Okay folks,
We've done company sizes, who's happy, etc..Lets see the average age of Cove participants. It allows anonymity for those who feel that someone really takes into account a person's age before listening to suggestions or advice. I will vote first at the tender age of 58, soon to change in April 23 (same as William Shakespear). But, he's got a few years on me. This should prove very interesting. Marc, you don't have to vote. We already know that you pre-date water.

Life, they say, begins at 40...

That's 7 months to go!

At what point are action (s) taken and advice given due to age & expierience viewed by yonger folks as deciet & trechery ??
(Chicken & egg question?)

What I do know for sure is that after my oldest son turned 21 - he admitted that for some reason "old dad" got a lot smarter than when he was 16.

No secret - I'm 54 this year too young to fully retire & too old to be taken too seriousley..:biglaugh:

I'm 31 but have aged considerally since Energy posted my picture!

Heck, I have a 16 year old that has a learning permit to drive. I was with him when he made a right turn in front of traffic. I grabbed the wheel and got back in the correct lane while he was sitting at the wheel with his mouth open.

He said; " How the hell did you do that dad?"

Experience son!!!!

(I was at the doctor the next day with a torn muscle in my armpit)

It's 44 this June and I share a birthday with Moe Howard.

Energy sweetheart, such an irrelevant question where women are concerned!

But I will admit that I celebrated an anniversary of my 29th birthday last year! :biglaugh: :confused:

Originally posted by Atul Khandekar
Life, they say, begins at 40...


I crack a smile every time I hear this because...

Feeling pretty darn good on my 40th, my adorable Grandma who turned 85 2 days later says to me "Well, they say life begins at 40 Laura, but don't believe it. It doesn't get better." "Yikes - thanks Gram, you're telling me its all down hill-nothing to look forward too?" "Yep" She cracked me up - here she is as healthy as a horse at 85 telling me its all down hill.

Atul - So far, I go along with the saying. Age is a number. The only thing I notice is the eyesight - and I have little desire to pitch anymore, at my favorite sport, softball. I still play, but reacting to a line drive up the pitchers mound is just a little too nerve wracking.

Hey Energy!!

Ya missed one... where's:

"Older than dirt."


:vfunny: :ko: :biglaugh:

I'm lucky!!! I just turned 39 and I've got a 16 month old son to keep me young for years and years!!! (Til he turn 16 - then I get to turn old overnight... :eek: )

Originally posted by Lucinda
Energy sweetheart, such an irrelevant question where women are concerned!

But I will admit that I celebrated an anniversary of my 29th birthday last year! :biglaugh: :confused:

That's my daughter's age!:ko: :smokin:

Can anyone explain the normal distribution that the result of this pole has given so far ?

P.S. I will be 33 on Saturday.

Originally posted by M Greenaway
Can anyone explain the normal distribution that the result of this pole has given so far ?
P.S. I will be 33 on Saturday.

Hey, your my son's age. Lucinda is my daughter's age. My kids are bright, too. What do you mean by normal distribution? Looks the bulk of the respondents are 30 to 59. It can't be that simple!
:ko: :smokin:

Dad

I was wondering if those quality people when they hit 49 either go and find something more interesting to do, or end up topping themselves under the stress of it all.

Please see thread entitled Zoloft to get an idea about us old fa##ts:biglaugh: :biglaugh: :bigwave:

Al

I have read that thread, apologies if my quip causes any offence :bigwave:

Son, Son, Son,

No offense taken, just a feeble attempt at old age humor. As Marc and Energy will attest I have never taken offense to anything on this board!;) ;)

I hear they have motorized walkers now with a special clip to hang the AISG interpretations.

Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!1:bigwave:

Lucinda, OK, was it the first, second, or third anniversary of your 29th birthday?:agree:

Originally posted by M Greenaway
Dad

I was wondering if those quality people when they hit 49 either go and find something more interesting to do, or end up topping themselves under the stress of it all.

When you hit that age, it's not easy for us non-degreed professionals to do much else!:bonk: :ko: :smokin:

Originally posted by energy
That's my daughter's age!:ko: :smokin:

Aaahhhhh, ........but how many anniversaries of it has she had???;) :smokin:

Now I see whay there are so many cranky responses. It must be the age group of the people on here.

:biglaugh:

Just kidding! Relax and have a Geritol!
:D

Al,

You give me far too much credit :)

that was another unregistered comment from me!

All responses are in fun from this local crab!!!!!!!!!1

You must learn to snatch the pebble from my hand, Little Grasshopper!
:ko: :smokin:

I hit the big 40 two years ago, and life is "the bomb". Where do these kids get these words????

Michael T


I'm lucky!!! I just turned 39 and I've got a 16 month old son to keep me young for years and years!!! (Til he turn 16 - then I get to turn old overnight... )

You said it!!! My youngest was born 6 months after I turned 40, but there are plenty (4 to be exact) to pave the way for him....I may be old tomorrow!!!


Laura M.


The only thing I notice is the eyesight

It is not our eye's that are failing us. The wonderfully insightful Dave Barry has proven facts (yeah, right) that all printed material is now done with bacteria size fonts.



I gotta say, that age has it's bennefits....like when one of the kids says "Where's my allowance???" and you can say (read into...lie) What allowance? I don't remember allowances! In fact, who are you? I don't remeber you.

Have a great day all!!!!

CarolX

There may be negatives from growing older and wiser, but I have a little warning for you youngins'...

After I pop me a geritol, a couple of prunes and a viagra, I can keep up with any of you. :D :cool:

I'm almost 49 in calender years

Have a body that feels like 100

And a mind that's going on 16...

Life is good!

Yes, age is just a number, and mostly in the mind. If one's mind starts squeaking before the body, then there is a problem. And if its not going to get better, what's the motivation?

Any idea where this number - 40 came from? I mean why not 35 or 43?

Fine, fine. I'll admit to being almost a twin to Carol : I'm 42 and I have 5 children - but my youngest is 11 and I have a granddaughter already too! Only three kids left at home, with two of them in high school already.

And similar to Marc, my degree is in Biology. I was pre-med and ended up with credentials for teaching secondary science (high school). I wandered into Quality because of my interest primarily in EMS, not QMS. I'm having to learn everything from the ground up.

So is that enough to buy me an entrance pass to the Older and Wiser Club???

Hubby says that women don't age like fine wine, it's sort of like the aging of a ....banana! Getting sweeter and softer!

Lucinda,

Grandmotherhood...a beautiful thing.....

But my youngest became an uncle at 11.5 months....and I only have one out of the house (and only one in high school)....someday...peace and quite?????

NEVER!!! LOL


Life is grand!!!!

CarolX

Carol and Lucinda,

You 2 are my heros! I only have 3 (all boys) and youngest is 9. Others are 15 and 12. I'm thinking I like them "growing up" but I can already feel the "they're all grown up" depression coming on.

In fact, we just made plans for a trip to Disney. Gotta go 1 more time while the magic is still there. I don't think you are ever too old for Disney, personally - but I wanted to go at lease once more before grandkids drag me there!

Originally posted by Laura M
....I can already feel the "they're all grown up" depression coming on.

Oh yes, I have plenty of that - mixed in with the "won't it be nice when we are footloose and fancy free and we can backpack across Europe?":biglaugh:

But really, I do feel sad that I won't have them here with their socks and shoes lying around and all the dirty dishes upstairs in their bedrooms and not a single fork in the drawer. And no more mad dashes to the store to get the poster board that they need for the next day, . I will miss them. The best days of my life were when all 5 little tots were loaded up in my VW bus and we were out and about. My son was my "buddy" and got scuba certification when I did - what a kid...And took skiing lessons with me too (did much better than I!). And he fixes everything around the house...I'll have to hire a handyman when he moves out!:(

Am I going crazy or is energy getting younger by the day? I'm sorry energy, I was just joking about you getting old before me!!!! Are you going to have to change your vote down one to my age bracket?
Let me know where to find some of whatever you're taking, I want to get younger and better lookin' too! (but I'd prefer to remain a female, so if it only turns you into a younger guy, forget it!)
:D

Man do I feel out in left field on this one! I catch total H*** at work for being the youngest one in the office. I don't have kids quite as hold as ya'lls. I've got one that just turned eight last week and one that turned 3 just before Christmas. With working, staying busy with them and then tending to the house (when I can sqeeze it in) I feel like I'm 100! I stay so tired all the time. I keep telling myself it's all worth it that one day they won't be here then I'll be complaining of having too much time on my hands and nothing to do!

:bigwave:

Jamie

Me again! :bigwave: I've noticed that myself, how Energy keeps getting younger.

How do you add that picture/image under your names? If I recall I've seen something regarding that somewhere in the forum but can't seem to relocate it.

Jamie-

. I don't have kids quite as hold as ya'lls. I've got one that just turned eight last week and one that turned 3 just before Christmas.

My youngest is 16 months and my oldest made me a grandmother in September. And one advice about the sleep-you will again-someday. Keep your chin up, girl!

Go to the user cp and following directions for changing avatars.

CarolX

Originally posted by CarolX
Jamie-



My youngest is 16 months and my oldest made me a grandmother in September.

CarolX

Hiya Carol...

Now THAT is impressive!! :bigwave:

Sounds like we became new moms & dads at the same time. What is John's birthday? Hayden's is October 5th.

Cheers!!!

Well, like many here, I don't quite feel my age (35). My mind has me feeling younger, like I can play football all day and never really tire. A quick jog to the mailbox is enough to shatter that thought. My body doesn't feel all that old while I'm working on the house, climbing ladders, hoisting windows into position, or installing French doors, but playing shortstop during an hour long practice reminds me that I don't have what I once had. I bought a jump rope the other day just to get back a little of what I lost.

I haven't gained more than 7 pounds since I left high school, but I would have to say that I fit Lucinda's definition of being softer losing muscle mass and replacing it with 'beer' mass (somehow I think Lucinda will fair far better than I will in this capacity!!!).

My little girl will arrive somewhere near April 17 of this year. I look forward to her keeping me feeling younger through the coming years.

Kev

Yep. John's got him beat by a few days.

October is birthday he** month for me, husband, 3 kids, and my daughter in-law all in October.

All of that just a few months before Christmass.

Life is grand!!!!


Kevin,

CONGRADULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!


CarolX

Originally posted by CarolX
Yep. John's got him beat by a few days.

October is birthday he** month for me, husband, 3 kids, and my daughter in-law all in October.

All of that just a few months before Christmass.

Life is grand!!!!


Kevin,

CONGRADULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!


CarolX

Way cool!!! Why not have Christmas in October? :o :smokin: :bonk: Sure would be less expensive.


Oh Kevin...
I haven't gained more than 7 pounds since I left high school

Those kind of statements can get you tarred and feathered!!!:vfunny: :biglaugh: :ko:

Since I quit smoking I've put on the TONNAGE. I'm trying to lose 40 lbs. That still wouldn't put me back at high school weight, but within 10 lbs. I'll settle for that...

Cheers!!

Thanks Carol!!! I am soooo excited!!!

Mike,

The thing of it was this: No weight gain for years and years, say up to the age 34. Then something happened. I believe it has something to do with anabolism and catabolism rates or something like that (I'll leave that to the biology majors). Now, I am getting nervous!!:biglaugh:

Actually, my dad is a pretty slender gentlemen yet, so I suppose that I got some good genetics on that end. Hopefully everything else doesn't poo-poo to fast! And, I am sure Hayden will be thrilled that Daddy doesn't smoke no matter the extra tonnage!!!

Kev

Michael T,

How did you kick the habit? Just a few weeks back we discovered my oldest had asthma. I can't get my husband to quit. He did stop smoking in the house for about a week. He has gradually creeped back to doing it in the house again. When I mention it to him he gets REALLY defensive and angry with me!

Kevin,

I'm with Carol....

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Life is a great gift!

Jamie

Originally posted by Jamie
Michael T,

How did you kick the habit? Just a few weeks back we discovered my oldest had asthma. I can't get my husband to quit. He did stop smoking in the house for about a week. He has gradually creeped back to doing it in the house again. When I mention it to him he gets REALLY defensive and angry with me!

Kevin,

I'm with Carol....

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Life is a great gift!

Jamie

Hi Jamie...

First things first... your husband must WANT to quit - otherwise nothing will work - he'll just find excuses to continue or start back. That was the way it was with me. I'd find any little excuse NOT to stop smoking.

How I quit was like this.... I made myself a promise that when my son was born I would quit smoking. I truly meant that promise but didn't carry through with it until September 1st (almost a year after he was born... :o ) The thing is, it was nagging at my conscience. So, when I decided to quit, I got the patch, I got the gum. I used the patch until that box ran out. I used the gum until that box ran out. By that time - I was over the physical part and pretty much over the psychological part. (My wife has NEVER let me smoke in the house, so I have had that part of the behavior modification thing already beat into me for 8 years :truce: -- it was the 1+ hour commute to & from work that was the real killer)

Now - here is the real kicker. I am taking the money that I normally would spend on smokes and I'm putting it away. $4.00 per day adds up quick. Now, the only way I get to keep this cash is if I stay quit for 1 year. If I do, the moollah is mine. If I don't, I've gotta donate it to charity... something like the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, etc. So, you see, I'm appealing to one of my more base instincts.... GREED... :ko: At first it didn't seem like any big deal, but now that I'm staring at $700.00 or so... I don't like the idea of giving up that kind of casheesh for anything I'm not getting something for... like a 36" TV... or some more cool tools for my shop... :vfunny:

So... that's about the way of it. So far, so good.

I hope this helps and I hope your husband can give it up.

Cheers!!!

Originally posted by Kevin Mader
.. but I would have to say that I fit Lucinda's definition of being softer losing muscle mass and replacing it with 'beer' mass (somehow I think Lucinda will fair far better than I will in this capacity!!!).

Hmm, not sure if you mean I'll fair better at putting it on, or just looking better with it.....:( so I'll take the better road and say YES, the beer weight has done wonders for me!

I was really scrawny when I was young (only 89 lbs. when I married, with 19"waist) and got up to the grand weight of 120 after all 5. Even though I gained between 50-55 lbs each pregnancy and the kids were between 8.5 and 10 lbs. - no problem getting the weight off.

So beer has helped me to look a bit more "womanly" instead of scrawny. Still trying to get those 15 extra lbs. off though..

And Kev, you know I'm thrilled about the baby girl! Wish I could do it all over again too.

Me up there again.....

Lucinda,

Of course I meant that in the most flattering sense! If I didn't, I'm sure someone here would defend you (energy lives nearby, so I'm sure he'd make the trip to straighten me out)!:D

Beer has actually helped me fill out my clothes a little better too. I may be softer, but now my clothes look like they're worn on a person rather than a coat rack and hanger!:vfunny:

Kev

Jamie,

Thank you!! Life is a precious gift. I'm learning more about it with each passing day.

Now, if we can only get this across to your husband. I'm sure he realizes already, but chemical addiction is amongst the most difficult of addictions to kick. Mike is right: his intrinsic need to stop must be stronger than the intrinsic chemical dependency he is currently victim to. Once this is countered, he will prevail.

I don't know much about how the patch or gum work in weaning one off chemical dependency, but I get the impression that they are not gimmicks. This might be a good route to 'suggest' and see how things go. You find yourself in a tough circumstance.

You may want to get a book on ‘addiction’ and read up on the subject. If you are lucky, you might get your husband involved/interested and this might help. Knowledge is intrinsic, so as one learns, one might recognize the damage their addiction causes the system. I have a few other ideas/comments I’ll post you directly with to keep the topic on track.

Kevin

Just thoguht I'd pass along that I have cousins, age 65 that smoked since high school. A few months ago the wife, with no known medical issues decided, that's it, I'm done. After 2 weeks, her husband said, if you can do it, I can do it. They both quit cold turkey, no gum, no patch. I don't know how, but they were about 2 packs a day since I remember as a kid. She says you have to make up your mind to do it, and that's it.

I started smoking at age 11 when cigs were as cheap as candy in S. Carolina and quit cold turkey for two pregnancies,and then finally for good on a New Year's Eve when I was 25. Hubby quit at the same time. Smoked the last one before midnight and never picked another one up. We decided that we loved each other too much to die before we had to. (everybody all together...ahhhhh:vfunny:)

It is the only way to do it. A couple of days and the nicotine is out of your system. Stopping the behavior patterns is what is hard (picking up the phone=picking up a cigarette; getting in the car=lighting up a cigarette; etc.) But love is what will do it - you'll see! Parents will do anything for their kids. My mother-in-law even quit smoking so that she could be around longer for the grandkids!

Thanks everyone on the insight of smoking. I've come to the same conclusion that this is something that my husband has to decide to do. The more I push the more he seems to smoke.

Kevin,

The book sounds like a good idea. I'll do some searching and see what I come up with.

:bigwave:
Jamie

Hey Jamie...

I'll just add a few observations I've had since I quit smoking. While they won't convince anyone to quit, they might help someone who is on the fence and just needs a little nudge in the right direction.

1. Generally, I feel better. While I've had the sniffles here and there, I haven't gotten they typical nasty winter cold that I could count on every year.

2. Food tastes MUCH better. This is a problem though since I am trying to loose the weight I gained since quitting. The other side of the coin is... I can lose the weight, I can't regrow a lung.... :eek:

3. My clothes don't stink anymore. I never knew just how much my clothes smelled until I quit. Now, after I've been in a room (aka - bar) where there are a lot of people have been smoking, my clothes reek... and so does all the clothes in the laundry shoot after I drop them down...

4. My car smells better. (See #3 above).

5. I'm proud of myself... (a little intrinsic motivation & self-actualization at work... :ko: )

6. I already mentioned the money, however, I'll reiterate, I'm saving a fortune. I heard on NPR this morning where several states are going to increase cigarette taxes (NY is going up $1.50 per pack :eek: )

Just thought I'd share those.

Good luck to you & your husband!!!!

Michael

The cost is killing me!!! I know this will sound crazy. I hate him smoking, but yet I'm the one that buys them! The way his schedule is he has a hard time getting to the store. I just told him the other night that he was going to be buying his own since his class schedule has changed this quarter he can run over on his lunch hour. I'm paying between $30 to $35 a week!! I'd love to see a $1.50 a pack.

Jamie

Originally posted by Jamie
I'm paying between $30 to $35 a week!! I'd love to see a $1.50 a pack.

Jamie

Jamie...

Ummmm... that's not a $1.50 per pack... it's an additional $1.50 per pack. That should take the price of a pack of smokes to about $5.25 per pack or so. Instead of paying $30 to $35 per week... try $50 to $55 per week. :eek: :bonk:

I think even the most ardent smoker will begin to cringe at that level of pain...

:bonk: Sorry about that. I guess I need to slow down on my reading! I can't see myself paying that. I thought it was obserd to be paying what we're paying now!

Jamie

Originally posted by Jamie


......I hate him smoking, but yet I'm the one that buys them! The way his schedule is he has a hard time getting to the store. I just told him the other night that he was going to be buying his own .....
Jamie


Jamie,
When my wife still smoked, she had to buy her own. Even when we went grocery shopping together she would check out seperately to purchase the damn things. Thankfully, she doesn't smoke anymore (about 5 years now)

James

this Saturday I'll be going over to the dark side of the poll (turning 40).

So drop by if you happen to be in town :vfunny:

Cigarettes in Australia start at around $10 a packet these days, so the smokers in the US are getting it easy. And your personal tax rate is lower, and your cars are cheaper, and your gas is cheaper, and your dollar's worth two of ours, and......... any jobs going over there? (apparently not, judging from some of the other threads)

David,

Welcome to the darker side of the Cove (over 40 gang). You forgot one very important US thing. We are the home of Spam (not the email type)

Happy birthday

I didn't know that being over 40 put me on the dark side. I have felt it was the enlighten side. My knees are a better forcaster than anyone on TV, my eye sight causes me to pay closer attention to what I'm reading and my hair line saves me money on the barbershop!!!!

Spam???? We now have turkey Spam too. Although I don't know how they would stand up to Veggimite(sp?)!!!!:biglaugh: :vfunny: :D

Hello

Well I am still under 30! Yay for me! I will be 27 in a few weeks. I will always be younger than my husband... so I have that going for me.

I really do think age is a mind thing. You're only as young as you feel. I still feel like I'm 16! I also get mistaken for 16 a lot! It kind of ticks me off but everyone tells me it shouldn't.

I am feeling older than I used to. I know I'm getting old when I tell my husband, "That kid doesn't look old enough to drive!" Sheesh!:rolleyes:

Drunk on the Fountain of Youth!!!

Yeah, but have you been carded for lottery tickets?

Kev

FireGirl,

You seem to have the same problem I do. I'm just a year behind you! A few weeks ago I had a cashier tell me that I didn't look older than 17 and was no where even old enough to have 2 children.

Well I fixed that yesterday. I went and had my hair CHOPPED off! She cut about 9 inches off. So now I look much older than I really am. Maybe it'll work for awhile. I'm sure given time I'll miss my hair and I'll be wishing I looked years younger. As I'm told we all do eventually.

Jamie

Kevin

Surely you jest? I have been carded for EVERYTHING! At the ripe old age of 23, I was carded for an AA movie! You only have to be bloody 14 years old! She wouldn't believe me! I had to go back to the car and get my drivers license! I was so ticked! I always get carded at the bar and the liquor store. It drives me mental. It's nice to look young. But I'd like to look old enough to get into all the good trouble!:thedeal:

Excuse me while if finish chewing my Flinstones vitamins!

FG

FG & Jamie&Kevin,

Such torment!:biglaugh: I not only can't remember the last time I was carded, but now they ask me if I'm qualified for a Senior Citizen's discount. I find it hard to muster up a tear for any of you!
Why it just seems like yesterday when I experienced your dilema. In fact, in the overall scheme of things, it was! Enjoy it. :vfunny: :ko: :smokin:

Originally posted by energy
FG & Jamie&Kevin,

Such torment!:biglaugh: I not only can't remember the last time I was carded, but now they ask me if I'm qualified for a Senior Citizen's discount. I find it hard to muster up a tear for any of you!
Why it just seems like yesterday when I experienced your dilema. In fact, in the overall scheme of things, it was! Enjoy it.

Gotta agree with Energy here... wait... is it a tear?.... nope... sorry... :biglaugh:

Just wait till they DON'T card you any more... you'll be bumming in a major way then... :p

As I rush head long towards the "dark side" (40) I just gotta grin, and try to remember where I put my Rogain, my hair dye and my Centrum (not Silver YET!)... :ko:

Like I said - I've got a young'un to keep me young... and does he ever!!! Daddyhood is the greatest!!!

Gotta Agree,

Enjoy it while you can.
Life goes fast enough, and the changes will come.
Kevin, Headed for 40 huh--- lookin for the hair dye huh ---
Take a tip. When someone comments on your greying hair, just tell them that you are a parent and you earned every one of them.

My situation is kind of different in that I am 47 and my beautiful wife is older than me. --- By 16 years. We get a good laugh when people mistake me for her son instead of her husband.

If you feel good, have your health, and are happy, then
-- don't just embrace life. Grab it around the waist, throw it to the ground and give it a great big noogie!!!

James

I cannot remember not having gray hair. (It might have been yesterday…I just can’t remember1) The last time I was carded, I went to see Don McClean (I know it is spelled wrong…you know the “Bye Bye American Pie” dude). We rode in my friends brand new Pacer.

If Firegirl is correct and you are only as old as you feel, then I should have retired about ten years ago. However, my oldest child is only 16. It takes me a while to do things (I had my tonsils out when I was 30)

There was a point to this, but I can’t remember what it was. Man I’m getting old!

A Pacer! Whoa, I'd forgotten them...I think one of my older cousins had one of those. Weren't they the funny lookin things?

Sorry my crowd was more into muscle cars. Goats were a favorite if you could find one that hadn't been totalled or beat to !@#$

Originally posted by SteelMaiden
A Pacer! Whoa, I'd forgotten them...I think one of my older cousins had one of those. Weren't they the funny lookin things?

Sorry my crowd was more into muscle cars. Goats were a favorite if you could find one that hadn't been totalled or beat to !@#$

The Pacer reminds you of the car the Jetsons used to drive around in. Like a glass bubble. All window with a high roof. A hatchback.

A goat. GTO. They were the sh-t! If you had one of them, you didn't need muscles. Just open the doors and they jump right in!:eek:

Oh, I just love strolling down memory lane. How about those Ramblers and Hudsons? My first car was a 1951 Mercury, bubble skirts, no door handles, all primer, no grill or front bumper. Fuzzy steering wheel, flamed dash board, black rims with chrome lugs, I was the cat's :ca: Well, my eyes are filling up and I have to go back to work.:ko: :smokin:

Ah, man, don't make me get all misty!!! They just don't make cars like that anymore! That's why I drive a pick-up, nothing like a V-8 and a little tonnage to make you feel alive! I scrimped and saved to buy a Chevelle (used) when I was in college. SWEET!!! Lordy, I surely wish I would have kept that car. My kids would love to have a honey like that. I sold it to a friend who raced stock. He totalled it out on the last lap of his first race with it. That sucked! He didn't get hurt (too badly) but I never forgave him for detroying "my" car. Sure is funny how money seems so important when you haven't got much, if I had it to do all over again, it'd be sittin' in my garage

Figure this one out. When I was 18 I was never carded I could buy the fire water anyplace any time. After I turned 21 they start asking for ID, I am 31 and still to this day they ask for ID, I even have lots of silver hair (premature do to an illness). Go figure.

They only thing that bothers me about age is, in the work place if you are below a certian age you can't know anything. The older you are the more you know, that bugs me! Why is it that I can't know as much if not more than a co-worker that has 20+ years on me?

Originally posted by SteelMaiden
A Pacer! Whoa, I'd forgotten them...I think one of my older cousins had one of those. Weren't they the funny lookin things?

Sorry my crowd was more into muscle cars. Goats were a favorite if you could find one that hadn't been totalled or beat to !@#$

Please - the memories!!! My first car was a '71 Cuda... da*n was that car fast. My best friend had a '71 Goat "The Judge". Were we gear heads? Nawwwwww.... not us.... :rolleyes:

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.... :smokin:

Originally posted by ISO GUY

They only thing that bothers me about age is, in the work place if you are below a certian age you can't know anything. The older you are the more you know, that bugs me! Why is it that I can't know as much if not more than a co-worker that has 20+ years on me?

You probably do. It's just difficult to get that across to an older worker. Why? Like you, they think they're smarter. When I was a fledgling Inspector, I knew that I was smarter than the old guys. They were lazy, resting on past laurels. Coasting. No ambition. I did all the the P.I.A. things they wouldn't do. Knew the system inside and out. But, I was constantly reminded that they forgot more than I will ever know. And they did forget, everything. You just have to remind yourself that you are the fairest of them all. Accept that there is an unwritten pecking order for respect in a lot of companies. In fact, I venture to say that there is a fear of a bright younger co-worker because of the possibility that they may become their replacement. Acceptance comes sooner or later. Eventually the day comes that you know that your sharpest tool in the shed because you are promoted and your ideas are sought out, rather than Poo Poo'd. Finally, I always challenged Inspectors (8) who reported to me to show me their stuff. I hid nothing, trained them and, in spite of it all they couldn't scratch my :ca: Well, see you:eek: :ko: :smokin:

My second car was a 1965 GTO that I bought in 1966. The price of gas was between $.25 and $.37. Then I was drafted mid-1966 but I kept the GTO for the two years while I was away. After Vietnam I went off to college. Had to get rid of the GTO because gas was up $.45. End up trading the GTO for a Karmen-Ghia. That lasted me thru school. Wish I had that GTO again, still wouldn't be able to put gas in it though! :( Parden me while I cry.

It used to bother me when I was not taken seriously just because I was "that young bloke". So I adopted a fail proof method to cope: However much I was patonized I "failed" to notice... and just kept dancing to my own tune.

Well, here I am.. 42 years young... and you know what: I'm still "that young bloke"... (And that tells you something about the age of the workforce in the company I work for these days ).

However, it doesn't bother me anymore. In fact I couldn't care less. Besides, I'm still as childish as I ever was. ;)

/Claes

Sorry folks: no quotes since it was long enough. You'll have to scroll a bit.

Jamie,

You chopped off lots of hair! How will we recognize you now?

Firegirl,

I know what you mean. Now that I am getting older and looking it (I suppose), it is happening less and less, but still happening. Never had video rental troubles, but I can feel your pain!

Energy,

Enjoy it? You bet!!! I may have been carded, but never turned away. If someone took away my right to buy beer and lottery tickets, then I might ask you for a tear or two. But for now, your ‘manliness’ is safe!!!

Mike,

Believe it or not, I have plenty of gray mixing in these days. Probably more stress than actually getting old. What do you think?;)

James,

I agree: live life to the fullest! As was mentioned earlier, age is a state of mind to a large degree, especially when you have your good health. When I think of the fun stuff, I suppose I feel younger. When things ache after exercising, I suppose I feel at least my age and maybe beyond (no relative experience as you know). It doesn’t really matter provided you live a full life and with few regrets, at least to me it doesn’t. Still, it is a lot of fun teasing the older (and much wiser) crowd!!

Dave,

If I had a point to it all, it would make all my posts that much more enjoyable!!

SteelMaiden and Energy,

I had a ’66 Pontiac Tempest. Would that be close enough? I gave it up during my freshman year in college. Sold it and gave the money to my brother for a transmission for a ’71 Thunderbird (429ci Thunderjet with 365 hp). What a ride that was!!

ISOGUY,

This is a topic in itself. I might start a thread entitled “Credibility”. I feel your pain!!

Mike,

I use to see a ’71 Barracuda on my paper route everyday (as did I the ’66 Tempest). It had a crushed in rear quarter and sat in the side yard of my customer. I offered to buy it once and the mother of the kid who owned it jumped at the opportunity. Sadly, the kid talked his mother out of it and rejected my $250 offer. About three weeks later, the kid sold it for $300 (I would have paid him that at least) to a neighbor’s son. He wrecked it shortly there after (Boo Hoo)!

Energy,

You have experience on your side and you’re right to question assumptions. We are all full of…assumptions!!

Jim,

I wish I had my ’66 Tempest. I spent countless hours rummaging through junkyards looking for spare parts. I nearly restored the interior to mint condition.

Claes,

I’m the ‘big kid’ with my family and co-workers. It does keep you young…I think!!

Greetings everyone!!

Kevin

Originally posted by energy


You probably do. It's just difficult to get that across to an older worker. Why? Like you, they think they're smarter. In fact, I venture to say that there is a fear of a bright younger co-worker because of the possibility that they may become their replacement. Acceptance comes sooner or later. Eventually the day comes that you know that your sharpest tool in the shed because you are promoted and your ideas are sought out, rather than Poo Poo'd.

I don’t necessarily think I am smarter (**** yes I do :vfunny: ) I know for a fact that I am more dedicated and thirst for knowledge. Where as it seems like you said want to rest on their laurels and don’t want to learn new and better ways of doing things. When they have questions don’t ask the young punk cause he may just have a good idea then we would have to take him seriously. Eventually the day comes when they seek out your ideas but you are no longer there, and that is when they realize how valuable you were.

ISO GUY - I know how you are feeling. Early in my career I couldn't figure out why no one "respected" my knowledge. The seniority guys were convinced that their 20 years experience is worth more than any schooling I may have. Looking back - for alot of what was going on, they may have been right. There is no substitute for experience. You mention they never ask you what you think. My question to you is - do you ever ask them what they think?

I don't know the folks you work with, so maybe they are a bunch of morons, and I agree with everything energy said about being "threatened" - I've actually had that stated to me before. But respect is earned. You may know something they don't. How you prove it earns respect. But they may also know something you don't. Your ambition in of itself may be "threatening." ISO is seen as BS to alot of those folks. I've seen that too. Whenever I think my ideas are being "dismissed" I say - "how do you think we should do this?"

You mention they never ask you what you think. My question to you is - do you ever ask them what they think?

Whenever I think my ideas are being "dismissed" I say - "how do you think we should do this?"

Very good point Laura. I think you really pinpointed the key question there. It's all about communication, and that's the very best way to get a dialouge going. Because: People *want* to talk and be heard.

/Claes

Yes, I ask them what the think quite often. I sit back and listen to what they have to say, I take their ideas/suggestions and I store them away in my memory. While their idea my not work at this time there may come a time down the road when I can use it, or pass it on to someone else that may be able to use it. I have heard many times while working here that the idea I have is "stupid and will not work", I am not making this up. When that happens I ask how they think we should do it, and I listen and quite often there have been times they say the exact same thing I just said, but becuase it comes from an "older" person all of a sudden it is a great idea and they are so smart, and I just sit there and think to myself damn that is a good idea and it was a good idea when I said it 5 minutes ago.

You are also right when you say they think Quality is a bunch of BS. What is even worse is these are people in the Quality Department. If other employees see they have that attitude, they are going to feel the same way. They do the bare minimum and thats it, why do more than we have to. So it is not that I don't ask or listen to their ideas becuase I do, maybe my problem is I don't make enough noise.

I said they think ISO is BS - not quality. The folks I'm talking about "know how to do things" so a written instruction is BS to them. I don't know too many that think quality is BS. I guess you do have a challenge.

So now its time for Creative comebacks. Then next time they repeat your idea say "Hey - that's a great idea? How did you think of it?" or "major deja vu - I thought I just heard that a few minutes ago." Ha ha - maybe a few will start catching on.

Originally posted by Laura M

So now its time for Creative comebacks. Then next time they repeat your idea say "Hey - that's a great idea? How did you think of it?" or "major deja vu - I thought I just heard that a few minutes ago." Ha ha - maybe a few will start catching on.

Sorry about that Laura, yes you did say they think ISO is BS and not quality. But the fact that where I work you have people in the QA dept. that project the feelings that quality just gets in the way is still true.

You know what it reminds me of, have you seen the commercial(I don't even know what they are advertising) where they are sitting having a meeting and they one guy states his idea and they just sit there, and a couple seconds later someone else in the room repeats it and everyone thinks its a great idea. Then the first guy looks at him and says something like you just repeated what I said except you did (makes a motion) with your hands. That is how it feels sometimes.

I know how you feel ISO Guy. I think ISO/QS etc. have some fault in how upper management views the standards too. Think about what some of the companies have gone through over the years. If you wanted to do business with the B3 you had the Pentastar program, the Marks of Excellence, and Q-101. Each had its own agenda and when your customer came out to audit they tore you apart. Then you hear QS-9000 will standardize the requirements, and what is it that they see? Customer Specific Requirements, Sanctioned Interpretations, and a rather large bill from the auditors. I can't say I totally blame them for thinking ISO is BS. What kind of training do they go to, they go to an Executive Overview for 1 day. After seeing it in a nut shell they come back and ask why its taking so long!!!!! But that doesn't help you does it?
Do you present out on the health of your Quality System? If so take some time and show the correlation between the system and product improvment, profit, customer sat, etc.. You don't have to have the bright lights and banners but blow your own horn. A couple sucesses will enhance the weight of your words. One of the things I did in my presentations was to leave out the word quality and replace it with business. It was the Business System not the Quality System, and so on. You would be suprised how the attention span changes.

ISO Guy,

Is it the Quality group that generally show little interest in your ideas? I was thinking more on the lines that management in general or manufacturing were having a problem with your views on what a quality system should be. If it's the latter, age doesn't make any difference when it comes to dismissing ideas to try to improve the system. Quality Control/Assurance is usually viewed as stick in the wheels of progress. Trust me, that will never end unless you become one of them. More later when you define wherein the friction lays. Have a good weekend. I'll be checking from home, when I feel the need to be nosy!:vfunny: :ko: :smokin:

ISO Guy,
A long time ago I learned not to offer ideas to management type people. Managers are a strange breed of people, they can accept the responsibility ( if it's written down) but have prblems accepting the accountability part. Therfore it's useless to offer ideas.

As a quality manager/Data collector I gather the the data and report it at our monthly meeting. Any sugesstions for improvement come directly from those mangers that are affected.

As a management rep. (far easier job) I interpret and explain the requirements, then ask the appropriate manager " What will you do to meet the requirements? Write it down." Any questions, complaints or noncompliance issues from internal audits are referred to the 3rd party auditor.
Sometimes this approach will cause managers to be a little more cooperative, sometimes it doesn't.

Life goes on , but it's a lot less disruptive when you set your boundries.

I guess you have to treat them like that when managers don't manage.

it seems like Im to young to be staying here. Better go talk to some carreer planner (usless overhead, my raise spending) person.

I'm 27 this November and I got married May 12th just gone.

We have a beautiful 10 month old girl....Shannon whom is the complete centre of our worlds.

It may be a tiring life, but it's a happy one!

Long may we go on this way!

Well done Laura.

I have a six year old and a three year old, and they sure changed my life.

Put all this waffle into perspective dont they - even though I still enjoy waffle :vfunny:

Put all this waffle into perspective dont they

They sure do, Martin.

When I was pregnant with Shannon, we moved to the country. We decided that London was no place to bring up a baby.

I applied for this job while I was still pregnant and started when Shannon was 12 weeks old.

It broke my heart...I didn't want to go back full time....but ££ and all that.

Still, I'm real lucky here. They let me work from 06:30 to 15:40 so that I can cover my full-time hours in four days and have a day off with my baby in the week.

And to think....before I got pregnant, it was an effort to get out of bed at 8!!!

Your whole life changes.......Shannon's my motivation and my husband is my rock.

I'm very, very, lucky.

Sounds idillic Laura (did I spell that rihgt ?)

Its great watching them grow as well, turning into real people !

My six year old made me a sandwich for the first time the other day. First time he has made me something like this, and it was all his own idea.

After crashing around in the kitchen for about 20 minutes he came back with a jam sanwich for us both.

"There you go dad, yours is really jammy in the middle" he said - my heart melted.

(I am a big softy, even though i enjoy playing rugby and winding up energy :vfunny: )

P.S. The sandwich was disgusting - but I managed to eat it !!

It is idyllic, Martin.

Shannon says Mummy, and every time she does I can't help but give her a hug.

Of course, independent little Miss that she is (just like her Mum!) she pulls away.

Far more exciting things to do and explore!

Don't we sound all yucky!!

Children....they'll get you soppy everytime!

Lau~.

Laura said:

*snip*

Don't we sound all yucky!!

Children....they'll get you soppy everytime!

Lau~.


Yucky? Noooo.... Soppy.... You Betcha!!

I got a rather late start in life being a daddy. I'm 39 and Hayden is 21 months old. He is the greatest blessing I've ever been given (besides his Mommy - of course ;) ) and he sure keeps me on my toes.

Children are what reminds us of how much beauty & wonder are still left in the world. :D

Okay - enough from me... :smokin:

Cheers!!!

All this talk of children just brings me to tears...

This is a place for serious conversation and not all this snott-slinging mommy and daddy chatter.

We're should be talking serious issues like...GRANDCHILDREN;)

You young folks don't really know the pleasures of your kids until they give you those little bundles. We've got 9 now, and just keeping up with who's doing what is a trip. Each one is as different as night and day, compounding the fun. The oldest will be 13 in July and the youngest was born in April. 7 boys and 2 girls.

Any takers on surpassing that?
:)

Any takers on surpassing that?

Not quite, but I'm looking at the big 50 in a couple of years. My oldest child (Jennifer) just turned 17. She will be a senior next year. If I have a grandchild too quickly, then I will probably be heading to jail for murder! [I have explained that to each young gentleman that she talks to (or even remotely looks at her)]

Give me about 5 more years, then we'll talk!

I have a daughter 14 going on 20 and a son 12. I don't expect any grandchildren for a good twenty years. My kids are no longer babies but I enjoy them just as much as I did back then.

Randy,

Can't beat that! Not that I really want to at this point. I don't want to rush my kids growing older. The beginning of this year I decided to make some changes in my life. I started attending church. Not long after that I became baptized. This whole experience has changed my life as well as my kids. During bible school last week my oldest Michael came to me and said he needed to talk to Brother Phillip. Anyway, long story short, Michael is being baptized this Sunday evening. I can't begin to explain the joy in my heart knowing that my son accepts the Lord. This day in age you don't see children focusing on the "good" stuff in life!

Jamie

Randy,

I think ya got us beat on that one....but I gotta agree, grandkids are great. Iv'e got one, and she is 11 month younger than John. Oh-----what fun!!!!

CarolX

CarolX said:

Randy,

I think ya got us beat on that one....but I gotta agree, grandkids are great. Iv'e got one, and she is 11 month younger than John. Oh-----what fun!!!!

CarolX

That must make for some interesting comments/looks when you all go out together... :vfunny:

That reminds me of when I was 17, my dad remarried and they had my little brother. Grocery shopping with "mom" was a scream... :eek: No one could figure out who belonged with whom....

I have an aunt that is about 6 months younger than I! When I was about 15, there was this young lady that lived down the block that walked past our house a couple of times a day. I made sure I was outside doing lawn work when she waked past (we had the best front lawn in town!). She would stop and we would talk (read flirt) for a while. One day my aunt was there and approached us as we were talking. I introduced her as my aunt, and she slapped me and yelled: "Your aunt! You could have at least said your cousin!" The other young lady never walked past again!
:(

At 42 I have four kids 10, 7, 5, and 2. So I'm with Michael T. They keep you young and it's is great.

I just started over. I have 4 (2 boys, 2 girls) 22, 21, 17 and the newest - 15 months!!!!
My oldest daughter has a little girl who is 2 and half and my oldest son married into a ready made family with 3 kids last year. So in the span of about 18 months I went from my Harley and Mustang to 4 grandkids, a baby and a van. It's been great.
:vfunny:

Nav said:

So I'm with Michael T. They keep you young and it's is great.

I'm beginning to re-think that philosophy... The boy hit his "terrible two's" about 3 months early :eek: :frust: He can aggravate the horns off a billygoat!! His two favorite new words are "no" and "mine". <aaaaarrrrrggggghhh!!!> I'm told this is the easy part.... *groan*

On the plus side (for my parents) - they are laughing hysterically. It appears as if the nut doesn't fall too far from the tree and karma really does work... :vfunny: :biglaugh:

I still wouldn't trade daddyhood for the world!! :bigwave:

Everyone have a great weekend!

At 42 I have four kids 10, 7, 5, and 2. So I'm with Michael T. They keep you young and it's is great.

At 32, I have four kids 7, 6, 5, and 3. They make me feel old and run down. I still wouldn't trade them for anything though.

All right, at 48, I have 8 kids ages 24,19,16,13,10,9,7, and 3. I wouldn't trade them for anything. They have been the greatest blessing of my life (besides my wonderful bride of 25 years)! I am still not a grandpa yet, but I do look forward to it.

I just turned 49 last month and have a 7 year old that the jury is still out as to whether he'll see his 8th birthday next month or not.

In all honesty I love fatherhood. It has rejuvenated me somewhat as he has taken a liking to participating in sports this summer (it sure does take a lot longer to loosen up than it used to!!).

My wife, on the other hand ..........

Roger Eastin said:

All right, at 48, I have 8 kids ages 24,19,16,13,10,9,7, and 3. I wouldn't trade them for anything. They have been the greatest blessing of my life (besides my wonderful bride of 25 years)! I am still not a grandpa yet, but I do look forward to it.


Nothing else to do in So. Carolina? I've heard golf is great. Congrats on the long marraige too. That's great.

Mine are 15, 13 and 10. I can't imagine more on both ends. They're great, but I can't keep up as it is.

Laura M said:

Nothing else to do in So. Carolina? I've heard golf is great. Congrats on the long marraige too. That's great.

Mine are 15, 13 and 10. I can't imagine more on both ends. They're great, but I can't keep up as it is.

Why does this post keep updating itself to look like a recent post? It was a Sept. 12 post. I notice that this happens to a lot of "old" posts. Maybe a software option to look like there is more interest in it? Heavens, we have plenty of new ones to read. Laura M., I like the post, but are you "bumping"?
:vfunny: :ko: :smokin:

energy,

Perhaps the thread keeps updating when someone votes in the poll.

Marc, is this the case? It seems to happen wherever there is a poll attached...

Bruce,

Good observation. Nover noticed the connection. Duh!:bonk:
:ko: :smokin:

Now I know I am on a hiding to nothing energy.......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/wisdom/wisdom3_8.shtml

I received this e-mail yesterday and wanted to share with the "old timers". So much of it was true. :p


IT WAS GOOD

Were you a kid in the Fifties or earlier? Everybody makes fun of our childhood! Comedians joke. Grandkids snicker. Twenty-something's shudder and say "Eeeew!" But was our childhood really all that bad? Judge for yourself:

In 1953 The US population was less than 150 million... Yet you knew more people then, and knew them better... And that was good.

The average annual salary was under $3,000... Yet our parents could put some of it away for a rainy day and still live a decent life... And that was good


A loaf of bread cost about 15 cents... But it was safe for a five-year-old to skate to the store and buy one... And that was good.

Prime-Time meant I Love Lucy, Ozzie and Harriet, Gunsmoke and Lassie... So nobody ever heard of ratings or filters... And that was good.

We didn't have air-conditioning... So the windows stayed up and half a dozen mothers ran outside when you fell off your bike... And that was good.

Your teacher was either Miss Matthews or Mrs. Logan or Mr. Adkins... But not Ms Becky or Mr. Dan... And that was good.

The only hazardous material you knew about... Was a patch of grassburrs around the light pole at the corner... And that was good.

You loved to climb into a fresh bed... Because sheets were dried on the clothesline... And that was good.

People generally lived in the same hometown with their relatives... So "child care" meant grandparents or aunts and uncles... And that was good.

Parents were respected and their rules were law.... Children did not talk back..... and that was good.

TV was in black-and-white... But all outdoors was in glorious color....And that was certainly good.

Your Dad knew how to adjust everybody's carburetor... And the Dad next door knew how to adjust all the TV knobs... And that was very good.

Your grandma grew snap beans in the back yard... And chickens behind the garage... And that was definitely good.

And just when you were about to do something really bad... Chances were you'd run into your Dad's high school coach... Or the nosy old lady from up the street... Or your little sister's piano teacher... Or somebody from Church.... ALL of whom knew your parents' phone number... And YOUR first name... And even THAT was good! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

REMEMBER...

Send this on to someone who can still remember Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, Sky King, Little Lulu comics, Brenda Starr, Howdy Doody and The Peanut Gallery, The Lone Ranger, The Shadow Knows Nellie Belle, Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk as well as the sound of a real mower on Saturday morning, and summers filled with bike rides, playing in cowboy land, playing hide and seek and kick-the-can and Simon Says, baseball games, amateur shows at the local theater before the Saturday matinee, bowling and visits to the pool...and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar, and wax lips and bubblegum cigars

Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!

And was it really that long ago?


:ko: :smokin:

Nice one, Energy!!!!!!

I really enjoyed that.
Bill

Energy, you started this. I got this sent to me after sharing with some "old timers" here.

It’s hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have:

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint, and most of us use to snack on that ****.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention walking to town as a young kid!)

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times we learned to solve the problem.

We would leave home in them morning and play all day. As long as we were back when the streetlights came on, all was OK.

No one was able to reach us all day. No beepers or cell phones.-Unthinkable.

We played dodgeball and sometimes the ball would really hurt.

We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents?

We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.

We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank sugar soda but we were never overweight... we were always outside playing.

We shared one grape soda with four friends, from one bottle and no one died. Some did get da cooties. By the way does anybody actually KNOW what da **** cooties looked like ?

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X Boxes, 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, cellular phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms, ...we had friends.
We went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s home, knocked on the door, rung the bell or just walked in and talked to them. Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves! Without a guardian Out there in the cold cruel world! How did we do it?

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment...

Some students weren’t as smart as others so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade. Tests were not adjusted for any reason.

Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. No one to hide behind. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law, imagine that!

This generation produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years has seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility.

And you’re one of them.

Congratulations!;) :bigwave:

Happy Thanksgiving, all!!
Bill

I stumbled across this little gem the other day. I think there is some truth in it...

/Claes

That explains why everyone is making sense today :vfunny:

Aging gracefully

Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft............... Today, it's called golf.

Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know "why" I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.

You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.

One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been.

Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

Old age is when former classmates are so gray and wrinkled and bald, they don't recognize you.

If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old.

First you forget names, then you forget faces. Then you forget to pull up your zipper, then .... Oh my goodness you forgot to pull your zipper down!

If you jog in a jogging suit, lounge in lounging pajamas, and smoke in a smoking jacket, WHY would anyone want to wear a windbreaker?

And best of all.... I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top

While Paul Harvey wrote this for children, he is speaking to parents and those who may have experienced many of these things while growing up. Personally, I've experienced most of them....but, we're old!:vfunny:

Paul Harvey Writes:

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I'd like better.

I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and
homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches. I really would.

I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn
honesty by being cheated.

I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.

And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are
sixteen.

It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and
your old dog put to sleep.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room ,but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him.

When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him/her.

I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and
that you live in a town where you can do it safely.

On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.

If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.

I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.

When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.

I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first
crush on a boy\girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.

I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it.
And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma/Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle.

May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.

I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor's window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Hannukah/Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life.

This was an e-mail I received recently. True? I don't know. Sounds right. Enjoy.....

Some interesting statistics from 100 years ago! YEAR OF 1902
What a difference a century makes.

The average life expectancy in the US was forty-seven (47).
Only 14 Percent of the homes in the US had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
There were only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
The average wage in the US was 22 cents an hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births in the US took place at home.
Ninety percent of all US physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."
Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee cost fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.
The five leading causes of death in the US were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.
There were no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
One in ten US adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the corner drugstores. According to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and the bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."
Eighteen percent of households in the US had at least one full-time servant or domestic.
There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US.

Just think what it will be like in another 100 years.

It boggles the mind.

The average wage in the US was 22 cents an hour.
I work for a non-profit and I think that's pretty close to current! :eek:

I can tell why you're listed as a "shy" browser too. So maybe we should change #3 under causes of death to "diarrhea of the mouth" for you!!!!!:vfunny: :thedeal: :ko:

I JUST RAN ACROSS THIS THREAD TODAY (SINCE I AM A LITTLE SLOW) BUT A LITTLE THING MY GRAMMA ALWAYS SAID WHEN WE ASKED HER HOW OLD SHE WAS. SHE SAID SHE IS AS OLD AS SHE FEELS AND EACH DAY IT WAS DIFFERENT! ON HER 99 BIRTHDAY SHE SAID SHE FELT 21 ALL OVER AGAIN (EXCEPT THE BARS WEREN'T AS MUCH FUN!!)
ANYWAY I AM NOW A GRANDMOTHER OF TWO BOYS (WELL ALMOST ) ONE IS FOUR THE OTHER IS DUE IN MAY! AND I DON'T FEEL A DAY OVER 21 (TODAY ANYWAY!!!)

RANDY!!!!!!! Is that a 65 GTO in the photo? Please tell me it's not so in order for me to not die from envy.:)

It's actually a '64 1/2. The front was to be the new 65's and the tail lights and rear was a carryover from 64.:bigwave:

I've owned 3 different 65's, 2 coupes and 1 hardtop version. All 3 of mine were 4 speed tripower versions (2 from the factory and 1 that I converted w/factory components). I would absolutely wig to own another. Some of my other cool cars have been a 68 AMX (390 3 barrel w/ Borg warner T-10) and a 70 Daytona Charger (440 automatic). I wrecked the Daytona during a bank robbery in '74 (I got the robber though). The funnest car I owned was probably my 47 Anglia Panel (327 Chevy w/Muncie 4 speed), It was a real screamer.

To say that I was a street racer would be an understatement.

Hey Energy,

Am I supposed to repost when I "jump" decades this year??? :eek:

Bill Ryan said:

Hey Energy,

Am I supposed to repost when I "jump" decades this year??? :eek:

Bill,

I don't get the question. I know that I will jump to another decade this month. 6 :(

But I remain ready to repulse boarders!:biglaugh: :ko: :smokin:

Oh, I get it. This is a poll. I don't believe you can go back and change your age group. Well, it's just for info and my catagory doesn't change!:vfunny: Oops you're right. I would jump into another catagory, too! Time for a new poll!

I'm right there with you this month.
Question is why am I still doing this "Quality" stuff. Started it in 1967. Was a good carrer for a while, worked my way up got my CQE, now looks like we going downhill. Got laid off in a "reduction in work force" at Rockwell. They eliminated our quality management, and kept 4 floor inspectors. Found this job in 2 months, but at a lot less money. Seems like nobody wants to hire us experienced folks in management anymore.
Guess I'm stuck for the duration:bonk:
Hope you have a good one

Got this today via e-mail. We have a lot of these examples of things that have faded away, but to me, this list is quite impressive. Enjoy, you ole Fuddy Duddies! I did.:)

DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN...?

All the girls had ugly gym uniforms?

It took five minutes for the TV warm up?

Nearly everyone's Mom was at home when the kids got home from school?

Nobody owned a purebred dog?

When a quarter was a decent allowance?

You'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny?

Your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces?

All your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done every day and wore high heels?

You got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped,
without asking, all for free, every time?

And you didn't pay for air?

And, you got trading stamps to boot?

Laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box?

It was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner
at a real restaurant with your parents?

They threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed . . and they did?

When a 57 Chevy was everyone's dream car...

to cruise, peel out, lay rubber

or watch submarine races,

and people went steady?

No one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked?

Lying on your back in the grass with your friends and saying things like, "That cloud looks like a ….. ."

and playing baseball with no adults to help kids with the rules of the game?

Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals
because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger?

And with all our progress, don't you just wish, just once, you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace, and share it with the children of today?

When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited the student at home?

Basically we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc.

Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat!

But we survived because their love was greater than the threat.


WHO CAN STILL REMEMBER

Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys,

Laurel and Hardy, Howdy Dowdy

and the Peanut Gallery,

the Lone Ranger, The Shadow Knows,

Nellie Bell, Roy and Dale,

Trigger and Buttermilk.

As well as summers filled with bike rides, baseball games,

Hula Hoops, bowling and visits to the pool,

and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar.

Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say,
"Yeah, I remember that"?

I am sharing this with you today

because it ended with a double dog dare to pass it on.

To remember what a double dog dare is, read on.

And remember that the perfect age is somewhere between

old enough to know better and too young to care.

HOW MANY OF THESE DO YOU REMEMBER?

Candy cigarettes

Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside

Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles

Coffee shops with tableside jukeboxes

Blackjack, Clove and Teaberry chewing gum

Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers

Newsreels before the movie

P.F. Fliers

Telephone numbers with a word prefix....(Raymond 4-601).

Party lines

Peashooters

Howdy Dowdy

45 RPM records

Green Stamps

Hi-Fi's

Metal ice cubes trays with levers

Mimeograph paper

Beanie and Cecil

Roller-skate keys

Cork pop guns

Drive ins

Studebakers

Washtub wringers

The Fuller Brush Man

Reel-To-Reel tape recorders

Tinkertoys

Erector Sets

The Fort Apache Play Set

Lincoln Logs

15 cent McDonald hamburgers

5 cent packs of baseball cards -

with that awful pink slab of bubble gum

Penny candy

35 cent a gallon gasoline

Jiffy Pop popcorn

DO YOU REMEMBER A TIME WHEN...

Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-moe"?

Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "Do Over!"?

"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest?

Catching the fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening?

It wasn't odd to have two or three "Best Friends"?

The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was "cooties"?

Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot?

A foot of snow was a dream come true?

Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute commercials for action figures?

"Oly-oly-oxen-free" made perfect sense?

Spinning around, getting dizzy, and falling down was cause for giggles?

The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team?

War was a card game?

Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle?

Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin?

Water balloons were the ultimate weapon?

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have lived!!!!!!!:ko: :smokin:

Hey Bill, you forgot

10 cent comic books

chinks of ice from the milk truck

the ice cream guy on the 3-wheel bike/cart

popping tar bubbles with your toes in the street

playing in the street

4th of July fireworks at the drive in

making push cars w/baby carrige wheels

Saturday morning double features w/cartoons for 25 cents

Beanie and Cecil

Soupy Sales, Whitefang & Blacktooth

Mr. Moose, Dancing Bear, Mr. Greenjeans & Bunny Rabbit

The Hot Tamale man and his cart

American Bandstand (in black and white only)

.......and the list goes on

When you look at all those things that have basically gone away, I often wonder what happened? Was it progress? Towards what? The only answer I can come up with is "Money". The greed of others to take something good and cheap and either replace it with more expensive substitutes or make it affordable only to those who have the jing. This of course, causes "things" to be out of reach for certain segments of the population, mainly low or no income people, hence crime. Greed controls Corporations, who in turn control us. It would be interesting to see what was replaced with something comparable and available to everyone. Not much. Children today, my Grandchildren included, have their Sony Playstations that occupy a significant amount of their time and the prices for these electronic Games are beyond the means of a lot of people. We have a standing joke with my Grandson. He comes outside and looks up at the sky with a squint. We tell them not to worry, it's called "outside". Short of tying him to a tree, he wants to be either at the computer or on his Electronic Games. We have tried everything. GameBoys, the Cube, etc. cost in hundreds of dollars are quickly obsoleted to sell newer models. Vivious cycle. But, parents want to make the kids happy. Are they? They're smiling. I know, Blah Blah Blah.:confused: :smokin:

It's tough to determine where to draw the line energy. What and where do you chop out the electronic stuff to promote interaction with living things (i.e. outside) and not affect their interaction with friends? Where is the moderation limit? It's difficult to tell, but a veg in front of a monitor is not what I want. Even as adults we buy these things that are suppose to make life easier but they tend to tie us up more and more. I just can't see the need to talk on the phone while I'm in the grocery store! If I could get away with not having a phone at home I would, to me they are more of an interuption than anything else espcially with the invention of telemarketing (there's a special place in hel1 for these people)! I returned mine from work (had to take a pager though) after the suggestion was made to keep it on during a vacation! I'm on vacation to get away from work not take it with me. I've even seen guys with them out on the lake. Unless it was to tell someone to order pizza because the fishing was bad, they need to be beat severly about the head and shoulders!!!:bonk:
Oh well, I'll get off my cell phone soapbox (to think I sold them for a living a few years ago). :frust:

I hate having to tell my kids - GET OUTSIDE -you would think that's where they'd want to be. So I just make Playstation off limits if its over 60 and nice. If left to decide for themselves, it's inside either TV or video games. We have a small wooded area with a creek as a part of our property. Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to see my 13 year old sitting by the creek, mindlessly whittling a stick with his pocket knife. We had alot of outside chores going on and I wanted to make him help. But leaving him alone seemed so appropriate. A few minutes later he was helping install sidewalk lights.

Cell phones are a nice emergency accessary these days - I like having one on my kids when they want to go to the movies or the mall. There was a lady at an airport once that must have had no idea how loud she was talking. Everyone around her was looking at each other. When she hung up, she kind of recognized the silence and realized - turning a bit red. Everyone knew her plans for the weekend!

Not saying cell phones are bad just that I did without the first 30+ years of my life, why do I have to have one now? I'm not saying it's why you carry one Laura but it sure seems to me we like to make excuses for tieing ourselves up (or down). We say we wish we had more time for this and that, (look at the poll for hunting and fishing) but we keep restricting ourselves by our electronic tethers, we just can't stand to be out of touch! Yes I carry one when I travel, but it's turned off unless I need it. I have Cingular, the plan that rolls over your unused minutes to the next month, I had to drop down 2 plans because of the minutes I was wasting. I have an answering machine at home and voice mail on the cell so I use them.

21 years old and after this school i am planning on working. I have had it with school actually.

I've come up with a new way to determine when you're getting old. Right now there are a lot of folks I work around that are young enough to be my kids. As of yet, I've not seen any that are young enough to be my grandkids. That is when I will be officially old. :thedeal:

How 'bout if you meet someone your age and they are a grandparent?

I have a friend who is 25. Her momma is 46. I'm only 4 years younger than that, but somehow feel closer to the 25 than the 46. She keeps saying - 'I can't believe you are almost as old as my mom!!!!!" She has a baby so the 46 is a grandma. Well I have a 16 year old - not impossible, but God help me if it happens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laura,
According to your post I'm about as young as you are and I have a grandaughter. I actually have 4 grand kids but my 22 year old son married into a ready made family. My 23 year old daughter had a daughter 3 years ago. So yes it does happen.

Laura,
According to your post I'm about as young as you are and I have a grandaughter. I actually have 4 grand kids but my 22 year old son married into a ready made family. My 23 year old daughter had a daughter 3 years ago. So yes it does happen.

I don't know about you old farts! :biglaugh: Can I say "farts" in the Cove?

Laura,
According to your post I'm about as young as you are and I have a grandaughter. I actually have 4 grand kids but my 22 year old son married into a ready made family. My 23 year old daughter had a daughter 3 years ago. So yes it does happen.


It seems our generation either waited or had 'em young. You managed to do both!!! Good for you. I'm trying to think what sounds better, a granddaughter or a new daughter. Mmmmm.... It's just that 40's doesn't seem old once you're there, but somehow my grandparents and parents were!!! I think my activity level keeps me thinking I'm 20. Playing soccer, softball, volleyball, etc (and not being too bad, not even 'for my age' - there are 20 somethings I can teach a few things to!) keeps me thinking I'm not 40. My knees are starting to question that fact, however!

Too many jumps out of perfectly good airplanes makes the knees scream, but I did make some students look silly at the flag football game before the Michigan & Michigan State game. And no, I'm not playing in the Michigan & Ohio State alum flag football game at Ford Field at the end of the month. It's their loss!!

You managed to do both!!! I don't know if that's a good thing or not! Both sides have their benefits.

well i am turning 22 this month but i am not thinking of getting married though. First i want to finish my study and after that take a break from everything.

Too many jumps out of perfectly good airplanes makes the knees scream

Did you have to remind me of this? 125 blasts and never a good PLF!!! My knees and back (especially the lower part) are a constant reminder that if you're riding in an airplane that isn't broke, there is no shame in landing with it. :vfunny:

It seems our generation either waited or had 'em young. You managed to do both!!! Good for you. I'm trying to think what sounds better, a granddaughter or a new daughter. Mmmmm.... It's just that 40's doesn't seem old once you're there, but somehow my grandparents and parents were!!! I think my activity level keeps me thinking I'm 20. Playing soccer, softball, volleyball, etc (and not being too bad, not even 'for my age' - there are 20 somethings I can teach a few things to!) keeps me thinking I'm not 40. My knees are starting to question that fact, however!
Laura,
You are so right. My husband and I are both 43. He had his first child when he was 22. I, on the other hand, gave birth to my first 3 days before I turned 30. We had a child together, and 1 year later his son had a child. So my youngest son became an uncle 2 weeks shy of his first birthday!

Carol

I'm old enough to know that I need more time to make up for the time I have wasted attempting to grow up.

I'm old enough to know that my mistakes are reversible.



I'm old enough to know the mistakes I've made have, and will, have far-reaching consequences.



I’m old enough to know that, at times, my opinions do matter.



I’m old enough to know that however cynical I can be that there are other opinions that can shake me back to reality.



I’m old enough to know I can be wrong, and accept it.



I’m old enough to know that time is fleeting, and that time lost can not be recovered, only compensated for.



I’m old enough to realize that my parents were mostly right.



I’m old enough to know that I am what I’ve made of myself.



I’m old enough to realize that there really is love in this world and it is what I make of it.



Al…46 :agree1:

UUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.................

How honest do I have to be?

I'm so old that I first did SPC on mechanical calulators and slide rules :mg:

Still pretty young at 32.

24 and (arguably) starting to grow up!

24 and (arguably) starting to grow up!Why? Don't... I'm 44 now, and still (at least acc. to the missus :rolleyes: ) not even close to growing up. Besides, I'm not exactly trying either...:naughty: :notangel: :notme:

/Claes

I counted about seven of us, in this thread alone, clustering around the 45 year mark (plus or minus a couple of years) - and I don't think any of us would claim grown up status; although sometimes my body tells me otherwise. :D

The average for the poll appears to be around 40-42 years. Does that make us "above average"? :mg:

I counted about seven of us, in this thread alone, clustering around the 45 year mark (plus or minus a couple of years) - and I don't think any of us would claim grown up status; although sometimes my body tells me otherwise. :D

The average for the poll appears to be around 40-42 years. Does that make us "above average"? :mg:

Rob,

I just put in my vote (on the "young" side of 50-59) so that raises the average and now makes you less above average. Sorry.

At the risk of being banned to the Netherworld (again), this poll seems to have been around for some time. Has someone factored in that those polled are a year or two older than when they voted?

Bill Pflanz
Getting to Older than Dirt

...although sometimes my body tells me otherwise. Ouch... You have a point there.

The average for the poll appears to be around 40-42 years. Does that make us "above average"? But of course it does. Above average... Yeah I like the sound of that :) .

Hey, wait a minute! :oops: You're not talking about age again are you? Awwwww maaaaan... Now, how do we talk ourselves out of this?

/Claes

Can anyone explain the normal distribution that the result of this pole has given so far ?



Im going to wave goodbye to my posting priviledges by having a stab at your question.....(brave girl)

So anyone under the age of 19 (as previously mentioned by one contributor) is unlikely to think that a bunch of old quality bods have anything worth saying...
Likewise, it is less likely that people age 50 + are hooked up and "into" a forum like this...

(Before you all beat me up, I have an Uncle who's 83 ish and surfs the net daily as well as a father age 77 who emails and occasionally surfs so I know its not impossible)

Actually, its more likely that people over the age of 50 have left quality behind and moved onto a different life!

Anyway - I guess its pretty obvious stuff but like I said, I was feeling brave....

:truce:

Well you are partially correct. I moved out of Quality in my 50's, then came back. After downsizing and staff cuts, company sold off. Returned to area of most expertise and need. :tg:

43. (yikes). Going on a 20th wedding anniversary next week too.

Here was this weeks schedule: 2 softball games on Sunday. 1 game on MOnday. Golf on Wednesday, golf today and Saturday. Starting back on Sunday, one softball league has a double header, so that's 3 games on Sunday, and Monday has a double header. That will be 5 games in 2 days.

I think that's more than when I was 23! But it also made me realize I overcommitted. I need more time for family stuff.

But the 'old' bod must be holding up pretty well for that schedule!

Actually, its more likely that people over the age of 50 have left quality behind and moved onto a different life!

I got to thinking about people over 50 leaving quality. I would argue that you want to stay in quality considering the life span of the quality gurus. It is not a scientific sample but note the ages of the following.

Walter Shewhart (1891 - 1967) 75
Harold Dodge (1893 -1981) 87
Eugene Grant (1897-1996) 99
Joseph Juran (1904 - ) 100
W. Edwards Deming (1900 - 1993) 93

Dorian Shainin (1915 – 2000) 85
George Box (1919 - ) 85
Genichi Taguchi (1924 - ) 80
Kaori Ishikawa (1915 – 1989) 74
Philip Crosby (1926 – 2001) 75

The average age is 85 which is even more remarkable considering when they were born. They definitely beat the statistics for their generation. If the theory holds true that long life and an interest in quality go together, just think what some of us will be like in another 30 years with our comments and stories here at the Cove.

Bill Pflanz

I got to thinking about people over 50 leaving quality. I would argue that you want to stay in quality considering the life span of the quality gurus. It is not a scientific sample but note the ages of the following.

Walter Shewhart (1891 - 1967) 75
Harold Dodge (1893 -1981) 87
Eugene Grant (1897-1996) 99
Joseph Juran (1994 - ) 100
W. Edwards Deming (1900 - 1993) 93

Dorian Shainin (1915 – 2000) 85
George Box (1919 - ) 85
Genichi Taguchi (1924 - ) 80
Kaori Ishikawa (1915 – 1989) 74
Philip Crosby (1926 – 2001) 75

The average age is 85 which is even more remarkable considering when they were born. They definitely beat the statistics for their generation. If the theory holds true that long life and an interest in quality go together, just think what some of us will be like in another 30 years with our comments and stories here at the Cove.

Bill PflanzWell, Bill. Interesting conclusion - stay in quality, live long (only if you are a guru?)

My uncle knew Shewhart when both worked at Western Electric before and during WWII. Then my uncle went to work at some ordnance plant in the far west [then] suburbs of Chicago [now the suburb is right next door to an expanded Chicago.]
If I get to guru status, it looks like I have a few years left before I check out.

Aside to engjane: I have socks older than 50!

Bill - Juran is 1904 date of birth, not 1994. No, I wasn't there!

...just think what some of us will be like in another 30 years with our comments and stories here at the Cove.
Look at the changes in the site since it went onlline in January 1996 and try to remember what the internet was like then. Wild West comes to my mind.

If the site is here in 30 years (yeah, sure...) it will all be audio-video. I'm trying to think how text will fit in if at all. I don't see books, for example as becoming obsolescent in 30 years, but by then fibre optics will be in most every home, entire movies will fit on chips the size of a dime - or smaller.

Hmmmm.... 30 years from now...

Is it just me or can some of you older folks relate to this.
When I do hard physical labor, say work on the truck, cut down a tree, etc. I don't feel the pain for two days but by then I can barely walk!
What with this? I feel fine the day after the work but boy that second day is tough! Maybe it has something to do with the theory of relativity.

Maybe it has something to do with the theory of relativity.
It has to do with relatively how old you are and how strenuously you relatively exercise (amongst other, yet all relative, factors...). Are you concerned you can't climb mountains any more and maybe even 'need' Viagra (or other 'stimulant')? :rolleyes:

Jim,

My aches and pains are associated with sports type strain (avoiding physical labor whenever possible) and yes, my hip joints today got me thinking about if/when I'll be using a walker! But seriously, I played softball Sunday, and again last night. Last night I was fine. Today - ouch. So its either I ran extra hard Monday, or a 2 day delay! As far as yard work and the regularly un-used muscles, I usually feel it the next day a little and 2 days later worse.
I'm one of the oldest on the team, and outrun everyone, so I can say a little pain is worth it...I ain't quitting yet.

So, its not just you. The over-40 crowd keeps a regular supply of Advil in the cupboard...or maybe in Marc's case...Viagra.. :tg:

It has to do with relatively how old you are and how strenuously you relatively exercise (amongst other, yet all relative, factors...). Are you concerned you can't climb mountains any more and maybe even 'need' Viagra (or other 'stimulant')? :rolleyes:

Perhaps, we need to go a little deeper! My dear departed Godfather told me that even though he was 86 and his body constantly told him he was indeed 86, his mind told him another story that he was still that lean mean fighting machine of 22!

So what is it? Mind over matter or matter over mind? Or was my Godfather introducing me to the concept of a soul? ;)

Age is all in the mind. People allways look at me like I'm lying about it when I tell them my age and that I have been married 30 years. @ 17 we were commited, still are with the oldest little one being 29. Priorities are a must, I have a top of the line computer and just bought one of those new fangeled contraptions called a microwave.

Is it just me or can some of you older folks relate to this.
When I do hard physical labor, say work on the truck, cut down a tree, etc. I don't feel the pain for two days but by then I can barely walk!
What with this? I feel fine the day after the work but boy that second day is tough! Maybe it has something to do with the theory of relativity.

Not sure why that happens. All I know is that I lift weight 45-60 minutes a day 6 days a week, run 3.5 miles 5 days a week and play 3 games of raquetball 5 days a week. Never had any problems then all of a sudden this week I am sore as sore can be. I know I am getting older, but why all of a sudden am I sore. :nope:

I guess I should be happy that I'm in the SECOND largest group in the poll......

Marc and Laura......no Advil and no Viagra......I went to GNC and got Yohimbe Bark.....the active part of Viagra and much cheaper.......but that is off-limits for me too.

Hope the Bayer man is around.....oops, showing my age...... :o

I think I'll run away and join Ponce de Leon's group......... :biglaugh:

Hershal

Moi? I'm 54, never have taken Viagra, sometimes I do take aspirin. Yohimbe Bark is interesting. When I was in Africa years ago we smoked and chewed yohimbe the leaves. It was sorta like chewing cocoa leaves in Peru. Gave one an 'energy rush'. I had no idea the bark was legal. I think the leaves are illegal in the US - but I could be wrong.

I'm only 41
6' 0" 190lbs

Not sure what the opposite of Viagra is, but I need some. (At least that is what my wife and girlfreinds tell me)

Run 2-3 miles 3 times a week
Kayak
Mountain Bike
Camp
Hunt
Fish
Sail (Just bought a 22 foot "project")

Do I get sore? yeah, it hurts a little more than it used to, but nothing a few beers doesn't quell.

It is only pain, just ignore it and keep going.

Carl-

The leaves may be illegal, but in a processed form (pills) they are available OTC at GNC and various drug stores.

$15 per bottle versus $5 per pill to achieve the same goal? Anyone want to do a cost/benefit analysis?

Anyway, I now have to walk 30 min or more per day, cut WAY back on beef and breakfast pork, cut out eggs and salt (the salt was easy, I hate the taste), increase fruits/veggies/water. I hate getting older.

I hate getting older. Are you sure? I mean to say: The alternative to getting older is horrendous. http://elsmar.com/Forums/images/smilies/omg.gif

I certainly want to get older, I just don't want to get old, that's all :D. Come to think of it, I don't even want to grow up...

/Claes

Dear Covers:

Atul told us when life begins. So, I know his age. A few years from now, Atul will be as old as I am now - my birthday is coming up, a few months to go still. In the next poll, I will give some more hints to help you figure out the real number.

Charmed :) :thanx: :thanx: :thanx:

hmmmm still not many peeps in the early 20's posting on here oh well prolly doing something else :P or they dont use a pc that often, personally i love the thing :D. Well except when i play soccer and train on tuesday, nice doing some recreational sport.

hmmmm still not many peeps in the early 20's posting on here Not many, but I see a few around.... mjflkitty and Rachel (the enginerd) comes to mind.

/Claes

Not many, but I see a few around.... mjflkitty and Rachel (the enginerd) comes to mind.

/Claes


Yup, the enginerd is still around...currently trying to make sense of OEE and apply it to a plant where barely *anything* is automated...
Cheers,
-R.

Here with us quality is something unknow here well not with the bigger companies but they are already certified. Recently they start having some kind of standards for schools also similar based as iso but more aimed towards school regulation and all. Guess those quality doesnt live that strong in most companies here especially since we live in the deprived north of the country.

It's great to see that so many young people (under 40) who work in the world visit the Cove. Thanks for caring. Bring your friends. :applause:

My sister told me life begins with 30, she got married when she was 34 and had her 1rst born with 36 , had her 2nd born with 38, she is now turning 40 and is going through mid life crisis. :mg:
Well as her sister I took her advice and hoped for the best.
My life started with 35 ( put it this way that is when my sweet brain woke up)
I am now 36 going on 37, I have a 15 year old daughter and feel 29. :lol:
So I don't believe that I will have a mid life crisis like my sister, but you know what I did it backwards and am looking forward to the rest of my young life, cheerful and full of pep.
!!! got to love life !!! :agree1:
:magic:

Hi All:

Now that we have transitioned to 2005 (some are still probably writing 2004 on their checks!) let me note that I am now a year younger.

This reversal in aging is consistent with the theory of relativity. Remember the twin who stays at home ages but the twin who travels return from his journey younger. I started walking a lot last year, so I must be going down in age. :lol:

Charmed

funny how things change, when this poll first started, there were way more 50 somethings...I have watched the cove change over many years, and seeing how the posts have changed, I now know why....... nothing meant by that, but us older folks come from a different generation and mind set....not better just different.

funny how things change, when this poll first started, there were way more 50 somethings...I have watched the cove change over many years, and seeing how the posts have changed, I now know why....... nothing meant by that, but us older folks come from a different generation and mind set....not better just different.

you older folks come from a different generation and mind set, I like that, there is alot to learn from you, however the younger generation puts a deaf year to it and say " your on crack". My daughter just turned 15, I am 36.She often tells me that I am retarded. Nice eh! However we are best friends too.
I am the old fashion mother, yet that cool girlfriend too. You have to find that fine line , where you disapline , teach and are cool.
My brother who is 22 tells ME that I am stuck in the 70's. Also,
I am seeing a fella that is 42 and is so from the old generation. We often talk about the way he was raised and the difference in todays generation. I was raised very old fashion german, where you respect your elders. My mom just has to give you that look and you knew you were out of line.It still happens and I am 36! Back then I hated that, today I am glad I was raised that way.
I guess I find myself stuck in the middle of the old generation and the new!
Anyone else out there like me? or should I check myself into the lunie bin. :biglaugh:

Anyone else out there like me? or should I check myself into the lunie bin. Nah. I think you are on the right track. I've told the Covers before that my wife claims that I'm not grown up yet.

What utter tosh...http://elsmar.com/Forums/images/smilies/rolleyes-a1.gif I haven't even tried to grow up yet... http://elsmar.com/Forums/images/smilies/lol.gif. Besides, why count age in years? It's all about your experiences and lessons learned along the way, anyway.

/Claes

Nah. I think you are on the right track. I've told the Covers before that my wife claims that I'm not grown up yet.

What utter tosh...http://elsmar.com/Forums/images/smilies/rolleyes-a1.gif I haven't even tried to grow up yet... http://elsmar.com/Forums/images/smilies/lol.gif. Besides, why count age in years? It's all about your experiences and lessons learned along the way, anyway.


I must admit , I never give up. If you fall of the horse, just get right back up on it. Like you said lessons learned - don't make the same mistake twice but learn from the once you make. http://elsmar.com/Forums/images/smilies/biggrin-a1.gif

i belong to the age bracket with the mostest members! coolio!!!

im just glad to be here and to lend a hand if need be!

cheers to everyone!!!

Age is just a #.

If you wake up you should be happy. Enjoy the moment.

Thinking about the # of years you have been here, to me, is very stressful.

It's the "if i coulda woulda" syndrom.

So eveybody make every day count!!

Make every day the best day you can!!

Because before you know it "I've fallen and I can't get up" is right around the corner.

There was some college football game on this past weekend which was an "all-star" game of sorts - anyways, the ESPN interviewer asked the 22 year old player "would you rather date Ginger or MaryAnn?"

The fellow looked at the interviewer, hesitated, then said "I don't know who they are!" :confused:

I looked at my husband and we both started laughing. The reference was to a television show called "Gilligans Island" that we both watched as kids but it was in re-runs then...this guy had no idea what he was being asked.

To her credit, the interviewer laughed and said she was showing her age but I couldn't believe the 'frame of reference' difference!!!

My Father told me, "You don't become a man at 40 if you went like 60 at 20."

My Father told me, "You don't become a man at 40 if you went like 60 at 20."

But...what if you do 40 at 60? :lol:

I'm not old, I was just born a long time ago :agree1:

B'Dog

At age 4 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.

At age 12 success is . . . having friends.
At age 17 success is . . . having a driving license.
At age 20 success is . . . having sex.
At age 35 success is . . . having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 60 success is . . . having sex.
At age 70 success is . . . having a driving license.
At age 75 success is . . . having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.

37........Where’s the 'Quality' in not allowing less than 8 characters per reply and then having a thread asking for peoples ages, assuming you lot are under 999999999 years old, but then I suppose no-one actually chooses a career in Quality, so it must be full of dinosaurs...

full of dinosaurs...

Hey, hey...careful with that one....my kid's would say I resemble that remark!! :lol: :biglaugh: :lol:

You look VERy far from being a dinosaur, Carol (assuming that is your own pic in the avatar).

As you can see from mine, I am actually a computer-generated animation of a Quality Engineer, and so am really only about 10 yrs old....the rest of me is just a figment of my imagination.

In 1968 I went to see the Beatles at Cleveland Stadium, and the Rolling Stones at the Cleveland Coliseum.
Anybody else attend these events?

In 1968 I went to see the Beatles at Cleveland Stadium, and the Rolling Stones at the Cleveland Coliseum.
Anybody else attend these events?

If you saw the two bands in the same year, it had to have been 1966, which was the year of the last Beatles tour. They also appeared in Cleveland in 1964. Not that I'm old enough to remember, mind you :eek:.

If you saw the two bands in the same year, it had to have been 1966, which was the year of the last Beatles tour. They also appeared in Cleveland in 1964. Not that I'm old enough to remember, mind you :eek:.
Ouch, my brain must have shorted out. :bonk: I guess it was 1966 after all.
Hope you were there too :bigwave:

You look VERy far from being a dinosaur, Carol (assuming that is your own pic in the avatar).


Nay...not me...that is actress Mirina Sirtis from Star Trek - The Next Generation, but we do share the same birthday!:biglaugh:

I just received this little mathematical curio by email:

Your Age by Chocolate Math
> This is pretty neat! Check it out....
>
>
> YOUR AGE BY CHOCOLATE MATH
>
> This is pretty neat.
>
> DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!
>
> It takes less than a minute....... Work this out as you
> read..
> Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it
> out! This is not one of those waste of time things, it's
> fun.
>
> 1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that
> you would like to have chocolate. (more than once but
> less than 10)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 2. Multiply this number by 2 (Just to be bold)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 3. Add 5. (for Sunday)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 4.. Multiply it by 50 I'll wait while you get the
> calculator.................
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 5. If you have already had your birthday this year add
> 1755....
>
>
>
>
>
>
> If you haven't, add 1754 .....
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> You should have a three digit number .
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> The first digit of this was your original number (i.e.,
> how many times you want to have chocolate each week).
>
>
>
>
>
>
> The next two numbers are ........
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> YOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it is!!!!!)
>
>
>
>
> THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2005) IT WILL EVER WORK, SO
> SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS.


By the way, this would also be a perfect time to indulge in a fabulous
piece of chocolate cake, candy, ice cream or whatever....Enjoy!!!!!

Very good, although I think you mean maths, not math...

Very good, although I think you mean maths, not math...

Yes, as a Brit, I would say "maths" as would you. But, as you will have noted, I posted that which I received. It was from a "new colonial" source! :D

It used to bother me when I was not taken seriously just because I was "that young bloke". So I adopted a fail proof method to cope: However much I was patonized I "failed" to notice... and just kept dancing to my own tune.

Well, here I am.. 42 years young... and you know what: I'm still "that young bloke"... (And that tells you something about the age of the workforce in the company I work for these days ).

However, it doesn't bother me anymore. In fact I couldn't care less. Besides, I'm still as childish as I ever was. ;)

/Claes
your life just started as mentioned by Atul" life start at age of 40......."

For some people the 45 + age is considered semi retirement. ;)

your life just started as mentioned by Atul" life start at age of 40......."Wow... It's been a while since I posted that. I'm 45 now. Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? :)

/Claes

Hey, let me give you a trick. You can express your age in factorial, so you can for example claim to be between 4! and 5! years old if you are between 24 and 120. :) :agree1:

Hey, let me give you a trick. You can express your age in factorial, so you can for example claim to be between 4! and 5! years old if you are between 24 and 120. :) :agree1:Good hint, but who's feeling bad? Not me... I some times am bad (Muahahahaha :naughty: ) , but that doesn't mean I feel bad.

/Claes

I'm 29 now, & will be 30 soon, so I took d chance to post in the 1st category.

I hope both the Cove & I am around to post in every catergory of this poll :biglaugh:

The age of 30..... what a nice time in my life and career (too bad that was over 18 years ago). I will say that this is interesting poll it appears that at this time, the ages range from 30-49 as the majority of covers.


Coury Ferguson

Just turned 39 yesterday.

Just for clarification purposes. Is this chronological age, or the age which the wife accuses me of acting sometime? Would an average of the two suffice?

Wayne:rolleyes:

Just for clarification purposes. Is this chronological age, or the age which the wife accuses me of acting sometime? Would an average of the two suffice?

Wayne:rolleyes:
chronilogical, we reserve the right to judge your actions for ouselves.;)

Actually, I'll soon be moving up to another bracket, and I still get told to grow up. (mostly by my children)

It seems a though that as we age, we have a tendancy to grow "out" instead of "up" :notme:

55!

I can't hardly remember 30. And don't even ask about 18:nope:

It seems a though that as we age, we have a tendancy to grow "out" instead of "up" :notme:Ok! If I had grown "in proportion," I should be about 7 feet tall!:lmao:

Ok! If I had grown "in proportion," I should be about 7 feet tall!:lmao:

I'm in the the early 40's group. I stopped growing in all directions at the age of 14. Sure didn't get very far (short and petite) and now I have shrinkage to look forward to as I age....:mg: What's the height limit for a little person these days? :lmao:

I'm in the the early 40's group. I stopped growing in all directions at the age of 14. Sure didn't get very far (short and petite) and now I have shrinkage to look forward to as I age....:mg: What's the height limit for a little person these days? :lmao:OK - that's just not fair! Now I have an image of Gidget riding a crotch rocket! (your super fast motorcycle):cool:

OK - that's just not fair! Now I have an image of Gidget riding a crotch rocket! (your super fast motorcycle):cool:

Ah yes. Does this help? ;)
I don't have that 1991 Kawi ZX-7 anymore. Sold it many years ago. Miss the crotch rocket riding though...

Ah yes. Does this help? ;)
I don't have that 1991 Kawi ZX-7 anymore. Sold it many years ago. Miss the crotch rocket riding though...
Don't tell me you've 'grown up'??? :(

Don't tell me you've 'grown up'??? :(

NEVER!:lol: I have switched from a 2 wheeled rocket to 4 wheeled AWD rocket. That's all.

Unfortunately I still remember my first TV viewing. The Lone Ranger in B&W on my neighbors 10" screen in a huge cabinet. The whole block was there to watch. I am a little closer to retirement now, but not sure about the growing up.:cool:

33yrs. young.

Checking in here - 42 yrs. at present, and for another 3 months or so...

feelin like a frisky puppy here at 46..............(ok maybe not)

The big 50 is racin' upon me. And it ain't pretty!

Just hit 45, and my Grandma just turned 90. Kind of weird being 1/2 your grandmas age (she was obviously 45 when I was born!) I'm not a grandma yet - phew!

This thread makes me feel young at mere 29.

I feel like a baby in 24, turning 25 in 9 days.:rolleyes:

I just turned 30, and since I take all my life advice from "The Simpsons," I'm not allowed to trust myself anymore.

51 going on 52 in October:)

I really think it's time to close this poll. It is getting more and more inaccurate due to the facts that it was started in 2002, while most I know have a birthday once a year (Some may deny that, of course, but still...).

I suggest the brand new Let's do age! How 'Old' will you be in 2007? A poll - Version 3 (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=20443) instead.

/Claes