cell phones...

[appliances4me]

ok

heres what I think. A cell phone is a phone and should be used just as that. If I did not answer it is because I was busy doing something else. Those signs of having a leash almost always lead to something else unless you have a talk and can come to some sort of an understanding. My partners mom tried this for a while till he had a come to jesus meetin with her. She now will not blow up the phone unless it is really important. I do not have a house phone so this is my phone. I used 154 minutes last month. Yes I am social but I text and work a full time job and go to school. As far as etiquette goes I almost never talk in a check out line or somewhere that my attention is necessary.

 

[kirk280980]

Rich has hit the nail firmly on the head. This whole electronic leash business is what eventually persuaded me to give my ex the heave-ho. He would call at all hours of the day and night, and leave whiny voicemails demanding to know WHY I hadn't been back in touch sooner. He'd also set up his phone to notify him whenever I read one of his text messages (so as to work out how long it took me to get round to responding). At first I thought he was just insecure and needy, and that I would have to gently break him out of this habit. After more than a year, however, it finally dawned on me that he was actually a subtle control freak who was trying to keep tabs on me 24/7.

It all backfired when he called for what felt like the millionth time in one day to ask me what I was doing now. Somehow I don't think "Dumping you, because I'm tired of all your shit" was quite the response he was hoping for.

These days I keep my phone switched on Mon-Fri, 9:00-18:00. Those are my business hours, and outside of those times I am not available to take calls. Clients know they can e-mail me on evenings and weekends for a more or less immediate response, which is fine because it doesn't involve talking and I'm usually sat at the computer working anyway. The only people I give my landline number to are friends and selected relatives, and even they usually e-mail first to ask if it's OK to call. Can you tell I really don't like talking on the phone? LOL.

 

[whirlcool]

And the people that really creep me out are the ones with them implanted in their ear like some sort of "Locutus of Borg" device.

Usually I find people who have those blue tooth ear pieces usually have an overblown sense of self importance. When they first came out I encountered a guy at MSP airport standing in the exit to the driveway ramp doors. That thing was protruding from his ear and blinking too. Every time our crew tried to pass him in the vestibule, he'd block our way and just say "Can't you see I'm on the phone?". Idiot.
Then a number of years ago we were in line at the grocery store and a soccer mom type was engrossed in a cell phone conversation while the cashier was ringing up her groceries.
When the cashier told her the total amount owed, she ignored the cashier a few times and just kept talking on her cell phone. Finally the cashier shouted at her "Mam', YOUR TOTAL IS $212.41!! PLEASE PAY NOW!" What did this soccer mom say? "You'll just have to wait, can't you see I'm on the phone!"
Then I just said "Lady, just PAY your fuckin' bill!". The look I got out of her was so shocking she hung up her cell phone and paid the bill.

Here is a joke I heard from another pilot a month ago or so.
"What's the difference between a woman driving a Suburban and talking on a cell phone and a drink driver?"
The drunk is at least TRYING to drive....

 

[whirlpolf]

cell phone wake-up bashing (my favorite outdoor sports) ;-))

I've lived in Amsterdam for some time, there it is even worse with cell phones: Some "ladies" use it just for fake to get through the crowd more easily. You know those mid-30s horsebutt blond barbie dolls with brickshaped heels, they hold a cell phone to their ear and talk very noisily to "someone" while stampeding and dashing through a crowd, while being "first" through a revolving door in a bank or for "not having noticed" the queue at a grociers. They expect all mortals to skip away and make room for them. (Most of the time it works and most of the time they really ARE speaking to someone, but more than once I've caught them tucking away the phone without even pressing the red button.) This means: They were just playacting, not talking to anyone. The mobile is just a tool to get through the crowd.

When I spot such a person (also guys here, the typical suited "I won't even look at the lowly mob, I am the king of Wall Street" business monger), I will stop walking and stand there, not giving an inch and just wait for them to crash into me at full speed. Most get quite mean and insulting, some get bossy and then I just point to the phone and say nothing. That makes my day and ruins theirs! )))

 

[spankomatic]

My cell phone theory...

Cell phones is the cause of GLOBAL WARMING. The increase in cell phone usage is causing the magnetic field to super heat the earth. Kinda fits the time line when you think about it... I say turn them OFF.

Just a theory.....

Jim

 

[toploader55]

Has anyone...

Been reading about the danger of Brain Tumors from Cell Phones ? There really is no long term study on the use of Cell Phones . They've really only been around for what ???16-18 years ?
I just can't see what is so important that can't wait until later. I want to whack people in the head when they come into my restaurant yakking away. Actually anywhere. Rudeness abounds anyway these days. I see everyday as well as all of you Get into vehicle, Start Vehicle, Fasten Seatbelt, Engage Cell Phone and Mouth.
I like them for emergengies, but unless I am expecting a call from someone, I generally never answer my phone until I'm ready to or have time.

 

[andrewinorlando]

I love taking my cell phone shopping with me. It is the best way I have found to avoid being ambushed by pushy sales people without constantly having to tell them to "piss off". I just walk throught the mall and have a conversation with whomever, and all those annoying individuals who seem to assault you (and even follow you and continue pitching) as you walk down the center aisle, pushing this service or that product, pretty much ignore you...just the way I like it. Inside stores, sales people won't even come near when they see me on a phone...just the way I like it. If I need something, I'll go find a salesperson, but I despise being followed through a store by one of the vultures who just won't take the hint. Seems the cell phone has natural repellent powers!!

I was always curious though as to just what's the difference driving while talking on a cell phone versus driving while carrying on one or more conversations with people in your car? Why is one okay and not the other? Would seem your attention would be just as "diverted" since most people tend to talk while gesturing and/or while looking at the folks in the back seat through the rear view mirror, or the person next to them directly. I see this regularly, especially people with kids in the back seat. Why doesn't anyone talk about legislation to ban all conversation in a moving vehicle??? Seems to me that one is just as potentially dangerous as the other since you can't drive forward all that well while looking backwards at the folks in your back seat.

 

[alanlendaro]

Andrew, check this article out

here are some snippets from it and I post the complete link to the article for your reference.

"We have seen again and again that there is no difference between hands-free and hand-held devices," Drews said. "The problem is the conversation," he added.

According to Drews, drivers talking on the phone are paying attention to the conversation -- not their driving. "Drivers are not perceiving the driving environment," he said. "We found 50 percent of the visual information wasn't processed at all -- this could be a red light. This increases the risk of getting into an accident dramatically," he said.

...

In the study, 40 people followed a pace car along a prescribed course, using a driving simulator. Some people drove while talking on a cell phone, others navigated while drunk (meaning their blood-alcohol limit matched the legal limit of 0.08 percent), and others drove with no such distractions or impairments.

"We found an increased accident rate when people were conversing on the cell phone," Drews said. Drivers on cell phones were 5.36 times more likely to get in an accident than non-distracted drivers, the researchers found.

The phone users fared even worse than the inebriated, the Utah team found. There were three accidents among those talking on cell phones -- all of them involving a rear-ending of the pace car. In contrast, there were no accidents recorded among participants who were drunk, or the sober, cell-phone-free group.

The bottom line: Cell-phone use was linked to "a significant increase in the accident rate," Drews said.

He said there was a difference between the behaviors of drunk drivers and those who were talking on the phone. Drunk drivers tended to be aggressive, while those talking on the phone were more sluggish, Drews said.

...

Tyson pointed out that talking on the phone is very different than talking to the person in the passenger seat. "If you are engaged in a conversation with a passenger, the passenger has some situational awareness, whereas a person on the phone has no idea what you are dealing with on the road," he said.

"Our recommendation is that you should not talk on the phone while driving, whether it's a hand-held or hand-free device," Tyson said. "We realize that a lot of people believe that they can multi-task, and in a lot of situations they probably can, but it's that moment when you need your full attention, and it's not there because you are busy talking, that you increase the likelihood that you are going to be involved in a crash," he said.

http://www.cellphonedefense.com/catalog/articles.php?tPath=24

 

[andrewinorlando]

That's very interesting.....thanks for the linkie....

I guess the bottom line is that we all need to be the defensive drivers we should be to protect ourselves and our passengers.

 

[Cybrvanr]

difference between in-person and the phone is data compressi

Why is it so dangerous to talk on the phone while driving? It's because of the poor audio quality of the phone. A cell phone converts audio to digital data, where it is sent over the airways and data networks, this is why they are so cheap. More conversations can be crammed into a radio channel, or a data line if there is less data there, so cell phone companies compress the data.

Data compression works by loosing components of the information. The problem is that it removes so much that conversations can be made challenging. The frequency response of most phones is about 500-3000hz, which is lower than the 5000hz that land-lines use. The other problem is the dynamic range, which is barely even 10db. The lack of dynamic range is the reason why percussive sounds like "P" or "T" or "D" or"B" all sound the same. It is up to the listener to decipher what is actually being said through the context of the conversation...and that requires brain power (that is diverted from the road) This is describing a cellular conversation while the signal is good. Throw in an iffy signal, so it's dropping syllables, and some background noise of the car going down the highway, and you really have a lot of concentration diverted to the phone conversation, and away from the road!

 

[alanlendaro]

here is a VERY scholarly text on the subject

Interesting, but heavy reading.

http://www.conference.noehumanist.org/articles/Proceedings-HUMANIST-S1.2.pdf

 

[andrewinorlando]

Good stuff guys...thanks for the link.

 

[alanlendaro]

this one too

its only a snippet - you need pay to see the whole article but the abstract is pretty good.

http://technology.newscientist.com/article/mg18725105.000.html

 

[alanlendaro]

OK, one more... and a warning, I am into the scotch

- Sung to the Spiritual, "I Got Shoes"

I got a phone,
you got a phone,
all god's children got a phone...

When I get to heaven, gonna dial my phone,
gonna talk all over god's heaven... heaven....

I got a plan,
you got a plan,
all god's children got a plan...

When I get to heavn, gonna upgrade my plan,
gonna talk all over god's heaven... heaven...

My apologies to Marion Anderson....

Can you all help me come up with addtional lyrics?

 

[sdlee]

How I deal.........

.as i spend eight hours of my life each day being a cashier heres how I sometimes deal with the cell phone talkers in my line.....

so who you talking too.......

What are they like......

are you happy you married them....Going out........

your right lay into him.....

kids are stupid....I got rid of mine

Dogs are better...........

or anything to let them know I am listening and hangin on every word. Youd be surprised at the reactions it gets. Useually the user turns bright red and the phone goes away.

I once got reported to the boss for this. He laughed himself silly in front of the woman and asked her if she will be second thinking talking on the cell while dealing with his cashiers? She said she would never be back, he said Thank you.

Love your joke Whirlcool.........heres one

A china woman, a Japaneeze woman and a USA hillbilly woman from the backwoods of the south were in a sauna at a posh Beverly Hills resort

ring ring they heard, oh thats my new implanted cell phone said the China woman Ill just press my neck and take this call.

beep,beep they heard and the Jap woman said oh thats my new palm implanted cell Ill just press my palm and take this call.

The Hillbilly woman felt sad and depressed and went out to the ladies room to pee. While sitting down she comptemplated what will I do, What will I do I must not look inferior to these hot shot foreginers.

So eventually she went back into the saunna. Tha China woman said upon noticing toilet paper hanging from the Hillybilly womans ass what is that ,what you have hanging there? she squeeked.

so did the Jap woman, unbelieable said she and was disgusted by it.

Why! calmly explained the Hillbilly woman with sheer pride and joy I do believe I"s a fixin to get a fax!!!!!

 

[countryford]

Kind of on the same note

It seems like nowdays we have automatic washing machines, microwaves, cell phones, planes, trains and automobiles. Plus a number of other newer devices that are supposed to make our lives easier and to give us more time. But even though we have all these devices that give us more time, why the hell are people still in a hurry? Just something to think on.

 

[hydralique]

Why are we all in a hurry?

Because in general we're a very productive country, and people have come to expect that everything will happen with lightning speed. There is both good and bad to this. I carry my cellphone with me virtually all the time, and my clients know I'll answer in the evening and on weekends. That's the level of service they expect even if they'd never say so outright. Fifteen years ago if a client decided he had an issue with a building he'd just wait until the next morning or after the weekend was over. Not today!