Posts Tagged "cell phone"

In Which We Meet Another Rachel and Say Thank You for the Kindness of Strangers

Dear Kid,

Did you hear about my phone?

I’m sure you heard part of the story, but here is the un-abbreviated version.

Friday evening, I hightailed it out of work. And by “hightailed it” I mean left on time and made a pit stop in the ladies room.

Friday night we (and by “we” I mean the Sycamore Aviators) played football in Hamilton which is not next door. Since dad was away, I had to zip home, walk and feed the puppy, explain to him that I was leaving, explain again that I would be home later, change into football appropriate clothes, and leave.

That was where I made my second mistake.

It had been soooo warm in the office and on the drive home that I decided (without consulting weather.com) that a little shirt, my inherited lacrosse jacket, a scarf, and gloves would be perfect for the evening. Unfortunately, I had not factored in the 90 mile an hour winds which made for a much chillier evening than I’d expected.

As I was driving up to Hamilton (using Option B directions as I-75 was backed up to Florida), I glanced over at my purse (which was riding quite comfortably on the front passenger seat. One little brain cell perked up and said, “Your Phone Isn’t There.” Then it promptly died, having lived a full and useful life. But its message somehow traveled to a couple of other brain cells, and I reached over to prove them wrong. Then I groped through my purse to prove them wrong. Then I dialed dad using the car interface to prove them wrong. The car coughed and tried to explain that my phone was nowhere in the vicinity and perhaps I should try again when I located it.

I taught the car a few new words (not all of which were four letters long) and finished driving up to the game. Once I’d parked (see how safe I was?), I dragged over my purse and went through it. Twice. If you will imagine the contents of my purse, you will realize this was No Easy Task to undertake even once.

Finally admitting that I’d left my phone at home, I decided to enjoy the game unencumbered by providing you with timely updates.

I did enjoy the game, especially the kick off that went through the uprights (did I mention the 453 mile an hour winds?), and the highly imaginative officiating which fortunately didn’t change the outcome of the game but did give several coaches and parents the opportunity to turn purple with indignation. (And by “purple with indignation” I mean I thought some of them were going to bust a spleen or some other vital organ as they ranted and raged at the official who made most of the creative mistakes.)

Decided to go home and get my phone before picking up Pi at the High School. And this is where it gets weird.

Neither Tal nor Booker knew where my phone was, so I decided to use the house phone to hear the ring and locate it. I call—and Pi answers.

Me: Pi?
Pi: Maybe
Me: What? (phone clicks as Dad tries to call in)
Me: Wait a minute
Pi: Ok.
I fumble with the phone, decide I can’t figure out how to talk to Dad, and go back to Pi.
Me: Wait, who am I talking to?
Pi: This is Rachel and I found your phone in the office building
Me (brilliantly): Wait, what?

The conversation goes on like this for another minute or two.

Finally, I realize that a lovely woman named Rachel (a confusing coincidence) found my phone and rescued it not knowing what Evil Forces might abscond with it. And then she was kind enough to try to find me! And to answer the phone when I called.

I’m pretty sure she called you (what with not having heard from you all weekend, I cannot be positive), she texted with Dad, she posted on Facebook—basically, she did everything except buy a billboard. (I wonder why she didn’t buy a billboard…)

Once I had this all figured out, we agreed to meet Saturday morning so she could give me my phone.

Yes, I said thank you (more than once). Yes, I am bringing her brownies. No, there are none left for me to mail to you. And YES, I believe in the kindness of strangers.

Pay it forward. Do something nice for a stranger today.

Love, Mom

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The True and Accurate History of Cell Phones

Dear Kid,

Once upon a time Joe Neanderthal went out to visit his friends. While he was out, all 17 Neanderthal children got sick (having eaten too much undercooked mammoth) and the fire went out while Mrs. Neanderthal was tending to them. Mrs. Neanderthal was tired and cold and wanted Joe to come home.

Not having a handy saber tooth tiger around to deliver the message, she went to the mouth of their cave and yelled for Joe. Mrs. Neanderthal had quite a set of lungs and Joe heard her, but Joe was having a good time and didn’t really want to deal with 17 sick kids. So Joe unwisely ignored her.

Not being an idiot, Mrs. Neanderthal wished she had a way to communicate more closely with Joe and almost invented the cell phone. But before she could get around to inventing, she realized she could just march over and yell at Joe in person. Which she did—to great effect and the amusement of Joe’s buddies. Since this is a family blog, I can’t repeat exactly what was said, but Mrs. N got a lovely mammoth coat and Joe spent a lot of time babysitting.

I love my cell phone DearKidLoveMom.comBecause Mrs. Joe didn’t get around to inventing the cell phone, the world had to wait a long, long time for a mobile personal communication device.

In the early 1900s, several cartoonists used wireless phones as subject matter. During the 1940s, the military used radio-telephony links. Many people wrote about personal communication devices (think shoe phone from Get Smart) and eventually the car phone was invented.

In 1973 Motorola made the first handheld mobile phone. It was about 1,000 pounds (1.1 kg) and most assuredly did not fit in anyone’s pocket. (Except perhaps for Kanga’s, but since Roo was still in there, she wasn’t offering to try.)

Fast forward to now when children are issued cell phones at birth and upgrade to smart phones before Kindergarten. The world, she has changed.

Now you know.

Love, Mom

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Time to Clean Your Electronic Devices | De-Ick Technology

Do not use to clean your cell phone. Technology Spring Clean Up. DearKidLoveMom.comDear Kid,

It’s March, and for many of us Spring Cleaning is in the air (and by Spring Cleaning is in the Air I mean I am sneezing up a storm as evict Dust Dragons that have been in the house as long as we have).

I know that you guys do a reasonable job of keeping your room hygienic (and by Hygienic I mean the health squad hasn’t condemned the place), but I’m going to go out on a limb here and take a wild guess that none of your electronic devices have been cleaned. Ever.

Fortunately for you, Real Simple magazine had an article about this very subject. Even more fortunately for you, I not only read the article, I have consolidated the important points into this blog. You’re welcome.

Technology Spring Clean Up

Cell Phone

Let’s deal with the most disgusting part first. Your cell phone probably has fecal matter on it. Ewww. How? you ask. Many people take their cell phone into the potty with them. According to scientific data which I just made up, college students are 10 times more likely than their parents to take their cell phones into the bathroom with them. Once in the bathroom, you (eventually) flush which causes gazillions of contaminated droplets to spew out of the toilet, into the air, and go searching for somewhere nice to land. Like your hands and your phone.

Wash your hands.

If your phone happens to claim it’s waterproof and you feel up to testing that theory, wash your phone.

If not, use wipes made for wireless devices. Frequently.

Laptop

You’ve probably been using your hands to type on your laptop. Which would be fine if your hands weren’t covered in dirt and oil and germs, and if other people’s germs weren’t circling in space just waiting to land on your keyboard and spring onto your paws. When you think about it, the world is pretty germ-y.

Do not (repeat do NOT) use glass cleaner on your screen. Not now, not ever. You can use a specialty screen cleaner (if you are loaded with money and time) or a damp cloth (if you are not).

You’re supposed to use Sophisticated UV Wands to clean the keyboard. Since I do not own (or intend to own) such a device, I use a wipey-thing. But that is not Officially Approved so don’t blame me if it doesn’t work. Compressed air is also handy for getting crumbs out of keyboard cracks. Not that any of us would ever eat near our computer.

Remote Control

Another Top Spot on the Ick Patrol. Compressed air can be nifty here too. Then Swipe with a Wipe.

Earbuds

Wipe with a damp cloth that has a little soap on it. Follow up with a damp cloth that does not have soap on it. Dry. Do not even think about contemplating all the disgusting things on your earbuds.

Room Key

OK, it’s not electronic and Real Simple didn’t say a thing about it, but I feel pretty confident guessing it has never been cleaned and needs to be. Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about damaging its touch screen or shorting out its circuits, so just wash the darn thing with soap and water.

Love, Mom

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One Ringy Dingy | The History of Telephones (Sort Of)

Dear Kid,

Once upon a time, there were limited ways to communicate with people who weren’t in your cave. Long distance communication started with trained saber tooth tigers delivering messages between colonies of Neanderthals. Most of these message went something like “Your friend was delicious” and weren’t really all that healthy for those on the receiving end. Also, being cats, and being full, saber tooth tigers generally didn’t bother actually delivering the messages. All around a major fail. (It is worth noting that the term #FailTiger never caught on.)

Early telecommunication with tin cans DearKidLoveMom.comThe next major invention was the tin can telephone which worked almost as badly as saber tooth delivery, but with a far lower death rate.

Then along came Alexander G. Bell. He was at one point a professor of Vocal Physiology and Elocution at the Boston University School of Oratory (bet you didn’t know that. It’s OK. I didn’t know BU had a School of Oratory). He was also a major twit about American Sign Language which pretty much erases all the points he got for being affiliated with BU (imho).

Anyhoo, being a lazy dude, Alex went on to invent the telephone so he could call Mr. Watson without bellowing or getting up. It’s also worth noting that Bell may not have been the inventor of the telephone, but he’s the best known for it and what is history if not generally inaccurate and based on a good story?

telephone-old-two-piece-v2Since then, people have been fascinated with using the telephone. In the early days, telephones involved calling the operator who then had the opportunity (almost never taken) of not listening in on your calls.

telephone-black-rotaryThen someone invented dials and we didn’t have to go through the operator anymore except to request phone numbers or to dial internationally. Telephones were black and were wired into the phone lines in your wall which meant you couldn’t travel very far while you talked on the phone. Telephone time was therefore limited by bladder capacity and parents yelling “Git Off The PHONE! It’s Your Sister’s Turn!”

telephone-princess-phoneThe princess phone was a big step forward in telephonic hardware in that it was stylish. Talking still worked mostly the same way, but now it was just prettier. Phone time was still limited by parental controls (“E-nough!”) and cost since long distance calls were expensive.

telephone-payphone-bankWhen you weren’t home, you generally had to use a pay phone to reach anyone. Pay phone banks existed everywhere and people stood near each other trying to hide their own conversation while eavesdropping on other conversations. (Kind of like today when people talk on their cell phone in public only imagine everyone lined up and occasionally putting coins into the phones.)

telephone-black-old-cellNow we have communication devices that can surf the internet, take notes, text, play games, and pretty much do everything except make coffee. But the important point, dear kid, is that you can still use your phone to (wait for it) make phone calls. ‘Tis true. You hold the phone slightly differently than you do to text but it’s basically the same concept. You speak into the speak-y part and someone far away can hear you and respond in kind. Amazing.

Current telephony “Mr. Watson—come here—I want to see you.” It’s still kind of condescending. That’s what you get from a dude who dissed sign language.

Call your mother when you get a minute.

Love, Mom

Haven’t Liked us on Facebook? Seriously? You can’t call it in, but there’s no time like the present….

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7/31/13 Dating in College | The Impact of Technology on Dating and Relationships

Technology and Dating | The New Rules for RelationshipsDear Kid,

Mashable recently conducted an interesting study about technology and dating. Because I am that kind of a mom, I am summarizing (and might be persuaded to provide a comment or three on) the study.

Phones on a Date
Turns out there are people who think pulling out their cell phone during a date is acceptable behavior. Even during a first date. All I can say is those people better not be related to me. Well… there are a few exceptions.

1. If the building is on fire or someone is experiencing a true medical emergency, you can use your phone to call emergency services.

2. If your parent is supposed to pick you up at the end of the date and you need to coordinate the time the movie ends, you may use your phone.

3. If your date is truly horrible, by all means use that phone and get out.

Otherwise, turn your phone off and put it away. Even if your date has gone to the restroom or something (because it is truly tacky for your date to see you checking your phone when he or she returns from the restroom—it implies you’ve been waiting for something better to turn up).

Calling
To call: as in to use the phone to speak with someone not in the same room by a method other than text, email, or social media. As I believe I’ve mentioned before, the technology exists to make phone calls on those things. I promise to show you how if you’re not sure.

Call someone after a first date. Even after a second date. There are people who think sending a text is ok, but the percentage (even among college students) is pretty low.

Facebook
There is a wide range of opinions on when to announce to the world via Facebook that you are in a relationship. Opinions vary by gender and age (big shocker there) with men generally thinking it’s ok to announce a relationship sooner than women (ooh, that is a surprise…).

In my expert opinion, there is a delicate balance here. You certainly don’t want to announce this too soon and freak out the other person who isn’t ready for you to tell the world. And you don’t want to seem too reluctant to post it if the both of you are in a committed relationship. On the third hand, if it doesn’t last and you change your status back to single there will be lots of questions and comments. I’m going with the 13/G rule: If you don’t want your 13-year-old sister and your grandmother to know, don’t post it. (I KNOW your sister isn’t 13—that’s not the point.)

Sexting
The answer—the only answer—is no. Not now, not then, not ever. Yes, other people are doing it, but fewer than you think according to this survey. And they shouldn’t. You’re in college—you’re smarter than that.

Go with friexting (pronounced frexting; friend-texting G-rated photos of oneself—I just made it up).

Send a photo of your gorgeous smiling face, or your hands making a heart or spelling I Love You in sign language. Send a photo of the two of you holding hands or the sign on the place where you went on your first date. All say “I’m thinking of you” and none will get you arrested.

Have a wonderful time at college. Remember the quote from the Blind Side (yes, that one) and put your phone away on dates.

Love, Mom

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