Being on call, it comes in handy having one. But other than work and talking to family, I could get along without it. Just something else to spend money on.
I find it sort of amazing that there are people in this world that will go to work in the morning and slid in at the very last minute, then leave at the stroke of the minute their day is up (will plenty of break time in that day).
They will answer their cell phone on the first ring and have a private conversation, in public, speaking into said phone as if they were talking over the jet engine in a fighter plane on full military power. They will answer that phone immediately, without looking to see if the number is one in their directory or one that they recognize.
I can't count the number of times in a store I have observed someone talking on the phone from the time they arrived in the parking lot til they were out the door. The phone is a tool and a convenience for the owner, it rings without regard to location or availability of the owner.
Society, by in large, treats it as if it were the master of the owner.and an imposition on the time of the owner of the phone. PET Peave!
The woman who talked, and talked, and talked on the AMTRAK Train; just needs to get a life, or buy a phone booth.
schlimm Perhaps the problem has more to do with years of an over emphasis on individual's "rights" to do whatever they want everywhere (restaurants, stores, trains, schools, etc.) at the expense of society, than housing densities.
Perhaps the problem has more to do with years of an over emphasis on individual's "rights" to do whatever they want everywhere (restaurants, stores, trains, schools, etc.) at the expense of society, than housing densities.
Unfortunately there's too many idiots that don't know how to behave in public, much less a crowded public.
You can have 500 super-awesome neighbors, but it only takes that 501st to ruin the whole area. No wonder people want to live in the middle of nowhere.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
garyla Excellent post, Paul. Your points about bad behavior in public transportation and high-density housing help illustrate why the social-engineer types at various levels of government are having such a tough time selling their agenda.
Excellent post, Paul. Your points about bad behavior in public transportation and high-density housing help illustrate why the social-engineer types at various levels of government are having such a tough time selling their agenda.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
Because the CAR doesn't know if it is going to be used as a Quiet Car or Talking car, and even in a Quiet car someone may want to charge their devices.
ButchKnouse Why do they have charging stations in the QUIET cars?
Why do they have charging stations in the QUIET cars?
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Reality TV is to reality, what Professional Wrestling is to Professional Brain Surgery.
blownout cylinder I really have yet to see any cellphone with a 8 hour run time even...let alone 16!!!!
I really have yet to see any cellphone with a 8 hour run time even...let alone 16!!!!
I believe one story pointed out that she was using an Amtrak-supplied charging station...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
erikem Paul_D_North_Jr: Cell phone = "instrument of the devil", IMHO. - PDN. Nah, something much worse - Instrument of TPC... The reference would be pretty obscure to anyone who hasn't seen James Coburn in The President's Analyst - the device featured in the last few minutes had a functionality that was scarily like that of cell phones. - Erik
Cell phone = "instrument of the devil", IMHO. - PDN.
Nah, something much worse - Instrument of TPC...
The reference would be pretty obscure to anyone who hasn't seen James Coburn in The President's Analyst - the device featured in the last few minutes had a functionality that was scarily like that of cell phones.
- Erik
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062153/quotes?qt=qt0240218
Dr. Sidney Schaefer: You know, one thing I learned from my patients... they all hate the phone company. It's interesting; even the stock holders of the phone company hate the phone company!
V.I. Kydor Kropotkin: I know. Bedouins hate the phone company. Matter of fact, I've never been in a country where everybody didn't hate the phone company.
- Paul North.
Are we even sure the thing was turned ON?
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Paul_D_North_Jr Cell phone = "instrument of the devil", IMHO. - PDN.
I have mentioned this before, on another thread, but you cannot trust GPS or maps 100.000% (ask Joe Koh about underpasses). I use Microsoft Streets and Trips for road maps with directions; I also have AAA road maps that will give me a larger picture. Three years ago, when I visited my hometown, Streets and Trips indicated that I should turn left at a certain intersection. Had I followed the instruction, I would have found myself going up an alley that became a single two-rut track which took me either to another street or to a pasture, depending upon whether or not I turned. This was the same alley that a Greyhound bus driver started up, back in the late forties, after one of my brothers had cut the privet hedge at the corner down drastically. Of course, if he had been alert to the warning signs (right angle turn in the highway) and the flashing light, he would not have been embarrassed..
As to cell phone usage, I have little occasion except when I must call someone, such as Enterprise (to come get me) or when I need to tell my wife something while I am away from home. I will leave it on if I am expecting a call from someone some as Carl Shaver, so we will know when he and Pat are coming up to our hotel room.
Johnny
In some ways, cell phones - like GPS - seem to make people stupid. That observation is not original with me, either - I first heard it from a mid-30's Mennonite builder after he'd had a GPS for a while, and he not only runs his own small firm (4 guys), but is chief of the local fire company, and president of the local church-run school, etc., so he's no dope, either. (Interesting common factor there - Murphy will understand that . . . )
This may be one of those things that are not understood or missed until you've first had the ability or experience, and then it's gone, which would be a common enough thing for us older - er, more experienced - guys. Some of us are just fine with being out of touch with the rest of the world for hours or even days at a time, our ability to navigate from paper maps and the sun and stars, and even quiet - as in no iPods or other music - for long periods of time. Decrying the loss of those things may indeed seem close-minded, but as Thoreau observed, I think the modern devices often result in us being less self-reliant and more dependent on the gadgets - hence more vulnerable. Just my
coborn35 Paul_D_North_Jr: Cell phone = "instrument of the devil", IMHO. - PDN. Award for most close minded statement of the year?
Paul_D_North_Jr: Cell phone = "instrument of the devil", IMHO. - PDN.
Award for most close minded statement of the year?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Oh, perhaps so - but not in my world, though.
More realistically - like all tools, depends on the intentions, application, and skill of the user, for good or evil, etc. Unfortunately, I've seen way more detriments from the darn things than benefits. But that's just me - "Your experience may vary".
Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..."
The Missabe Road: Safety First
tree68 Ulrich: ... yank the cell phone out of her hands and hand it over to the crew for return to her when she gets off the train.. problem solved. Ah, but then she could claim (rightly) that her cell phone was stolen. Perhaps the better answer would have been to eschew the "quiet car" for a bit, gather around her (in seats) and hold loud, boisterous conversations. When she complained about the noise level, everyone could point to the "no cell phones" sign and continue their chatter. If she then complained to the train crew, they could inform her that she wasn't supposed to be on her phone and might be better off in another car....
Ulrich: ... yank the cell phone out of her hands and hand it over to the crew for return to her when she gets off the train.. problem solved.
Ah, but then she could claim (rightly) that her cell phone was stolen.
Perhaps the better answer would have been to eschew the "quiet car" for a bit, gather around her (in seats) and hold loud, boisterous conversations. When she complained about the noise level, everyone could point to the "no cell phones" sign and continue their chatter.
If she then complained to the train crew, they could inform her that she wasn't supposed to be on her phone and might be better off in another car....
This subject was discussed on the MyLargeScale forums and here is my answer there:
Just stand nearby and JOIN the conversation... of course you should constantly dissagree with anything that is said and change the subject frequently!
"Hey, what's the weather like where you are? Is it raining? Wow, we sure had some rain last night! But I had a new raincoat so I didn't mind. I got it mail order from that place, oh you know, the one that has the silly TV ads. Didja ever see the one iwth the cat that jumps through the mirror. Oh wait, that's a cat food commercial. Do you have a cat? I have a big dumb dog. Or well... I HAD one. He died when he bit a burgler. Got real sick. Threw up all over the place for days. Do you know how to clean that stuff out of a carpet? I had to rent a steam cleaner. You ever rent something like that? I rent movies sometimes. Didja ever see that movie that had the guy with the green eyes? Did you know that most green eyed people are redhaired? Sure seems that way..."
Well, you get the idea.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
I heard, many years ago, of a man who asked, "Do you know who I am?" and the response that was immediately broadcast to all, but I had not heard of any succeeding passenger's remark and the response to his remark.
I do not doubt that many passengers are so filled with their own importance that they behave in such a manner as to disgust other passengers; we simply do not hear of all such incidents.
I noticed a question on one of websites, "Is there cell phone reception in hell?" My answer is, "No, that's a part of the agony for those who use a cell phone like a binky."
If you elect to not believe me that is your loss. I actually observed it at DFW airport while waiting to board the American Airlines flight to Gatwick. The story may have been reported elsewhere which would lead to its broad coverage.
Ulrich... yank the cell phone out of her hands and hand it over to the crew for return to her when she gets off the train.. problem solved.
The problem should have been addressed when she started to talk on her cell phone. At that point she should have been escorted out of the quiet zone into another car. I'm surprised no other passengers intervened earlier... yank the cell phone out of her hands and hand it over to the crew for return to her when she gets off the train.. problem solved.
ccltrains A while back I was in line to check in at the airline counter and the person a couple of people in front of me was not getting his way. He started yelling "Do you know who I am?" The counter agent quietly picked up the public address microphone and said "Your attention please. There is a gentleman here who does not know who he is. Does anyone recognize him?" I think the arrogant traveler crawled under the carpet. When my turn came I told the agent great job and gave her a high sign. The agent gave me a free upgrade without me asking.
A while back I was in line to check in at the airline counter and the person a couple of people in front of me was not getting his way. He started yelling "Do you know who I am?" The counter agent quietly picked up the public address microphone and said "Your attention please. There is a gentleman here who does not know who he is. Does anyone recognize him?" I think the arrogant traveler crawled under the carpet. When my turn came I told the agent great job and gave her a high sign. The agent gave me a free upgrade without me asking.
I might believe you if I had not heard that story years ago.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
When my cell phone rings in a public place (restaurant,meeting, etc) I leave the room for the duration of the call. That way I am not bothering fellow restaurant patrons and my call is semi private. When someone nearby is so rude as to not leave the area for his call I keep on with my conversation in its previous volume. If the person on the phone complains I tell him that the restaurant is the oddest looking phone booth I have ever seen. That usually sends the message to them.
On a similar tact I enjoy watching people throwing their weight around and generally making a rectum of themselves. A while back I was in line to check in at the airline counter and the person a couple of people in front of me was not getting his way. He started yelling "Do you know who I am?" The counter agent quietly picked up the public address microphone and said "Your attention please. There is a gentleman here who does not know who he is. Does anyone recognize him?" I think the arrogant traveler crawled under the carpet. When my turn came I told the agent great job and gave her a high sign. The agent gave me a free upgrade without me asking.
The Conductor was the one to make the decision to puit that woman off the train--His second mistake was not doing it while the train was at track speed--she'd still be bouncing!
Paul_D_North_Jr "+1" to NKP guy's post above, and also Don's. The problem would have been obvious after just an hour. Why not put her off before departure - or at least closer to the point of departure - than all the way up in Oregon ? And could she really have gotten good cell phone signal reception on the Amtrak/ UP (ex-SP) route in the wilderness portions of the northern California Coast Range and Siskiyou Mountains in Oregon ? If you think about it seriously, she must also be having one or multiple mental/ emotional/ personal/ awareness/ politeness "issues" of some kinds, besides the obvious ones . . . Unfortunately, this demonstrates a major reason why many people are reluctant to use public transportation - they won't be exposed to this if they drive their own car, or take an airplane where the cell phone rules are enforced more strictly (and passengers are of course screened by TSA before boarding). What if she'd tried that stunt on an airplane ? Yes, they'd have put her off - but after landing first, and then again into the custody of local police.* But if you ride a bus or a train, you're vulnerable to people with all kinds of problems. At least on a train, you might be able to get up and find another car - or at least another seat - further away from the culprit. More broadly, this is also an often unexamined and unstated reason why people don't want to live closer together in multi-family housing such as townhouses, condominiums, apartments, etc., or even in dense urban areas. The inability and ineffectiveness of society to educate, "socialize" (train), prevent, suppress, or ultimately police against this kind of "quality of life" problem - esp. noise - is what drives people to live in suburbs, sprawled out so as to minimize the risks and effects of these kinds of problems. But what that means is that aggregating enough working people for effective use of mass transit such as trains or light rail becomes far more difficult, and at both ends - the 'origin' at the 'bedroom community', and the 'destination' at the 'urban core', because there isn;t one any more - it too is all spread out. *(Part of me wonders about the jurisdictional aspects of this kind of event. The 'criminal acts' presumably occurred some miles before = outside the legal jurisdictional limits of the town where she was thrown off - so on what legitimate basis do the local cops have to hold her ? They didn't personally witness the bad behavior, which is sometimes required to prosecute misdemeanor offenses such as this. So presumably they did that on the 'say-so' of the train's conductor and maybe a few bold passengers - but did thos epeople from the train have to sign a formal written complaint, or an affidavit of some kind, etc. ? Where will the hearing be held ? Will they have to come back and testify to provide the necessary evidence in person ? Just curious about the mechanics of it, that's all . . . ) It'll be mildly interesting to see what else comes out about this event - "the rest of the story". If nothing else, a few comedians will have fun with it. I bet it'll show up on this week's edition of "Wait, wait - don't tell me . . . ". - Paul North.
"+1" to NKP guy's post above, and also Don's. The problem would have been obvious after just an hour. Why not put her off before departure - or at least closer to the point of departure - than all the way up in Oregon ?
And could she really have gotten good cell phone signal reception on the Amtrak/ UP (ex-SP) route in the wilderness portions of the northern California Coast Range and Siskiyou Mountains in Oregon ?
If you think about it seriously, she must also be having one or multiple mental/ emotional/ personal/ awareness/ politeness "issues" of some kinds, besides the obvious ones . . .
Unfortunately, this demonstrates a major reason why many people are reluctant to use public transportation - they won't be exposed to this if they drive their own car, or take an airplane where the cell phone rules are enforced more strictly (and passengers are of course screened by TSA before boarding). What if she'd tried that stunt on an airplane ? Yes, they'd have put her off - but after landing first, and then again into the custody of local police.* But if you ride a bus or a train, you're vulnerable to people with all kinds of problems. At least on a train, you might be able to get up and find another car - or at least another seat - further away from the culprit.
More broadly, this is also an often unexamined and unstated reason why people don't want to live closer together in multi-family housing such as townhouses, condominiums, apartments, etc., or even in dense urban areas. The inability and ineffectiveness of society to educate, "socialize" (train), prevent, suppress, or ultimately police against this kind of "quality of life" problem - esp. noise - is what drives people to live in suburbs, sprawled out so as to minimize the risks and effects of these kinds of problems. But what that means is that aggregating enough working people for effective use of mass transit such as trains or light rail becomes far more difficult, and at both ends - the 'origin' at the 'bedroom community', and the 'destination' at the 'urban core', because there isn;t one any more - it too is all spread out.
*(Part of me wonders about the jurisdictional aspects of this kind of event. The 'criminal acts' presumably occurred some miles before = outside the legal jurisdictional limits of the town where she was thrown off - so on what legitimate basis do the local cops have to hold her ? They didn't personally witness the bad behavior, which is sometimes required to prosecute misdemeanor offenses such as this. So presumably they did that on the 'say-so' of the train's conductor and maybe a few bold passengers - but did thos epeople from the train have to sign a formal written complaint, or an affidavit of some kind, etc. ? Where will the hearing be held ? Will they have to come back and testify to provide the necessary evidence in person ? Just curious about the mechanics of it, that's all . . . )
It'll be mildly interesting to see what else comes out about this event - "the rest of the story". If nothing else, a few comedians will have fun with it. I bet it'll show up on this week's edition of "Wait, wait - don't tell me . . . ".
Joe Jones must have known her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBrKDpNAVSU
"No soup for you!" - Yev Kassem (from Seinfeld)
A few of these comments remind me of a story that has become a part of our family's folklore
When our two boys were young (and before everyone had their own cellphones!), my dear wife was explaining why we needed to limit their time on the family telephone. In response to their pleas, she said, "No one should ever need to be on a call more than 45 minutes!"
Literally, just then, the phone rang. It was a dear friend of hers, with whom she hadn't spoken for some time. When the call ended, some hour-and-a-half later, she sheepishly returned to the earlier conversation with a somewhat different attitude!
I have no problem with the concept of being able to talk to someone -- or several people -- for as long as 16 hours (if that is what actually happened).
But I do have a problem with doing so in a self-centered manner that disturbs others. Respect for others seems to be a trait which elludes many in our society.
You are making the assumption that it was a single phone call and not a series of phone calls to different people with small breaks in between over a period of 16 hours.
Apparently battery life wasn't an issue - she was plugged into an Amtrak-provided charging station.
I don't know that I've ever had a 16 hour conversation with anyone face-to-face. I really doubt I'd be able to do so on the phone.
Still, I'm amazed that people can have a cell-phone conversation that runs the entire time they're in a grocery store. I can only hope that the conversation wasn't carried on as they drove to the store, and when they drove away...
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