I have progressed towards being a luddite... When the first Treo appeared, I was the first in line to get one. I thought it was a time sink. And a money pitt: $70 per month in service, over $2500 over the contract period plus the cost of the device. Such amounts of money are better spent elsewhere: a new bike, a new bed, traveling.

Anyway, when I go out with friends, I often turn the cell phone off when I arrive at the meeting place. After all, I am there to meet with my friends.

I think tinkering with phones is a very bad habit. Doing it over a meal with friends or family is downright obnoxious. Don't get me started on people texting and walking like drunks on the street...

Crankin: FB has a great function to avoid seeing annoying/lame updates from acquaintances -- you can unsubscribe from their feeds. Either click and hold on their names to see the "subscribe" button; click on that button to limit what you see.. or go to their pages and click on "subscribe". I have one acquaintance who believes Sarah Palin walks on water, another who continually posts comments that imply complaints about everything, and some cousins that refused to be educated and to mature beyond 12 years of age... Not seeing their feeds when I log in is so much better!