*The famous first words spoken by Dr Alexander Graham Bell to his assistant, Mr. Thomas Watson on the first phone.
A mobile phone rings when a lady is undergoing a gynaecological and a Pap smear examination in a gynae clinic. What would a normal warm blooded vertebrate educated of a Malaysian lady worth of her salt do in a delicate and personal situation as this? Well, pick up the phone and start yakking while the good doctor finishes his work, what else (duh!).
In another instance, after waiting for 40 minutes to see a doctor for a 2-minute consultation, the phone rings. Again the good Malaysian says, "Sorry ah!" and goes into a frenzy answering his call walking aimlessly around the consultation room talking on top of his voice oblivious to happenings of the surroundings. I am just waiting for a day for someone to walk out his house or clinic naked as most people go into a trance once their cell phone rings. In fact at one juncture,the Mayor of new York was contemplating banning the usage of cell phones in its streets due to abnormally high incidences of road vehicle accidents involving pedestrians-on-phones who tend to forget the cardinal rule of crossing the road - look before you leap!
In the cozy ambiance of a cineplex in Kuala Lumpur, a cell phone rings at the height of the climax before the intermission of a Hindi movie. A Bangladeshi answers his call on top of his voice telling directions to his caller trying to outdo the decibels emitted by the crying heroine in the movie. How do I know he is giving directions? It cannot be anything else when he says right, left, Puduraya and Leboh Ampang in the same breath.
Recently it was heard on RTM Minnal news that the Malaysian Hindu Sangam had advised all temple committees all over the country to ban the use of mobile phones in temples. Its president reiterated that some ringtones are obviously too sultry to be heard in public, what more in the divine house of God. In my humble opinion, it is aimed at the humble servants of God who decided to give up everything in life for service of God. The priests, being human as they are, are sometimes tempted to answer his ringing phone while performing his religious obligations at the altar as curiosity takes the better of them! Somehow the idiot phone can be a nuisance as it always seem to ring at the most inconvenient time.
Taking about ringing at an embarrassing moment, I once received a phone call while answering nature's call on the other end (pun not intended). In midst of the conversation, I used the flush. The caller on the other side of the line was curious on the sound to which I replied, "You do not want to know!"
These days everyone is clinging on to a cell phone from a vagabond and a pauper to a CEO. To them, every call is a billion dollar deal struck and they have to answer it against all all odds. The sales assistants at the departmental stores and the security guards seem more interested in mobile friend than giving undivided attention to their jobs - i.e. answering to customers' demands or manning their sentry posts respectively.
I am sure Dr Alexander Graham Bell, his assistant Mr. Thomas Watson and Elisha Gray (who invented the telephone about the same time, but lost in the patent ownership after a long legal battle) did not envisaged these problems when they embarked on their discovery.
That just reminds us of the Digi newspaper Chinese New Year advertisement where all the family members at the dinner table are busy tied to their phones on their ears giving two hoots to the true spirit of the reunion.
Every technology will eventually find its true place in society. Whatever happened to the ever popular spiraling toy of the 70s, Yoyo? It used to be every child's dream birthday or Christmas presents just to be lost in the annals of time. This time around the new found toy seem to excite not only the young but the grown-ups alike, with internet facilities tied to it. It looks set to revolutionize the way we live in (for good or worse) and helps to satisfy our ever increasing appetite for instant gratifications! One guy in New York actually delivered his child in the traffic jam stranded cab with things he picked up on 'You Tube'.
Maybe the way we, Asians, are acting with the phone issue is because we are the nouveau rich and are becoming self centered. With time and education, phone etiquette may eventually be second nature.
A mobile phone rings when a lady is undergoing a gynaecological and a Pap smear examination in a gynae clinic. What would a normal warm blooded vertebrate educated of a Malaysian lady worth of her salt do in a delicate and personal situation as this? Well, pick up the phone and start yakking while the good doctor finishes his work, what else (duh!).
In another instance, after waiting for 40 minutes to see a doctor for a 2-minute consultation, the phone rings. Again the good Malaysian says, "Sorry ah!" and goes into a frenzy answering his call walking aimlessly around the consultation room talking on top of his voice oblivious to happenings of the surroundings. I am just waiting for a day for someone to walk out his house or clinic naked as most people go into a trance once their cell phone rings. In fact at one juncture,the Mayor of new York was contemplating banning the usage of cell phones in its streets due to abnormally high incidences of road vehicle accidents involving pedestrians-on-phones who tend to forget the cardinal rule of crossing the road - look before you leap!
In the cozy ambiance of a cineplex in Kuala Lumpur, a cell phone rings at the height of the climax before the intermission of a Hindi movie. A Bangladeshi answers his call on top of his voice telling directions to his caller trying to outdo the decibels emitted by the crying heroine in the movie. How do I know he is giving directions? It cannot be anything else when he says right, left, Puduraya and Leboh Ampang in the same breath.
Recently it was heard on RTM Minnal news that the Malaysian Hindu Sangam had advised all temple committees all over the country to ban the use of mobile phones in temples. Its president reiterated that some ringtones are obviously too sultry to be heard in public, what more in the divine house of God. In my humble opinion, it is aimed at the humble servants of God who decided to give up everything in life for service of God. The priests, being human as they are, are sometimes tempted to answer his ringing phone while performing his religious obligations at the altar as curiosity takes the better of them! Somehow the idiot phone can be a nuisance as it always seem to ring at the most inconvenient time.
Taking about ringing at an embarrassing moment, I once received a phone call while answering nature's call on the other end (pun not intended). In midst of the conversation, I used the flush. The caller on the other side of the line was curious on the sound to which I replied, "You do not want to know!"
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| A bare necessity after food and clothings |
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| Bell's first phone (1875) |
That just reminds us of the Digi newspaper Chinese New Year advertisement where all the family members at the dinner table are busy tied to their phones on their ears giving two hoots to the true spirit of the reunion.
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| Martin Cooper with his invention, mobile phone (Apr 3, 1973) |
Maybe the way we, Asians, are acting with the phone issue is because we are the nouveau rich and are becoming self centered. With time and education, phone etiquette may eventually be second nature.
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