Pet Hate
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Mike -- when I read the title "Pet Hate" I thought I was going to read something about pets. 8O
Its actually quite easy to make electrical devices that will produce electrical interference. The problem is they are indiscriminate. They can not only mess up cell phones but also tv's radios -- but worst of all they could interfere with the operation of pacemakers. If they produce magnetic fields they can damage computer storage media and things like video tape. If strong enough (just scaled up) they could potentially interfere with airplane/control tower communications. It's no wonder that devices that produce electrical interference are highly regulated.
Regards, Ross
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I find myself, when in that particular mood, responding to "our" side of the conversation as if it were directed at me...which it is by it's loud nature.
I thought this little article on the subject was interesting:
"Cell phone blocker: illegal?
By Fred Locklear | Published: June 30, 2002 - 10:26PM CTLast week there was much hubbub about low-tech wood panels which block cell phone signals. Now restaurants and movie theatres can be built which spare customers from the annoying rings from chatty patrons. Well not so fast. There are a handful of companies who have developed active cell phone jammers, but the US and other countries have laws against telecommunication jamming. The 1934 Telecommunications Act makes it illegal to inhibit the use of public airwaves (which covers active jamming of transmissions). This Wired news story points out the blocking material developed in Japan may fall into gray areas of the law. Because the Japanese material absorbs cell phone signals instead of actively blocking or jamming, it may not be prohibited by the 1934 act. While it may be up to the courts to decide, don't count on them to declare the technology legal. In the aftermath of Sept. 11th the courts should look to keep cell phone access open in all public places. Ringing phones in restaurants and theatres may cause headaches and ruffled feathers, but it is the uncourteous cell phone user and not the signal that needs to be blocked."
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While many restaurant and theatre patrons would probably agree that people shouldn't be having cellular conversations in those establishments I suspect many of the same people actually leave their own phones turned on. Imagine an exhausted young couple out for a well-deserved dinner while a baby-sitter is home with the twins. The parents would want their phone on in case of an emergency. Like them, many people emotionally see their cell phones as lifelines and avoid turning them off. I suspect such people are actually a large percentage of cell-phone users. What I'm getting at is restaurants that use products or systems that make cell phones not work might well find themselves without customers!
For every jerk you see in a restaurant yapping loudly on a cell phone there might be twenty other phones turned on in a pocket or purse. Jerks are jerks: Even with a cell phone that is turned off they'll still be jerks!
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I agree with you Ross. But it is still bloody annoying
Tom, The last sentence of your quote says it all, 'but it is
the uncourteous cell phone user and not the signal that needs
to be blocked'.I imagine if the loud mobile phone user is speaking well above
normal tone he / she should just be told to turn down the volume.I have to laugh every time I think of my father when he first
got a home phone back in 1960. He hated answering the phone
but when he had to he'd hold it about 6" from his ear and in
a loud voice call out the telephone number. The person at the
other end of the line also had to shout for my father to hear
him. It was very funny to watch and we used to tell him that
he didn't need a phone at all. In normal conversation he was a
quietly spoken man ! -
I wonder are mobile phones running some people lives.
I agree that they are very useful and I was very quick
in getting two mobiles for my daughters 15 years ago
when they started going out to discos and such. I just
felt safe in the thought that they could contact me
should they find themselves in any trouble. Also being
contactable by a babysitter is very important.Even though hand use of mobile phone while driving is
against the law over here I still see a lot of it going
on and its women are by far the biggest offenders! I know
this activity is a cause of accidents but it is difficult
to prove it. I have yet to hear about anyone being prosecuted
for doing it. Maybe somebody should come up with some
device that would block hand held use of mobiles in
vehicles that are moving? -
Fortunately in my "regular Corner Bar" - which is actually an old wine cellar - mobile phone signals are so weak that even if you get a "ring in", you cannot just "pick up" and talk but you need to go out to make sure you hera the other end (and also that you are heard).
This gives us the chance to be free of jerks. Certainly they "yell" at the beginning but no avail...
I love this...
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No way, cellphone blockage is a no go for me. I can't imagine living without my phone anymore. I get about 30-40 emails a day, be it uni or work or personal related. There is no way I want to miss them because my cellphone and thuss inet signal is blocked by some jackass who thinks his peace is more important than my mail.
These things are and indeed should be illegal, yes I know it's annoying when someone sits in a traincoupe and starts talking loudly on his or her cellphone, foreign people have a tendency to do this. Talking in a different language and above that also talking very loudly. But you are sitting in the same coupe as them I mean you have a choise where you sit. There are a lot of places where cellphone usage is restricted in public.
Myself I speak in a low voice and my cellphone is always on triple vibrate and then it starts ringing. And I have a reasonably decent ringtone, not one of those annoying ones. So when someone calls me other people won't be bothered I make sure of that. Partially because I want my conversation to be personal. So not everyone has to hear it.
Though buying a blocker is not done, I mean for those who want peace and no noise, go to a restaurant that does not allow cellphone usage in the restaurant. For a train go sit in the silent coupe. etc etc. There are ways around these jerks. Though taking right in your own hands and blocking their signal makes you the yerk in my opinion.
Edit:
What I find to be more annoying is little children that just won't shut up when told, or who keep crying the whole frakking train ride. Or banging the back of your seat. Now that should be illegal
. A roll of duct tape is going to be my new babyshower gift. -
@mike lucey said:
I agree that they are very useful and I was very quick in getting two mobiles for my daughters 15 years ago
when they started going out to discos and such.15 YEARS AGO?!!!
Jeez Mike, I bet that cramped their style at the discoteque! (see attachment).
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Yes, I also remember the fist mobiles and those people showing off with a suitcase and a receiver attached to it!
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LOL
My first mobile was the Motorola 8200 (I think) with the 'long life'( 6 hours if not used) additional battery (monster add-on), I needed to wear a belt everyday so that this monster could clip without pulling my trousers down. I remember back then folk walking in circles in the mall trying to get better signals...
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Mike,
You must loooove these sketches
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I remember once when we were doing some combined archaeological and spal(a)eological researches far in the mountains near a very small village where there was almost no signal anywhere - just some faint one at a special point (it moved around day by day).
We needed to mark it with a piece of rock and to queue/line up while the others were phoning to be able to get "into our virtual telephone box".There was one real public phone box in the village, on the "main square" (actually where all the three streets met). Anyone who wanted to call us, called that phonebox and the kids playing around it picked up the phone and rushed into our "camp" to tell who was called.
But those were really peaceful and quiet days for sure. Every evening we cooked something at an open camp fire and played soccer at night with the helmets and light on our heads (surely after serious amount of booze) or went down to the edge of the forest and "helped" the deer stags troat (of course we had to run at the end all the time
)
Well, I went off-topic a little bit
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@unknownuser said:
@mike lucey said:
I agree that they are very useful and I was very quick in getting two mobiles for my daughters 15 years ago
when they started going out to discos and such.15 YEARS AGO?!!!
Jeez Mike, I bet that cramped their style at the discoteque! (see attachment).
No, not really, I did however get the odd call at 3.30am on a Saturday night.
'Daaaaad, could you collect me, I can't get a taxi!' Sometimes I miss being
the old taxi driver ..... but again not so much at 3.30am
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