the random musings not worthy of new thread thread

[rjs246]

Insane Clown Posse puts a stop to Upright Citizens Brigade show mocking Juggalos.

I don't feel like this is the first time you've posted something juggaloo related. Which is really goddamned weird.

[Rome]

My daughter has a cell phone because we need her to have one.   She's 11 and it's restricted along the lines that PG mentioned.

[rjs246]

Why do you need her to have one?

[ice grillin you]

the worst thing about cell phones is that its almost impossible to find a pay phone these days

is it acceptable etiquette to ask a stranger in public (at a bar for example) to borrow their cell phone for a non emergency call or would that be weird

[SD]

Why do you need her to have one?

In case of an emergency, I suppose. I don't see the problem with having one with limited use for emergency situations but anything more than that and the kid can get a job and pay for it themselves if they want it that bad.

[Rome]

The emergency thing is one reason.  There are others, though. 

[Diomedes]

is it acceptable etiquette to ask a stranger in public (at a bar for example) to borrow their cell phone for a non emergency call or would that be weird

for the most part no, not weird assuming the person isn't shady

[rjs246]

The emergency thing is one reason.  There are others, though. 

Clearly you don't want to divulge details, so that's fine, but every single person on this board and in the world made it through childhood and adolescence without a cell phone and we're all still here. How many real emergencies are they likely to experience in the middle of the woods or an endless field or some other unlikely place where they can't get to a business or residence or phone of any kind? Do you make her wear a helmet when she leaves the house 'just in case'? I really don't understand what has happened over the last 20 years that has convinced everyone that cell phones are now a necessary parenting tool.

[rjs246]

is it acceptable etiquette to ask a stranger in public (at a bar for example) to borrow their cell phone for a non emergency call or would that be weird

for the most part no, not weird assuming the person isn't shady

Of course its farging weird. Don't indulge him. If you make the decision not to have a cell phone you shouldn't go grubbing other people's phones off of them. And I'm saying this as a former world champion cigarette mooch. Bumming someone's phone is weird.

[Sgt PSN]

Um, what reason is there for a child to have a phone again? I'm still confused.

My daughter has one for 2 reasons:

1.  So I can call her and she can call me whenever she wants.  This way, I've managed to almost completely eliminate the need to talk to my ex-wife.  Major win for me.

2.  The technology is there, so why not take advantage?  It's easy to say "I didn't have/need that when I was a kid, so why should my kids get it?"  But in actuality, it's a good thing for teenagers to have.  When she's out with friends I can call her and find out where she is or have her come home whenever I want.  If she's late coming home, I can still call her just to make sure she's alive.  If I accidently leave her in the grocery store, she can call me.  She's also go instant access to 911 if she needs it. 

When I was a teenager, I wanted my own phone line in my room.  My parents paid for the hook up but I paid the bill.  My ex won't let our daughter get an after school job to pay the bill, but she's a straight A student so I told her as long as she keeps her grades up, then I'll pay half of the bill.  Overall, she's pretty responsible with it but she does over indulge from time to time.  That's when it's up to me as the parent to pull the reigns back a little bit and give her a reality check. 

Facebook accounts are about 10000000x worse for a teenager than a cell phone.  I'm on the verge of completely deleting the damn thing for her. 

[rjs246]

2.  The technology is there, so why not take advantage?  It's easy to say "I didn't have/need that when I was a kid, so why should my kids get it?"  But in actuality, it's a good thing for teenagers to have.  When she's out with friends I can call her and find out where she is or have her come home whenever I want.  If she's late coming home, I can still call her just to make sure she's alive.  If I accidently leave her in the grocery store, she can call me.  She's also go instant access to 911 if she needs it. 

When I was a teenager, I wanted my own phone line in my room.  My parents paid for the hook up but I paid the bill.  My ex won't let our daughter get an after school job to pay the bill, but she's a straight A student so I told her as long as she keeps her grades up, then I'll pay half of the bill.  Overall, she's pretty responsible with it but she does over indulge from time to time.  That's when it's up to me as the parent to pull the reigns back a little bit and give her a reality check. 

Facebook accounts are about 10000000x worse for a teenager than a cell phone.  I'm on the verge of completely deleting the damn thing for her. 

Stop making coherent points. It's annoying. I still don't agree that it's a good thing and certainly not a necessary thing, but at least this is a rational explanation. Butthole.

[Munson]

If you're going to delete her facebook, then be prepared for more texts. Texts and facebook are how kids communicate these days. There's no reason to call a friend when you can just type "hey what's up". Having a phone conversation requires stopping everything else. Texts allow to carry on a conversation while doing other things....watching tv, listening to music, doing work, etc.


Just be glad she uses facebook and you can see everything she does....when i was her age, it was AOL and AIM instant messaging, and that was very easy to hide from parents.



Not that I don't have other problems with things like texting and facebook....but it's how children communicate with their friends these dayss.

[Sgt PSN]

That's the one thing that keeps me from deleting it.  She does 99% of her facebook from texting, so she can't go online and adjust privacy settings so that I can't read what she posts.  She knows that if I ever find out that she is posting things on facebook that are hidden from my view that I will put an end to her social life. 

So yeah, it's a good thing for her to have because it gives me a window into her life that I'd otherwise be oblivious to.  She doesn't live with me and trying to get her to have an actual coversation over the phone is like pulling teeth.  So facebook keeps me in the loop with her life.  But at the same time, I'm trying to teach her lessons that a 14 yr old just isn't going to understand....like the importance of privacy.  She has no privacy when she puts her life out there.  And she doesn't understand why she gets grounded from facebook when her friends drop f-bombs and other stuff on her wall.  So I explain to her over and over that having a conversation on facebook is no different than having that same conversation in my living room and that if her friends used that language in my house then I'd kick them out.  She just doesn't understand how or why she is held accountable for what her friends say.  Seriously, teenagers are just awful little people and there should be slave labor camps for them. 

[MMH]

Spotted this sweet ride at the local Chili's

[Susquehanna Birder]

Was it driven by tiny ants?