Polling Cell Users

In my never ending quest to beat to death the subject of cell phone abuse I have the latest poll figures about those annoying little monsters (the phones, not the users). This poll was conducted last month by the Associated Press-AOL and Pew among 1503 adults that included 1, 286 regular cell phone users. Ironically, half the poll was taken by using cell phones themselves. To avoid my usual rant about why I hate cell phones, I will be nice today and just give some of the results below for your review. Here they are.
- Nine out of ten respondents said they encounter others using their phones in an annoying way. But only 8% said they themselves did that to others.
- More than 2/3 of cell users say it would be hard to give up their phones. 26% said they could not imagine life without their cell phones (probably because their phones are their lives).
- 3/4 of users say they have used it in "an emergency". But what constituted an emergency was not defined. (For some it is calling to ask their husband which loaf of bread to buy at the grocery store)
- 1/4 of those polled say too many people try to get in touch with them on their phones (For the life of me why would someone want to always be "in touch". It's like being stalked)
- 28% said they sometimes don't drive as safely as they should because they are chatting while driving (only 28%?)
-36% said they were shocked at the size of their cell phone bill (I would think most of those cell nuts should be bankrupt, given their non-stop use of their phones)
- 1/3 use text messaging on their phones, but 2/3 of those between the ages of 18 and 29 send them (the age group most addicted to cell phones)
- More than 1/2 take pictures with their phones (sigh....some of them up the dress of woman), 47% play games on them, and 28% use the internet on their cell phone
- 1/2 said they use their phones to amuse themselves when traveling or waiting for someone Thank God I don't have a cell phone. There are so many complications....soooooooooo....why don't you just toss that cell phone of yours in the nearest trash bin.
Good news from the frivolous lawsuit department. The case of the "he hurt my feelings so I want millions" lawsuit was thrown out of court by a judge in Arcadia, California. Here's what happened in the case. Michael Oddenino's teenage daughter complained to him that her softball coach, Dan Reggio, was insulting her ad her teammates, even calling Michael's daughter "a 2-year old" and some of her teammates "idiots".
Since Michael is one of those greasy lawyers who thinks nothing of complaining to a court, he filed a lawsuit seeking $3 million. against the coach for inflicting emotional distress by "taking advantage of his position to engage in an abusive pattern of excessive intimidation and humiliation on female players, frequently calling them 'idiots', and belittling them for minor errors".
The suit claimed emotional distress, negligence, a civil rights violation and sex discrimination for what is a common practice of coaches, rather harsh criticism for motivational purposes (I wonder if Michael ever says "bad things" to his daughter, and if so, should she sue him for that?). But Superior Court Judge Jan Plum dismissed this case and wrote an opinion of common sense as she stated why there is nothing legally wrong with a coach insulting his players. Judge Jan wrote that coach Reggio was merely "pushing an athlete to excel, and in so doing, using words that in another context would be considered rude, demeaning, and even intimidating". Bravo! We have the right to say unkind things without fear of being sued for hurting the listeners feelings...so forget about suing me for my crazy blog.