There was a time when nails were high-tech. There was a time when people had to be told how to use a telephone. Technology is just a tool. People use tools to improve their lives.

You know I do music. If you look under the hood of the industry I'm in it's all based on technology. From radio to phonographs to CDs it's all technology. Microphones reel-to-reels cameras editing chips it's all technology.

The telephone is a 100-year-old technology. It's time for a change. Charging for phone calls is something you did last century.

The Internet is a telephone system that's gotten uppity.

Telephone n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance.

I've covered a lot of ground geographically and emotionally and for years I lost my connection with my family. But the best comfort you can have whether you are on the phone or sitting there in the living room with them is with your parents and to me family has always meant protection. When you smile you get a smile back unconditionally.

The Viennese wash everything. Where else in the world does the government hire public servants to wash public telephone booths and the glass over traffic lights? Every time I see someone doing these things I smile like a child.

Don't write anything you can phone. Don't phone anything you can talk. Don't talk anything you can whisper. Don't whisper anything you can smile. Don't smile anything you can nod. Don't nod anything you can wink.

I've got a full plate yes I do. That iPod that's nice. A phone recorder? Nicely done. All right I'm a bit of a tech geek. I have a subscription to Popular Science and I keep up on all this stuff.

I know most people use their phones to tell time but there's something very romantic and beautiful about a timepiece.

The telephone which interrupts the most serious conversations and cuts short the most weighty observations has a romance of its own.

Since the beginning of the 21st century thanks to the concerted efforts of both sides China-U.S. relationship has on the whole enjoyed steady growth. Since President Obama took office we have maintained close contact through exchange of visits meetings telephone conversations and letters.

I never felt I had the kind of relationship with Magic that I could just pick up the phone and call him at home.

It's impossible. You try to have any kind of relationship with your family with a man or with a friend and you have to be on the phone and the Internet the entire time.

In the next 10 years I expect at least five billion people worldwide to own smartphones giving every individual with such a phone instant access to the full power of the Internet every moment of every day.

The most impactful way consumers can assert their power is to become mindful shoppers giving their dollars only to socially responsible companies. In today's world of social media and smart phones this is easy to do.

Unfortunately poetry is not born in noise in crowds or on a bus. There have to be four walls and the certainty that the telephone will not ring. That's what writing is all about.