For Stock Rigs Only

Good morning Stockers.

my grandaughter remains on schedule for late February arrival.

My daughters camera skillz…. That black mass is her dog...



She's normally 5'3" 115lbs.

 

Morning stockers, moving slow today

 

She's gonna blow!!

 

Well I went out to Breakfast. And in my never ending quest to try to make life better one day/interaction at a time, I succeeded. Sitting across from me was a single mother with 2 young children. She was on her phone a good portion of the time, while her kids were vying for her attention. "Mom this and mom that", all while a her heads buried in her phone. I was looking over and giving her the stink eye. She finally saw me and I motioned with my phone to put it down. She did and then enjoyed the rest of the time with her children. I can only hope she learned a little lesson there.

 

As one of my friends who recently had a kid said "I'm so happy to not be doing the Donald Duck walk anymore!"

 

Well done, man. This is a huge issue for western man. Sounds flippant, but I mean it. For younger people (Patrick?) who never lived in the analog world, and with these phones so fundamental to our daily existence, this is a huge threat to the way we interact with each other, raise kids, etc. Same with the TV. 'We' are being provided with the ability to literally sit in the dark, watching screens, as time slips away and we get closer to death. We're spectators, not actively living. It's not until something like what you just described grabs our attention, hopefully triggering a re-direct.

I do it myself. I piss away time every morning 'catching up' with my people by hopping on my phone. I use to excersize and play guitar every morning for at least a few minutes. Now it's forwarding 20 tik toks to my girlfriend through Instagram, then being pissed I don't have enough time to walk the dog, eat something decent and get to work on time.

I know those of us on here are further from the worst case, we spin wrenches, play with our toys, pets, freinds and actually do some shit. But I still shudder when I think of the time I spend looking at my f**king phone. Gotta re-prioritize every hour what's important and put the goddamn thing down.

Touched a nerve, bro. Sorry for the rant. And good on ya for the gentle nudge to that young mom!!!!

 

Well said.

After the holidays each year. I do this purge process with physical things. If I didn't use it the prior year, I sell/donate it.

I did something similar with social media this year. No tiktok for me, but I did delete Instagram and purged about 1/2 of my friends on FB as I didn't have a physical interaction with them in 2023. A few exceptions for friends who live far away, but you get my point. I find the process quite refreshing. FB is all I have.

Everyone seems to be living their lives through the lens of other's experiences via social media, versus living their own life and creating their own experiences.

 

I grew up in north western Maine, we didn't get cell phone service until I was into my early teens. Half the fun we could find around town was watching tourists drive around looking for cell service, and when they asked where it was we could tell them to go back the way they came a half hour. Stop at the top of this one particular hill, look to the west at Canada, and if the clouds aligned you'd get some. I feel very fortunate that despite most folks my age growing up digital, I was still raised very much analog as you put it.

 

This is why I still have a flip phone.

It's tempting to "upgrade", but I'm still holding fast.
Get calls, make calls, receive texts as it's nearly impossible for me to text back.
yes, I'm a luddite, but it's simpler and I'm a simple man.
Can't miss what you don't have.

 

When I upgraded phone last April, I seriously considered switching back to a flip phone. But being self-employed, I do text a lot with Customers.

 

Surprised she didn’t flip you off or call the cops for being a stocker..

 

Went to Costco for my monthly meat run.
Decided to stop and take a break and visit with some new friends.

 

We're of a like mind it seems, your way up ahead on the trail though...can't quite hear me yelling trying to catch up.
two things you said:

LOVE this. Have something similar planned for this spring.

Precisely. And this is where the empathy comes in: everything in our modern environment is designed to develop an addiction to just that. We who are older can at least recall when no such things existed and TV was a limited distraction. Imagine not knowing any such thing.

Hey!! Get off my lawn!

oh wait...no one is outside.

 

@Delta09 look, he's part of the bear community...

 

My daughter is so psyched to have a Costco in her neighborhood again, same one your standing in, I imagine.. Nothing down near the NH seacoast where she was.

I'm in Costco a couple times a week. Most of my fuel, and yes, MEAT. Just had a ribeye the other night. Costco chicken currently thawing in the kitchen for tonights grill.

 

And it shows! You're willingness and skill at tackling stuff is counter to your generation. Well done. My 36 yr old son couldn't show you where a carburetor is, let alone what it does. HE's taken an interest in making up for lost time, as he himself puts it, and has started asking to be shown stuff on his car etc.

Usually the question begins: "as soon as you say 'I tried to show you this 15 years ago' I'm outta here!" Which of course I do, and he isn't.

 

So how many did you buy, ya big softie.

 

If I had your money I would have bought 3.
Since I have my money, I settled for a picture.

 

He knows my address...so I'm just gonna leave this one alone but...