The Off Topic Topic

[PDH]

Btw, holy shit.  A 25" color TV cost $500 in 1979, or over $1500 adjusted for inflation.  I suppose that seems about right, but still, yikes.

Yeah, but a 25" TV in those days had an entire cabinet made of wood with extensions.  Also, they came with a wet bar if I remember right.

[Ed Anger]

Btw, $269 for an Intellivision in 1980 is $755 in 2012 dollars.  Games were about $30 apiece, which equates to $84.22 today.  Yowza, no wonder dad always bitched about how expensive that stuff was.

Yet they bought us the games anyways. 

[Phillip V]

Serbia's NATO Ambassador Leaps to Death while chatting with colleagues. 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324640104578160701790954348.html

'Serbia's ambassador to NATO was chatting and joking with colleagues in a parking garage at Brussels Airport when he suddenly strolled to a barrier, climbed over and flung himself to the ground below.

His motives are a mystery. "It was indeed a suicide," said Ine Van Wymersch of the Brussels prosecutor's office. She said no further investigation was planned.'

[derspiess]

Btw, holy shit.  A 25" color TV cost $500 in 1979, or over $1500 adjusted for inflation.  I suppose that seems about right, but still, yikes.

Yeah, but a 25" TV in those days had an entire cabinet made of wood with extensions.  Also, they came with a wet bar if I remember right.

  Yeah, but even the "contemporary" plastic-case model had the same price.



On another page there was a 19" TV with a "state of the art" remote control the size of a VHS tape for $589.

[sbr]

My dad got one of the first vcrs back in the late 70's.  I think he said he paid like $1500 for it.  What's that in today's moonies?

[Tonitrus]

18th century French chateau, owned a Russian, and razed by Poles.  It's a trifecta...of something.

And there's a joke in there somewhere...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20616993

Builders demolish Russian oligarch's French chateau

Polish builders have demolished an 18th Century chateau in Bordeaux belonging to a Russian businessman, apparently by mistake.
Owner Dmitry Stroskin said he was shocked and had only ordered them to knock down an adjacent outhouse.
The local mayor in the nearby French village of Yvrac is said to be furious.
Chateau de Bellevue had been due to be renovated to its former glory - Mr Stroskin has said he will rebuild it exactly as it was.
The original 13,000 sq m chateau, which featured grand horseshoe steps and a once palatial ballroom, was previously hired out for wedding receptions and functions.
It sat within an imposing vineyard estate, where now only the rundown outhouse is still standing.
"The Chateau de Bellevue was Yvrac's pride and joy, the whole village is in shock," former owner Juliette Marmie told Associated Press. "How can this construction firm make such a mistake?"
Mr Stroskin has told local media that he is "in shock" and understands the locals' feelings.
French prosecutors are reported to be investigating whether there was a breach of the building code.

[Admiral Yi]

 

[DGuller]

   Oops.  The jokes just tell themselves.

[derspiess]

My dad got one of the first vcrs back in the late 70's.  I think he said he paid like $1500 for it.  What's that in today's moonies?

I picked 1978 & came up with $5,321.71

http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

We had a 70s-vintage VCR that my uncle gave us around 1982 or so when he upgraded his.  That damned thing was way more mechanical than electronic.  Made all sorts of clanking & clunking sounds and the "buttons" (really just levers) required about 20 lbs. of pressure to push.  Thing broke down all the time. 

First thing we recorded was the Grammys for that year, which we must have watched a million times just because we could

[sbr]

My dad got one of the first vcrs back in the late 70's.  I think he said he paid like $1500 for it.  What's that in today's moonies?

I picked 1978 & came up with $5,321.71

http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

We had a 70s-vintage VCR that my uncle gave us around 1982 or so when he upgraded his.  That damned thing was way more mechanical than electronic.  Made all sorts of clanking & clunking sounds and the "buttons" (really just levers) required about 20 lbs. of pressure to push.  Thing broke down all the time. 

First thing we recorded was the Grammys for that year, which we must have watched a million times just because we could

  My dad somehow got a hold of a bootleg copy of the first Star Wars movie.  Everyone I knew always wanted to come over and watch it, I lost count at my 120th viewing of the movie.  That is also how I am 99.9% sure we had the CVR before 1980, because Empire hadn't been released yet.

EDIT:  Again, I am 99% sure this the the vcr we had.  Too bad the picture is so bad.

http://dallas-tx.inetgiant.com/electronics-and-appliances/audio/vintage-rca-selectavision-vhs-vcr-cassette-3185506

EDITEDIT:  This was definitely it, says it was about $1000 so I was in the ballpark.
http://vintageelectronics.betamaxcollectors.com/rcaselectavisionvhsvcrmodelvct200.html

[Jacob]

Dogs driving cars: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20614593

[derspiess]

This was ours, a 1976-vintage JVC:

[Sheilbh]

You're really reaching Yake.

Not really.  My understanding is that the CIA called it an al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist attack, the DNI altered that in the talking points because they didn't want to reveal that the US was listening in on al-Qaeda affiliated groups in Libya.  That may be overly cautious but it's a legitimate concern.

Anyway I still think this is the most tedious non-scandal I've ever seen transfix half a nation.

[Admiral Yi]

Not really.  My understanding is that the CIA called it an al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist attack, the DNI altered that in the talking points because they didn't want to reveal that the US was listening in on al-Qaeda affiliated groups in Libya.  That may be overly cautious but it's a legitimate concern.

What is your understanding based on.

Anyway I still think this is the most tedious non-scandal I've ever seen transfix half a nation.

The nation's not transfixed.  It's a news junkie story.  Didn't register on most people's radars.

Anyway, you forgot about Betrayusgate.

[sbr]

Anyway, you forgot about Betrayusgate.

If the CIA Director had given classified documents to his fuck-buddy that would have been a story, it seemed most people lost interest when it appeared that wasn't the case.