Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Before the Internet???

Homework assignment I chose from Mamas Losing It - a rather intriguing one. What did I do before I had the internet ... At first, I had a tough time remembering what I did before this moment ... I mean, I didn't even have the internet (well, at least not to a great extent) in college, and actually had to WALK INTO A LIBRARY AND FIND BOOKS TO DO RESEARCH FOR PROJECTS! Yes, I know, that makes me about as old as Methuselah ...

But in thinking more about this, there was indeed a time before the internet, and I actually was able to keep myself occupied ... but, how? Well, one for one, I read a lot more books ... now, I still read books, but much less frequently ... and, for the record, I do a lot of reading on websites, but this type of reading is quite different than reading a novel ... at least, I think it is, right?

I also, believe it or not, played more video games. Whether it was playing on the Atari 2600, Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, Sega Genesis, or other systems, I was a true early gamer. I still play some video games, but I'm by no means a gamer anymore. I can't invest the 4-8 hours a day required to be a true gamer of the 21st century. I don't have the time, nor the patience anymore. I need to be able to pick up a game, play it for 1/2 an hour or less nowadays. Maybe this is partly due to the internet, but probably more likely because I have a job, a house, and a life.

I used to also play sports a lot back in the day - whether it was through club leagues, or just fooling around with a few friends. I played soccer, hockey, baseball, basketball, tennis, and even golf. I still watch a lot of these sports, but rarely do I get to play them anymore (and it sucks!). I also spent more time at bars back in the day - that's what guys in their early 20's did ... I think.

That being said, I'm not at all disappointed that I have the internet. Think about it, we have all of this great information at our fingertips. Plus, we can stay in touch with a lot more friends a lot easier (espeically with blogging and facebook). Count me as one who loves the internet!

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

nice, what kind of books? My favorite author right now is Matthew Reilly

Los said...

You'd laugh if I told you - I was into Stephen King for a while, but then I mostly read books on/by comedians, wrestlers, or books about the JFK assassination.

Melissa said...

I used to love the Super NES...Super Mario Brothers, all the way!!! Oh, those were the days; things were so simple!! :)

Emily said...

I picked this prompt also- great minds think alike.

I remember using "BOOKS" to do research papers! *sigh*

Casey's trio said...

So funny, I wrote on the same topic. I'm So glad we have the internet, but my list made me sound like a lazy person!

jori-o said...

Yeah, I justify my "reading" online too...=)

Heff said...

I'm with Melissa. I use to LOVE the old console game systems. Sega Genesis was one of my favs. BUTT !! Thanks to the internet, I've pirated ALL of those game roms from the classic consoles and coin op machines of the Golden Era of video gaming, so I do have to give props to the 'net.

Ink and Stone said...

Old as Methusalah, huh? And yet, Methusalah still has more hair... ;-P

Good write up, Los!

Rhonda said...

I wrote on this one too! I thought more would....hmmm. Perhaps I'm one of the old ones and the younger honestly CANNOT remember a time when their was no internet.

Basically, what it boils down to is, before the internet, we used to DO more. Really DO stuff. I enjoy my time spent also, but I also wish I could have my cake and eat it too.

Angie said...

I'm glad we have the internet too.

BTW, that bacon looks really yummy!

:0)

~angie~

Brandy said...

We may have actually had to do stuff but our lives are SOOOOOO much more convienant now .... just think our kids will NEVER know what its like to NOT have the internet or a computer in thier classroom or thier bedrooms. I wonder if they will even know how to write using a pencil or just be able to type by the time my youngest finishes school.

Jennifer P. said...

I think I kind of, sort of remember doing that stuff too---especially the GOING to the library thing! When I go into the campus library today you can actually SEE the tumbleweeds blowing through that place.....except for all the people on the computers accessing the internet!

The first Legend of Zelda on Nintendo was the best :)!

Weeksie50 said...

Oh, I still love me some old school Mario Brothers and even older Atari Pitfall.

I am also an avid reader still to this day and I have many authors that I love..

But one thing that I hated was trying to reword the books that I was researching for term papers and such...Research stunk back in the day..lol.

Lex the mom said...

You should get back into Stephen King - the last story I read by him was Duma Key. Excellent story. I read a lot less than I used - books, that is.

Your life sounds similar to my own before the internet. We didn't even discover it until 2001. We were late bloomers.

I can't imagine using books for research anymore because so much information is at our finger tips. Great post.

jenn said...

I'm glad for the internet. I think I got more sleep before I had it though. Aww, who am I kidding? I never sleep. Haha.

Jeff said...

Thank you, Al Gore!

Sandi said...

Before the internet I actually got some work done at the office.

Superstar said...

LOL I can just see you w/ the shag carpet and the Atari pong and pizza bagels...heheheheh

I was a work-a-holic!!!

KatBouska said...

I was just talking about how I spent hours upon hours at the library.

Ridiculous.

How much of my life has been wasted because we did NOT have the internet??

A Godsend I tell you. A Godsend.

snowelf said...

I love the internet. I love the joy of on-line bill pay and anything you wonder about, you can just google it up and read about it. The chilis and I spent a whole afternoon watching caterpillars change into cocoons and then hatch into butterflies. It was great. I'm also convinced I would have zero close friends if I didn't have it--because we all communicate through the internet the most. And now I have so many places I can travel and know someone--it's great!! Even my parents and I IM each other throughout the day.

If I think about it, I mostly watched TV before I had the internet. Now I barely watch TV at all...

--snow

Angie said...

Atari ROCKS!!!!! :)

-B- said...

I remember using something called an encyclopedia at home to research info - it sucked! The Internet is wonderful, I just have to monitor my kids heavily when they are old enough to use it.
And thanks to the 'net we have all those classic console games back again - in emulated form. Not the same, but I'll take it!
Los, the term for us (from Retrogamingradio.com podcast) is "Geezer Gamers"!! I thought that was hilarious!