A Tech Jones
Chapter 2: It's Still Analog
TODAY'S RAMBLINGS
3 Minute Read
It’s Still Analog
Paper Roadmaps +
It borders on unimaginable now, but, yes, until as recently as 2007’s introduction of the iPhone, one wanting directions used these. I have little doubt we had this very map - after all, Dad was an Esso man.
And those wanting a more personalized experience got these.
Believe it or not, American Automobile Association (AAA) members could visit a local office, describe an itinerary, and have a custom TripTik printed, with their journey highlighted, by hand, by a human being. Insanity!
I know because it’s what I used when I drove in August of 1981 - at age 17 and by myself - from Albany in New York to Daytona Beach in Florida. They gave me something to look at as I was shitting my pants driving down the eastern seaboard.
Black & White TV → Color TV
Speaking of shitting my pants . . . I vividly recall this TV, a 19” model that displayed everything in various shades of black and white and gray.
Because it would not be until 1971 that we would get this wonder of the day: a 25” color television. It was a big deal, but I remember that my parents went cheap and didn’t spring for a model with a remote control: One had to get off one’s ass to adjust the volume.
Or change the channel among the 3 we received.
Vinyl
I learned from the best, and played my first records on a stereo system exactly like this one; it was my father’s pride and joy.
I owned this album during the time and if you want a shock - and I mean an m-f’ing shock - to your senses, check it out: It’s The Osmond Brothers’ attempt at hard rock, and no, I’m not kidding.
8-Tracks/Cassettes/Boomboxes/Walkmans
This is when I hit my stride: the end of the 8-track tape era and the heyday of cassettes.
I remember little about 8-tracks apart from that ka-chunk sound when the tape changed programs, but this is interesting, from Wikipedia:
The 8-track tape was created in 1964 by a consortium led by Bill Lear, of Lear Jet Corporation, along with Ampex, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Motorola, and RCA.
In the United States, 1978 was the peak year for 8-track sales but sales declined rapidly from then on.
But the fact is, until the compact disc ushered in the digital age for me and everyone else, I was a cassette guy. Indeed, I used these exact tapes.
I loved being able to make custom mix tapes (many still clamor for my Scorpions playlist), and make direct recordings of vinyl albums; both were perfect for the car.
And outdoor parties. Even then, I was Mr. Audio Gear; I had something like this in the late 70s.
But the breakthrough was being able to take music everywhere. This device cemented music’s hold on my psyche, pretty much forever. I fucking loved this thing, and wish I had kept it.
Next: Computers
FROM THE UNWASHED MASSES
I want to welcome and thank my new subscribers - if you enjoy what you read here, please share it with your friends.
Speaking of friends, Hunter Deuce decided to amplify my Jimmy Carter and Allman Brothers reference.
How many presidents were cool enough to hang out with Dickie Betts and The Allman Brothers?
And Nicki Belgium was rightly humbled.
I would like to thank the Academy for this award. Best party of the year, I’m flattered!
Thank you for reading this newsletter.
KLUF
If it’s music and the 1970s, it can only be this. I hope the aforementioned Mr. Deuce feels this passes muster. But I am proud of what I selected, with or without his sign-off.