wjskw@BELLSOUTH.NET on tue 11 jan 05
Have to agree with you about the phones Dave. My phone is glued to
me 24/7, but I run a business, and it has to be. Clients calling
from all over the world day and night (sigh)...when they're not
e-mailing me. I wouldn't be half a successful if I couldn't
instantly connect clients with the subcontractors (isn't three way
calling a true labor saving device?)
I just wish more folks would actually READ the manual that came with
the blasted things. You know, useful information like how to
connect a hands-free earpiece, so when you're driving that land
yacht down that narrow street, you have both your hands free for the
Double Whopper with cheese and biggie fries you're trying to cram
into your craw, and not have to steer with your elbows. (Have you
seen the bumper sticker that reads: "Hang up and DRIVE!"?) Or how
to use the "ring once" feature, so that the 1812 Overture (in
annoying beeps yet) doesn't sound incessantly in the movie
theater...oops, for that you should probably use "vibrate"...no
noise. (Then the yahoo looks around, and says "Oh, is that
MEEEE??!!") Idiot! =20
I watched a waitress, excuse me, waitperson or waitron, take a
person's cell phone out of their ear while standing there patiently
waiting for an order (this was a high-end restaurant, not fast food)
from a loud, obnoxious (oblivious) boor and place it on the table in
front of him. She then proceeded to pour a pitcher of water on it,
grin, and walk away. She probably lost her job, but I was not the
only one applauding in the room.
On the other hand, they can be useful devices. My dog finds them
extremely tasty, once softened enough to chew by tossing it into the
pool, but maybe that's just the leather case. And as a potter,
there is nothing like being able to answer a call (or make one, in a
pinch) using that same hands-free device while you're up to your
elbows in a tall vase on the wheel, or pulling raku from a kiln.
Yeah, I know, you should probably stop what you're doing and make
(take) that call, but sometimes time is limited. " Hi! How tall did
you say you needed that vase?" Just tuck in the cord, so the
earpiece doesn't get caught in the clay...RIIIIP!
For me, though, the best use of a cell phone is to set the alarm to
go off (after a time) when I've been chatting with an overly
talkative client..."oops...sorry, please excuse me, I have to take
this" and then run for my life
Just like electric wheels, electric kilns, glow-in-the-dark glazes,
cell phones are here to stay. We just need to come up with an
"etiquette" for using them. Now, I only have to convince myself
that it's not a case of "putting a bell on the cat" when it comes to
calls from my partner.
Best,
Wayne Seidl
Hi!
snip for space
Now, I know, lots of folks use cell phones rudely. Heck,
after a full century with cars we still can't even be civil to each
other using them. How long will it take to become civilized with
cell phones? I don't know...but I think it's worth using them long
enough to find out.
Good potting!
Dave Finkelnburg, still waiting to read an answer to
Mark's question...where to go...Baltimore or Annapolis?
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