Time for a Rant

The Ubiquitous Cell Phone.

It does not matter where you are any more. The damn things are everywhere. I have one. My sister has one, my nephew has one. I am surprised that Bailey doesn't have one. He complains that the keyboard is too small for his thumbs.

Some of us have them for emergencies. And they do come in handy at times. If you are out driving and have a need to call AAA they are lifesavers. I got one for Jon so that when he is out on one of his little jaunts and gets stuck or his older car breaks down he can call Uncle Jay and I can come to the rescue. I love that about them.

There are several things I don't like about them One is that they seem to take precedence over everything. In that they are just like the regular telephone. When the phone used to ring in our house my mother would break her neck racing to answer it. If I am busy I will let the darn thing ring and the answering machine can pick it up. I also have caller ID so if you have your number blocked or you aren't someone I know prepare to be ignored.

People on the other end always seem to think that they are more important than anything else. I had one woman who used to call me and ask me if I was busy and if I said yes she would go right on with her agenda and 40 minutes later I could finally get back to what I was doing. If I am being waited on in a store and the sales person leaves me to answer the phone I am very likely to leave. If I am not important enough to be waited on I can find someplace else to shop.

But the CELL PHONE is everywhere. It doesn't matter. You see people walking down the street carrying on loud conversations with the person on the other end. They sit in a restaurant ignoring their dinner partner and talk on their cell phone. I saw a presidential candidate on TV answering his cell phone during a speech.

I took a course from a high official in my (then) church. His Blackberry was going off constantly and he continually stopped teaching me and looked at his messages on his phone. It was not conducive to feeling good about Class. Texting is just as bad. I was sitting in the theater (The Dark Knight) and there was a new sign on the screen asking people not to Text during the movie. They always ask for people to turn their cell phones off or down (as if they should have to - Common courtesy should dictate that) but now they ask people not to Text. And did it do any good? I don't think so! - There were two guys to the left of me that continued to text during the movie. And guess what? It was very annoying. Little screen lights in the dark theater.

I have even seen people text during Masonic meetings. Not too cool. I turn my phone off - entirely off during Meetings. Besides there are some Masters who will fine you if your phone goes off during a meeting. I don't ever use the Text function on my phone (too stupid to figure it out) - The cell phone is for my convenience.

The other thing that really bothers me is to see people driving while holding a cell phone to their ear. Now I have a bluetooth which I wear when I drive because I won't answer the cell phone when I am driving. I probably should just shut the phone off but the bluetooth is no more of a distraction than listening to the radio and so I use it. Probably just another case of what I have been accused of "saying one thing and doing another" - but both of my hands are free and I do watch the road.

Somebody I know just got a 3 GB Iphone. He can blog from it and keep up with his business and other e-mail using it. He will probably read this blog post using it. But he might not see this paragraph as I am adding it after publication (evil grin) - He took it on vacation. I understand. I take my computer and I am just as obsessed with taking my computer. I guess it is just a part of modern (modem) life and I should just like it or lump it.

So there you have it. I have given you a rant. Comments are welcome.

Oh, and by the way if you don't know what ubiquitous means click here.

Addendum:  I thought of one more thing about cell phones that irritates me.  The various ring tones that you have to listen to. They are just annoying.  Some of them on the TV make me want to turn the show off. The one on Medium is that way. (Yes I know why am I watching it in the first place?)  The all time most annoying cell phone ring tone was one my cleaning lady had on her phone. It would announce in a loud voice "You have an incoming call."  Well DUH that was just stupid.  It is almost as annoying as AOL's "You've got mail." that I hear periodically.
Be loving. Hugs, jcs