One has cell phones for those folks who are really important and other numbers for everyone else. (work, distant relatives, whomever)

That way it's mainly a one-way communication device, with you calling out and not vice-versa. Also remember to switch off the phone when you don't want to be bothered or triangulated.

Re: technology

Digital cameras are great, but so is a 1970's BigShot Polaroid land camera or a 1950's Rolleiflex. Don't get stuck with just one or the other.

GPS - forget OnStar and use a private aftermarket GPS system & network if you must. Best to leave car manufacturers and dealerships out of the equation.

Picture phones. Gimmicky. Especially the fake camera sound effects they make as they take a picture. Digital cameras and phones should be separate so you can talk and take pictures at the same time should the need arise.

Ipods. Never was into Apple. One 'job' wonders. Graphics machines...now music downloaders. It's fine if you need them for those tasks and they look cute in a mod 70s way. But my tastes run towards a hopped up P4 Compaq laptop with a 2WIRE internet hookup if I want flexibility in computing.

Car DVD players/TVs. Kids get too much tv as it is. Why push them further into the mental abyss? Looking out the window, reading a book or listening to the radio should still be entertainment enough. Seeing kids in minivans with headphones on staring at a screen in a headrest just tells me the parents don't give a darn and don't want the hassle of dealing with the result of their reproductive actions. Might as well never take them out of the maternity ward and just pay for 18 years of daycare. It'll be easier.

Satellite radio. Fine. But theres still the problem of not hearing what you specifically want to be hearing at any given moment. Give me a European or custom Export radio with CD/Cassette and don't forget to include short wave reception.