Kids these days...

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
08/05/2014 at 16:35 • Filed to: None

Last week, I pried my boys away from the computer and we went for a bike ride. After a couple of miles, the younger ones started complaining. They wanted to go home. I said, "When I was your age, all we had to do in the summer was ride bikes. We didn't have computers. We rode for hours." To which one of my younger twins replied, "Yeah, Dad, but this is the future ." I guess I can't argue with that.

DISCUSSION (54)

tromoly > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 16:39

Well, put on Back to the Future II and explain that people thought that would be the future, so be happy with what you have. Though I have a feeling they would start complaining how hoverboards don't exist yet....

jariten1781 > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 16:40

Trying to explain the world without the internet to the high school age interns we get here is all but impossible. They seriously think we grew up in the stone-age.

For outdoors stuff with my nieces and nephews I always take my old lab. Whenever they start bitching I challenge them to beat her to the end of the trail. The competition aspect distracts them enough that I don't have listen to them whine anymore.

cazzyodo > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 16:41

Have a tire skid contest.

I used to go through so many tires every year because of stuff like that. The best was when my friends and I made a race track and I tried to "power slide" and blew out the rear wheel mid-slide. Scared the crap out of the kid behind me.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 16:43

Good Idea for you!

My wife and I participate in what's called GeoCaching.

You can bring the Tech outdoors, it give s a purpose to your hike or bike ride and it's fun. Great for kids/families.

Check it out at www.geocaching.com

ttyymmnn > tromoly
08/05/2014 at 16:45

No, they would be complaining that the movie is too long.

McChiken116 - Patrick H. > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 16:45

As a younger person, I have to say, you would be the same way if you were their age. Just wait until they can drive, then they will get out more

cazzyodo > cazzyodo
08/05/2014 at 16:46

Oh, another idea. If you have woods in your backyard or nearby, make a dirt track! A couple of my buddies and I did this in middle school (but don't tell the town haha). It was so much fun. One part was terrifying but once we realized that my friend who landed in the thorn bush was perfectly fine we got over it.

505Turbeaux > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
08/05/2014 at 16:47

my daughters daycare introduced them to this. Both the girls are so into it now, and I am glad.

My house is in the most affluent neighborhood in town and it is sad how many unused basketball hoops, pools, and sidewalks there are. Meanwhile in the farmhouse yard on the corner (mine) my driveway is full of sidewalk chalk, (cars), kids biking around, and you know, life.

Crocket Bernet > tromoly
08/05/2014 at 16:47

And auto laces, I'm still pissed off that I don't have hoverboards and auto laces. Get on this shit Nike.

ttyymmnn > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
08/05/2014 at 16:47

I'm familiar with GeoCaching, though we've never done it. A couple of years ago, I was sitting in a park near Dyess AFB in Abilene, TX. The park is pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, and I was the only person there, watching planes, smoking a cigar, doing a crossword. Then, out of nowhere, two SUVs pulled up and 10 or so people, mostly kids, piled out and started poking around the picnic pavilion where I was sitting, and I realized that they were GeoCaching. They never did find what they were looking for.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 16:47

Modern society is lost in a digital sea.

ttyymmnn > cazzyodo
08/05/2014 at 16:48

No woods. But lots of gravel hike/bike trails. And yes, I've replaced more than a few rear tires.....

deekster_caddy > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 16:48

One of the best weeks we had as a family was the week we got really pissed off and hid all electronics and unplugged the TV! The first two days were whiny withdrawal. The rest of the week was really impressive. We have so many goddamn toys around the house (kids are 5 and 9) it was nice to see them played with! Turns out our kids DO know how to share!

Also, password lockout all your computers!

ttyymmnn > McChiken116 - Patrick H.
08/05/2014 at 16:50

I replied to Ashish Walia that I would likely be just like them if I had had computers in my youth. The thing is, other kids come to our house to play computers, PS3, Wii, and I'm glad they are hanging out here rather than somewhere else. At the least, our home is a place where my kids want to be.

deekster_caddy > Crocket Bernet
08/05/2014 at 16:51

I want the self drying jacket! (and a hoverboard)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 16:52

Well into my early teens I cycled around for something to do because we preferred it to being sat in front of the TV. That wasn't even all that long ago (I'm only 20 now) but I guess it's a little different since I wasn't all that well off at that age.

ttyymmnn > deekster_caddy
08/05/2014 at 16:53

I've gotten away from it of late, but for a while, I would lock each of the computers with a different passcode, and to get the login they had to answer a math or geography problem. I think they actually enjoyed it. We turn off all the computers—games, youtube, etc—during the school week. Before doing that, they rushed through their homework to get to the keyboard. Now they have to find things to do, and one of my boys actually thanked me for the restriction, saying he was having fun playing outside with his friends.

Brian Silvestro > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/
08/05/2014 at 16:53

It can also be said that the digital sea is a major part of modern society.

FKA-RacecaR > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 16:56

I am so glad my girls only hop onto their iPads when it is late and they are winding down for the day. But even then, it is limited. For punishments, we take away bikes and outside time. But they are still young. I am sure it will change as they get older...unfortunately.

Svend > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 16:57

You know when your getting old when you say stuff like 'when I was your age', the next ones are 'I remember when all this was fields' and when you start making involuntary noises like sighs when you sit down or just before your about stand up or think red cotton socks with leather sandles are a good idea.

ttyymmnn > Svend
08/05/2014 at 16:58

Just the other day, as I groaned while sitting down, I said to my son, "You know you're getting old when you can't sit down without making noise." I have a feeling that people have been saying, "When I was your age...." since the Garden of Eden.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > 505Turbeaux
08/05/2014 at 17:01

that's awesome man.

And join them - go geocaching! It's fun!

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 17:04

well, that's not exactly the proper way to do it. you are supposed to be stealthy so that non-geocachers don't know what you're doing.

The good news is they are freaking EVERYWHERE. in major down towns, middle of no where parks and trails even right down the street from your house.

There's millions of them, there's one on all 7 continents (yes, including Antarctica) and one on the International Space Station, though the GPS coordinates for that seem a bit off...

you can do it for free with any android cell phone (i don't know if this particular app is on iphone) with the app c:geo after making an account at geocaching.com or you can pay 10 bucks for the official app on either iphone or android.

Let me know if you have any questions or need any advice on getting started!

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Crocket Bernet
08/05/2014 at 17:11

Supposedly Nike is actually going to do that next year. I read it once like last year.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Brian Silvestro
08/05/2014 at 17:13

I cannot argue against it being a major part of our society. I will however say that as our society continues on this digital trend; we slip farther and farther away from the analog, or the "real" in this world...creating a new (false?) reality.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 17:13

I kind of do both, I've got a bike, with a damaged rear bearing, and I'll sit on the computer until I get bored and either bike or go swimming.

Brian Silvestro > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/
08/05/2014 at 17:14

Damn, if I wasn't on mobile right now I'd have a very constructive and intelligent argument with you.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Brian Silvestro
08/05/2014 at 17:19

Haha...another time then.

Brian Silvestro > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/
08/05/2014 at 17:20

SOON

Racescort666 > jariten1781
08/05/2014 at 17:21

For my job, without the internet, it essentially is the stone age. I'm a millenial technically and we've got plenty of people that have been in the business for a long time but if our internet goes out, we're dead in the water. It probably doesn't help that we have voice over IP and our phones go out too if we lose internet.

Even the guys that are in their 40s talk like "I don't know how we did it before."

McChiken116 - Patrick H. > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 17:22

That's a very good attitude. And that means you are the cool dad if they are all coming over to your place

YSI-what can brown do for you > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 17:30

Turns out your kid is wrong. He was in the present. This is the present should be the correct answer.

ttyymmnn > YSI-what can brown do for you
08/05/2014 at 17:38

It goes to what Obi Wan said: "What I told you is the truth, from a certain point of view." Present, past, it all depends on your point of view.

ttyymmnn > McChiken116 - Patrick H.
08/05/2014 at 17:39

Maybe. What it really means is that we have lots of cool computer shit at our place.

YSI-what can brown do for you > ttyymmnn
08/05/2014 at 17:40

Well we are in the present for only a tiny amount of time. Most our lives are in the past, and in the future.

Dusty Ventures > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
08/05/2014 at 17:42

There's a free "lite" version of the Geocaching app for iPhone. It's been sufficient for me so far, but I'm planning on becoming more active with my Geocaching in August and September, so I may go ahead and splurge. And you're right, caches are everywere!

jariten1781 > Racescort666
08/05/2014 at 17:43

Yeah, my workplace has been chained to the internet since I got here 5 years ago. It was such a breath of fresh air when it went out for a few weeks a couple months ago. A lot o people were totally lost and provided no productivity during that time, but my unit was on the ball. We would meet up on Mondays then get on planes and head to the various facilities and just get shit done. It was so much more efficient than long email chains and telcons with WebEX or whatever. Sadly the return of the internet meant a return to the status quo. Oh well, that ship has sailed.

Dusty Ventures > cazzyodo
08/05/2014 at 17:44

I used to take the skidding an extra step. The back half of our driveway was lower than the front, so in winter water would pool and freeze there. I'd tear down the driveway, lock up the rear wheel, skid the bike, then intentionally lay it down on it's side and slide across the ice.

...I watched a lot of stuntman shows when I was little.

Racescort666 > jariten1781
08/05/2014 at 17:57

We can't really do that because we are in a remote office and we need to access data from our home office. Also, the software licenses are distributed by a license server so even if we had all if the data we needed, we wouldn't be able to run the software. It's not that we're chained to the internet, we literally need it to function day-to-day.

cazzyodo > Dusty Ventures
08/05/2014 at 23:29

I don't think much has changed outside of the vehicle of choice.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Dusty Ventures
08/06/2014 at 09:39

make sure you find 1 of each type in August, there are special souvenirs for the month of August! BTW I know quite a few people that do all their caching on an iPhone so you don't necessarily need to buy a nice GPS, we do all of ours on our Android phones and we've both found over 1,000.

1 each for a traditional, multi, event, virtual, puzzle, and earthcache. Then you get one for doing all those.

Where are you located again Dusty?

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > 505Turbeaux
08/06/2014 at 13:13

We just put in a basketball goal at our place. We have good friends just three doors down, with kids the same age as our three, and other kids of similar ages next door and nearby. Yesterday evening, we dropped the rim to 8', pulled out all the bikes and trikes, and had a great time. Only issue right now is that the little guy needs to be in bed by 8:00 and the older two a bit after that. Looking forward to when they've got enough hand-eye coordination so that we can pull out the ping-pong table when the wind is light.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ttyymmnn
08/06/2014 at 13:14

Nope. That was secret service training.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
08/06/2014 at 13:15

A thousand? Wow!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Racescort666
08/06/2014 at 13:17

With lots of paper and colored pencils at my office.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
08/06/2014 at 13:24

Record is 101 in one day lol, they were all .1 of a mile apart and easy to find on the side of the road, you have a driver and a runner for those. my actual number is 1,066 right now, my wife is over 1,100 (she started before me). We also did a challenge to complete our calendar grid, so at least one geocache on every calendar day of the year, we started on leap day so we filled all 366.

Our numbers will skyrocket once our 1.5 year old is old enough to participate. Where are you located? I have over 25 hidden in my town in Michigan.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
08/06/2014 at 13:42

Again, wow.

We've done some, but need to get back into it on a regular basis. Our kids are 7, 5 and 1.5, so the older ones are the perfect age for it. We live near Tulsa, OK.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
08/06/2014 at 13:47

after a quick geocaching.com search, there are some serious power trails down there! (thats what we refer to one of those every .10 of a mile strings).

We've been a bit less active since the baby came along. We were just at the Mega Event MidwestGeobash in Ohio a week and a half ago, which is a blast and had 25 caches available for us. Including a night cache, find one in your area and get a babysitter, they're a blast. (you have to follow hunter's fire tacks through the woods to find it!)

505Turbeaux > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
08/06/2014 at 14:05

nice! Yeah mine still go to bed at 7:30, at 2 and 5 years old! They sure do like baseball, havent tried basketball with them yet. Happier kids, happier parents though

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > 505Turbeaux
08/06/2014 at 14:48

My daughter would probably have better mornings if she went to bed when our little one did - ha! My wife works 30 hours per week now, so they don't have to leave the house until 8:00, which it nice (I leave at 7:00). We haven't started baseball with them yet, other than in the yard - they both have a few seasons of soccer under their belts, and I coached my oldest in basketball the last two years, and our 5-year-old will start this year. Tired kids = happy parents. =)

505Turbeaux > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
08/06/2014 at 14:51

yeah we are split but friends. My ex works tues-friday so it is a little weird. 7:30-6:30 is typical since a year old for both of them, anything later and it gets hairy :)

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > 505Turbeaux
08/06/2014 at 15:14

I'd stick with that 7:30 bedtime for as long as you can - that's 3 whole hours of your own time after they're asleep!

505Turbeaux > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
08/06/2014 at 15:29

yep, that's beer:30 for me :)

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > 505Turbeaux
08/06/2014 at 15:43

Kinja'd!!!