49 f here. I have a degree in English Lit and try and dress like a Ralph Lauren/St. John catalog. I use "dude" all the time to this day.

I wouldn't use it in a professional environment, but definitely use it when talking within my close social circle.

"Dude" just fits so many situations perfectly.

Dude??= are you nuts?

Dude!!!= its been 10 years since we last met.

Dude...=Two cars collide right in front of you. Everyone in the vehicles gets out safely and then both cars explode.

Edit: Dude, you guys fucking rock.

Folks, I'll preface this by saying I have a background in science. I've always laughed at the conspiracy theorists hollering about "VaCcInEs ArEn'T sAfE!". Well, maybe this isn't the experience of everyone, but something has changed. I'm afraid my opinion of the shingles vaccines effects have changed. I didn't know this was going to happen, and I'm not sure I'm happy about it.

I got my first dose late last year. Slightly sore arm for a few days, a mild fever for about 24 hours, then back to normal. Then, I started noticing something was....off. Things like sitting my my dining table, I noticed I wasn't starring at my phone, but instead at the bird feeder on my deck. I was noticing the different species visiting, their behavior, calls, what seeds they do/don't like, looking up birds from the area to ID them. I've never paid that much attention to these things before.

I've also started losing interest in gaming, which has been a steady part of my life since the good ole NES. I'm not excited about the new games anymore. There is one that I'm pinning my hopes on, that somehow it will revitalize my desire to frag opponents, but it isn't even out yet. I'm hoping it releases soon, as my hope is diminishing. All I can think about is how to cut the angles on the wood project I'm building.

Instead of going to dive bars and late night music shows, I'm going to art and historical museums. What?!?!?! I still have stoner rock blaring in my workshop, but I don't want to go put up with people, ESPECIALLY if I have to stay out past 9pm. I get grumpy. I can't stop thinking about how early I'm getting up to...go to the gym.

Monday I got my second dose. TODAY I found myself walking the dog with the Merlin Bird ID app open, identifying different birds by their calls, and finding my daily bird. TONIGHT I was at an art museum for an opening, sipping wine, talking about pottery, then declaring that I'm tired by 6:45pm.

Be careful, people. You don't know how this shot is going to affect you. I didn't ask to become fascinated with Red Breasted Grosbeaks, or the differences between Fish Crows and American Crows. And no, I'm not sure if I like oil or acrylic painting better. Depends on the artist and subject matter, I guess. I'm gonna take my vitamins and get ready for bed here shortly. Y'all stay safe.

Just said this to the wife a minute ago. Anyone else still use this?

It’s not treasure. You’re not a dragon. Get rid of it.

Over the last few months I’ve been purging my stored garbage. Cheap, broken crap I intended to fix but never did, a small library of WAY outdated and obsolete html and coding books from ‘98-‘04, lamps, chairs and assorted furniture that I will NEVER use again. It’s been glorious. My storage has space to move in again. I can find and get things I need easily now instead of digging and playing curse-laden debris reverse Tetris. And with storage freed up I’ve freed space in my work area for things I actually need and want. Another bonus is if things are less cluttered, it’s easier to clean. Seriously, do some soul searching and make some hard (at the time) decisions. The things I hesitated most about I do not miss in the slightest.

This did not come from listening to a self-help guru or some rando on Reddit. It came from exasperation of not being able to find anything and being fed up. So I did it. Still have (maybe literal) tons to do. It’s worth it. Get rid of it. You don’t need it.

Do we just reach a point where we’re done learning new technologies?

I'm sitting at work and younger guy a few workstations down was wanting to order a pizza from the place across the street. Was complaining about the fees on the website or the app..... fees plus tip was going to double the cost of the pizza.

I finally lean around the wall and say, "we are literally sitting in a room with about 150 devices that can make phone calls. Call them place your order..... wait 10 minutes, walk across the street, pick up your food, walk back to work.... you'll be gone 10 minutes and will save your fees."

I'm not sure if the look he gave me was "I'm an idiot for not thinking of that myself" or "You're a genius for thinking of that".

The kid was either young millennial or older Gen Z........ JFC.... just figure it out kid!

Wife and I were leaving town for three weeks and this time of year the grass grows like crazy in my neck of the woods, so I thought I'd hire a teenager to mow a few times while we were away. After all, I'm sure many of us mowed lawns in our teenage years for a few extra bucks. Heck, I would drag a lawn mower around the neighborhood and knock on doors.

Anyway, I reached out to a 45 yo friend who coaches soccer for male teenagers cuz certainly there would be at least one young man mowing lawns to hustle a few extra bucks, right? Right!?

NOPE!! My friend says, "Mowing lawns is far too dangerous for teenagers! You'd be surprised how many devasting injuries young people suffer each year working with dangerous equipment! You need to hire an adult who's professionally trained for such work!"

Sometimes the world feels so completely foreign to me....

They can put all the cameras, sensors, and directional guide lines they want but I'll use old reliable eye 1 and eye 2 every time.

The moment has finally come, what we’ve been waiting for our entire lives. This is our time to shine.

Who else is totally fed up with video explanations/instructions instead of actually having words to read? I was looking for marketing tools for my industry and, at this point, I'd take an inane listcicle over a video.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk. Now get off my lawn.

I never understood people who just stayed home. I loved getting out and exploring. Now, I want to just sit on my deck with a book. Anyone else saying “Whatever” to the stressful driving and crowds?

I get that it’s 2025 and that MTV isn’t culturally relevant anymore, but out of curiosity I just looked up the schedule to see what they’re airing these days, even though I haven’t watched MTV in almost 25 years. Man, I had no idea how far they’d fallen. For example …

This Monday: From midnight to 3 p.m., 28 episodes of “Ridiculousness” (interrupted only by one hour of music videos from 3 to 4 a.m.), followed by eight consecutive episodes of “The Big Bang Theory,” then the movies “50 First Dates” and “Bring It On,” with the day ending with another showing of “50 First Dates.”

Tuesday begins with another showing of “Bring It On,” followed by 30 consecutive episodes of “Ridiculousness,” and the day concludes with episodes of “Love And Hip Hop: Atlanta” and something called “Caught In The Act.”

Wednesday is “Caught In The Act” from midnight to 3 a.m., then 42 consecutive episodes of “Ridiculousness.”

This makes me sad. I don’t understand how a station with this lineup can even exist, or how anyone working there has a job. How long has it been this bad? Ten years? Twenty? You’d think if nothing else they could pivot to an ‘80s/‘90s cultural nostalgia network, or try to do something with all the content they must have the rights to.

So, what kind of ride did you have in High School? I’ll start. (83 to 87)

I had a yellow 79 Monte Carlo with a 305 and a four barrel. I loved that car so much! Such a smooth ride and plenty of room for me and 5 friends.

Come to think of it, I miss bench seats, it was amazing to have your significant other sitting right next to you, not center console was amazing.

Stock image for reference:

Linked In seems to embody the enshittification of the internet, the terrible state of employment for older workers, along with the complete and utter disingenuous nature of social media.

...and holy shit people just do whatever the fuck they want now. Woman next to us was scrolling TicTok the entire movie while her date watched the movie. Guy on our row took two, long phone calls at full volume. Someone behind us was vaping weed. Employees walked by during some of this and obviously give no shits. Hugged my home theater equipment when I came home. Never leaving home again for a movie unless I have to.

Most of us are not gonna retire. There is not enough money saved and cost of living is sky rocketing. What money we do save will go to some memory care unit at a facility that is run by venture capitalists where only the minimum standards are met. Or we burden our family with our activities of daily living so they feel relief when we are gone. We may retire with a fixed income and feel resentful for the unfairness of our lives. Some are filled with dread because of the perceived lack of safety in our community. We may feel overwhelmed as surrogate caregivers to our family and friends. So enjoy the moment since all we control is now

I have only heard about it but it finally happened to me. Today I was at a fall festival and went over to the face painting tent. A lady was making balloon animals and I was standing next to a young father and his kid.

I looked at the dad and asked him what she was making just trying to make small talk and he just stared at me. No guesses, no “I don’t know”, just a mouth breathing stare like I was an alien from outer space.

It was so awkward I tried saying something else to get some small talk going and he just kept staring at me. I swear it was the most uncomfortable feeling haha. The Gen Z stare is weird y’all.

Even though we were often told to be seen and not heard, I think we might be the last generation that really felt connected to our elders and oddly enough, it’s because we didn’t have today’s technology.

We grew up on reruns of our parents’ and sometimes grandparents’ shows, which naturally introduced us to their music, slang, humor, and cultural references. Since the explosion of 24 hour cable, most content people watch is brand new, and that shared cultural bridge feels mostly gone. Good night, Gracie.

Please tell me you relate or can offer sympathy if not empathy. I’m in my late 50s. I manage a staff of 16 that includes people from every generation. I’m really frustrated with a couple of millennials right now. When we were coming up in our careers (and how we were expected to act with our parents), we were expected to conform to and respect our supervisors and leaders. I’ve tried to be a transparent, kind and supportive leader. I have a strong work ethic but I don’t expect others to feel that way about work. The millennials feel quite free to offer “feedback” outside their expertise, feel free to emote all over the place, and I’m told (by them) that I should validate feelings more extensively than I already do. When was it our turn? First I answered to Boomers, and now I’m answering to millennials. I’m a nice person but seriously, can’t we just do our jobs and spend less time validating everyone’s every feeling?

I grew up on a farm and so I started driving at the age of nine. I learned how to drive a stick on a 1949 US Navy Jeep (of which I still own) at 13.

I'd imagine the vast majority of us can handle a stick, but there's probably some of y'all that cannot. And I'd imagine any non Gen-X lurkers in here can't either.

Who else only uses full sentences with punctuation when texting? I can use & understand the text slang I just never use it. My kids tease me for hating the stupid thumbs up emoji and absolutely refusing to use it.

Could be either a classmate, a friend of a friend, a fellow girl scout troop member, a fellow congregant, maybe a parent’s friend or coworker.

It’s been a hot minute since the Valdez spilled 10 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound. But I’ll still get gas anywhere else if available, even though none of them are any better.

Was in the airport the other day and grabbed a bag of Chex mix, was immediately pissed and disappointed. Came home, when to the store, and purchased all the ingredients to build myself a snack Time Machine to travel back to the 1980s.

What snacks, food etc. are you folks forced to make now because it has cheapened to the point you are angry enough to just make it yourself?