Obligatory.
My headphones are BURGERS.
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I want that Oxford look!!!
Size XXL, Thanks!
Artifacts like these really illustrate why the idea of âEmployer as nation-stateâ was part of 1980s cyberpunk.
Todayâs dystopia should recognize 2 classes of employee: The Uber-like âgigâ workers who work shifts as they can catch them on their phone, possibly across several different employers. Leading employers and magement to be more distrustful and harsh with line workers. Above them would be a precariat class of middle managers, store runners and other administrative staff that have regular jobs, but are always one mistake away from being unemployable, as no other corporation would trust them after getting fired from a competitor or partner. These employees are paranoid and hyperviliglant, playing office politics to smear the other guy and stay clean in the mean time.
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It seems like at least half the places I frequent have an identifiable uniform, generally some specific color of oxford or T-shirt, but it seems like the other half have no uniform. I think this has been the case to some extent for much of my life and Portland natives seem pretty comfortable asking just anyone for help and taking no offense when asked if they work someplace they happen to be shopping in.
Iâm ambivalent about uniforms, part of their utility can be that they look out of place which often makes them look bad. And itâs hard to do your job if you feel bad about yourself or your appearance. On the other hand allowing freedom of dress requires more scrutiny individually on the part of management in many circumstances and it can be confounding to consumers looking for assistance.
Tivoli are overpriced for what they are and sound so so. These are much better deals and sound better in my opinion. http://www.sangean.com/products/product.asp?mid=34
Who streams on cellular coverage anyway? That just seems like a dumb way to use your data plan. But I may be getting oldâŚ
Those look AWESOME!! Well. They shoulda been bigger tho, like, truly huge burger things, covering half the head. Just picture it. Woulda been sweeeeet!
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Needs one of these
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I had one of those that came with this:
Or maybe I just got them both for the same birthday. Either way Iâm pretty disturbed to only now realize that Kaptain Kool & The Kongs can easily be shortened to KKK.
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Curious. Youâd probably have a class below even the migrant phone class that does menial work. Doing drudge work knowing without school they canât afford or references they canât get theyrâe stuck where they are in the social strata outside of possibly working for companies that shuttle them from firm to firm as commodity (show up get a work order, get in the van with a dozen other guys. do the cleanup thing. leave.)
Might also want automation to play into this as crowding out the Ubsers and Commodity employees while at the same time edging into the middle managment class.
The thing is what point of view do we take? The archatype we saw our perspective from thanks to neuromancer was the outside-the-system-sorta-looking-in âextralegal specialistâ IE Hacker, Mercenary, etc. What sort of point of view would best serve as showcase of âour current societal fears ramped up to 20â?
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I feel like you donât know what the word âhorrorshowâ means.
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Wow, an Apple watch. What a great⌠uhâŚ
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Sure, the point is radio isnât quite dead yet.
As for the whole data plan thing, I remember this article making the rounds:
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In the U.S., t-mobile is an option. Since I have a long commute and the radio stations have all turned to crap, I have that. Itâs beautiful. Or, you know, tolerable cuz of the (truly) unlimited streaming. 
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Yes, black market work, migrant and off the books work would also exist. I left them off as I was specifically discussing corporate workers.
I think that JIT and rapid prototyping would empower small shops to provide short runs of products on demand. Small businesses would also be the primary employers of migrant and off the books workers as they wouldnât have the infrastructure to support JIT work or automation like bigger companies.
I also think that a scavenging subculture using second hand and refurbished goods to stay off the grid and spending less money.
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I so want the Ronald Macdonald phone. The one where you bring the phones crotch to your mouth.
ICK.
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These are awfully tame by '80s standards. Thereâs some that I wouldnât bat an eye at today.
(Except for the part where thereâs a McDonaldâs logo on them, which is utterly wretched, but itâs no more or less wretched now than it was then, so I think we have to treat it as zero-sum.)
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I think the only thing more revolting than someone wearing a McDonaldâs T-shirt, in public, sincerely, is someone wearing one ironically.
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Itâs Cory. Nothing is ever mildly unpleasant or pretty decent.
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