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I couldn’t stop listening to the documentary about cell phones, which Europeans call "mobile phones." The program explores the history behind, uses of and cultural phenomena surrounding the over two billion mobile phones in use around the planet. How is the mobile phone changing the lives of the poor? Are mobile phone conversations secure? What is considered acceptable behavior of mobile phone use in various countries?

If this got you thinking about your own cell phone use, you may want to bookmark these guides to cell phone etiquette:

• InfoWorld’s Ten Commandments
• LetsTalk.com’s Guide
• Microsoft’s 10 Dos and Don’ts
• Ask Yahoo’s answer
• Monster.com’s Six Gadget Etiquette Dos and Don’ts for the Workplace
• About.com’s How To Respect The Rules
• textually.org (a blog about texting, SMS and MMS): cell phone etiquette
• CNN.com’s Cell Phone Etiquette 101
• Road & Travel magazine’s Basic Rules of Cell Phone Etiquette
• PhoneyBusiness.com
• and more . . .

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• computer & TV screen cleaner
• desktop paper organizing system
• ATM savings bank
• machine-washable, slip-on walking shoes
• handsomely hidden cat litter box
• plug-in electric bill calculator
• multi-purpose ladder
• three-dish oven rack
• car wheel traction device
• 10-year journal

If you need help with home improvement or getting organized, Solutions also provides a handy list of free clever tips.

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This morning, however, Fresh Air had an interesting story about a new video game that got my attention. The game is supposed to be both highly addictive and very popular — and not just among teenage boys, but among girls and grown women as well. Most intriguing of all, it’s not violent — at least in a kick-and-punch and shoot-’em-up kind of way. Produced by Namco Games, Katamari Damacy ("Roll It Up" in English) and the more recent We Love Katamari, begin with your avatar pulling a tiny ball that rolls around picking up random objects, like candy and game tiles. As you successfully pick up more and more objects, your ball grows larger and larger — first picking up animals and automobiles and then eventually skyscrapers and airplanes — until you’re devastating the landscape with your colorful mass of sticky stuff. The concept seems like an amalgam of the 1950s sci-fi flick The Blob and a black hole, with a little 3D PacMan thrown in.

I dare not start rolling around in such an appealing virtual world because of my aforementioned addictive nature, but if you’d like to give it a go, Katamari is available for Sony PlayStation 2 and other video game consoles.

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On the January 2 episode of Dr. Phil (which I watch when I’m in the mood to feel self-righteous and falsely superior to others), guest LuAnn has profound trouble getting up in the morning. Even a high-decibel alarm located across the room from the bed isn’t enough to keep her up for the day (she gets up to turn it off and crawls back into bed). In addition to the expected psychological analysis (LuAnn doesn’t want to get up because she’s avoiding things she doesn’t like in her life), Dr. Phil gives her a SleepTracker alarm watch.

This is what intrigues me: the watch — not a clock, because it has to be in direct contact with the body — monitors the biological changes associated with the different stages of your sleep cycle and wakes you up during an "almost-awake" moment, which is the easiest stage for waking. Instead of setting the alarm for an exact time, like 7:00 AM, you set an "alarm window," such as 6:30 to 7:00 AM. The SleepTracker finds the "almost-awake" moment during that half hour (like, say, at 6:53 AM) and wakes you up then. It can also record your sleep data so that you can review your cycles and see what works best for you over time.

The Gear Live reviewer and others seem to love the SleepTracker, even if it’s a bit pricey ($150) for a geeky-looking carpal accouterment. SleepTracker maker Innovative Sleep Solutions also offers some rather obvious sleep tips as well as a forum for SleepTrack users.

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Professional organizer Julie Morgenstern advises choosing a single system — paper-based or electronic — for managing all your personal data (calendar, contacts, "to-do" list, notes, expenses, etc.) Time-tested paper-based systems include the venerable Filofax, FranklinCovey, Day-Timer, and my favorite (and best-looking, in my opinion) organizer pages, Day Runner. Desktop software applications include the robust ACT! contact management software, Microsoft OneNote and IBM Lotus Organizer. And, of course, there is a plethora of handheld devices and PDAs to choose from.

Because each medium has its own advantages, I use all of these in conjuction:

• Microsoft Outlook as my desktop PIM. I used to use Palm Desktop until the sheer volume of data I was managing unleashed some sort of glitch that crashed the application with increasing frequency. (Perhaps this bug has been fixed in subsequent versions.)
• A Palm PDA, with the data synched to Outlook, thanks to Chapura PocketMirror.
• A series of Excel spreadsheets to manage my business data, fitness record, reading list, wish list and generic weekly schedule.
• A good old-fashioned notebook and pen — although I haven’t graduated to the Hipster PDA yet.

While it may seem complicated to use all of these tools, all of my information is well organized, and if my desk isn’t already clear, it’s very easy to tidy up.

Other resources worth considering:

• FlexAddress Systems: a paper calendar system with removable contact stickers for easy management. This system was created by Judith Moncrieff Baldwin, author of What Your Little Black Book Reveals: The Incredible Secret Power of the Addresses You Keep!
• Calendar Creator software: features include hundreds of templates, FranklinCovey layouts, Outlook support, calendar displayed as screensaver, images and more.
• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen. This has been on my bookshelf for a while, but unfortunately, reading it is something I haven’t yet done. (If only I’d read it so that I could learn how to get things done — and then I’d find the time to read Getting Things Done…ah, the old chicken-or-egg problem.)

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• audio player (which doubles as USB storage)
• alarm clock/timer/stopwatch
• camera
• phone
• basic PDA with calendar, contacts and notes functions
• walkie-talkie
• wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity
• transistor radio
• rechargeable battery

and other useful things:

• flashlight
• compact but strong detachable padlock
• measuring tape
• coin holder
• pen
• lip balm
• mirror
• pill case
• toothbrush
• sewing kit

Yeah, I realize this would probably make an awfully large tool, perhaps too big to fit into one’s pocket — but it’s a fun fantasy. In the meantime, however, we can content ourselves with the Victorinox Swiss Army knife with SwissMemory 1GB USB drive.

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