Although I seldom forget a person’s name once we’ve met, for the life of me I can’t remember phone numbers, even those I dial most often. I blame speed dial, and also the information directory.

So you can imagine how outraged I get every month when my phone bill comes and I see the outrageous fees my land- and cellphone providers charge each time I call to find a number.

Well, I’m not paying them anymore. I don’t have to. I found out that I can send a text to Google (466453) with the name and city of a place I’m looking for. Or, as I learned last week, I can even send something as simple as “sushi” and a zipcode to get nearby listings. Sweet! And, for those rare times when Google doesn’t have the information I’m looking for, I can now dial (800) FREE-411 and get the number I need. Although sometimes FREE-411 makes me listen to an ad, at least I can get what I want without paying a dime.

Bite that, Ma Bell.