Cell Phone Danger

[raw-al]

FYI There are a number of books on the topic but here is a decent Youtube.

Bottom line dump em!

Cell Phone Dangers | Dr. Devra Davis @ National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

[Ioanna]

ok, haven't listened to this yet, but does she address being around people all day who are using them?  sometimes my friends will use them in the car while i'm with them and it makes me cringe. like 'second-hand cell phone toxicity'?, lol.

[CitrusHigh]

My uncle walks around with the bluetooth on his head, it bothers me a lot, because I know that thing is emitting it's own signal too. Peeps are crazy, I read this one from merc this morning and for real, I'm going to stop carrying mine on my person like I've been doing, guess I've got to get a decent standalone mp3 player since I absorb most of my books through audio!

[raw-al]

The effect of the phone is based on proximity to the antenna. So if they are not too close you're probably OK. I have one but rarely bring it with me as it is just an emergency thing. In fact right now my plan is expired.

The crazy part is that the young who are in love with them are the ones most adversely affected by them.

I am guilty of being an ipod junky. I love audiobooks also.

[Dorothy]

Now I'm not feeling so bad about being so far behind the times. I have a cell phone only for emergencies for which  no one has the number except hubbie and my CDs and cassette tape audio books, although antiquated, don't do me any damage. :p

What's the easiest and cheapest way to listen to books from the internet if I'm not right next to it? What do I go out and buy. Maybe I shouldn't ask that here. If someone knows will you pm me please? I need a young geeky friend.

[raw-al]

I get tons of them at the library. I can also get ones from the library that I download straight from them rather than actually going and picking them up.

Their cassette books are going to be the oldies.

Not sure what it is like where you live, but I got a free card, signed into their website and whenever I want I go check out new titles and put my name on the waiting list which is automatically emailed when it arrives.

Whenever someone mentions a book or author on this site I do a quick search there first. I can get audiobooks or PDF or Kindle or whatever reader versions of the book ut I prefer audiobooks which I transfer to iTunes and then the iPod. Best investment I ever made.

It's amazing the choices.

[Dorothy]

I've been reading the classics for a long time so the library actually was pretty good for that especially since I could get books sent from anywhere in the US - but sadly the funding for that was dropped. The downloadable book selection at the library has been extremely lame, however, the funding for buying downloadable books has gone up! So if I request things there is a good chance the library will get them.

I just asked someone on the phone about downloading and he told me the same thing. To get an I pod, download Itunes and use the I tunes to move the books to the Ipod. This week I'm going to try to get that done. Wish me luck figuring that out!   Then I will try to keep up with you Toth.

I pods don't give off the bad vibes do they?

Our house phone is via internet now with a magic jack - does that now make my house phone as bad as a cell phone?

[CitrusHigh]

Electronics always give off radiations, just depends how much. Your computer, the power supply if it's a laptop, cell phones, mp3 players, lights, tv, fridge, etc

All throwing EMF. It's just to what extent.

I would actually not recommend ipods/iphones as I loathe apple's limits they put on the way you can use them.

Insignia used to have such kick ass mp3 players, they would play just about any form of music (my iphone won't play several common formats which is really ridiculous) and it was as simple as dragging and dropping (in other words, no itunes, no particular software in general, just windows), and it allowed for folder browsing, which means you can isolate albums and not worry if the ID3 tags (the e-cataloging system) were correct. I cannot describe how much I loathe Apple products, or any tech gadgets that are not reasonable.  On top of that the buttons were actual buttons along with a clickwheel for easy scrolling, but also with the ability to navigate tracks by touch, through the pants pocket instead of having to take it out like you do with a touch screen.

That is moot since they discontinued that line (sadly) and you know they were good because you still find them available on the web once and a while accept the price hasn't gone down much from msrp. The reason I said all that, is because if I was shopping for a dedicated media player, it would have all those attributes. That is...

-Actual buttons AND a clickwheel, NOT a touch screen even though it's super sexy
-plug and play, no software required
- Ability to play all common formats .wav, .ogg, .mp3, .wmv, .wma, etc ridiculous not to, hellloooo!
-also a good long battery, 18hrs +

There is one thing though, my iphone has an "airplane mode' which allows you to use the phone for it's electronic features but totally cuts the radiation because it cuts off all signals as if you were on an airplane and not wanting to interfere with electrical signals (which is bs for the most part anyway, my crazy alcoholic hot ex girlfriend was a pilot, and even they have their phones on up front der duh der!)

So it is possible to reduce the radiation emitted by it in large part, but it's then useless for communication....unless I suppose, if you were to throw it at someone to get their attention, but don't expect a positive response.

[Dorothy]

All throwing emf Thoth - but the same dangerous erratic microwaves?

In case y'all don't want to watch the video and don't want to give up your cell phones the video said at least use headphones or speaker and don't keep you phone on your body - especially in your bra or strapped to your head and if you're pregnant - pretty much - stay away - especially from any of these things touching your belly. I'm no longer putting my phone in my pocket for instance I will carry it in my bag only after watching the video and talk as infrequently and shortly as possible.

Now Thoth - You've let me know exactly what I need to do -- find an insignia thing a ma jig. Is there one in particular I should scour the internet for until it shows up?

[CitrusHigh]

Right, not all the same, but all some sort of radiation.

Insignia was just the brand name, they're still around but I don't think they make a decent portable player anymore. I'm afraid you'll have to shop around and or enlist the help of someone involved with tech stuff. It's not fun and I remember just how weary I became of shopping for that kind of thing last time I was in the market. Eventually i just bit the bullet and sprang for the iphone, not considering the disadvantages of a touch screen. I use my iphone all the time, and it is a pretty remarkable device (Apple is my problem, not the phone itself).

Just make sure the media player/mp3 player, has the ability to folder browse, is plug and play, and drag and drop with USB 2.0 or better (is there yet?)

I at least do that much, the headphones or speaker, I very rarely hold the actual phone up to my head, merc's older articles on the effects on the brain just after a couple minutes of talk time killed that for me!

Still, anytime you have headphones with metal wires on your ears they will be catching radiation and funneling it up to your head, love and hate that technology I do!

[Dorothy]

Jeez - you're right. I was just sitting here with headphones on from having listened to a video a while back and forgot to take them off! Yeah - I gotta not where the headphones when not listening! Duh. 

Well - if it's that hard I'm just getting an Ipod to get my feet wet and if it doesn't work, well, then after I have the basic understanding down from that I can try to upgrade later. I don't have the time/energy resources to research such things right now.

[raw-al]

ipods are not a problem radiation-wise because they do not transmit.

I tried a Samsung player at first because it was cheaper. It was Junk. Thoth you may be unhappy with Apple for your reasons, but I like Apples because they are well made, durable and work as you would expect/want them to. They tend to be more expensive but they just work well. No point in spending your life peed off at a device when you could have paid more and got the best in the first place.

Apple brand issues aside I have a 8 gb ipod Touch and a regular one like the red one in this picture on the Wackipedia site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod

The touch is basically useless to me and heavy. The smaller 8 gb one is perfect. The screen is for selecting the audio tracks. You can download audiobooks and have them in an audiobook folder but that is way too complicated and pointless to me. I simply download each CD into a file with multiple tracks that I label with the book's name and the number of the disc.

[CitrusHigh]

Right al, obviously gazillions of people love their ipod/phones/pads. I just don't like supporting companies that require you to purchase all their equipment whereas with my insignia I could tap in using any generic mini usb cord, to any windows computer anywhere and be in and out of there in less than 5 minutes, you couldn't even hardly download itunes in that amount of time lol. It's a personal choice like everything else.

[Adora]

Thank you for posting this AL.
   I'm so addicted to my smart phone, I'll have to go in stages. I feel bad in my ears too. I know it's my cell phone. I have begun to do feeling meditation before I sleep to try to heel it and I still didn't want to stop using it. --- pathetic and clearly addicted. Health comes and goes in stages, RAVF, sleep, exercise, getting unplugged,etc. etc.
   I will not put that phone against my body- except my hand, which I can't figure out how to avoid-yet, anymore. I'm going to force my teen ager to watch it too.
   It's going to be a big change to unplug the constant communication. I feel like when I was 10, not wanting to go to bed so I wouldn't miss any thing on TV - it's anxiety/tension, about being alone and disconnected - strange how that also sounds so pleasant when I see it as a choice, Alone and Disconnected from society is wonderful. Its all different depending on where I'm standing- metaphorically 
   On the up side, maybe I'll have more messages, and voice mails- those are loads of fun.
WIFI was also a problem, was it not? I have it in my house and yard, I bought the biggest one I could and it's always on. It's runs the expensive plasma TV and video games, the addiction is extensive. Is the wifi also a problem?- tell it to me straight, or I'll never do a thing to change.

   

[raw-al]

Adora,
I turned off my wifi. It is easy to turn it back on and off. You just type in the address of the wifi (usually a number like 192.168.0 etc) on a wired computer then go to the wireless tab and select 'turn it off'. Then go back there and select 'turn it on'. Usually your ISP (company that sends you the bill) will talk you through it and then you just repeat the process.

You can buy a cable so you can wire the appropriate rooms in your house. Wired is a lot faster anyways. Some really cheap places will sell a cable for 10 15 dollars for 50 or 75 feet.

Then you get a cable staple gun from a hardware store to staple the cable to the wall in an appropriate inconspicuous place. The staple gun shoots out a staple that is rounded and the same size as the cable so it is neat and won't damage the wire.

Re the phone, I understand the dilemma, as I am a bit of a guage/electronic weeny myself.

Basically the closer the device is to you the more destructive it is so there are a few options. If appropriate;

it is best to use a speakerphone.

Failing that, using a headset or earpiece is next best as it separates you from the phone.

If you have a purse that is a good place to put the phone

A back pack with an outside pocket also removes it from your body

One other thing is something I saw a Doctor use about 7 - 8 years ago. It is a device that gives you a headset and some kind of grounding device that you put around your ear. I forget the name and I have no idea if it's useful.

Re the pilots and cellphones, Cellphones don't work in an airplane at altitude. Not sure why, but I could never get them to work and I was flying at the time. Even over the top of large cities with lots of towers.

The reason you have to turn off your cell in an aircraft is that when you have a bunch of cellphones on in an aircraft there is bound to be one phone that is broken and will just transmit all kinds of RF and will splash it over various frequencies. This is problematic as GPS signals are very weak and potentially you could overpower the GPS signal which of course would not be great for the navigation of the aircraft. I wrote an article for the company that I worked for a number of years and here is a link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/101erRDQWmbq2FuVa-xXWEHX39Tgm2lL8R1Dz6C9nGQ4/edit

[Dorothy]

I can't wait to get my house finally done where we will have an office for all this stuff with hardlines! In the meantime though it's probably a good idea to turn off the wifi - but we live in a suburban neighborhood and our neighbors are all work in the tech industry - which means - undoubtedly - they all have the widest wifi they can get. I bet that would affect our house right? I mean - the houses are like less then 20 feet apart from each other. In a tech town like Austin almost every place you go has wifi.

Our tv is all hooked up to wifi too Adora. We got rid of cable and now just have netflix with Roku. I'm pretty immersed also - even though I don't want to be.

I tell ya - if y'all lived nearby I'd get rid of it all! Before I met my husband I didn't have a television - he used to ask me where I had been before meeting him - in a cave or something! There was no internet, there were no cell phones and I was perfectly happy that way. The internet and being able to connect with people like THIS to me is more positive than negative - but the rest of it is all skewed towards the negative. Telephones are only good for making meeting times and talking to people in other states.

My neighbor across the street refuses to tell me about things because I don't have texting. She texts everyone else, but refuses to call me or walk across the street. That to me has become my example of how ridiculous things have gotten.

[raw-al]

I think there is a way to text using a regular phone, but you have to have one with texting ability, not sure.

We don't have a TV. Don't miss it at all. They're expensive little critters. However the reason we don't have one is because when we got rid of it there was no Netflix only expensive satellite and since we never watch it anyways, out it went. My ex's family turned it on around 0730 and off @ 2200 when they went to bed.

It's like brain bubblegum. Some don't see it that way.

We get the odd video and that keeps us content.

[Dorothy]

Thanks Al and Thoth for the help!

Here's what I'm looking for - something tiny that I can have on me pretty much all the time without it getting in the way at all or having to have a pouch. I like listening to books when doing all my chores and errands and walking/jogging - but the cd players and cassette players get terribly in the way. If it were really small I'd do more with it.

What I would LOVE is if someone would give me an exact model of whatever brand they think is best and I will try to find the exact thing. That would save me tremendous time and energy trying to figure things out for myself and allow me to escape the salespeople trying to get me to buy upscale.

My brother told me to get the touch - but what you said Al was SO VERY important to me! I don't want big and heavy and useless. It's the same thing I go through with computers. My perfect tiny little computer died because people don't usually keep them for more than a couple of years - but for just email and surfing I would have been able to use it for another decade.

I'm so not part of this "throw away" society and built in obsolescence. Every time it happens it makes me angry. When I no longer want something that is working I like to give it away. I've had at least 5 computers that I still wanted to use just die on me and I lost everything on them. 

So - the simplest little Ipod will most likely be used by me for at least a decade unless it's just not compatible. Incompatibility is just another form of built-in obsolescence to me and also makes me mad. This makes it hard for me to figure out what to buy based on what you two good people suggested! What Al says about being compatible is important but so is what Thoth says about being well-built!

[Dorothy]

I think there is a way to text using a regular phone, but you have to have one with texting ability, not sure.

We don't have a TV. Don't miss it at all. They're expensive little critters. However the reason we don't have one is because when we got rid of it there was no Netflix only expensive satellite and since we never watch it anyways, out it went. My ex's family turned it on around 0730 and off @ 2200 when they went to bed.

It's like brain bubblegum. Some don't see it that way.

We get the odd video and that keeps us content.

I DON'T WANT TO TEXT! I don't have to, I hate it, I hate getting them! Just #$@%ing pick up the phone and CALL me! Refusing to contact me because I'm too much effort makes me simply not care if the person ever contacts me again.... except for things like the garage sale that we are doing TOGETHER is cancelled. See - that's just rude  -- so never a garage sale or any kind of commitment happens with that person again. Sorry for the rant.

If Netflix was out you might have kept your tv Al because you can just turn it on and pick a movie whenever you want it without having to get or order anything. Hubbie loves movies. What do you use to get your internet service? We sent back the cable boxes.

There have been certain times where the stupidest brain candy television has been healing. When things have gotten too overwhelming where my brain is tired and even meditation is too taxing - the candy was healing.

But to have wi-fi JUST to have netflix - I wouldn't choose it - but I don't live alone. 

[raw-al]

We each have an 8 gb ipod. Buy a soft plasticy rubbery thingy to protect it and do not get it wet, period!

We also bought a shure SE 115 headsets. (excellent sound and very comfortable) We use just the short line. Then we take the pouch that comes with the Shure headset and my wife sewed a little tab on the opposite end from the tab that comes with it and put a 1 foot loop of 1/4" elastic on it which goes around the neck and holds the pouch at about the right height so it slips into my shirt pocket.

It is important to keep the whole thing from swinging around too much as it just works the wire and wears it out which just means buying another.

Neither one of us misses TV, but she likes movies or I wouldn't even bother. You can hardwire for Netflix.

[CitrusHigh]

Right Al, I understand that about cell phones, but they have them on, taking pictures of clouds and whatever else they feel like while they're up in lala land, and I do mean that, they're not always paying attention up there, believe me, I've heard more stories than I care to, from the horse's mouth.  And I can't think of a less seemly place to have a cell phone on in a plane than the cockpit where all the instrument readouts (and thus most sensitive to interference) are.

[Dorothy]

8 gb ipod, soft pasticy rubbery thingy to protect it, SE 115 headset with short line --That's what I will get unless Thoth or other can give me such a perfect exact recommendation they think is better!

Thanks AL!

[raw-al]

Right Al, I understand that about cell phones, but they have them on, taking pictures of clouds and whatever else they feel like while they're up in lala land, and I do mean that, they're not always paying attention up there, believe me, I've heard more stories than I care to, from the horse's mouth.  And I can't think of a less seemly place to have a cell phone on in a plane than the cockpit where all the instrument readouts (and thus most sensitive to interference) are.

The antennas are not in the cockpit. The equipment in the cockpit is usually very well shielded.

After you've taken ten pictures of clouds, the thrill wears off.

[Ferocious]

Does anyone know if WiFi is really dangerous? I've read that it is and read that it's not. I've read it's a very low frequency. And as far as i know, the sun puts off radiation, so it seems to be natural to be exposed to it regularly. I'm sure the radiation from the sun is much stronger than the radiation put off of WiFi, but I'm not sure...

Anyone know anything about this?

[Dorothy]

ferocious the in the video they said that the cell phone radiation was VERY low - but what made it dangerous was it's eradicate nature.