Life without a mobile telephone

Linton · 04-16-08, 05:05 PM

Yesterday I happened to visit Gander, Newfoundland for 13 hours.It is a small town with an airport that has a couple of long runways.
Unbelievably it has no mobile telephone service.This caused some consternation to some of my colleagues who have never experienced it before.I also found it quite hard to believe that my tri-band phone wouldn't work but then after a while I began to feel quite liberated from this electronic leash!
They did have broadband in the hotel at a speed of 100mb though!!.Is there anywhere else that doesn't have mobile coverage in a town?

AVGWarhawk · 04-16-08, 05:39 PM

If I could dump my phone in the river it would really make my day. I tell my friends (before the cell phone), if you can't find me at work or at home, then I do not want to be found. Then I discovered the off button!

Platapus · 04-16-08, 05:57 PM

I keep my cell phone in my car for emergencies. Few people have the number and that's the way I like it.

I wonder how many cell phone calls are made just because people have cell phones?

Blacklight · 04-16-08, 06:05 PM

I've never even HAD a cell phone. I simply can't budget for it and no one ever calls me or talks to me on the phone that much anyway.

Trex · 04-16-08, 06:50 PM

I have this recurring dream. It is the day after my retirement. I am on a beach, with perfectly still water stretching to the horizon. I have a huge, top-notch driver, a tee and my electronic leash...

Ducimus · 04-16-08, 07:06 PM

I hate cellphones. For one, they distract people while driving. For two, in my mind it's still the sort of thing that only yuppies induldge in because it's hip, and for three, its is nothing short of being an electronic leash.

To me, a cellphone is alot like a beeper. Back when i was in highschool, there was a certain crowd who' just HAD to have a beeper because it made them look cool and look important when their not. (this was before cellphones). Eventually the beeper gave way to the cellphone, but in my mind its the same damn thing.

So ive gotten along quite well without. If i break down.. well... you know.. there is such a thing as call box or payphone. Always have spare change in my cars ash tray. Then........the signficant other starts really disliking me not having a cellphone, so she gets a 2nd phone on her account, and now im stuck with it. SHe pays for it cause she knows damn well if it was left up to me, i wouldnt have it. How now im at her beck and call. At least i dont pay for the damn thing. :rotfl:

Tchocky · 04-16-08, 07:10 PM

I have my mobile for the basic reason that there's no landline in this house.
My girlfriend and I move often enough to make the additional hassle and expense of changing landlines unnecessary. Mobiles are more convenient and you've always got the same number.

Torplexed · 04-16-08, 08:41 PM

I rarely use mine. Judging by what I see everyday I don't know how half the human race survived without them when they were still plugged into walls.

But then I used to be able to live just fine without the internet too.

Now, I'd probably have withdrawal symptoms.

bookworm_020 · 04-16-08, 08:46 PM

Plenty of black holes in the coverage on my train trip in and out of the city!

I tend to use it to SMS my wife when I'm about to get home so she can pick me up from the station, the joys of doing a late shift at work!

I can survive without it without to much trouble. I some times wish they would block the signal in trains so I don't have to listen to the loud converstaions of a teen or 20 something that is expletive filled!

August · 04-16-08, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Linton

Yesterday I happened to visit Gander, Newfoundland for 13 hours.It is a small town with an airport that has a couple of long runways.
Unbelievably it has no mobile telephone service.This caused some consternation to some of my colleagues who have never experienced it before.I also found it quite hard to believe that my tri-band phone wouldn't work but then after a while I began to feel quite liberated from this electronic leash!
They did have broadband in the hotel at a speed of 100mb though!!.Is there anywhere else that doesn't have mobile coverage in a town?

You've had a glimpse of heaven my friend. I got rid of my cell phone almost two years ago now and i love it.

Yahoshua · 04-16-08, 09:32 PM

The only reason I still have a cell-phone is because I have a mother.

Get rid of one, get rid of both!! :hmm:

(okay so maybe that's not the most efficient way to go about doing this

)

Sailor Steve · 04-17-08, 01:30 AM

I never had a cell phone until I rented a room in the basement of a house. I couldn't use the landlady's phone, and a cell was the only choice, other than having no phone at all. I got one and now I wouldn't live without it. It has a built-in phone book so I can make any important call with no problems. It has a clock and a calculator, and a converter that I've programmed to handle nautical miles and long tons. I love it.

On the other hand, I found that my calling habits are so limited that any plan I subscribed to would be a waste of money, so I'm using pay-as-you-go cards at 10 cents per minute. Last month my total phone bill was $4.32. My usual phone call is to the temp agency about a job, and if I call a friend it's just to plan where to meet and talk face-to-face.

I love mine, but it's a tool, not a leash.

Geno_Mariner · 04-17-08, 03:22 AM

I got a cell phone. And a better one now (since it's an early birthday present, my b'day's on this Saturday

).

I hardly use it much, and my friends hardly call me at all! Let alone a few text messages... since I am hearing impaired. So... to me, my phone's my mp3 player, camera, internet browser and MSN/Yahoo. I've just discovered this site's adaptable to my phone

Though it takes a lot of scrolling to reach the General Topics

Blasted phone keeps fading the screen light

3Jane · 04-17-08, 03:42 AM

Never had one, never will have one!!.

Graf Paper · 04-17-08, 04:53 AM

Cell phones can be convienient but they can sometimes be a pain.

The thing I dislike most is those people who yak-yak away on their phones, oblivious to their surroundings until they nearly hit you with their shopping cart or run over you with their car...and some of them have the nerve to look at you as if it was your fault!

I do have to wonder what the consequence of the global spread of cellular phones will be to the human race, in about ten or twenty years, after having half of your skull bombarded by high-frequency microwave radiation.

04-16-08, 05:05 PM	#1
Linton Sea Lord Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 1,898 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Life without a mobile telephone Yesterday I happened to visit Gander, Newfoundland for 13 hours.It is a small town with an airport that has a couple of long runways. Unbelievably it has no mobile telephone service.This caused some consternation to some of my colleagues who have never experienced it before.I also found it quite hard to believe that my tri-band phone wouldn't work but then after a while I began to feel quite liberated from this electronic leash! They did have broadband in the hotel at a speed of 100mb though!!.Is there anywhere else that doesn't have mobile coverage in a town? __________________ http://lintonsview.blogspot.com/

04-16-08, 05:39 PM	#2
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,257 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	If I could dump my phone in the river it would really make my day. I tell my friends (before the cell phone), if you can't find me at work or at home, then I do not want to be found. Then I discovered the off button! __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

04-16-08, 05:57 PM	#3
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,365 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	I keep my cell phone in my car for emergencies. Few people have the number and that's the way I like it. I wonder how many cell phone calls are made just because people have cell phones? __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.

04-16-08, 06:05 PM	#4
Blacklight Ocean Warrior Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,507 Downloads: 145 Uploads: 0	I've never even HAD a cell phone. I simply can't budget for it and no one ever calls me or talks to me on the phone that much anyway. __________________ Be my friend or be a mushroom cloud. "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes !"

04-16-08, 07:10 PM	#7
Tchocky Navy Seal Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 5,874 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	I have my mobile for the basic reason that there's no landline in this house. My girlfriend and I move often enough to make the additional hassle and expense of changing landlines unnecessary. Mobiles are more convenient and you've always got the same number. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

04-16-08, 06:50 PM	#5
Trex Lieutenant Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 262 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I have this recurring dream. It is the day after my retirement. I am on a beach, with perfectly still water stretching to the horizon. I have a huge, top-notch driver, a tee and my electronic leash...

04-16-08, 07:06 PM	#6
Ducimus Rear Admiral Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,987 Downloads: 67 Uploads: 2	I hate cellphones. For one, they distract people while driving. For two, in my mind it's still the sort of thing that only yuppies induldge in because it's hip, and for three, its is nothing short of being an electronic leash. To me, a cellphone is alot like a beeper. Back when i was in highschool, there was a certain crowd who' just HAD to have a beeper because it made them look cool and look important when their not. (this was before cellphones). Eventually the beeper gave way to the cellphone, but in my mind its the same damn thing. So ive gotten along quite well without. If i break down.. well... you know.. there is such a thing as call box or payphone. Always have spare change in my cars ash tray. Then........the signficant other starts really disliking me not having a cellphone, so she gets a 2nd phone on her account, and now im stuck with it. SHe pays for it cause she knows damn well if it was left up to me, i wouldnt have it. How now im at her beck and call. At least i dont pay for the damn thing. :rotfl:

04-16-08, 08:41 PM	#8
Torplexed Let's Sink Sumptin' ! Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 5,823 Downloads: 43 Uploads: 0	I rarely use mine. Judging by what I see everyday I don't know how half the human race survived without them when they were still plugged into walls. But then I used to be able to live just fine without the internet too. Now, I'd probably have withdrawal symptoms. __________________ --Mobilis in Mobili--

04-16-08, 08:46 PM	#9
bookworm_020 Navy Seal Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Sinking ships off the Australian coast Posts: 5,966 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	Plenty of black holes in the coverage on my train trip in and out of the city! I tend to use it to SMS my wife when I'm about to get home so she can pick me up from the station, the joys of doing a late shift at work! I can survive without it without to much trouble. I some times wish they would block the signal in trains so I don't have to listen to the loud converstaions of a teen or 20 something that is expletive filled! __________________ "There is always one person in any organization who knows whats going on, That person must be fired"

04-16-08, 09:32 PM	#11
Yahoshua The Old Man Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 1,493 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	The only reason I still have a cell-phone is because I have a mother. Get rid of one, get rid of both!! :hmm: (okay so maybe that's not the most efficient way to go about doing this ) __________________ Science is the organized unpredictability that strives not to set limits to mans' capabilities, but is the engine by which the limits of mans' understanding is defined-Yahoshua

04-17-08, 01:30 AM	#12
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	I never had a cell phone until I rented a room in the basement of a house. I couldn't use the landlady's phone, and a cell was the only choice, other than having no phone at all. I got one and now I wouldn't live without it. It has a built-in phone book so I can make any important call with no problems. It has a clock and a calculator, and a converter that I've programmed to handle nautical miles and long tons. I love it. On the other hand, I found that my calling habits are so limited that any plan I subscribed to would be a waste of money, so I'm using pay-as-you-go cards at 10 cents per minute. Last month my total phone bill was $4.32. My usual phone call is to the temp agency about a job, and if I call a friend it's just to plan where to meet and talk face-to-face. I love mine, but it's a tool, not a leash. __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

04-17-08, 03:22 AM	#13
Geno_Mariner Weps Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 369 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I got a cell phone. And a better one now (since it's an early birthday present, my b'day's on this Saturday ). I hardly use it much, and my friends hardly call me at all! Let alone a few text messages... since I am hearing impaired. So... to me, my phone's my mp3 player, camera, internet browser and MSN/Yahoo. I've just discovered this site's adaptable to my phone Though it takes a lot of scrolling to reach the General Topics Blasted phone keeps fading the screen light __________________

04-17-08, 03:42 AM	#14
3Jane Ace of the Deep Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: York. Northern England. Posts: 1,004 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Never had one, never will have one!!. __________________ Fate opposes me in vitality and morality, forced ever onward, burdened, always in shackles. So this very moment, without tarrying, pluck the quivering strings. Because fate punishes the one who plays, all lament with me. (http://hosted.filefront.com/KatherineRowan)

04-17-08, 04:53 AM	#15
Graf Paper Ace of the Deep Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Pacific Northwest United States Posts: 1,146 Downloads: 41 Uploads: 2	Cell phones can be convienient but they can sometimes be a pain. The thing I dislike most is those people who yak-yak away on their phones, oblivious to their surroundings until they nearly hit you with their shopping cart or run over you with their car...and some of them have the nerve to look at you as if it was your fault! I do have to wonder what the consequence of the global spread of cellular phones will be to the human race, in about ten or twenty years, after having half of your skull bombarded by high-frequency microwave radiation. __________________ Still sailing the high seas, hunting convoys with those who join me.