I'm getting a cell phone jammer!

Funny, unless someone is being loud I really don't notice who is or who is not on the phone at the gym, restaurant, or most other places. I don't consider it my business to determine whether or not someone really needs a phone. It just seems to me that this is trying to out do obnoxious behavior with alternative obnoxious behavior that totally ignores everything in between.
 
It just seems
>to me that this is trying to out do obnoxious behavior with
>alternative obnoxious behavior that totally ignores everything
>in between.

AMEN. Both are complete extremes--and both are incredibly rude.


Allison
 
"I also don't see why people feel so obligated to answer their phones at any time and place"

I completely agree. And that goes for the home phone too!

I have a cell phone in case I need to get ahold of my DH if I'm out and about w/my two girls. All my family members were on my case to get one "in case of an emergency"! But I'm pretty sure someone would stop and let me use THEIR cell phone if needed!;)

I once saw two teenagers walking along, boy and girl, maybe on a date or something, HE was on his cell phone totally ignoring the girl. This is what people do, talk on their cell and ignore the person tbey are with. Very rude, I'd say!

But just my own opinion :)

Mary
 
I am the same as Beavs. I don't really notice people on their phones unless they are really loud. I also don't want someone ending my calls. I always have my cell phone out at restarants in case something happens with my son. I don't use it usually but it is there. I am always glad to have my phone and if they were not available then there would be trouble in my home since my DH is an Engineer for one of the cell phone companies.
LD
 
<Valerie, you could bring a pager into the gym.........;-)

good point. >

Perhaps, if the gym has a pay phone you can use (pay phones are becoming more difficult to find these days)
 
I think the bottom line is if you own the space and you make the policy public about your space it is neither rude or illegal.

My parents smoked. I installed an ashtray on my front deck and told them that was the smoking space. Didn't get many winter visits. No one smokes in my house.

If you are at a restaurant and there is an emergency, the maitre'd would be glad to give you a message. You could the leave the building to use your cel.

If I visit someone else's space, I abide by their rules or I don't go.
 
>I think the bottom line is if you own the space and you make
>the policy public about your space it is neither rude or
>illegal.
>
>My parents smoked. I installed an ashtray on my front deck
>and told them that was the smoking space. Didn't get many
>winter visits. No one smokes in my house.
>
>If you are at a restaurant and there is an emergency, the
>maitre'd would be glad to give you a message. You could the
>leave the building to use your cel.
>
>If I visit someone else's space, I abide by their rules or I
>don't go.

My problem isn't with having these devices in privately owned places. My problem is that someone could possibly cut off my phone call while I'm sitting on a park bench or on the subway or walking through the mall simply because they're "irritated". Sorry, but maybe your green sweater irritates me--that doesn't mean I'm going to insist you take it off or leave the premises. We all have to learn to be tolerant and patient.

Yes, maybe people are rude and inconsiderate with their cell phone use, but we all inhabit this earth. We need to learn how to get along. Inventing another device that can control my life even more than it is controlled now is plain 'ole scary. If you don't want people smoking or talking on their cell phone at your house/in your restaurant/etc. then tell them to leave the building. But don't tell me I can't continue those behaviors outside or in a public area simply because they "annoy you".

Allison
 
Cell phones make me crazy and I agree that most people probably don't NEED one, but they are a convenience that I don't want to be without now that I've gotten used to it -- just like my computer. My DH is a doctor and he has a pager, but he needs the cell phone to answer the page. In fact, the only time he turns on his cell phone is when he gets a page. Some of those calls are pretty lengthy and I can't imagine tying up a land line phone in a restaurant or some other public place, and like Beavs said, pay phones are getting harder to find. If he gets a page when we're in a restaurant he usually steps outside to make his call. He has a long commute to and from work and I'll never forget what a nightmare it used to be when he had to exit the interstate and drive around to locate a phone. He has received as many as 8 or 10 pages just on his way home from work before -- and just so you know, he does pull off the road to use his phone ;)
 
<I think the bottom line is if you own the space and you make the policy public about your space it is neither rude or illegal.>
This would be up to the establishment (i.e. gym) and not the individual (disgruntled, perhaps justifiably so)

<If you are at a restaurant and there is an emergency, the maitre'd would be glad to give you a message. You could the leave the building to use your cel.>
Thanks, but in this day and age of crappy customer service (does Crapplebys really have a maître d'???) , I'll rely upon my cell to call when there is a family emergency. Like most people, I can discreetly take the call (unless of course I am being starred down by some cranky old coot waiting to notice someone one a cell phone and crab about it to everyone within ear shot).
 
Cell phones didn't make people rude, they were already like that. If it weren't for cell phones, the people standing still in the grocery store, blocking the aisle, letting their kid run loose while they yell in their phones, "Nothing. What are you doing?!!!!!?????" would just do something else to prove to all around them that they are self-absorbed and rude.

Where I wish they WOULD make it illegal is while driving. Headset, hands-free, it doesn't matter. It affects reaction time and takes your attention away from what you should be doing: DRIVING. I can't count the near-misses I've seen and had with people blabbing away while they're driving. Pull over if it's so damned important. The guy going 45 mph in the middle lane of I-95? On his phone. The woman to my left who wandered over in my lane? Phone. The woman who ran a light that had been red for at least 30 seconds when she blasted through it? On her phone. I'm really sick of it.
 
I just loooooveeeeeeeeeee people on their cell phones while driving in the left lane going 40mph in a 65 mph zone. Or the one time some girl decided to start dialing or texting, while passing us, then moving over back to the right hand lane and slamming into the pickup truck in front of her at 65mph! And is it always necessary to be on the phone as you're backing out of a parking spot with one hand on the wheel. I'm sorry but I could go on and on....
Cell phone jammers would be great on the road in my opinion.
 
Like most >people, I can discreetly take the call (unless of course I am >being starred down by some cranky old coot waiting to notice
>someone one a cell phone and crab about it to everyone within
>ear shot).

That cranky old coot would be me. :+
 
>Where I wish they WOULD make it illegal is while driving.
>Headset, hands-free, it doesn't matter. It affects reaction
>time and takes your attention away from what you should be
>doing: DRIVING. I can't count the near-misses I've seen and
>had with people blabbing away while they're driving. Pull
>over if it's so damned important. The guy going 45 mph in the
>middle lane of I-95? On his phone. The woman to my left who
>wandered over in my lane? Phone. The woman who ran a light
>that had been red for at least 30 seconds when she blasted
>through it? On her phone. I'm really sick of it.

As much as I see your point, I will never agree with it being illegal (as it is in CT where I live) to drive while talking on the phone. As far as I'm concerned, they should then shut down fast food restaurants and drive-throughs so that people can't eat while driving, there should be no "to go" mugs for drinks as that can distract from driving, all radios, cd players, and ipods should be removed from cars and made illegal to have in a vehicle as well, and GPS systems should be outlawed as people are easily distracted by programming and reading those things. Oh and no passengers should be allowed in cars as talking can distract from your driving as well.

Again, WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE? There will always be distractions in life-especially while driving. That guy who swerved into my lane yesterday on Route 9 was looking at a map, sipping from a McDonalds soda cup and singing along to the radio. Thank god he wasn't distracted by talking on his cell phone....;)

Allison
 
>As much as I see your point, I will never agree with it being
>illegal (as it is in CT where I live) to drive while talking
>on the phone. As far as I'm concerned, they should then shut
>down fast food restaurants and drive-throughs so that people
>can't eat while driving, there should be no "to go" mugs for
>drinks as that can distract from driving, all radios, cd
>players, and ipods should be removed from cars and made
>illegal to have in a vehicle as well, and GPS systems should
>be outlawed as people are easily distracted by programming and
>reading those things. Oh and no passengers should be allowed
>in cars as talking can distract from your driving as well.
>
> Again, WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE? There will always be
>distractions in life-especially while driving. That guy who
>swerved into my lane yesterday on Route 9 was looking at a
>map, sipping from a McDonalds soda cup and singing along to
>the radio. Thank god he wasn't distracted by talking on his
>cell phone....;)
>
>Allison

Allison, you must've read my mind. I was just getting ready to post this exact comment! I don't think talking on your cell phone in the car is any more or less distracting than listening/singing along with the radio, eating, drinking, or talking to the person in the passenger seat.
 
I know in some countries all of the above is actually illegal to do while driving. A friend of a relative of mine in France got a ticket for drinking out of a water bottle (yes it was water ;-) ) while driving. Since it was his third ticket and they do points over there , he lost his driver's license.
 
>I know in some countries all of the above is actually illegal
>to do while driving. A friend of a relative of mine in France
>got a ticket for drinking out of a water bottle (yes it was
>water ;-) ) while driving. Since it was his third ticket and
>they do points over there , he lost his driver's license.

Yeah, well at least over there it's all or nothing. You can't tell me that I'm a bad driver for talking on my cell phone but it's fine for me to be changing the CD in my CD player while reading my MapQuest directions and talking to my friend in the passenger seat--all while steering the wheel with my knee because I'm changing my clothes and putting on mascara.......

ETA: This is all hypothetical, people. I don't actually do ALL those things while driving. Maybe just one or two....;)

Allison
 
<That cranky old coot would be me.>

Somehow I doubt that Laura. I suspect you don't even notice the many people around you who use their phones without being jack arses. What you do notice are the people who are loud and inconsiderate. It's human nature to focus on the negative. Like TeTe pointed out, there are a variety of outlets for rude behavior. I bet I could be pretty rude on my two cans with string phone that is impervious to all cell phone jammers (although scissors could ruin my day...:7 )
 
Reading while you're driving is not legal, either (at least not in my state!). If a cop had seen him doing it, he would've gotten a ticket.

Let's just make it legal to drive drunk!!! There's been a lot of research to show that talking to someone who is not in their car is as bad, if not worse, as driving drunk. It just affects your attention differently than eating or talking to someone in the car.

When you get behind the wheel of a car and talk on your phone, you're endangering other people. I don't care what people do to harm themselves if it doesn't harm anyone else. Someone drives on a deserted highway and runs into a pole and kills him/herself while yaking on a phone, fine...it's just the thinning of the herd . Unfortunately, most streets, roads, highways have other people on them.
 
Here's an interesting article.

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/and.../2006/07/are-drivers-on-cell-phones-more.html

Monday, July 03, 2006
Are drivers on cell phones more dangerous than drunks?
People talking on cell phones in traffic are potentially more dangerous than drunk drivers. That is the startling headline from Frank Drews, a University of Utah professor. It's easy to remember, and positively ignites public debate about the issue, but should it?

I spent time talking with Drews and found him personable, well-intentioned, and convinced of the validity of his research. He studied forty drivers navigating the twists and turns of a driving simulator while unimpaired, then drunk, then talking on a cell phone. His results are startling. The cell phone users braked more slowly, had a harder time keeping with the flow of traffic, and were generally more likely to cause an accident. They in fact did crash several times, while his drunk drivers never did.

But there are significant caveats to consider.

For starters, the sample was small and the drivers just barely drunk. Most people who cause drunk driving accidents are significantly above the legal limit for intoxication. Beyond that, recent, much larger studies have found that being distracted, trying to pick up things in the car, and being tired can all be more dangerous than cell phone use.

The cell phone industry folks say the proof is in the pudding: Use of cell phones has skyrocketed over the past decade, yet the number of auto accidents has not.

So where does the truth lie? I've been cut off in traffic by oblivious idiots chatting away on their cells. I've nearly been rear-ended by them, too. But should we further regulate cell phone drivers? Or are there just too many bad drivers out there, people who'll be just as bad on ... or off ... the phone?
Posted By Tom Foreman, CNN Correspondent: 6:09 PM ET
 
You're probably right Beavs. :) But I definitely do notice it at the gym. It distracts me (probably more than it should) & annoys me. Not to mention the gym prohibits cell phones but doesn't enforce the prohibition--this is actually a privacy issue, apparently some people have been snagged taking pics of women changing in the locker room. Not cool.
 
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