Unplugged

[GratefulCitizen]

Spent most of the last year without a cellphone.
Absolutely worth it.

Found a humorous article on the subject:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/omer-r...b_3220798.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/omer-r...b_3310123.html


I've been shocked at how often people get offended that I don't pay for and carry a cellphone.
Apparently this inhibits their ability to make their lack of planning into my problem.


Great paragraph from the article:

"What if I'm walking at night and feel unsafe?"
Does your phone have bullets? Otherwise, it is unclear to me how a phone would help you.
Will you text before you get mugged, so that your body can be located the next day, or will you ask your assailant for a timeout, so you can use your phone-a-friend lifeline?

In any case, from a societal perspective, now -- for the first time in history -- everyone must carry around objects worth hundreds of dollars at all times -- so there's a good chance your digital savior is what made you a target in the first place.
Flashing that iSwag only makes it worse so whip out those iPhone buds to call for help at your own risk.

[MR2]

I've carried a cell phone twice in my life. Once was for a few weeks during the 2010 Census and just recently for a few days during the Recall Hudak effort.

Neither were so-called smart phones and frankly I prefer carrier pigeons.

[bubba]

I was just talking about this very thing last night with a bunch of guys at work.....

When I retire, my mail will have stamps, my phone will have a rotary dial, and my MP3 player will play 45's for a quarter a play. The irony of posting this on a message board is not lost on me, but I really just veiw this flashy number box as a nessessary evil until I am out.

I am MUCH happier when my contact with the outside world is a Sat-Phone and I check personal email once a week. Sometimes I think we have too much comms available and it ruins personal relationships.

[GratefulCitizen]

Originally Posted by bubba

The irony of posting this on a message board is not lost on me

Cell phones are different.

They're an inefficient form of communication because they require both parties to have simultaneous availability.
Even texting (email-by-phone) has inefficiencies because of the expectation of availability.

The implied availability of others leads to learned helplessness and poor planning skills.
Stealth conditioning for socialism?

[Sdiver]

Originally Posted by GratefulCitizen

Cell phones are different.

They're an inefficient form of communication because they require both parties to have simultaneous availability.
Even texting (email-by-phone) has inefficiencies because of the expectation of availability.

The implied availability of others leads to learned helplessness and poor planning skills.
Stealth conditioning for socialism?

Interesting statement you made there.

All I have is a cell phone. My thinking is, why have two lines (land and cell) when either one works just as well as the other in most instances?

I don't subscribe to any of the "major" carriers, in fact I use the most inexpensive one I could find. It's one of those pay as you go phones. The service piggy backs on AT&T's signal, and I actually get good reception.

One nice thing about just having a cell and no land line is, I don't get robo-calls, especially around election time.

I'm not big on using apps that are found on the iphones and android phones seen today. Don't need to surf FB, twitter or PS.com at all hours of the day. All I need the phone for is for communication only, whether I get ahold of someone or not. I can always leave a message if I don't get ahold them, so I do find it an effective form of communication. But that's just me.

Plus whose to say you have to keep you cell phone on at all times. There is an off button. Something I hit quite often, especially in class.

[Dusty]

Cell phones are like handguns. Better to have and not need than otherwise.
When I was a kid, I remember old people having similar conversations re: landlines.

[SF_BHT]

I wish I could unplug... Job has us on cells and BBs. I have pretty much unplugged on the personal side. On the cell phone. I have one just for the emergency situation and data. Only 2 people (sprint/me) know the number so I never check it.

The work one keeps me hopping but my push back is I turn off the email beep and only check it a few times a day. During after hours I do not check it. That drives people crazy because they want immediate 24/7 response as soon as they text or email someone. My montra is if it is time sensitive or an emergency call me.

I dream of the day that I have no electric leash..... Soon it may be here. When I go to my house down south I have no problems not having a phone and limited Internet. It is relaxing.....

[MtnGoat]

Originally Posted by SF_BHT

I wish I could unplug... Job has us on cells and BBs. I have pretty much unplugged on the personal side. On the cell phone. I have one just for the emergency situation and data. Only 2 people (sprint/me) know the number so I never check it.

The work one keeps me hopping but my push back is I turn off the email beep and only check it a few times a day. During after hours I do not check it. That drives people crazy because they want immediate 24/7 response as soon as they text or email someone. My montra is if it is time sensitive or an emergency call me.

I dream of the day that I have no electric leash..... Soon it may be here. When I go to my house down south I have no problems not having a phone and limited Internet. It is relaxing.....

I live by this way too. If it's important call me.

[Sdiver]

Originally Posted by Broadsword2004

And if they just a cell phone, if the electricity is down, they can't recharge it.

Car/truck chargers work very well. In fact, that's how I charge mine, by plugging it into the charger to and from school.

[SF_BHT]

Originally Posted by Sdiver

Car/truck chargers work very well. In fact, that's how I charge mine, by plugging it into the charger to and from school.

I had a no power day yesterday. Power went out for 7 hrs. I just went to the truck, plugged in and locked the door. Came back and all was charged.... Power came on at 1800 and no foul all ready, iPad, iPhone, BB. Well the BB I could care less about as it is still in the truck.

[GratefulCitizen]

Originally Posted by Broadsword2004

Do you need to run the engine to charge the phone? (I ask because I don't know if a cellphone is enough to run down the vehicle battery if the engine is off). But my thinking was that if so, and the power is out for quite a while, the gas pumps in the area won't work and you may need to conserve fuel.

If you're that concerned, you can buy a wired tack-on cigarette lighter for a few bucks from Walmart.
Attach it directly to the battery or any other 12 volt source (these are easy to rig).

Plug in charger won't know the difference.

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by Broadsword2004

One reason I like a land line with an older phone is that older phones draw their power directly through the line, so even if the electricity goes out, the phone still works because the phone line is almost always buried. Now, if the electricity goes out, with all of these newer phones people have that require being plugged into an electrical outlet to work, they are without a working phone. And if they just a cell phone, if the electricity is down, they can't recharge it.

Not exactly.

Landlines, like water distribution, are contingent on a power supply to keep them working.

IIRC, phones work on 48v. DC current, transformed from grid power, with a battery and possibly generator backup. In the event of grid power failure, the batteries supply power until they are drained, or the generator runs out of fuel.

The numbers used to be 72 hours of back-up power for the land-line phone system.

Interestingly enough, the cell towers have back-up generators which the local service tech tells me is about the same 72-hour run time for the on-site gensets providing back-up power to the towers.

Most Americans have less than three days worth of food in their homes.

If the grid goes down (EMP, hacked, failure of aging components, etc.), then in three days or less, the phones will quit working, food at home will run out, gas stations will be out, the water quits flowing (and the toilets quit working). If this happens nationwide, what do you think the hungry people will do to feed their children?

TR

[Gypsy]

Originally Posted by Sdiver

Don't need to surf .... PS.com at all hours of the day. .

WHAT?

I'm too smart to use a "smart phone".

I have a very nice laptop to use when I feel like going online. I have a nice flat screen to watch movies or the few TV shows I like. And...I have an "old fashioned" cell phone to call people. Ok, yes I can text on it too.

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by Gypsy

WHAT?

I'm too smart to use a "smart phone".

I have a very nice laptop to use when I feel like going online. I have a nice flat screen to watch movies or the few TV shows I like. And...I have an "old fashioned" cell phone to call people. Ok, yes I can text on it too.

What's "text"?

[Gypsy]

Originally Posted by Dusty

What's "text"?

It's like typing only you need really small fingers.