Rabbit Ears

When did antennas go away?

When I was a kid, I had a set of walkie-talkies that allowed me to talk with Herbert the Pervert from a distance of nearly 100 yards away. We thought it was really cool, even though the device was the size and weight of an adobe brick, and the antenna was 18 inches long. Most of our conversations went something like this:

Terry: I'm beside the Dotzour's house. Where are you? Over.
Herbie: Crackle mmph click zzzz.
Terry: What did you say? Over.
Herbie: I'm under the ghhkcz in my back yard. Over.
Terry: OK, I'll come over to your house, so we can play with your Vacu-Form. Over and out.

Nowadays, kids speak across intercontinental distances with less static, and without having to hold down the transmit button. And much of that amazing capability is enabled by cell phone towers.

The interesting thing about cell phone towers is that they brought the neighborhood clock back from extinction. Bank branches used to be the providers of local time knowledge...but as lighted chrono-signage faded from use, it became unusual to see the time of day prominently displayed anywhere in public. But then they started building clock towers all over the place. Well, OK...they built towers to house cell relay technology, and disguised them with clocks. My question is this: Since those "clock" towers represent the cutting edge in digital technology...why are all the clocks analog?

I'm guessing it's an aesthetic homage to days of old -- when clock towers represented the center of civilization. What do you think? And while you're pondering that question, take a stab at this one: Which of the clocks above is more recognizable to today's population? Big Ben or Hill Valley? And what does that say about our culture?

Geez, I'm deep today, aren't I?

If I had more time, I'd delve into the topic of change a little more thoroughly, but I have to keep this short today. In a future post, though, I'd like to discuss "Things that were common, but have now completely gone away and aren't recognizable to modern people."

An example of this would be the "icebox". When I was young, it puzzled me that my grandma always called the fridge an icebox...but it wasn't until several years later that I learned that in the pre-freon days, she actually kept stuff cool by loading a large insulated box with purchased ice. A dude from the icehouse came around regularly to deliver large blocks of frozen water to provide this cooling effect. How many kids today know about that?

Will the microwave eventually dissolve all memories of popcorn "air poppers"? I'm pretty sure that very few people remember cooking hot dogs by jamming them onto exposed electrodes and running a high-voltage current through them.

On the other hand, everybody still knows what a buggy is. Same with spurs. And blunderbusses. Lots of obsolete technologies remain in the public consciousness.

But like I said; that's a topic for another day. The most important announcement I have for today is that I'm back in the pool! My ear seems to be completely healed, and I've started swimming again. I'm slow and out of shape, but the comeback has begun. Yea!

The other good news is that after today, we won't have to listen to any more maddening political ads for a while. Though I fear the possibility of further American decline over the next four years, at least I won't have to listen all the lies and distortions that have poisoned the airwaves for the last few months. Ugh.

But I know the real question you're asking is this: If I could pick anyone to run this country, who would it be? Captains Kirk and Picard are the obvious answers of course, but what if they weren't available? Well, I guess I'd have to go with Captain Pike, then, wouldn't I?

Which brings us to today's puzzle. What's the common element among these images?



Don't overthink it. It's not that complicated. In fact, I'll even make it easier by giving you one more hint with the graphic below.

How about that for making it obvious?

I do have some other good challenges in mind, but the week has become busy, so we'll have to see what time will permit. Thanksgiving is approaching rapidly, along with both my dad's and my son's birthdays, as well as a swim team party, an office party, and a bunch of other proposals to work. And that all has to fit in with trying to get back in shape now that I have no restrictions on my exercise. It looks to be a whirlwind season, chock full o' fun, activity, and social opportunities. I'm looking forward to it!

But I guess I'd better get going. Have a great day!