Start the New Year off right -- with a New Year's Ringtone for your cellphone!

Here's where you'll find the best New Year & New Year's Resolution ringtones...

I've been wondering about this for a long time...

Whenever we're traveling state to state (usually in an RV lately), Jim and I are always intrigued to see how different states do things. For example, motorcycle helmet laws, laws regarding cell phone usage while driving, etc.

I finally found the answer to cellphone use while driving...

I went to the emissions place recently (a requirement before we renew our license plates each year here in Tennessee), and as I was leaving they handed me a small vinyl bag.

I asked what that was for, and they said it's an easy way to recycle your cell phone.

Which reminded me of two other sites I had previously bookmarked as being "reputable" sites for recycling cellphones.

Our favorite beat reporter, Randy, is at it again... He sends us this great tip for how to get out of a Verizon phone contract -- without any penalties!

But first, I have to ask... how many of you prefer Verizon over Cingular... or vice versa?

I'm sure you've been in the same boat we are...

Where you find yourself constantly thinking up "brilliant" ideas. So brilliant, in fact, that the people your share your great idea with encourage you to patent it.

In mine & Jim's world...it seems like this happens all the time.

Oh sure, lots of our ideas are dumb. Or they've already been patented by someone else & we just don't know it yet (...like the date-back camera, or popcorn dental floss, or a Music City Walk of Fame). Or they might only seem appealing to a small group of people.

Nevertheless, here are some of the things that we wish someone would invent soon. Because they sure would make our lives easier!

Have a look...

We've used this service (numerous times!) and can highly recommend it.

We'll never pay for 411 services again.

If you want to see if you can hear the Mosquito Ringtone that only 20-somethings are supposed to be able to hear, try it for yourself here...

It's not that I talk on my cell phone much. Quite the contrary... I have so many Cingular rollover minutes built-up each month, you wouldn't believe it!

But my cell phone battery still loses its charge, so I have to go through the motions of charging up my phone... then finding it's dead just when I need it most... and recharging it all over again.

So, I wonder... just how long is the battery in a cell phone supposed to last, anyway?

Listen to Bud Light's Real Men of Genius "Mr. Really Loud Cell Phone Talker Guy":

My Cell Battery Only Lasted A Year

One year just doesn't seem very long for a battery to last -- in my opinion.

So I asked the guys at Batteries Plus (in Cool Springs, TN) for their take on how long a cell phone battery should last.

They gave me a couple of great tips to improve your cell phone battery life!...

I just noticed that Georgia will be switching to mandatory 10-digital dialing on April 3rd.

They're not the first -- or the last -- to do so. But it got me thinking:

A) Just how many more NUMBERS must we humans be required to remember in order to perform the multitude of tasks that we enjoy these days?

and...

B) Of all that I believe in, stand for, and ultimately do in life... what it all comes down to is this: I am just a number.

Maybe you've heard the phrase "voice over Internet Protocol" ... otherwise known as VoIP.

Maybe you've heard of "Skype"... otherwise known as the fastest, easiest, and clearest way to talk to other people -- all over the world -- for FREE right from your computer (...rather than on a traditional telephone line).

I had heard about both some time ago, but I didn't think much about them at the time.

I mean... I've got a cellphone. I've got plenty of free roaming minutes each month. And I've even got rollover minutes coming out of my ears. Jim does too.

BUT... Some of our friends & relatives don't!

So it made sense when a friend of ours recently asked us to sign up with Skype(for free) so we could chat with him at length about a tricky computer issue he was having.

I'm not kidding when I say that in less than 5 minutes we were up & running, and eager to explore all that Skypehas to offer... but just then our friend "Skyped us" (a.k.a. phoned us) -- before we could even think of what to do next!

(If someone knows your email address, they can look you up in Skypequick & easy.)