Bus Cell Nazis
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
tlaking at high speed, making up for decades; Well, wuddnya know it,
folks on the bus kept telling us to shut up. Once I noticed my folks
oldest siblings would somehow shut off their hearing when they were
reading; So I asked my very first college professor, who happened to
be from Calcutta: He told me his hearing would totally shut off on the
bus as he got absorbed by what he was reading. When I first got a
celfon in 1990 (a Mitsubishi "brick phone") I found myself getting
angrily stared at on the bus whenever I made a call. Eventually, that
was one reason that from 1993-99, I avoided carrying a celfon. A bus
or train is the best possible time to use a celfon - to take advantage
of downtime. Ok, in 1991 already, I saw first hand how in Japan celfon
call were taken in the space between cars on a train as a sign of
courtesy. But I have to take objection to the thin-skinedness
regarding people talking on the phone. I mean folks talk on the bus
all the time; why is a celfon different. It isn't. This is really
ridiculous.
- = -
Vasos-Peter John Panagiotopoulos II, Columbia'81+, Bio$trategist
BachMozart ReaganQuayle EvrytanoKastorian
---{Nothing herein constitutes advice. Everything fully disclaimed.}---
Pataki+JebBush in 2008!
Vince
I've never seen this happen (so far anyway), I don't have a cell at this
time and yes sometimes I do get a bit pissed with others.
In any case when I do get a cell again its just going to be too DAMN
bad for them. What really got me pissed last spring a woman on the
platform didn't wish to speak to the person calling and so she
let it ring and ring. So I told her "Hey lady either answer it or turn
the god damn thing off"
Vince
> vjp...@at.BioStrategist.dot.dot.com wrote:
>
>> Once I came across a grade-school classmate on the bus and we were
>>tlaking at high speed, making up for decades; Well, wuddnya know it,
>>folks on the bus kept telling us to shut up. Once I noticed my folks
>>oldest siblings would somehow shut off their hearing when they were
>>reading; So I asked my very first college professor, who happened to
>>be from Calcutta: He told me his hearing would totally shut off on the
>>bus as he got absorbed by what he was reading. When I first got a
>>celfon in 1990 (a Mitsubishi "brick phone") I found myself getting
>>angrily stared at on the bus whenever I made a call. Eventually, that
>>was one reason that from 1993-99, I avoided carrying a celfon. A bus
>>or train is the best possible time to use a celfon - to take advantage
>>of downtime. Ok, in 1991 already, I saw first hand how in Japan celfon
>>call were taken in the space between cars on a train as a sign of
>>courtesy. But I have to take objection to the thin-skinedness
>>regarding people talking on the phone. I mean folks talk on the bus
>>all the time; why is a celfon different. It isn't. This is really
>>ridiculous.
>
>
> I doubt anyone objects to conversations at normal volume... It's when
> people start to yell, whether it's on the phone or not, that it becomes
> an irritant to others.
>
> Notan
I disagree for some its an "irritant" period. Sad to say.
Phil Kane
>I disagree for some its an "irritant" period. Sad to say.
If you object to having your privacy violated by government or
private-sector agents or "just anybody" intercepting (a technical
term meaning "listening in"), don't carry on conversations in
public.
Using a cell-phone on a train or bus or in a shopping mall is as
public as it gets.
--
===> Stand Clear of the Closing Doors, Please <===
Phil Kane -- Beaverton, Oregon
PNW Milepost 754 -- Tillamook District
Vince
Pay attention I meant its an irritant for others.......
Dr. Q
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
Yeah, well there are some people who would jump at any opportunity
to have a hissy-fit. That's kinda how bureaucratic inconsistencies get
layered ad infinitum. It's time we had hissy-fits at the hissy-fits
instead of just cowering to them.
Dogfart
January 2006 where I live) "vjp...@at.BioStrategist.dot.dot.com" wrote:
> I saw first hand how in Japan celfon call were taken in the space between
> cars on a train as a sign of courtesy.
Try the underground in Hong Kong.
If you are not talking on a hand phone, you are the odd one out!
John Charles Wilson
people can't stand being around cell phone users is they can't help but
hear your half of the conversation but don't hear the other half. This
causes a discordant brain signal not unlike hearing a schizophrenic
play a piano.
John...@tricolour.queensu.ca
John Charles Wilson wrote:
> I can't remember where I read this, but apparently the reason some
> people can't stand being around cell phone users is they can't help but
> hear your half of the conversation but don't hear the other half. This
> causes a discordant brain signal not unlike hearing a schizophrenic
> play a piano.
This makes a lot of sense. I have had the impression that cell phone
users were speaking more clearly or slightly more loudly than the
equivalent face-to-face conversation but it may be the lack of
response, particualarly when intonation would imply a conversation as
opposed to someone doing a monologue.
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada
Peter T. Daniels
>
> On Sun, 8 Jan 2006 23:01:20 +0000 (UTC),
> vjp...@at.BioStrategist.dot.dot.com wrote:
>
> > Once I came across a grade-school classmate on the bus and we were
> >tlaking at high speed, making up for decades; Well, wuddnya know it,
> >folks on the bus kept telling us to shut up.
>
>
> I ride a buses and trains all the time, and I always have my MP3
> player's earphones in my ears - people talk on their cell phones all
> the time and I don't even hear them, much less care.
Listening devices that completely mask all ambient noise are very
dangerous.
--
Peter T. Daniels gram...@att.net
Vince
Thats right theres been a number of stories on the news about such devices.
DaveW
Well, they would be, if they existed.
Best Regards,
DAve
Peter T. Daniels
OP said as much.
And what about those new Bose sound-canceling headphones?
Vince
my next door neighbor's music and my other next door neighbor's dropping
heavy objects and her loud brat.
Peter T. Daniels
> and the ability to filter ambinent noise. The "iPod effect" is
> happening because people are turning up the volume on those to drown
> out noise, resulting in a volume that's damaging to one's hearing.
> This is especially true in noisy environments like NYC streets, the
> subway, etc. iPods are particularly problematic because the "default"
> ear buds don't fit very tightly to the ear, making it easier for
> ambient noise to come in.
>
> Noise canceling headphones don't require the device to operate at a
> higher level. Basically, they work by filtering extraneous noise
> through the inversion of that noise signal with a circuit, and playing
> the inverted signal back through the headphones' speakers. If they
> work properly, the two signals will add together to zero and cancel
> the noise.
And that's what's dangerous -- I didn't mean dangerous to one's hearing,
but to one's general well-being: from not being able to hear anything
from emergency announcements to sirens to car horns.
Vince
> Vince wrote:
>
>><snip>
>>
>>Well I'll tell you I would love such a device that could screen-out
>>my next door neighbor's music and my other next door neighbor's dropping
>>heavy objects and her loud brat.
>
>
>
> Notan
oh funny, very funny, I think she did drop the brat a few times.
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
are whispering quietly on their celfons without distracting the
audience or the speaker. THe issue isn't rules, but manners and
tolerance.
DaveW
They don't cancel all ambient noise. Just most of it. They do okay with
say, the drone of an airplane engine or air conditioner. They are not
particularly good at more fleeting noises, like someone yelling "Look
out!" or a car horn honking.
Oh, and being Bose, they probably do a pretty poor job with music, but
that is more a matter of personal taste.
Best Regards,
DAve
meammrmustard
> Vince wrote:
>
>><snip>
>>
>>Well I'll tell you I would love such a device that could screen-out
>>my next door neighbor's music and my other next door neighbor's dropping
>>heavy objects and her loud brat.
>
>
> How often does she drop her loud brat?
>
> Notan
Not often enough, apparently.
meanmrmustard
George
Because many people tend to yell when using a cellphone. And then there
are the nextel radios with all of the beeping and people who only use
them with the speakerphone.
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
are they angry at you for their own inability to not eavesdrop?
I'm quite blind, so my hearing is incredible.
I can hear things fifty feet away in an office setting.
But it's also cultural.
I mean why can't we be like the Culcutta bus passengers.
I really wish I knew how to tune out other people.
In <1136821621....@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com> by John Charles
Wilson <pers...@eunuchatanorgy.com> on 9 Jan 2006 07:47:01 -0800 we perused:
*+- I can't remember where I read this, but apparently the reason some
*+-people can't stand being around cell phone users is they can't help but
*+-hear your half of the conversation but don't hear the other half. This
*+-causes a discordant brain signal not unlike hearing a schizophrenic
*+-play a piano.
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
yous conversations don't distract fellow drivers?
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
I used to work with a fellow born in 1940s Shanghai.
Whenever he talked on the phone you could hear him a block away.
When you talked face-to-face, he always whispered.
Phil Kane
>This makes a lot of sense. I have had the impression that cell phone
>users were speaking more clearly or slightly more loudly than the
>equivalent face-to-face conversation but it may be the lack of
>response, particualarly when intonation would imply a conversation as
>opposed to someone doing a monologue.
When cell-phones were the size of regular telephones, people spoke
into them in normal tones. Now that they are the size of a playing
card, people feel that they have to shout to make sure that the
itty-bitty thing captures their voice.
In some cases, that's a necessary thing.... I for one can't use the
itty-bitty ones - they don't fit my face nor my style of communicating.
Phil Kane
>I ride a buses and trains all the time, and I always have my MP3
>player's earphones in my ears - people talk on their cell phones all
>the time and I don't even hear them, much less care.
And how many of the people in your vicinity hear the ting-tang jangle
and hiss of the music leaking out of your headphones?
Phil Kane
> I can't remember where I read this, but apparently the reason some
>people can't stand being around cell phone users is they can't help but
>hear your half of the conversation but don't hear the other half. This
>causes a discordant brain signal not unlike hearing a schizophrenic
>play a piano.
Any competent eavesdropper can "fill in the blanks" as long as s/he
has a fertile imagination. Making it juicy is half the fun!!!
Aidan Stanger
> >
> > > Once I came across a grade-school classmate on the bus and we were
> > >tlaking at high speed, making up for decades; Well, wuddnya know it,
> > >folks on the bus kept telling us to shut up.
> >
> > Fuck 'em.
> >
> > I ride a buses and trains all the time, and I always have my MP3
> > player's earphones in my ears - people talk on their cell phones all
> > the time and I don't even hear them, much less care.
>
> Listening devices that completely mask all ambient noise are very
> dangerous.
...if they fall into enemy hands!
--
Aidan Stanger
http://www.bettercrossrail.co.uk
Aidan Stanger
Are they any better than the MacAlly sound-cancelling headphones?
Peter T. Daniels
Having one fewer l would seem to be an Advantage.
And having a presumably higher price would be considered an advantage by
some.
(Doesn't Bose make a model called the Advantage?)
Vince
> On Tue, 10 Jan 2006 15:32:03 -0500, Vince <holvb...@optonline.net>
> wrote:
>
>
>>Well I'll tell you I would love such a device that could screen-out
>>my next door neighbor's music and my other next door neighbor's dropping
>>heavy objects and her loud brat.
>
>
> Such a device already exists: it's called buying your own house with a
> few acres of land around it.
Very funny would you like to loan me about a million?
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
Wait until folks start complaining about too-loud iPods.
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
<scotte...@yahoonospam.com> on Sat, 14 Jan 2006 11:21:56 -0800 we perused:
*+-Such a device already exists: it's called buying your own house with a
*+-few acres of land around it.
Sshh! You're going to burst the fantasy bubble of urbanvermindom!
Those mausoleum-dwelling roachdents think they can have it both ways!
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
As I understand it in parts of Pennsylvania, the old Homestead law
still applies and you are entitled to however much forest-edge land
you can clear in a day. Look at the WSJ realty auction pages for
houses being auctioned off in King of Prussia. Like $15k for a house.
Appalachian Crackerdom is still the generatrix of American Liberty!
Vince
I live in an apartment house because I have to not because I want to.
For the most part this is a pretty quiet block. This jerk or jerks next
door have a funny way of playing music out of the blue then its quite
again sometimes for days on end. The bitch in the apartment next door
is the larger part of the problem.
David Nebenzahl
> In <fpjis1p1dpgvdp2ec...@4ax.com> by Scott en Aztl?n
> <scotte...@yahoonospam.com> on Sat, 14 Jan 2006 11:21:56 -0800 we perused:
>
> *+-Such a device already exists: it's called buying your own house with a
> *+-few acres of land around it.
>
> Sshh! You're going to burst the fantasy bubble of urbanvermindom!
>
> Those mausoleum-dwelling roachdents think they can have it both ways!
You know, even us poor deluded urban dwellers have the right to what's
called "quiet enjoyment". It's in all the laws. You could look it up.
--
The only reason corrupt Republicans rule the roost in Washington
is because the corrupt Democrats can't muster any viable opposition.
Bolwerk
> vjp...@at.BioStrategist.dot.dot.com spake thus:
>> Sshh! You're going to burst the fantasy bubble of urbanvermindom!
>>
>> Those mausoleum-dwelling roachdents think they can have it both ways!
>
> You know, even us poor deluded urban dwellers have the right to what's
> called "quiet enjoyment". It's in all the laws. You could look it up.
His mindless bullshit about everyone who lives in a city being a whiny
welfare leech is just designed to irritate and offend people. I wouldn't
take it seriously.
David Nebenzahl
Heh; I don't take *anything* here seriously. After all, this is Usenet ...
kkt
> vjp...@at.BioStrategist.dot.dot.com spake thus:
>
> > In <fpjis1p1dpgvdp2ec...@4ax.com> by Scott en Aztl?n
> > <scotte...@yahoonospam.com> on Sat, 14 Jan 2006 11:21:56 -0800 we perused:
> >
> > *+-Such a device already exists: it's called buying your own house with a
> > *+-few acres of land around it.
> >
> > Sshh! You're going to burst the fantasy bubble of urbanvermindom!
> >
> > Those mausoleum-dwelling roachdents think they can have it both ways!
>
> You know, even us poor deluded urban dwellers have the right to what's
> called "quiet enjoyment". It's in all the laws. You could look it up.
And you should look up what that phrase means in a legal context.
-- Patrick
Vince
> vjp...@at.BioStrategist.dot.dot.com spake thus:
>
>> In <fpjis1p1dpgvdp2ec...@4ax.com> by Scott en Aztl?n
>> <scotte...@yahoonospam.com> on Sat, 14 Jan 2006 11:21:56 -0800 we
>> perused:
>>
>> *+-Such a device already exists: it's called buying your own house with a
>> *+-few acres of land around it.
>>
>> Sshh! You're going to burst the fantasy bubble of urbanvermindom!
>>
>> Those mausoleum-dwelling roachdents think they can have it both ways!
>
>
> You know, even us poor deluded urban dwellers have the right to what's
> called "quiet enjoyment". It's in all the laws. You could look it up.
>
>
I do most of my local shopping on 86th St between about 25th Ave and
18th Ave, like most shopping areas the cars pass by blasting their
music, when the cops are there either patrolling and staying in one
place they say nothing to the violators. We live across the street from
the West 16th St parking lot of Harway Terrace, theres this jerk who
runs his car engine for 15 or 20 mins at a time (this is in warm
weather) now I was told by a cop that nothing can be said since the lot
is private C'mon noise is noise. Lastly when we were living in Manhattan
we were having a lot of problems with a young punk who happen to be
a sound tech for STUDIO 54. He had some very large speakers (in a studio
apt. no less), our bedroom walls used to shake. The landlord took him to
court when the kid give testimony he remarked how my wife and I were
home quite a lot. Hey its our apt and besides I was working a three day
12 hour a day work week and was trying to run a home based photo studio.
Guess what we loss the judge said we complained too much. Say what?
greg byshenk
> On 9 Jan 2006 07:47:01 -0800, John Charles Wilson wrote:
> > I can't remember where I read this, but apparently the reason some
> >people can't stand being around cell phone users is they can't help but
> >hear your half of the conversation but don't hear the other half. This
> >causes a discordant brain signal not unlike hearing a schizophrenic
> >play a piano.
The issue also has something to do with the dynamics of the sound in
question.
Most people can quickly 'acclimate' to a relatively steady amount of
noise, even if this noise is rather loud.
A one-sided conversation (such as someone speaking on a cell phone),
on the other hand, is not steady. It is >noise< <silence> >noise<
<silence> >noise< ..., which means that every time the cell phone
user speaks, it is a new intrusion.
--
greg byshenk - gbys...@byshenk.net - Leiden, NL
Phil Kane
>>You know, even us poor deluded urban dwellers have the right to what's
>>called "quiet enjoyment". It's in all the laws. You could look it up.
>
>Yeah, but good luck getting anyone to enforce it.
"Quiet enjoyment" does not refer to freedom from loud naises.
It refers to freedom from legal interference with possession, use,
or tenancy. It is enforced by civil suit.
Real Estate Law 101.
BigBadWolf
> On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 21:07:11 -0800, Scott en Aztlán wrote:
>
> "Quiet enjoyment" does not refer to freedom from loud naises.
>
Just how loud is the average naise in the states? We don't have them
here (in the UK).
We do have millions of cell phones though and everyone, of every
generation, carries one (at least one) and we all talk on them when on
trains and buses and in our cars and walking along the street. Many of
us were annoyed at first by public use, especially when users insisted
on shouting but now most people tune out or are too busy speaking
themselves, to some remote companion, to even notice those around them
exist.
This is all a bit strange as we English are a quiet and reserved bunch
who rarely ever acknowledge the existence of strangers on trains and
virtually never speak to each other. We have kept that reserve and yet
we drop it completely when cellphones are involved. I recently
overheard a woman, on a train, speaking unusually loudly to a company
from whom she was obviously buying some item and she gave her credit
card details, security number and all, in a voice loud enough for
everyone in the car to copy it and fleece her account!
Also, at least a third of cellphone users now wear bluetooth earpieces
so small they are unnoticeable and they (and I) walk and talk seemingly
to the air and nobody takes any notice, those who are surprised look
guilty immediately; not because they have overheard but because they
feel they should have realised an earpiece was in use and they feel
outdated.
I travelled home this evening on a train from which I called three
different people; one an old friend because I had spare time to catch
up with him; one a colleague, to discuss work next week and one was the
friend meeting us at the station with a car, at least a third of my
fellow travellers will have made that all important call to verify
collection times. My wife meanwhile was on her bluetooth and using her
cellphone (located in her handbag - "purse" to you) to call her mother
in Massachusetts, that call was not answered as it seems the citizens
in the US do not carry or answer their phones when travelling!
One last point: most trains in the UK have sections, for those who
desire peace and quiet, where cellphones and ipods are banned as are
all game devices and the device which annoys most is whichever is
attached to the ubiquitous wired earpieces (ipods and increasingly here
we use cellphones as mp3 players) and producing the irritating tinny
whine which seems to tonelessly match the sound of a mosquito.
Do Americans really still react to cellphones so badly? How last week
is that?
Regards to all
BBW
SD Dave
wrote:
>Phil Kane wrote:
>We do have millions of cell phones though and everyone, of every
>generation, carries one (at least one) and we all talk on them when on
>trains and buses and in our cars and walking along the street. Many of
>us were annoyed at first by public use, especially when users insisted
>on shouting but now most people tune out or are too busy speaking
>themselves, to some remote companion, to even notice those around them
>exist.
Many people here still talk quite loudly on them. Some of us have
figured out that you can actually talk quite quietly and have them
work, but surprisingly many have not.
I'm so quiet on cell phones that I frequently get the "sorry, didn't
know you were on the phone" look from people, but I also am on a cell
phone a few hours a day. Lots of practice.
>This is all a bit strange as we English are a quiet and reserved bunch
>who rarely ever acknowledge the existence of strangers on trains and
>virtually never speak to each other. We have kept that reserve and yet
>we drop it completely when cellphones are involved. I recently
>overheard a woman, on a train, speaking unusually loudly to a company
>from whom she was obviously buying some item and she gave her credit
>card details, security number and all, in a voice loud enough for
>everyone in the car to copy it and fleece her account!
Is identity theft equally easy over there? I hear the same thing
happen sometimes here, and have had people email me their credit card
number while inquiring about a purchase (and no, I didn't ask for it),
just because some people are oblivious to the dangers of sharing
information they should not.
>Also, at least a third of cellphone users now wear bluetooth earpieces
>so small they are unnoticeable and they (and I) walk and talk seemingly
>to the air and nobody takes any notice, those who are surprised look
>guilty immediately; not because they have overheard but because they
>feel they should have realised an earpiece was in use and they feel
>outdated.
The problem with those is like a handset, some people still yell into
them. If you think it'd be fun to be on a bus with them, take a call
from one while wearing an earpiece. You can take it out and still
hear them. When one of my friends calls I can set it on my desk and
hear him, but he's just a loud fucker.
>I travelled home this evening on a train from which I called three
>different people; one an old friend because I had spare time to catch
>up with him; one a colleague, to discuss work next week and one was the
>friend meeting us at the station with a car, at least a third of my
>fellow travellers will have made that all important call to verify
>collection times. My wife meanwhile was on her bluetooth and using her
>cellphone (located in her handbag - "purse" to you) to call her mother
>in Massachusetts, that call was not answered as it seems the citizens
>in the US do not carry or answer their phones when travelling!
I know a few people in the older generations (usually 50+) who have
cell phones they leave turned off unless they need to dial 911. The
general attitude seems to be, "if someone needs to reach me, call my
house and leave a message." Whatever, it's their choice.
>One last point: most trains in the UK have sections, for those who
>desire peace and quiet, where cellphones and ipods are banned as are
>all game devices and the device which annoys most is whichever is
>attached to the ubiquitous wired earpieces (ipods and increasingly here
>we use cellphones as mp3 players) and producing the irritating tinny
>whine which seems to tonelessly match the sound of a mosquito.
That'd be a nice idea. If only every business had a no-cell section.
Many still have parts of the old non-smoking areas, so they could push
them over there. Maybe stick the children there too, since some cell
users are only slightly less annoying than a screaming three year old.
>Do Americans really still react to cellphones so badly? How last week
>is that?
We react badly to impolite use. Using them in a lobby, or outdoors,
or any other appropriate setting won't bother anyone. Use it in a
small diner, yelling into an earpiece, and you're likely to piss
someone off. Get on a trolley and talk over everyone else on the car,
you'll be pissing someone off too. It's all about discretion in the
USA.
Dave
Mutlley
>On 26 Jan 2006 16:41:08 -0800, "BigBadWolf" <tj....@blueyonder.co.uk>
>wrote:
>
>>Phil Kane wrote:
>
>>We do have millions of cell phones though and everyone, of every
>>generation, carries one (at least one) and we all talk on them when on
>>trains and buses and in our cars and walking along the street. Many of
>>us were annoyed at first by public use, especially when users insisted
>>on shouting but now most people tune out or are too busy speaking
>>themselves, to some remote companion, to even notice those around them
>>exist.
>
>Many people here still talk quite loudly on them. Some of us have
>figured out that you can actually talk quite quietly and have them
>work, but surprisingly many have not.
>
>I'm so quiet on cell phones that I frequently get the "sorry, didn't
>know you were on the phone" look from people, but I also am on a cell
>phone a few hours a day. Lots of practice.
I think one of the reasons I suspect for people yelling into cell
phones stems from it's modern design. When the bricks first came out
in the 1980s the distance from ear piece to microphone was about the
same as a standard wireline handset. That distance has not changed
much over the past 60 years and is still the same today. However cell
phones have gone thru an evolutionary change of design where the
microphone is now about 2 ~ 3 inches from the from the ear piece so
the perceptions is that you have to talk louder for the sound to get
all the way to the microphone..
John Mara
>
> That'd be a nice idea. If only every business had a no-cell section.
> Many still have parts of the old non-smoking areas, so they could push
> them over there. Maybe stick the children there too, since some cell
> users are only slightly less annoying than a screaming three year old.
I was at the movies tonight. I thought it was amusing that the "turn
off your cellphone" message was sponsored by Cingular Wireless.
John Mara
Notan
>
> <snip>
>
> That'd be a nice idea. If only every business had a no-cell section.
> Many still have parts of the old non-smoking areas, so they could push
> them over there. Maybe stick the children there too, since some cell
> users are only slightly less annoying than a screaming three year old.
I remember a comedian, saying something like, "Putting a non-smoking
section in a restaurant, is like putting a non-peeing section in a
swimming pool."
Notan
Phil Kane
>I know a few people in the older generations (usually 50+) who have
>cell phones they leave turned off unless they need to dial 911. The
>general attitude seems to be, "if someone needs to reach me, call my
>house and leave a message." Whatever, it's their choice.
That's exactly what I do. If I need to make a cellphone call, I do
it where there are no other people around, as much as I can.
One more point - I have spent most of my professional life doing
covert interception of radio transmissions (authorized by law, of
course). I would never pass sensitive information over a cellphone
even if no one else was around. You never know who is listening.
>We react badly to impolite use. Using them in a lobby, or outdoors,
>or any other appropriate setting won't bother anyone. Use it in a
>small diner, yelling into an earpiece, and you're likely to piss
>someone off. Get on a trolley and talk over everyone else on the car,
>you'll be pissing someone off too. It's all about discretion in the
>USA.
I've been trained and licensed to use two-way radios - both for
personal stuff and for professional stuff - since I was 16. It
still grinds something within me to see a cellphone - which after
all is a two way radio - used by an untrained and unlicensed "just
anyone" - especially someone who has no idea how and what a radio is
supposed to be used. Call me snobbish or elitist if you wish - I'm
proud of it.