Alan Browne

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/te...ref=technology


--
"I see!" said the blind man as he picked up his hammer and saw.

Wes Groleau

On 12-03-2011 10:55, Alan Browne wrote:
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/te...ref=technology

"minority of traditionalists who yearn for the good old days
when people just texted in public"

:-)

If God wanted us to walk, we wouldn't have been born with cars.

--
Wes Groleau

Pat's Polemics
http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/barrett

JF Mezei

Alan Browne wrote:
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/te...ref=technology


I find this less creepy because you would see the person talking to the
phone.

I still remember the first time I saw someone with a bluetooth headset.
He was walking out of customs at the airport and talking loudly to
himself, no indication he was on some mobile phone with someone else.

THAT was really creepy. But now, when you see people talking to
themselves, you have come to assume they are on the phone. We get used
to it.

NightStalker

In article <4eda857b$0$13268$c3e8da3$a8a65a91@news.astraweb.c om>,
jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca says...
>
> I still remember the first time I saw someone with a bluetooth headset.
> He was walking out of customs at the airport and talking loudly to
> himself, no indication he was on some mobile phone with someone else.
>
> THAT was really creepy. But now, when you see people talking to
> themselves, you have come to assume they are on the phone. We get used
> to it.
>
>

No - they're STILL creepy... and look like complete jerks with their
Bluetooth headsets.

One of the problems with both headsets and the earbud/cord with mike
setup is that people talk at a volume to match what they're hearing, and
not adjusted to the surroundings. This is usually way too loud, so they
sound very intrusive.

These same people would be most put out if folks around them stared at
them and leaned in close so that they were obviously listening in to
their conversation. Yet they prattle on with their "private"
conversation at top volume to all and sundry.

Personally, although I have - and use - an iPhone, I think that probably
90% of calls made on mobiles are unnecessary, and a complete waste of
bandwidth. Being a medico, I do get urgent calls trying to reach me -
but I'm not talking about that type of call. I'm talking about the
idiots that walk along the street or sit in a cafe jabbering away to
somebody with completely inane chatter and gossip. Or in the lift
(elevator), the train or bus, or the queue in the shop. Very few
conversations are actually important enough that they can't either wait
until the call can be made in private, or simply not made at all.

The younger generation, in particular, amuse me and annoy at the same
time. They are so attached to their mobiles that they clutch them 24/7
and don't wear watches because they have their phones. Their whole
worlds revolve around their phones instead of real people in person.
And I have nephews and nieces who spend their whole lives texting - they
won't even call somebody - they'll use their multi-hundred dollar
smartphone as a texting device - which I used to do on my cheap
alphanumeric pager. And they will hold entire conversations via text
messages, that last for ages, instead of just making a quick call to
make or get the point across.

Now we have Siri - the novelty has long worn off for me (especially
since we don't get any of the location-based services here in Australia
yet) - and I find that I never use it. Never. Well, OK - I used it
last night to show it off as a novelty to impress somebody. But real
world use? Nope - completely useless and pointless. Takes me a few
seconds to make an appointment in the calendar, or to set an alarm.
Takes me longer than that to get Siri to get it right after taking ages
contacting the servers.

Aahhhh - oh for the simple world of landline phones and alphanumeric
pagers that I used to use perfectly happily and probably much more
efficiently.

End of rant...

--
NightStalker

zeitgeist

On 2011-12-03 21:42:27 +0000, NightStalker said:

> In article <4eda857b$0$13268$c3e8da3$a8a65a91@news.astraweb.c om>,
> jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca says...
>>
>> I still remember the first time I saw someone with a bluetooth headset.
>> He was walking out of customs at the airport and talking loudly to
>> himself, no indication he was on some mobile phone with someone else.
>>
>> THAT was really creepy. But now, when you see people talking to
>> themselves, you have come to assume they are on the phone. We get used
>> to it.
>>
>>
>
> No - they're STILL creepy... and look like complete jerks with their
> Bluetooth headsets.
>
> One of the problems with both headsets and the earbud/cord with mike
> setup is that people talk at a volume to match what they're hearing, and
> not adjusted to the surroundings. This is usually way too loud, so they
> sound very intrusive.
>
> These same people would be most put out if folks around them stared at
> them and leaned in close so that they were obviously listening in to
> their conversation. Yet they prattle on with their "private"
> conversation at top volume to all and sundry.
>
> Personally, although I have - and use - an iPhone, I think that probably
> 90% of calls made on mobiles are unnecessary, and a complete waste of
> bandwidth. Being a medico, I do get urgent calls trying to reach me -
> but I'm not talking about that type of call. I'm talking about the
> idiots that walk along the street or sit in a cafe jabbering away to
> somebody with completely inane chatter and gossip. Or in the lift
> (elevator), the train or bus, or the queue in the shop. Very few
> conversations are actually important enough that they can't either wait
> until the call can be made in private, or simply not made at all.
>
> The younger generation, in particular, amuse me and annoy at the same
> time. They are so attached to their mobiles that they clutch them 24/7
> and don't wear watches because they have their phones. Their whole
> worlds revolve around their phones instead of real people in person.
> And I have nephews and nieces who spend their whole lives texting - they
> won't even call somebody - they'll use their multi-hundred dollar
> smartphone as a texting device - which I used to do on my cheap
> alphanumeric pager. And they will hold entire conversations via text
> messages, that last for ages, instead of just making a quick call to
> make or get the point across.
>
> Now we have Siri - the novelty has long worn off for me (especially
> since we don't get any of the location-based services here in Australia
> yet) - and I find that I never use it. Never. Well, OK - I used it
> last night to show it off as a novelty to impress somebody. But real
> world use? Nope - completely useless and pointless. Takes me a few
> seconds to make an appointment in the calendar, or to set an alarm.
> Takes me longer than that to get Siri to get it right after taking ages
> contacting the servers.
>
> Aahhhh - oh for the simple world of landline phones and alphanumeric
> pagers that I used to use perfectly happily and probably much more
> efficiently.
>
> End of rant...

Well, despite accepting the sense of much of what you say in your post,
it takes a special kind of idiot to describe oneself as a "medico" -
FFS, what a plonker!

--
Get yourself the best value SIM in the UK, and £5 credit at:

http://giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/pauljcarr

NightStalker

In article <2011120323334922790-zeit@geistcom>, zeit@geist.com says...
>
> it takes a special kind of idiot to describe oneself as a "medico" -
> FFS, what a plonker!
>
>

Why would describing my profession, without being more specific, make me
a plonker? OK - I'm a thoracic and vascular surgeon - is that any
better?

What do you call medicos in the UK? It's a very common term here in
Australia.

The point I was making is that I am on call 24/7 and need to be able to
be called at any time. That, to me, seems to be a legitimate use for a
mobile phone (except my pager used to do the same thing - though they've
shut down that network now).

But those calls are not all that frequent, can be kept to a short
duration, and taken discretely most of the time - not walking down the
street talking at high volume.

And I certainly don't need to be talking on the phone in public places
for general chatter.


--

NightStalker

Simon Dobbs

On Sun, 4 Dec 2011 04:44:27 +0000, NightStalker wrote
(in article <MPG.294597abde73387198994e@news-europe.giganews.com>):

> In article <2011120323334922790-zeit@geistcom>, zeit@geist.com says...
>>
>> it takes a special kind of idiot to describe oneself as a "medico" -
>> FFS, what a plonker!
>>
>>
>
> Why would describing my profession, without being more specific, make me
> a plonker? OK - I'm a thoracic and vascular surgeon - is that any
> better?
>
> What do you call medicos in the UK? It's a very common term here in
> Australia.
>
> The point I was making is that I am on call 24/7 and need to be able to
> be called at any time. That, to me, seems to be a legitimate use for a
> mobile phone (except my pager used to do the same thing - though they've
> shut down that network now).
>
> But those calls are not all that frequent, can be kept to a short
> duration, and taken discretely most of the time - not walking down the
> street talking at high volume.
>
> And I certainly don't need to be talking on the phone in public places
> for general chatter.
>
>
>

Why do many people have such an overblown sense of their own importance to
judge others and discount their actions in comparison to their own? Some
people behave in a way differently to ourselves. Who is to judge who is in
the right?
I dont give a toss for thoracic and vascular surgeons if they feel the need
to patronise others and tell them how to lead their lives, simply because
that is how they feel others whom they consider less important than
themselves should behave.
Of course, I am just a regular guy and should not be allowed to have an
opinion, or do as I wish. Not compared to a thoracic and vascular plumber,
sorry , surgeon.

NightStalker

In article <0001HW.CB01B45000284E5FB038C9DF@news.demon.co.uk> ,
simondobbs@froglet.net says...
> On Sun, 4 Dec 2011 04:44:27 +0000, NightStalker wrote
> (in article <MPG.294597abde73387198994e@news-europe.giganews.com>):
>
> > In article <2011120323334922790-zeit@geistcom>, zeit@geist.com says...
> >>
> >> it takes a special kind of idiot to describe oneself as a "medico" -
> >> FFS, what a plonker!
> >>
> >>
> >
> > Why would describing my profession, without being more specific, make me
> > a plonker? OK - I'm a thoracic and vascular surgeon - is that any
> > better?
> >
> > What do you call medicos in the UK? It's a very common term here in
> > Australia.
> >
> > The point I was making is that I am on call 24/7 and need to be able to
> > be called at any time. That, to me, seems to be a legitimate use for a
> > mobile phone (except my pager used to do the same thing - though they've
> > shut down that network now).
> >
> > But those calls are not all that frequent, can be kept to a short
> > duration, and taken discretely most of the time - not walking down the
> > street talking at high volume.
> >
> > And I certainly don't need to be talking on the phone in public places
> > for general chatter.
> >
> >
> >
>
> Why do many people have such an overblown sense of their own importance to
> judge others and discount their actions in comparison to their own? Some
> people behave in a way differently to ourselves. Who is to judge who is in
> the right?
> I dont give a toss for thoracic and vascular surgeons if they feel the need
> to patronise others and tell them how to lead their lives, simply because
> that is how they feel others whom they consider less important than
> themselves should behave.
> Of course, I am just a regular guy and should not be allowed to have an
> opinion, or do as I wish. Not compared to a thoracic and vascular plumber,
> sorry , surgeon.
>
>

Good grief - what brought that on??? Where did you interpret any of my
post as me having an overblown sense of self-importance? The whole
point I was trying to make was that there were some good reasons for the
use of a mobile phone - eg in my occupation (and many others) - but that
in general, I find it hard to comprehend what is so all-goddamed
important about the vast majority of cellphone conversations that they
have to be carried out in public at top volume.

That was all. And that would include my own conversations that don't
involve my work.

Nowhere am I patronising others, or telling them how to lead their
lives. They can waffle on the phone for all they like - but just not in
public at high volume. That was my point.

Believe me - if the paging service hadn't shut down, I'd still be using
it for work-related calls, and the mobile phone would be used -
discretely and politely - for personal conversations very occasionally.
And I would be considerate enough to try not annoying others.

Get a life and get out from under your "regular guy" inferiority
complex. I'm a "regular guy" too - I just happen to work in a job that
requires me to be contactable 24/7. That does NOT make me superior in
any way, or self-important. It is no different from our neighbourhood
24-hour on-call plumber, or the local snake catcher!!!

--

NightStalker

salgud

On Mon, 5 Dec 2011 13:31:03 +1000, NightStalker wrote:

> In article <0001HW.CB01B45000284E5FB038C9DF@news.demon.co.uk> ,
> simondobbs@froglet.net says...
>> On Sun, 4 Dec 2011 04:44:27 +0000, NightStalker wrote
>> (in article <MPG.294597abde73387198994e@news-europe.giganews.com>):
>>
>>> In article <2011120323334922790-zeit@geistcom>, zeit@geist.com says...
>>>>
>>>> it takes a special kind of idiot to describe oneself as a "medico" -
>>>> FFS, what a plonker!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> Why would describing my profession, without being more specific, make me
>>> a plonker? OK - I'm a thoracic and vascular surgeon - is that any
>>> better?
>>>
>>> What do you call medicos in the UK? It's a very common term here in
>>> Australia.
>>>
>>> The point I was making is that I am on call 24/7 and need to be able to
>>> be called at any time. That, to me, seems to be a legitimate use for a
>>> mobile phone (except my pager used to do the same thing - though they've
>>> shut down that network now).
>>>
>>> But those calls are not all that frequent, can be kept to a short
>>> duration, and taken discretely most of the time - not walking down the
>>> street talking at high volume.
>>>
>>> And I certainly don't need to be talking on the phone in public places
>>> for general chatter.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Why do many people have such an overblown sense of their own importance to
>> judge others and discount their actions in comparison to their own? Some
>> people behave in a way differently to ourselves. Who is to judge who is in
>> the right?
>> I dont give a toss for thoracic and vascular surgeons if they feel the need
>> to patronise others and tell them how to lead their lives, simply because
>> that is how they feel others whom they consider less important than
>> themselves should behave.
>> Of course, I am just a regular guy and should not be allowed to have an
>> opinion, or do as I wish. Not compared to a thoracic and vascular plumber,
>> sorry , surgeon.
>>
>>
>
> Good grief - what brought that on??? Where did you interpret any of my
> post as me having an overblown sense of self-importance? The whole
> point I was trying to make was that there were some good reasons for the
> use of a mobile phone - eg in my occupation (and many others) - but that
> in general, I find it hard to comprehend what is so all-goddamed
> important about the vast majority of cellphone conversations that they
> have to be carried out in public at top volume.
>
> That was all. And that would include my own conversations that don't
> involve my work.
>
> Nowhere am I patronising others, or telling them how to lead their
> lives. They can waffle on the phone for all they like - but just not in
> public at high volume. That was my point.
>
> Believe me - if the paging service hadn't shut down, I'd still be using
> it for work-related calls, and the mobile phone would be used -
> discretely and politely - for personal conversations very occasionally.
> And I would be considerate enough to try not annoying others.
>
> Get a life and get out from under your "regular guy" inferiority
> complex. I'm a "regular guy" too - I just happen to work in a job that
> requires me to be contactable 24/7. That does NOT make me superior in
> any way, or self-important. It is no different from our neighbourhood
> 24-hour on-call plumber, or the local snake catcher!!!

Know the difference between God and a doctor? God doesn't think he's a
doctor!

Interesting how you write a pages long rant about everyone who isn't you,
then totally deny your arrogance. I guess to be that arrogance, you pretty
much have to believe you aren't.

NightStalker

In article <1ixj5pv3hsfza.74jmjdwy87vf$.dlg@40tude.net>, spamboy6547
@comcast.net says...
> Interesting how you write a pages long rant about everyone who isn't you,
> then totally deny your arrogance. I guess to be that arrogance, you pretty
> much have to believe you aren't.
>

OK - I give up. Some people just have prejudices and petty jealousies
that cannot be overcome by facts or logic, perhaps due to their own
sense of inadequacy and worthlessness.

Reading back through my posts, I still cannot see the slightest trace of
what could be perceived as arrogance, as you put it. Making a point
about the annoyance of people talking at high volume with meaningless
chit-chat does not make someone arrogant. And neither does stating the
point that my own job requires me to be contactable - like many others.

So, I'm not making any more responses to your childish posts, and I
suggest that the next time you happen to be laying on the operating
table, just before going to sleep, you tell your surgeon that you
consider him/her to be an arrogant, self-opinionated plonker, as you
accuse me of being. I sincerely hope that your surgeon has a somewhat
more tolerant attitude to others than you do, and will put down your
rant to the effects of the drugs!

Oh - and I certainly hope that if there are complications, your surgeon
can be reached on their mobile phone, and won't be continually engaged
because he/she is chatting meaningless drivel for an hour.

--

NightStalker