Am I the only one here who.....

[spudfan]

Am I the only one here who does not own or who has never owned a mobile phone? 

 

[jhb171achill]

36 minutes ago, spudfan said:

Am I the only one here who does not own or who has never owned a mobile phone? 

 

As the Carlsberg man might say, "probably"!

[Broithe]

41 minutes ago, spudfan said:

Am I the only one here who does not own or who has never owned a mobile phone? 

I do have one, technically speaking, but it's not really very mobile - it hasn't been out of the room it's in now since the first week of November, when I moved it from the room it was in before then.

I only really keep it as the bank wants to send me "security codes" via a separate means now and then.

The provider moans at me now and then and I am required to send a text or make a call, to ensure that I am not dead.

I have a rule that it will have a minimum balance of £10 on it, in case I do need to use it at some point and I don't want it running out on me then.

I have used about £2 of the current balance in the last two years, mostly making 'proof of life' calls.

It is a Nokia 3510 and is still using the original battery.

[Irishswissernie]

I have one, a Pay-as-you-go from Tesco which is probably about 10 years old , mainly for Bank or Credit Card Security calls and so Madame can send me regular 'Check Up' Texts. Otherwise it doesn't see much use unlike hers which seems to be permanently in use and also the offspring who appear to use theirs for navigation rather than looking where they are going. At least its an improvement from walking round with a bottle of water in their hands in case of instant dehydration. The water bottle has now seemingly been replaced by a massive cup of coffee in the free hand with the phone in the other in use  for texting companions approx 3 feet away!

[skinner75]

Am I the only one here who can't drive a car? 

(I'm a biker, and never saw the point of a car when living in Dublin, with the traffic)

[Flying Snail]

I don't know what a tracker mortgage is ...

.... am I the only one here who is reminded of that Ad when reading this topic? 

For those too young to remember and/or are not based in Ireland, it's an ad from back in the noughties (when Irish financial watchdogs were too busy making ads to bother regulating the financial industry). It's got a double-decker bus in it though, and there's plenty of bus fans here too

 

[Ironroad]

6 hours ago, Irishswissernie said:

I have one, a Pay-as-you-go from Tesco which is probably about 10 years old , mainly for Bank or Credit Card Security calls and so Madame can send me regular 'Check Up' Texts. Otherwise it doesn't see much use unlike hers which seems to be permanently in use and also the offspring who appear to use theirs for navigation rather than looking where they are going. At least its an improvement from walking round with a bottle of water in their hands in case of instant dehydration. The water bottle has now seemingly been replaced by a massive cup of coffee in the free hand with the phone in the other in use  for texting companions approx 3 feet away!

Could be worse, time was, it was cigarettes that occupied hands.

13 hours ago, Broithe said:

I do have one, technically speaking, but it's not really very mobile - it hasn't been out of the room it's in now since the first week of November, when I moved it from the room it was in before then.

I only really keep it as the bank wants to send me "security codes" via a separate means now and then.

The provider moans at me now and then and I am required to send a text or make a call, to ensure that I am not dead.

I have a rule that it will have a minimum balance of £10 on it, in case I do need to use it at some point and I don't want it running out on me then.

I have used about £2 of the current balance in the last two years, mostly making 'proof of life' calls.

It is a Nokia 3510 and is still using the original battery.

A kindred spirit, nice to know I'm not alone

[Brendan8056]

When I say the only mobile phone I have is the works one, and it is only switched on when I am at work, people stare strangely at me.  The same look as when I tell them I have never owned a car or a microwave oven.  

[WRENNEIRE]

Loved the 6310
From my Drug Dealing days  work

[Horsetan]

8 minutes ago, WRENNEIRE said:

Loved the 6310
From my Drug Dealing days  work

The 8210/8310 was the smallest mobile I'd ever seen. I bet a fair few of those were smuggled into prisons back then.

[jhb171achill]

2 hours ago, Horsetan said:

The 8210/8310 was the smallest mobile I'd ever seen. I bet a fair few of those were smuggled into prisons back then.

I thought 8210 and 8310 were Darts……

[Mayner]

Came across the first 'work' mobile while working in construction about 40 years ago the owners of the company had 'car phones" powered by massive batteries in the boot.  Two way radio was used for communication on larger sites, earth-moving and transport businesses. Everything was open channel with great banter between drivers, plant operators and the boss. 

Without secure channels we overheard communication from a "Security" company that transported cash and valuables in the Watford area, being amateurs it took us some time to identify the company, who were very defensive about their security breach.

Was supplied with a work cell phone from the early 90s, had to account for private calls on a monthly basis, and realised that they were useful if the work car broke down in on private travel. In more recent years employers became less strict about private phone use and no longer required to account for calls. 

Bought my first mobile a Samsung when I 'retired" about 5 years ago, but had to replace it with an iPhone to control a drone used in connection with a new business venture.

Managed to mislay my iPhone, bank cards and cash in a car park at a shopping centre a couple of weeks ago, didn't realise that it was gone for about an hour. Luckily a Courier driver spotted the phone and holder and handed it in at the shopping centre Information Desk a very lucky escape.

[Noel]

Am I the only one who has never been to IKEA? Nor have I any desire to. 

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, Noel said:

Am I the only one who has never been to IKEA? Nor have I any desire to. 

By choice, I’d be with you.

But I have twice been abducted by family members and made to go there.

My therapy is gradually assisting in reversing my trauma, though seeing an 00 gauge model CIE steam loco with a white flying snail did, in fact, put me into reverse, with an extreme reaction of the Head Staggers, Screaming Fits, Night Vapours and Heeby Jeebies, like I got when “Ivan” got a zebra livery with cream balconies…….

[WRENNEIRE]

We need IKEA!

 

 

[DJ Dangerous]

Quick, delete that @WRENNEIRE, or the "trains are meant to be played with" crew will come around and open all of the boxes!

[Irishswissernie]

21 hours ago, skinner75 said:

Am I the only one here who can't drive a car?

No! I can't either and neither can I ride a bike. I have always been partially sighted and have balance problems. Ironically my eyesight has improved slightly in that I don't need to wear specs indoors . I wear then outside as my wonky right eye looks like I am looking at passers by who invariably then say hello and I havn't a clue whether I know them or not.

Not having a car means I havn't had to in the old days ferry offspring around etc and has probably saved me thousands of pounds in the long run although Madame has a car  which I have funded in the past. I don't go in it much. A few years ago she acquired a new one and it was over 3 months before I rode in it.

[skinner75]

12 hours ago, Noel said:

Am I the only one who has never been to IKEA? Nor have I any desire to. 

Never been there either!

[WRENNEIRE]

11 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Quick, delete that @WRENNEIRE, or the "trains are meant to be played with" crew will come around and open all of the boxes!

I have "trains to be played with" as well DJ

[Ironroad]

18 hours ago, Noel said:

Am I the only one who has never been to IKEA? Nor have I any desire to. 

Why the negative preconception? You might be pleasantly surprised. You can even indulge in kit bashing. 

[Horsetan]

18 hours ago, Noel said:

Am I the only one who has never been to IKEA? Nor have I any desire to. 

I've been in on a couple of occasions and concluded it was the sink of Hell. 

Also, when the Edmonton branch of IKEA opened, there was a mini-riot as customers abandoned their cars all over the North Circular Road outside in the rush to get in and, once indoors, people actually fought each other for possession of bargains.

Feral people, feral behaviour, feral society. 

 

[leslie10646]

While agreeing with Ivan, I have to admit that our house is full of the stuff.

The Boss and I once drove round the M25, calling at each IKEA on the outskirts of London, getting some of what we wanted in each. Miraculously, we got everything we needed for whatever part of the house we were up (down?)-grading at the time.

On another occasion, we happened to be visiting my sister in Bristol and I was about to furnish my study with glass fronted cabinets (now full of 1200 scale ships, 4mm scale trains etc). We found EVERYTHING we wanted in that one store (an unheard of experience), so filled my Granada literally to the roof with the bits and drove, gingerly, back to Surrey.

I hate to say it, but their stuff has worn very well. 

But it is a nightmare place to visit. And as for their recent adverts on TV ..............

[Horsetan]

11 minutes ago, leslie10646 said:

.... And as for their recent adverts on TV .......

Feral.

[Galteemore]

Much as I hate the place, with its deterministic aisles to force shoppers on a certain route, it is an ideal place for acquiring cheap baseboards - my ‘Abohill’ diorama being one. Whole RM web threads are devoted to its products .and my own modest Irish layout rests firmly on IKEA foundations..  

[spudfan]

22 hours ago, Noel said:

Am I the only one who has never been to IKEA? Nor have I any desire to. 

Don't even know where it is. Also I have never bought anything off AMAZON.

[Broithe]

I was required to go  to the Wednesbury IKEA a few times in the last century.

I always had an urge to see if I could spend the night, undetected, in one of those high-level beds that they did.

1 hour ago, spudfan said:

Don't even know where it is. Also I have never bought anything off AMAZON.

I've only ever 'bought' off Amazon with vouchers that I was given and had no cash alternative for. It seemed the least of the evils, rather than leave them with the value.

Edited March 15 by Broithe

[Brack]

41 minutes ago, Broithe said:

I was required to go  to the Wednesbury IKEA a few times in the last century.

I always had an urge to see if I could spend the night, undetected, in one of those high-level beds that they did.

In my early 20s we used to get a bunch of us together and play hide and seek or sardines in the local ikea (it was open til 10). Tons of great hiding places, and worth it for the look on someone's face when the move a curtain in a fake bedroom and there's half a dozen students crammed in, saying shhh! And asking in a whisper if there's a lad in a grey hoodie nearby.

We're probably responsible for a few heart attacks!

[Darrman]

Nothing would bring me to the Irish Ikea branch, so I've never been. But my bedroom is lined with Ikea shelves, and they work just fine. Some assembly required, though!

[DJ Dangerous]

Why is there so often a negative response to progress?

X, Y or Z is new or different, so it's bad.

Railcars, mobile phones, IKEA, AI, social networks, whatever.

Not saying that progress is always great - my bugbear is touch-screens vs. physical keyboards and predictive text vs. knowing how to spell. I much prefer a mobile with a physical keyboard and I don't like predictive text.

So, I'm not without my own bias, it's just that this forum has such a negative angle on things so often.

Also not a big fan of social media as it seems to be removing the ability to think critically from people...

I saw it on Tik Tok so it must be true.

Just, lighten up, guys, progress isn't always bad.

ICR's are awesome, mobile 'phones are awesome, cars are awesome, AI is awesome, and IKEA is frikkin' awesome!

[Horsetan]

1 hour ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Why is there so often a negative response to progress?....

Mainly because, in recent years, it seems to bring out the worst in people.

[DJ Dangerous]

29 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

Mainly because, in recent years, it seems to bring out the worst in people.

 

ICR's bring out the worst in people?

Or a lack of values being taught when kids are at a formative age?

[Horsetan]

37 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

... a lack of values being taught when kids are at a formative age?

There's generations' worth of lack of values.

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

.......thinks Tipp will win the All Ireland

[DJ Dangerous]

26 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

There's generations' worth of lack of values.

Several generations, actually.

Ten years ago, I went from thinking that the generation twenty years younger than me were "the" problem, to thinking that every generation has it's miscreants.

They may present themselves differently due to the era that they grew up in, but at their core, they're the same.

So no, I don't think that progress is to blame for these miscreants.

[Galteemore]

4 hours ago, Horsetan said:

There's generations' worth of lack of values.

That’s one thing we don’t lack. Values are everywhere - everyone has them. But it’s an economic term: values have no hard or fast standing and can change. And we all value things differently….

What we increasingly lack are virtues, I think.