Timewaster's Guide Archive
General => Rants and Stuff => Topic started by: Archon on August 03, 2004, 04:50:00 PM
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Ok, so my dad works for a cellphone company. And my mom gets a free phone that she carries with her. But she always either leaves it in the car or leaves it turned off. If it is turned off it still might be fine, but she doesnt check her voicemail either. It would even be better for her to say "I don't want to be interrupted by someone calling me" and leave it at home so I would know that I couldnt call her. But no, she decides to just take it along and not use it whatsoever.
Oh yeah, and my cd player decided it didnt want to work anymore, it might just need cleaning, but who knows?
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I would just like to say that I love anyone who refuses to use a cellphone. Maybe it's just the Luddite in me.
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You should show your mom the "vibrate" feature of her phone. That way, she'd know when you call, but the ring wouldn't interrupt something she's doing, and she could see she missed your call if she didn't feel the vibration.
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She knows about it I am sure, but I am sure that being interrupted isnt the reason that she leaves it off. I am going with stupidity on that one.
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Or enlightenment. One of the two.
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actually, I'm going to back up HoM on this one. Especially since, well, whenever I hear a teenager use the word "stupidity" in reference to their parents it pisses me off.
If she always does it, then why do you try calling her? It doesn't sound like she's the stupid one here.
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But like I said, if it was enlightenment wouldn't she just leave it at home?
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she doesn't want anyone stupid using it, possibly.
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Always was a figure of speech, she does it inconsistently, and by the way my dad and my brother both have the same problem. My dad is obviously not going to call her stupid, my brother does, just not online.
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Not necessarily. Although I do personally think that cellphones are vastly overused, and I don't see a need for the average citizen to own one, there might be a very valid reason for her to take it with her: in case of an emergency, she might want to make a call. Her prime reasoning for having a cellphone may not be --get ready for a shock-- so you can call her whenever you want.
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Why would I use it? We have a phone at home, plus I am not very social, the only person I would talk to is gone right now, and she knows it.
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what it comes down to is that it really rankles me that you'd call your mother stupid, when I'm willing to bet lots of money she's much smarter than you. And even if she isn't, she damn well deserves your respect, even when she hasn't done what would be most convenient for YOU personally.
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I like where this is going.
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Whatever, when my brother got a cell phone and she couldn't get a hold of him, she gets really mad. Because she says that she should be able to keep in touch in case she needs to tell him something. Shouldnt it be a two way street?
SE it isn't the inconvenience that I am mad about. Oh well, but it doesnt seem logical, and I hate that.
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The fact of the matter, Archon, is that parents and children are not equal. I can't speak for your mother, so I don't know her reasons exactly, but no: life isn't fair, and fair isn't even.
SE, you and I are sounding like grumpy old men. Back in my day, we had to use the pay phone! In the snow!
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Uphill both ways!
Naked!
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SE why are you getting so mad at this? I am fighting several people who are yeling at me basically and it doesnt get to me, why should you be upset? Think what you like, if I am just a stupid kid then why should you care?
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While playing Mario Kart on our SNES' with Little Spanky pulling the generator behind us.
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Apparently you werent tooooo underpriviliged, that game was great.
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Insomuch as cell phones are proving to be the cause of contention among our people, I declare them to be evil and lay a curse on them.
**Kije waves his voodoo totems, chanting and mumbling
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I don't know, my dads job kind of depends upon them so.... I appreciate it, but I am not sure that that is the answer
By the way, does anyone want to tell me what I did wrong, I was ranting about something that I was upset about, and I feel that I have defended my stance pretty logically. I know that some of the regulars are parents and that that might cause friction, but I was at no point implying that all parents were stupid, or anything of the sort. I just thought that this was a particularly illogical incident and I hate stupidity. So I ranted. Any ideas?
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Eh, they're just being grumpy, Archon. I'll actually back you up on this one. My mom and both my sisters have cell phones, and they never turn them on. Often, all three of them will be home, and I can't reach anyone in the house. It's a little bit frustrating.
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Thanks a lot EUOL. Hey SE, sorry man if I touched a nerve.
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I wasn't upset with anybody. I was just pointing out that cellphones are evil and I hate them.
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Yeah they can be, especially if they are overused. If you can't get away where you can't be contacted, it can get very frustrating. I can understand how that would suck. They are also useful sometimes too, though.
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And I just like laying curses.
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I'm mad about cell phones, let's get that clear.
I do think it's VERY disrespectful to call your mother stupid. No, you weren't very rational. You said that because she does something that ANYONE might do, ie, not turn on their cell phone, she's stupid. How is that logical? It's ok if that annoys you, but really, I find it very, well spoiled brat of you to say it like that. You come off as a big jerk.
maybe it's illogical. Probably, in fact. But look around, people are not always logical. And being illogical does NOT equal stupidity. You've essentially equated an unusual mannerism with inferiority as a human being. And you've done it to one of the two people who's done more for you than most anyone else on the earth.
If you are allowed to say cruel things about your mother, behind her back, nonetheless, why cannot I say to your face that I think this is very poor behavior as well as immature and out of line?
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I never said that you werent allowed to. You can say whatever you want, Im not going to stop you, or even get upset about it. I was just curious about why you reacted so strongly over what I would consider a little thing.
Next, you said that I said that behind her back. You are right, and I don't like doing that, but I have told her to her face as well that that is a stupid thing to do. So I am not being two faced which is what is important to me.
She knows about it I am sure, but I am sure that being interrupted isnt the reason that she leaves it off. I am going with stupidity on that one.
I never said that she was stupid, I was merely making the point that it was a stupid thing to do. Also she does it a lot, so it isnt just a simple mistake. I can understand that and although frustrating, I wouldnt even call it stupid. But this is more than an isolated incident. So I say that it is stupid that she does it.
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I don't care about cell phones, but anyone without an email address drives me nuts.
How can you not have an email address?
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Yeah I can see how that would be annoying fuzzy. I have only had one a short time, but then again none of my friends ever really communicated by email. Only once did someone offer to send me something by email, so it wasnt very important to me. I had AIM to talk on, and they have a feature that lets you send files, so I was fine.
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Play nice Children. I don't like the way this thread is going - next flame sees it locked.
On the subject, I hate cellphones also - they irritate me endlessly, with their sparkly cameras and irratating pop ring tones.
I have a cellphone despite this though, which I take everywhere, for a few reasons.
1) It's instead of a landline. The house I live at ahs one, but I don't use it, since the only person I ever call is my mother, and it's cheaper to make the long distance call using a cellphone.
2) The nerd that I am, I have a phobia of disconnectedness. Having a phone means I am always wired in - I like the safety net of knowing I am always contactable, often by multiple methods.
I could live without a cellphone, but having one is extremely useful.
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On the subject, I hate cellphones also - they irritate me endlessly, with their sparkly cameras and irratating pop ring tones.
I agree JP, I dont think that cell phones need to have all of the extra fringes on them, such as cameras and really weird ringers. My dad works for Nextel which concentrates more on being practical and reliable than on having all the flashy stuff. Maybe not always, but for the most part.
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See, a functioning cellphone could be sold for about
30$AU and still make a profit, if it wasn't stupidly miniturised and lacked the extra features. But since everyone only needs one phone, the companies can't turn a profit that way. So they tack on useless extras to justify the 400$ price tag.
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I don't think so JP, you have to consider the broadcasting towers, the cost of employment, etc... I agree that they could be made to be much less expensive, but maybe not that much less.
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I also own one, although I couldn't say where it is right now. It's almost never charged, and I usually go months at a time without seeing it. We take it on trips, just in case of emergency, and when my wife was ready-to-pop pregnant she used to keep it with her, but that's really it.
I think that the overuse of cellphones -- too much 'connectedness' actually disconnects us from face-to-face contact. I think that cellphones, with all their convenience, only INCREASE the amount of stress in the world, not decrease it.
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I don't mean the price of service - I mean the price of the handset itself. I think you'll find that a few bits of plastic, a couple of metal clips, a microchip, low-res LCD, a few wires, and a radio transmitter don't cost a whole lot, especially for a corporation who can buy in large bulk amounts, direct from the manufacturer.
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... and can give phones away free. Anything that can be given away free can at least be reduced in price significantly to people willing to make a lesser commitment.
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true, but then again, the quality of phones as far as reliability, is probably more than you would get with those materials. For example my moms phone has been dropped several times from several feet above concrete and it still works fine.
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eh. I think you're either under- or over-rating quality somewhere.
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Ok. Add three cents for a little styrofoam inside.
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You could, but with public opinion being what it is, I doubt people would buy them. People usually consider price an indicator of quality, so I dont know how well they would sell, if people think they won't work.
Oh and SE, I could be underestimating JPs creation, but I saw that actually happen to my moms phone, so that has to be right.
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I don't think you're correct on that. If you take a brand name that people recognize and associate with quality, and they offer an inexpensive model, people would certainly buy it.
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That all has to do with marketing, which is a completely different topic. If they were marketed as what they are (Basic, Functional and therefore Cheap) a lot of people would be encouraged to buy them. People like me, who own three phones, use the best one they have, but got them all for free. In fact, all the cellphone users I know would rather buy a cheaper basic phone.
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Ahh I thought you proposed having a new brand that sold phones like that. Yeah perhaps, but it wont happen because the current cell phone companies would be shooting themselves in the foot, as more expensive phones wouldnt sell as much. So the only way I think it could happen would be if a new company tried it.
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See, that's the argument I made in the first place: that cellphone companies won't do it even though they could, since they'd make less money overall.
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Well you were right, I just thought that you meant a new company could, without any other phones on the market, make that work.
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well, if there are no other phones on the market, then yes, cheap phones'd be a great way to get a lot of customers right away.
Even without brand name recognition it's doable. Consumers are much more educated than they used to be, and will look into things. Not all of them, but enough to make it worth it.
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I guess it goes back to JPs comment on marketing, if you got a good review in say, Consumer Report, or Popular Mechanics, then sure. It's possible, I dont know about probable.
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This topic is boring :'(
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I want to know what kind of cellphone Cthulhu would use.
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Create a better one then Entropy, I just created this one to blow off some steam and because everyone else was talking about Worldcon, which I could not intelligently comment on.
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He doesn't. He would just warp your cellphone so it started eating your ear.
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I think that the overuse of cellphones -- too much 'connectedness' actually disconnects us from face-to-face contact.
This amuses me coming from someone who communicates via a message board.
Not that I disagree. Not that I should talk.
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I find I use my cell phone most to plan face-to-face contact. "When are we meeting again?" "What are we up to tonight?" "Okay, I'm at the Common, where are you?" That sort of thing.
Plus, I wouldn't have face-to-face contact with most of the people I talk to on it for long periods of time--they're family and old roommates who I can only afford to see once a year or so, if that, and I take advantage of the free long distance to be able to talk to them more often than I'd otherwise be able to.
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My mom and dad always have their cell phones turned on. Believe it or not, they got cell phones before any of us kids did.
I had one when I was in Japan and found it useful, so I got one when I came home. I use it instead of...a wristwatch. Oh and I call family members (in all different states) on the weekend.
And my parents are anything but stupid. But I do agree in disliking double standards.
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Thankfully, because of the "Nightwatch" thread, I knew exactly what a wristwatch was upon reading that post.
We're going to have to start adding hyphens to words like wrist-watch.
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I've now rendered that post non-sensical! BWAhAHAhahaha!
I just realized that the only time we'd ever seen the combination of letters t-w-a-t was in the middle of words like Nightwatch and wristwatch, so I removed it from the sensored words list. I felt that was pretty safe.
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Well technically I did it once under the Nightwatch post, I just typed that word so could see it pop up as thingy. That's ok, I don't mind your making my post nonsensical