Ignorant people.

[old_tv_nut]

I stood in line at the Aquarium 2 weeks ago while three guys in front of me tried to figure out their total cost for tickets at $24.95 each. One was punching the numbers into the calculator function of his cellphone and showing it to the other two, who weren't too sure if the result made sense (it was correct). I can't say if their dysfunctional math arose from having no training at all, or to life-long reliance on calculators, and I couldn't figure out a way to determine that without probably pissing them off. It was entertaining, in a morbid way.

Regarding cell phones, I carry one, but it's only on when I really need to make an outgoing call, or when I'm traveling on business and need to be reachable. I don't WANT to be always reachable. I started carrying it constantly after I had a heart attack and the nurses suggested keeping it handy just in case.

By the way, for personal phone use, Miss Manners says the phone should never interrupt face-to-face conversations, and the answering machine or equivalent is a courteous convenience to provide for callers so they don't have to call repeatedly. So, when people comment that they HAD to leave a message (poor inconvenienced souls) I just ignore the comment.

I agree that businesses should be just the opposite, with phone answering set up for the convenience of the caller. However, it's just unaffordable, with what people are willing to pay, for a phone company to do what Illinois Bell did, for example - hire enough service reps so every call was answered by a person between the second and third ring. You will not see those days again.