Age related

[Bob Eager]

THe dealer told me to use the remote to check. However, the side mirrors folding in is confirmation.

[Max Demian]

I've always kept equipment boxes for when I move house. Just put it back in the original packing and it can be slung in the back of a van or dropped on the floor. Much better than swathing them in bubble wrap.

[DerbyBorn]

Looking at cheap stuff and thinking - "That will see me out"

[spuorgelgoog]

Carrying heavy things home on the roof-rack no longer seems such a good idea.

You no longer have takeaway menus on the hall table but there's a Wiltshire Farm Foods catalogue in the kitchen.

You notice if the monumental mason has something new in rosy pink granite in the window, but walk straight past Ann Summers.

You wonder which will give out first - the car, your driving licence, or your eyes.

Owain

[spuorgelgoog]

Going to the charity shop for clothes: no point buying new as you'll not get the wear out of it.

Owain

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've just cleared out some paint cans for a decor scheme which was changed near 30 years ago. Must have aged early. ;-)

[Johnny B Good]

That's a given, especially the more "smart" your TV is supposed to be.

I've never used that test since ICBA to walk back to the car. I might still be close enough to see whether the locking buttons have gone down but usually I cheat by unlocking with the remote and then cycle it to locked then alarmed.

I doubt I'll do that since I've got a well ingrained habit of never turning taps off any tighter than the minimum required to save on the cost of replacement tap washers including taking into account the reduced pressure required for the tap washer to seal on the hot tap after running a stream of hot water through it.

It's proven an effective strategy since the only tap washers I've ever had to replace were those on the cast iron bath we acquired 2nd hand from a relative when we first moved into our current domicile some 35 years ago. The tap washer change must be about 5 years or so back. The 30 odd year old kitchen sink taps are still as good as the day we had the kitchen extension fitted out and these are in constant use.

I only save old 'exhausted' AA and AAA types if the battery tester shows they've still got enough life to power a quartz regulated clock. The PP3s usually get cannibalised for their terminals if I'm running low on battery snaps.

I've just recovered 4 Alkaline D cells from a couple of rarely used 3 cell Maglights to power an electric kitchen bin chosen specifically for its use of D cells over the smaller more expensive battery options of other makes. I think these D cells must be over 6 years old but apart from the need to polish the ends with wire wool to remove an almost invisible film of tarnish, the bin lid opens and closes quite smartly and has done so for over a month's use with no sign of flagging.

Although I was typically using my desktop PC for 16 hours a day until just over 2 years ago I would shut it down every night and then switch the PSU off at the back which also shut off the power to the aux monitor power socket which also provided power to a a pair of active speakers which action saved a total of 8 watts standby power from the PSU, speakers and monitor. Now that I'm running Linux Mint with Kaffeine doing PVR duty, I rarely bother shutting it down other than using the on/off button on the monitor. The computer runs 24/7 without standby power saving as does my NAS4Free box which has been running 24/365 for most of the past 5 or 6 years.

I've been running a variety of IT kit 24/365 year after year for so long that the odd tenth of a watt standby with various USB chargers is neither here nor there. I suppose I *could* give the desktop a full night's rest most nights but the energy saving is, in the whole scheme of things, so negligible I don't. If my usage changes sufficiently, I might go back to a nightly shut down but, for now, ICBA.

Newshound has already mentioned the "Getting up in the middle of the night to go for a pee." thing.

There's always that popular "Going upstairs and forgetting what it was you'd gone upstairs for." However, that's one that creeps up on most people long before "Reaching a certain age" so I suspect you're already only too aware of that.

Since you're a bloke, I doubt the "Forgetting People's Names" is one that will be any surprise since most men usually manage to never remember them in the first place due to the ICBA nature of most human males when it comes to social niceties. However, since this a skill that can be learnt given enough motivation, you might become distressed once the motivation disappears in later life - don't worry, that just means you've broken free of your conditioning and reverted back to normal male behaviour. :-)

The other one I can think of is collecting remote controls for TV sets and gadgets you no longer possess. Likewise, keys you no longer have legitimate access to the locks they once fitted.

You'll probably start vocalising the conversations you have with yourself that you'd previously had the good sense to keep quiet about. Don't worry if family members and relatives start pointing this out since the standard response "Talking to myself is the only form of intelligent conversation I can get these days! Besides, I need to keep in practice in case I do meet anyone capable of having an intelligent conversation!"

IME, that seems to shut them up pretty quick and if it doesn't, a lively conversation usually ensues. Ether way it's a win provided you don't let the swapping of insults get out of hand.

I can't think of others right now but I'm sure there'll be more, mostly variations of those already mentioned so far. Life is full of surprises so your quest for spoilers will no doubt be answered here.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Has the price of beer in a pub rather leapt ahead of wages since the banking crash? Or is it just all the cheaper pubs have closed down?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If you are old, you'll not want those boxes for moving. No room for 'equipment' in the care home.

[Michael Chare]

I am trying to keep my bank accounts well away from my mobile phone.

[alan_m]

Many badly managed pubs[1] have closed partly because beer in supermarkets can be purchased for less £1/pint.

There is still a mix of cheaper and expensive pubs around.

[1] having visited a few rural places in the last month or so it was common to find perhaps two pubs in a village one of which does a very good trade every day whilst the pub 100 yards away has no trade at all.

On average I was paying less that £3/pint in rural pubs and £1 more in the larger towns.

[harry]

Or of wimpish appearance.

[harry]

And fat.

[spuorgelgoog]

£2.50 "pensioner" pints locally or £4.50 in the hotel bar.

Used to be 98p; I could count the 2ps the morning after to work out how muc h I'd drank. (Unless I bought crisps as well, of course)

Owain

[Chris J Dixon]

I was offered a seat on a tram last week.

Chris

[Handsome Jack]

DerbyBorn posted

Shouting into the telephone?

[Huge]

Me, please sir, me!

When we moved in here, 21 months ago, the look of relief on the face of the moving men was palpable when I told them I had the boxes for the flat screen TVs.

[Max Demian]

Working out how long it will take to play through all your collection of records/CDs/cassettes/videocassettes/DVDs/laserdiscs.

[Max Demian]

You just have to come back downstairs to remember. Memories are localised in space

If they're the same make as the new ones, /some/ of the buttons will work, in case the new remote fails.

That's easy nowadays. Just get a pair of earbuds and stuff the cord down your front. People will assume you are using a mobile hands free.

[Huge]

That's made easier by the fact that I don't have any cassettes (*), videocassettes (*) or laserdiscs (+)

(* Threw them out when we moved, along with the hardware to play them.) (+ Never had any.)

Don't play CDs much any more, since they're all ripped and online.

I have started to wonder, assuming I die first, how my wife is going to manage with the technology in this house.