You're singing my song. For a lot of us, all those features are answers to problems most of us do not have.

Disc brakes are nice on MTBs of if you ride in rain and other bad weather. Or on tandems. Or if you weigh a whole lot. But they aren't necessary, and are more of a PITA to adjust and maintain than calipers.

Some of the improvements relating to ride quality just aren't a big deal, IMHO. I have had people tell me their bike rides like a pillow, since it has soft inserts, special carbon weaves and the like. First of all, I'm not sure I want my bike to ride like a pillow. I kinda like it on the lively side. Second of all, while all the bikes I have (steel, Al, Al/C and C) all ride differently, they all ride just fine.

Sometimes I think a lot of this stuff is the ENC (emporer's new clothes) syndrome.

But yes, you're old.