A moment of silence for my remote

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Discussion Overview

The thread revolves around the humorous lamentation of a broken TV remote control, exploring themes of nostalgia, generational differences in technology, and the cultural significance of remotes in modern life. Participants share their experiences and opinions related to the use of remotes and the past practices of manually changing channels.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses sadness over the loss of their remote, attributing it with a heroic history.
  • Several participants empathize with the inconvenience of manually changing channels, indicating a shared understanding of the struggle.
  • Some comments reflect a humorous critique of modern TV habits, suggesting that reliance on remotes has contributed to societal issues like obesity and poor reading skills.
  • Another participant proposes a fantastical idea of integrating the remote's remains into a cyborg body for enhanced control over TVs.
  • Multiple participants engage in playful banter about the past, reminiscing about the challenges of using older TV technology, including dials and antennas.
  • There are conflicting views on the value and respect owed to remotes, with some participants jokingly dismissing their significance while others defend their worth.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share a humorous perspective on the topic, but there are competing views regarding the significance of remotes and the implications of their use. The discussion remains light-hearted and unresolved regarding the deeper societal critiques presented.

Contextual Notes

Some statements reflect nostalgia and exaggeration, and there is a playful tone that may obscure serious critiques. The discussion includes a mix of personal anecdotes and speculative ideas without clear resolutions.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in cultural commentary, generational technology differences, or humorous takes on everyday inconveniences may find this discussion engaging.

Pengwuino
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Today is a sad say indeed. The remote control to my TV has stopped working. New batteries did not solve the problem and I hear it has passed on. It served many years as my top remote. After receiving multiple awards for its bravery in the face of infomercials, it went on 3 tours of duty in Iraq and 2 tours of duty on the History Channel. May it rest in pieces.
 
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oh, god! manually changing the channel! I feel your pain :frown: :cry:
 
That sucks! :cry:
 
Finally proof that TV turns your brain to mush.
 
Smurf said:
Finally proof that TV turns your brain to mush.

Show some respect!
 
Pengwuino said:
Show some respect!
**** the remote
 
Evo, please ban Smurf. What kinda person comes and displays his biggotry at a funeral :cry: :cry: :cry:
 
Remotes Arn't People! They're Not Our Equals! They Exist Only To Serve The White Man!
 
Smurf said:
Remotes Arn't People! They're Not Our Equals! They Exist Only To Serve The White Man!

You can't say that! Remotes deserve every right white people deserve!

*marches on Selma*
 
  • #10
Remote? What do you need a remote for? You just get up and turn the dials on the TV, don't you? Oh, and while you're up, can you adjust the rabbit ears too? Wait, wait! Right there, don't move, just keep holding the antenna like that. :biggrin:
 
  • #11
Moonbear said:
Remote? What do you need a remote for? You just get up and turn the dials on the TV, don't you? Oh, and while you're up, can you adjust the rabbit ears too? Wait, wait! Right there, don't move, just keep holding the antenna like that. :biggrin:
Aha! Proof that MB uses a remote! She's been using a remote for so long she doesn't know that tv's don't have dials or rabbit ears any more! :biggrin:
 
  • #12
my TV doesn't have pause, rewind, skip, etc buttons...along with around 99,000 buttons which are on the remote controlI might even use them someday, if I watch tv(I only watch about 3 series...should change once the new season of Scrubs begins!)
 
  • #13
Evo said:
Aha! Proof that MB uses a remote! She's been using a remote for so long she doesn't know that tv's don't have dials or rabbit ears any more! :biggrin:
:smile: You don't believe that even I could still have a TV that old, huh?

I guess they don't make remotes like they used to. :frown: I have a TV that must be about 15 years old and the remote still works just fine. Moose would be happy to know that the remote on that one just has the power button, the numbers 0-9, channel up/down buttons, volume up/down buttons and a mute button. Nothing else.
 
  • #14
yomamma said:
oh, god! manually changing the channel! I feel your pain :frown: :cry:
Geez, in my day, we had to walk all way across the room when we wanted to change the channel ... even in the winter!

Of couse, we never had to change the channel from 237 to 5. :frown:
 
  • #15
BobG said:
Geez, in my day, we had to walk all way across the room when we wanted to change the channel ... even in the winter!

Of couse, we never had to change the channel from 237 to 5. :frown:
Oh, but if you wanted to watch something in the UHF stations (anything higher than channel 13 for you young'uns), it was double the work to have to turn TWO dials!

[crazy idea alert]Hey, maybe that explains both the obesity epidemic and the increase in ADD/ADHD among children! Kids don't get their exercise getting up to change stations, and don't learn at a young age to just sit and watch one station because they don't feel like getting up to change it. Oh, and they don't have to learn to share and get along with others, because everyone has their own TV, so no racing to the TV dial to get "dibs" on the channel to watch, only to have mom or dad override that decision anyway. And and and...if they aren't fighting over channels on just one TV, there are fewer incidences of dad wandering in and shouting "Enough already! I'm turning it off and it's staying OFF; go read a book instead." See, now we can blame remotes and multiple TVs for poor reading skills. Yes, I see it all now, we can blame everything on that darned remote control. We must BAN remote controls now! They're destroying our society and screwing up our children! Muwahahahahahaha! :devil: [/crazy idea alert]
 
  • #16
Please donate your remote's organs to the Cefarix One Person Cyborg Amalgamation Division. I will integrate the remote's remains into my existing cyborg body so I can control TVs without needing a remote. I may also be able to communicate your remote's thoughts and feelings back to you, even let you engage with a conversation with it, if am able to access an undamaged memory cell.
 
  • #17
I heart Nicholas Tesla.
 
  • #18
BobG said:
Geez, in my day, we had to walk all way across the room when we wanted to change the channel ... even in the winter!

Yeah, and we had to walk uphill to the TV. Both ways! And we didn't have color TV. We didn't even have black and white TV. We just had black and black TV. Couldn't even tell the difference between I Love Lucy and Dick Van Dyke. And you kids today with your stereo TV? We didn't even have mono. No, we listened to shows in Morse code! And we liked it. No, we LOVED it. We used to sit around and say, "Boy Ed Sullivan sure was funny last night. Especially that one line, 'Dot dot dash dot dash dash dash dot dot' Ha!"

Hrmph. Spoiled kids.
 
  • #19
Tom Mattson said:
Yeah, and we had to walk uphill to the TV. Both ways!
Yeah, it was tough living in houses built before levels were invented. :smile:
And we didn't have color TV. We didn't even have black and white TV. We just had black and black TV. Couldn't even tell the difference between I Love Lucy and Dick Van Dyke. And you kids today with your stereo TV? We didn't even have mono. No, we listened to shows in Morse code! And we liked it. No, we LOVED it. We used to sit around and say, "Boy Ed Sullivan sure was funny last night. Especially that one line, 'Dot dot dash dot dash dash dash dot dot' Ha!"

Hrmph. Spoiled kids.

:smile: :smile: :smile: Ah, that was a great episode of Ed Sullivan. :approve:
 
  • #20
Moonbear said:
Ah, that was a great episode of Ed Sullivan. :approve:
Wasn't that the same one where Topo Gigio's tail got caught in the record player and it centerfuged his brain out through his ears?
 
  • #21
Tom Mattson said:
Yeah, and we had to walk uphill to the TV. Both ways! And we didn't have color TV. We didn't even have black and white TV. We just had black and black TV. Couldn't even tell the difference between I Love Lucy and Dick Van Dyke. And you kids today with your stereo TV? We didn't even have mono. No, we listened to shows in Morse code! And we liked it. No, we LOVED it. We used to sit around and say, "Boy Ed Sullivan sure was funny last night. Especially that one line, 'Dot dot dash dot dash dash dash dot dot' Ha!"

Hrmph. Spoiled kids.

:smile: :smile: :smile:
 
  • #22
Does anyone remember climbing up on the roof to turn the antennae to get a better picture? Ahh those were the days. I fell off of the roof twice, but it was worth it.:biggrin:
 

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