Television, cell phones, and modern-day mysteries

The poll on my sidebar was closed, and so I removed it.  Cable was preferred by nineteen people; if we were in the city, that would likely be our choice.  Out here, though, cable leaves something to be desired.  Fifteen people preferred Direct TV, seven liked Dish, four liked their antennae, and three didn't care for television at all.  The only surprise to me is how many more people preferred Direct TV over Dish; I'm wondering if my son stacked the deck on that one; Direct TV puts food on his table.  Honestly, I've had both and can't see a big difference in the two.  
Cliff has had a cell phone for four or five years.  In all that time, he hasn't found one he really cares for:  His pet peeve has been with all the buttons on the outside of the phone.  He carries his phone in his pocket, and the simple act of putting it in the pocket can turn off the ringer.  The only cell phone he was halfway satisfied with was a Razr, and it bit the dust in less than a year.  
We even went to the T-Mobile store and asked about a phone that didn't have all the buttons on the outside.  The guy showed us one, and we came home and ordered it.  Even with volumes turned all the way up, Cliff couldn't hear people he was talking to (he's very hard of hearing), and he couldn't hear the ringer most of the time.  So we switched phones.  I've hated the thing the whole time, but I don't use my cell phone much.  
Finally the time came when we could get a new phone without paying an arm and a leg.  

  It has no buttons on the outside.  It's unbelievably thin.  It's loud.  
I believe we finally found a phone Cliff likes!  And although I have my own cell phone back now, I'm thinking about getting one just like it.  
We are so far back in the dark ages, we'll never use the camera, the radio, or the MP3 player on this phone.  But that's OK.  We like it.

Cell phone problems

Unlike me, Cliff uses his cell phone a lot. He talks to all his siblings, a cousin or two, other relatives, and lots of friends.

However, his current cell phone is way over his head.

It's a Razr. It's a blackberry. Neither of us knows what those terms mean, but we don't need all that. We have it, but we don't want it.

All Cliff needs is something that vibrates, rings loud (he doesn't hear well), and doesn't have external buttons that mess up the settings if he puts the phone in his pocket.

He doesn't need a camera. He doesn't text message.

So yesterday his Razr started dying. The screen is totally blank, so he can't see his numbers; obviously, he can't call anybody. The phone receives calls, but that's all.

I was looking on the T-mobile website at various phones, but there just isn't enough information that will help me find the best phone for Cliff. We've decided to make a trip to Independence Center Monday and let a real, live human being help us find the perfect phone for Cliff.

Wish us luck, because I don't think they make a cell phone with no bells and whistles.

Have you ever received this information in email?

Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their mobile phone from your mobile phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for
your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

Editor's Note: It works fine!
We tried it out and it unlocked our
car over a mobile phone!'

No way. Snopes says this is false. This is one a person could try out for himself, though. Go ahead!

Hidden Battery Power
Imagine your mobile battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your mobile will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your mobile next time.

How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone:
To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 #. A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to
your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone gets stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones. This one is partially true.

ATM - PIN Number Reversal - Good to Know If you should ever be forced by a robber to withdraw money from an ATM machine, you can notify the police by entering your PIN # in reverse. For example, if your pin number is 1234, then you would put in 4321. The ATM system recognizes that your PIN number is backwards
from the ATM card you placed in the machine. The machine will still give you the money you requested, but unknown to the robber, the police will be immediately dispatched to the location. This information was recently broadcast on CTV by Crime
Stoppers; however it is seldom used because people just don't know about it. Please
pass this along to everyone.

That one is false also. To check the whole list of rumors about what cell phones can (or cannot) do, click HERE.

Snopes.com is there, just waiting to tell you the truth about those forwarded emails.

My new cell phone

Just guessing, I'd say I've been a cell-phone user for about four years. I doubt if I average receiving more than three calls per week, because I've made everyone I know aware of the fact that I hate to talk on the telephone... any telephone.

Perhaps you're wondering why, then, I need a cell phone.

Well, I ride my horse alone in rather secluded places; Cliff felt I needed a way to get help if Blue should step into a hornet's nest and toss me. He'd been carrying a cell phone around for some time (and using it quite a bit, I might add). So just for him, I joined the masses and became a cellular phone user.

Every time we get to the point in our contract where I can get a different phone practically free for simply extending our T-Mobile service by a couple of years, I'll buy a new one. I'll try it out awhile, then end up passing it on to Cliff or a grandchild because, you know, I can't figure out how to use it. I even got one that was an MP3 player; couldn't understand how to load music onto it and finally gave up. I think that might be the one the son-in-law uses now.

So all this time, I've been using the very first cell phone I ever had. Which I mainly use only to call Cliff when we're in Walmart, shopping in different areas; or to call him in to dinner when he's working outside or in the shop. Or to chat when he's at work, taking his lunch break.

It was only within the last month that I learned how to give each person who might call me (all six of them) a different ring-tone, so I'd know who was calling before I even looked at my phone. And I had to have my daughter's help to get that done.

I'm a ring-tone junkie. Yeah, I order new ones sometimes: snippets of old songs, sung by the original artists.

So I recently decided, once again, to order a new phone. My old one works fine, but it's showing wear. I know, I know. An old lady like myself should show more common sense: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without".

But here I am with another phone that I don't know how to use. Oh, I can send and receive calls, but that's about the extent of it. I'm sure, though, that a grandchild will be able to help me out with it. I refuse to pass this one on!

I called T-Mobile once I got my new phone charged up and ready, and asked the man on the other end if I could somehow get the ringtones I'd purchased over the past couple years; they were on my other phone. The man patiently sent them to my new phone, one at a time. Eight of them. T-Mobile has the best customer-service representatives ever.

Now if I only knew how to assign my tunes, or even how to make one of them my current ringtone.

But hey, I can listen to the first line of "Say You, Say Me" any time I want! Or even "Take Me Home, Country Roads"!

There's no fool like an old fool.

My first cell phone

I don't like talking on the telephone. I do much better with the written, or typed, word. Emails, journals, postcards... I'm comfortable with those.

My husband, Cliff, has had a cell phone for two or three years. His first one was a Christmas gift from me, and he's enjoyed it thoroughly. He can talk to his brothers any time he so desires without running up any surprise charges.

I ride my horse down by the Missouri River quite often, and all along our country roads. He's a good horse, and I never take risks with him (like making him gallop or jump, anything like that).

And yet, I know if Blue were to step into a hornet's nest as we rode along, he'd buck. And there I'd be, with no way of calling for help, if I were hurt.

So finally, two months ago, I got myself a cell phone.

I'd carried it for a couple of days before it rang for the first time (I have Waylon Jennings singing "Good-hearted Woman" as my ring-tone), and I was so excited, you can't even imagine. It took me a little while to figure out how to answer the silly thing, but finally I did, and said, "Hello?"

"Is Darryl there?" some woman asked.

That was only the first of many, many calls for Darryl. One guy even asked, last week, to talk to "Darryl, the licker". Ewwwwww.

So when a couple of ladies kept calling repeatedly, I decided to call them back at 4 A.M. That's about the time I usually get up in the morning, and I figured to teach them a lesson.

The first one of the two that I tried didn't answer; the phone just rang and rang.

The other one answered, chatting to someone who was with her, obviously wide awake and ready to talk to her friend Darryl... at 4 AM.

That wasn't the reaction I had hoped for, and I stopped the call by closing my phone.

It wasn't more than five minutes until I got two text messages for Darryl. "How U doin. My phone is F***** up. Sorry."

OK, on to plan B: Next call I get asking for Darryl, I say, "You're going to have to find yourself a new drug dealer, because ole Darryl has been put away for a few years."

Do you think that will work?