Land (Phone) Lines Obsolete?

[W2R]

I wonder if the landline problems were because of the extensive flooding that stayed?

The landline problems existed over a larger area than the flooded area, maybe because most/all telephone poles were blown down. Below is a photo that I took about a month after the storm - - not a great photo, but it illustrates the problem. When the poles were blown down, breaks in the lines developed. We saw poles at similar or worse angles for miles and miles and miles of roads through many counties and parishes.

In my neighborhood, the poles were no longer perpendicular to the ground, but not really blown down to the extent shown in the photo below. Flood waters did not exceed 3 feet or so, but lines were just hanging. I guess falling tree limbs and trees broke them. About a dozen large trees on my block were completely blown down and destroyed, blocking the street and damaging roofs, and that was typical for the area - - Frank's block had it worse. The telephone company was present very early after the storm, working hard on restoring phone service.

When we returned to work two months after the storm. the K-Mart parking lot across the street was completely filled with stacks and stacks of brand new, still green phone poles as it was a staging area for them. The phone company had a monumental task and accomplished it admirably.

 

[LOL!]

Anybody use Google Voice? I read a rave review about it. Google it.

 

[FUEGO]

Anybody use Google Voice? I read a rave review about it. Google it.

I have used it a little just to talk to my brother the computer guy. It sounded really good. But there was something funny about how we got disconnected once and it was hard to get reconnected (can't remember the details).

 

[haha]

For emergencies, the best is to invest the time and a little money into getting a ham license and a rig that can fun off marine batteries.

Keep your batteries dry and you are ok.

 

[mickeyd]

Here's mine (much less funny):

Caller: Hello, can I speak with Ms. Want2retire?
Me: May I ask who is calling, please?
Caller: This is the Bank of W2R and we have a great mortgage refinance offer for Ms. Want2retire.
Me: Not interested, thank you, goodbye (click!)

I began using this years ago. Has not failed me yet. (Works best with female caller)

Caller: Hello this is Mary calling from _____....

Me: Oh, hi Mary. I have not had sex in over a year and this gal is just about to give me a BJ. Can you call back in 30 seconds?"

Click.........

 

[aaronc879]

If you're going to call me, it better damn well be important, important enough to leave a message. If this irks you, tough. Your failure to leave a message in my opinion is an explicit admission that you didn't have anything important to say. In which case, why should I care if you're irked? If this causes you to stop calling me, then THANK YOU!

If I call someone, i'm calling to talk to a person not a machine. I hate answering machines and will almost never leave a message. If you have caller id and you don't recognize the number then I understand not picking up but if the person knows it's me calling and doesn't pick up and I find out about it then that person doesn't exist to me anymore. They're not worth my time.

 

[FUEGO]

If I call someone, i'm calling to talk to a person not a machine. I hate answering machines and will almost never leave a message. If you have caller id and you don't recognize the number then I understand not picking up but if the person knows it's me calling and doesn't pick up and I find out about it then that person doesn't exist to me anymore. They're not worth my time.

Not picking on you Aaron, just a general observation.

It is really strange looking at some people's expectations of others when using the phone. And what some other peoples' idiosyncrasies are.

I just assumed that the standard reason for someone calling me was that they had something to tell me. They either talk to me and tell me or leave me a message telling me or leave me a message telling me to call them regarding what they had to tell me. If it is a time critical message that requires my urgent attention (it could be an emergency), I presume the person calling me would call back at least once to see if I just missed the call due to having stepped out of the house for a minute, being in the bathroom or otherwise predisposed.

As others have expressed, if I'm preoccupied and can't talk at the moment, I sometimes don't answer immediately, but assuming the call is important, it will be returned promptly. I usually don't answer the phone if we are sitting down to a family meal, for example. 99% of calls can wait up to an hour to be addressed after dinner, and the other 1%, I hope they call back a second time so I'll know it is really important.

I didn't realize not jumping up immediately to answer every incoming phone call could jeopardize that relationship if the individual found out I knew it was them calling but did not pick up (even if I was preoccupied). I guess that is a relationship not worth having anyway. This is sort of the same theory or etiquette that would make me not answer a cell phone call from a third party when I am with someone else in person (unless I thought the cell call was highly important). I'm not going to drop everything I'm doing just to answer a phone call when I can more adequately address the phone call in a few minutes or an hour or two.

My position also places the burden of loss on me. For example, those calls that involve someone else wanting to give me 2 free tickets to tonight's concert/show/game but I missed out because I didn't answer immediately - that IS my fault and it is just something I'll have to risk once in a blue moon.

 

[ERD50]

If I call someone, i'm calling to talk to a person not a machine. I hate answering machines and will almost never leave a message.

Just be aware that some people on the other end may consider your behavior rude (or just bothersome). If I'm out, or can't get to the phone, it's nice to know why the person called. Should I call back right away, or were they on their way out to run a short errand so call in an hour, or would later that night be better, etc?

In my view, a little information is helpful and considerate. Hanging up is rude (or at least unhelpful).

And how many times have you hung up, and then dialed someone else since the first person was not there? So, I come in from getting the mail, see the caller ID, call you back and your line is busy - what the heck!!!! So, should I just keep calling every minute to try to catch you right after you hang up, and before you call someone else, or you leave the house? Geez, that's not very considerate of my time, is it?

but if the person knows it's me calling and doesn't pick up and I find out about it then that person doesn't exist to me anymore. They're not worth my time.

I don't know about other people, but that is *not* what I do. If I recognize that it is most likely for me, and I can get to the phone, I pick up. Why wouldn't I? If I was actually trying to "dodge" some annoying caller that isn't really a "friend", well then I guess the problem is solved!

edit/add - I didn't see FUEGO's post when I submitted - so ... what he said

-ERD50