#1473242 - 06/11/16 01:46 PM
Useless skills that were once useful
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JazAddict
Planeteer
Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 18011
Loc: The West Coast of Florida
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Typing while talking
Listening to multiple conversations simultaneously
Writing what is being said to you in real time (requires some shorthand lingo usually)
Things I did for a livin that I have little other use for
And you?
_________________________
Liberty is inversely proportional to government. http://www.bobminer.net Da Bears Bob Miner
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#1473318 - 06/11/16 10:19 PM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: JazAddict]
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DAGtunes
Planeteer
Registered: 11/29/07
Posts: 7590
Loc: San Clemente, CA
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1: Playing an instrument 2: Singing In Tune 3: Audio engineering 4: Mastering 5: Anything I've learned...
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#1473326 - 06/11/16 10:41 PM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: DAGtunes]
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Popmann
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 05/23/02
Posts: 33045
Loc: Twangville, TN
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When I worked in a record store as a young'un--I was a kind of wonder kid because you had to pass a test on musical knowledge (and I mean knowledge of artists and labels and producers across different genres) to get a job at the record store AT ALL.
Pass.
I ACED it....at 16. No one had ever aced it--let alone someone so young. Eventually they moved me into doing full time shipping/receiving when I was out of school--which was a manual process of pricing and knowledge of this price point line and the mapping to store price, etc....what distributors what labels came from....what artists were ON what labels....
By the time I left the music store gig, they were bringing in computers and paying people next to nothing because there was no more test. They could type whatever artist into a computer--all info was there--where it was in the store, what label and catalog number in case it needed to be ordered, the price--everything really that I was cherished for at that store was being replaced by a computer.
Um....installing ISA cards and configuring the IRQs?
Prolly more....
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#1473334 - 06/12/16 12:08 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: C Jo Go]
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Duckhead
Planeteer
Registered: 02/05/00
Posts: 13524
Loc: n Load!
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.installing ISA cards and configuring the IRQs? ;\) Been there and done that. Formatting mfm and rll drives. Man this stuff has come a long way. I always wondered if they could make a hard drive with memory chips.
_________________________
Want Really High Speed Internet? Go to Hong Kong! What I know,I know!Its What I dont Know Thats a Problem!Never let an electrical engineer near a telescope or an astronomy book. They may end up correcting the astronomy book!
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#1473337 - 06/12/16 12:15 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: Duckhead]
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Wish
🌴 VSP Moderator 🌵
Planeteer
Registered: 09/09/00
Posts: 11692
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
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Speed dialing a rotary phone with two index fingers.....trying to win the radio call in contests.
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#1473341 - 06/12/16 12:31 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: Wish]
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moontan
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 04/16/99
Posts: 31831
Loc: Sol III
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the good thing about the good 'ol days is that they're gone.
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#1473356 - 06/12/16 01:24 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: Duckhead]
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C Jo Go
EMERITUS ~ VS Roland
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 11/05/01
Posts: 36433
Loc: carmel valley,ca
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.installing ISA cards and configuring the IRQs? ;\) Been there and done that. Formatting mfm and rll drives. Man this stuff has come a long way. I always wondered if they could make a hard drive with memory chips.
Still formatting those SCSI drives --- 80gb takes about 12 hours
_________________________
"The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself". **( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡° )**
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#1473380 - 06/12/16 04:10 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: rhythmace47]
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JazAddict
Planeteer
Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 18011
Loc: The West Coast of Florida
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I thought oil changing was in this category but it turns out that more time than money reinvigorated that.
_________________________
Liberty is inversely proportional to government. http://www.bobminer.net Da Bears Bob Miner
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#1473381 - 06/12/16 04:12 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: JazAddict]
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Timster
Artist #'s - 130, 298, 412
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 03/06/03
Posts: 43345
Loc: Center of the Universe
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I use to be good at dialing in the UH channels on tv.
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#1473387 - 06/12/16 04:41 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: DAGtunes]
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Doughboy
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 07/15/01
Posts: 26858
Loc: Gaylord, MI
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1: Playing an instrument 2: Singing In Tune 3: Audio engineering 4: Mastering 5: Anything I've learned...
+1
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#1473395 - 06/12/16 05:33 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: Timster]
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C Jo Go
EMERITUS ~ VS Roland
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 11/05/01
Posts: 36433
Loc: carmel valley,ca
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I use to be good at dialing in the UH channels on tv.
Channels 20 & 4 -- added to the 3 networks ( NBC 6 & CBS 8 & ABC 13 ) - all we had in our town growing up.
_________________________
"The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself". **( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡° )**
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#1473396 - 06/12/16 06:22 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: C Jo Go]
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Jazzooo
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 05/18/02
Posts: 55312
Loc: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico ...
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Nothing to add except maybe handwriting in cursive which I can barely do anymore. But you guys have really fun answers.
_________________________
Dougrobinson.com
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#1473403 - 06/12/16 07:29 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: Jazzooo]
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C Jo Go
EMERITUS ~ VS Roland
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 11/05/01
Posts: 36433
Loc: carmel valley,ca
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Nothing to add except maybe handwriting in cursive which I can barely do anymore. But you guys have really fun answers.
Still do cursive .. I like to write.
_________________________
"The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself". **( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡° )**
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#1473405 - 06/12/16 07:43 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: C Jo Go]
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C Jo Go
EMERITUS ~ VS Roland
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 11/05/01
Posts: 36433
Loc: carmel valley,ca
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Passing around the new 12in vinyl >> at a weekend party ..
_________________________
"The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself". **( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡° )**
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#1473406 - 06/12/16 08:14 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: C Jo Go]
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flatcat
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 07/11/01
Posts: 29690
Loc: Westborough, MA, USA
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Turning an automobile engine = with a crank
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
_________________________
The internet, and the whole technology sector on which it floats, feels like a giant organ for bullshittery—for upscaling human access to speech and for amplifying lies. - Ian Bogost
Professor Truth T. Sweetness says,"Mind your manners!"
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#1473407 - 06/12/16 08:14 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: flatcat]
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flatcat
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 07/11/01
Posts: 29690
Loc: Westborough, MA, USA
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I was a comparative politics major at university. My specialization was in comparative Marxist-Leninist systems in eastern Europe. That became useless the minute the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviets didn't invade Poland. I never thought I'd live to see the day.
_________________________
The internet, and the whole technology sector on which it floats, feels like a giant organ for bullshittery—for upscaling human access to speech and for amplifying lies. - Ian Bogost
Professor Truth T. Sweetness says,"Mind your manners!"
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#1473408 - 06/12/16 08:19 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: flatcat]
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C Jo Go
EMERITUS ~ VS Roland
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 11/05/01
Posts: 36433
Loc: carmel valley,ca
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Turning an automobile engine = with a crank HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
My MGA was great in the Winter -- always started with that crank ...
_________________________
"The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself". **( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡° )**
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#1473410 - 06/12/16 08:48 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: C Jo Go]
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Alan
Nice guy! Cuddly Alan
Planeteer
Registered: 01/30/00
Posts: 7900
Loc: Sauchie, Scotland, UK
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Tying Knots - its all cable ties and fancy clips these days.
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#1473426 - 06/12/16 02:10 PM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: Alan]
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grachus
Planeteer/Artist # 92
Planeteer
Registered: 01/10/00
Posts: 11906
Loc: burlington ont, canada
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hammering a nail with a hammer. reading playboy.
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Now is the time
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#1473430 - 06/12/16 02:29 PM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: grachus]
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Dan Barnes
I sing, I love, I love to sing.
Planeteer
Registered: 04/16/99
Posts: 16014
Loc: Joshua Tree, CA USA
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1. Mastering acetates on a lathe. 2. Electroforming stampers, mothers and masters in a nickel sulfamate plating tank. 3. Running a record press. 4. Buying condoms.
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#1473435 - 06/12/16 02:46 PM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: grachus]
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JazAddict
Planeteer
Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 18011
Loc: The West Coast of Florida
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Ha ha!
_________________________
Liberty is inversely proportional to government. http://www.bobminer.net Da Bears Bob Miner
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#1473494 - 06/12/16 08:30 PM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: JazAddict]
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Starliner
Planeteer
Registered: 05/19/09
Posts: 3173
Loc: Florida - Dunnellon
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Stuffing individual memory chips into expanded memory cards. Programming in Basic or Cobol. Fixing TV''s or most anything electronic. Woodworking with hand tools. Changing and gapping the spark plugs in your car. Building wood boats.
Starliner
_________________________
Half The Lies They Tell About Me Aren't True!
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#1473502 - 06/12/16 09:12 PM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: Starliner]
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Jazzooo
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 05/18/02
Posts: 55312
Loc: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico ...
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If I write anything longer than my name in cursive, my shoulder starts to cramp up.
_________________________
Dougrobinson.com
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#1473536 - 06/13/16 01:45 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: ickalien]
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C Jo Go
EMERITUS ~ VS Roland
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 11/05/01
Posts: 36433
Loc: carmel valley,ca
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Collecting the coins from those phone booths ...
Your weekly "to-the-door" milk/dairy deliveries & the household laundry soap/softeners
Edited by C Jo Go*Crystal Studios* (06/13/16 01:51 AM)
_________________________
"The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself". **( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡° )**
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#1473560 - 06/13/16 04:12 AM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: MadGuitrst]
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C Jo Go
EMERITUS ~ VS Roland
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 11/05/01
Posts: 36433
Loc: carmel valley,ca
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Trunking-in at the Drive -In ... one of many skills my friends & I mastered ...
_________________________
"The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself". **( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡° )**
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#1473582 - 06/13/16 01:40 PM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: C Jo Go]
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mike gouthro
Planeteer
Registered: 04/20/99
Posts: 5010
Loc: toronto,ontario,canada
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That mysterious back-room skill of tracing an incoming phone call from an arch criminal in two minutes before the culprit hung up. We had to assume some phone company wizard was flipping switches and plugging plugs in a back room. It hardly ever succeeded - the culprits had watches too.
Interestingly, TV drama writers still love to uses this device even though today's technology is much faster and circuit paths are probably preserved after the hang-up. Granted, some writers have switched to a more modern method - the burner phone.
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#1473632 - 06/13/16 05:55 PM
Re: Useless skills that were once useful
[Re: flatcat]
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C Jo Go
EMERITUS ~ VS Roland
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 11/05/01
Posts: 36433
Loc: carmel valley,ca
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I was a comparative politics major at university. My specialization was in comparative Marxist-Leninist systems in eastern Europe. That became useless the minute the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviets didn't invade Poland. I never thought I'd live to see the day.
I could feel the "change" a comin' >> was in Latvia for the summer of '89 .. Then visited the Wall as they were dismantling ..& later in the path of the new world of East Europe..
_________________________
"The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself". **( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡° )**
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