Despite adding my phone number to the national do-not-call-list, I’m still getting unsolicited calls from Canada. To circumvent the law, some companies have outsourced the calling to foreign firms.

I have call display, so I don’t answer unsolicited phone calls. Unfortunately, there are limitations and the feature doesn’t reveal the source of some calls from outside Nova Scotia.

Thankfully, many local and overseas telemarketers rely on computers to do the calling and this is a handy way of identifying that it is someone with whom I do not wish to speak.

“Hello,” I say when I answer the phone.

Then, there is a distinct pause while the voice-activation software informs the telemarketer that a human has answered the phone. Usually, I hang up at this point.

If I haven’t hung up, I am sometimes treated to the comedy of the telemarketer saying “hello?” as if they are wondering if anyone is there.

No, there is nobody here. Click.

If a telemarketer is efficient and somehow manages to get to the five-second mark of the call by resembling a person with whom I might want to have a conversation, then I thank my ancestors for giving me a two-word surname.

“Hello, Mr. Horne?” is often the nail in the coffin for these unwelcome intrusions on my work day.

Alexander Graham Bell gets lots of credit for inventing the telephone, but I think that without call display, a telephone is just a nuisance.

Some people are too polite to hang up on unsolicited phone calls, but not me.

I am not a misanthrope, but I do allow myself one this one indulgence and have no qualms about imitating the Grumpy Cat.

So, next time someone calls you while you’re eating supper or putting the kids to bed, embrace your inner misanthrope and end the call quickly.

Don’t give me the excuse that they’re just doing their job. We all make choices in life and anybody can choose not to be a telemarketer.