this one's for petunia

Mobile phone etiquette continues to change with the times. It used to be that when you rang someone professionally and they answered you'd say something like "Is now a good time to talk?"

Times move on.

Now, in some situations, you have to do the same if you walk up to them face to face. It's bluetooth that's done it. You can't always tell when some people are on the phone. Maybe they have a distant look, or they appear to be talking to themselves and if their head is tilted, it could be that they're packing a bluetooth headset.

So "Is now a good time to talk?" is sometimes needed face to face.

Its overtaken the accidental phone calls from speed-dialling in peoples' pockets and bags. We've all had them. Those footsteps on gravel or train compartment bing bong calls with no speech.

My most recent masterpiece was an accidentablog when I managed take a photo of some palm bushes in a Spanish street and automatically post it to flickr without realizing. I only spotted it yesterday when I returned home. The wonders of connectedness.

It can only escalate.