Things that ought to be archaic
 

Yellow Page (paper) phone books are my first choice of something that should go extinct...
.

checks

LL, I like my local phone book.

Monster, There is something very satisfing about writing a big check, and having it cash.

Well, writing a big check means a big chunck of your money will be gone. :right: And as for cashing a check, hmm....can't even remember how that feels.

Wing mirrors. They look so archaic. beautiful sleek car, all lovely lines and then....mirrors stuck on the side...talk about lo-tech.

I use my wing mirrors all the time. Shame more people don't...

ur weerd.

this is done. in Seattle, we are able to opt out.

Oh I know they're useful. It just seems odd that, all the high-tech stuff we do with cars, and we still see what's coming up alongside and behind with mirrors stuck out on the side.

human driving. seriously google and many universities have had sucess with fully self driving cars going on for years that haven't had an accident yet, the everage human driver can't say the same, not even the "safety drivers" which have being payed to sit behind the wheels of those cars for possible emergency cases and for liability, that throughout the last few years without having done a damn thing throughout the entire timeframe (lucky bastards).

i realize the price of a supercomputer in your car with laser scanners all around at this point in time is sort of steep, but they should at least be made avalible for those who can afford them, and insurance companies should accomedate the increased statistical safety.

We have one phone book which covers Business (A-Z), Business by type (builder, plumber, taxi etc) and Residential (A-Z)

We use it frequently.
MANY smaller businesses do not have their own website - especially fast food, mobile hairdressers, odd-job men, taxi firms etc.

And if you have a quick query for a shop "Are you open tomorrow?" it's much quicker to find the number and dial and talk to a human being, rather than logging on and going through multiple menus to find the Contact Us section.

And if it's an independent business you also get to ask relevant questions "Are you still doing that deal with the, you know, that pink top and the necklace thingy? Oh can you see if you still have it it size XXXXL? Can you put one aside for me?" or "Can we share a meal deal between five rather than four?" or "Can I bring it back now I've washed all the spoodge off it" or any number of imaginary conversations...

Much as I embrace living online, there is still a lot to be said about living IRL in a large town.

the words "IRL".

really, the stuff you buy online is less real?
do people who work online have less real incomes?
are the talents of content creators and designers and service providers of all kinds get devalued if they are using a mouse and a keyboard?
the relationships you have and communities you take part of have the disadvantages of long distance and the advantages of anonymity, but from my enecdotal exp breaking the physical distance doesn't change them that much because the level of consequance-less openness and comfort has already being established. affection is aweosme, but most non romantic relationships aren't using it when they don't have the physical distance anyway, and most relationships are non-romantic.

overall its another layer for your real life, and "IRL" makes for a pointless distinction.

I think you have mistaken my meaning.

By IRL I simply mean a face-to-face (or voice-to-voice) transaction.
Seeing and touching what I buy, interacting in real time with other people rather than waiting for a response - especially across time differences - trying on items of clothing or tasting food items are all added value. There are other values associated with internet purchases.

And I was referring to financial transactions only, not personal connections, so I agree with at least half of your post.

sorry for the miscommunication but i wasn't addressing what you meant or how you used it as much as i was just jumping on "IRL" to say its something that should be archaic...

regarding what you said, its a matter of big businesses vs. small businesses rather then online/offline.

talk to indevidual online contractors or small teams for whatever purpose and you'd get the same thing as you do in your town, and i can't tell you how many times living in a large cities in the US and canada i encountered "our computers don't allow us to do that" or "we can't do that" and i ended up with an annoyed "why the hell do they put people there if the one advantage they had - common sense - wasn't allowed to be used" line of thought, in real life.

I'm probably overly-narked at the moment because I've been locked out of my YouTube account and have no way of resolving it. Not banned or barred, it just doesn't recognise my password any more. If only I could TALK to someone! Drives me crazy as I've been a member there almost as long as here :(

FWIW I am currently planning a bra purchase that has to happen IRL [insert your preferred acronym]:)
Too many differences between sizes.
If I don't try it on I don't know if it will fit.
I go back to school on Wednesday and I don't have time to faff about with waiting for the post and still finding it doesn't fit. My only remaining white bra (essential for pale coloured tops) gave up the ghost this week.

When I say "the ghost", I mean it spat out the underwire from one cup.
The bra survives, but makes my boobies look a bit like this :eyebrow:

However when it comes to recipes, I doubt I will ever buy a book again.
Horses for courses x