In my day...

What do karaoke machines, GPS navigation systems, and NC-17 have in common? They are all things that the collegiate class of 2012 has always known, according to the annual Belot College Mindset List.

The annual compendium of pop culture and ways of life helps serve as an aid to college professors to help them understand their incoming freshmen.

Those of us in our 40s (and up) know - or at least have heard of - the Warsaw Pact, Pee Wee's Playhouse, and Roseanne Barr's horrid rendition of the National Anthem. But to incoming college freshmen, that's ancient or unknown history, unlike always having things like Caller ID, free soft drink refills at McDonalds, and Nintendo.

The list wasn't around in 1986, when I was heading to college. If it had it may have included such nuggets as:
- Ronald Reagan is a politician, not a movie star.
- People did not need a local operator to connect their phone calls.
- The Dodgers have always played in Los Angeles and the Giants have always played in San Francisco.
- TV shows have always been in color.
- The Surgeon General has always said smoking is hazardous to your health.