I Hate Telephones Most of the Time at Robert Pogson

Ever since I was young I knew telephones were evil. They would interrupt people rudely at any time of the day or night. Today was different. The phone rang and I picked it up. During the conversation I was informed that the little woman had shopped in Winnipeg and not informed me she had bought up a good stock of preserving jars for beets! They were in the trunk of the car out in the garage. Aha! I am now back at work boiling and pickling beets. At the rate I am going the beets in the ground are unlikely to be harvested fully. I am a wheelbarrow behind on the pickling. About now, the little woman might do the maths and realize we have enough for a year, or two… Then there are the carrots still remaining to be harvested and the ground cultivated to incorporate all the weeds and crop residues.

So, sometimes telephones do good service. I still am convinced that CPUs should be interrupted, not people. People should be able to work asynchronously. That’s why God made e-mail, after all.

My Mission

My observations and opinions about IT are based on 40 years of use in science and technology and lately, in education. I like IT that is fast, cost-effective and reliable. I do not care whether my solution is the same as yours. I like to think for myself.

My first use of GNU/Linux in 2001 was so remarkably better than what I had been using, I feel it is important work to share GNU/Linux with the world. I have been blessed by working in schools where students and school systems have benefited by good, modular software easily installed in most systems.

I have shown GNU/Linux to thousands of students and hundreds of teachers over the years and will continue in some way doing that until I die in spite of the opposition.

4 Responses to “I Hate Telephones Most of the Time”

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1 oldman Sep 21st, 2012 at 2:43 pm

” Why not you?”

Because it doesnt do what I need it to do.

Is that so hard to understand?
2 TM Repository Sep 21st, 2012 at 3:47 pm

While I agree I don’t like the interruptions a phone often causes, I’d say they’re still important in emergency situations where you need to connect right now, and not when someone gets around to reading their email.
3 Satipera Sep 21st, 2012 at 5:24 pm

@Robert Pogson

Are you a Christian?
4 Robert Pogson Sep 21st, 2012 at 6:36 pm

TM wrote, “they’re still important in emergency situations where you need to connect right now”.

I know that but for most people there are very rarely such emergencies. I am old and I have experienced an emergency that needed a phone only a few times and then, we could deal with issues one way or another. I was once hunting and fell through ice. I got cold and wet but managed not to die by keeping as warm as I could any way I could. There are emergencies that can take a life but the world will continue to spin even if that happens, so, a phone is not necessary ever. Humans survived millenia without them by being fruitful and multiplying to fill the gaps. Up North, I haven’t had a phone for ages because in a real emergency, I could just call for help or use a phone at the school. Otherwise phones were a needless expense or an interruption. Most phone calls up there are people who have used their phone books for kindling needing directory assistance. “Do you have Fred’s number?” is not welcome at 0300.