Category: Internet

Youth culture: what should a grizzled 50-something adult know about it?

I made the mistake of reading the comments on a Facebook article tonight.

Hayley Williams, a singer I had never heard of (more on this shortly) told Clash magazine that she doesn’t want any racist, sexist, or transphobic people to attend her concerts.

Since Hayley Williams’ statement is so vague as to be meaningless, the comments devolved into a war between older folks who smugly asked “Who?” and younger folks who seemed to regard Hayley Williams as some profound thinker.

Although my Gen X instinct is to yawn and roll my eyes at yet another instance of celebrity political preening, the aforementioned trend of the comments raises a question: when is it okay to leave youth culture behind?

In 1985, I thought that Def Leppard and Rush were the most important musical forces in Western Civilization. My parents (then right around 40) knew nothing of them. And my grandparents (then in their 60s) barely knew that MTV existed.

No—scratch that. My grandparents probably didn’t know that MTV existed. And they had certainly never seen a music video.

I’m going to suggest that there comes a time in adulthood when it is perfectly permissible to stop keeping up with youth music. I don’t feel ashamed that I had never heard of Hayley Williams. Nor do I tout this lacuna as a badge of honor.

I’m 57, and I continue to learn. I read multiple books each month, and I study new foreign languages. But I’m at a point in life where knowing the latest pop culture icon just doesn’t seem as important as it did in 1985.

Young people, for their part, should neither ridicule nor resent this. Let me ask the youngsters out there: do you really want 50- and 60-something adults to have a say in what is “popular” on the youth scene?

My guess is that you would prefer us to stay far, far away. And the vast majority of us are happy to leave youth culture to the young.

-ET

The folks at Trojan Brand Condoms want you to get out more

Nowadays it’s often hard to tell the satirical from the straightforward in my Facebook feed. Today I came across this item, sponsored by Time Out USA and Trojan Brand Condoms:

“Meeting people is hard. Meeting people you actually like? Even harder. That’s why we created the Let’s Connect calendar with Trojan Brand Condoms—a curated list of low-key, high-vibe events happening all across the country. From DJ-backed dance nights to board game hangouts, book clubs to beach sports, there’s something happening near you. No awkward icebreakers, no name tags, no soul-sucking small talk. Just real people doing cool things, ready to meet someone new.

Tap the link to check out what’s happening in your area. Your group chat could use some fresh faces.”

An ad in my Facebook feed today

This ad campaign actually makes sense, from a business perspective. When adults under 34 are spending all their time on “apps”, or staring into the screens of their phones, guess what they’re not doing. Onanism and asexuality don’t lead to many condom sales!

Needless to say, social intercourse doesn’t always lead to sexual intercourse. But you can’t get the latter without the former.

-ET

Attack of the China bots

No, this is not the name of a new science fiction story I’m working on.

Anyone who owns a WordPress site has noticed a sharp increase in traffic from China and Singapore since early October. These visits have a one hundred percent bounce rate. They don’t represent actual users, but scraping bots.

I would support a total Internet firewall between the USA and China. While bad traffic comes from all over the globe, a disproportionate amount of it comes from China, Russia, Turkey, and Brazil.

Since the Chinese government doesn’t allow its citizens to read what the 老外 have to say anyway, this would be no real loss for the average human Internet user in China. And it would save the rest of us a lot of headaches. Just saying!

-ET

Phone location anxiety

I was in the locker room of my gym this afternoon. A man in his early sixties (just a few years older than me) was desperately searching for his cell phone.

I felt sorry for him. I helped him out by checking the area immediately around his locker.

This story had a happy ending. His phone, it turned out, was in his gym bag all the time.

The two of us got to talking about how those damn cell phones have become yet one more thing that a person needs to keep track of.

We were both old enough to remember when a man only had to keep track of his wallet and his keys. Life was so much simpler back then.

But nowadays, the loss of a cell phone can be just as life-changing as the loss of either a wallet or keys/car fob. So you had better not lose or misplace it.

In 1985, no one had to worry about losing their cell phone or having their email hacked. Cybercrime did not exist. Nor did the many neuroses associated with social media.

I don’t plan to abandon my iPhone anytime soon. But it’s worth noting: twenty-first-century technology enslaves us as much as it frees us. There was a time, not so long ago, when we happily did without all of it.

-ET

Paulina Porizkova in her underwear: a contrarian take

I don’t remember Paulina Porizkova from her 1980s heyday. I should, because I was a teenager in the 1980s. Porizkova is only three years older than me; we’re basically the same age.

In recent years, the Czech-born former supermodel has made headlines for her social media posts.

No—she isn’t shoving her political views in our faces, like Alyssa Milano or John Cusack. Porizkova, rather, has become recently famous for posting revealing photos of herself on Instagram, her advanced years notwithstanding. Porizkova’s latest addition is a photo of herself in her underwear at the age of 60.

And I have to say, she looks pretty good. Yes, if you compared her to the fittest 25-year-olds here in Ohio, she would come up short. But if you compared her to the typical 25-year-old here in Ohio (Ohio consistently runs among the top ten or twelve states in obesity) this 60-year-old definitely holds her own.

The mainstream media largely ran with this from the direction of aging and body positivity. Many mainstream media journalists are women over 40, and there have been a lot of articles of late about women over 40 supposedly being “invisible”. 

(A 44-year-old Huffpost writer took a bravado stance on this issue a few days ago, declaring: “aging has given me something that I didn’t even know I needed: delicious invisibility and freedom from unwanted male attention.” (Yes, I completely believe that those are her honest feelings on the matter.))

While I cringe at clichés like “sixty is the new forty”, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with reassessing the definitions of both old age and youth. Times have changed, after all. In the year 1900, the average life expectancy at birth was 47.3 years. Most people were old by the time they were forty, if they were still alive at all. Surviving fifty- and sixty-somethings were hoary elders.

From the other side of this, we could reasonably ask: does the Internet really need photos of 60-year-olds in their underwear, no matter how fit they are?

I’m going to take a different angle entirely. Back to those obesity rates. We have a national obesity epidemic, which has created yet another opportunity for Big Pharma. I know at least half a dozen people who are presently taking Ozempic or Mounjaro.

In the US, the younger you are, the more likely you are to be obese. Millennials have become the most obese generation in the history of humankind.

There are no 60-something Millennials. Millennials are presently in their 30s and 40s. Obesity rates are high among Gen Z, too. Gen Zs are presently in their twenties.

And hey, what about all the Gen Xers? (This is the generation to which I belong.) Paulina Porizkova, born in 1965, is the oldest you can be and still be an official Gen Xer.

Let us set aside debates about MILFs, cougars, and “X age is the new Y age”. If Paulina Porizkova can look gym-toned at sixty, then there’s no excuse for all the obesity we see in the USA nowadays, across multiple generations.

-ET

YouTube and the smart television

My primary social media goal for 2026 is to build up my YouTube presence and extend my reach there. In preparation, I’ve been doing some research into the dreaded YouTube algorithm.

One of the trends that YouTube is responding to is the tendency toward watching online videos on smart TVs like the Sony Bravia.

This means that YouTube now favors “reclinable” videos: i.e., videos that a person would want to watch for an extended period of time, on a big screen, from the comfort of their living room.

This dovetails with the maturation of the platform. If you think that YouTube is just for young folks, then you must be living in 2006. My dad, now in his late 70s, has become a YouTube enthusiast over the past few years. He’s retired, and he has plenty of time to watch videos.

But my dad has no interest in accessing YouTube on an iPhone, even though he owns one. My dad has a big 80-inch Sony Bravia in his living room. That’s where he watches YouTube.

To me, this makes a lot of sense. I have never understood the obsession with watching videos on a tiny smartphone screen. Yes, I can understand why you might do this incidentally, if you’re stuck in an airport or waiting for your appointment at the dentist’s office. But even the screen of my MacBook provides a much better viewing experience than the largest, most expensive smartphone. Certain kinds of videos, moreover (my dad watches a lot of travelogues) simply can’t be appreciated on a tiny cellphone screen.

The smart TV, not the phone, is the wave of the video consumption future. If you make videos for YouTube, take this into consideration when planning your content.

-ET

Running Spectrum’s cancellation gauntlet

As I posted last week, I decided to change my Internet service from Spectrum to a local Cincinnati-based vendor. My dad is also discontinuing his use of Spectrum, and I’ve been helping him with his changeover details.

Tuesday I called Spectrum to cancel my service. I thought this would be straightforward. I was wrong.

You can’t simply cancel. Spectrum has set up a system whereby you have to answer twenty minutes worth of questions, and endure repetitive sales pitches from a representative who is obviously compelled by management directive.

If you don’t go for the Spectrum sales pitches, Spectrum resorts to scare tactics. Did I know, I was asked, that the company I’d chosen to replace Spectrum would probably damage my utilities when burying the fiberoptics cable? And what about their poor customer service? Wouldn’t I rather cancel my new service and go back to Spectrum?

No, I repeatedly said, and the questions were rephrased to me in a slightly different way.

Needless to say, this all became quite frustrating. But you can’t simply hang up—or your service will never get canceled. It’s the perfect Catch-22.

After going through all that, I thought: what the heck is going on here? I did some research, and it seems that Spectrum has lost around 117,000 residential customers in the second quarter of 2025.

The company’s real problems began last year, when the end of the COVID-era Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) ended government subsidies for low-income households. My guess is that Spectrum then decided to raise rates on its other residential customers. That caused the company to lose even more users.

The CEO of Charter Spectrum, Christopher Winfrey, enjoyed a total compensation package of $89.1 million in 2023.

Last year that was downgraded to a measly $5.75 million because of the Spectrum debacle. So Winfrey is now working for near starvation wages, as he struggles to undo the damage that he and his management team have wrought. (Don’t worry, though—Winfrey’s package still includes personal use of a corporate airplane.)

But Spectrum is not going to have me and my dad as customers. Not even if Christopher Winfrey personally calls me and offers the use of his private jet. (Okay—I might consider if Spectrum throws in the use of Winfrey’s corporate jet. But that’s the only way they’re getting me back.)

-ET

THE EAVESDROPPER

Three of your coworkers are planning a murder. Will you stop them, or become their next victim?

**View it on Amazon**

Target’s downfall: the perils of gaming the culture wars

Target’s sales are in freefall. Brian Cornell, the company’s longtime CEO, has fallen on his sword and stepped down.

There is no shortage of glee in the press about all this. Target was one of the companies that abandoned DEI policies in the wake of Trump’s election, and the general shift in the national mood.

But what really happened? We may have a chicken-and-egg conundrum here. Did Target ever really benefit from its carefully cultivated “woke” reputation? Or did its former notoriety lose more sales? Continue reading “Target’s downfall: the perils of gaming the culture wars”

Website hacking, and the opportunity costs of cybercrime

I recently discovered that someone was trying to gain entry to my WordPress site. This had been going on for about two weeks. Based on my site’s usage records, the activity was small-scale, and probably perpetrated by an individual, or a small group of individuals who had chosen my site at random. None of the attempts had been successful.

I already had an extensive security plan through my hosting service, but I took yet one more step to lock down Edward Trimnell Books. This was done mostly just for peace of mind, and to stick a thumb in the eye of the cybercrooks. Continue reading “Website hacking, and the opportunity costs of cybercrime”

Our “hot girls” crime fixation

If you’ve been on social media much (always a big mistake), you’re aware of the story of Laken Snelling, the 21-year-old member of the University of Kentucky’s stunt team, whose dead newborn infant was found in her dorm room closet last week.

The media has been filled with photos of Ms. Snelling, who is blonde and fit. There have also been photos of her boyfriend, a youth named Connor who does not appear to be overly bright. Some stories report that the current boyfriend is not the father of the deceased newborn. The plot thickens.

I have been avoiding making a post about this story, hoping that it would go away. And this story would have gone away—if it would even have been a story at all—had it taken place in the inner city, or in some poor white sector of Appalachia. Continue reading “Our “hot girls” crime fixation”

Sorority TikTok, and my decision to stay as far away from today’s youth culture as possible

I think it’s time that I,  a 50-something GenXer, admit that I do not understand TikTok culture, and never will. I am hopelessly out-of-touch with the younger generation. No matter how I contort my brain, I can’t understand how these youngsters think. Young people were a lot simpler in the days of heavy metal and mullets—though perhaps my grandfather would have disagreed. Continue reading “Sorority TikTok, and my decision to stay as far away from today’s youth culture as possible”

867-5309, and a lesson in the value of skepticism 

The early 1980s gave us a famous song named after a phone number: “867-5309”. Even if you do not remember the early 1980s, you are probably familiar with the song.

The song was alternatively known as “Jenny”. Often the song was identified with both names: 867-5309/Jenny.

In the song, a male narrator describes his obsession with a woman named “Jenny”, whose phone number (867-5309) was written on a wall, presumably in a men’s room. (That was a common prank back in the 1970s and early 1980s—writing random women’s names and phone numbers on the walls of men’s rooms. Don’t ask me why.)

Tommy Tutone is the name of the musical act that performed 867-5309.

Tommy Tutone is not a single artist, but a California-based group. The original lineup of Tommy Tutone was formed in 1978. The band still exists today. Tommy Tutone released six studio albums between 1980 and 2019. But the band owes most of its name recognition to 867-5309.

867-5309/Jenny was released on November 16, 1981. By the end of the following year, everyone with an FM radio had heard it.

867-5309 was, and remains, a cultural phenomenon. Not everyone was pleased about the song’s fame, however. After the song became popular, homeowners who happened to have been assigned the number began receiving prank phone calls. Many changed their numbers. Some even unplugged their phones in desperation.

Still others went out of their way to acquire the suddenly famous seven digits. Now that the initial fervor over the song has long since died down, this is the more common trend. It would probably be difficult—if not impossible—for you to obtain 867-5309 as your personal phone number. But your odds will increase in less populated areas, and as the time between the heyday of the song and the present year continues to grow.

In late 1981, I was in the eighth grade in Cincinnati, Ohio. One morning—it must have been a few weeks before the Christmas holidays—I heard a girl in my homeroom say my name. When I turned around, she had a smile on her face. I sensed good things ahead. Continue reading “867-5309, and a lesson in the value of skepticism “

Bumble and the death of the dating app

The dating app Bumble has lost over half of its value since going public in 2021. The company recently announced plans to cut 30 percent of its workforce.

Bumble is not the only dating app that is in trouble. Tinder is also hemorrhaging members. So is Match. Almost all dating apps are losing paying members, otherwise known as “men”. What gives?

Women almost always get a “free ride” on dating apps. In other words, they almost never have to pay for memberships.

This isn’t because of some feminist conspiracy. It’s because of simple laws of sexual economics. In the human world, as in the animal one, males are in supply, and females are in demand.

If you don’t believe this, and you would like an extreme example as proof, announce online that you’re going to host an orgy at your house. A hundred men will show up, and not a single woman. Continue reading “Bumble and the death of the dating app”

The book haul video in Japanese

The book haul video is a thing on the Japanese corners of YouTube, just as it is among English-language booktubers.

As in English, the Japanese book haul video (and the entire booktuber sector) is dominated by young women. No complaints here, except to point out that men of all ages, in all countries, should read more.

I have not been to Japan for more than a decade now. One thing I really miss about being in Japan is browsing bookstores, and looking for new books to read.

Even with the Internet, the acquisition of Japanese-language reading materials remains something of an ordeal in the United States. The US division of Amazon stocks relatively few Japanese-language titles. The demand simply isn’t there.

At the same time, US-based, independently owned mail-order Japanese bookstores have mostly gone out of business. This is yet another case of the Internet ruining a business model without providing an acceptable substitute.

I recall Sasuga Bookstore of Cambridge, Massachusetts with particular fondness. I purchased many books from them throughout the 1990s and early 00s. (Sasuga closed its doors for good in 2010. 残念でした.)

-ET 

‘The Americans’, all six seasons

I am a diehard fanatic of only a handful of books, movies, and musical oeuvres. And I evangelize only a subset of those.

For example, I love the music of Rush and Iron Maiden; but I don’t consider the appeal of these bands to be universal, by any means. Likewise, I realize that a coming-of-age movie that spoke volumes to me in 1984 might not have the same significance for a teenager of 2024. Or for a Boomer who was a teenager in 1964, for that matter.

But everyone should see The Americans.

The Americans is part family saga, part period drama, and part espionage thriller. The show is set in both America and Russia during the last decade of the Cold War.

I watched The Americans in its entirety during the show’s original primetime run on FX from 2013 to 2018. During those years, I looked forward to each new episode.

I loved the series so much, I recently decided to watch it again. But as is so often the case with these modern conveniences of ours, the situation has been made less convenient than it would have been in pre-Internet days. No longer do non-primetime shows circulate to rerun syndication in non-primetime hours. They move to paid streaming platforms.

If you want to see all six seasons of The Americans in 2024, you have several options. You can pay to download each episode from Amazon, or you can purchase a subscription to Hulu, where the series is now streaming.

Or you can purchase the complete series on DVD. I determined this to be my best and most cost-effective option. The above package arrived on my doorstep from Amazon yesterday.

I look forward to watching this series again from beginning to end. And if you haven’t yet seen The Americans, you might consider buying the DVDs, too. They are still in stock on Amazon.

-ET