I Can’t Believe I’m 70

[sinango]

I was 55 when I first appeared on MacRumors In 2008.
I can remember looking in the mirror as a 16 year old (1969) shuddering at the idea of being 47 years old in 2000, god, being old, and wondering if I’d still have hair. I still have some, just not on top. Now, it feels like that was another life, how things have changed so much, and so many moved onto the next phase whatever that is. No I’m not worried about the Grim Reaper, because I don’t think the journey will be over, just reflecting about this life, this taste of a reality.

When you are young, you think you have forever, but the reality is time accelerates and it flies by faster than you think it will. I could add, it’s just as well, as things for humanity seem to be going to hell. I’ve said it before, that this could be The Earth Simulator, one of thousands of experience offered as the next adventure you're sure you want to go on, have some excitement and adventure, only $10k credits.

Ah, the eternal battle with time, hair, and the mysteries of the universe! It's like we're all characters in the cosmic sitcom "Life in Beta." We start out with infinite lives and a full head of hair, then suddenly we're contemplating the meaning of existence and looking for extra quarters in the cosmic couch cushions. And hey, if life's an Earth Simulator, someone better call customer support - we might need a reboot

 

[Queen6]

Cheers...

Q-6

 

[ThunderSkunk]

One of my best friends is 72, still works out everyday (outside, not a gym) so is fit, healthy and now back in post-retirement in research & policy advising on a national level. He just had his birthday in a restaurant and over 300 people of every walk of life showed up. On the other hand, I’m 47 and most of my my-age friends are already in failing health, substance abuse, obesity, & depressed from divorces, dead careers, lost homes & social isolation. I already feel like I’ve lived 12 years longer than I would have liked to. If you did well enough to enjoy your 70s, enjoy the hell out of them.

 

[Queen6]

One of my best friends is 72, still works out everyday (outside, not a gym) so is fit, healthy and now back in post-retirement in research & policy advising on a national level. He just had his birthday in a restaurant and over 300 people of every walk of life showed up. On the other hand, I’m 47 and most of my my-age friends are already in failing health, substance abuse, obesity, & depressed from divorces, dead careers, lost homes & social isolation. I already feel like I’ve lived 12 years longer than I would have liked to. If you did well enough to enjoy your 70s, enjoy the hell out of them.

I think the key to longevity is to have a happy & healthy lifestyle, avoid abuses such as drugs. At 60 I feel the same as at 40 nor seeing much if any difference at all. Still give my daughter a good run for her money and she's a ranked player on Rainbow Six Siege.

Still life in the old dog 😂 At 70 I'll be congratulating my good friend on the celebration of his 80th year

Q-6

 

[Huntn]

If you could sum up your best advice for the young generation of tech folks in one sentence, what advice would you give?

It’s possible I’m going to depress you with my observations, so apologies. I want to remind everyone of limitations in this forum regarding “controversial” topics, so keep that in mind if you reply.

As a species I don’t have high confidence in our ability to navigate The Great Filter. My best advice is to do the best you can, become more aware of climate change and the billions of us and what we can collectively do to ensure our long time survival on a healthy planet, and realize that all the projections about environmental calamity that we have been warned about for 40 years, you can now witness for yourself, eyes wide open, right? Just don’t believe we have nothing to do with it and act accordingly, even with the knowledge that it might not be enough.

As a species, we can throw up our hands and say oh well there is nothing I can do, or agree to some mild response that won’t be enough (currently what is happening, but is being resisted in some political corners), or it’s going to take drastic action, that our economic systems (basically us) will fight against tooth and nail.

A strong argument is that we are just not wired for this, when it comes to billions of us competing for natural resources, that we will just muddle along until the planet smacks us up side the head, possibly removing a couple billion of us, then we *might* react in a way to promote our survival, but even then this is not assured. 🤔😌

 

[iMarkypad]

Thanks for not wishing me happy birthday! That was not the purpose of this post.

We represent the first generation that started life without a computer and were rewarded with them as a technological advancement. We are doing things now on our home computers, going places, and having adventures in locations that I can remember thinking would never happen in my lifetime. I remember being excited by Pong, and then OMG Space Invaders!

The next big thing that happened was Marathon, spaces you could run around in, then LAN parties... fun times. And then Michael Douglass was running around in a Virtual Reality space in a movie, and I thought naw, not going to see that at home.🤔

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Thats some hard core gaming, 1v1 me

 

[Marko1965]

We are all young at heart,just our bodies get old I,m going to be sixty in 1 year hard to believe

 

[compwiz1202]

Thanks for not wishing me happy birthday! That was not the purpose of this post.

We represent the first generation that started life without a computer and were rewarded with them as a technological advancement. We are doing things now on our home computers, going places, and having adventures in locations that I can remember thinking would never happen in my lifetime. I remember being excited by Pong, and then OMG Space Invaders!

The next big thing that happened was Marathon, spaces you could run around in, then LAN parties... fun times. And then Michael Douglass was running around in a Virtual Reality space in a movie, and I thought naw, not going to see that at home.🤔

View attachment 2243317

View attachment 2243316​

I remember Pong was my first video game. I played SI some in arcade, but the one I would run for was Missile Command.

 

[splifingate]

As a species I don’t have high confidence in our ability to navigate The Great Filter.

Though it has always been my second-most potent hope that we are not alone, maybe Vernor had it right when he placed us in the Slow Zone <shrugs>

btw, belated welcome to your eighth decade

splifin "half-way through my sixth" gate

 

[Huntn]

Congratulations on the milestones. Sounds like you still are living life to the full. I turned 50 this year and I think of the technology advancement during my lifetime. I can't imagine what it seems like to you now looking back. My first computer was a Sinclair ZX81 with 1k of memory. Learnt to program on that thing!

I no longer celebrate my birthday, because I’d rather not think about it.

 

[Huntn]

I remember Pong was my first video game. I played SI some in arcade, but the one I would run for was Missile Command.

I loved Missile Command!

 

[chfilm]

Happy belated birthday And thanks for the little reminder!!

 

[Huntn]

One of my best friends is 72, still works out everyday (outside, not a gym) so is fit, healthy and now back in post-retirement in research & policy advising on a national level. He just had his birthday in a restaurant and over 300 people of every walk of life showed up. On the other hand, I’m 47 and most of my my-age friends are already in failing health, substance abuse, obesity, & depressed from divorces, dead careers, lost homes & social isolation. I already feel like I’ve lived 12 years longer than I would have liked to. If you did well enough to enjoy your 70s, enjoy the hell out of them.

John Mellencamp nailed it:

​

Your friend as many people find meaning in their work, making a difference as they see fit. I thought I’d start doing some kind of part time job, maybe some community work, but instead I became a typical layabout, self centered retiree. However, I feel very fortunate that I was allowed to do this, because it gives me time to consider my place in this reality without being distracted by work, although I am distracted by a variety of personal matters that my family brings to me.

It’s almost guaranteed that at some point, you have to contemplate the meaning of this life and for lack of anything concrete, other than what appears to be a distinct end, you have to read between the lines. I’ve said this many times, and I don’t expect agreement, that this life only means something if it has purpose. And it is up to each of us to determine what that purpose is. I love the idea of The Earth Simulator because of the connotation, possibility for the continuance of consciousness, awareness. And in the name of purpose, I’m also of the opinion that this life as it appears, is way too fragile, short lived, and the odds would be against it to be an isolated once in an infinity occurance. But that is just a feeling.

 

[Queen6]

I no longer celebrate my birthday, because I’d rather not think about it.

Always do, always will. Life is very much for the living and you are very much alive and a young man at heart

Q-6

 

[Apple fanboy]

Always do, always will. Life is very much for the living and you are very much alive and a young man at heart

Q-6

I haven’t celebrated a birthday in 7 years. Not since we lost our daughter. We don’t celebrate any holidays anymore. Just another day of the year.

 

[arkitect]

I was 55 when I first appeared on MacRumors In 2008.
I can remember looking in the mirror as a 16 year old (1969) shuddering at the idea of being 47 years old in 2000, god, being old, and wondering if I’d still have hair. I still have some, just not on top. Now, it feels like that was another life, how things have changed so much, and so many moved onto the next phase whatever that is. No I’m not worried about the Grim Reaper, because I don’t think the journey will be over, just reflecting about this life, this taste of a reality.

When you are young, you think you have forever, but the reality is time accelerates and it flies by faster than you think it will. I could add, it’s just as well, as things for humanity seem to be going to hell. I’ve said it before, that this could be The Earth Simulator, one of thousands of experience offered as the next adventure you're sure you want to go on, have some excitement and adventure, only $10k credits.

Happy belated birthday!
Wishing you many more happy and joyful years ahead.

We are all young at heart,just our bodies get old I,m going to be sixty in 1 year hard to believe

Hah! I'm 60 next year as well… god… how time flies.

 

[maflynn]

Hah! I'm 60 next year as well… god… how time flies.

Doesn't it? I mean, I feel like my 20s were just yesterday, now I'm trying to plan how I'm going to retire (hint never I'm poor)

 

[supremedesigner]

I was in my 20s when I heard about MacRumors.com in the 2000s. My first Mac was eMac for college.

 

[Huntn]

Happy belated birthday!
Wishing you many more happy and joyful years ahead.


Hah! I'm 60 next year as well… god… how time flies.

It does. I started noticing the time dialation or would that be compression (?) when my son was in high school (late 1990s) and the Fall semester instead of 4 months, felt like 1 month. Since then it’s just gotten more magnified and you realize you did not have as much time as you thought you would when you were a kid and summers seemed to last forever.

 

[nielshutch]

Once I reach 60 I am going to jump out of a plane and skydive!

It is to celebrate my accomplishment! lol

Be careful what you wish for...

A prominent charity worker was featured on the news some time back, leaping from a plane to celebrate her 90th birthday. Sadly, she was later confined to the dementia ward of an old folk's' home (probably not due to sky-diving). One day, she took took to wandering the ward in her walking frame with a carving knife in her hand. The nurse considered disarming her, but such a task was clearly not in the job description. So police were called. Two officers arrived and were confronted by the frail old lady, wobbling toward them wielding a knife. So one of them tasered her; she fell, unconscious, and hit her head, dying a few days later. That made the news, too.

So skydiving can make you famous!
Ain't life grand?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

We are all young at heart,just our bodies get old I,m going to be sixty in 1 year hard to believe

No, we're not.

Some of us were born feeling middle-aged.

 

[Huntn]

No, we're not.

Some of us were born feeling middle-aged.

My Mom always said I was 6 going on 60. 🤔

 

[jkcerda]

seen a few really old farts do far better than me at the gym, so age is just a number if you are pretty active. I don't plan on making it to the diaper age . pretty sure someone is going to take me out while I am on the motorcycle because they are too busy driving at 70-80 mph while on their phone. I just hope it's quick.

 

[Huntn]

seen a few really old farts do far better than me at the gym, so age is just a number if you are pretty active. I don't plan on making it to the diaper age . pretty sure someone is going to take me out while I am on the motorcycle because they are too busy driving at 70-80 mph while on their phone. I just hope it's quick.
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Good to see you back…

 

[dwig]

It does. I started noticing the time dialation or would that be compression (?) when my son was in high school (late 1990s) and the Fall semester instead of 4 months, felt like 1 month. Since then it’s just gotten more magnified and you realize you did not have as much time as you thought you would when you were a kid and summers seemed to last forever.

Happy belated birthday.

I begun to only count the decades awhile back. Individual years now seem to fly past too quickly for an annual birthday to seem that much of a landmark. I've been 7 for a while now, technically reaching 7.2 this past August.