Betamax and 8 track tapes

This list was published in the paper this morning. Now I have highlighted those which I do, and there are quite a lot, but I don't think I am in any way a digital dinosaur.

Duties for digital dinosaurs:
1. Ring the cinema to find out times
2. Go to the travel agents’ to research a holiday
3. Record things using VHS
4. Dial directory enquiries
5. Use public phones
6. Book tickets over the phone
7. Print photos
8. Put an ad in the shop window
9. Ring the speaking clock
10. Carry portable CD players
11. Write handwritten letters
12. Buy disposable cameras
13. Take change for pay phones
14. Make mix tapes
15. Pay bills at the post office
16. Use an address book
17. Check a map for a car journey
18. Reverse charges in payphones
19. Visit a bank or building society
20. Buy TV listings
21. Own an encyclopedia
22. Queue for car tax at the post office
23. Develop and send off for photos
24. Read the Yellow Pages
25. Look up something in a dictionary
26. Remember phone numbers or have a phone book
27. Watch videos
28. Have pen friends
29. Use a phone directory
30. Use pagers
31. Fax things
32. Buy CDs or have a CD collection
33. Pay by cheque
34. Make photo albums
35. Watch programmes at the time they are shown
36. Dial 1471
37. Warm hot drinks on the stove
38. Try on lots of shoes in shops
39. Hand wash clothes
40. Advertise in trading papers
41. Send love letters
42. Hand-write essays/schoolwork
43. Buy flowers from a florist
44. Work out how to spell something yourself
45. Keep a personal diary
46. Send postcards
47. Buy newspapers
48. Hang washing out in winter
49. Keep printed bills or statements
50. Go to car boot sales

32 I did yesterday, and 45 is what this blog is all about. What is very worrying though is the implication that books, newspapers and other printed matter is considered old hat by the younger generation. That contrasts with the comments made recently by Peter Andre where he extolled the virtues of the bedtime story read from a book with pictures and charactures, and not a Kindle. People develop an imagination, and creativity by examining the written word and there isno better way of doing it than by using an encyclopedia or dictionary.

I remember my Uncle impressing on me the value of looking up a word in the dictionary or a topic in an encyclopedia, and then absorbing the work or article above and below it, that's how a vocabulary builds up, not by embracing Wikipedia.

As for number 50, what better way to spend a Sunday morning than rummaging through somebody elses cast offs looking for that one item you have craved for years. I love it, and indeed, one of my first blogs extolled the virtues of car boot sales