Friday Fare
by Heather Koerner on 05/29/2009 at 1:46 PM
What do you do when you have several little mini-topics bouncing around in your head -- none of which is worthy of an entire blog? Why, you just stick them all in one. Let's jump in, shall we?
National Spelling Bee: Congrats to 13-year-old Kavya Shivashankar, of Olathe, Kansas (shout out to a fellow Bible Belter!) for becoming the new national spelling champion. She won on the word "Laodicean." After looking up the word here and here, I thought that would be a great word to ponder today. Far too many of us, me included, have grown far too Laodicean.
Cell Phones Beat Out Land Lines: For the first time, more American homes have cell phones only (20 percent) than land lines only (17 percent). Huh. There are still a ton of us in the middle with land lines and cell phones. I'm not sure why. Perhaps so when your charger breaks (as mine did yesterday) and your cell phone is dead (which mine was) and you are freaking out a little too much for the situation (Me: "My cell phone is dead. What do I do? Can I leave the house? What if I get in a wreck? What if ... ad nauseum.."), then you can still get a hold of someone on your land line to talk you down.
I really have no biblical insight on this topic. It just seems to me that two things are going to be happening more. One, more public five-second pauses. You know, when you are sitting in church or a movie or someplace that is supposed to be quiet and where people are supposed to have turned their cell phones off, and then you hear one. Then everyone waits patiently for five seconds until you hear the "Oh! That's me! Sorry!" Then everyone resumes said sermon or movie or whatever.
Second, I'm going to feel more judged for not having that oh-so-clever personal ring tone. It's getting downright depressing to hear someone's ringtone and watch them heaped with praise for how doggone cute/clever/hip it is. Yeah, they don't do that for me.
Hardcover Dictionaries: I just realized that I don't have a hardcover dictionary anymore. I always look up words online. This can be bad when you are trying to come up with a word that starts with an "F" and goes with "Friday" for the title of your blog. Foibles? No. Fancies? No. This is when an actual, physical dictionary would have come in handy. Anyone have one and want to improve on my title? Or just having a slow Friday like me and want to talk about Laodiceans or cell phones?
1. Rachael said the following at 1:57 PM on May 29:
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Wow, "cell phones only" is only 20%? Interesting...
2. BDB said the following at 2:08 PM on May 29:
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Well, I know that cable companies are rapidly growing their land-line phone business. They provide for $15 what the phone company provides for $40. Ah, there's nothing like the market-distoring effects of regulation.
Ten years ago, people thought that cable systems were too unreliable to be used for 911 service. Cable companies did make improvements to their networks to address that criticsm.
But the biggest change is the growth in cell phones. If the primary phone is a cell phone, the land-line becomes the back-up phone. Might as well get a cheap one. From the cable company.
Of course, trying to fax something via cell phone is a huge pain. For some bizarre reason, the medical industy - and the government - are way behind the times when it comes to things like filling out forms on-line. Yes, you can download the PDF, which doesn't allow typing via forms, and thus must be filled in by hand and faxed or mailed.
It's very nice having the cable land-line phone for reliable faxing. Seems like a good choice for those with alarm systems, too.
3. DannieA said the following at 2:28 PM on May 29:
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Well I have to have a landline....can't be approved to adopt if I don't have one LOL ;)
4. Heather Koerner said the following at 2:40 PM on May 29:
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DannieA (3):
Seriously? Or did your ;) mean you were joking?
5. DannieA said the following at 2:55 PM on May 29:
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seriously! Actually my homestudy just got approved. I've always been a big fan of slightly older children in foster care 2-6 y/o
6. Kellie said the following at 3:29 PM on May 29:
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We have both (I finally broke down and got long distance on our land line a few months ago) because our cell phones do not work in our house. Thankfully, our contract is up next month and I'm going shopping for a different provider.
7. KR said the following at 4:05 PM on May 29:
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We had great service with our cell phone provider at our apartment. Then we moved to a house less than a mile away, and our service is much less reliable. We have cell phones only right now, and I'm tempted to get a landline so when I or my husband is out of town we can talk without having our call dropped 3 times. Maybe I'm overreacting, but it's frustrating when you can't hear someone. We haven't decided yet if it's worth the extra money to have both. Any advice?
8. Rachael said the following at 5:08 PM on May 29:
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KR,
Maybe check around or have someone test a different cell phone provider's service in your home?
As for dropped calls. I used to have issues with my ex-cell phone provider and dropped calls. If you're kind-of a persuasive and brave type of person, try asking them to see if they would be willing to reduce the price, if you like.
One time my cell phone bill was simply outrageously high. Not just high, but outrageously so. Yeah, I should have been more in touch with checking on my minutes and then, if noticing the overboardness, should have stopped or greatly minimized the use of my minutes when they weren't free.
But a strong-minded person ended up calling the phone company on my behalf and also I think he brought up the issue of dropped calls....I think they tried to do some kind of helpful thing for me though I believe I still had to pay that particular bill in full.
9. Rachael said the following at 5:10 PM on May 29:
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(But KR to continue my comment, it might be possible that another provider's service is just fine even though you have trouble with your current provider...)
10. Elizabeth said the following at 5:20 PM on May 29:
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If you want a dictionary, you should try looking at a thrift store. I bought a Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary at St Vincent de Paul's for $0.35. It is in great condition too.
11. Larissa said the following at 5:42 PM on May 29:
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Fallow Friday :)
12. Joanna said the following at 8:05 PM on May 29:
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We've found that the best option for us is using a normal landline phone for our incoming calls and a VOIP internet phone for our outgoing calls.
13. BDB said the following at 11:07 PM on May 29:
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I was slightly annoyed with my provider's coverage in my area. It only works certain places in my house. (Not on the couch, for example, so I have to remember to set it on the counter.)
Then I talked to a neighbor who said they didn't have coverage with them anywhere. I felt more patient after that.
14. Vanessa said the following at 11:08 PM on May 29:
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I wonder if the "cell phones only" households are just families or include roommates as well. Because I once lived with four other girls and we didn't have a landline. Did that count as "one" household or "five" since none of us were related to each other?
I think if they were to survey how many people have only a cell phone versus households with only cell phones, the usage would be MUCH higher.
15. Ana B. said the following at 11:44 PM on May 29:
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Friday Frippery.
16. 'Guerite ~ BoldLion said the following at 6:54 AM on May 30:
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MMMM! I do have landline phone but planning to switch over to cable digital phone since my landline phone server (Embarq) is charging too much for some fee that I shouldn't be paying for. Plus the rate never stay the same for month to month. I don't use long distance on this one. So I am switch over soon.
I do have cell phone and don't use it as much as I would like to. It is my Tracfone which I like not having to pay monthly server charge.
As for dictionary, I do have dictionary next to my computer since I am a very bad speller who would not win a spelling bee contest. I too do use dictionary online and do have Franklin Electronic Dictionary that I take with me everywhere I go in my book bag. They don't take too much room in my book bag and very useful to have.
Hungry to eat His Word,
'Guerite ~ BoldLion
17. Elizabeth (from Canada) said the following at 1:20 PM on May 30:
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Ah... real dictionaries... as opposed to the on-line ones. Nothing beats looking up a word and then being distracted by all the interesting words around it. Much more fun than on-line dictionaries. I must say, I even turn off spell-check on my computer and look up words in my lovely hardcover dictionary (after proof-reading based on my mental dictionary, that is). :) And I don't own a cell phone, either. I just make sure I have some quarters with me when I travel in case I need to use a pay phone.
18. DEH said the following at 12:41 AM on May 31:
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My husband and I are a cell-only household at the moment. Works for us now since it's just the two of us, and we each have our own cell. Pretty much all we ever got on our old land line were solicitors anyway. All our personal calls came to our cell phones.
19. Jo said the following at 2:23 AM on May 31:
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On the subject of landlines and 'cell phones' (we call them mobiles, doncha know), this is so true, and so funny:
Brant's Pie Chart
20. BDB said the following at 10:52 AM on May 31:
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Elizabeth (#17) wrote:
>>And I don't own a cell phone, either. I just make sure I have some quarters with me when I travel in case I need to use a pay phone.<<
Preferably one located near where you can hitch your horse...
21. Leah said the following at 11:51 PM on May 31:
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In Australia, I hate it when people are ONLY contactable by mobile phones. I know it's different in the US, but here, to call from a landline to a mobile is EXPENSIVE. Even calling from a mobile of Carrier 1 to a mobile on Carrier 2 is more expensive than calling landline to landline. I don't know anybody who doesn't own a landline at the moment, though. I think mobile-only houses in Australia would be rare.
My husband and I however are looking at Joanna's option... landline in, VOIP out.
Vanessa (14) - that's one household. Since when does "household" = "family"? It's everyone who lives in a house.
Oh and Heather - I rarely come across people who heap praise upon a person for their ringtone ;) The closest I've come to is when everyone burst out laughing at a 24 year old guy whose ringtone was the theme song from "Thomas the Tank Engine" and other similar incidents.
I have a hardcover dictionary somewhere, but haven't used it in years.