O/T: Ramblings of a Retired Mind

[Lew Hodgett]

Enjoy

Lew

-------------------------------------------------- I was thinking about how a status symbol of today is those cell phones that everyone has clipped onto their belt or purse.

I can't afford one. So, I'm wearing my garage door opener.

I also made a cover for my hearing aid and now I have what they call blue teeth, I think.

You know, I spent a fortune on deodorant before I realized that people didn't like me anyway.

I was thinking that women should put pictures of missing husbands on beer cans!

I was thinking about old age and decided that old age is 'when you still have something on the ball, but you are just too tired to bounce it.'

I thought about making a fitness movie for folks my age, and call it 'Pumping Rust'.

I've gotten that dreaded furniture disease. That's when your chest is falling into your drawers!

When people see a cat's litter box, they always say, 'Oh, have you got a cat?'

Just once I want to say, 'No, it's for company!'

Employment application blanks always ask who is to be notified in case of an emergency. I think you should write, 'A Good Doctor'!

Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do...write to these men?

Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen could look for them while they deliver the mail?

Or better yet, arrest them while they are taking their pictures!

I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older.

Then, it dawned on me, they were cramming for their finals.

As for me, I'm just hoping God grades on the curve.

[RonB]

Your subject line got my attention. I'm supposed to receive my first federal stimulus (SS) deposit tomorrow.

We have gone the opposite direction with phones. Last year we relocated to SE Kansas and started building our retirement home. We decided to use cells only until we moved into the new house. We moved in. It is wired for several phones, but after 1-1/2 years without a land-line we can't come up with a compelling reason to have one.

Some folks tell us that not being listed in the directory is a disadvantage.

Depends on your point of view.

--------------------------------

Contacting a "Good Doctor" brought back a fond memory of a recently deceased cousin:

He and his wife lived in Wyoming. They had family and friends in Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma. Nearly every year they would do their 'grand tour' and drive to visit all, sometimes throwing in Nebraska, Missouri and Arkansas for fun. His wife passed a few years ago. A year ago last summer he announced hat he was going to make the tour, during the autumn, anyway.

By himself.

His daughters nearly crapped. He as 82 years old and "had no business" making a 3,000 - 4,000 mile drive alone.

He responded that he had spent a great deal of time in planning the route and all of the stops. Each of the overnight destinations had a hospital and a mortuary. Either was he was taken care of.

They weren't impressed.

In the end, health intervened and he passed before his trip but this last bit of planning wisdom should have been carved on this stone. It was a good example of how he thought and lived.

[Swingman]

Damn ... how much we getting? It follows that mine should be here next week, but I knew nothing about it. It probably won't pay the phone bill. :(

[Leon]

For starters, a land line can be much much less expensive and requires very little maintance.

Not being in the dirrectory is a disadvangate. It costs extra to keep it out.

I see no advantage to having it in the dirrectory. The people that you want to know will not need the dirrectory.

Think of the dirrectory as the "Do Call List"

[Leon]

And did you hear that the government has announced that it made a mistake on a bunch of those $400 and $800 stimulus checks. Those that should not have received the check will have to pay it back.

Now let me see. The government encouraged every one to actually spend those checks to stimulate the economy. Now the government wants back the money that we spent, per their instructions. That could un-stimulate the economy or at best indicate that the program was worthless to begin with.

[RonB]

SS =3D Social Security ;^}

[Swingman]

That's what I'm talking about ... :)

How much? Gotta see what I can contribute to Robin Lee for xmas.

[Pat Barber]

Verizon management has acknowledged that the land line business is gone....

Never coming back.

We are now down to 2 major wireless carriers and the cost of talking is 200% higher than with a land line.

People don't want a phone...they want entertainment.

So...how smart is the public ?

R> Your subject line got my attention. I'm supposed to receive my first

[RonB]

Yes, if you text, game and use the hand-held internet it can get very expensive. We have a basic Verizon (was Alltel) plan and we use them to TALK (imagine). With the Friends and Family, we have virtually no long distance cost. I had to have cell with my business and we travel a fair amount so we would have cells anyway. No reason for the hard- wire.

Ron

[Leon]

Probably true for Verison. I suspect that AT&T might argue with that thought especially since they now use those land lines to deliver TV, VOIP, and faster than DSL internet service.

[diggerop]

We changed over to VOIP when we went from dialup to high speed internet some time back. Landline to landline anywhere in Oz is free of charge. Outside Oz incurs a charge. We went from $130/month phone bills plus $30/month for dialup to $80/month for a 100Mbps service with no phone costs. So far, it's been totally reliable. Lots of people waiting to convert, infrastructure for the service can't keep up with demand.

diggerop

[Greg G]

They'll have to pry my land line phone out my cold, dead hands. I put the cell under the rear tire and backed over it. Problem solved. No disappearing paid for minutes, no brain cancer, no interruptions during that $100 dinner, no tracking my location, no theft invitation. I'll call back at MY convenience. So when you hit a tree, drive into a ditch, have flat tire or your battery dies - call AAA.

Greg G.

[Swingman]

Same batteries my cell phone uses ... go figure!

[Swingman]

Same batteries my cell phone uses ... go figure!

[Swingman]

Same batteries my cell phone uses ... go figure!

[Swingman]

Farking Thunderbird ...

>

[Lew Hodgett]

Don't have a cell.

Don't plan on getting one.

Don't need an electronic nurse maid hooked on my belt.

Call land line and leave message.

May return it, may not.

Customers' calls get returned.

Lew

[Greg G]

A post for each, A, eh? :)

Isn't that a bit odd? Most I've seen use packs, but I've not used one in 4 years.

I still vividly remember working in Tampa when cells first entered the market. Was following a guy to the home of an ex-NBA basketball star in Carollwood to work on his "home entertainment center" as he got a phone call and proceeded to drive his van off the road and 200 feet into someone's yard, stopped in a flowerbed and finished the conversation. The owner was not amused. Shortly after that FL outlawed driving while phoning, which is easily as dangerous a violation as driving with a .08-.12 BAL. Few possess the mental acuity to do both at the same time.

Greg G.

[CW]

I can and if I lived in tornado alley like you do, it would be even more important to me. Cell phone providers generally oversell their systems by about 75%. Their thinking is that no more than 25% of their subscribers will be using the phone at any one time. They are right, usually. In the case of natural (or unnatural) disaster, the cell system gets so jammed that it is useless. Many people will try to claim otherwise but I have seen it time after time. Same will happen with emergency services due to the trunking system many places are using. At least around here (Seattle) they were smart enough to plan for that and they retained their old frequencies for backup. I have a land line ($55 per month). I also have a cell phone ($16.50 per month) that I use for most everything (including texting which is half rate and long distance which is no additional charge) but I will not give up my land line. In a disaster situation (such as the earthquake we had here some years back) cell phones were, as usual, useless. Between my land line and 2 meter radio, communication was no problem.

[Greg G]

Cell phones are no good when the towers blow down in a hurricane or tornado, or are overloaded, as you point out.

You're on the right track with the radio! When the big one falls, HAMs will be among the few not running around like decapitated chickens. Keep a hank long wire antenna stashed for emergencies.

(For a toe tapping dystopian scenario, listen to Steely Dan, King of the World - 1976)

Greg G.