Archive for the 'cell phones' Category
Cidu Bill on Jul 7th 2010
Choosing my new phone’s ringtones for family and friends — and admittedly I put a lot more thought into these choices than I probably should — it occurred to me that this can be a remarkably passive-aggressive operation: after all, the person calling you is the one person who will probably never know what ringtone you chose for him.
Not that I would ever assign an insulting ringtone to anybody, but how easy would it be to have your brother-in-law’s phone calls accompanied by Beck’s “Loser”? And come on, who doesn’t know somebody they’d like to associate with Pink’s “Stupid Girls”?
And then there’s Lily Allen’s ever-popular “F*** you, f*** you very, very much.”
Filed in Bill Bickel, cell phones | 26 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Jul 4th 2010
Filed in Bill Bickel, Brad J. Guigar, Dave Coverly, Dave Whamond, Evil Inc, Hark! A Vagrant!, PartiallyClips, Reality Check, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, Speed Bump, Zach Weiner, cell phones, comic strips, comics, comics that made us laugh out loud, dinosaurs, humor, lol | 9 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Jun 11th 2010
I get it — but wouldn’t this have made infinitely more sense if he’d come out half-man half cell phone?
Filed in Bill Bickel, John Deering, Strange Brew, cell phones, comic strips, comics, humor | 14 responses so far
Cidu Bill on May 25th 2010
This actually
does reflect teenager logic: phone calls take longer to deal with and can easily sit in voice mail for long periods of time. Texts get more immediate attention.
Of course that leaves us with the “then what’s the joke?” problem…
Filed in Bill Bickel, Jerry Scott, Jim Borgman, Zits, cell phones, comic strips, comics, humor | 32 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Apr 19th 2010
Ever notice how just about every comic strip and television show containing teenagers works in at least one storyline about the kid running up a monstrous text messaging bill? Is there a single American family with teenagers and cell phones that doesn’t take the unlimited texting option (which every wireless company offers)?
Are the writers so divorced from reality that they aren’t aware of this? Or is this like the “look at all the snow; so much for global warming, ha ha ha” gag where they just assume their audience is ignorant?
(Just for the record, without unlimited texting, my 16-year-old son’s average monthly bill would be about $350)
Filed in Bill Bickel, cell phones, comics, comics strips, humor, television, texting | 45 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Jan 17th 2010
Wall Street Journal article
On the other hand, this will probably change once it becomes more widely known and customers get pissed off.
Filed in Bill Bickel, Haiti, cell phones | 18 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Jan 16th 2010
Along the lines of the classic “outside in your underwear” and “showing up for school and they’re giving a test and you’re not prepared” bad dreams, I wonder whether anybody’s had a nightmare focusing on leaving the house without their cell phone.
Filed in Bill Bickel, cell phones | 22 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Dec 7th 2009
Is that supposed to be a “trying to destroy his cell phone right in front of his parents” sound effect?
Filed in Bill Bickel, CIDU, Zits, cell phones, comic strips, comics, humor | 11 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Dec 7th 2009
Can anybody offer a yay or nay on the iPhone? Worthwhile or just a lot of hype? Or are there similar phones that are better but not as high-profile? And is it better to get them through Apple stores, AT&T stores, or either of their websites?
In case anybody’s wondering, my ongoing problem with Sprint is now an incredible five months old and apparently no closer to resolution. Or more precisely, it was resolved three times, with supervisors apologizing and promising to fix my account (or telling me they’d already done so), and when the next bill comes I see nothing’s been corrected. One supervisor finally told me I could cancel my account without paying an early termination fee — which I clearly could have done months ago, thank you very much, but I’d rather hold them to their end of the contract. Or they can pay me an early termination fee, which I think is perfectly fair.
Anyway, thanks for any guidance y’all can offer.
Filed in Bill Bickel, cell phones, iPhone | 31 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Sep 19th 2009
(and by “Sprint” I could, of course, just as easily mean “Cablevision.” “Comcast,” “Verizon” or any of the other usual suspects)
Our cell phone contract came with a free data package. Sprint deleted it from my phone (though not my kids’ phones) by mistake. How they managed to do this is complicated, but suffice it to say they admitted their error and apologized for it. That being said, they now tell me I’ll have to pay to have it put back into place, plus pay a monthly fee, since once the free data package is removed — for any reason — it can’t be restored.
Umm.. no?
Clearly, this will get properly resolved; but are there enough people who’ll say “Duh… sounds reasonable to me” to make this BS even remotely cost-effective for them?
Filed in Bill Bickel, Cablevision, Comcast, Sprint, Verizon, cell phones, scams | 30 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Jul 8th 2009
My new phone looks and feels nothing like a phone, with no apparent “earpiece” or microphone. The principle, as I understand it, is that if I hold it to the side of my face and talk into it as if it were an actual phone, it will indeed function as one — the same way that as long as the Coyote believes he’s still standing on the cliff, he won’t fall.
Filed in Bill Bickel, cell phones | 14 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Jun 6th 2009
Does the concept of “long distance charges” exist on any cell phone plan on the planet in the United States?
Filed in Bill Bickel, Rina Piccolo, Tina's Groove, cell phones, comic strips, comics, humor | 19 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Apr 15th 2009
This one,
which was sent to me Tuesday afternoon, I’m assuming is simply “Arlo couldn’t care less if he ever saw a cell phone again.” At least that’s the way I see it, because the only time my wife willingly carries hers is when she’s going to be driving her 13-year-old Mazda through a snowstorm… but I’m open to other explanations.
Filed in Arlo and Janis, Bill Bickel, CIDU, GPS, Jimmy Johnson, Rina Piccolo, Tina's Groove, cell phones, comic strips, comics, humor | 25 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Dec 24th 2008
All month I’ve been hearing commercials about satisfying everybody on your gift list by buying them cell phones, many of which cost under $50. Of course, those <$50 phones come with a two-year service obligation running between $1500 and $2000 each.
The sheer number of radio ads suggests that there are enough people who do buy multiple cell phones as gifts, but what’s the protocol here? You buy somebody a phone as a gift and they’re stuck with a $2000 contract if they ever want to use it (though I don’t imagine the company will send out the phone at all until the contract is signed)? You actually spring for two grand for a gift you thought you be costing you just a few bucks?
Filed in Bill Bickel, Christmas, cell phones | 9 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Oct 9th 2008
Rick Garner sent yesterday’s Arlo and Janis as a LOL:
Today’s is just kind of ewww…
Filed in Arlo and Janis, Bill Bickel, Ewww, Jimmy Johnson, cell phones, comic strips, comics, comics that made us laugh out loud, humor, lol | 5 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Sep 8th 2008
Filed in Bill Bickel, Dave Coverly, Mark Parisi, Off the Mark, Pardon My Planet, Speed Bump, Vic Lee, cell phones, comic strips, comics, comics that made us laugh out loud, humor, lol | 11 responses so far
Cidu Bill on May 27th 2008
Because, of course, complaining that cell phone use is responsible for a decline in the English language is entirely inconsistent with using cell phones for an entirely different and very practical purpose. Why do these women even own cell phones, then?
Filed in Bill Bickel, For Better or For Worse, Lynn Johnston, cell phones, comic strips, comics, humor | 20 responses so far
Cidu Bill on May 14th 2008
Robert: Why ARE they pretending to have cell phones in their hands? Or holding their hands that way–who does that? “Another call coming in” is a plate of cookies?” Wha??And why are the cartoons about cell phones the most confusing ones? Even worse: cartoons about cell phones being used by cats! -Bill
Filed in Baldo, Bill Bickel, CIDU, cell phones, comic strips, comics, humor | 7 responses so far
Cidu Bill on May 11th 2008
Okay, the same thing happened to me yesterday when I was talking to my publisher while walking. Sic semper cellphone signals. I didn’t think I was living through a punchline, though…
Filed in Arlo and Janis, Bill Bickel, CIDU, Jimmy Johnson, cell phones, comic strips, comics, humor | 9 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Apr 28th 2008
Is there enough truth to this to even warrant the exaggeration? I’ve had three cell phones, and I don’t think I’ve had to open the (thin) instruction booklet for any of them. It’s a phone. You press some buttons and you magically get to talk to somebody far away.
Filed in Bill Bickel, CIDU, Garfield, Joe Martin, cell phones, comic strips, comics, humor | 12 responses so far
Cidu Bill on Feb 13th 2008
The graffiti reference throws me.Just wondering: Does your library ask you to step outside to make phone calls? I always do, because it seems rude not to, but people do make calls inside our library without the librarians asking them to cease and desist.
Filed in Bill Bickel, CIDU, Library, Unshelved, cell phones, comic strips, comics, graffiti, humor | 12 responses so far
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