How did we travel without cell phones?
Mar 18th, 2006, 09:48 AM
#21
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Spot on! SusanEva.
It is especially annoying for commuters who must endure the
inane blathering of those who use
their cellphone as an amusement
center. Surely some of them most
know how to read or otherwise amuse themselves.
It is especially annoying for commuters who must endure the
inane blathering of those who use
their cellphone as an amusement
center. Surely some of them most
know how to read or otherwise amuse themselves.
Mar 18th, 2006, 10:19 AM
#23
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I am another that does not use my cell phone all that much. A few years ago we can car problems while traveling in the middle of nowhere in CA. I was very glad to be able to call 911!
Recently, I was meeting a friend in Las Vegas. We both flew in and said we would meet at baggage claim. My friend arrived first and called me to tell me to meet her under the Blue Man sign. Well...there were several of those signs, lol! So thank goodness for our phones since that entire area is so congested and even with the phones it was hard to find each other.
I cannot stand to listen to people yap on their phones in public places.
I remember as a teenager always keeping money with me to use a pay phone. We had to call if we were going to be late, and so I sure knew where the closest pay phone was to all the places we hung out.
Recently, I was meeting a friend in Las Vegas. We both flew in and said we would meet at baggage claim. My friend arrived first and called me to tell me to meet her under the Blue Man sign. Well...there were several of those signs, lol! So thank goodness for our phones since that entire area is so congested and even with the phones it was hard to find each other.
I cannot stand to listen to people yap on their phones in public places.
I remember as a teenager always keeping money with me to use a pay phone. We had to call if we were going to be late, and so I sure knew where the closest pay phone was to all the places we hung out.
Mar 18th, 2006, 10:26 AM
#24
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I have never brought a cell phone while traveling and never will. I would rather just wear a dog collar and a long leach. Same thing to me.
On the other hand just I finished the last paragraph my parents called from their cell phone while traveling down to Arizona! If it makes them feel more secure that's great. I suppose the older you get the more you want to keep safe and in touch. Now I'm cofused.
On the other hand just I finished the last paragraph my parents called from their cell phone while traveling down to Arizona! If it makes them feel more secure that's great. I suppose the older you get the more you want to keep safe and in touch. Now I'm cofused.
Mar 18th, 2006, 11:02 AM
#26
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Agree with Neopolitan, I dislike cell phones and use mine very sparingly and only when necessary. I do carry mine when I travel as I am an early riser and my wife likes to sleep in. I often get up a couple hours before she does and explore the areas we are visiting (usually finding the nearest Starbucks). Once she is up and ready to get going she can call me and let me know. Keeps me from sitting around the hotel room going stir crazy.
Also comes in handy when she wants to spend a couple hours shopping. I usually locate the nearest wine bar (or pub)and hang out until she is finished and calls me. Her shopping expenditures don't seem to bother me nearly as much after a couple glasses of wine or cocktails.
btw: am I the only one who finds themselves answering people I think are asking me questions only to find out that they are using a "bluetooth" ? I understand the convenience but now I find myself reluctant to respond to someone asking me a question until I know they are really talking to me.
Also comes in handy when she wants to spend a couple hours shopping. I usually locate the nearest wine bar (or pub)and hang out until she is finished and calls me. Her shopping expenditures don't seem to bother me nearly as much after a couple glasses of wine or cocktails.
btw: am I the only one who finds themselves answering people I think are asking me questions only to find out that they are using a "bluetooth" ? I understand the convenience but now I find myself reluctant to respond to someone asking me a question until I know they are really talking to me.
Mar 18th, 2006, 11:16 AM
#27
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suze - I have never used my life insurance either, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't have any.
jorr - maybe it is not that we get older and need to feel more secure. At least in my case, as I get older there are more people who depend upon me as their first contact in case of emergency. A cell phone only becomes a collar and leash if you allow it to - that is what caller ID is all about.
jorr - maybe it is not that we get older and need to feel more secure. At least in my case, as I get older there are more people who depend upon me as their first contact in case of emergency. A cell phone only becomes a collar and leash if you allow it to - that is what caller ID is all about.
Mar 18th, 2006, 11:34 AM
#28
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I have no nostalgia for payphones. Half the time they were broken, the telephone books were missing, or the page you needed was torn out. I love the convenience of the cell. Sure, it can be annoying to hear a user standing near you speaking as if you did not exist or when you're in a restaurant, but when you're lost and trying to get to a restaurant or hotel before 6:00Pm, it's wonderful.
Mar 18th, 2006, 12:02 PM
#31
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How did we get to Europe before jet planes? If you were wealthy enough, several days on an opulent cruise ship, trusting that it would not sink. If you weren't, it was at least the same number of days in steerage and hope that you didn't pick up something that killed you en route.
Like any technology, cell phones offer advantages and disadvantages. Luddites will resist innovation not because of any characteristic of the innovation itself but just because they resist any change. At the other extreme the technophiles will shell out their bucks to get the latest thing just because it is the latest thing. In between - where most of us live - we take advantage of something when the advantages it offers outweigh the disadvantages.
Years ago I vehemently resisted a car phone that a previous employer thought would be a real perk, my (unstated, of course) rationale being that it tethered me to work and I wanted separation - my car was the only place they couldn't get me. Now I use my cell phone all over the world, and can manage who gets through and who does not by looking at the caller ID. If I want to be totally unavailable, I turn it off. If a real emergency occurs, there is always voice mail, which is still a lot better at getting a message through than a telegram sent to general delivery. And when I need it, it is irreplacable. Example - a few years ago in Paris we split up for half a day, agreeing to meet at the entrance to Invalides at a certain time. After waiting nearly an hour we left and returned to our apartment to "I was there where were you?!" Turns out he was waiting at the OTHER entrance. If we both had our cell phone in tow it would have been easy to resolve and we would have avoided lost time and a good deal of anxiety.
Like any technology, cell phones offer advantages and disadvantages. Luddites will resist innovation not because of any characteristic of the innovation itself but just because they resist any change. At the other extreme the technophiles will shell out their bucks to get the latest thing just because it is the latest thing. In between - where most of us live - we take advantage of something when the advantages it offers outweigh the disadvantages.
Years ago I vehemently resisted a car phone that a previous employer thought would be a real perk, my (unstated, of course) rationale being that it tethered me to work and I wanted separation - my car was the only place they couldn't get me. Now I use my cell phone all over the world, and can manage who gets through and who does not by looking at the caller ID. If I want to be totally unavailable, I turn it off. If a real emergency occurs, there is always voice mail, which is still a lot better at getting a message through than a telegram sent to general delivery. And when I need it, it is irreplacable. Example - a few years ago in Paris we split up for half a day, agreeing to meet at the entrance to Invalides at a certain time. After waiting nearly an hour we left and returned to our apartment to "I was there where were you?!" Turns out he was waiting at the OTHER entrance. If we both had our cell phone in tow it would have been easy to resolve and we would have avoided lost time and a good deal of anxiety.
Mar 18th, 2006, 12:22 PM
#32
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My husband and I didn't own them until we moved from an isolated village in Alaska(worked for a seafood co.) into a bigger area with service.
It would have been helpful while traveling, like others have pointed out. I remember being separated from my dh and older son at a large So. Ca. mall while pregnant with our second son. We were to have met at the car and my poor hubby couldn't locate it. My anxiety over being apart from them was so bad that even a limo driver asked me to sit in his car and rest until they appeared, which they eventually did, looking as distraught as I felt!
We use them now to coordinate pick-up time after shopping, sightseeing, etc. My teenager and I enjoyed time on the beach in Ca. while my dh spent an afternoon at a theme park with the other son.
I think convenience and security is the reason I appreciate having them. I don't enjoy other people using ther phones in the movies, loudly in stores, planes, etc. either, but it's just a price we pay I guess.
It would have been helpful while traveling, like others have pointed out. I remember being separated from my dh and older son at a large So. Ca. mall while pregnant with our second son. We were to have met at the car and my poor hubby couldn't locate it. My anxiety over being apart from them was so bad that even a limo driver asked me to sit in his car and rest until they appeared, which they eventually did, looking as distraught as I felt!
We use them now to coordinate pick-up time after shopping, sightseeing, etc. My teenager and I enjoyed time on the beach in Ca. while my dh spent an afternoon at a theme park with the other son.
I think convenience and security is the reason I appreciate having them. I don't enjoy other people using ther phones in the movies, loudly in stores, planes, etc. either, but it's just a price we pay I guess.
Mar 18th, 2006, 01:28 PM
#33
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I have a quad-band phone which works in Europe so when I travel there, or anywhere lese now, I take it with me.
I do NOT routinely call back home but the house/pet sitter can easily reach me if necessary.
When I traveled before the cellphone I always left an itinerary so someone could eventually reach me by phone at a hotel, etc., and I still insist that if someone feels the need to reach me when I travel that THEY make that decision. This includes the people who work for me in my office.
I do NOT routinely call back home but the house/pet sitter can easily reach me if necessary.
When I traveled before the cellphone I always left an itinerary so someone could eventually reach me by phone at a hotel, etc., and I still insist that if someone feels the need to reach me when I travel that THEY make that decision. This includes the people who work for me in my office.
Mar 18th, 2006, 01:56 PM
#34
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Interesting that on 9/11, the land lines worked just fine, but not the cellphones. Interesting that when we had a blackout a few years back, the land lines worked just fine, the cellphones ran out of juice.
It's nice to know that when you pick up the phone you have a dial tone and don't sound like you're in a cave somewhere or hear someone saying "can you hear me?"
Don't have one, don't need one. When outside, I know where I'm going, know what I have to buy - size, color, style; whether I need milk, bread of butter. Have no one to check with, nor anyone to check with me... if they don't know where, how, when or whatever... their problem.
And if anyone calls me from their cellphone, I usually hang up on them - again, they're in a cave, or you loose the connection - not worth their having made the call, or taking up my time.
The only concession I make to payphones these days (which I've used twice in the past 5-years... the second time only a few days ago), is to have sanitizer to clean them off before using... the sanitizer is with me regardless, so not an inconvenience. And, they only cost 25-cents. A bargain.
But to each their own, but not for me. And one less bill that has to be paid.
It's nice to know that when you pick up the phone you have a dial tone and don't sound like you're in a cave somewhere or hear someone saying "can you hear me?"
Don't have one, don't need one. When outside, I know where I'm going, know what I have to buy - size, color, style; whether I need milk, bread of butter. Have no one to check with, nor anyone to check with me... if they don't know where, how, when or whatever... their problem.
And if anyone calls me from their cellphone, I usually hang up on them - again, they're in a cave, or you loose the connection - not worth their having made the call, or taking up my time.
The only concession I make to payphones these days (which I've used twice in the past 5-years... the second time only a few days ago), is to have sanitizer to clean them off before using... the sanitizer is with me regardless, so not an inconvenience. And, they only cost 25-cents. A bargain.
But to each their own, but not for me. And one less bill that has to be paid.
Mar 18th, 2006, 02:03 PM
#35
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A theory:
I think that the constant need to be connected has led to overuse of prescription sleep pills-all these folks jabbering away while walking, driving, dining (I HATE that),they just can't disconnect at night.
and on vacation !?!
We were hiking the loop at a
wildlife sanctuary, blue herons, swans,
egrets, meadowlarks, rabbits and deer,the river...
and then...
the cell phone gabbers to break up this glorius nature scene. Very sad, IMHO.
R5
I think that the constant need to be connected has led to overuse of prescription sleep pills-all these folks jabbering away while walking, driving, dining (I HATE that),they just can't disconnect at night.
and on vacation !?!
We were hiking the loop at a
wildlife sanctuary, blue herons, swans,
egrets, meadowlarks, rabbits and deer,the river...
and then...
the cell phone gabbers to break up this glorius nature scene. Very sad, IMHO.
R5
Mar 18th, 2006, 02:22 PM
#37
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Let me get this straight. If your peace and quiet is broken up by two people talking, it's OK. But if it's one person on a cellphone, it's not OK.
As I see it, conversation is conversation, whether it's one-sided (cellphone) or both people are present. Just another instance where people have to complain about nothing.
As I see it, conversation is conversation, whether it's one-sided (cellphone) or both people are present. Just another instance where people have to complain about nothing.
Mar 18th, 2006, 02:26 PM
#38
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We probably all have a memory of a vacation being partially spoiled by an unnecessary cell offense.
One I remember was taking the Pink Jeep tour in Sedona with my family and one other couple. He gets a call, and goes on in a loud voice, about how peaceful and spiritual the tour was,lol.
One I remember was taking the Pink Jeep tour in Sedona with my family and one other couple. He gets a call, and goes on in a loud voice, about how peaceful and spiritual the tour was,lol.
Mar 18th, 2006, 03:09 PM
#40
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You've been watching too many commercials, razzle. That only happens on TV. 
But seriously, I rarely hear people screaming on their phones because of a bad connection. If they are, it's certainly acceptable to let them know they're being loud and ask them to tone it down. I've yet to encounter resistance to that. And I've heard a lot more people talking to each other in those quiet, peaceful places than I've heard cellphone conversations.
Pink Jeep tours? I don't understand how riding in a Jeep can be peaceful no matter the conversations taking place.
And the myth that payphones/landlines have perfect connections? I've spent a couple weeks in Big Bend where there is no cellphone coverage. I've had to use their payphones, and at least 50% of my calls result in me either screaming into the phone so the other person can hear me over all the static on my end, or hanging up and calling back because the connection is so bad they can only hear half of what I say.
But seriously, I rarely hear people screaming on their phones because of a bad connection. If they are, it's certainly acceptable to let them know they're being loud and ask them to tone it down. I've yet to encounter resistance to that. And I've heard a lot more people talking to each other in those quiet, peaceful places than I've heard cellphone conversations.
Pink Jeep tours? I don't understand how riding in a Jeep can be peaceful no matter the conversations taking place.
And the myth that payphones/landlines have perfect connections? I've spent a couple weeks in Big Bend where there is no cellphone coverage. I've had to use their payphones, and at least 50% of my calls result in me either screaming into the phone so the other person can hear me over all the static on my end, or hanging up and calling back because the connection is so bad they can only hear half of what I say.
