Wi-Fi Woes...Man allergic to wi-fi takes neighbor to court...

Posted on Monday, January 11, 2010
Filed under Internet, Phones, Weird, Wi-Fi

You've had the neighbor...You know...the one that uses a cell phone, internet, and bluetooth...Oh wait...I guess that is most everyone in the United States, at least the major cities. Well, Arthur Firstenburg is just plain fed up...and has been for years.

Carrying on a crusade to end electromagnetic rays everywhere, Firstenberg first realized he was allergic, or hypersensitive to electromagnetic rays as a medical student at Cornell. From that point on, he dropped out to become an advocate against any type of electromagnetic-promoting behavior (such as cell phones, wi-fi, etc...)

Now, I am not doubting the existence of hypersensitivity to electromagnetic rays...I mean I am allergic to penicillin, and I have to annoy doctors by asking for prescriptions they don't hand out to everyone else.

Where we run into a little problem is the direction this story has taken. While I am allergic to penicillin, I haven't sued any neighbors for their use of it.

But that is exactly what Firstenberg has undertaken. As reported in the Santa Fe New Mexican, Firstenberg says, "he suffers from electromagnetic sensitivity [and] is suing his next-door neighbor for refusing to turn off her cell phone and other electronic devices."

Can you say extreme? Imagine this happening to you...sure you've had noisy neighbors and neighbors who have their whole living room on their front yard...but have you ever been sued for googling or facebooking?

The story gets worse...let's venture on...

As a result of this pesky neighbor's continued web surfing, Firstenberg has taken up temporary residence in his car, as a means of escaping the rays...but does anyone else realize a little problem with this? There are sure a heck of a lot of rays floating in the air these days in case you have noticed...we have radio waves, microwaves, not to mention all the plethora of waves in between...

Says Firstenberg's lawyer, he "cannot stay in a hotel, because hotels and motels all employ wi-fi connections, which trigger a severe illness...If (Firstenberg) cannot obtain preliminary relief, he will be forced to continue to sleep in his car, enduring winter cold and discomfort, until this case can be heard."

It should also be mentioned that Firstenberg has been complaining for year to his neighbor, Monribot, regarding her use of electronics. While she has been much more attentive to his pleas than most people would, she finally drew the line about using her iPhone.

I don't blame her...With so many great apps like Fieldrunners, Bejeweled, and Scrabble, I don't think I could go a day without my phone...

Time will tell how this monumental case will turn out...The only problem I can see is that the judge, lawyers and jury are going to have to get rid of their phones beforehand and the stenographer will have to pick up a typewriter along the way...

Though the news story is definitely entertaining, I give the man's adamant efforts a final electronic-infested toast rating of: