LancesWorld.com Journal

Good afternoon, faithful followers. Here I sit on the 38AX Geary Express bus on my way home from work. Summerfest is this week, and I really can't wait for it to be over. I really do enjoy planning thing in general, but I also find it difficult if not impossible to work efficiently with others for whom efficiency is a four-letter word. I count 10 letters, personally. OK, enough complaining about Summerfest.

I'm really enjoying this mobile blogging thing. It is a great way to pass the time during my commute. I enjoy using the time to read, as well, but sometimes reading isn't exactly what I'm looking for. Perhaps I should just start referring to this as "mlogging?" I think it's likely to be the next big thing. How long before we get the mobile video blog? People are already taking video on their phones, but I suspect eventually they'll be able to post it to the web instantly - if they can't already.

So, Nokia has just released a new phone with a 3 megapixel camera. That's better than my stand alone digital camera! Technology never really ceases to amaze me. Soon we'll be able to use our cell phones for everything - pay bills, change channels on the TV, take video, listen to streaming audio, drive a car remotely, conduct cardiac surgery from a lounge on the beach... You name it, it will be possible. Actually, PayPal has introduced a new feature that will allow you to use your credit card to pay friends via text message! You simplu setup your PayPal account, send a text message to them with your friend's e-mail address and the amount of the payment, then enter your PIN number when the automated system calls your phone and you're done! Gone are the days when your friends need to be spotted at the local diner.

What else can you do with your phones? How about get driving directions from Google? Absolutely. Get definitions of most any word? Sure. Identify songs playing on the radio by playing the song into the phone? Yep. Make a phone call? Maybe. All of these things have been made possible through the miracle of technology. And get this - all of these things can be done with almost any modern cell phone. If your phone can make calls and text, you can do all of this. Expand it to phones with mobile internet, and there's a whole new world of possibilities.

OK, so there are just some things that you shouldn't be doing on a public bus - like clipping your nails. Acting with a great deal of stealth, I took this picture of a woman clipping her nails on the bus. Let me say, I wasn't the only one with a look of disdain, if not disgust.

My stop approaches.