TV remotes were invented when I was a kid. I'll bet you were excited. No way... My brother and I worried dad only kept us around to change the channel for him. I'm not sayin' you were wrong.
As I recall though, having all of 4 channels to choose from made channel surfing a bit less thrilling. Changing channels was about the extent of my dad’s exercise regime.
Useless skills story: I know a guy whose first job was as a telegraph operator for the railroad. (Don’t ask- I don’t know why they needed one back then) He thinks he was the last one and when the job ceased to exist, he became a lumber buyer for a television set manufacturer (TVs used to have nice wooden cabinets) When THAT became obsolete, he became a photographer specializing in some of the more outré processing systems, which are now all gone. His latest job was as a legal aide, looking up relevant cases in legal libraries… which is about to go all-digital. He’s a great guy- but the universe (or the march of technology here on earth) is out to get him.
The first practical remote was sold in 1956¤, which makes him about 60 now. This means he was around 45 when Toby was born and 54 when Eddie came along‡ (and I thought that my father was old – 40 when I popped out).Of course he might be talking about the infrared remotes like we have now, which came along in 1980; this means he’s around 35, making him only 20 for his first kid (coming soon – a flashback to a Buckets shotgun wedding?).¤I remember those early remotes – one of my cousins had a TV with one in the mid-’60s. It was clunky, had only four functions (on/off, volume, channel up, channel down) and operated on sound pulses. This meant that occasional random noises could change the channel or turn the set off.‡According to the Wikipedia entry on The Buckets, Toby is 15 and Eddie is 6.
Too much math for me. The Buckets have the same issues that Soap Operas and Comic Books have- Peter Parker and Susan Lucci are both, what, seventy years old now? After a certain point, you just tell a story to amuse everyone. I remember having a remote control with a wire connecting it to a VCR that made as much noise ejecting a tape as it would if it were firing a missile. I tell kids now about that remote and they ask why the heck it would have a wire on it.
lewisbower almost 13 years ago
Yeah, but my job was secure turning the antenna on the roof.
demorodney almost 13 years ago
As I recall though, having all of 4 channels to choose from made channel surfing a bit less thrilling. Changing channels was about the extent of my dad’s exercise regime.
gregcartoon Premium Member almost 13 years ago
Useless skills story: I know a guy whose first job was as a telegraph operator for the railroad. (Don’t ask- I don’t know why they needed one back then) He thinks he was the last one and when the job ceased to exist, he became a lumber buyer for a television set manufacturer (TVs used to have nice wooden cabinets) When THAT became obsolete, he became a photographer specializing in some of the more outré processing systems, which are now all gone. His latest job was as a legal aide, looking up relevant cases in legal libraries… which is about to go all-digital. He’s a great guy- but the universe (or the march of technology here on earth) is out to get him.
runar almost 13 years ago
The first practical remote was sold in 1956¤, which makes him about 60 now. This means he was around 45 when Toby was born and 54 when Eddie came along‡ (and I thought that my father was old – 40 when I popped out).Of course he might be talking about the infrared remotes like we have now, which came along in 1980; this means he’s around 35, making him only 20 for his first kid (coming soon – a flashback to a Buckets shotgun wedding?).¤I remember those early remotes – one of my cousins had a TV with one in the mid-’60s. It was clunky, had only four functions (on/off, volume, channel up, channel down) and operated on sound pulses. This meant that occasional random noises could change the channel or turn the set off.‡According to the Wikipedia entry on The Buckets, Toby is 15 and Eddie is 6.
Comic Minister Premium Member almost 13 years ago
It’s seems Frank Bucket is back! I haven’t seen him in a while.
bryan42 almost 13 years ago
@ demorodney Lucky! We only had 3 channels and we might lose 2 of them when it was too stormy.
gregcartoon Premium Member almost 13 years ago
Too much math for me. The Buckets have the same issues that Soap Operas and Comic Books have- Peter Parker and Susan Lucci are both, what, seventy years old now? After a certain point, you just tell a story to amuse everyone. I remember having a remote control with a wire connecting it to a VCR that made as much noise ejecting a tape as it would if it were firing a missile. I tell kids now about that remote and they ask why the heck it would have a wire on it.