I finally broke down and got my daughter a cell phone for her birthday (she's been begging for one for a couple of years). The way the family rates work, it costs me a grand total of $15 a month, and of course the phone itself is almost free.

My wife and I also both have our own cell phones, and with a family and both of us buzzing around, there have been a few times when it was priceless. I can also think of a few times years ago before we had them (before they were cheap) when I would have given a thousand dollars to have one.

Technically, my daughter is not supposed to carry a cell phone in high school. In actual practice, the school policy is "don't ask, don't tell." If the phone stays in the pack and the kid doesn't use it during classes, they don't make a big stink about it.

It is amazing to see how these things have taken over. I have relatives who use them almost exclusively, since long distance rates can actually be cheaper.

What I'm waiting for now is the development of the voice technology to the point where the phone just sits there, and you tell it "get me George on the line" and it does. I know some of that is out there now, but I haven't been all that impressed yet. Maybe we can make it look like a little zoomy-looking pin you wear on your shirt... ;)