I still have one too, through a place called American Wireless. Up in far Northern Cali, cell service is terrible, especially in the hilly regions. We don't have cell service in our house, which is in the middle of a subdivision in a medium-sized city. However, the pager works every time, no fail. I don't know if it is still true, but they used to be satellite-based which would explain why it even works when I'm in the driving through the middle of a mountain range.

Thanks for the update, Eugene. Its good to hear from you again.

I not only laughed, I linked to your comment in my blog as the perfect articulation of what I was laughing about. Nice.

ill-defined caveat regarding the nebulous property of 'percieved value to others'.

It is not nebulous or ill-defined at all, it is quite plainly spelled out in the narcotics laws of your local jurisdiction, which are by definition the local standards for materials that impose a higher perceived cost than benefit. If none of this makes sense to you, try Tierra del Fuego, I hear you can set up your anarchy there for little cost.