This old A&J from January, 1993, depicts Gene with one of his many different haircuts. It also features the strange elongated head that marked his appearance in that period. And “Super Mario” was big. We take for granted how much life has changed in 20 years. I was watching a movie on TV the other day, and everything seemed normal. The clothing appeared contemporary. The automobiles weren’t an obvious tip-off. Then, a detective walks up to a person working at a computer console and asks, “Hey, can you look stuff up on that thing?” The operator replies, “I think so.” Immediately, I wondered, “When was this thing made?” About 15 years ago, it turned out.
First-World Dictator
By Jimmy Johnson
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65 responses to “First-World Dictator”
As an IT person, the way Hollywood uses computers drives me bonkers. Everything from the blown-up GUI’s so the camera can see them to the 1 guy who can write a 500,000 line system application in 6 months to the hacker who can magically guess a 13 character password to the computer screens that are showing impossible information.
Hey! a Saturday hello — — yeah, today, it’s go to bed where you can have your tiny handheld gameplayer or pad to watch under the covers. — Yesterday I was buying some clothes, a customer in front of me wanted to know what something that costs 49.95 would be with 25% off, the clerk had to enter it in the register to find out !! I so wanted to yell out 37.50, but was too stupefied (ok, 37.4625)
OF: overcast but no fog.
http://www.nps.gov/features/yell/webcam/oldFaithfulStreaming.html
JR, you forgot the TV show desktop PC of about 15 years ago that allowed a beautiful Eurasian female detective to push the power button, slide a floppy into the slot, and have the computer powered up and displaying the floppy data on the full-color screen in all of 3 seconds. I’m still looking for that PC…and that beautiful Eurasian female.
It’s been told before, but John’s comment reminded me of this…
A business owner was sitting at his desk paying bills and came across one that offered a discount of 2.5% net for payment within 15 days. Having difficulty calculating the amount of the discount, he remembered his new secretary had taken accounting classes in college. He called her in and asked, “If I paid you $14,000 less two and a half percent, how much would you take off?”
She thought for just a second and replied, “Everything but my earrings.”
James R., one that gets to me is when the cheap surveillance camera captures a license plate that’s about four pixels big, then magically zooms in to show it in full detail.
Here’s an excellent Christmas piece by the Piano Guys:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugV6QGcafEE
Re: Hollywood’s portrayal of computer capability… There’s a big difference between willing suspension of disbelief and totally ignoring everything you know about real world computers, optics, and science in general.
I get a daily email from the county sheriff’s office showing ye ole gaol’s inmate roster, along with the booking photos of the scofflaws and the list of their charges. Sometimes, you just gotta shake your head. As in the case of the miscreant who was charged with “Open Container, Public Drunkenness, Possession of Cocaine, and Contempt of Court”.
So let me get this straight…this genius gets drunk; wanders down the street chugging from an adult beverage bottle or can; gets caught carrying the coke stash he just couldn’t bear to leave home without; and then, when taken before the judge for arraignment, MOUTHS OFF TO THE MAGISTRATE. Smooth move, ex-lax®.
When the price total is a penny over hand them the penny and watch the wheels turn. But they can operate your cell phone with their eyes closed.
I love to look at old movies and turn to my wife and say “Why didn’t they just text them?”
A lot of things have changed so quickly in the last 20 year. Computers, Internet and cellular phones have revolutionized the world. Things are better…yet they are also worse.
One thing I like about the NCIS franchise, Ed, is that they don’t do things like that, or rotate images to see something that wasn’t in the original image. I’ve seen them any number of times having to track down a partial plate because either the image didn’t show everything or because by the time they’d blown the picture up enough to be readable it was too blurry to be sure. Yes, some of their computer-babble is wrong, but the writers seem to have a fairly good idea what the limits of the surveillance equipment is and how to use those limits to make a better story. (I just wish that they’d understand that you can only track a dynamic IP to the ISP’s router, not the customer’s location. If you had my current IP and tracked it, the closest you’d get was at least two miles away from where I live, because that’s where the router is. And, of course, if you’re in a hotel, using its Internet service, all anybody can get is the location of the hotel, because their routers all use NAT and the customer’s boxes all have non-routable IP addresses.)
Wow! Just noticed everbody moved on to a clean sheet.
This is a Christmas song that gets lots of play in our house. It always leaves me missing home. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pKwOByDgW3I
Here’s what gets the most play time in our house during December:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL091D68D8B2CC5C38
Karen, we miss you!
Debbe 😉 Now for something almost completely different…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGVNzgUxE-g
One of my personal favorites.
http://youtu.be/4cP26ndrmtg
As I get older, I find my thoughts turning to the past and how nothing slows the passage of time. Christmas brings out melancholy thoughts. I still have not organized my office yet, mainly because there is so much old ephemera and memories to sort through. Sorry to be a downer, but I attempted the office. It won for tonight.
And it completely other news, the mop is currently best described as “shorn.” Annoyed me again – Eric Christian Olsen, Marty Dees from NCIS:LA, has longer hair than I at the moment.
That’s “Deeks,” Mindy, not “Dees.” And yes, I’m sure because we always have the Closed Captioning turned on here because I need it.
Don’t have time to read all the posts but thought I would check in. We went to Tulsa for what was to be two nights and two days of appointments and tests and here we are just getting home tonight. We live far enough away from hospitals and doctors to be too far for Mike to stand the pain and bumpy rough roads, so to cut down on his misery we stay in a motel and do less driving.
He doesn’t probably think about how lucky he is to be able to do this but I do. The older lady and daughter (?) in next cubicle at the oncology IV department seemed to have borrowed/taken a car from another family member and all hell had broken loose, a family member seemed to be in prison and they couldn’t bail out, the father/grandfather couldn’t get to doctors’ appointments and they were cancelling, just a real joyful holiday!
So, I think that while things aren’t good, at least we have good insurance and money to drive to appointments, money for motels and meals, good doctors and hospitals. A lot of people aren’t that lucky.
Isn’t that strange, Mike is so sick and I am thinking of others less fortunate.
Love, Jackie
Sideburns – I know it’s Deeks, I just saw the typo. This stupid tablet’s auto-correct is wretched.
And I cannot understand how people watch TV without closed captioning. Don’t watch TV without it myself.
In my case, Mindy, it’s because I often can’t understand what they’re saying any more without it because of hearing loss. At one point, I had to stop watching a show I liked because for some reason the captioning for its channel wasn’t coming through and our cable company couldn’t/didn’t get it fixed. BTW, if you pay attention, you’ll often find that what gets said and what’s in the captions don’t always match. I’m not sure if whoever does the captioning isn’t quite paying attention, or they’re working from the script and somebody used a different but similar word. (e.g., an actor says, “Right, I’ve got it.” and the caption uses “OK” instead of “right.”)
Jackie, I’ve had to be at the West LA Veteran’s Hospital on Wilshire a few times at “O-Dark Thirty,” with a driver, because I was going to be sedated. As I live well over 40 miles away, my sister and I stayed in a nearby motel at VA expense. You may want to check with the hospital and find out if they can at least get you a discount if you need to stay overnight. You never know, and the worst thing that can happen is that they tell you that they can’t do it.
I am intrigued, Ghost. So why do you get a copy of the arrest and booking list from the local police? And you have an all female staff? And highly trained in use of weapons? Uhhhmmmn? And articulate and handsome, too, apparently.
Had to add that, makes you sound more clandestine.
Love, Jackie
Checked with motel we frequently use and manager tried to get me a lower rate. However, we used to travel so much with them we are already in the top discount tier and are senior citizens to boot, so she said she was sorry but our discounts beat the medical/hospital discount. However, a different chain is working on special rates for the cancer patients and they also offer full kitchens and two room suites with breakfast and dinner most days (It’s a branch of Marriott) so we may try them again.
We are about 150 miles each way and the roads are indeed rough.
Ironically, when I administered disability benefits we also would pay for motels and even gas and toll road fees, parking, meals, any number of benefits. You are on Veterans benefits and I worked on civilian Federal disability cases. We’d pay for buses, trains, even flight for obtaining medical treatments. I thought about that when I was paying toll road fees today.
Funny what comes out of the recesses of your mind at odd times!
Love, Jackie
Thanks for checking in, Jackie. I was frankly beginning to be concerned.
I sincerely try to never complain. I realized long ago that no matter how bad things might seem for me, there are always many others in much worse straits. And I find that when I am about to forget that, an example will inevitably pop up right in front of my face.
Christmas does bring nostalgia, for better or worse. One of my best…when I was three and had a new baby sister. Absolutely my worse…last year, when I lost that sister three weeks before Christmas. Yet, I know I was fortunate to have had that dear lady in my life for all those years, and I realize others were either not that lucky, or lost a sister under even worse circumstances.
Our family basically had no Christmas (in the traditional sense) last year, no tree, no gift exchange, etc. But still, it was Christmas in the truly important sense. I really am not sure what this one will bring, as my Mom’s health situation has been unstable the past couple of weeks. But I do know that it will be Christmas, in the truly important sense.
Dear Jackie, everybody was worried because we didn’t hear from you. So glad to hear that you are back home and cheerful, as well, even after the long drive! Did you have to do all that driving, or did you and your daughter take turns?
I am okay too, thanks for asking, dear Ghost, and Debbe too. Have been rather distracted. More tomorrow.
Love to all the Villagers — and to J.J. himself.