Obsolete Skills

[Philuva]

The other night, as I was taking a piss and getting a drink, I had the Daily Show on pause on my DVR, I realized the skill of timing a commercial break is about to be completely lost. I could take my sweet ass time with no sense of urgency because I had nothing to fear, there was NO WAY I could miss anything on my program. I use to rule at timing commercial breaks. I could perfectly time a break to do my required activities (pissing, making a sandwich, getting some ice cream, etc.) in the allotted time and be back before missing anything of my show or sporting event. With Tivo, there is no longer a need for this skill.


I was thinking how for guys older than me (I am 31) with no intention of ever getting Tivo, they still use this skill all the time and have no idea it is becoming obsolete. For the guys a lot younger than me who have always had Tivo, they will obviously never develop this skill, nor even realize its existence in the first place. Only those who have spanned this gap, living with TV before Tivo, yet young enough to buy and embrace Tivo will realize the passing of the guard so to speak.


Are there any other skills you have had that have become obsolete through advancements in technology? Are there any other cool skills that our parents possessed that we have no idea even exist now?

-Phil