How sad is it that none of those examples seem extreme to me?

True story. My cousin Walter kept going to the hospital and getting blackberries removed from his ass. So about a after the most recent blackberry removal, I see Walt at the Verizon store, picking out a brand-new phone - sure enough, a blackberry. I say to him, "Walt, you know you are just going to get that blackberry stuck up your ass, what are you doing?" And he says to me, "Brody, how the hell else am I going to get the gerbil out?" My cousin Walter was a sick f*#k.

I'm sorry but this is just really sad. And pathetic. OK, the money makes it "worth" it to some. But come on people!! I feel nothing but pity for these partners/associates. What an awful way to live a life.

Sometimes I check my Blackberry was standing at the urinal (holding my thing in one hand, and checking the Blackberry with my other).

I blackberry from the crapper all the time.

Is anyone else super excited about the new Blackbery Bold / 9000 coming out in the next few weeks???

Finally, a bb with high speed internet + gps + wifi.

I know of a senior counsel that takes his blackberry to bed with him EVERY NIGHT and puts it on vibrate under his pillow. His girlfriend confirmed to me that this was true.

2:12 - He deserves to get promoted to partner for that kind of anality.

I've used my blackberry all over the world while on vacation. I now only travel to country's with strong military-influenced governments, like Nepal, where my Blackberry data plan surely won't work. Next stop is Burma.

I use mine all the time while driving.

I am a BigLaw Paralegal. One time during a national Blackberry service disruption period, my IPhone worked, so I could still receive emails. I didn't tell anyone.......

I heard a guy talking on his bluetooth while peeing at a public bathroom at the airport.

TOOLS, all of you!

I heard that an associate was arrested and sent to jail for insider trading and fraud. He hid his blackberry in a secret place (where the guy on Pulp Fiction hid the watch) so that he could continue to bill and manage paralegals while in prison. He's going to make partner when he comes out.

When the SA's at my firm started, we all got new BB Curve's in our welcome bag. Mine is raspberry. They're awesome to use around town. I love it!

2:10, if you were really committed you would have used both thumbs to type and let the hose flail where it may.

Here in Delaware, the Bankruptcy Court actually permits use of Blackberries IN THE COURTROOM!!! (So long as the ringer is turned off - stiff penalty for anyone whose BB rings during a hearing.)

Imagine if this were widespread in all courts. Oh, the new possibilities for micromanagers everywhere.

These people are idiots.

Speaking of stiff penalties...

Two words: Doggy style

I reviewed a document and sent a few emails from the dentist chair in the few minutes between the dentist and the hygienist. It didn't strike me as particularly over the top - I had a few minutes and used it to get some time-sensitive stuff done.

These people are idiots.

I have BB'ed from:
- a tour of Alcatraz
- the funeral director's office while discussing my grandfather's funeral
- my hospital bed where I was admitted for a vicious case of salmonella poisoning (I also emailed before I went to the ER to say that I'd be unavailable for a while)
- the tub, between puking from a massive hangover
- the road, while at speed (virtually everyday)
- concerts (where you have to type almost completed in the dark), and
- I'm sure countless other obnoxious places.

I only allow my BB to go off in the middle of the night if I'm expecting something that must be addressed in the middle of the night. Otherwise, it's pointless to lose sleep, and my husband would probably throw it away. I also *usually* leave it behind on vacations, or only check it a few times a day - in fairness to my husband.

I Blackberried from the duck blind during a slow period.

2:18, 2:37,

When given our blackberries, my firm told us not to bb while driving, because if you have an accident, the firm could be exposed to liability. Is this just crazy talk?

Pathetic, the lot of you.

Blackberry = Leash.

You know you've made it when you can let the help handle your communication.

No matter how large your salary, if you need to be "where you can be reached" at all times, you're just a lackey.

Suckers.

I went to Australia for my honeymoon. Took a boat to the middle of reef for a few nights of diving. Guess what, my blackberry worked in the middle of the great barrier reef!

I went to Australia for my honeymoon. Took a boat to the middle of reef for a few nights of diving. Guess what, my blackberry worked in the middle of the great barrier reef!

That third example is so true- I know two people personally who did this.

Blackberried simultaneously while doing my girlfriend doggy style.

Blackberried simultaneously while doing my girlfriend doggy style.

You have a cool girlfriend.

I hit it the same way as well. Told her I was going to hold it against her if/when it vibrated again.

True story.

Recent developments in technology have really been a bad thing for humanity. Outsourcing, expectations of constant availability, weird online gamers, the list goes on.

Someone needs to cut off the flow of venture capital into Silicon Valley.

While standing in the delivery room as my wife delievered our second child, I sent BB messages to work almost the entire time. That's when I decided that I had a real problem, and needed to quit.

Since then, I've gotten very, very good at completely ignoring my BB in the evenings and on weekends. And you know, I still am doing just fine at work.

2:41: The firm can be liable. Cooley had to settle when an associate on her cellphone hit someone.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-12-25-cellphone-usat_x.htm

None of these examples are over-the-top or extraordinary. What's the big deal?

I don't always pay 100% attention to work when I am at the office. Likewise, I don't always vacation 100% when I take leave, and I don't always pay 100% attention to my home life when I am at home.

Sometimes I am at work and do personal things; sometimes I am at home doing work things.

2:53, Ignoring your BB completely on weekends is not a good idea. The rule of thumb around my parts is that you shouldn't go longer than 3-4 hours without checking in.

Cell-phoned from the delivery room, with two separate pregnancies. Between contractions. The second time, I had to speak to client/opposing counsel about my anticipated absence from the next day's deposition. They were so horrified they were like, "OK, yes, get the hell of the phone! Don't be having any babies on the phone!"

Of course, the firm STILL dinged me as "not committed" when I returned from my 3-week maternity leave for the first pregnancy. I quit while six months pregnant with the next one, after being told that the firm "has legitimate reasons not to promote mothers." Ugh.

Once I tried to Blackberry at Burning Man, but there wasn't any reception.

Guys at my high school Blackberried Chuck Berry all the time from the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance.

@ 3:01

2:53 here. "Completely" was an overstatement. In the evenings I might check it once. On the evenings, maybe once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and sometimes once at night.

Of course, if people need me, they can (and do) call by phone.

But if you can live your life without glancing at your email every couple of hours on the weekends, then you've got a real problem on your hands. Go read a book or play with your kids.

This is a good one. Last year, I fell from a loft onto a concrete floor and fractured my femur so severely that the bone was protruding through the skin in my leg. As the paramedics were about to put me on the stretcher (and I was writhing in anguish like I've never known before), I told my wife to call the partner I was working for and tell him what happened. I also told her to get my bb. After 24 hours of massive doses of morphine and narcotics, and a 5-hour surgery to insert a 18 inch titanium rod down the center of my femur, I was on bb with partners, associates, and paralegals to arrange for upcoming depositions. (Prologue: I left private practice three months ago and am VERY happily working at the Securities and Exchange Commission)! :-)

2005: Beach on an Island in the South China Sea
2007: Harz Mtns, Romania

Epilogue is what comes after the story; prologues explain events prior to the beginning of the narrative.

I've blackberried from the 11th floor of the American Gardens building when I was 27 years old. I've also blackberried from Tunnel, Harry's, Nell's, Pastels, Dorsia, Texarcana, and the Four Seasons when eating with Cliff Huxstable. I once forgot to return some videotapes and my blackberry calendar reminded me.

BB'd 5 minutes after coming out of laser eye surgery (actually, I had my husband read my emails/respond cause I couldn't see)

I'm telling my firm that they can give me a BB, but I won't check it after 7pm or on weekends. I feel that if I'm up front with the firm from the beginning then I shouldn't have a problem. (T5-->V10)

Thank you, 3:18, I had a small seizure when I read that.

God, what a messed-up "profession."

I was at a funeral for a big law partner once and everyone threw blackberries into his coffin before he was buried as a gesture of respect. I don't think his widow was pleased however as she seemed to weep even harder after the grand spectacle of camaraderie.

lol @ 3:34

3:18 -- more importantly, his prologue was misery, his epilogue appears to be happiness

"But if you [can't] live your life without glancing at your email every couple of hours on the weekends, then you've got a real problem on your hands. Go read a book or play with your kids."

Sorry man, I guess I have a real problem then. I get a bunch of money to be available to my bosses and clients and I don't find that especially daunting. At the end of the day, checking your BB takes a minute - literally.

I blackberried from my wife's bedside as she was giving birth to our third child. I stopped when the contractions were less than a minute apart. Earlier that day, a partner emailed me, congratulated me on the impending birth later that day, and then proceeded to bombard me with questions about some briefing I was working on.

2:28: You kick ass. I too remember that tool's post.

Yeah, 3:37... sign of respect... that's *exactly* what it was.

2:28: You kick ass. I too remember that tool's post.

My cousin was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 on 9/11/01. He was originally one of the passengers who stormed the cockpit to take back the plane but as the plane went into a dive his blackberry reception was strong enough to get incoming messages. He tried to respond to as many messages from the partners as possible before the plane hit the ground. He was a true hero.

Checking takes a minute, but responding takes 10, 15, more. It adds up. Have the courage to have some time to yourself. Who knows, you may even get some respect for it.

3:44, that is one of the most insensitive messages I have ever seen. You obviously do not work in NYC and don't remember the sacrifice and hell that people went through that day.

3:44--Love the American Psycho reference

I BB'd while in labor

Shut up, 3:47(1).

Re the partner who started using her BlackBerry a couple of hours after her son was born - if this is the woman I know, she also carefully scheduled her c-section between closings. God knows you wouldn't want something like PRODUCING A HUMAN LIFE to screw up a deal.

I have blackberried from the bathroom numerous times. I have blackberried from numerous vacations, including one interesting episode where we were meeting another BIGLAW couple at a Caribbean resort, and both of us were on the beach sending emails.

I have also blackberried from many wedding receptions (not my own, luckily, my wife would have killed me), as well as recovering from surgery.

3:41 sounds like the kind of guy who justifies blowing his boss behind the desk -- "Hey man, I get paid a lot of money and if I need to slob a partner now and again to relax him, I'll do it by God.

I don't understand you people. If you're going to bust your ass like that, why not do it in a more lucrative profession like banking?

"Checking takes a minute, but responding takes 10, 15, more. It adds up. Have the courage to have some time to yourself. Who knows, you may even get some respect for it."

Dude, you are making way too many assumptions. (And you should relax, actually). If I have to respond urgently, then I respond. I call that being professional. If it is a matter that can wait, then I let it wait.

You shouldn't assume that everyone who doesn't share your BB habits is some insecure workaholic. There is more than one way to strike a balance. Frankly, if you don't respond to your BB on nights and weekends, then the balance *you* are striking will bite you in the ass.

3:44 - don't let the partnah-hatahs get you down - the fact that your cuz was posthumously awarded an "of counselship" should make you proud. Too bad the firm didn't pay his baby mama his bonus, since he missed his target hours from mid September to year end. Peace out.

I run on the treadmill every morning. I'm fairly fast, taking about a 6:30-7:30 clip, depending on distance. I've gotten spectacularly proficient at typing on the run. I prefer to save my emails for the last or next-to-last mile - the BB takes my mind off effort.

3:44(1) is completely outrageous. Delete it.

It can always wait. A lawyer's Blackberry going off is not the same as a doctor's. Why are lawyers so desperate to convince themselves and the rest of the world that they are just as important as doctors?

All of these posters remind me that the substantial paycut I took to leave BIGLAW was 100% worth it. Very, very few late nights, no Blackberry, and no work-martyrdom. If I called the office while in labor, they'd think I was crazy...as they should.

Huge relief.

3:57's call for censorship is outrageous. But I won't stoop to his level by asking for the comment's removal.

I got hit by a car while riding my motorcycle home from the office. While recovering from my first surgery at Cook County, surrounded by other patients handcuffed to their beds, I managed to take cameraphone shots of my injuries and send them to my partners to let them know I wouldn't be in for a while.

AMEN 4:00pm. I did the same and have never looked back. It cost exactly $112,000. A bargain.

"Sorry man, I guess I have a real problem then. I get a bunch of money to be available to my bosses and clients and I don't find that especially daunting. At the end of the day, checking your BB takes a minute - literally."

I get a bunch of money to be available to them, too (top tier law school, very well known firm); I just know the difference between being available to them (i.e., during nights and weekends they can call if it's important) and simply pretending to make myself useful by checking my blackberry all the time.

You say that checking your blackberry only takes a minute. If that's true, then it just goes to show that you check up on your pointless, time-nonsensitive emails all the time. Because if those emails were actually important, then you'd need more than a minute to respond to them.

Crackberry addicts just delude themselves into thinking that they need to stay up-to-date constantly with their emails. In fact, virtually none of the emails you receive require immediate attention. Checking your blackberry once per evening and only a couple of times during the weekend will suffice. And if it's truly urgent, the sender will find you even offline.

So go take all of that money you earn and get a life. I have.

Incidentally, I posted at 2:53 and 3:12, but not 3:44. That's some other guy who has the good sense to share my sentiments.

Anyone calling for censorship should be subject to Cousin Walter's Patented Blackberry Gerbil Crap Pipe Therapy from 2:08.

406 = never be promoted because "it just wasn't that urgent"

@ 3:50 What kind of rock have you been living under? You do realize that over 60,000 people have been laid-off from banking jobs in the past 6 or 7 months, right? I mean, generally speaking the "i-banking v. big law" battle weighs in the favor of i-banking. But right now, it's sure as hell not more lucrative. And they're on call just as much as we.

And seriously, what's the big deal? So I get an e-mail at night and respond in 3-4 minutes? It's my job. I chose it. If I think it's overwhelming, I'll quit.

AND, don't you see people texting all the time, even if just for fun. They do it at dinner, at bars, on vacation, at weddings, at parties, etc. Same concept, except we're getting paid to do it. I don't really understand what everyone's so freaked out about.

Actually, 4:08, my bosses and the clients love my work. And my communications habits are well-known to them by now.

They care that I do very good work, and that I'm very responsive to the time-sensitive stuff. You don't get bonuses points by pasting your nose to a blackberry.

4:06.

4:06,

In my opinion, you are a dick. You are essentially in agreement that a lawyer should check his BB once at night and several times on weekends. This is a far cry from your initial insistence that you "completely ignore" your BB. It seems like you and I have similar BB habits. But you just got to feel superior, right? ...Prick...

3:44(1) should be beheaded!

The law doesn't pay enough to be a 24/7 "on call" job. At least doctors have the prestige and the satisfaction of helping others

I laugh at people who think they're highly paid (and thus must eat shit) at barely over six figures.

I laughed at the comment at 3:44(1).

best post on this string is from 2:08. That was a great movie

4:09, If you are responsive to your clients, then according to this thread, you are just some douchebag who mistakes servility for professionalism and your seed should be wiped from the earth. None of the cool kids answer their blackberries - didn't you know that?

I think everybody is freaking out about the fact that I can hit it and BB at the same time.

And enjoy it. Sometimes when I am hitting it I will play one of the video games or something.

BBs are wonderful.

I'm all for having a personal life, so I will often check the BB just a couple of times on a Saturday or once every other day during a vacation -- unless there is something major going on. However, if there is something important going on, that's the entire reason that your clients cough up way an @ssload of money for you. So that their work gets done when they need it done. I know we're over-worked, but a certain part of the overwork is why we charge so much.

There are certainly things that can wait, but if you're the lynchpin on a time-sensitive matter or deal, you can't just go AWOL. Even if someone dies, you have to let your colleagues know so that they can step in and cover as best they can.
So, we're not trying to be doctors, 3:58, but I think you show a fundamental understanding of how certain parts of the law work. Some things are truly important and won't wait for your life crisis.

Speaking of golf, how ridiculous was that Nike commercial yesterday where Tiger's dad said that Tiger would never meet someone as mentally tough as he is.

Is his father really that ignorant? Or did he just expect that Tiger would never have an encounter with a surgeon or a soldier (not to mention the countless athletes in other sports that are mentally tough enough not to need complete silence to do their job)?

Nike's put some ridiculous shit out there before, but that one takes the cake. Tiger may be the most mentally tough golfer, but that's not saying too much.

"You say that checking your blackberry only takes a minute. If that's true, then it just goes to show that you check up on your pointless, time-nonsensitive emails all the time."

This makes no sense. Suppose that you are expecting an email (from California or Korea or London or some other damn place that doesn't have EST). When you see a blinking red light, how in the world do you tell that it's some secretary's request for referral and not a freaking Korean mark-up of your purchase agreement? You check the goddamn BB. If you find that beneath you, you are in the wrong business.

I once had a sixsome with a bunch of supermodels bouncing on a trampoline - face, fingers and feet all buried in some fine shaved cooch, another one slobbering all over my hog, all while using my BB to annotate and review a merger agreement and tap out messages to partners with my right little toe. I'm cool like that.

You guys should all just calm down. You're working yourselves into a state. Just chillax, fuhcrissakes.

Who cares how often the other guy checks his BB? I mean, really? Look at it this way - if the other guy's BB checking schedule is not to your liking, then you can sleep better knowing that s/he is going to bomb out of the profession.

Now, what really matters is whether you guys can hit it while checking your BB. That is some crucial information. Let's discuss that, instead of engaging is all of this meaningless small talk.

Let's get to the meat.

I have a BrickBreaker score of 28,600.

Seriously, its 2008. Who uses a phrase like "Hit it"?

Gentlemen of my boarding school frequently made ostentatious displays of personal superiority in ultimately trivial matters pertaining to electronic devices. This was not a conspicuous event.

- Eating Club Lothario

4:38 - I got you covered by over 10,000 points.

They have a class at AU for first years teaching them how blackberry like champs.

AU forever.

I've blackberried way north in the forests of Alaska, beyond where there is even electricity. I've also blackberried at sea on a cruise ship, when close enough to land to catch a signal.

bb's suck. they took over our lives and there's not much you can do about it.

i do agree with 3:44(2) that one should have the courage to have some time to yourself. Who knows, you may even get some respect for it. if you do good work it will not matter that you did not answer an email during some crazy time or even vacation.

the answer is like every time in life: be confident in your decision and do good work and you will earn the respect of your peers. the people that are insensitive to anothers own time are usually the type that will get scared off when the other person is strong and confident. not everone can do this but dont be a pompous jerk, if you know what i mean, just exude confidence and good work.

I was once swallowed whole by a Blue Whale. I immediately produced my BB and began emailing myself, with the ringer set to vibrate. The oscillations threw his sonar all of whack, and we were washed up on a nearby beach. Local villagers sliced open the whale and I emerged no worse for wear.

/My BB saved my life

I think people make too much out of the blackberry-is-leash myth. I think some people make the blackberry their leash so they can complain about it. It's the NY way. I manage to do my job while rarely checking my blackberry from home or on the weekends. When I do check, I certainly don't feel compelled to respond.

Also, so you know, I work at a V10 law firm.

***BLACKBERRY HELP!!!***

I just started working at a law firm. I noticed that when you reply using your blackberry, the emails come in as Plain Text and not Rich Text when received in Outlook. People will therefore know that you are using your blackberry and aren't in the office! Is there are way to change this or fix this?!?!

Every time an associate sends me an email in plain text, I can his ass. It's the way the world works, 5:20.

(you are an idiot)

5:23:

Are you a partner? Something tells me know.

If you can't contribute to the resolution of my plain text/rich text dilemma, I'm going to need you to shut up. Thanks!

(know=no)

Damn hominyms.

I suspect that most of you crackheads will be overjoyed when the Nokia digital impant is released sometime in the next decade. Or, given Nokia's financial difficulties and lack of innovation, it will be the RIM implant - in which case you will all know where to put it.

Get a real job, and get a life.

As for me, I don't expect associates to respond to emails within 3 minutes during nights, weekends or holidays. I just diss them on their next review.

5:20/30 - People don't care whether you write in plain text or rich. They tend to notice usage mistakes though.

I'm with 4:00 and 4:03. Saw my salary more than halved (with no prospect for bonus) by going into public sector, and am 100% glad I did so with ZERO regrets. I literally shudder when I think of what it was like to be in private practice in NYC and the people you must work with/for.

5:20 - 5:23 is right, you're an idiot. (And you can just sign on to Citrix and take care of the problem, if you think anyone's going to give a shit that your emails are pretty at 1:30 a.m. on a Wednesday morning that's not a closing.)

"Or, given Nokia's financial difficulties and lack of innovation, it will be the RIM implant - in which case you will all know where to put it."

That'll be the Rim Dingleberry. Just don't wipe your ass too hard or you'll flush $500 worth of gear down the toilet.

I work in the Los Angeles office of a large Chicago firm. A while ago I went on vacation to another continent, backpacking, and one the partners I worked for at the time went ape at the prospect that I not carry my BB with me on vacation and check it every day without fail. (This, after first trying to insist that I carry a laptop in my backpack.) Another partner subsequently tried to insist that I review lengthy agreements on my BB while I was on a long-planned and long-noticed out of town weekend trip during which he knew well in advance that I was to be unavailable. I don't carry a BB anymore (stolen, and I declined its replacement), and I strongly suggest that those of you who are leashed to one should return it or smash it if necessary. I hear that a drill press is quite cathartic, and come on, even if they make you pay, you know you can afford it...

3:13 -- I don't believe that you know what "prologue" means.

5:45:

I hate when people are overly anonymous. You work at Kirkland & Ellis and you went to South America (Peru, to be specific). Or was it Mayer Brown and Europe? Or Sidley Austin and Asia?

Don't be silly.

If you want to be anonymous, just don't be stupid. I work at a large firm in LA and I went backpacking in another country. Don't half-hint.

I have a story, too. I am a person of a gender (not female) who lives in one of the top largest cities in the United States and who works at a V17.3 firm. Last year, I billed 2300-2550 hours. I work in a specific department (not litigation). Anyway, the partners expect me to check my blackberry!!! Hmph.

5:55:

Hey, it's good enough for government! He meant "epilogue."

On most doc review projects we don't get blackberries. So you guys should consider yourselves lucky.

3:44(1) -- too soon!!!

Cravath. Thats it.

crackberried from my godson's christening. shamelessly...do you know how long and boring those things are? i considered it a gift.

I used to work at BigFirm in Chicago, and while my wife was in labor I was firing off emails from my BBerry trying to finalize a fund formation. The nerve of my wife to go into labor then...
Anyway, once the baby came out, I was right back at it bombing away emails. One of which was answering a partner's question as to when I would be back in the office - that email occurred within 2 hours of birth.
Since leaving BigLaw and going in-house, I've gotten the addiction under control (except while driving, out to dinner or while in the bathroom).

I used to work at BigFirm in Chicago, and while my wife was in labor I was firing off emails from my BBerry trying to finalize a fund formation. The nerve of my wife to go into labor then...
Anyway, once the baby came out, I was right back at it bombing away emails. One of which was answering a partner's question as to when I would be back in the office - that email occurred within 2 hours of birth.
Since leaving BigLaw and going in-house, I've gotten the addiction under control (except while driving, out to dinner or while in the bathroom).

Can we make this thread useful?

Places in which my blackberry didn't work:

Oman
Chiang Mai in Thailand (but my husband's did, so wouldn't advise trying it)
Japan
Ahmedabad, India (but not anywhere else, especially Mumbai or Delhi)

Places where other colleagues' blackberries have not worked:

Georgia outside Tblisi
Armenia
Lapland (yes, for real)
Parts of Turkey (outside Istanbul and Ankara)
Mongolia

Anyone have anything useful to add to the discussion?

Cravath ... Believe ...

Underwater (preferably in a submarine) or scuba diving.

I suppose underwater in a toilet would also qualify, but that's not much of a vacation destination.

8:02:

Love your choice of travel destinations. Georgia and Armenia? Interesting, not-so-trendy choices.

9:33: the destination you are thinking of Tulane, about two and a half years ago. UnderwaTTTer.

Did someone say AU had a class on using a blackberry?

Boy, that's wishful thinking.

Do you guys bill time for e-mails you send/receive from your blackberries or is this considered non billable time?

11:49, Why in the world would answering a client at 11 PM be somehow less billable than answering a client at 3 PM? If it's work, you bill it.

What if you have a one sentence answer? Does that really merit a full .2 (assuming .2 is your minimum billable time).

12:01, you can always add several emails up to .2, or whatever the minimum is. Besides, some emails take a while to ponder.

3:44(1) is the true hero.

8:02 -- A couple of places where my blackberry hasn't picked up a signal:

Nepal
Tunisia

Interesting note: the internet service provider for my office in the Dubai International Financial Centre blocks certain websites; the service provider that my blackberry picks up does not.

To be honest, I was really excited to receive my first BB this summer. Family and friends think you are more important than you are. Even my doctor buddies don't have one. I use it all around town, while I'm shopping or at the bars.

Confirmed no service in Nepal. Worked in the major cities in India.

No service in Golan Heights; very spotty in Karelian peninsula (Northwest Russia).

No BB service in SE DC

I've heard the Anacostia Waterfront is a good vacation spot

so much self-imposed importance. Last time I checked everyone puts their pants on the same way. God help the future of humanity.

Places where my BB doesn't work:

Anywhere I am on vacation, because I turn it off. I'm on vacation for God's sake. l send a message before I go that I will have periodic access to email, and give my cell in case of an emergency.

No one ever calls because it is more effort for them to have to talk to someone, and probably because they would feel like a toatal asshole (which they should) for calling me on my cell while I am on vacation, unless there is a true emergency.

If you don't respect your own time, no one else will either.

Add me to the list of people who have BBed from the maternity ward - first time during active labor (and recovery) and the second time while waiting for the C-sec anesthesia to wear off. But in my defense (sort of), with the first kid I was in labor for 18 hours and I was bored out of my mind.

Oddly, I get absolutely no iron-man cred with the partners for this, though a partner here who did the same (well, used her cell-phone, as it was pre-BB) is a legend.

What an f-ed up profession.

My BB does not work in most subway stations. It does, sadly, work in my home-stop station, occasionally tellling me to come back in.

My BB had very, very bad reception in the Sears Tower, making it effectively useless. Same for the wireless card in my laptop.

one associate at my firm blackberried right before walking down the aisle...

2:14 - then you know the only thing they're REALLY married to.

Testicles. That is all.

With regard to Japan -- the celluar technology is such that blackberries from outside the country don't work in Japan, but Blackberries bought in Japan (on the docomo network) work on essentially every network in the world.

My brother took a picture of his wife's face... giving birth, and sent it to me via bb. The message, "get to the hospital. she's going into labor."

I kid you not.