Throughout my travels, I have noticed my grandchildren glued to the TV — generally watching YouTube videos of people playing video games. They weren’t playing the games themselves — just watching someone else play the game or build the town or build the dinosaur or transform the transformer.
I asked one of them a simple question. Why?
Matter-of-factly he answered, “So I can find the secret codes.”
I then made the mistake of asking him if he had the game. “No,” was his answer. But he added, “If I get it, I’ll know the secret codes.” He also said it helped him decide whether he wanted to play that game — a valid point, although his parents might have some veto power of his choice.
The phenomenon isn’t restricted to the pre-teens, tweens, or teens. A common phrase among my adult grandchildren and children is, “Google it ” And when my sons tackled some home improvement or auto repair tasks, the first place they went was YouTube.
I get it. Before the magic of the Internet, I would occasionally — occasionally — go to the library to check out Chilton’s Repair Manual or some other resource {I understand they are now online as well} to help me understand what project I was attacking.
I remember way back when, I tackled changing a window on my car. I read the manual. I followed the steps. But, after the repair — a successful repair — every time I went over a bump, the door panel would fall onto my leg.
Just a couple of years ago, I needed a new switch on my electric window. At my sons’ insistence I went to YouTube. They made it look easy. Just unfasten the tabs, slide the switch out, unplug the plugs, replace, and reverse order. It was less than a 10 minute video.
Unfastening the tabs was the hardest part. I butchered the decorative panel. Of course, using a screw driver instead of the specialized tool in the video may have had something to do with it.
It was a lesson learned. Go to the experts … or call my sons.
THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Light 
There are those who think it cool
that they can talk the talk,
but my way is old-school,
the hammer and the rock.
I don’t cut steel with burning plasma
and a drill-press is my lathe,
but on the other hand, no Visa drama
to make me an indentured slave.
There are times it would be nice
not to have an outdoor shop,
especially in snow and ice,
but I still do the job
with care and love up to the finish,
and quality is not diminished.
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Old school wasn’t all that bad.
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Fun post. It’s super weird to think back to life before smartphones, Google, and Youtube. How did we…function? If I remember correctly, we managed fine. I love the Emerson quote at the end.
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It was fun.
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I had my automatic drip coffeemaker go out on me. The heating element went out. I decided to take the heating element out of an older coffeemaker, and replace it in the newer coffeemaker. Seems simple right ? Not quite. To remove the screws on the bottom of the coffeemaker, a specialized screwdriver was required, which I didn’t have. So I went to plan B. I put the coffee grains in the filter, heat the water in the microwave, and pour the water over the coffee grains. Presto….I have hot coffee. Where there is a will, there is a way.
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Always …
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One can learn many things from the internet. And when one learns good things, important things and money-saving things, that’s the big plus! The internet is large, huge, and I’ve learned more from the Bible than I’ve learned from the internet, but I still have both for my reference “books’. Good entry.
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Thanks. Reference is all around us.
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