Aside from Live Spaces update to the the Lists, another recent update I'm enjoying is the File Sharing. On your What's New page, one of the links at the top is "Share Files". This basically allows you to upload whatever kind of files you want and have them available online. I think it's really cool, and I've immediately found a use for it.

 

My last post was about loud cell phone talkers...and one of the comments mentioned making stickers, so I put together a picture that could be used as a sticker.

 

My public folder is in the right column, not too far down from the top. Just click on the folder called "Check it Out" and the picture is in there. If you so wish, download the picture, print out however many you want on sticker paper, and you're good to go. It can be a sticker art campaign: Thank You For Not Shouting.

 

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200708.24 - A sticker art campaign endorsed by the National Headache Foundation. The aim is to raise awareness for those speaking abnormally loud on their cellular phones, or just speaking loud in general.

If I had a list of pet peeves, I would happily include the number of the subject of this post. But, alas, I'm quite unprepared, so...no number. Sorry.

 

Anyways, on the to the annoyance. Cell phone yellers.

 

Why do so many people have a tendency to lose track of the volume of their voice when they're on the phone? We can govern our volume when we speak face to face. That's easy. Practically involuntary. We know how loud to talk, probably because we can see our subject. But, for some, the moment they flip open (or slide open or whatever be the case) their phone, all that logic goes out the window.

 

Maybe they want you to hear half of their entire conversation. Then they look at you, silently saying: "What are you looking at?", without even the slightest idea they're talking about 3 times louder than normal conversation volume.

 

Perhaps, to them, it seems the person is at some kind of distance because they're not right there. It seems that they're ignoring the simple mechanics of a cell phone. Now, I'm not going to get into satellites and towers and signal strengths or anything like that. I understand that can be a factor, but all those things are being improved upon on a regular basis. Let's assume cell phones work like they're suppose to.

 

What I'm talking about is a microphone and a speaker. Every cell phone, every household phone has them both. And they work like any microphone and any speaker does. Sound goes into a microphone and out of a speaker. If you had a microphone hooked up at one end of a long hallway, and it was connected to a speaker at the other end, and you speak into the microphone...anyone near the speaker should be able to hear you like they were right there with you. That's the same concept with cell phones. The speaker may be smaller, but it is held right up to the ear. In a sense, when you talk to somebody on a cell phone, they're ear is right at your mouth.

 

 

The equals sign means that both actions are essentially the same. Nobody would ever consider the bottom picture to be normal conversation etiquette...while the top doesn't seem to be as taboo as it should. Frankenstein-style mob violence might be too much. Maybe just a good hearty shaking with a "STOP SHOUTING IN YOUR PHONE!" would suffice.

 

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Useful in a pinch, and terribly convenient; sometimes more terrible than convenient, though. For the most part, cellular phones seem to be more of a hassle than anything. Usually the ones that take advantage of the ability to communicate with the owner of a cell phone at any time seem to be those who said owner would really rather not communicate with at that time...

 

200708.19. Cellular phones are used by some as a means of vocal exercise. Some users can be easily heard due to their raised voices used during calls. This may be because of primitive and/or defective components (both voice amplification and sound output), faulty transmission equipment (satellites, signal towers, et cetera) or just a general ignorance of how loud one is while on the phone.

 

Tags: cellular, telephone, cell phone, volume

 

Traditionally, the way you celebrate it is by buying this for me:

 

 

 

 

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I mean...they're no Scrabble tables...but they are beyond awesome.

Last week we held another public display of Guitar Hero. This time it was at a Rita's Water Ice (Italian Ice). Rita's sits right off the main commercial road in Fort Myers, and behind it is a huge blank wall, perfect for a 20 foot projection of Guitar Hero.

In preparation, we tracked down who was in charge at Rita's and contacted them to get their permission. The owner was really cool about coming down there and even had them stay open another half hour to give us more time, which was nice. Also, we put together some flyers (right) and went around a few days before to the local Starbucks and video game stores to leave some there to get the word out.

When we got there to set up, there was some people already there (they saw the flyer at Starbucks) waiting. A few more people came by, and there were people that were getting some water ice that would stop and watch...but it wasn't ever a huge crowd or anything crazy.

The owner was there and thought the whole thing was really cool. He told us to "come back anytime", so we might just make that our regular venue. We also decided that we'd call it Rock Out!... If it ever turned into something marketable or whatever, it'd be good to have some kind of name.

I'm opening this post with a mention of the bridge collapse, but I'm not going to speak in length about it. Not that I don't care about it...Of course it was a horrible tragedy and my thoughts are with those affected. I'm sure everybody feels similarly. Besides, every news agency and website in the country is covering the story from every angle imaginable, and you know how I feel about that (no? read this.).

 

I want to talk about preparedness. I'm the type of person who likes to be ready for any situation. I've read the Worst Case Scenario books, and I'm this close to taking notes when I watch Survivorman or Man vs Wild.

 

After watching a Mythbusters episode where they tried various ways to escape a car that's gone underwater, I thought it'd be good if I bought a small emergency hammer and a spring-loaded center punch, both of which will break a car window. The emergency hammer I put in the console in my car, and the center punch I put in my bag, which I take pretty much anywhere I go.

Have you ever wished you had a camera with you, but didn't because you didn't feel like carrying it around with you everywhere. Or when you need a piece of paper, but can never find anything to write on or anything to write with? That's the reasoning behind my bag and its contents. Plus I don't really like keeping things in my pockets.

 

 

A small notebook and pens - for whenever I need to write something down for whatever reason...or if a spontaneous Scrabble game breaks out, it's nice to have something to keep score on.

Camera - I also have a battery charger, just in case.

iPod + cables - to plug it in to a stereo/aux port/cpu or just to charge the battery

Pocket knives - 2...you know...in case I have to throw one of them

Plastic zip ties - I didn't have a definitive use in mind for these...but I thought they might come in handy. Maybe if I needed to make a citizen's arrest or something.

Nintendo DS Lite - This came in handy when I was in the Atlanta airport for 12 hours.

Socks - They serve a twofold purpose. I put my camera in one and the DS in the other to keep them from getting all scratched...and if I need a pair of socks.

Spring-loaded center punch - If I drive my car into a river, I can use that to break the window, and that's my way out (Mythbusters Episode 72, thank you | Video).

Slingshot & Bullets - This was a gift...and I love it...it's the old-school Y shaped slingshot.

Bank deposit slips - I hate asking for them from the drive-thru window.

Sharpies - In case I need to sign some autographs...

General misc. necessary things (Matches, Rubber Bands, Dental Floss, Altoids/Gum)

 

I'll soon be adding a compass and a flint.

 

There's so many things that can happen that we really can't prepare ourselves for. But there are things we can be ready for, and I feel a lot better knowing I may be able to bypass the whole *shoulda coulda woulda* step.