Well said Gary, I would posit a technology that doesn't allow a veteran to attend a game, or deny a child a tactile remembrance of his first game is not very good technology at all.

Gary,

Glad to here you were able to make the game and everything worked out for you.

game
 

yes,
Glad it went well, I have some older family that has issues with new tech..and its tough

58 so I guess I’m an old man
No one hates talking on the phone more than me .
Oh but I’m glad to have a cell phone - I can take photos of crazy stuff I see on the farm - And if I get hurt it’s easier to crawl to the four wheeler call for help then it is the crawl to the house a mile away.

Stupid phones
 

It's not only the phones...it's these horseless carriages that go whizzing by my horse every day on my way to the market to pick up a zucchini and a lamb shank for my dinner. Scares the sh*t out of my horse, these Harley Davidsons and Teslas. Tonight, I barely made it home in time to work my Rubik's Cube before dinner prep. Luckily, I was able to chill out with my vinyl, which I got thirteen albums for a penny, from Columbia House, way back when. I'm a little tired of The Best of Bread, but I never get tired of my Best of Hot Tuna album. Where was I going with all of this? I don't remember. I think I'll have a Hamm's and try to think it through. It's from the Land of Sky Blue Water, after all.

I can relate
 

Well put! You sound like me about every other day. Not that good for a 62, almost 63, year old.

Unfortunately there's a growing push to move to a Digital Dollar here in the USA. Fight it with everything you have, as it's basically a financial surveillance tool monitored by the federal govt. It would cripple our hobby, in addition to many more serious evils...

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/inves...igital-dollar/

That's great!

I have mixed feeling about a cashless world. I am way more for it because it will greatly cut down on all the POS side hustles people do without paying taxes. I owned a small business and they are killing them because you can't compete price wise with some adult loser not paying taxes, insurance, and all the other things real businesses pay. It will greatly reduce the criminal aspect of our society.

I also have no delusions of grandeur so if someone wants to waste time spying on me good for them.

The real bad is having access to be able to use it. Going through this now.

I weirdly have and use all this new "cool" technology now and was one of the first in my area to have a cell phone. I also had internet before it was openly available to the public here. I just like the option of not having to use it.

End of my old man rant.:D

Exactly, this is why several communist countries have embraced digital currency. So you can be at their mercy. Nothing altruistic about it.


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Just as I don't want all these online companies to collect my personal information, I don't want government to know exactly how much money I have, where I have it, how I spend it, and etc.

I'm starting to see a new front in the connection between advancing technology and resistance to it being wrapped up in grand control conspiracies with this whole "cashless" thing.

This is a free market business thing, not a government thing. This is the free market telling you that they don't want to deal with hours of sorting/transporting/storing dirty paper and heavy coins. This is businesses telling you to tap your card and move on, not hold up lines with making change or writing checks.

This is literally businesses telling you what to do.

This is literally businesses tapping your purchases to your name/card.

This isn't a government control scheme. It's pure capitalism. 100% capitalism.

In a previous life I worked for a data harvesting and mining operation. They knew a LOT about anyone, whether they had a "rewards card" or not. Many would be surprised how easy it is to gather information and how much of it has already been gathered.

They use it to sell you things, not to elevate your importance to being a focus of a world-wide conspiracy.

They use it to save themselves money on postage and time not sending you offers that aren't targeted, not to find some secret information to take your family down and enslave you.

They notice you bought lumber, certain types of joists, and deck nails. Then they send you coupon for deck furniture a week later... We worked with Home Depot and Lowes maintaining their customer database. We worked with a crapton of other major corps.

So yeah, resist if you feel like it, but the strong arm of capitalism wants your data to flow easier so they can get ahead of the curve to market to you. The US government doesn't give a flip that you're buying coffee at Starbucks.

And then they get hacked and all that info ends up in the hands of people who use it to exploit.

I have 3 rental homes. A year ago, within about 4 months of each other, two of them informed me the company they were using to service those mortgages had been hacked, and my data were exposed. When I applied for those mortgages, I had to submit much more than just my address, contact info, SSN, employer, but also my assets. In two ionstances, the companies I got my original mortgaghes with sold my loan to another mortgage company. In both cases, those new mortgaghe companies then farmed out the servicing of those mortgages to yet another party. Not to mention, my homestead mortgage. So, I figure at least 5 mortgage companies have very sensitive information on me, and at least twice, a vendor they did business with fumbled it into the hands of thieves.

I have a master's degree in software engineering. I worked for years in the data warehouse dept. at Express Scripts, where we had, at one time, over a billion prescription claims records, along with referential data on the members, prescribers, pharmacies, drugs prescribed, and so on. I know something about data security, and I can tell you, between contractors working for us who had access, and older claim data we archived off our platforms to be stored with an outside vendor, it is nearly impossible to keep data completely secure.

It isn't a boogy-man argument to say that the less personal and financial data we are forced to reveal, the better.

I can personally say there was no safeguard to keep me from harvesting already-harvested data given the level of access I had.

Yes, I was a trusted employee, but I had direct access to client database(s) because we made the tools that mined that data. I could do anything and "cover" my tracks if needed. We've downloaded entire databases from clients (with permission) in order to locally sandbox huge rollouts. They trusted us to delete/destroy it afterwards. Though some back-end was universal, a chunk of it was custom to each client.

Anyone's desire to not be tracked, data harvested, etc...that's fine. It's very hard, but it's a very logical thing to want, from personal privacy to the point that your data is actually valuable (to a point) and if you want to monetize it rather than strangers that's legit.

I'm not saying not to worry about it or there's no risk, I'm just saying a lot of it is out there and it's businesses that badly want your data for themselves and to sell to others.

Besides that aspect, so much of this is being pushed by businesses so employees don't have to have cash registers coming up short, keeping cash on hand, having people who need to count/store/transport cash...etc...it's a business decision to streamline. This kind of stuff works hand-in-hand with kiosks replacing humans when ordering stuff at fast food places, etc etc...

We generally agree. I fully understand why companies and governments want to collect data on us. It benefits them. Power, manipulation, control. And as you additionally point out, the data don't need to be stolen - sometimes they're simply sold to other entities who are buying so as to be able to exert their influence upon us in some way.

But is what's good for companies and governments, good or bad, generally, for us?

I use nextdoor to keep current with the goings on in my neighborhood. Lost pets, finding a local plumber or excavator, where to see fireworks on certain holidays... For the past year or so, I get a pop-up asking for my birthday including year. I can see how my approximate age might help them target ads at me, but why do they want my birthday?

Last month I made an appointment for my annual physical. When I arrived at the receptionist desk, I told her my name and appointment time. She asked just one identifying question: May I have your birthday.

Over the past few months, when I go into a small convenience store or McDonalds or small dinner. I'll go to pay for what I bought or ordered for a meal. The person at the register will ask do I want my change back ? Like what the hell ? Umm ya, I do. Is this the new normal ?

Unfortunately it is a huge part of our(USA) tip culture. I have even been asked several times at non restaurant stores when paying with a CC if I want to add a tip with the touch screen display offering a few suggested amounts.

The growth in tip asks really has less to do with tip culture than sneaky profiteering. It came from the point of sale services and the addition of the iPad payment methods. Square and the other services purposefully added the tip option to all sales to get additional percentage revenue. They take a little bite out of every transaction as a processing fee and realized if they add tipping to each one they increased that take. It’s just another nibble just like PayPal fees.

I believe depending on the service contract stores have no option to remove the tip ask. Never feel guilty in a non-service transaction to say no is my belief.

old
 

yea, this tipping in situations where it was never done before is..annoying !

How about the other popular annoyance - having to pay for a " bag ",

It been a thing for years in grocery stores..but now paying for a bag at - the deli, the bakery, etc...

What a bunch of grumpy old farts! (even if you're young.) I worked for tips long enough in my younger days that I tip everybody if I'm pleased with what they've just done for me. If I've had my trees trimmed, I take some twenties and pass them out to the crew with a "lunch is on me, guys, thanks a bunch." I'm not a rich guy, but even for me it's so easy to put a buck or two or five in the tip jar and get a thank you and whatever I might need in return. I can't believe guys on here spending fortunes on cardboard begrudging these hard working people such a small gesture of thanks. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

But I need those 20s to feed my cardboard addiction...

How about this for old school: My favorite everyday beer is (Hams) from the land of the sky blue water. Also I still get and read the local newspaper every day, have a land line at home. And when I do text I use one finger (which gets me more guff than anything else). And I like cards that are approximately 2x my age.

I have spent countless hours perusing this web site, and toiled away, posting almost 2,000 times, yet the only tip I've ever received was: "Buy the card, not the slab."

Best tip ever for the true collector!

Do yourself a favor and pick up some good karma and good feelings to go along with your cardboard, you'll be glad you did!

I made many trips to San Francisco in the 1960s and 70s, and it was always a thrill to be greeted by the beautiful Hamm's sign in action on top of the hilltop brewery.

Don't make me think about beer! Apparently, today marks 1200 days, but who's counting?

(Actually, in all seriousness, it's been fine.)

As a lot of us used to be, I was a waiter back in the day. I worked for tips. I generally tip well for average service and better for better service. That all said, you have to admit that some of the point of sale "asking for tips" has gone over the top? Some guy hands me my food as I go through a line, then I pay someone else at the register...take all of my stuff and sit down and eat. And I am tipping those people for what? Because they handed me my food and took my money?

I think it's more because tip jars get split up between the front and the back these days. As you know, they work hard in an uncomfortable and stressful environment and I think of it as a "thank you" of a meaningful manner for the mostly young people who are providing something I'm going to enjoy. If I haven't enjoyed it for whatever reason, there's no tip. If I have, an extra couple of bucks on top of the $10 or $15 I'm spending anyway isn't going to break me. I must say that the knowledge that these (mostly) kids are now making a decent $15 or $20 an hour anyway has me wondering whether a tip is necessary anymore (other than your actual server, if you have one where you eat or drink, who is getting $2.33 an hour and lives on tips), but the reality hasn't changed that it makes me feel good, it's good for the economy, and I still remember what it felt like both to be rewarded with a nice tip and stiffed for no reason. I don't ever want to be the tight-ass who won't tip or won't tip much "on principle." Bullshit. If you have plenty of money for yourself and your family, spread some around to the working stiffs. Babe Ruth famously handed out twenty dollar bills to anybody who ever held a door for him, or hailed a cab. The Babe made a fortune in his day, sure, but we can all do what we can. I say be like Babe.

I don't mind paying for bags at the grocery store. Massachusetts passed the single use plastic bag law this year. At least there will be less plastic bags stuck in the high branches of trees around.

It gets even better as time passes. I remember when the island of Kauai (Hawaii) passed their plastic grocery bag ban in 2009-2010. The amount of plastic you didn't even notice because it was randomly "just there" gets to the point where a plastic bag out in the wild becomes something that sticks out.

Lot of free and low-cost reusable bags out there. Before the MLBPAA got stingy with their yearly renewals (not an ex player, just in it for 50% off mlbtv) they used to send out a rather nice sized reusable every year.

My starting tip is 20% then it goes up or down depending on the service.

I tip much more than I did 20 years ago I figure if someone’s willing to work and has a good attitude they deserve it .
Transgender boxer wins in 45 seconds at the Olympics .
I own one of the nicest examples of the earliest Hamms beer can (fall 1935)
I bought some chicken thighs at Walmart and the package was too big for the bags they had .

+1. It's amazing how little it takes in comparison to the total bill to bump it up even to 30% to let the server know that you recognize how good they--and the establishment--were.

Took my grandson to his 1st regular season MLB game and asked for a hard ticket. Was directed to fan services and he was given a button. I said it doesn't even have the date on it, so they wrote it on the back in sharpie. Later I contacted the office and ranted a little bit about how easy (and inexpensive) it would be to print out a little commemorative ticket or email something that could be printed out. He was sympathetic. He sounded like he was in his 30's and said he has the ticket to his first game and would bring it up as a suggestion to his team.

I WILL be following up after the season, lol. But he will never have a first game again.

And most days I haven't had more than $25 in my wallet since 2012. I have had to walk out of places that don't accept credit/debit many times. I know to hit the ATM if I want to get some Delco cheesesteaks. We can all adapt somewhat. :D

I still think it's crazy when businesses don't accept cash! Same thing with tickets. It wouldn't be difficult at all to make a ticket that can be printed out at home....

True, but that opens up another can of worms. Ticket forgery would be made very easy. How to prevent this? I can't honestly see teams hiring people to man a booth where people wait in line to have a MLB authenticity hologram applied to their self-printed tickets.

Old man stuck in his ways vent
 

Interesting thread.

I can understand a lot of familiar longings for things past here, indeed as all of us ostensibly collect physical things; cards, ephemera, and have found the value in even the “throw-away” tangible things that somehow still exist in the 21st century when they should have wound up on the ash heap of history decades ago if not longer.

That said, (I’m 47) I will also admit that I can’t imagine life and certainly the portion of it that is involved with my hobby now without some of our technological advances and modern conveniences. E-mail, text messages, social media, etc. were all huge improvements to me in this world from my perception as a fairly introverted young person, and even today with cards - we have much better tools than pulling out the latest BBCM to look up a price. I couldn’t have navigated the National last month without my phone, online vendor maps, Uber to get me there, etc. etc. Going further in the hobby - we have a lot more community and sounding boards now than when I opened my first pack of 1986 Topps. Message boards, N54, Facebook, even YouTube and just in general a lot easier means of connecting with folks that have similar hobby interests as you do. None of this existed really even when I went to college in the mid-90’s. While I certainly get the longing for many “analog” ways of doing things, overall I’d have to land on the side that evolution in thought and acceptance of new methods is a necessity.

But hey, I’m Gen X, right? Actually, having been born in 1977, I’m kind of right at that intersection; I once heard it called “Xennial.” Our childhoods at least as little kids were totally devoid of technology as we think of it today, unless perhaps you count the introduction of video games. But the telephones and stereos and televisions I grew up with would have been more recognizable to generations before mine in the 1950’s and 60’s than they would even my own daughters here in the 21st century. Fast forward (excuse the technology pun...) to after high school and college - and my life is now invaded with digital technology. I didn’t own my first cell phone until I was 22 years old, but finding and embracing that type of technology then certainly beats being 50 years older than that and having to accept it, IMO. I guess I don’t care so much about the cashless or stub-less thing, but then again, I’m not a ticket collector. I could understand being pissed about that if I was, LOL.


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You think your old and things have changed.

I agree. Back when a ticket cost about $10, and computers with printers weren't commonplace, there wasn't much risk to printed tickets, besides losing them. But now, with some tickets at $80 or more, there's a big risk. I've bought tickets from scalpers outside the stadium many times and haven't been burned but imagine how easy it would be to print multiples, perhaps altering row or seat number so they couldn't be traced back to the original buyer.

Why not preserve memory of the event another way? Buy a program and score it, either during the game or days later, by pulling up the game account online. Take a picture with the kids, the field in the background, print on quality photo paper, and then glue the game box score on the back. I'd think those types of things would be more cherished than a plain, barcoded ticket stub.

In the specific case I was referring to, e ticket is already used and a facsimile could be issued. They could even charge a fee for anyone who wanted one. I'm sure the line at the booth would be a lot shorter than the men's room middle of the 7th. Working on the idea of an email, sent AFTER the game along with their 'How'd we do' survey, would allow no piracy.

I think they purely went after this ticketless/cashless gig is great, with out taking into account a lot of us hoarder types

The world is constantly changing due to new technology, social forces,, and other things, and it can be frustrating to have to constantly adapt and learn new things. In the old days, it was a simpler life. It seems like one needs an app for everything now. More automation and less personal interaction. Plus, all the damn fraudsters and hackers out there make using automation that much more frustrating. To access on line systems, you need a pin, a passcode, a password that needs to be changed routinely. It’s very chaotic and frustrating.

The upside is that some things are more convenient. Purchases on line can be fairly fast and easy. We have access to tons of information and timely status. Parcels can be tracked. Games and movies can be watched on line.

So there is upside, but plenty of hassle too.

The place I get fresh baked bread from has switched to requiring the use of an app if you want to get every 10th loaf for free. Name, address, date of birth. For ******* bread?! You're offering one of the simplest items conceivable. Out of all businesses, you don't get to data mine from me. I'm not giving you my firstborn for some focaccia.

I called my auto insurance company today. After about 10 minutes of speaking with the automated system, I was finally able to talk to a human. I gave that person my name, SSN, password, and phone #. All were correct, but my phone # was my old #, and she needed to send me a code via text message. Since I did not have my old phone to send a code, their system would not allow me to make a transaction. So I wasted 20 minutes. Had to go on line, enter the system, and update my phone#. That took another 10 minutes. So it took 30 minutes just to access the system before I could even begin a new auto policy. Then I spent another 20 minutes to actually add the policy. 50 minutes!

This kind of thing happens to me a lot, partly because of my somewhat antiquated technology (hey, I'm on a computer right now!) partly because I'm not very savvy about this stuff, and partly because a lot of these things are just not very user friendly. They're just not.

If I were formerly a notorious, but now reformed, donut thief, I would want the receipt to show law enforcement that tails me 24 hours a day that I am now on the up and up.

Brian

I understand the argument against (and for) going cashless, but for the love of God, please - nobody argue with the part-time hourly employee behind the counter that they have a legal obligation to accept cash.

They dont care, they dont have authority, and they sure as hell dont get paid enough to listen to theoretical blowhards.

Call me old fashioned but my solution would be...... to just eat the evidence. Whatcha gonna do NOW, copper?

As many know, there is an area in the Pacific Ocean the size of Rhode Island comprised of nothing but plastic refuse. I hope some bright minds are trying to come up with a bright solution to eliminate it.

+1.
Don't shoot the messenger.