Adding my home phone number to the Do Not Call registry was obviously futile.  I still get all kinds of stupid phone calls from stupid people asking for stupid things (honestly, why would I give more money to cops) or telling me to hold for a very important message (Atlantic City Hilton, you're the bane of my existence).  But by far, the most perplexing thing about messages is when the message-leaver just keeps saying, "Hello?  Hello?"  I'd really like to ask that person, "When were you born?  How long have you lived in this country?  Is this your first time using a phone?  Are you familiar with what an answering machine is?  Would you like me to explain to you how one works?"  Honestly, how can anyone be that stupid?  I understand why this happens sometimes:  Telemarketers use some sort of automated phone-dialing machine-o-tron, and when someone or something answers, the telemarketer readies him/herself to dish out the standard spiel.  But doesn't this machine-o-tron have some sort of way to tell if it's talking to a person or another machine?  If not, doesn't the telemarketer have enough sense to realize when he/she is talking to an answering machine?  Perhaps the telemarketer could observe the sound of empty space and conclude that no person is on the other end of the line.  Perhaps the telemarketer could only say "Hello" once, concluding that saying "Hello" more than once will simply fill up a person's answering machine with worthless blank messages.  Perhaps these wastes of human life could just stop calling me. #technology