| | Cell phones and other evil gadgets | |
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+7A Ahad P. Gordon Kennedy E. Don Harpe Phil Whitley zadaconnaway Abe F. March Dick Stodghill 11 posters | Author | Message |
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Dick Stodghill Five Star Member
Number of posts : 3795 Registration date : 2008-05-04 Age : 98 Location : Akron, Ohio
| Subject: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:50 am | |
| Jackie received something called a text message on her cell phone, a nasty piece of high-tech horror presented to her by granddaughter Jennifer. I knew from the day it came into the house that it would be just another time-wasting, tranquility-destroying intruder that as a terrorist puts Osama Bin Laden to shame. I was right, of course. As anticipated, Jackie couldn't call up her text message so she turned the cell phone and a thousand-page instruction manual over to me. I, too, was unable to find the text message but did discover that in the nightmarish world in which people who send and receive text messages live it is spelled TXT message. And we wonder why the English language, or anything coming even close to a recognizable imitation of it, is on the endangered species list. While leafing through page after page of undecipherable instructions and at the same time playing around with the little monster itself I did manage to do one thing. I accidentally took a picture - an upward view of my own nose. This did serve the purpose of reminding me it is time to get out the nose and ear hair trimmer. I could not, however, determine how to call up this picture after inadvertently hitting another button. So I'm sick of the high-tech era and all the useless and expensive gadgets it has inflicted on a gullible public. I don't even know what most of them are or what, if anything, they do. What exactly is a blackberry? Or a blue tooth? I thought plasma was something they shot into a person needing more blood. Then there is the silly bit of nonsense found in cars that tell someone too stupid to read a map how to get to where they want to go. One more evidence of dumbing down. Jackie's text message - oops, TXT message - is still floating around somewhere in cyberspace and I am not a bit sorry about that. How did we ever survive before all this high-tech stuff came along? Happily. Blissfully content in knowing we were capable of finding our way to the convenience store on the corner without the help of anyone or anything. And, of course, basking in the glow of contentment that comes from being off somewhere without anyone knowing where you are - a place where no one can call you on a despicable cell phone and say, "What are you doing?" |
| | | Abe F. March Five Star Member
Number of posts : 10768 Registration date : 2008-01-26 Age : 85 Location : Germany
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:04 am | |
| Telling it like it is. |
| | | zadaconnaway Five Star Member
Number of posts : 4017 Registration date : 2008-01-16 Age : 76 Location : Washington, USA
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:09 pm | |
| Well put, Dick. I guess some folks are so important that they must have ready acces to be accessed by phone. They could be a useful tool if used properly, but I find it disgusting to see folks walking around stores with a phone attached to their ear. And some of the ring tones are earsplitting. I have been tempted on occasion to take my shoe off and start talking into it (loudly) when a cell phone goes off near me. Shades of 'Get Smart'! |
| | | Phil Whitley Four Star Member
Number of posts : 907 Registration date : 2008-04-01 Age : 81 Location : Riverdale, GA
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:39 pm | |
| I'm with you, Dick! I can answer a call and hang up when finished. That's it. I have to get my daughter to do anything else with it. I'm still puzzled by why we need TXT messaging anyway. What's wrong with leaving a voice message if I'm not available? I would still have to get my daughter to get to the message center... LOL
Zada, I also agree about the people walking around with the phones up to their ear. Worse yet are the people who have the little earbuds where you can't see the phone. One night I was in the grocery store and a guy approached me. He looked right at me and said, "I can't find the mayo, honey."
I thought he was rather presumptious calling me honey, but being the helpful guy I am I said, "Aisle eight - next to the salad dressing."
He looked at me like I was crazy, then said, "I'll be home shortly, bye-bye."
His phone was on his belt, wired to his ear. I never saw the microphone. Maybe it was an implant... |
| | | zadaconnaway Five Star Member
Number of posts : 4017 Registration date : 2008-01-16 Age : 76 Location : Washington, USA
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:55 pm | |
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| | | E. Don Harpe Five Star Member
Number of posts : 1979 Registration date : 2008-01-17 Age : 82 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:58 pm | |
| Most people buy a plan that allows them unlimited texting, and in that way they don't use their minutes talking. Using too many minutes is the reason for extremely high bills, and texting is a way to get around that. Of course, ringtones, games, and sending texts to a pay site can also run up your bill.
As I have very few BFF's, I never TXT, and do not use a blacktooth or a blueberry. I take calls when I can figure out how to answer them, and the rest of the time I just try and talk my wife, who is a Sprint technician, into handling the details. |
| | | Phil Whitley Four Star Member
Number of posts : 907 Registration date : 2008-04-01 Age : 81 Location : Riverdale, GA
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:42 pm | |
| That makes sense, Don. Before I could learn to text message, they now have Twitter. Good grief, what's with all this 'staying connected"?
Doesn't anybody write letters any more? Remember those? |
| | | P. Gordon Kennedy Five Star Member
Number of posts : 1076 Registration date : 2008-01-13 Age : 35 Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Mon Oct 13, 2008 7:26 pm | |
| Cell phones are one of those technologies that's very heavily abused. A cell phone would be a useful tool in an emergency or for a business person who uses it reasonably for their business. However, most of the time, it seems that the people using cell phones are doing it only for social reasons. It seems that a lot of people feel they need to be connected 24/7/365 and they're willing to pay big bucks to keep that connection. A typical cell phone costs about $40 a month and that's before taxes and surcharges. I've even heard of premium cell phone services that cost about $100 per month. $40 - $100 or more a month for simple meaningless chatter seems like a massive waste of money. If people want to keep in touch, they could save a lot of money by sending e-mail on their computer rather than talking on a cell phone. Besides being expensive, cell phone use can be dangerous. Studies have shown that the impairment caused by driving on a cell phone is roughly equal to the impairment caused by driving drunk. Using a cell phone diverts a driver's attention from the road and can cause an accident. This endangers not only the cell phone user, but others as well. In addition to being expensive and potentially dangerous, cell phones can be anoying. People chat on their cell phones in stores and restaurants, which can be anoying. I often wonder why people can't wait until they get home to make their phone calls; why do they need to be always connected. Don't they ever want some time for themselves? Wouldn't they rather have an extra $40 - $100 or more a month? Mayby they should take all the cell phones and run them through a hammer mill or something like that! |
| | | Abe F. March Five Star Member
Number of posts : 10768 Registration date : 2008-01-26 Age : 85 Location : Germany
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:28 pm | |
| Zada, I like your idea of the shoe phone. Reminds me of Maxwell Smart. I think I may just try that on someone. It would be more effective if I could devise some ringing device before taking off my shoe. |
| | | A Ahad Five Star Member
Number of posts : 1102 Registration date : 2008-03-25 Age : 55
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Tue Oct 14, 2008 3:15 am | |
| Mt me @ da cinema. c u ltr.
(meet me at the cinema. See you later)
To someone who is a "pro" at texting, that message would take just 10 seconds and cost 10p on a pay-as-you-go scheme. A voice call in that instant would be a more tedious, more expensive, tranquility-destroying intrusion.
More generally, the analogy I always find fitting is that technology is much like fire. You can use it to cook a delicious barbecue on a fine summers afternoon in the garden. Or, if you choose to abuse it, it can cause your house to burn down. |
| | | Abe F. March Five Star Member
Number of posts : 10768 Registration date : 2008-01-26 Age : 85 Location : Germany
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Tue Oct 14, 2008 7:02 am | |
| Ahad, I think my tech house has already succumbed to the fire. |
| | | A Ahad Five Star Member
Number of posts : 1102 Registration date : 2008-03-25 Age : 55
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Tue Oct 14, 2008 7:32 am | |
| Abe, I don't have internet access at home. I cut it off about six months ago. I did that quite deliberately so that I could enjoy and appreciate the fresh air, the blue sky, the four seasons, and the "real world". So that my mind would be free from all the many indoctrinating influences (good and bad) that it can inflict on me. I think technology can be a very addictive thing, overall, whether it's putting too much reliance on a car to go a few yards down the street to the corner store or chattering non-stop on Myspace IM. (Some of my friends actually go one step further: they think it is a very evil thing indeed! ) |
| | | Gina Three Star Member
Number of posts : 136 Registration date : 2008-10-03 Age : 54
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Tue Oct 14, 2008 8:59 am | |
| I have a mobile 'phone but have given my number to just three or four people, all of whom are family members. I can answer it and make a call, and if it's absolutely necessary I can send and receive texts. It's handy in an emergency, but for the most part it sits quietly in my handbag for days at a time. I would never use it in a store or any place like that. I was shocked when visiting the Louvre in Paris to see a chap taking a business call on his mobile, right there in the Egyptian department. |
| | | Abe F. March Five Star Member
Number of posts : 10768 Registration date : 2008-01-26 Age : 85 Location : Germany
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:05 am | |
| Gina, I can appreciate the use of a cell phone for emergencies, and they have saved lives. The use of a cell phone on the other hand has cost lives, i.e., people driving a car with a cell phone pasted to the ear. The obsession of having a phone so that one is available at all times, in my view, is not necessary. For many people they no longer have any privacy - no free space. Of course that is their choice. When I was still working my business required it. I had no free space. Working in the USA and my mother company in Europe meant I got calls in the middle of the night. When I retired, I retired from the rat race as well. |
| | | E. Don Harpe Five Star Member
Number of posts : 1979 Registration date : 2008-01-17 Age : 82 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:28 am | |
| You cannot become a slave of anything, whether it be a country, a person, an ideal, or a technological marvel, unless you are willing to be a slave.
I use my cell phone as I did my house phone. I talk to people when I need to, keep up with family members, and do whatever business I need to do. I carry my cell with me due to my heart condition, although I don't know what good it would do me should I die in the car. I don't like to talk on the phone while driving, and don't even listen to music in the car, unless I have a new song released.
I don't text, and I don't download ringtones or pictures, but I do like the convenience of the phone. I use my computer a lot every day, and can't imagine a world without one anymore. I love the access to the world that I find on the internet, and also can't imagine not having it at home.
I don't sit at the computer all day long, I am up and out several times a day, but I do want to be able to see what is going on with my books and my friends whenever I want to.
We are not compelled to sit indoors, it's just a choice some make. I go to lunch almost every day, and yes, I drive many short distances that I probably should walk. I'm also not one of those people who pretend not to like television, because they think it makes them sound better, or more intelligent, to their friends. There are programs I like, and they are not all on the history channel or a news station. Personally, I think most people watch more tv than they admit to.
My outlook is pretty simple. I do what I want to with my time, and almost everything I do I see as productive, one way or another. Cars, washers and dryers, AC, televisions, computers, cell phones, etc are nothing more than tools, and personally, I'm glad we have them. |
| | | E. Don Harpe Five Star Member
Number of posts : 1979 Registration date : 2008-01-17 Age : 82 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:48 am | |
| Speaking of the advantages of the internet, I just used it to post a new avatar. This is me a couple of weeks ago appearing with the Tresa Street show just outside Nashville, Tennessee. First time I'd been on a stage in about 20 years, but it all came back as soon as I touched the mike. |
| | | Helen Wisocki Four Star Member
Number of posts : 870 Registration date : 2008-03-21 Location : Massachusetts
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Tue Oct 14, 2008 3:27 pm | |
| I love having a cell phone and text messaging! If my kids have a quick question, they can text me. If I'm busy at work, I can read the message when I'm free. Then send an answer.
Since Curt and I live in different states, we use texting to send messages when we don't have time to be on the phone. But the phones go everywhere with us and we can be reached in some form whenever necessary. And with headsets, we can still work on other things while talking on the phone.
I do hate it when people take a phone message when I'm talking to them in person.
Technology is a wonderful thing. But Dick, I can appreciate what you went through looking up how to retrieve the text message and picture. I've been there. Practice, practice, practice. |
| | | zadaconnaway Five Star Member
Number of posts : 4017 Registration date : 2008-01-16 Age : 76 Location : Washington, USA
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Tue Oct 14, 2008 5:02 pm | |
| Don, I like the new picture, and hope you keep that cell phone handy. Just in case you ever need assistance. I had one for a while, but it was because I traveled a fair distance through the woods during dark hours and I could use it to call for help if I needed it. I find that now, my 9mm is what makes me feel secure (from 4 legged predators) should I need to go on foot to get assistance. I agree that there are good reasons for one to have a cell phone. The internet is also a useful tool for many of us. As with cell phones there are abuses. It is the abuse I hate. Helen, I am glad you have your cell. keeping in touch with loved ones who are far away when one is seldom home is definitely a good reason! Technology used wisely is wonderful indeed. |
| | | Abe F. March Five Star Member
Number of posts : 10768 Registration date : 2008-01-26 Age : 85 Location : Germany
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Wed Oct 15, 2008 5:32 am | |
| Don, I like your Avatar. Would have enjoyed being in the audience. |
| | | A Ahad Five Star Member
Number of posts : 1102 Registration date : 2008-03-25 Age : 55
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Wed Oct 15, 2008 5:43 am | |
| Don, You look really cool. Much like Elvis in fact I may have cut the internet at home for personal reasons, but I still have it at work. Not being on it so much and going onto it so sparingly is actually more refreshing. Especially on a nice forum like this where people always have something exciting to share. (ps: If you have a video of your performance, it'd look great on youtube.) |
| | | Carol Troestler Five Star Member
Number of posts : 3827 Registration date : 2008-06-07 Age : 86 Location : Wisconsin
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Wed Oct 15, 2008 6:19 am | |
| My husband and I each have cell phones, but neither of us text messages. All my kids and most of our grandchildren have cell phones. We have no cell phone coverage in the woods, however. I love my computer, the internet, email, messageboards, research sites. Right now as my physical mobility is limited, the computer opens up the world and is priceless to me. I love these windows to the world. Carol |
| | | E. Don Harpe Five Star Member
Number of posts : 1979 Registration date : 2008-01-17 Age : 82 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Wed Oct 15, 2008 6:45 am | |
| Thanks Ahad. The entire show is still posted at Ustream, but I can't figure out any way to record it.
It's here.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tresa-street-live
There's a small picture of a young lady in a pink blouse about mid way down the page. Click on the picture and the show will play. I'm on about 3/4 of the way through, doing 4 songs. Once again, though, they are true country songs, and not the kind you hear on today's radio. |
| | | JoElle Five Star Member
Number of posts : 1311 Registration date : 2008-05-09
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Wed Oct 15, 2008 2:42 pm | |
| I for one, like technology. I am very glad that I can do my banking online. I love direct deposit. I can pay bills online.
This is all very convenient considering I am only "home" 3-5 days a month. Cell phones are much more convenient for getting a hold of our road call mechanics when our truck decides to break down. It is much nicer to just dial the 800 number instead of walking 20 miles down the highway to the nearest payphone (which may or may not exist or work).
I like that I can keep in touch with friends and family via email, text messaging, and instant messaging. I do LOVE good old fashioned letters. And it is handy for emergencies. We were in Chicago when my mother in law passed away. Thanks to all this technology, our family from all over the country was able to make arrangements (as did our trucking company) to make sure everyone made it to the funeral in Texas.
Now that my son is overseas I am especially glad for the technology. Cell phone calls and text messaging is expensive. But email and I.M. is free and it is nice to be able to keep in touch with him and not have to wait 10-14 days for regular mail. It has also made it easier for my daughter in law and me to manage his bills and business for him while he is gone.
I agree. Talking in person and handwritten letters are nice and in many ways better. But there is a lot to be said for change and technology does have a place ... at least in my life. |
| | | Gina Three Star Member
Number of posts : 136 Registration date : 2008-10-03 Age : 54
| Subject: Re: Cell phones and other evil gadgets Thu Oct 16, 2008 6:00 am | |
| - Forest Elf wrote:
- I for one, like technology.
I am very glad that I can do my banking online. I love direct deposit. I can pay bills online. Oh yes, Internet banking is a great improvement to the old system of having to visit the bank or 'phone and get stuck in a queue or go through the automated service. It's great to be able to move money around at the touch of a button. One thing that technology offers is the ability to do things quickly, freeing up time to do other (more interesting) things. |
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