All cell phones suck - Big time

[Helldiver]

I went shopping this afternoon. A fat blond, driving a Ford wagon and talking on her cell phone all but ran me over when crossing the parking lot. I yelled at her and she looked mad.
Then I got home and I got two wrong numbers. Someone trying to dial in them teeny, small numbers that are on cell phones. Countless accidents are atttributed to "indexing" on a cell phone.
It used to be our telephone number was 2927. Out of town it would be Beverly 2927, end of statement. Now, because of cell phones, I have to remember and dial 11 numbers if I'm calling my neighbor next door.
Now I had 50 years of being an Aerospace Engineer and Executive, traveling all over the world. I cannot count any reason why I would need a cell phone. I wouldn't use one on a bet. There always was a phone at the airport or at the Hotel.
I propose a tax on cell phones. A pretty heavy one. Maybe in a year we can clean up the national debt with these nit-wits that just can't live without them.

[Wulf190]

My cell is the only phone I use. I have a land line, but I don't use it. I can use my cell pretty much where ever I go and its great when I'm pre-flighting and I have to call for the fuel truck. Beats wasting time having to trek back across the tarmac to the FBO.

I don't really see the purpose behind a land line, other then to use in an emergency, or for directing telemarketer calls to the voice mail void.

Using a hotel's in room phone? Yeah right....

But I will agree with you on the talking on the cell phone and driving. Drivers talking on their cell phones should treated like drunks driving. You can't hold an intelligent phone conversation and focus on driving properly and safely at the same time. Let them pay the fines and use that to pay the debt.

[OBIO]

Helldiver

I agree with you on how pointless and unnecessary cell phones are. I don't like normal phones, I really hate cell phones. The number of times I have had people pull out in front of me while on their cell phone is beyond counting. And when I slam on my brakes to avoid T-Boning them...they always look at me like I did something wrong. Maybe next time I won't waste my brake pads and will just go ahead and T-Bone an idiot and allow their insurance company to replace my car.

OBIO

[Bjoern]

No offense Helldiver, but you're just a standard old guy ranting about modern technology.
My grandfather at least tried to have a cellphone and he's not much younger than you are.
Either stay on the ball technologywise or at least don't complain when you're lagging behind.

I like my cell phone. It's my camera, music player, webbrowser, gaming station, GPS and speech and text communications device all in one.
I'd go on a killing spree if cell phones were taxed.


- Edit: Like Wulf, my cell phone is the only phone I use despite having a land line.


A little respect please....Thanks

[PRB]

Hating cell phones is irrational. Stupid people will always find a way to practice being stupid. They don't need cell phones to do it. I have a cell phone. I've never used it while driving. I don't even use it much at all. This is an easy one. Like OBIO said, I every time I see a dumb move on the road, the chances are the driver is jabber-jawing on the phone. The problem is not the phone.

[aeromed202]

I highly recommend that all people read The Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams. He is remarkably perceptive beneath all the humor. Our technology is out-pacing our moral duty to manage or control it, to reasonably determine what is right and what is wrong. I don't have the answer, or at least one that can be somehow bored into everyones brain. But I am aware of the problem and that counts for something.
So I say it's not so much the device as it is the one who can't or won't use it properly.

Public phones? Here in the states they are practically gone.

Taxing cells? How about a doofus tax instead.

[waco]

The most stupid, flagrant, and ridiculous use of cell phone I've seen was a guy trying to dial a number while on a moving motorcycle.

[cheezyflier]

I went shopping this afternoon. A fat blond, driving a Ford wagon and talking on her cell phone all but ran me over when crossing the parking lot. I yelled at her and she looked mad.
Then I got home and I got two wrong numbers. Someone trying to dial in them teeny, small numbers that are on cell phones. Countless accidents are atttributed to "indexing" on a cell phone.
It used to be our telephone number was 2927. Out of town it would be Beverly 2927, end of statement. Now, because of cell phones, I have to remember and dial 11 numbers if I'm calling my neighbor next door.
Now I had 50 years of being an Aerospace Engineer and Executive, traveling all over the world. I cannot count any reason why I would need a cell phone. I wouldn't use one on a bet. There always was a phone at the airport or at the Hotel.
I propose a tax on cell phones. A pretty heavy one. Maybe in a year we can clean up the national debt with these nit-wits that just can't live without them.

when you and obio start the cellphone haters club, send me a membership package. i'll join right up.


Hating cell phones is irrational. Stupid people will always find a way to practice being stupid. They don't need cell phones to do it.

you're absolutely right of course on this point.
for me, the other side of hatin them is, the idea of a phone that follows you around is a nightmare to me. i know it can be turned off. but when people call and you don't answer, they feel like they have a right to be annoyed with you because they know you're carryin a phone. if i'm fishin or cruisin, or otherwise outta the house, i want to be left alone.

[Lionheart]

I love my iPhone. Thing is an amazing tool. I have voice dial, and I use hands free blue tooth. Almost like having earphones on in a plane.


There's always something that can be distracting, from tuning your radio (in your car) to adjusting the heater, watching a car (or pedestrian) in the mirrors, etc. Some people just cant hold a phone and talk at the same time. I wish those people would get blue tooth headphones. It really does help, but some just cant talk and drive. Its a real shame as they ruin it for everyone.



Bill

[n4gix]

Well, I thank God daily for cell phones. My cell phone has saved my life once, and I expect before I die it will do so again...

I don't have a landline phone. I haven't had one for the past ten years. I have only a cell phone, and it never leaves my person. I even have a way to keep it on my person while sleeping. This is critical because ever since my brother died, I've lived alone...

About six years ago I fell to the bathroom floor during the middle of the night due to what turned out to be a pinched nerve between L4 and L5. Were it not for me having the cell phone handy, I wouldn't have been able to call 911 for help. Long ago I installed an electronic lock on my front door that I can activate remotely via the cell phone, so the emergency responders won't have to break down my door!

Without my cell phone, I may have lay on the floor of the bathroom, unable to move until I died of starvation... :mixedsmi:

BTW, I have never used my cell phone on those rare occasions when I'm out-and-about driving.

IMHO, cell phones aren't the problem; stupid people are the problem!

[Wittpilot]

Our technology is out-pacing our moral duty to manage or control it, to reasonably determine what is right and what is wrong. I don't have the answer, or at least one that can be somehow bored into everyones brain. But I am aware of the problem and that counts for something.
So I say it's not so much the device as it is the one who can't or won't use it properly.


I have to highly agree with your point there. It is very logically stated and I think it can be applied to many people with aspects of their lives other than cell phones.

Yes, people on cell phones while driving cause problems... Wrecks, cut-offs, distractions, even deaths. Yet, people get behind the wheel and do all kinks of irrational things. i.e: GPS systems, talking, singing loud, picking up stuff on the floor of the car, eating, drinking, sex, <==== I think I'm missing out on something there... DRINKING!

Helldiver, I know we all for the most part respect you and yoru contributions to this, our cyber-home, but to condemn all cell phone users is, as stated previously, a tad irrational. We are not all brainless hacks and some of us can successfully operate a cellphone and operate a motored vehicle. All the time with the people I work with I hear about how when they were young (probably about the late 60's early 70's) all people did was drink, smoke, trip on acid, and drive around town in their car. So please do not assume that older generations are high & mighty because they refuse to 'talk & drive'.

Many of you w/o cell phones do so because you don't see it as a necessary part of your lifestyle. I'm okay with that, I'm sure Lionheart & Panther are okay with that... When both your wife & you work and are away from home 12 hours a day with your two kids with their grandparents, it is critical to have a cell phone these days.

So to those without the cell phones...carry on... and please don't pile us all into the same category with people who make a life of irrational decisions like the quote from above...

-witt

[Chacha]

I need a cell phone, this is a part of my job... when my work needs help for me to fix/assistance for them or help them with some stupid things....

I work at home and with my cellphone, work can reach me even if I am at the day care picking up my daughter or watching her recital, or with her in her gymnastic class....

My work is about 2,000 miles away from home! :running:

So not all cell phone sucks... mine is a great one, I can work anywhere with it... That is Monday to Friday from 9 am till 6 pm (ARIZONA time).

I agree with Bill:

Cellphones are not the problem.... Stupid People are!

[N2056]

When it comes to driving cell phones are just a high-tech version of...

The Newspaper
Makeup
Electric Razor
Road Map
Books
Little Dogs in the driver's lap
Fast Food
Business Paperwork

These are just a few I came across back when I drove a service truck around town :d

[aeronca1]

Cellphones are not the problem.... Stupid People are!

LOL, there's an old saying that says: You can't design anything foolproof because fools are so ingeniously stupid!

BUT, I have a very strong dislike for phones period. I work on them all day and by the time I'm done, a ringing anything gets my old pitching arm revved up!

[Naismith]

I refuse to get one. I'm not that important that I cannot be out of touch with the rest of humanity for more than a few seconds. I have an Ansafone on the house phone if it's that important.
I can also go to the supermarket and select the correct loaf of bread without having to call home and ask the Mrs which one to pick up like the moron who was ahead of me today.
And as for having to pay to receive calls and texts, what that about. Why should I have to pay to receive a misdialled number of friggin big brothers begging a donation.
Bah humbug,

[paiken]

IMHO, cell phones aren't the problem; stupid people are the problem!

I wholeheartedly agree with this. I absolutely MUST have a cell phone with me at all times. My wife is extremely ill and is awaiting a liver transplant. If the hospital can't reach me, I can't get her to the hospital in time. At my work, they have a strict "no cell phones on the workroom floor" policy, but they have graciously granted me permission to have mine with me until she either gets her transplant or passes away for lack of a suitable donor. I'm sometimes amazed by the semi-luddite statements I see here, since all of us rely on technology to not only communicate, but also to enjoy this crazy hobby of ours.

[harleyman]

I have 2 of them..Both in my dresser drawer where they belong...

Never been used...LOl

Now so outdated they are worthless.....


I am not that important that someone needs to reach me now..

They do have their place with many..I agree with that...

They are just not for me ..

I hate to talk on the phone period...

[Willy]

I've got one and only carry it with me when I'm out and about alone. And not many people have the number, just those that I consider important.

Here's the thing, Mrs Willy is disabled and I'm in not that great a health myself. If she needs me and I'm out, she can call me and vice versa. If I should have some kind of an accident, then hopefully I'll be at myself enough to call for help.

[java2srv]

Our technology is out-pacing our moral duty to manage or control it, to reasonably determine what is right and what is wrong.


+1

I battle this all day at work, and for Pete's sake I work in hi-tech. It's insane. I watch people let machines make decisions for them without the slightest clue about what they're making a decision about. :isadizzy:

Helldiver, I'll bet you felt safer in the back seat of a Beast than I do walking across the grocery store parking lot.

I'm not sure its just cell phones, I get the feeling there're people that are just going through life bouncing off of things. If there's a miss its because you were cringing or jumping out of the way.

Yes, I also carry one for emergencies, but if I'm hiking the back country there's not much coverage -- so then I have to be careful, thoughtful, and self reliant. What the heck is up with THAT. :-)
:wavey:

[GT182]

when you and obio start the cellphone haters club, send me a membership package. i'll join right up.


Sign me up too. Anyone that has one in a car should have to take an "Am I Responsible Enough To Use A Cellphone" test to carry one. Hell, I've survived all this time without one, and did right up to the time they came out on the market. For most these days they have no thought of right or wrong.

January 1st in Wimington Delaware their use is now illegal while driving...... unless it's a "hands Free" cellphone. Should have been a state wide law. It was made a law and took effect this month in Philadephia too.

[Navy Chief]

The ONLY reason I even have one is for when I travel away from the house. There isn't cell phone coverage at my house. I have to drive at least 15 minutes to get service. Cell phones have their beneficial uses, yes, but I can understand and relate to anger concerning them.

By the way, Merry Christmas everyone.

NC

[gigabyte]

I make my living from modern technology so I have just a little bias, I do not sell the stuff I administer the computers, telecom (including Cell) laser printing etc for a fairly large company. I have heard the pros and cons over the years and IMHO it is not the technology - computers, cell phones, GPS what ever, that causes problems it is the same old cause that has plagued the human race since we began to walk upright - it is how "SOME" of us choose to use it! It does not matter how good or useful any technology is, some dang fool will figure out a way to abuse it or kill themselves or others with it before the warranty expires on the first unit sold...

[Gdavis101]

I remember a time without cell phones... I miss those days!

[Helldiver]

I do too, GDavis. Back when you had an operator asking you "Number please" and my phone number was simply 2702.
I had 485 employees that I was responsible for.
None of them felt mistreated because I didn't have a cellphone.
Is it possible that the electronic radiation is cooking their brains like microwaves and that's why they act so utterly stupid?

[djscoo]

I use a cell phone, but I understand why people get so upset over them. I never use it while driving except to tell people I'll call them back once I'm off the road. I also despise useless text messages. A friend of mine will often initiate a text message conversation with "hey". I open up my phone and see a three letter message, to which the only response can be "hey" back, if you want to ask or tell me something, I prefer to skip the formal salutations in such an informal way of communication. :running:

[Silver Fox]

The problem isn't cellphones... it's modern medicine and society. Some folks don't have the appropriate mental faculties to handle tools. They would still be dangerous if they were living in a cave 100,000 years ago with only the operation of a rock, a club and an open flame to worry about.

In those days... failure to correctly operate such basic implements would probably result in death and removing the influence on the gene pool. Now, they survive and breed.

A week after the collapse of civilization, these folk will be hungry and lined up outside an abandoned McDonalds waiting for it to open so they can get something to eat. I fully expect that a significant portion of them will starve to death in the shade of an apple tree that has low-hanging fruit. :)

[MCDesigns]

+1

I battle this all day at work, and for Pete's sake I work in hi-tech. It's insane. I watch people let machines make decisions for them without the slightest clue about what they're making a decision about. :isadizzy:

Helldiver, I'll bet you felt safer in the back seat of a Beast than I do walking across the grocery store parking lot.

I'm not sure its just cell phones, I get the feeling there're people that are just going through life bouncing off of things. If there's a miss its because you were cringing or jumping out of the way.

Yes, I also carry one for emergencies, but if I'm hiking the back country there's not much coverage -- so then I have to be careful, thoughtful, and self reliant. What the heck is up with THAT. :-)
:wavey:

That makes so much sense it's scary. I see my employees all day long that can't use their brain for simple observations and tasks that pertain to their job, it really makes me wonder how they get thru life. I have a cell for work, since work supplies it and I have to use it, but I rarely use it outside of work and never while driving, feel to strongly about that and have seen way to many examples of what talking on a cell can do while driving. I had a lady on her phone in an SUV cut me off last night, then she swerved into the curb and off the road. I wanted so bad to stop and yell at her "THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TALK WHILE DRIVING YOU STUPID B..." but the cop showed up right after.

I have a buddy that has a hand sign and says "HANG UP AND DRIVE STUPID" and he's not afraid to display it at stop lights, the reactions are priceless! :ernae:

[Haining]

Fat .... blond .... female! Wait till the political correctness police catch up with you! Lucky she wasn't driving a foreign car.

[Bjoern]

Is it possible that the electronic radiation is cooking their brains like microwaves and that's why they act so utterly stupid?

With modern technology, people are able to openly display their stupidity.
And sadly, technology also impairs natural selection a bit. Seeing someone having an accident due to his stupidity however provokes a serious conflict between the "ethical dude" on your left shoulder and Darwin's ghost on your right one.

Just look at the internet. It brings stupidity to surface every day, hour, minute, second, millisecond...

Not that the internet makes two thirds of earth's population appear like effin' dyslexics, it also brings information to those who shouldn't be confronted with it.

See this:
http://i45.tinypic.com/s0wxl5.jpg

[TARPSBird]

I'll join that Cellphone Haters Club when it forms up. I see cellphones in use all the time at Barnes & Noble. Many of their owners don't have the motor skills to walk and talk at the same time, nor do they have the courtesy to acknowledge your presence while they're using the phone during check-out. I've worked at B&N for over six years and maybe I've encountered a dozen or so people who've actually apologized for using their cells at the check-out counter. I've attended Norfolk Tides baseball games and had to put up with roaming cellphone a-holes blocking my view of the game while they're talking. Would love to see a hard-hit foul ball smash the phone up against their ear.

[Technogrunt]

January 1st in Wimington Delaware their use is now illegal while driving...... unless it's a "hands Free" cellphone. Should have been a state wide law. It was made a law and took effect this month in Philadephia too.

Gary,
Here in California we have had a “hands free” and no texting while driving laws that have been in place for a few years. I drive a service van and I see so many people yakking it up holding their phone to their ear and not even thinking about the fact that they are driving a 2 – 8 thousand pound projectile at 40 MPH in town. I carry a cell phone for work with a Bluetooth earpiece; I have told my boss on more than one occasion “I will call you back when I get off the road.”

John

[Rezabrya]

I just don't understand old people's hate for cell phones! They are extremely useful things and I use mine everyday. Many people don't even use landlines and cell phones are in many cases cheaper than a land line. People don't know how to adapt to the present times and it makes me sick. Putting a tax on them is a ridiculous and stupid idea.

[GT182]

Scarry isn't it John. I do believe that those that can't obey the traffic laws or use common sense using cell phones and signal lights, shouldn't be allowed to propagate. ;)

[Wittpilot]

You're a junkie, plain and simple.


Thus far I think this thread has gone pretty well... And I think most of us on both sides of the argument have said how we have felt and I think that each of us, although claim one argument or the other, wholly understands the other side of the argument....BUT... I hate it when the tone of an argument goes this way. I am not a junkie... I enjoy my phone-of-all-trades and I choose to have that bill over other bills..i.e. fancy tv, DVR, Blu-Ray player etc...

Although I do not think your post Maddog was along the lines of any personal attack, I hope this thread does not turn into that.....

[MaddogK]

Thus far I think this thread has gone pretty well... And I think most of us on both sides of the argument have said how we have felt and I think that each of us, although claim one argument or the other, wholly understands the other side of the argument....BUT... I hate it when the tone of an argument goes this way. I am not a junkie... I enjoy my phone-of-all-trades and I choose to have that bill over other bills..i.e. fancy tv, DVR, Blu-Ray player etc...

Although I do not think your post Maddog was along the lines of any personal attack, I hope this thread does not turn into that.....

Post deleted, wouldn't want to injure anyones 'warm and fuzzies' this holiday season.

[Piglet]

A little respect please....Thanks
NOT if you put others at risk using said cellphone.
Cellphones have their proper place in the world, and like everything else, the fools screw it up for everyone else.:isadizzy:
I only have a cellphone cuz it was given to me in Xmas '07. Took 3 months to get around to activating it. Then maybe once a month it would be used. Now it's just an emergency tool, along with my spare tire, tools, etc.
P.S. They are good for reporting crimes.
<!-- / message --><!-- edit note -->

[Thoe6969]

I just don't understand old people's hate for cell phones! They are extremely useful things and I use mine everyday. Many people don't even use landlines and cell phones are in many cases cheaper than a land line. People don't know how to adapt to the present times and it makes me sick. Putting a tax on them is a ridiculous and stupid idea. Has nothing to do with (old people) little boy,it has to do with the ignorant people using them.Cell phones are all me and my wife have,and couldn't get along without them,but we don't drive down the road trying to text some other teeny bopper either.

[Rezabrya]

I would appreciate some respect from you Thoe. How many people under 50 do you see complaining about cell phones and modern technology? It is a matter of people being used to other things and not willing to adapt to new things. It is fine if he thinks cell phones are useless and stupid but please, instead of crying about them to people who don't care, he could keep his feelings to himself. Technology is useful whether you admit it or not. Either jump on the train, or sit down and shut up.

[mariereid]

Hey guys, why do we always get so upset? The least we can do is respect each other. :ernae:

[Wittpilot]

Hey, what about people pushing shopping carts with cell phones! Now THAT'S dangerous!

[Moparmike]

Okay...that's enough bickering amongst members. Time to lock er down!