Signal to noise?

communication fail!

Usually when the phone rings, it’s a robocall. When it’s a human, we manage to communicate. I try to refuse their pitches politely, even though they’ll likely hang up on the third refusal – it must be a formula of some kind. Sometimes it’s a friend, colleague, client or new contact – all of which manage to communicate, even if there’s an initial glitch. Not this time. There was no way to tell what this person (prank robot?) wanted, since he (it) refused to say anything other than repeat a strange question.

We live in strange times. Nobody answers their phone, for good reason. Who wants to put up with a robocall “DON’T HANG UP!!! IMPORTANT!!!”? So answering the phone is fraught with uncertainty. You never know what’s on the other end of the line. Never. Most friends just don’t answer unknown callers: “if it’s serious, they’ll leave a message.”. Even businesses hesitate to answer.

So, when you’re an unknown caller and someone answers the phone live, there’s a lot of mistrust. Are you a telemarketer who won’t take no for an answer, a friend with a new number, a long-lost family member asking for news, a potential client, a sales rep…? Speak up and be known!

I hope that the robocall mess can be sorted out somehow. It really does mess things up when nobody wants to answer their phone!


Is. That. ?

MORNING

Your Google is broken
Dire tidings, financial ruin, we’ll save you! push one now!
Dirty ducts kill!

RING

A client, interesting work? A question? A friend?

no.

some one / thing very far away
Or not

Greeting:
silence.

words launched into an echoless void

click
Robot storing number: valid = true?

Disconnect!

RING

repeat: some one / thing very far away
Or not

Greeting, query: human or machine?
Non sequitur: query

nonresponsive

Rebounding non comprehension
Speak and be heard, ignored

words, like leaves in the wind
float into the void
unheard?

form and meaning or chaos?
chaos with a lower case “c”
(silence merits lower case)

RUN (TEST)
LOGICAL HUMAN RESPONSE: NOT FOUND
COMMUNICATION: FAIL
CONCLUSION: HOSTILE.
TURING: FAIL.
TIMEOUT.
DISCONNECT.

Back to work.


Some things are like that.

– Mike

Published by mike

Mike is a licensed landscape architect. He's also an artist, photographer and occasional chef. Luciole Design specializes in sustainable, contemporary, modern landscape design - and traditional landscape styles that fit into California's Mediterranean climate. Sacramento, California.