What Happened to the "Good Ol' Days" of CE?

I have only worked in this industry for seven years, but any time I'm at an event with dealers, manufacturers, or distributors that have been in the industry since the '70s and '80s, I hear stories from that time. They're always happily referred to as the "good ol' days" of CE: when the moods were lighter, business contracts were written on napkins, and crazy antics went far beyond pulling several all-nighters during CES. Indeed, having heard some of things that went on (none of which will be written here!), I can confirm that the antics were indeed much crazier than they are today. So what happened to those times?

In some ways, our society as a whole has become more liberal. Yet in others, we've become more concerned, afraid, and paranoid about the repercussions of our actions. In other words, people take less risks. Then again, we might feel there's more to lose these days, with arguably more competition in the CE business today than their likely was 20 years ago.

So has the Canadian CE industry become too uptight? Judging from the people I've met and the events I've attended, that answer would be a big, fat "no". But then again, compared to what I've heard from the past, perhaps we've just become a bit more careful. Thoughts?