[vito]

I figured it out. Nothing is more central to the life of a millennial than their smart phone. You cannot easily read and text on a smart phone while riding, and you might even miss the sound when a new text is received. Since the two are not compatible, the motorcycle is just not going to be a part of the life of these tech addicted people. I thought about this today while out for a four hour ride on a beautiful late summer day. My smart phone was in the trunk, and I was wearing a helmet without Bluetooth connectivity. I missed two phone calls, two texts, and numerous "notifications" and it didn't bother me in the least. But judging how some of my grandchildren react if they miss a single text when we ban cell phones from the dining room table during a meal, I realized that a millennial could give up a motorcycle much easier that even temporarily giving up the smart phone.

 

[Doc Samson]

I think most of us have become addicted to some form of electro-tech. While I can go all day without worrying about my phone, texts, etc., if I can't check the internet at least twice (once in the AM, once in the PM), I definitely get antsy...

The latest fad in education is to give every student a Chromebook despite the fact that more studies are showing they actually impede creativity, initiative, and learning EXCEPT in very small, controlled doses. Do you think the kids stay on 'educational only' sites all day? Suuuuure...

 

[Devil Doc]

I teach high school and this year we have a district wide policy of no cell phones out while in class. All students have been issued a lap top so there is no reason to have a phone out of the back pack. Kids are not only addicted to texting but can’t seem to do without Twitter and Instagram. They also continuously have ear buds in place and will even watch Netflix movies during instructional time.

I must say I also check my phone in class and will text my wife and grown kids while in class so this new policy will be an adjustment for teachers as well, especially the twenty somethings. First day is Monday so we’ll see how it goes.

 

[dcstrng]

I thought about this today while out for a four hour ride on a beautiful late summer day. My smart phone was in the trunk, and I was wearing a helmet without Bluetooth connectivity. I missed two phone calls, two texts, and numerous "notifications" and it didn't bother me in the least...

Yep -- I probably enjoy getting online as much as the next person, at least most those my age – but I have to caution myself (more than once) that the time I spend being a digital-voyeur of someone else’s life, I’m suspending participation in my own. Although I will certainly listen to audio-books or music when stuck driving a car, I’ve never enjoyed that sort of irrelevant intrusion into my motorcycle time, even when commuting on one – motorcycle time is when I tune out everything -- phone/digital-device off – no connection – and just experience the road and the sounds of the machine.

 

[cattzap]

The school district I work at tried a laptop for each kid program for three years. It failed. They chose to issue macbooks, which are triple or more the cost of a chromebook, although a chromebook wasn't really available or popular at that time. Most teachers didn't embrace them and plan lessons using them so they were all piled by the door during class. Alot of them were lost and most of them were in very poor shape at the end of the year. Some of them were sold by the parents of the kids on ebay and other places. The grant did not cover repair or replacement costs. At the end of the three years, they were scrapped because very few were actually usable. There was also a huge apple battery problem during that time and we had to gather them and replace about 5000 batteries in a two week period. That was fun. Oh, and we couldn't find a shipper that would haul that many batteries back to Apple so they sat in a warehouse for two years until the local Interstate battery agreed to take them. Then they moved to allowing the kids to bring a laptop of their own or a phone or smart device. So at any given time, we'll have 12-15000 devices on our wireless network, which is part of what I do. At the beginning of that phase, it was being heavily policed by executive mgt and any device seen doing something it wasn't supposed to got blacklisted, then that triggered a sting of the kid can't do his work now because we cut them off complaints. Now we have some different management that is not hung on Apple only in the schools and we are now getting alot of chromebooks. They are placed in carts in classrooms and stay in the classrooms. We have less breakage and the maintenance cost has severely dropped, however, a chromebook does not have a hard drive, so each time a kid logs out and another logs in it reloads everything. That's now showing on the network at each class change so we've been doing major wireless upgrades this and last summer. There's still not a good solution for using computers and smart devices in the classroom but it is getting better. I can do alot of network mgt right from my smartphone. The older teacher still have not adapted well to this environment and are intimidated when they have an issue and I whip my phone out and clickity click and their stuff starts working immediate. The wireless part has grown leaps over the last two years. In the beginning when something was caught by a filter the whole access point was shut off for 5 minutes and we had no way of singling out the device on the AP, which meant that everyone using that AP got blocked. Now we can single out the bad user and shut them down for a time. It is amazing to see people walk into poles and walls while staring at their phones. There was a big admin building remodel last summer followed by what seemed to be a large amount of administrators tripping on the new sidewalk. Some looks at a camera and they were all fixed on their phones and would walk directly into the curb without stepping up and tripping.

 

[Miss Mercedes]

I think most of us have become addicted to some form of electro-tech. While I can go all day without worrying about my phone, texts, etc., if I can't check the internet at least twice (once in the AM, once in the PM), I definitely get antsy...

The latest fad in education is to give every student a Chromebook despite the fact that more studies are showing they actually impede creativity, initiative, and learning EXCEPT in very small, controlled doses. Do you think the kids stay on 'educational only' sites all day? Suuuuure...

My mom is addicted to Facebook. Once I taught her how to use it she experienced a meteoric rise in popularity. She has twice as many followers as me and her phone pings so much you'd think she were a super important government person or something. lol

It's so bad that she makes the rest of us in the family take glamour pictures while on vacation specifically for her Facebook followers. :surprise:

I was in college at the beginning of this laptop fad. Those things are actually kinda brilliant on the surface. Online assignments and textbooks were pretty revolutionary for us, especially since digital textbooks were cheap and sometimes even free. Having everything digital also removes the need to lug around a heavy backpack and invest in school supply companies.

But a huge problem is that while tech makes classrooms all 21st century, you introduce 21st century problems. Back when I was in high school, the worst you could do is text your crush by trying to hide your phone under the desk. If you were rich, you had an iPhone 3G, but most of us had flip phones. But now, like you said, you can tune out your teacher with Netflix right on your desk.

 

[Retired Guy]

I suspect the cost may also be a factor, but I don't know. Seems like a lot of used Japanese bikes aren't that expensive after they get a few years and a few miles on them.

On the other hand, I know some people just got to have the latest, shiniest, whiz-bang and wouldn't even look at a used anything.

 

[450zuki]

But a huge problem is that while tech makes classrooms all 21st century, you introduce 21st century problems. Back when I was in high school, the worst you could do is text your crush by trying to hide your phone under the desk. If you were rich, you had an iPhone 3G, but most of us had flip phones. But now, like you said, you can tune out your teacher with Netflix right on your desk.

It is very easy for a network administrator to blacklist a domain. It would take all of 2 minutes for the network admin to block "netflix.com" which would prevent everyone on the network from accessing Netflix. If certain people/computers truly needed access to that domain, that permission can be granted to specific devices on the network through MAC address filtering.

Either the network admin is a complete dolt, or the school admins are ok with students watching netflix.

If my school system is the example, then they're all overpaid, incompetent idiots. This fall, the school wanted to get away from paper and phone calls to sign students up for the bus rides...great idea. So they created a web page for bus sign up...wow!...what a colossal failure that was...the system "lost" about half the people that signed up. The bus company got the 50% list, planned the routes and the times, sent out postcards notifying of the pickup/dropoff time/locations...then a few days before school starts the phones melt with parents wondering when they're going to get the postcard for their kid..complete disaster as everything had to be redone and the bus company was calling people on the Sunday night before school apologizing and giving out the info that should have been delivered by post card...which begs the question...why mail a postcard? The people are already online signing up, so why not just email the schedule?

That website is programming 101 for any tech college student. Very simple JavaScript page that collects info and stores in a simple database...There is software that will create such a page with the greatest of ease...and yet they blew it...you should see how unintuitive it is...omg...One question is "name of applicant"...ok, so is that the parents, or the students name? If you wanted the students name, wouldn't you ask "students name"?....turned out that "name of applicant" meant "students name" but tons of parents put their names which ended up being printed on the bus passes...that's just one example of the incredibly poor design of the page...what convoluted mind designed that page I just can't imagine?

 

[Miss Mercedes]

It is very easy for a network administrator to blacklist a domain. It would take all of 2 minutes for the network admin to block "netflix.com" which would prevent everyone on the network from accessing Netflix. If certain people/computers truly needed access to that domain, that permission can be granted to specific devices on the network through MAC address filtering.

Either the network admin is a complete dolt, or the school admins are ok with students watching netflix.

...

Speaking my language! I agree! There's no reason for students connected to the school network to be distracted by Netflix.

Even the domain filtering at work is broken. We can't visit video game related sites, gun related sites, bomb related sites, pornography, and so on...but the limitations are easily overcome by visiting said sites through another site or simply by using a VPN.

 

[blackadder]

All the tech has great potential but I think the key elements are being able to read and think. The technology gives me quicker access to things I would like to learn about / understand. But then I need to process it. My 2 cents.

 

[UncleBo]

All the tech has great potential but I think the key elements are being able to read and think. The technology gives me quicker access to things I would like to learn about / understand. But then I need to process it. My 2 cents.

Exactly right...the key elements are being able to read and think. There's a general concept today that there's no need to learn or memorize rote details about virtually anything since you can so easily look it up online. There are so many problems with that...it's difficult to know how to start the list.

Sit and talk with someone about virtually any subject of which you are supposedly familiar or perhaps even knowledgeable. Don't touch your phone or device. See how uncomfortable you get if you can't use the device to look up facts or confirm your position. That should give you a feel for how dependent you may be getting on your device.

Don't get me wrong. I love being able to search out facts and confirm thoughts as much as the next person. But if I can't hold a reasonable conversation without continually reaching into the electronic world to check something, well...to me, that's a problem.

 

[450zuki]

..but the limitations are easily overcome by visiting said sites through another site or simply by using a VPN.

Any decent network admin can easily deal with those "work-arounds" to visiting blocked domains.

>Access control lists to block VPN Ports.
>Readily available lists of VPN domains should be kept, updated, and blacklisted.
>Encrypted communications should be blocked, or if there is a legitimate need, they can have a time limit, or full use, for specific machines on the network.
>Block all foreign IP addresses.
>Perform packet inspection to block VPN protocols
>Publicly hang any employee/student caught misusing the network.

The only excuse for students watching Netflix in class is laziness/ineptitude on the part of the people running the show.

Exact same situation with "robocallers". The people that own/run the phone networks can EASILY find numbers that are making 1000's of calls per day, if not per hour, and block those numbers...100% computer run...it would force the robocallers to change numbers withing hours of starting...it would waste huge amounts of their time.

 

[CTX]

I need to have a house phone number with our wifi contract. And my 87 year old dad is the only one that calls that number because he hates smart/cell phones and refuses to call me on mine. He just cant wrap his head around the fact that when he dials the house number, he's calling my house, I'm seldom home, and he gets mad when I don't call him right back. If he'd dialed my cell, he's calling me, wherever I am. He's failing to keep up with technology, and it has left him behind.
Sunday morning I had a guy call me while the guys and I were on our groovy little motorbikes. This guy was desperate because he had a crew getting paid double time when they discovered his usual supplier failed to deliver thousands of dollars worth of materials to the job site. After trying all morning to get hold of his usual supplier, (this guy doesn't own a cell phone?) someone suggested calling me. I told my riding buddies to go grab breakfast while I grabbed a donut, rode to work and delivered the materials. It took me all of 90 minutes, I made thousands of dollars, and the guy was so thankful, I now have a new multi million dollar account. All because I had a Bluetooth unit in my retro style metal flake gold helmet.

Now, if you want to know why Millennials don't buy expensive motorcycles and cars, they just don't buy into the 'work your whole life just to buy expensive stuff to keep our consumer based economy going then die' life plan.

 

[hogcowboy]

...I made thousands of dollars, and the guy was so thankful, I now have a new multi million dollar account. All because I had a Bluetooth unit in my retro style metal flake gold helmet.

Now, if you want to know why Millennials don't buy expensive motorcycles and cars, they just don't buy into the 'work your whole life just to buy expensive stuff to keep our consumer based economy going then die' life plan.

They don't buy into the Caste system where someone at the top is rich(worked hard) and everyone else tries to be rich(work) as well, so there are different levels of rich. Or poor. What they fail to realize, once the rich are equally poor, you have what they strive for, perfect socialism. Now where will they get their free stuff? I guess they are rebelling against slavery still. Paid slavery. But I doubt they even see that. They really are just lazy. My parents thought I was lazy too. Maybe they'll grow out of it if they ever realize that one little reason why socialism can never succeed.

 

[dcstrng]

the guy was so thankful, I now have a new multi million dollar account. All because I had a Bluetooth unit in my retro style metal flake gold helmet...

CTX – respectfully, I think we’re mixing work habits with purchasing preference – but it does sound like you don’t mind being on call 24/7 (and I’m sure you are correct, the contractor was exceptionally grateful).

I’m really not sure one generation is all that much different than another – tools may vary, and certainly circumstances, but each generation has had its go-getters and entrepreneurs, and each has doubtless has had its laggards, leeches and loons. The generation before the boomers just wanted to come home, have a cottage with a picket fence and raise a family – why, easy – they were children of the depression, had just fought a world war and had had all the excitement they cared for – in some ways they were tired, and grateful to be here at all… the boomers (my generation) mostly developed into spoiled-brats… with little-or-no special exertion on their own, they harvested all the hard work of the previous generation, (boomers did/attempted a few things noble in the social realm – but largely depended on the intelligentsia about a half a generation older for guidance), finally developed the concept of “it’s all about me…” and were the FIRST proponents of the technology explosion, large amounts of disposable income and the concept of conspicuous consumption… I doubt they bought any more or less motorcycles than follow-on generations (controlling for per-capita income, age, and the effect of other available diversions…). One social scientist simply lumped the boomers as experiencialists, loved to dabble in experiencing things – like the kids, we were trying on a new par of “shoes” (whatever) every day or so…

The likelihood that Gen-X, Millennials or the yet un-named generations will do exactly the same as the preceding is pretty low – but my guess they will attack life in much the same way – but based on the circumstances unique to them… in the motorcycle realm, as a sort of metaphor I think the variance can (maybe) be revealed by looking at the differences between the Kawasaki H2 family – compare the 1970s (Boomer) H2 version from current H2 – mechanically quite discrete, yet philosophically quite comparable – both among the hottest rides available to the average person. Will millennials buy twinkie-HDs at the rate the WWII bought knuckle/flatheads (or whatever) – I’d guess yep, once controlling for per-capita income, age, and the effect of other available diversions, whatever… ).

They will buy more i-gizmos than the WWII generation tho’, and I’ll bet the boomers purchased more vacuum tube gadgetry as well – hmmmm, wonder why that is…

 

[450zuki]

They don't buy into the Caste system where someone at the top is rich(worked hard) and everyone else tries to be rich(work) as well, so there are different levels of rich. Or poor. What they fail to realize, once the rich are equally poor, you have what they strive for, perfect socialism. Now where will they get their free stuff? I guess they are rebelling against slavery still. Paid slavery. But I doubt they even see that. They really are just lazy. My parents thought I was lazy too. Maybe they'll grow out of it if they ever realize that one little reason why socialism can never succeed.

The problem with "perfect capitalism" is that, eventually, a few people hold all of the wealth...and then either those wealthy people butcher the poor people to keep them in line, or the poor people rise up and the rich people end up with their heads on sticks. The "socialism" you so fear in the USA is being doled out by the very people that tell you they are against socialism.

Look at the VA Medical System...100% PURE TEXTBOOK SOCIALIZED MEDICINE...yet, good luck finding a Republican willing to scrap the system...just the opposite...I think it was Jodi Ernst from Iowa, who is a far Righter, that said...paraphrasing...'the VA system provides good care, we just need to pump more money into it'..and that's exactly what the "Anti Socialism" REPUBLICANS did under Bush, Obama, and now Trump...

Trump's budget request seeks another increase in VA funding
"The request for the VA was $220 billion — up 9.5 percent from fiscal 2019, when the agency’s budget surpassed $200 billion for the first time."

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/trump-s-budget-request-seeks-another-increase-in-va-funding-1.572205

They pump TRILLIONS into the PURE SOCIALIZED MEDICINE VA Medical system while ranting against "ObamaCare" because it's socialized medicine when it is really really corporate welfare...and when it comes down to it...when the "Anti-Socialism" Republicans have 100% of the policital power they need to END the VA System AND ObamaCare...what do the do? They increase funding for both of them...LOL...SUCKERS!

The implementation of any unrestricted government/social "ism" is bound to fail...the key is balance...a system where the majority are doing just fine (and truly control the government) while the minority are either very rich or poor.

 

[Critter]

The VA health system is supposed to be a closed loop system not available to the general public. To use the system you have to sacrifice something in order to be eligible. I retired with 23 years in the Navy and cannot use the VA as my medical provider. Why cause I was not damaged in the military service. Instead I have Tricare for life (due to my service) and Medicare (due to my age).

When I joined the service in the 60's I was guaranteed 'free' medical care if I served 20 or more years. Well I did serve for that period and for the first 10 years my medical needs were free. After some government cutbacks, I no longer had free care, I had to pay for coverage. True was a lot cheaper than any insurance program, but it wasn't free. Now I am over 65 and pay the same everyone else does for medical coverage ie. Medicare. That is also socialized medicine is it not?

So what am I rambling about, the VA - perhaps not the best system but need by those who did give up body and mind in service of this country.

 

[450zuki]

The VA health system is supposed to be a closed loop system not available to the general public. To use the system you have to sacrifice something in order to be eligible. I retired with 23 years in the Navy and cannot use the VA as my medical provider. Why cause I was not damaged in the military service. Instead I have Tricare for life (due to my service) and Medicare (due to my age).

When I joined the service in the 60's I was guaranteed 'free' medical care if I served 20 or more years. Well I did serve for that period and for the first 10 years my medical needs were free. After some government cutbacks, I no longer had free care, I had to pay for coverage. True was a lot cheaper than any insurance program, but it wasn't free. Now I am over 65 and pay the same everyone else does for medical coverage ie. Medicare. That is also socialized medicine is it not?

So what am I rambling about, the VA - perhaps not the best system but need by those who did give up body and mind in service of this country.

Medicare is not "socialized medicine"; Medicare is corporate welfare...it is the government paying your bill for services provided by private businesses. A bill that you could not afford to pay on your own, a bill you would never receive in the first place if the business knew you couldn't pay it and no one else was going to pay it for you...Medicare, ObamaCare, Medicaid and VACare are the reason we spend ~3x everyone else in the world for the same, or lessor, results.

Imagine if you could bill people for a service, where you had a near monopoly, and if they couldn't pay the bill, the government would pay it for them no matter how OUTRAGEOUS the price...would you continually strive to lower your price to make it "affordable"...maybe you would, but that wouldn't be the norm in this world.

The VA System is textbook, pure, socialized medicine...the government runs the entire show...it owns the buildings, hires the workers and funds the operation.

>If you are old, you get corporate welfare care through Medicare.

>If you are "almost" poor, you get corporate welfare care through ObamaCare.

>If you are poor, you get corporate welfare care through Medicaid.

>If you are military (injured), you get socialized medicine through the VA.

>Everyone else gets shafted unless they can find an employer or rich relative to pay their way.

That's the US's health system in a nutshell, if you can't find someone else to pay, at least part of, the bill...your are screwed.

Isn't "welfare" and "socialism" all about taking other peoples money for yourself? The USA's health system is really a perverted form of welfare/socialism which is exactly what a certain group of politicians claims to be 100% against and will put an end to it if you give them the power...and when they get that power...they fully, even increase, funding for, and expand, those very systems...Medicare Part D...

 

[dcstrng]

When I joined the service in the 60's I was guaranteed 'free' medical care if I served 20 or more years. Well I did serve for that period...Now I am over 65 and pay the same everyone else does for medical coverage ie. Medicare. That is also socialized medicine is it not...

Ditto... if I agreed to serve, then my dependents and I were supposed to be looked after once I had satisfied the eligibility -- retire honorably. Then along came Uncle Sam and said; oh, by the way your guaranteed medical care is going to cost you $4800 a year (wife and me -- Medicare). Still burns me, but it is what it is...

As for VA and military medicine -- it satisfies one prong of the Socialist matrix (production belongs to the government), but fails on the other -- no general eligibility... you have to be a member of the military "club" to eligible; is simply a modified single payer system...

-- Larry

 

[450zuki]

Ditto... if I agreed to serve, then my dependents and I were supposed to be looked after once I had satisfied the eligibility -- retire honorably. Then along came Uncle Sam and said; oh, by the way your guaranteed medical care is going to cost you $4800 a year (wife and me -- Medicare). Still burns me, but it is what it is...

As for VA and military medicine -- it satisfies one prong of the Socialist matrix (production belongs to the government), but fails on the other -- no general eligibility... you have to be a member of the military "club" to eligible; is simply a modified single payer system...

-- Larry

I calculated that a family member "withdrew" about ~$250,000 from the Medicare system they had "paid into" while working...roughly 5x the amount "paid in"...this is why the system failed long ago and only survives today because of massive deficit spending...insurance only works if nearly everyone withdraws less than they "pay in".