reason I stopped using it and put it away was because it never worked right with those digital set top boxes. I guess it was finally time to just purchase a new modern tv for the new digital tv signals. I actually found about 4 of the exact same "Rank Arena" tv sets like our original one dumped on nature strips around here. Yes I picked them all up with the car as I know these things were just built to last! Every one that I found I just cleaned up a little bit and plugged them in and they all work great! Here's a picture below of the exact same Rank Arena TV set which was in the family for over 30 years, I also have another 4 of these which I found over the years stashed away next to our original one...lol Cheers!

View attachment 57617

…aw man!… Converse… I am so impressed and so envious of what you have… it’s a credit to you for keeping the ‘old school’ stuff… and not throwing them all out in this ‘throw away’ society… I had a mate that was like you (sadly I’ve lost contact with him over the years) but it was always great fun going around to his place and it was always like a ‘step back in time’ whenever you visited him lol!… he had an old ‘Rank Arena TV like the one in the Photo… when his wife persuaded him to update to a new big screen digital TV he reluctantly agreed but would not throw out his old TV… instead… he ripped the guts out of it and got a custom made fish tank made that slipped perfectly into it and now he has a fantastic looking aquarium!… it still had the glass screen of the TV … (I think that he had to scrape a micro thin layer off the screen by polishing it to make the TV glass clear)… it looked fantastic!… (he also had to put extra brackets to the legs on the bottom of the TV to stabilise the TV because of the extra weight or the water of the fish tank)… but it was well worth it lol!… it looked fabulous!… (maybe a weekend project for you my friend?… lol!)… I admire people that still have ‘old stuff’ and especially those who re-purpose stuff instead of throwing them out…

…I’d be in my element walking through your place lol!… I have a few knick-knacky things that I’ve accumulated throughout my life that I like to display in my 2 car garage that has been divided into half garage / half computer room… and around the walls are shelves displaying my ’old stuff’… (if I can manage it… I’ll take some photos of them if I can… being in a wheelchair it makes it a tad bit difficult but I might try anyway… it might take a while but I will eventually try and do it)… you’ve got me being all nostalgic now Converse… thanks for that my friend lol!… and thanks for sharing… cheers.

 

[BBpenguin88]

…aw man!… Converse… I am so impressed and so envious of what you have… it’s a credit to you for keeping the ‘old school’ stuff… and not throwing them all out in this ‘throw away’ society… I had a mate that was like you (sadly I’ve lost contact with him over the years) but it was always great fun going around to his place and it was always like a ‘step back in time’ whenever you visited him lol!… he had an old ‘Rank Arena TV like the one in the Photo… when his wife persuaded him to update to a new big screen digital TV he reluctantly agreed but would not throw out his old TV… instead… he ripped the guts out of it and got a custom made fish tank made that slipped perfectly into it and now he has a fantastic looking aquarium!… it still had the glass screen of the TV … (I think that he had to scrape a micro thin layer off the screen by polishing it to make the TV glass clear)… it looked fantastic!… (he also had to put extra brackets to the legs on the bottom of the TV to stabilise the TV because of the extra weight or the water of the fish tank)… but it was well worth it lol!… it looked fabulous!… (maybe a weekend project for you my friend?… lol!)… I admire people that still have ‘old stuff’ and especially those who re-purpose stuff instead of throwing them out…

…I’d be in my element walking through your place lol!… I have a few knick-knacky things that I’ve accumulated throughout my life that I like to display in my 2 car garage that has been divided into half garage / half computer room… and around the walls are shelves displaying my ’old stuff’… (if I can manage it… I’ll take some photos of them if I can… being in a wheelchair it makes it a tad bit difficult but I might try anyway… it might take a while but I will eventually try and do it)… you’ve got me being all nostalgic now Converse… thanks for that my friend lol!… and thanks for sharing… cheers.

We took my then mother in law (British) to the Henry Ford museum & she was amused by how many things she still used everyday. Their house still had the gas lines which they changed for electricity when my then husband was born lolololol Ancient times not so long ago

 

[Mr Stickyfingers]

…I remember as a very young kid… (no idea what age… but very young)… it was fireworks night and I remember when my dad handed me a ‘sparkler’ to hold… I remember being in awe of it but also scared if some of the sparks landed on my hand… it took me quite a long time to trust sparklers and that they wouldn’t hurt me lol!… a stupid memory but still a memory lol!… cheers.

 

[up_all_night]

It's also the same with a 35 year old Sharp VCR which I have in the loungeroom which only displays the time these days. It's so accurate it's not funny even after 35 years the time on this thing will only maybe drift a minute or two in 6 months. They certainly don't make things like they used to!

I still have a VCR. It hasn't been used in years, but I have the old family archive of VHS. Home movies from when I was a kid. At some point, I think I archived them all on a hard drive somewhere. Yet it was one of those situations where I did it without actually sorting any of it through. So I have a hard drive somewhere with large files of videos.

I still have the VHS. I still have the VCR. I have some box I bought years ago to put them on PC, which cleared up video issues but it only connects via a firewire port, which my current PCs don't have.

 

[Mr Stickyfingers]

I still have a VCR. It hasn't been used in years, but I have the old family archive of VHS. Home movies from when I was a kid. At some point, I think I archived them all on a hard drive somewhere. Yet it was one of those situations where I did it without actually sorting any of it through. So I have a hard drive somewhere with large files of videos.

I still have the VHS. I still have the VCR. I have some box I bought years ago to put them on PC, which cleared up video issues but it only connects via a firewire port, which my current PCs don't have.

…yeah… I need to convert old VHS tapes to a computer or a disc or whatever… I have so many tapes of family things that need to be saved… VHS tapes don’t last forever… they slowly lose clarity and disintergrate… thanks of reminding me to do that up_all_night… even our Wedding is on VHS tape so I better do that soon methinks!… lol!… cheers.

 

[up_all_night]

…yeah… I need to convert old VHS tapes to a computer or a disc or whatever… I have so many tapes of family things that need to be saved… VHS tapes don’t last forever… they slowly lose clarity and disintergrate… thanks of reminding me to do that up_all_night… even our Wedding is on VHS tape so I better do that soon methinks!… lol!… cheers.

You'll be surprised just how crappy VHS quality is when you digitise them. It's really low resolution and the quality is poor.

If you do the converting yourself. One thing to look out for is that the signal from the VCR may be creating a bunch of distortions you can't easily fix on a PC. When I did a straight capture to my PC, 14 years ago, I had all sorts of screen shakes and jitters. So I needed to buy a box that went between the VHS and the PC that cleaned the analogue signal.

Strangely enough, that decrepid box still has a really high resale value or around $500. This suggests a lot of the much cheaper products today aren't doing the signal process. Here's a video that shows what I mean. The box compared to a USB capture tool.

 

[Mr Stickyfingers]

You'll be surprised just how crappy VHS quality is when you digitise them. It's really low resolution and the quality is poor.

If you do the converting yourself. One thing to look out for is that the signal from the VCR may be creating a bunch of distortions you can't easily fix on a PC. When I did a straight capture to my PC, 14 years ago, I had all sorts of screen shakes and jitters. So I needed to buy a box that went between the VHS and the PC that cleaned the analogue signal.

Strangely enough, that decrepid box still has a really high resale value or around $500. This suggests a lot of the much cheaper products today aren't doing the signal process. Here's a video that shows what I mean. The box compared to a USB capture tool.

… wow!… what a lot of difference eh?.. thanks for the heads up my friend… it looks like I need to look into it before it’s too late methinks… thanks mate… 👍👌… cheers.