Sometimes, it's the little things

After being here last March, right after my contract was up with Cingular, I found out that a call placed to the right number would get me an unlock code for my Treo 650, enabling me to use it on international GSM cellular systems. Since I was out of contract, I needed only to tell them that I travel overseas and already have a cell plan with a SIM card that I can use. I have an old basic Nokia phone that I would use in China (and when I used to go to London and Dusseldorf), but now I can use the greatest phone in the world on the other side of the world. Quite helpful, as wife and I text somewhat frequently when I'm here, and it's much easier to do so on a real smartphone, although on this trip I've been using video Skype in my mornings to talk to my wife and son in their evenings. Even from here, the video is pretty damn amazing. Almost as amazing at getting better cell service when calling from atop the Great Wall than when I'm at home in suburban New Jersey.