1801.25 ALWAYS WANTED - NEVER GOT

Sometimes we look back and remember the things that we really wanted when we were younger but never got.

1702.12 SUNDAYS USED TO BE SPECIAL

When I was a child Sundays used to be a time you spent with your family, TV was rubbish and it was illegal for shops to open (although some did so illegally). So what did we do? Well I used to visit my grandparents, Sunday dinner was mandatory and I remember listening to the radio quite a bit. I'm not from a religious background but I felt Sundays were a special day.

1612.03 OUR SONG

A lot of couples have a song. A song is a particular tune that reminds you of each other and the love you share together. Many people choose a song that they think reflects what that have but I am a firm believer that the song chooses you. That's what happened for us.

1609.11 THE PHONE BOOK

Does anyone remember life before mobile phones, Google and social media? A time when if you needed to contact someone you picked up the corded phone and dialed, but not for too long because it was expensive.

If you need to look someone up back then you used the phone book. It was the Facebook of the day. If you needed to find a business or particular service you used the Yellow Pages™ instead of Google.

The reason I mention it was this...

20th century Facebook 

What the hell happened? Firstly I didn't know they still printed these. Secondly have you noticed how small it is? It's a pamphlet. These books used to be MASSIVE! This was posted through my letter box, there's no way the old ones would go through the door.

Is there still a Yellow Pages™? Is it similar sized (I know they have an app these days)?I know the takeaway section has declared independence and each ad comes through the door separately on an almost hourly basis.

Younger people are quite shocked when they realise how the 20th century person communicated and had to look up facts in books (sometimes meaning a trip to the library). It's always good to stop and look at how things have changed. 

1606.28 REMEMBER MSN

From time to time I get asked to fix / work out / play with technology for my friends and family. This week I was asked to give the 'kiss of life' to an aging laptop that belongs to a friend's mother. I got the old machine to boot up and noticed it still had old MSN Messenger on it. That got me reminiscing...

I've had computers since I was 13 years old but didn't connect to the internet until the early 2000s. Some of the first things I did when I got online was; start a blog, learn how to build a simple webpage, use MSN.

The wondrous world of text chatting to your mates (SMS texting was about but at 10p a message was restricted) and if you were lucky viewing them on a dark fuzzy image  if they had a webcam. This was the world of 56K dial up where you couldn't use your landline at the same time as being online. Also our PC was in the dining room so being online, whilst being digitally social was anti-social because you were away from the rest of the family.

I remember finishing a late shift and arriving home at 1am only to jump on the PC and chat away with everyone I'd just seen at work. These sessions could go on for hours with multiple conversations and group chatting.

Far cry from now with WhatsApp and the like in your hand on your mobile practically wherever you go. Always on internet and never being online. Is this a good or a bad thing though?