FARGO, North Dakota (AP) -- A man who said he was fed up with his cellular
phone service went to a Fargo mall and started hurling phones across a
store, striking an employee and causing more than $2,000 in damage,
authorities said.

Jason Perala, 22, of Fargo, told The Forum newspaper that he planned only to
yell at employees at Verizon Wireless.

"Then I just lost it," he said. "I just started grabbing computers and
phones and throwing them. I just destroyed the place. ... I kind of regret
that I did it, but I hope my message got across."

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


I hate verizon too, lol.

Rich

On Fri, 14 May 2004 23:59:39 GMT, Rich wrote:
FARGO, North Dakota (AP) -- A man who said he was fed up with his cellular
phone service went to a Fargo mall and started hurling phones across a
store, striking an employee and causing more than $2,000 in damage,
authorities said.

Ya know, I have a Verizon phone. If I ever see that guy with the
glasses doing his "can you hear me now" thing, I might do something similar.

I have to admit, though, that they do subscribe to the idea of "truth
in advertizing". I find myself saying "Can you hear me now" rather often
when on my Verizon phone. It's usually followed by static, swearing,
and so on, but at least the catch-phrase is accurate.

I throw my cell phone every time i get a call in from the mill............
I too hate cell phones.......
daviswoodshop
"Rich" wrote in message
.com...
FARGO, North Dakota (AP) -- A man who said he was fed up with his cellular
phone service went to a Fargo mall and started hurling phones across a
store, striking an employee and causing more than $2,000 in damage,
authorities said.

Jason Perala, 22, of Fargo, told The Forum newspaper that he planned only
to
yell at employees at Verizon Wireless.

"Then I just lost it," he said. "I just started grabbing computers and
phones and throwing them. I just destroyed the place. ... I kind of regret
that I did it, but I hope my message got across."

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


I hate verizon too, lol.

Rich

sawdust writes:
I throw my cell phone every time i get a call in from the mill............
I too hate cell phones......

I think they're mildly amusing, about like wet gumballs, so I don't have one.
Had one for a year and mostly kept it plugged into its charger, where I'd
forget it.


Charlie Self
"In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence
is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of
office." Ambrose Bierce

"Charlie Self" wrote in message
...
sawdust writes:
I throw my cell phone every time i get a call in from the
mill............
I too hate cell phones......

I think they're mildly amusing, about like wet gumballs, so I don't have
one.
Had one for a year and mostly kept it plugged into its charger, where I'd
forget it.


a cell phone is an electronic leash.

randy

On Sat, 15 May 2004 03:51:25 -0600, "xrongor"
wrote:

a cell phone is an electronic leash.

Or a freedom machine for some folks.

It beats sitting by a phone when you're on call.

Barry

Randy responds:

a cell phone is an electronic leash.

Yup. So is a pager. I used to have a friend who was delighted when his boss
gave him a pager. It proved his importance. Every time that damned thing
buzzed, he leapt into action.

Bleah!

Charlie Self
"In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence
is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of
office." Ambrose Bierce

Ever notice how some folks take it as a sign of status to hide behind staff
or electronic devices with built-in deniability?

I prefer to do business with people who answer their own phone. They may
not be as important as the dodgers, but they sure make me feel as if I am.

"Charlie Self" wrote in message
...
Randy responds:

a cell phone is an electronic leash.

Yup. So is a pager. I used to have a friend who was delighted when his
boss
gave him a pager. It proved his importance. Every time that damned thing
buzzed, he leapt into action.

On Fri, 14 May 2004 23:59:39 GMT, "Rich"
wrote:

FARGO, North Dakota (AP) -- A man who said he was fed up with his cellular
phone service went to a Fargo mall and started hurling phones across a
store

Were they wooden phones?

Bill.

Charlie Self wrote:

Randy responds:

a cell phone is an electronic leash.

Yup. So is a pager. I used to have a friend who was delighted when his boss
gave him a pager.

snip

I was too, but it was more because it's an extra $8,000 per year for carrying it,
plus "time and a half" if it goes off.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA
(Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

George notes:

Ever notice how some folks take it as a sign of status to hide behind staff
or electronic devices with built-in deniability?

I prefer to do business with people who answer their own phone. They may
not be as important as the dodgers, but they sure make me feel as if I am.

Oddly enough, the most important people I know, in terms of business at least,
are quickly available by phone to almost any caller. The prissiest twits who
want to play "Mr. [or Ms} Important" and cycle you through a lot of crap tend
not to be a lot of help anyway.

Charlie Self
"In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence
is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of
office." Ambrose Bierce

In article , wrote:
On Fri, 14 May 2004 23:59:39 GMT, "Rich"
wrote:

FARGO, North Dakota (AP) -- A man who said he was fed up with his cellular
phone service went to a Fargo mall and started hurling phones across a
store

Were they wooden phones?

If they had been, the thread wouldn't be labelled "off topic". :-)

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

For a copy of my TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter,
send email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com
You must use your REAL email address to get a response.

On Sat, 15 May 2004 10:42:45 -0400, Nova wrote:

Charlie Self wrote:

Randy responds:

a cell phone is an electronic leash.

Yup. So is a pager. I used to have a friend who was delighted when his
boss gave him a pager.

snip

I was too, but it was more because it's an extra $8,000 per year for
carrying it, plus "time and a half" if it goes off.

Did you request 3 or 4 more ;-)

-Doug

--
"A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always
depend on the support of Paul." - George Bernard Shaw

xrongor wrote:


a cell phone is an electronic leash.

piffle!
try walking around with one of these in your belt all day
http://www.motorola.com/cgiss/portab...er.shtml#specs

--
--
John G. in Memphis, TN Have a nice......... night.
http://www.shavings.net/images/Memphis/reflect_john.jpg

In article ,
otforme says...

I think they're mildly amusing, about like wet gumballs, so I don't have one.
Had one for a year and mostly kept it plugged into its charger, where I'd
forget it.

We've got one that gets turned on when one of us goes somewhere
without the other just in case. And we take it on trips, but
only a couple of neighbors and relatives have the number.

Now the idiots that use them while hurtling down the
highways, ...

--
Where ARE those Iraqi WMDs?

Yep, that's what I've noticed.

"Charlie Self" wrote in message
...
George notes:

Ever notice how some folks take it as a sign of status to hide behind
staff
or electronic devices with built-in deniability?

I prefer to do business with people who answer their own phone. They may
not be as important as the dodgers, but they sure make me feel as if I
am.

Oddly enough, the most important people I know, in terms of business at
least,
are quickly available by phone to almost any caller. The prissiest twits
who
want to play "Mr. [or Ms} Important" and cycle you through a lot of crap
tend
not to be a lot of help anyway.

Jack Novak responds:

Yup. So is a pager. I used to have a friend who was delighted when his boss
gave him a pager.

snip

I was too, but it was more because it's an extra $8,000 per year for carrying
it,
plus "time and a half" if it goes off.

Louis got squat unless it went off, at which time he got straight time. Life in
a non-union state for a boss who could afford the pager, but not much else.

Charlie Self
"In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence
is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of
office." Ambrose Bierce

Larry Blanchard responds:

I think they're mildly amusing, about like wet gumballs, so I don't have
one.
Had one for a year and mostly kept it plugged into its charger, where I'd
forget it.

We've got one that gets turned on when one of us goes somewhere
without the other just in case. And we take it on trips, but
only a couple of neighbors and relatives have the number.

Now the idiots that use them while hurtling down the
highways, ...

Yes, like the guy this morning, blowing down Grand Central, lane closest to the
double strip, cell phone to his ear and staring to his right. It got me to move
ALLLLLLLLL the way to my right!

Charlie Self
"In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence
is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of
office." Ambrose Bierce

Can't. They've been discontinued since 2002.

Kevin
--
=====
Where are those Iraqi WMDs, NOW?


"JG" wrote in message
...

try walking around with one of these in your belt all day
http://www.motorola.com/cgiss/portab...er.shtml#specs

Agreed Charlie, I don't have one either. If only those people that really
needed cell phones had them, it would probably not be a viable business.
Used to be, people valued their privacy. Now, everyone has to "keep in
touch", an idea that was pushed by the cell phone industry to sell their
product.


"Charlie Self" wrote in message
...
sawdust writes:
I throw my cell phone every time i get a call in from the
mill............
I too hate cell phones......

I think they're mildly amusing, about like wet gumballs, so I don't have
one.
Had one for a year and mostly kept it plugged into its charger, where I'd
forget it.


Charlie Self
"In our civilization, and under our republican form of government,
intelligence
is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of
office." Ambrose Bierce

On Sat, 15 May 2004 12:08:40 -0700, CW wrote:
Agreed Charlie, I don't have one either. If only those people that really
needed cell phones had them, it would probably not be a viable business.
Used to be, people valued their privacy. Now, everyone has to "keep in
touch", an idea that was pushed by the cell phone industry to sell their
product.

I work in IT, in the mortgage industry. If our systems are down, my
boss loses an immense amount of money per minute of downtime. For
me, part of the job is being not only reachable, but able to act
at very short notice.

Not saying everyone with the cellphone welded to their ear is in
the same boat, but the business world has changed such that at least
some of the folks walking around with the "electronic leash" really
don't have a choice in the matter anymore.

Dave Hinz

Agreed Charlie, I don't have one either. If only those people that really
needed cell phones had them, it would probably not be a viable business.
Used to be, people valued their privacy. Now, everyone has to "keep in
touch", an idea that was pushed by the cell phone industry to sell their
product.


Ya know, if I remember the stories correctly, that is exactly what old folks
said about "regular" phones when they were just coming into everyday use in
most homes. "Hell, if someone wants to talk to me they can ride their horse out
to the farm and talk to me. Don't need no damn contraption lettin' people
bother me in my own home. Besides, that 'lectricity stuff will probably fry
your brain."

Dave Hinz wrote:
On Sat, 15 May 2004 12:08:40 -0700, CW
wrote:
Agreed Charlie, I don't have one either. If only those people that
really needed cell phones had them, it would probably not be a
viable business. Used to be, people valued their privacy. Now,
everyone has to "keep in touch", an idea that was pushed by the cell
phone industry to sell their product.

I work in IT, in the mortgage industry. If our systems are down, my
boss loses an immense amount of money per minute of downtime. For
me, part of the job is being not only reachable, but able to act
at very short notice.

Not saying everyone with the cellphone welded to their ear is in
the same boat, but the business world has changed such that at least
some of the folks walking around with the "electronic leash" really
don't have a choice in the matter anymore.

Dave Hinz

Funny, isn't it that the people who comment on how they appreciate the
ability to reach the important people they reach out to - that those people
answer their phones, are the very people who have so much to say about the
technologies which enable this contact.
--

-Mike-

In article ,
"CW" wrote:

Agreed Charlie, I don't have one either. If only those people that really
needed cell phones had them, it would probably not be a viable business.
Used to be, people valued their privacy. Now, everyone has to "keep in
touch", an idea that was pushed by the cell phone industry to sell their
product.

Hmm, funny really. For me, a cell phone really helps me keep my privacy
in many ways. I have an unlisted cell phone number with caller-ID
blocking. I use caller ID on my phone (yes, I am a hypocrite). Very,
very few people have my cell phone number. Once in a while I might give
it to a delivery service, but if they ever called me twice they will get
a whole load of crap. My home number has no voice mail and often goes
unanswered.

This way I only get calls from people I want them from and only answer
them at my convenience. If I don't want to be interrupted I put it on
silent or turn it off. For me, this allows me to be out a great deal
(particularly long outdoor photo sessions) and still remain in contact
with the people I want to, yet ignore the rest of the world when I wish.

This has made my life richer without becoming a hermit.

Don't be so quick to judge how we use our phones.

In article ,
CW wrote:
Agreed Charlie, I don't have one either. If only those people that really
needed cell phones had them, it would probably not be a viable business.
Used to be, people valued their privacy. Now, everyone has to "keep in
touch", an idea that was pushed by the cell phone industry to sell their
product.

A long time ago I had to go 500+ miles to respond to a family
emergency. I'm on the road at 10pm and need to call and say I'll be
there at 2am - but how can I call? I found a rest stop which was just
closing and they let me in under the gate to place an "emergency call".

I got back from that trip and got my first cell phone (a "bag phone"
for the car.)

Then I realized that if my wife and daughter took it with them on
trips that they would be safer.

So I can't imagine doing without one (or more.)
--
--henry schaffer
hes _AT_ ncsu _DOT_ edu

CW responds:

Agreed Charlie, I don't have one either. If only those people that really
needed cell phones had them, it would probably not be a viable business.
Used to be, people valued their privacy. Now, everyone has to "keep in
touch", an idea that was pushed by the cell phone industry to sell their
product.

Yes. Keep in touch for what? How much is going to change here in the 3 days
I'll be out next week that will be of major importance to me? The need for
constantly being patted on the back, or constantly patting someone on the back,
is something of an illness, IMHO, related strongly to the sickness of being
unable to sit still and think without some kind of background noise filling the
air.

Charlie Self
"In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence
is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of
office." Ambrose Bierce

Mike Marlow responds:

Funny, isn't it that the people who comment on how they appreciate the
ability to reach the important people they reach out to - that those people
answer their phones, are the very people who have so much to say about the
technologies which enable this contact.

Funny isn't it that every person I was writing of has been answering phones
that way since the '50s, to my knowledge. Damned few of them had cellular
technology back then. The ONLY technology needed for a person to answer his own
phone is a landline and an ego that is under control.

Charlie Self
"In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence
is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of
office." Ambrose Bierce

Paul Kierstead responds:

Agreed Charlie, I don't have one either. If only those people that really
needed cell phones had them, it would probably not be a viable business.
Used to be, people valued their privacy. Now, everyone has to "keep in
touch", an idea that was pushed by the cell phone industry to sell their
product.

Hmm, funny really. For me, a cell phone really helps me keep my privacy
in many ways. I have an unlisted cell phone number with caller-ID
blocking. I use caller ID on my phone (yes, I am a hypocrite). Very,
very few people have my cell phone number. Once in a while I might give
it to a delivery service, but if they ever called me twice they will get
a whole load of crap. My home number has no voice mail and often goes
unanswered.

This way I only get calls from people I want them from and only answer
them at my convenience. If I don't want to be interrupted I put it on
silent or turn it off. For me, this allows me to be out a great deal
(particularly long outdoor photo sessions) and still remain in contact
with the people I want to, yet ignore the rest of the world when I wish.

This has made my life richer without becoming a hermit.

Don't be so quick to judge how we use our phones.



For you, it sounds viable. I really get a kick out of the caller ID crap. When
we moved to WV, the oldest kid had caller ID and her kids have strict
instructions not to pick up if the number is unrecognized. We had to resort to
email to get through on the damned phone line. The same thing happened when the
daughter landed in NY from a trip to Italy, and was going to be way late
getting to Greensboro to be picked up. No one at her house would answer the
phone because it came from an airport pay booth.

But I also don't recall noting that everyone should do as I do. I noticed long
ago whether I was knocking out pages on the machine or shooting photos, there
was NEVER a call that came in that couldn't wait a few hours for return. That
goes back to the mid-or late '60s, so I'm perfectly willing to continue to
force people to wait a couple hours to hear from me. Horrible, I know, but
that's life.

Charlie Self
"In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence
is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of
office." Ambrose Bierce

In article , otforme (Charlie Self) wrote:

I noticed long
ago whether I was knocking out pages on the machine or shooting photos, there
was NEVER a call that came in that couldn't wait a few hours for return. That
goes back to the mid-or late '60s, so I'm perfectly willing to continue to
force people to wait a couple hours to hear from me. Horrible, I know, but
that's life.

I try to keep in mind the philosophy of a friend of mine, when it comes to
rushing to answer the phone: "If it's important, they'll call back. If it
isn't important, who cares???"

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

For a copy of my TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter,
send email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com
You must use your REAL email address to get a response.

On Sat, 15 May 2004 12:08:40 -0700, "CW"
wrote:

Agreed Charlie, I don't have one either. If only those people that really
needed cell phones had them, it would probably not be a viable business.
Used to be, people valued their privacy. Now, everyone has to "keep in
touch", an idea that was pushed by the cell phone industry to sell their
product.



a couple of months back I turned off my house phone. now I only have a
cel phone. if I don't want to recieve calls, I just turn it off. it
takes messages....

Yep, but less the cop-size battery, which was necessary for analog models,
its successors (STS 5000 in my case) can still seem heavy. Strange isn't
it? It's an 800MHz radio, in our case, and lasts about as long as a cell
phone with a spare battery....

"Kevin Singleton" wrote in message
...
Can't. They've been discontinued since 2002.

"JG" wrote in message
...

try walking around with one of these in your belt all day
http://www.motorola.com/cgiss/portab...er.shtml#specs

There are obviously peope that need them. The there are the other 90% of
users.
"Dave Hinz" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 May 2004 12:08:40 -0700, CW wrote:
Agreed Charlie, I don't have one either. If only those people that
really
needed cell phones had them, it would probably not be a viable business.
Used to be, people valued their privacy. Now, everyone has to "keep in
touch", an idea that was pushed by the cell phone industry to sell their
product.

I work in IT, in the mortgage industry. If our systems are down, my
boss loses an immense amount of money per minute of downtime. For
me, part of the job is being not only reachable, but able to act
at very short notice.

Not saying everyone with the cellphone welded to their ear is in
the same boat, but the business world has changed such that at least
some of the folks walking around with the "electronic leash" really
don't have a choice in the matter anymore.

Dave Hinz

This also insures that if there is a serious emergency (tornado, flood, ect)
that you can't communicate.
wrote in message
...
a couple of months back I turned off my house phone. now I only have a
cel phone. if I don't want to recieve calls, I just turn it off. it
takes messages....

The difference in battery life was more due to output power than anything. 5
watts for the ht. 500 or so milliwatts for the cell phone (radio).

"George" george@least wrote in message
...
Yep, but less the cop-size battery, which was necessary for analog models,
its successors (STS 5000 in my case) can still seem heavy. Strange isn't
it? It's an 800MHz radio, in our case, and lasts about as long as a cell
phone with a spare battery....

"Kevin Singleton" wrote in message
...
Can't. They've been discontinued since 2002.

"JG" wrote in message
...

try walking around with one of these in your belt all day
http://www.motorola.com/cgiss/portab...er.shtml#specs

On 15 May 2004 20:56:02 GMT, otforme (Charlie Self)
brought forth from the murky depths:

CW responds:

Agreed Charlie, I don't have one either. If only those people that really
needed cell phones had them, it would probably not be a viable business.
Used to be, people valued their privacy. Now, everyone has to "keep in
touch", an idea that was pushed by the cell phone industry to sell their
product.

Yes. Keep in touch for what? How much is going to change here in the 3 days
I'll be out next week that will be of major importance to me? The need for
constantly being patted on the back, or constantly patting someone on the back,
is something of an illness, IMHO, related strongly to the sickness of being
unable to sit still and think without some kind of background noise filling the
air.

A Freakin' Men, sir. I'm with the hurler.

I cannot understand the obsession people have with phones, especially
since the cell phone technology is still in the dark ages. I'd like to
hear on one single person who has -never- had their phone go out of
range OR their battery die OR had a bad connection OR they couldn't
hear/understand what the guy on the other end was saying. I'd be
willing to bet that everyone who has used a cell phone more than twice
has experienced at least one of those happenings at least once.

My Hawaii client called me today using her cell phone and we spent
over an hour online. I had to ask her to repeat things a dozen times
and she asked me 4 or 5 times.

Feh! Pay all that money so people have more places from whence to
harrass you at all hours? Right. Pass!


-----------------------------------------------------------------
When I die, I'm leaving my body to science fiction. --Steven Wright
----------------------------
http://diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development

In article , DaveMay2004@duck-
creek.net says...
I work in IT, in the mortgage industry. If our systems are down, my
boss loses an immense amount of money per minute of downtime. For
me, part of the job is being not only reachable, but able to act
at very short notice.

I was a contract programmer, consultant, chief and flunky in
process control systems. You haven't seen panic till a whole
factory quits running - or starts smoking and bubbling :-).

I turned down an employee job at one customer because I would
have had to take turns wearing a pager (pre-cellphone days). I
asked if I got paid my monthly salary, pro-rated of course, for
the times I wore the pager. You can imagine the response.

If you're on call all the time, you're not an employee. You're
a slave.

--
Where ARE those Iraqi WMDs?

Charlie Self wrote:
Mike Marlow responds:

Funny, isn't it that the people who comment on how they appreciate
the ability to reach the important people they reach out to - that
those people answer their phones, are the very people who have so
much to say about the technologies which enable this contact.

Funny isn't it that every person I was writing of has been answering
phones that way since the '50s, to my knowledge. Damned few of them
had cellular technology back then. The ONLY technology needed for a
person to answer his own phone is a landline and an ego that is under
control.


And way back in the beginning they were the early adopters who jumped on the
technologies of the times to support their business and their private lives.
You'd be surprised how many times a call to a local business number actually
goes through to a cell phone today or to a home phone or to some other
location besides the office location. All I'm saying is that it's funny how
you and others seem to enjoy the ability to reach someone when you call them
and actually applaud that they take your calls, yet as this newer technology
is taking off, you have a lot of negative stuff to say about it, while the
very technology you seem to think is acceptable was once equally new,
considered equally invasive, equally vain, etc. Egos that are under control
don't try to dictate to the world around them just what is proper and
acceptable based on their own fears, preferences and taste.
--

-Mike-

On Sat, 15 May 2004 20:45:34 -0700, Larry Blanchard
wrote:


If you're on call all the time, you're not an employee. You're
a slave.

Maybe, maybe not.

Some of us who have on call provisions rotate the duty. I get it a
week at a time, once a month, or so. I am paid if called or not. The
better I manage my day to day operation, the less calls I get. I
encourage my direct reports to make decisions, take responsibility and
do their own job. Usually, I don't get a single call. When I do,
someone needs an escalated decision. All of the information I need to
provide a decision, or an alternate contact, is in a PDA.

Without these devices, I'd be stuck at home by a phone. With the
wireless devices, I'm where I want, when I want. This makes the
device a freedom device, with extra pay as gravy. If I don't want the
pay, I have peers who gladly volunteer to take my duty time.

Technology can either work for you or against you, it's a personal
decision.

Barry

On Sat, 15 May 2004 20:45:34 -0700, Larry Blanchard
wrote:


If you're on call all the time, you're not an employee. You're
a slave.

My son owns a business that supplies medical devices and oxygen to people
at home. There must be someone on call all the time. I used to take
weekends for him at times. I got paid, calls or not.

Pager and portable phone gave me freedom, not slavery. Some weekends there
are no calls, but I could go as I pleased within the confines of a third of
the state.. It also allows for contact so I did not return home only to find
a second call required I be near the fist one, 30 miles away.

Do I still need a cell phone? No, but is sure is nice to have. Like the time
my wife ended up in a hospital for six days when we were returning from
vacation. It is a security thing also. I don't sit and chat on it at a
ballgame or in a restaurant, etc. It is a tool to be used properly.
Ed

http://pages.cthome.net/edhome

The difference is the distance to the tower. Digital technology almost
makes a mockery of the inverse square rule.

"CW" wrote in message
...
The difference in battery life was more due to output power than anything.
5
watts for the ht. 500 or so milliwatts for the cell phone (radio).