The Andrew Turnbull Web Journal / The Idle Pen
Have you seen any Andy Rooney segments on the old Sixty Minutes? He found much to criticize about some of the things we took for granted in daily life. He was quite funny. I think you share a certain point of view with him. Oh, I guess he's still working--don't know if he's still the curmudgeon he once was, though.
I remember, when I bought my Motorola v60 back two years ago, I had intended to use it only in case I actually needed it while I was out somewhere, a bit like a payphone. Of course, as people found out that I owned a cellphone, they'd ask what the number to it was, and therein stopped using the landline here at my house to call me. That got expensive, so I had its phone number changed.
In the past year I've seen that people actually carry around phones as a status symbol. To them, it's all about how many MP3s you can fit on the 1GB MiniSD card that came with the phone, or how far in the 1.3-megapixel camera can zoom in. Strangely enough I'm somehow considered to be at the end of the spectrum, that is, not owning one at all: the philosophy is that a black-and-white screen without MP3 playback, a camera, "ringtone" support, and so on, isn't a cellphone at all. If it'll get them to call me on the landline instead of a nonexistant cellphone, then I'm not complaining.
I couldn't agree more, no person in my family owns a cell phone. I believe that we are much better off without these devices, they are a waste of money. Some phones cost nearly $500 and the service contracts are ridiculous. When I need to catch up with friends, I use payphones which have the advantage of charging me only for the time I need. Everyday I see people glued on to their phones in a desperate attempt to not leave any of their "minutes" unused. I also agree that these devices are gaining popularity as status symbols, especially in HighSchools. I used to see people displaying as many as three phones in their holsters, as if they were emulating the cowboys of the wild west. Its nice to know that there are still some people who have not bought into this consumerist scam.
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