I realize I�m supposed to be over it, but I still think my cell phone is cool. I know: gadget-wise it�s a little pass�. It�s not a palm pilot or a Playstation 2 or some kind of new and expensive portable MP3 Player. But, boy, it sure is cool that you can actually talk to people on that little thing!

I try to be businesslike. I don�t makes calls for no reason. I mean, if you call someone from in front of their house instead of ringing the doorbell, that�s not calling for no reason. You�re avoiding the trouble of getting out of the car. That�s not geekiness, it�s laziness. Right?

Okay, fine, yes, I admit it. I do sometimes call my machine for no reason. I don�t care if I have messages. I certainly don�t return any of my messages. I just like to push the little buttons. But I don�t have a problem. I can quit whenever I want.

I admit to a secret thrill every time my cell phone rings. It�s the same excitement I used to feel every time I got an email, back before the Internet turned to crap. When I got my cell phone I didn�t give out the number, because I didn�t want it going off all the time. Now I wish it�d go off more often, just so I could hear that magical ring (ascending ringing option, volume three, ringing tone "polite", vibration on).

And, even though it never rings, how am I supposed to resist fiddling with it? My cell phone has so many parameters and options and variables. It�s got a microprocessor and a battery and a little screen and menus and submenus� it needs to be optimized! What am I supposed to do? Ignore all that technology? That seems irresponsible. Possibly dangerous!

There�s a game on my cell phone but it�s almost redundant. Sure, I�ve played Snake, but it�s more fun to fiddle with the rings (maybe I should try beep once ringing option, volume 4, ringing tone "persuasion", vibration off), or make sure the keyguard is on or, yes, call home and check my messages. Or I could go buy one of those earpiece microphones, so people wouldn�t know whether I was talking to them or on the phone. Fun!

Sociologists have worried that technology will turn us into a society of recluses, glued to our TV sets and our home computers. But I don�t think they have to worry. No matter how seductive big-screen TVs and home entertainment systems become in the future, people are always going to leave home from time to time. How else will they play with their cell phones?