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walrus1957
Last reply · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion
Didn't do much for the 4th of July, no fireworks, parties or drinking. Just stayed home and watched TV, did catch the Nations' Capitol Fireworks on PBS. Must be getting old! Gee just how old are we getting, hmm, have to think a bit on that, let's see what do I remember from my past?

I started thinking how things were in the early 60's living in a small town in the Midwest, when most of the city streets were either gravel or brick. The street lamps were the big clear incandescent bulbs at that time and if you stepped ten feet away from the corner you were in total darkness. A time when you could roam the streets after dark as a child without fear of being abducted or something worse.

I was very young when President Kennedy was assassinated but still remember watching the news coverage on our old black and white Zennith set. A TV that you had to put a fan behind to keep the tubes cool, and you turned off during commercials if you wanted to watch the rest of Gunsmoke without the annoyance of vertical roll.

Yes those were the days when summer nights consisted of chirping crickets and lying on top the sheets in front of a fan placed in the window to keep cool because there was no AC. Late August also brought the call of cicadas at sunset, another familiar sound around here.

Every child looked forward to the 4th of July just as much as Christmas and of course Santa Claus. I remember push mowing the neighbor's lawns for a quarter, or pulling the little red wagon down many of back alleys collecting pop bottles for deposit that you cashed in on at the neighborhood grocer. There seemed to be a Mom and Pop Grocery at every street corner, a small one room building with wood floors. Between the mowing and collecting bottles that kept me busy for two to three weeks prior to the fourth, saving up enough cash to buy a large bag of fireworks.

And wow the fireworks back then were really cool; Red Rats (basically a bottle rocket without the stick) just lay on the ground-light the fuse and they go everywhere- except the direction you pointed them in, and yes with loud report. The inch and half Black Cats and Zebras, you know the ones that were half a stick of dynamite before all the restrictions by the mid 60's when the powder was reduced to nothing.

Anyway it got me thinking about all the good times I had back then, when life was simple and pleasing, before the world got in a big hurry and complex. I started remembering old games I use to play, rhymes and sayings and candy one ate as a child. Did a lot of street football and baseball at the schoolyard ball diamond, but played a lot of really weird games as well.

I had to google some of the games and sayings, because they made no sense to me now or forgot how some of them were played. I thought some of you might get a kick out of these games and rhymes, so below is a short list of things from the early 60's, Wonder if any are still practiced today?

Nana nana boo boo
A phrase used to tease or taunt someone. Typically used when being pursued in a chasing game. Often followed by "stick your head in doo doo".
"Nana nana boo boo, stick your head in doo doo, you can't catch me!"


Annie Annie Over
It is played over a lower building that you can throw a ball over and be able to run all the way around it. You call out Annie-Annie Over and throw the ball over the building to the kids on the other side. If they catch the ball they can sneak around the building and throw the ball at you or catch you and tag you. You have to keep an eye open for them coming and beat them to the other side of the building. If you make it then that is your side but if you are tagged then you are on their side. There can be an even number of kids on each side to start with. When there are three-four kids on a side they can split up and some go each way and then you don't know who has the ball. If the ball is not caught then they can wait a moment to try and fool you and then holler out Annie-Annie Over and throw the ball back. If the ball doesn't go over the building, the throwers can yell 'Pigtail!', and then try to throw it again. The ball must be caught in order to run around the building after you. When the last kid on a team is tagged then that team wins.
Red Rover
In this game, the kids form two opposing lines and attempt to "break through" the opposing team's line.
At first, two teams are chosen of equal size, and they form two lines, facing each other and holding hands.
One side starts by picking a person on the opposing team and saying "Red Rover, Red Rover, send <Jason> right over"
Jason then lets go of his teammates and begins a headlong rush for the other line. His goal is to break through the line by overpowering the kid's hold on each other.
If Jason breaks through, he chooses one person for the opposing team to join his team, and they both go back and join in their line.
If he fails to break through, Jason becomes part of the other team.
Each team alternates calling people over until one team has all the people and is declared the winner.
Note that since all the players are on the winning team at the end, there really are no losers in this game.
Midnight Ghost
Designate one house's yard or another area in the neighborhood for the playing field. You will need a home base on which everyone can stand or all touch at the same time such as a large tree, front stoop, or back patio. 3
Choose one person to be the "ghost". You can do this any way you like: picking a number, asking for a volunteer, rock, paper, scissors, etc. 4
Have everyone but the ghost stand at the home base while the ghost runs off to hide somewhere outside. 5
Chant slowly as a group, "One o'clock... two o'clock... three o'clock..." and so on, up to twelve o'clock. Then shout, "Midnight! I hope I don't see the ghost tonight!" Alternatively, "Starlight, star bright, I hope to see a ghost tonight!" In another alternative, if using a tree or a basketball pole, have everyone keep one hand on it while chanting with their eyes closed and slowly walk around the tree or pole until they get to twelve o'clock, when they shout "The ghost is out tonight!". 6
Leave the home base and search for the ghost in the yard. The ghost's job is to jump out, surprise, and tag a player. When anyone encounters the ghost they should yell, "Ghost in the graveyard!" and try to run away. When the ghost catches someone, they become a ghost too. Anyone who is able to run back to home base is safe. Alternately, when the ghost catches someone, the new person becomes the only ghost. This makes is less scary for young ones, who don't like to venture very far away from the home base. 7
Have all the people who were caught go and hide with (or close to) the original ghost. The people on the home base start again with the chant, "One o'clock... two o'clock..." 8
Continue the game like this until everyone is caught. The last person caught becomes the ghost for the next round.
Mother May I
One game I remember is Mother May I. One person (it could be Mom) stands facing away from a line of kids. She then chooses a child (at random, or in order), and announces a direction. These follow a pattern, such as, "Brian, you may take' x' giant/regular/baby steps forward/backward." The child responds with "Mother may I?" Mom then states "Yes" or "No", depending on her whim, and the child complies. If the child forgets to ask "Mother may I?" he/she goes back to the starting line. First one to touch Mother wins.

Kick the can
This is an exciting combination of hide and seek, and tag. One person closes their eyes and counts to some high number, while everyone else hides. Then, the person who counted (who has incidentally been guarding "the can") has to run around the neighborhood and find everybody. The tricky part is that once a person is found, they have a race, where the person who has just been found has to try to kick the can over before the counter tags them. When that game gets boring, there seems to always be those kids who will hide in a dumb, easy to discover place, with the intent of sprinting for the can if they're caught... it's a good game for building paranoia into your character. :)
Teeter Totter Rhyme
As a child (many years ago) I recited the rhyme: "Teeter-totter, bread and butter / Wash your face in dirty water."
This is what we said: Teeter-totter, bread and water / Johnny shall find a new master / he shall get but a penny a day / 'Cause he can't work any faster."
I hope you can make sense of this, because even now, at least 50 years after I last teeter-tottered, no one ever explained it to me, then or later.
It makes no sense at all, unless it's a grim relic of the days before child-labor laws. For "master" to rhyme with "totter," you'd have to give it that Boris Karloff inflection: mawhstah. And that makes it sound rather creepy. Read the whole thing in a Karloff accent, and it sounds like some grisly prelude to Johnny's demise. You know what happens to bad little boys who cawn't wuhk any fawhster? They are taken to ... the la-BORE-a-toray.
It was yelled right before you jumped off, leaving the person on the other end to fall to the ground. The point was to see if they would sustain serious injury. Oh, the good old days!
Yes, the good old days. When the big, popular kids would trick the small, pudgy, prematurely bespectacled kid into riding the teeter-totter, hoist him up in the air, and then hold down the other end with a concrete block, ordering said small kid to stay up there until they say he can come down, lest he face dire consequences. The bell would ring, the kids would go back inside and the small kid would stay on the end of the teeter-totter. The day wore on. Dusk fell. The night was cold, and small creatures with bright glinting eyes darted around the empty field. Finally, he fell asleep -- only to fall off the teeter-totter. The impact woke him, of course, and what did he see upon opening his eyes? The sad faces of the bullies, shaking their heads. We didn't say you could come down yet, they said.
LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE
The phrase got popular from an old song by the Castaways -

"Liar, liar, pants on fire
Your nose is longer than a telephone wire"

and I've also heard it as "Liar, liar, pants on fire
Hanging from a telephone wire"

but it traces back to an 1810 poem by William Blake:

"Deceiver, dissembler
Your trousers are alight
From what pole or gallows
Shall they dangle in the night?"
Simon says is a children's game for three or more players where one player takes the role of 'Simon' and issues instructions, (usually physical actions such as 'jump in the air' or 'stick out your tongue') to the other players, which should only be followed if prefaced with the phrase 'Simon says', for example 'Simon says jump in the air'. Players are eliminated from the game by either following instructions that are not immediately preceded by the trigger phrase or by failing to follow an instruction which does include 'Simon says'. It is the ability to distinguish between valid and invalid commands, rather than physical ability, that usually matters in the game, and in most cases, the action only needs to be attempted, rather than completed accurately.
The object for the player acting as 'Simon' is to get all the other players 'out' as quickly as possible, and the winner of the game is usually the last player who has successfully followed all of the given commands.
The game is well embedded in popular culture, with numerous references in films, music and literature.
Engine engine number nine

Rhyme used to pick a player in the game to be it!
Engine Engine Number Nine,
Going down the Chicago Line.
If the train goes off the track,
Do you want your money back?
Answer is spelled out by counting individuals or their feet.
For some reason, we always did an add-on ending for every 'selection' chant:
And you are it with a dirty-double dishrag in your mouth.
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe", which can be spelled a number of ways, is a children's counting rhyme, used to select a person to be "it" for games (such as tag) and similar purposes such as counting out a child that has to be stood down from a group of children as part of a playground game. It is one of a large group of similar 'Counting-out rhymes' where the child pointed-to by the chanter on the last syllable is 'counted out'. The rhyme has existed in various forms since well before 1820, and is common in many languages including German forms, with similar-sounding nonsense syllables.
Since many similar counting rhymes existed earlier, it is difficult to ascertain this rhyme's exact origin.
Fatty fatty 2 by 4 couldn't get through the kitchen door, fatty fatty 2 by 8 can't get through the garden gate.
Crack the Whip is a simple outdoor children's game that involves physical coordination, and is usually played in small groups, either on grass or ice. One player, chosen as the "head" of the whip, runs (or skates) around in random directions, with subsequent players holding on to the hand of the previous player. The entire "tail" of the whip moves in those directions, but with much more force toward the end of the tail. The longer the tail, the more the forces act on the last player, and the tighter they have to hold on.
As the game progresses, and more players fall off, some of those who were previously located near the end of the tail and have fallen off can "move up" and be in a more secure position by grabbing onto the tail as it is moving, provided they can get back on before some of the others do. There is no objective to this game other than the enjoyment of the experience.
Spin The Bottle Party kissing game. You had several people sit in a circle with a pop bottle at the center, then spin the bottle twice. After the bottle came to rest each time the persons it pointed at would have to make out.
Hopscotch
To play hopscotch, a course is first laid out on the ground. Depending on the available surface, the course is either scratched out in dirt, or drawn with chalk on pavement. Designs vary, but the course is usually composed of a series of linear squares interspersed with blocks of two lateral squares. Traditionally the course ends with a "safe" or "home" base in which the player may turn before completing the reverse trip. The home base may be a square, a rectangle, or a semicircle. The squares are then numbered in the sequence in which they are to be hopped.
Playing the game

The first player tosses the marker (typically a stone, coin or bean bag) into the first square. The marker must land completely within the designated square and without touching a line or bouncing out. The player then hops through the course, skipping the square with the marker in it. Single squares must be hopped on one foot. For the first single square, either foot may be used. Side by side squares are straddled, with the left foot landing in the left square, and the right foot landing in the right square. Optional squares marked "Safe", "Home", or "Rest" are neutral squares, and may be hopped through in any manner without penalty. After hopping into the "Safe", "Home", or "Rest" the player must then turn around and return through the course (square 9, then squares 7 & 8, next square 6 and so forth) on one or two legs depending on the square until he or she reaches the square with their marker. They then must retrieve their marker and continue the course as stated without touching a line or stepping into a square with another player's marker.
Upon successfully completing the sequence, the player continues the turn by tossing the marker into square number two, and repeating the pattern.
If while hopping through the court in either direction the player steps on a line, misses a square, or loses balance, the turn ends. Players begin their turns where they last left off. The first player to complete one course for every numbered square on the court wins the game.
Although the marker is most often picked up during the game, historically, in the boy's game, the marker was kicked sequentially back through the course on the return trip and then kicked out.
Marbles
Most children understand the game of marbles the first time it is explained. To determine who shall play first each child lags with his or her shooter marble.
To start a game of Ringer the children lag from a line, drawn tangent to the ring, to a parallel line across the ring, which would be 10 feet away. The child whose shooter comes nearest the line has the first shot. Players must lag before each game. Practice lagging, as the first shot may mean the winning of the game before your opponent gets a shot. In lagging, a child may toss his or her shooter to the other line, or he or she may knuckle down and shoot it.
The child who won the lag, prepares to knuckle down. His knuckle has not quite reached the ground, which is necessary before shooting. He can take any position about the ring he chooses. There are13 marbles in the center of the ring arranged in an X at the start of the game.
If the shooter knocks the marble from the ring on his first shot and his shooter stays in the ring. He picks up the marble. As he has knocked one from the ring, he is entitled to another try. Players are not permitted to walk inside the ring unless their shooter comes to a stop inside the ring. Penalty is assessed fine of one marble.
Continuing play. He "knuckles down" inside the ring where his shooter stopped on the last shot. This gives him the advantage of being nearer to the big group of marbles in the center of the ring for his next shot. Expert marble shots try to hit a marble, knock it out of ring and make their shooter "stick" in the spot.
Another example of play, this time the shooter hit a marble, but did not knock it from the ring. At the same time his shooter, too, stays inside the ring. He can not pick up the marble, neither is he allowed to pick up his shooter. He must leave the shooter there until the other child has played.
The game usually continues until all marbles have been picked from the ring.​

I spy is a guessing game usually played in families with young children, partly to assist in both observation and in alphabet familiarity. I spy is often played as a car game.
One person starts by choosing an object (a cow, for example) and says "I spy with my little eye, something beginning with C" or simply "I spy something beginning with C." The other players look around and suggest things it might be: "Crow" (no), "Car" (no), "Cloud" (no), "Cow" - yes. The person who guesses correctly often gets to choose the next object.

When played in a car, the group playing may need to decide beforehand what to do about items that are no longer visible (the field with the cows is a mile back - usually permitted but the person choosing the object has to say "I can't see it any more" and "I can see it now"). Sometimes items within the car are excluded.
Hangman

The word to guess is represented by a row of dashes, giving the number of letters and category of the word. If the guessing player suggests a letter which occurs in the word, the other player writes it in all its correct positions. If the suggested letter does not occur in the word, the other player draws one element of the hangman diagram as a tally mark. The game is over when:
  • The guessing player completes the word, or guesses the whole word correctly
  • The other player completes the diagram:
This diagram is, in fact, designed to look like a hanging man. Although debates have arisen about the questionable taste of this picture, it is still in use today. A common alternative for teachers is to draw an apple tree with ten apples, erasing or crossing out the apples as the guesses are used up.
The exact nature of the diagram differs; some players draw the gallows before play and draw parts of the man's body (traditionally the head, then the torso, then the arms & legs one by one). Some players begin with no diagram at all, and drawing the individual elements of the gallows as part of the game, effectively giving the guessing players more chances. The amount of detail on the man can also vary, affecting the number of chances. Many players include a face on the head, either all at once or one feature at a time.
Some modifications to game play, such as "buying a vowel" or refraining from using the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E result from the U.S. television game show Wheel of Fortune, created by Merv Griffin. Another alternative is to give the definition of the word. This can be used to facilitate the learning of a foreign language.
Edible things you enjoyed as a child-
Little wax coke bottles with liquid inside--also chewable.
Bazooka Joe bubble gum with the comic wrapped around it. The Topps Company developed its Bazooka Bubble Gum product in Brooklyn, New York after the end of World War II. It was named after the humorous musical instrument which entertainer Bob Burns had fashioned from two gas pipes and a funnel in the 1930s. (This contraption also gave its name to the armor-piercing weapon developed during the War.)
Pixy Stix is a powdered candy packaged in a wrapper that resembles a drinking straw.
Pixy Stix used to be made by Sunline which started in 1952 in St. Louis, Missouri. Originally it was a drink mix in the late 1930s, sold as Frutola, but J. Fish Smith found that kids were eating the sweet & sour powder right from the package. He shifted the name to Fruzola and added a spoon. Later it was repackaged with a dipping candy stick as Lik-M-Aid and also sold in little straws called Pixy Stix. It wasn't until parents complained about the grainy, sticky powder that Sunline came up with a compressed tablet form, the SweeTart in 1963.[1]
Sunline was sold to Rowntree Mackintosh of the UK, which was then bought by Nestle. Nestle maintained the Sunline brand for a while and only recently has rolled the SweeTarts, Pixy Stix, and Lik-M-Aid into the Wonka brand, which already had a strong line of sugar candy, such as Tart 'n' Tinys, Nerds and Runts.
The candy is usually poured from the wrapper into the mouth which is made out of plastic and very hard to open. The ingredients in Pixy Stix are as follows: Dextrose, Citric Acid, less than 2% artificial and natural flavors. Pixy Stix come in two different sizes large and small. Pixy Stix is a registered trademark of Societe des Produits Nestle S.A. Vevey, Switzerland.
Wax Lips
Wax Lips are actually a waxy chewing gum with a cherry flavor. How can you not smile at these? Wear them at your next business meeting... guaranteed to reduce stress. ​


Candy cigarettes is a candy introduced in the early 20th century made out of chalky sugar, bubblegum or chocolate, wrapped in paper as to resemble cigarettes. Their place on the market has long been controversial because many critics believe the candy desensitizes children, leading them to become smokers later in life. Because of this, the selling of candy cigarettes has been banned in several countries such as Finland, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.[1]
In the United States a ban was considered in 1970 and again in 1991, but was not passed into federal law. The U.S. state of North Dakota enacted a ban on candy cigarettes from 1953 until 1967.[1] In Canada federal law prohibits candy cigarette branding that resembles real cigarette branding and the territory of Nunavut has banned all products that resemble cigarettes.
The Family Smoking and Prevention Control Act was misquoted as banning candy cigarettes. The Act bans any form of added flavoring in tobacco cigarettes other than menthol. It does not regulate the candy industry.
Candy cigarettes continue to be manufactured and consumed in many parts of the world. However, many manufacturers now describe their products as candy sticks, bubble gum, or candy.
Popeye Cigarettes marketed using the Popeye character were sold for a while and had red tips (to look like a lit cigarette) before being renamed candy sticks and being manufactured without the red tip.
Let us not forget Bubble gum cigars!
OLD Sayings and Phrases (a blast from the past)
Conniption Fit, Holy mackerel, I'm just flabbergasted, Mind your P's & Q's, Having a field day, You can't pull the wool over my eyes! I didn't just fall off the turnip truck; Hold Your Horses; I'm at the End of My Rope; I've Told you Time and Time Again; Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth; A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush; Don't air your dirty linen in public; A person is known by the company (s)he keeps; Necessity is the mother of invention; Silence is golden; Cat fit; Keeping up with the Jones' and You've just cooked your own goose!
"I'm rubber & you're glue, whatever you say bounces off me & sticks to you."
I see England, I see France, I see xxx's underpants.
When someone would call you stupid, you'd say, "I know you are but what am I?"
"Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me"
...."if my dog had a face like yours, I would shave its butt and make it walk backwards"
"Went downtown to see my lady,
No one was home but skinny and the baby,
Skinny was drunk and I was sober,
Skinny blew a fart that knocked me over....."
"He who farts in church
sits in his own pew"
"What's the difference between a woman who comes out of church on a Sunday morning and a woman coming out of the bath on a Sunday morning? "One has a soul full of hope and the other has a hole full of soap."
And who can forget Johnny and Susy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes marrige, then comes Johnny pushing a baby carriage
" Birdy birdy in the sky, dropped a white thing in my eye, I'm no baby, I won't cry, I'm just glad that cows don't fly."
"Oh, the girls in France do a naked lady dance, and the boys don't care so they eat their underwear."
Whoever smelt it, dealt it.
Lady bug lady bug fly away home. Your house is on fire and your children alone!
I am a little tea pot short and stout, Here is my handle, here is my spout, When I get all steamed up this I shout, Just tip me over and pour me out.
Don't step on a crack or you'll break your mother's back.

Pull my finger...
It's raining, it's pouring the old man is snoring he went to bed and bumped his head and couldn't get up in the morning.
Early to bed, early to rise....., .....man, I am getting old ;o)
I like myself, I love myself, I took myself to the picture show. I wrapped my arms around my waist, I got so fresh I slapped my face.
Alice, where are you going?
Upstairs to take a bath,
Alice had legs like toothpicks
and a neck like a giraffy affy affy affy...
Alice, got in the bathtub
Alice pulled out the plug
Oh my goodness
Oh my soul
There goes Alice down the hole..
Glub, Glub Glub

Can't believe what children use to do and say for fun back in those days, but doesn't seem like we ever got bored.
60 Replies · 24909 views
walrus1957
OK- a question for Televisonarchieves; In your post of the photo from 1966 of you and your sister watching TV. That has to put your birth year around 1960? That means we are just a few years age difference. A generation I have been told is every ten years? I do not consider myself a baby boomer, but close being born in 1957. So what is the generation called for those born between 1955 and 1965? I don't believe we fall into genx.

Love the snow pics, is that Minisota or Michigan? You must have done some ice fishing??
televisionarchives
Snow pictures are Maine. Born in 1963. My first memory is when I was about 4 . Television of course is one of my earliest memories.
S
Great pictures.
televisionarchives
How about what California looked like during that time. Here are some photos I got from a huge box of slides at a estate sale. Pasadena California in the early 1960's I believe. img286.jpgimg020.jpg
dougruss
OK- a question for Televisonarchieves; In your post of the photo from 1966 of you and your sister watching TV. That has to put your birth year around 1960? That means we are just a few years age difference. A generation I have been told is every ten years? I do not consider myself a baby boomer, but close being born in 1957. So what is the generation called for those born between 1955 and 1965? I don't believe we fall into genx.

Love the snow pics, is that Minisota or Michigan? You must have done some ice fishing??

Born between 1946 and 1964 (46 – 64 years of age) Baby Boomers are 80 million strong. The Boomer is the largest generation, with a population nearly doubles that of Gen X. Boomers are seated at the very top of the worlds largest, most powerful companies and as established career professionals, they have tremendous buying power. In fact, approximately 70 percent of law firm partners are Baby Boomers. They will cede their positions to to their Gen X children when Boomers retire.

Define Baby Boomers | Who are Baby Boomers | Baby Boomers demographics


.
D
Hello all, These are all great memories for me as well. I was born in 53 in Milwaukee. I remember the Xmas parade on Mitchell St. After that we would go to Shusters Dept. store and look at the store front windows to see all the animated displays including all the model train layouts,very similar to the Xmas story movie. Oh yeah,,,, my favorate cartoons were Heckyl and jeckyl,Gandy Goose,Ruff and Reddy. I still play with my model trains at Xmas!!
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68606 Replies · 2677969 views
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Bobby
I Wish I Was Eighteen Again - George Burns
harshness
I Wish - Stevie Wonder
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EatMyVolts
Lonesome Road -- The Wonder Who?
long_time_Dish
Lonesome Loser - Little River Band
H
Long LONESOME Highway-Michael Parks
JSheridan
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
I know HipKat said that they were working on conversions but we got the official news yesterday right from Dish that starting next month all DMA's will be on the western arc, and all customers will be assigned to that. That's gonna mean a lot of customers around here aren't gonna get Dish unless there are exceptions. Too many mountains and trees.
156 Replies · 4344 views
Foxbat
Unless Dish acquires DirecTV and its mid-USA satellite slots, I may not have Dish Network to reach 40 years. Or, I guess we could buy a new house…
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S
Unless Dish acquires DirecTV and its mid-USA satellite slots, I may not have Dish Network to reach 40 years. Or, I guess we could buy a new house…
have charlie buy you a new house :biggrin :clapping
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T
Well, I didn't immediately think of broadcast, where there are all kinds of digital "subchannels"- I remember back when digital broadcast began that supposedly the 6mhz channel would likely support just 1 HD program and that the added subchannels would likely have to remain SD. I don't watch enough broadcast to know. Are there a lot of the subchannels in SD-only, and how do they do that, like are they in 4:3 or some kind of low-res widescreen?
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Foxbat
have charlie buy you a new house :biggrin :clapping
Unfortunately, I don't think my social proximity to Charle Ergen provides any special perks. Maybe if Foxbat, Jr. were to marry his daughter…🤞🏻🤣
S
Unfortunately, I don't think my social proximity to Charle Ergen provides any special perks. Maybe if Foxbat, Jr. were to marry his daughter…🤞🏻🤣
that would be one hell of a convo :biggrin.
  • Haha
Reactions: charlesrshell
osu1991
Well, I didn't immediately think of broadcast, where there are all kinds of digital "subchannels"- I remember back when digital broadcast began that supposedly the 6mhz channel would likely support just 1 HD program and that the added subchannels would likely have to remain SD. I don't watch enough broadcast to know. Are there a lot of the subchannels in SD-only, and how do they do that, like are they in 4:3 or some kind of low-res widescreen?
New more efficient encoders. I think there's around 60 channels/sub channels now in the Tulsa dma. 480 widescreen for most of the sub channels, but some have 2 HD channels and a couple of SD sub channels while others have 1 HD and 5 or more SD sub channels. If they moved to mp4 or hevc encoding they could do higher bitrates for SD or more HD or even 4K in that 6Mhz channel. That could render some early digital tvs unable to tune though as they may not have the codecs for that. Considering 4K tvs have been on sale for years, I think it would be a very small minority of TVs with the problem. I'd rather see that happen and keep ATSC 1 than continue the move to a DRM enforced ATSC 3 world.
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S
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
The title was to catch everyone's eye lol! But it is a thought I've been having as I dev a Roku app for a client. You see many MAAANY years ago I got really interested in cable TV channels and even chatted with a regional carrier, Insight about what it took to get a channel number. It was surprisingly easy although prohibitively expensive.



You could petition, reserve a high channel number, they monitored performance and if they liked you, you'd get lower channel number overtime and cut into ad overlays.



Roku has a similar setup. Make an app, if it has a strong, original linear component you could get channel assignment on The Roku Channel.



As mixed as my feelings are on the current media landscape, I can't help but feel a little excited interest when I scope out the apps in the Roku store.
2 Replies · 51 views
navychop
Hmmm. I think Roku will last. But will Firestick? With their backing, I guess so. Apple TV STB? Of Course. Walmart? Seems someone ought to go, but with their backing?….

Off brands have, as probably expected, very short lives.
S
Hmmm. I think Roku will last. But will Firestick? With their backing, I guess so. Apple TV STB? Of Course. Walmart? Seems someone ought to go, but with their backing?….

Off brands have, as probably expected, very short lives.
All of those services have FAST Channels. FAST is a linear online broadcast stndrd. You notice how their linear channels all have some overlap? They are gettting paid for every second those streams are up without really having to do their own accounting. Best part is they don't even facilitate any of the stream bandwidth. Over glorified app stores on some android hardware. No reason NOT to stay in the game.
K
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in TV Shows
Season 2 order already in hand:

'Star Trek: Starfleet Academy' Renewed for Season 2, Tatiana Maslany to Guest Star in Season 1

I've not been optimistic about this show based on what I've read so far. Seems to be aimed at a younger audience. Interesting though that Tatiana Maslany will have some sort of role.
94 Replies · 3731 views
harshness
Females wearing any clothing is unthinkable on Ferenginar.
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long_time_Dish
Females wearing any clothing is unthinkable on Ferenginar.
Was never a huge of the Ferengi-centric episodes in Trek...
Jimbo
Was never a huge of the Ferengi-centric episodes in Trek...
Me either ...
They turned out to be a Poor adversary ....
Foxbat
They got their proper due on "Deep Space Nine"
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long_time_Dish
They got their proper due on "Deep Space Nine"
And too many episodes centering on/around them as well...
SuperDish_Fan23
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
Why are ViP922s So rare? like its crazy how ebay has none, i checked everywhere, also, i got a ViP222k now, which is actually activated!
35 Replies · 1110 views
S
I looked for wrecked trains on ebay and those are hard to find too!
Almighty1
I remember this in the news too...

Bobby
I remember this in the news too...

That is a misnomer. In the old days you subscribed to telephone service. That included the telephone line and one telephone. An extension cost $1 a month extra. So that $14,000 over 42 years was for the service not the leased telephone. There is no way they paid $28 a month for 42 years for a leased telephone.
SuperDish_Fan23
Why are ViP922s So rare? like its crazy how ebay has none, i checked everywhere, also, i got a ViP222k now, which is actually activated!
Whoever still has their 922, please let me know i just wanna see photos of the ui and other stuff
S
Whoever still has their 922, please let me know i just wanna see photos of the ui and other stuff

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wL6dsORmXg
T
Slicker guides never did much for me
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Almighty1
That is a misnomer. In the old days you subscribed to telephone service. That included the telephone line and one telephone. An extension cost $1 a month extra. So that $14,000 over 42 years was for the service not the leased telephone. There is no way they paid $28 a month for 42 years for a leased telephone.
Good point as part of that time mentioned was before I was even alive.

While reports from the family's case focused entirely on the equipment rental charges, media records show that Ester Strogen originally started by paying $29.95 per quarter ($9.98 per month) in the 1960s for her combined telephone connection.
The actual base cost for standard residential telephone service over a 42-year period (spanning roughly 1964 to 2006) reveals how basic connection costs evolved compared to the equipment rental fees:

Historical Phone Service Rates
  • 1960s – 1970s Base Rate: Standard local phone service was heavily subsidized and tightly regulated under the Bell System monopoly. A basic landline package with unlimited local calling typically cost between $5.00 and $10.00 per month.
  • 1980s – 2000s Post-Deregulation Rate: Following the AT&T divestiture in 1984, base line service rates steadily climbed due to the introduction of subscriber line charges, touch-tone fees, and local infrastructure adjustments. By 2006, basic flat-rate local residential phone service hovered around $15.00 to $25.00 per month (excluding long-distance packages and taxes).
The True Lifetime Service Bill

Assuming an average baseline connection fee of roughly $12.00 a month over that 42-year span, the line connectivity itself would have realistically accumulated to approximately $6,000 in raw cash payouts.
When you bundle the actual service costs together with the escalating equipment rental fees, the total cumulative out-of-pocket phone expenses over those four decades easily crossed $12,000 to $14,000. Long-distance phone calls—which were billed entirely by the minute back then and could cost up to 15 to 30 cents per minute—would add significantly more to that historical total depending on usage.

The widely publicized calculation stems from a viral news story from 2006 involving a widow named Ester Strogen. Her family discovered she had been continuously leasing two rotary dial telephones from AT&T for 42 years.
The total cost—which actually came out to more than $14,000 by the time the lease was canceled—was calculated based on the following legacy telecom structure:
  • The Monthly Fee: At the time her granddaughters discovered the charges, the ongoing leasing fee was $29.10 per month for the two outdated phones.
  • The Math: Over 42 years (504 months), paying roughly $24 to $30 a month accumulates to between $12,000 and $14,600 ($29.10 × 504 months = $14,666.40).
Why did this happen?
Prior to the landmark breakup of AT&T ("Ma Bell") in 1984, consumers were legally not allowed to own their phones; they were required to lease them directly from the phone company.
When the laws changed and phone ownership became legal, AT&T spun off its rental division into a company called QLT Consumer Lease Services. Millions of customers, particularly elderly individuals who were used to seeing a single unified phone bill, simply never realized that the small recurring "equipment lease" line-item could be canceled by buying a cheap phone at a retail store.

Yes, leasing absolutely cost that much in reality, and the math is entirely accurate. However, the calculations performed by the family did contain one major historical nuance: they multiplied the final 2006 rate across all 42 years, which means the actual total cash paid out was likely a bit lower.
The original viral story focused on 82-year-old widow Ester Strogen from Canton, Ohio, who paid $29.10 a month for two black rotary phones until her family intervened in July 2006.
The reality behind how the cost reached that staggering total breaks down into two distinct phases:

Phase 1: The Historical Base Rate (1960s – 1984)

When Strogen first got the phones in the 1960s, renting was a legal mandate and cost a fraction of the 2006 price—usually just a few dollars a month.
  • The "Insurance" Mirage: In exchange for that fee, Ma Bell promised free, lifetime maintenance. If the phone broke, they replaced it instantly at no extra cost.
  • The Cost-Plus Reality: Because these solid-state phones were built like tanks out of heavy plastic and steel, they almost never broke. Consumers paid a continuous premium for decades for a repair service they rarely used.
Phase 2: The Deregulation Rate Hikes (1984 – 2006)

After AT&T was forced to break up its monopoly in 1984, the rental side of the business was shifted to Lucent Technologies and later a legacy holding company. To maximize profit off a shrinking customer base, they steadily increased the monthly rental fees over the next 20 years.
  • By 2006, the rental cost had quietly ballooned to roughly $14.55 per phone per month.
  • When the family discovered the $29.10 monthly charge, they looked back at the 42-year span and estimated the collective loss at over $14,000.
Even adjusted for historical inflation—where $2 a month in 1964 had the purchasing power of roughly $20 today—Ester Strogen and hundreds of thousands of other elderly Americans realistically paid thousands of dollars out-of-pocket for standard desk phones they could have purchased at retail for $10.

The exact out-of-pocket dollar amount Ester Strogen paid over those 42 years was never publicly determined, as neither AT&T nor the family had access to monthly billing records stretching all the way back to the 1960s.
The figures reported in the media are entirely mathematical estimates based on the 2006 rate. The two primary numbers used to define the "cost" are:
  • The Stated Media Total: More than $14,000.
  • The Exact Family Formula: $14,666.40. This was derived by taking her final recorded bill of $29.10 per month and multiplying it across the full 42 years (504 months).
What the True Cash Cost Likely Was

Because AT&T did not charge $29.10 a month back in 1964, the true historical cash sum she handed over was lower than $14,000. In the 1960s and 1970s, basic phone lease fees were generally bundled into standard service or itemized at just $1.00 to $2.00 a month per phone.
If we realistically assume she paid lower base rates for the first 20 years before the post-1984 deregulation price hikes took effect, a realistic estimate of the actual cash paid is between $5,000 and $7,000.

The Real Cost When Adjusted for Inflation

While the family's $14,000 calculation overestimates the raw cash paid, it actually underestimates the true economic damage when factoring in the time value of money.
Paying $2.00 a month for equipment in 1964 sounds minor, but due to severe inflation during the 1970s, those early single dollars had the purchasing power of roughly $20.00 each in 2006 terms. If you adjust every historical lower monthly payment upward to account for inflation, Ester Strogen realistically lost the equivalent of well over $15,000 in modern purchasing power by renting instead of buying.
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S
Slicker guides never did much for me
me either. sometimes it seems like things disappear when they start changing sh*t around :biggrin
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S
I looked for wrecked trains on ebay and those are hard to find too!
you would be better off looking in ca for a train wreck to nowhere :biggrin :p
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jcrandall
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in DIRECTV Programming Forum
So...DirecTV advertises the Choice package with 95+ bonus channels for Satellite customers. You don't want 90+ of the 95...

Excluding PPV, premium networks, infomercial, shopping, religion, and non-English programming, there are 7 channels on satellite that are not on streaming:
NFL Network, MavTV, FE TV, Free Speech, NASA, INSP, and Pursuit. I'm pretty sure a couple of those are public interest that they have to carry to meet an FCC quota on satellite.

I hope they get called out for this advertising because that is ridiculous. One big network, NFL, will probably get added to streaming when their next agreement comes up, and the rest are likely very low viewership.

What about streaming, what do you get extra with the Choice package that isn't on Satellite:
Two stations - one of which is an internet TV - Fox Weather, and Heros & Icons (a diginet). Nothing special here to look at either.

If they cleaned up a couple of their agreements, added a few public interest stations to streaming, they could probably have their lineups match. It's close now, if you take out all the garbage on satellite that they earn money on. If they can sell infomercials on satellite, why can't they on streaming, seems like a miss. A bigger miss, including those stations in the "bonus channels just for satellite customers." Pretty sad marketing right there.

1681344805401.png


Attached is a comparison sheet of satellite vs streaming for the three main packages if anyone is interested.

MOD EDIT: See Post #3 for an up to date list of what channels are available on sat but not on streaming/internet, see Post #21 for an up to date list of what's available in the app for streaming customers, but not for sat customers.
243 Replies · 31886 views
K
WNPX/28 Nashville (The new home of the Predators) and WMYD/20 Detroit (the new home of the Pistons) are testing on the stream server.
harshness
One might get the impression that what DIRECTV does, or doesn't, is becoming far less consequential than it used to be.
M
One might get the impression that what DIRECTV does, or doesn't, is becoming far less consequential than it used to be.
K
WPLG/10 Miami is now available to stream customers

The CW stations WCWW/25 South Bend and WBKP/5 Marquette are testing on the stream server

Last week they also added a bunch of CW stations that are still not available to sat customers:
WETM-DT/19 Elmira
WJET-DT/25 Erie
KLFY-DT/11 Lafayette LA
KARD-DT/15 Monroe
WVBT-DT/44 Norfolk
WTWO-DT/3 Terre Haute
WFXV-DT/34 Utica
KFDX-DT/4 Wichita Falls
M
Well, that was fast ! DTV Stream brought back WTCN's HD signal today.

I have to assume the station signing up a week ago as the Miami Heat affiliate here (to carry their games) did the trick. NBA magic !!!

Or the station engineer took care of the problem after hearing about it.
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D
WNPX/28 Nashville (The new home of the Predators) and WMYD/20 Detroit (the new home of the Pistons) are testing on the stream server.
Channel 28 Nashville hasn't been added so far, correct?
K
WNPX Nashville and WMYD Detroit were added to stream about 2 months ago.

They also now have PRDTRS/651 for those in Predators territory outside of the Nashville DMA and PISTONS/663-2 for those in Pistons territory outside of the Detroit DMA.
TheForce
Supporting Founder Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Phone & Tablet Zone
Apple Fall Hardware Event takes place today, September 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET. It marks the debut of new CEO John Ternus and the expected reveal of Apple's first foldable phone.
132 Replies · 1473 views
comfortably_numb
Can't remember if I've posted this yet..


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfL5seXJyWU
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Foxbat
If you ponied up for an iPhone Duo, keep it away from anything other than your soft, fleshy fingertips. No fingernails, no dust, sand, dirt, or other particulate matter. And don't bend it more than it needs to. Zack has destroyed $2,000 of Apple hardware to get those views, which should cover his expenses.
​
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comfortably_numb
No fingernails, no dust, sand, dirt, or other particulate matter

And definitely no medieval chain armor!
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harshness
medieval chain armor
Aka "mail" or "maille".
Foxbat
IFixIt has published their Teardown and they had some positive things to say about the iPhone Duo. It still showed some dust ingress into the hinge assembly but seemed otherwise well-sealed.
​

But with a considerable number of reports of the main screen dying with similar failures, AppleCare+ should be a no-brainer for this phone.
S

most carriers do. that's why they send updates that slow phones down!! i buy unlocked phones no effect to me
S
IFixIt has published their Teardown and they had some positive things to say about the iPhone Duo. It still showed some dust ingress into the hinge assembly but seemed otherwise well-sealed.
​

But with a considerable number of reports of the main screen dying with similar failures, AppleCare+ should be a no-brainer for this phone.

hope you have apple care a screen job is 1000.00 :oops:. can we say over priced garbage!!!
meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section
Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.
127 Replies · 2322 views
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rvvaquero
Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson had an argument about who was responsible for the dynasty building of the early 90's Cowboys.

The rest of us figured it out in about 3 years, Jerry has had over 30 years but still can't admit it. It's all he lives for, to show everyone he can put together a winner. I don't think he can. His kids only know what he taught them.
Y
Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson had an argument about who was responsible for the dynasty building of the early 90's Cowboys.

The rest of us figured it out in about 3 years, Jerry has had over 30 years but still can't admit it. It's all he lives for, to show everyone he can put together a winner. I don't think he can. His kids only know what he taught them.
Johnson built it, but without the Herschel Walker trade, it never happens.
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b4pjoe
Johnson built it, but without the Herschel Walker trade, it never happens.
Jerry made himself General Manager after he bought the team but make no mistake Jimmy engineered that trade. As well as a lot of others at the time.
rvvaquero
Jimmy Johnson is a football guy. Jerry Jones is a marketer (hustler).

When I see a football player get a 15 yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct (like taunting) in a close game, I often wonder what he was thinking. Was he thinking, I'm doing everything I can to make this a better team and help win a championship? Or, was he saying to himself, I want everyone to notice how great I am?

Johnson inspires one, Jones the other.
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meStevo
Got to unfurl and hold the flag at Allegiant for the anthem today - amazing experience.
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network
0 Replies · 10 views
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network
0 Replies · 21 views