At what point are we 'old'?

[Harry Bloomfield]

R4 has been my station of choice for years, nowadays supplemented/superseded by Absolute Rock (mainly 'cause KKFM isn't easily available in the UK).

I have a now quite ancient £1000 fancy specialist communications radio at my bedside, which I bought second hand in a car booty long ago for just £10. The seller had no clue what he was selling. That has a sleep timer button, press once, and it stays on for 60 minutes.

I used to have that tuned to R4, just to catch the shipping forecast - not because I had any interest in it, rather it just gave an 'atmosphere' and was so incredibly boring, I would be asleep before the end of it

I recently retuned it to an Independent station, where they play 'all the old hits', back to back - maybe called 'Greatest Hits'.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

Let me first of all say I know the underlying legislation and process/rules would need to be VERY carefully thought out and closely monitored on a case by case basis (e.g. to rule out coercion), however I think some form of legalised self-termination should be allowed beyond a certain age.

Let me explain.

I live on my own and have a few select friends but not many. It is possible, maybe even probable, that I'll end up alone if I reach 70+. Btw I don't need a lecture about 'the future's in your hands' ... 'life is what you make it' ... 'you might change your mind at that point in your life' blah blah blah. I'm well aware of all that thanks. I'm referring to things in a pragmatic manner based on the way my life might pan out.

I strongly feel that, if I get to e.g. 78 years old and am no longer fit for much, maybe had to give up driving etc, that I should be (legally) permitted to book myself into a self-destruction facility. I would much rather have full control of my own departure from this world as opposed to a slow decline sitting in a communal care home lounge with daytime telly blaring in the background.

I think quite a few older people would look on this pragmatically, especially those with no family and/or circle of friends.

 

[Wayners]

I think you are mature when penny drops in your 50s and you are old when you can't cope with the reality of life.
Jmo.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I live on my own and have a few select friends but not many. It is possible, maybe even probable, that I'll end up alone if I reach 70+. Btw I don't need a lecture about 'the future's in your hands' ... 'life is what you make it' ... 'you might change your mind at that point in your life' blah blah blah. I'm well aware of all that thanks. I'm referring to things in a pragmatic manner based on the way my life might pan out.

Is the 'living alone' a life choice, or an enforced choice, because it make you sound very pessimistic, as if your future holds nothing at all for you. Perhaps that is where you are going wrong, and something you ought to try to fix.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

Is the 'living alone' a life choice, or an enforced choice, because it make you sound very pessimistic, as if your future holds nothing at all for you. Perhaps that is where you are going wrong, and something you ought to try to fix.

Choice.

And not pessimistic ... pragmatic

Yes yes we can all change as we get older (I don't know how I'll feel in my dotage) however my point is, the way I look at just now, I would rather be in (legal) control of when to end my life. As I say to me it's just pragmatic, not meant in a 'get the violins out' way. I obviously hope to live to a ripe old age if I retain my marbles and physical ability, however even so I could well imagine myself at e.g. 80 thinking 'right, that's me ... bye world. Hello, is that the self destruction facility? I'd like to book myself in please ...'

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I obviously hope to live to a ripe old age if I retain my marbles and physical ability, however even so I could well imagine myself at e.g. 80 thinking 'right, that's me ... bye world.

I could not imagine me personally ever feeling that way, life holds far too much interest for me, still a lot left to be explored. I can understand that sort of attitude if for instance one is immobile, in pain or similar, but not ever simply bored with life itself.

 

[Dork Lard]

Euthanasia is a very complex & emotive subject.

If you think that euthanasia should be allowed then you open the door to very many other things as well.

There will always be a movement to promote it as a good thing. I don't think it is a good thing. Hopefully, the movement promoting it will be overruled & we will continue as normal.

If you ever find yourself in pain during the last few days of life, then it's usually the last dose of morphine that ends you.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

I could not imagine me personally ever feeling that way, life holds far too much interest for me, still a lot left to be explored. I can understand that sort of attitude if for instance one is immobile, in pain or similar, but not ever simply bored with life itself.

That's fine, we're all different

 

[conny]

I find that as I'm getting older, I'm getting a bit more inquisitive. Not about new fangled electronic things such as phones, computers or even tv's, but more basic things like why do certain trees shed their leaves in autunm/winter and others don't. Why/how can you buy plants, which are classed as 'annuals', the following year? Does someone harvest their seeds, package them and sell them? If so, then why don't the annuals in your flower beds simply drop their seeds and grow again the next year, (making them perennials)? Learning how to turn wood in a lathe. Discovering, (today!), how to set up my sliding bevel saw accurately to cut at the correct angles. How to sharpen my lathe tools correctly, (starting with buying a very expensive CBN wheel to prevent burning). Re-reading books I read years ago and actually absorbing more information from them.
The other bonus about getting older is I am getting more confident at speaking in/to groups at meetings. I now have the outlook, "If I'm talking twaddle I can put it down to my age and laugh about it." The strange thing is, I find people often listen more attentively and ask questions, especially when they try out one of my suggestions and discover it actually works.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I find that as I'm getting older, I'm getting a bit more inquisitive.

Exactly, and yes, me too - all the things I never had interest or curiosity about before, simply because I never could afford the time, because I had to to spare. Now, if I come across something I do not understand, I have the time to let my curiosity run wild - greatly eased by the Internet.

 

[ericmark]

While my parents were alive I never considered myself being old.

I still use modern technology, voice commands to turn lights on/off. I find some category's have been removed from my licence, but don't need them anyway.

Wish I had an old radio, I was born when the valve was still king, and still used a valve 30 years ago, can't remember the date when I used last cathode ray tube.

I was a bit older than my teeth, but not many of them left.

I miss packet radio, but forums like this replace it.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I miss packet radio, but forums like this replace it.

Me too, it was rather unique and I was sorry to see it's demise, though I think some at least moved their systems to the Internet.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Re-reading books I read years ago and actually absorbing more information from them.
The other bonus about getting older is I am getting more confident at speaking in/to groups at meetings. I now have the outlook, "If I'm talking twaddle I can put it down to my age and laugh about it."

Yep. That reflects my experience. To paraphrase @big-all, "I am still learning", although I sometimes worry about stuff I have forgotten, especially when I read some of my old posts!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

"I am still learning", although I sometimes worry about stuff I have forgotten, especially when I read some of my old posts!

I think that happens to all of us, we all have a limit to what we can remember in detail, even things we have been very deeply involved with.

My weather station's web site died a couple of days ago, which I set up years ago. It quite complex, the outdoor sensors send data to a base station wirelessly, then that relays to Rasberry Pie. All working fine and weather data showing on the base stations screen, but the Pie is just flashing it's data light. What to do next? When I first set it up, I would have known instantly what was wrong and how to fix it, but now I'm completely stumped and will have to start from scratch.

 

[Odds]

Douglas Adams wrote a parody of Asimov's three laws on the subject of aging in 'The Salmon of Doubt'...

#3: "Anything invented after you're 35 is against the natural order of things."