# No Phone? No Lights? No Motorcar? The Luddite Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2001, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433 "2001-06-11T15:43:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/1 "2001-06-11T15:43:41Z")
What mod-cons do you NOT have? • E-mail and Internet. I have them at work, but at home, they’d just be another excuse to waste time and I have quite enough of those. • Microwave. They just make me nervous. Don’t trust 'em. They are Satan’s Bedwarmers. • CD player. I am still pissed-off at the recording industry for yanking LPs out from under us. I’m convinced they are only waiting for ME to get a CD player for them to be declared obsolete, too. ---
**Author:** ![dwid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@dwid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwid)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/2 "2001-06-11T15:54:06Z")
I agree on the computer thing. I can’t stand to so much as look at one when I’m not at work. Cellular Phones and pagers - I swear I will be the last to own one. I can’t even express how much I hate them. Phase plasma rifle with 40 watt range - these things are more trouble than they’re worth. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/3 "2001-06-11T16:03:42Z")
I don’t have a garage, does that count? No cell phone. No pager. No cable TV. ---
**Author:** ![Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/4 "2001-06-11T16:04:39Z")
I do not have any of the following:[ul][li] Computer - I have one at work, but not a home[/li][li] Cell phone - I’ve never needed to be that accessible[/li][li] Microwave oven - Don’t have one, don’t want one. I can spare the time it takes to boil water or reheat leftovers on the stove[/li][li] Television set (well, at least for a couple months) - We packed our TV in the basement for the summer. I don’t miss the TV part, but the no Playstation part is starting to gnaw at me.[/li] Kitchen gadgets - I have none and I like it that way. The only things that plug in in the kitchen are the mixer and the coffee maker.[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/5 "2001-06-11T16:08:12Z")
I’m not an early-adopter, but I’m up-to-date on most things: computer, scanner, color printer, CD carousel, DVD player, microwave oven, cellphone, Palm Pilot, cordless drill, power saw. But… My car has the stock stereo installed. Two speakers and AM/FM radio only; no CD or tape player. I prefer dead-tree books to the e-variety and probably always will. Oh, and I still use light switches: no Clapper for **Fiver**. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/6 "2001-06-11T16:10:26Z")
No dishwasher. I don’t really miss the one we had in our last apartment except after our very rare big dinners. No television. We might get one in a few years, when the kids are old enough to sit through a whole video. No air conditioning. We’re only a block from the ocean, so we can get along with fans, for the most part. I just recently got a cell phone, but my husband has to keep bugging me to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/7 "2001-06-11T16:13:41Z")
No portable communications devices. I don’t even like making phone calls. No Palm Pilot. I use notebooks. No AC, either…we have ceiling fans in the bedrooms. I do have a microwave, but it was in the house when I got here. I only use it for heating up homemade soups, chili, whatever for two small children who don’t have the patience to wait for the regular stove to do it. And my computer is necessary for my work! Really! ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/8 "2001-06-11T16:31:56Z")
No cable, pager, fax machine, printer, video game system. The only reason we have a computer and cel phone at home is because my wife’s work paid for and provided them (they were also part of her severance package during the [dot.com](http://dot.com) bloodbath) We only have one phone line, so we can’t get calls while on-line. We maybe use the cel phone once a week max (and only at home, never while we’re out). We’re in an apartment so no washer/dryer, dishwasher, or AC. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/9 "2001-06-11T17:04:50Z")
We’re not really Luddites here **Eve,** but I just wanted to say thanks a bunch for putting that stupid song in my head! :mad: 😃 Here’s one right back atcha: "The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round . . . " Enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/10 "2001-06-11T17:09:10Z")
**Eve,** you Luddite babe you, the biggest chuckle I got out of this thread was the word “motorcar” in the subject heading. It says more about you than all the words in the rest of your post. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/11 "2001-06-11T17:12:26Z")
Oh wait! That’s from the Gilligan’s Island theme song, right? Oh well, knowing you, you would have used “motorcar” even if it wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/12 "2001-06-11T17:19:33Z")
No VCR, only got a phone last year after living here for 9 years, no car - everything I want is within 200 yards but I do have a rusty garage that resembles a medieval tin shed. Dishwasher - nope, washing mashine - nope the laundrette is only a few yards away, no microwave, no electric toothbrush, air con - in the UK? you must be kidding! No blender, or coffee machine, the oven part of the cooker has a dodgy thermostat so I never use it - the Takeaway on the corner is really more like an extension to my kitchen. I have just got an electric kettle which was surplus to a friends requirements but I hardly ever use it - beer is much nicer than tea or coffee. You might expect a EE to have more gadgets but I got sick of repairing, assessing, reworking them, the fewer things I have to go wrong the better. ---
**Author:** ![moi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@moi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moi)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/13 "2001-06-11T17:55:30Z")
Never had a pager. Don’t have a cell phone, but have thought about it. No PalmPilot. No dishwasher, no washer/dryer. No AC. No TV reception, no cable. No Nintendo or other video game system. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/14 "2001-06-11T18:30:58Z")
Styguy—Nope, I call them “horseless carriages.” Except hansom cabs; they’re known as “loose boxes” and NO nice girl would climb into one. Scarlett—Ha! I don’t have kids, so I don’t know the tune to that one! ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/15 "2001-06-11T18:50:13Z")
well, I don’t have a pager, and tho we have a cell phone, we have no service for it. But we’ve got all the other modern conveniences, multiples of some. It’s all about the toys… ---
**Author:** ![missdavis102](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7feea3/32.png) [@missdavis102](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missdavis102)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/16 "2001-06-11T18:51:57Z")
At home I don’t have internet access, cable tv, DVD player thingie, any sort of electronic game device, an answering machine, call waiting, or voicemail, or any remote controls. In my car I don’t have tape deck or CD player, cruise control, auto locks or auto windows, trunk pop button, or that annoying bleep thing on a keychain. In the office I don’t have my own palm pilot. I don’t have a mobile phone anywhere, which is ironic, since I work for a mobile phone company (for the moment, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/17 "2001-06-11T22:43:19Z")
I am car-free. Also don’t have a microwave. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/18 "2001-06-11T22:46:51Z")
No microwave, no cell phone, no car, no dishwasher, no air conditioning, no answering machine, no garbage disposal, no DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/19 "2001-06-11T23:02:41Z")
Man, some of you folks would have a stroke if you saw my home office. Let’s count the devices, shall we? CPU, monitor, Zip drive, UPS box, printer, copier, scanner, fax, cordless phone, white-noise machine, answering machine, laptop, tape backup, shredder, and 5 surge strips. I leave everything running, too, so at night it looks like the bridge of the bleepin’ _Enterprise_ in here. 😃 Then again, it’s the only room in the house that produces an income. So there. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433/20 "2001-06-11T23:34:22Z")
Here sums up me … what IS a Palm Pilot?? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-phone-no-lights-no-motorcar-the-luddite-thread/68433.md?page=2)