Life without a cell phone... (Fred_G Rant)

I don't have a cell phone, and don't want one. Sure, if you are travelling, or have a long commute, and sometimes for safety measures, they are a godsend.

And geeze, the customers that come in talking on cell phones, they talk for 20 mins, then expect you to be right next to them to answer a question... until the cell phone rings again, then they are in there own little world.

And yeah, I used to have one. When I went into a store, unless I needed some unusual input from a third party about a purchase, the phone stayed in the car. Sorry, I am just not that dang important! And you know what? Most of the conversations on the cell phones are not important either.

I guess I am just 'unplugged' in this aspect of our society. But sometimes I like to just take a break, a long walk, or god forbid actually concentrate on my job without everyone not related to my job calling me.

Come on, the other day the person in the drive through told me to hold on while she chatted on her cell phone. WTF?

Oh, and then there are the cell phone talkers and 'drivers'. I mean honestly, if you lost one arm and one ear, wouldn't you think about how you are going to control you car? Especialy while distracted?

Have a good one my fellow Geeks. Just a random rant.

E

 

All good points.

I have one, it's around here somewhere.
The batteries seem to last a lot longer if it is always turned off

 

Since I was diagnosed with emphysema, the thought of breaking down and having to walk or sit forever without a breathing treatment scares me. Other then that I had like 8 minutes last bill.
Bummer - no friends- no life oh god I need to lay down.



I'm half a$$ kidding here - last part

 

One cell-phone stays in each vehicle, in case of breakdowns. One is on my kitchen table - and stays there, and receives SMS calls ONLY, for those that customers/friends that REALLY need to leave a message. Other than that that, yeah I can live without them, really. Otherwise, there is always email, regular landline (screened), or snail-mail.

 

Just got rid of one.... getting landline this week. I know what you mean about customers. I had a woman tell me the other day that I was rude because I would not wait on her while she was talking on her cell, she came into the salon tlaking a blue streak. I ignored her until she hung up the phone (after standing at the counter doing the impatient dance for 5 minutes). I told her that she was having a telephone conversation, and I was brought up with manners that evesdropping is not only impolite, but downright rude, so if she had a problem with my actions, I would be happy to call my mom and have her explain this to her.... LOL.. she didn't know what to say, and the client I had in the chair was laughing hysterically


~C

 

That is so funny. I've come to the conclusion the majority of people are just plane ignorant

I used to to to a respiratory Doctor that spent 4 and a half of my 5 minute visit on his cell phone.

 

I don ot know how legal they are, but if you look hard enough, you can find ads for cell phone blockers that look like a pager. You wear it on your belt and it jams any cell within a 10 or 20 foot radius (3-6 meters for you metric folks) Again, not sure about elgality cause they are dang hard to find, but still, would be entirely worth it to me


~C

 

Fred's rant lead me on a search for a blocker.
I came across this link for rooms, theatres, etc. :cool

Magnetic wood blocks mobile phone signals.
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn2461

Now if only you could carry a block of this wood around with you. Bazza

 

My girls also have cells in case of emergency for their children. Wouldn't it be awful to block a call like that?

 

If more cell phone users were like LauraR and the others posting in the thread, I would have no need for a blocker! Magnetic wood... Heading over to Lowes.com

E

 

I've had mine for about a year now. It's pre-paid, but now Alltel just raised the pre-paid cost from 10cents a min. to 15 cents a min. And they did away with roll-over on pre-paid. So basically their just getting me to but a plan!!!

 

LOL. probably a bit too early (in development), yet. :cry Bazza

===

 

Here's a jammer for you:http://www.securityprousa.com/pomophcebr.html

*only* $14,500US and illegal to own or sell to civilians in the US and the EU.

If only -- sorry have to finish this thought later... gotta take this call.

 

Well, not a cell phone jammer, but I did find a picture of a tool to selectively disable cell phones and their user. http://www.fotosearch.com/BDX337/bxp30234/

My lawyer has advised me not to use said tool... :cry

E

 

http://www.emotihost.com/glass9/18.gif
Loved your post! Totally agree with you. I hate the bloody things, and only have mine turned on for work purposes or if expecting a call/had diverted landline calls to my smartphone (cell phone).

What I particularly hate is with today's technology, I now need to ensure and keep updated necessary security and anti-viruses for the different apps on my smartphone!

I find that quite rude and somewhat ignorant on the part of that person. The caller could have been diverted to the person's voicemail box for them to pick the message up within minutes of finishing talking with you!

I applaud those mobile/cell phone users who show courtesy and consideration. And particularly when keeping the type of phone etiquette Laura noted.http://www.emotihost.com/glass9/4.gif

Yeah, well, if spotted by cops here driving while on the phone and dependent on type of offence, get fined between $265 to $353 and driver loses 3-4 demerit points (if you get/have another 2 or 3 driving offences and reach a total of 12 points, you lose your licence).

Totally agree with you.

But Fred, times are really achanging with the technology of now-a-days. I actually enjoy the occasional ride on public transport particularly when going into the city and absorbing the changes.

Gone are the days of people reading newspapers, flirting, chatting, generally taking in surroundings. Now, passengers have their ears plugged listening to ipods and/or fingers on keyboard of a laptop and/or ipad and/or cell phone. They all have these blank, plugged in type of expressions!http://www.emotihost.com/glass11/7.gif

Me? I like to simply observe the people, what is going on around me, take in surroundings, absorb scenery, architecture and engineering of buildings and structures offered en route.

I spend enough time in virtual reality. So I thoroughly enjoy these opportune times for taking in big pictures of reality, and experiencing the surrounding smells and sounds that come with it.

Cheers

LS

 

Hi LS did you notice this is a 4 year old thread ??
It does deserve another run though.
I gave up mobile phones 6 years ago and have never missed them although someone bought me a smart phone for my birthday and it is now sitting in my desk (with a flat battery)
I hate the damn things, I have to make regular visits to the hospital and the number of people who sit waiting to see a specialist just babbling away totally oblivious of the people around them, that coupled with the fact there are many signs around that request people not to use cell phones inside the hospital it is just plain ignorant.
A couple of months ago on one of my visits an old lady complained to one of the nurses about a young woman who for more than 20 minutes was talking loudly on her phone, when the nurse spoke to the young woman she was greeted with a lot of expletives finishing with "who the f*** are you to say i can not use my f****** phone" which gave a great insight to her intelligence.
I think the nurse just took her name off the appointments list because when i left after a long consultation she was still there and yes still talking on the phone.

 

Yep ignorance and just plain arrogance holds no boundaries with a lot of people these days rolleyes. There are reasons why I have a cell phone and there are also reasons why it is left OFF, unless I'm waiting for an important call.
I have one, (okay several), for:- (1) Emergency vehicle breakdowns. I don't fancy walking for 2 hrs in the heat or rain, (it's either one or the other in Perth) just to call the R.A.C.; (2) Important messages. This does not include - "My computer don't work" or "Can you fix my electric hair curlers", or whatever.rolleyes
Apart from the ignorance/rudeness and just plain dangerous of inappropriate yakking, I am the one who pays the bill. Don't like having to wait until I am ready to answer - too bad! They have the options of leaving voice, text or email messages, or even a pretty picture if they wish. I don't know what else I'm supposed to offer.
So someone had to wait 4 hrs for me to get back to them, because they STILL don't know to program their remote on the T.V. Am I supposed to cry a river?rolleyes
I love technology, but walking around almost 24/7 with a phone or i-Pod attached to your noggin isn't my idea of technologically advanced. More like intellectually impaired, maybe.

<rant over>:wave

 

Hi Bill! No, didn't notice it was a 4 year old thread:-o...it was up front due to an MG member (geenie) had responded to it today, which bumped it up to a current post on the front page of the Lounge!

Like me, you hate them too:-D

Those idiots using mobiles/cell phones in hospitals against "Switch Off" signs should be "shot"! I reckon you're right about that nurse taking her off the appointment schedule.LOL

I remember being in a hospital lift with a patient who was linked up to some portable hospital apparatus due to his back operation. En route, the lift stopped for a passenger who walked in talking on a mobile (cell phone)...the patient suddenly started to act strangely and looked weird. While going white in the face, he struggled to talk and asked the person to switch off her phone.

The stupid woman wasn't listening and waved him away to indicate she was busy talking.

I looked at the guy who seemed to crumble before leaning back against the wall while hanging onto the rod of his apparatus for support which by now had blinking red lights.

Feeling angry for him, I stepped up to the woman and gently pushing her hand with the phone away from her face, I told her it was affecting the patient's apparatus, so she should immediately switch it off.

She went red and appeared furious because I refused to let go of her hand...then she slowly seemed to take in the situation, called off and just then the lift door opened and she rushed out (not her floor).

I really felt for that poor guy...then the $&%@!!! language that came out of him when he finally got his wind back!:-D I could only nod back. Then he looked at me, made some comment about my expression, threw his head back and laughed. Great tension breaker.

 

Hey Phantom!

Must agree with you.

I can't get over the general rudeness of people now-a-days...surely common sense and logic can be applied when converting simple and general courtesies to mobile (cell) phone usage?

http://www.emotihost.com/glass20/20.gifSome people just like to be heard...http://www.emotihost.com/glass9/18.gif



People do appear impatient if cells aren't promptly answered. Yet people were previously happy to rant on landline phone voicemails!http://www.emotihost.com/glass20/11.gif.

Agree.

I find this a great concern on a number of levels. Here are just a few:

• Volume of music that can be heard when standing near someone with all the traffic noise in a busy city street - spells deafness before they reach middle age!
  
  
• Pedestrian accidents are on the rise (lost count of times I jammed on brakes because someone walks against a red light while texting!) There was even a You Tube video that went viral of a person tumbling into a water fountain at a shopping mall because they were distracted texting!
  
  
• Police concerns of assaults (some sexual) where victims were too distracted to notice their attacker because they were either distracted using their mobile or had ears plugged into loud music.

It makes no sense to me that with the capability to absorb and use all this technology, some people appear to lack common sense and logic when it comes to usage.

Certainly has me beat.

Cheers

LS

 

Thread necro... :-D

Been a while since I posted my cell phone rant. Broke down and got one a couple of years ago. Was cool, had limited interweb, could e-mail, check the weather, some news, and use as a GPS. Except for the first week, which I played around with my new toy, I made maybe 20 calls in a year. Probably less. So, I canceled it.

Am thinking about getting one with minutes, if I can find a decent plan. They can be very handy if your car breaks down, or if you need to make a quick call. I kept mine off unless I was using it, or expecting an important call.

When I got it, my job wanted the number. I asked them if they were going to kick in anything towards the bill. They said no, told 'em to find out the number on their own. :-D

I have seen several younger people using their phone, texting I guess, while riding a bike almost get hit buy a car. Just a matter of time before Darwin gets a few of them.

 

I'm finally getting just a basic cellphone with 25 minutes for $16 as opposed to $50 for a basic landline. Screw 'em!

 

Wish I could! Most cell phones won't work in my home. :cry

 

Would this one work for you at home Fred rather than your cell phone? Congrats if you can watch it all to the end. :-D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSTOT7RBkNc&feature=player_embedded

 

Good one Oma. Wired stuff works great, and I can use my laptop wirelessly from the house at least 50 yards away. But Cell phones, nope. Iphone will, but a bit steep for me. Nice phones though. :cool