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29 January 2006
An issue of utmost importance Is it, or is it not gross to take a laptop into the bathroom with you?
As a uptight english-type, I think it is gross to have any connection to the outside world while in the bathroom. That means no phone, and no internet connection. In theory, it would not be gross to work on a document while in there, but for the love of god, I don't wanna be talking to someone in there.
Not that my opinion is necessarily correct, but...
Not gross, as long as it's not touched with soiled hands. No difference to having a book/newspaper/phone in there. And it's perfectly safe to use in the bath (unless it's plugged in, duh!)
I agree with flopsy, but there's an important point of etiquette. Please don't tell anyone you're contacting them from atop the throne. That's what's gross. I feel the same way about the phone, too. By all means, if you feel the need, keep talking on the phone; but don't tell me where you are and what you're doing, and don't let me hear any flushing.
Yuck. After all the horror stories concerning fecal matter being transferred to doorknobs, cosmetics samples indepartment stores, fast food, etc. - you're considering using ol' Lappy as a postmodern version of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader? Even if you wash your hands with soap, who's to say the toilet won't overflow from a full septic tank, or clogged pipes?
Smart Dalek, recent studies show that the bathroom is generally a very clean place. Your keyboard, on the other hand, has about 400 times more bacteria and virii than a toilet seat.
I don't know about everyone else, but I seem to manage to keep my hands clean in the bathroom. No problem with reading books, etc. Nothing gets 'flagged' because of that. I wash, too, of course, but there are no loose e.Colis to worry about anyway. See that roll of thin, white paper? Try it!
Just kidding, but really -- contamination isn't a huge concern. Public health people sometimes say you really should be washing your hands before you go to the bathroom, to get the grunge of the world off yourself before you touch any tender bits.
I mean, if things got contaminated that easily -- you'd have to fully change all your clothes after a visit to the loo. Where do you draw the line?
This is how I respond when I figure out that someone is speaking to me from the can. I support books, laptops, portrait painting, sudoku, memorizing sutras or whatever in the can, just not having to talk to someone on the phone while they do their business. This does not bother me in person for some reason.
The problem for me is it makes me feel like I'm talking to one of the Weinsteins and that is all too I'm Quentin Tarantino and my ego is huge but I still have to listen to the grunts and whistles of a fat coked up starlet fiddler if I want to get my movie that is centered around how much I hate myself and Bruce Lee's tracksuit made for me.
Fact is, I never talk whilst on the shitter, but I don't mind when folks do. It's pretty obvious, and I don't get annoyed.
However, I hate when I'm having a slash or a dump in a public john and some fucker walks in and starts yammering at me. Makes me go all simian, pissing aggressively and flinging shit all over.
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