Speaking of Technological Convergence...

I think this is interesting, just when I was wondering what else we can do from our phones, I read this. Technology once again brings us all together...

Mobile phones become pocket banks in poor countries

BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) – An Afghan police officer gets his salary in a text message on his mobile phone. A Kenyan worker dials a few numbers to send money to his family.
The rise of banking transactions through mobile phones is giving a whole new meaning to pocket money in parts of the developing world that lack banks or cash machines.
Mobile money applications are emerging as potent financial tools in rural and remote areas of the globe, allowing people with no bank accounts to get paid, send remittances or settle their bills.
"One billion consumers in the world have a mobile phone but no access to a bank account," said Gavin Krugel, the director of mobile banking strategy at GSM Association, an industry group of 800 wireless operators.

See the rest at http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100221/tc_afp/telecomtechnologyinternetbankingemerge

I have to agree with the church on this one...

Give up your iPod for Lent, bishops urge

from www.yahoo.com

LONDON (Reuters) – British church leaders are encouraging people to give up their iPods for Lent, instead of more traditional vices such as chocolate, to help save the planet.

The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, and the Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, are among those calling for a carbon fast for Lent -- a period ahead of Easter which Christians traditionally consider a time of penance and reflection -- which begins on Wednesday.

As well as spending a day without using technology such as mobile phones or iPods, the 46 daily suggestions also include eating by candlelight, cutting meat and vegetables thinner so they cook faster and flushing the toilet less often.

"Instead of giving up chocolate for Lent, why not fast for justice ... to help those suffering from the effects of climate change," said Jones.

Out of this world: Thousands of dinosaur footprints uncovered in China

Whenever I get overwhelmed by daily stress and a billion of tedious tasks I like to read something like this piece of news on yahoo - just gives some perspective.
These dinosaur footprints in China are believed to be more than 100 million years old!! - can you grasp that? It has only been 2010 years since Jesus was born and archaeologists today find animal remains that are millions of years old...
It just makes you wonder: who else was living in that world, with the dinosaurs? What was before that? Who exactly were the first intelligent conscious beings on Earth?
I know I don't have answers, but I also don't have answers to questions such as, why can't we all live in peace and enjoy this world and travel? Who is in control, really??
There are so many 'unknowns' in this life - so, like I mentioned above...such news just give me some perspective...

BEIJING (AFP) – Archaeologists in China have uncovered more than 3,000 dinosaur footprints, state media reported, in an area said to be the world's largest grouping of fossilised bones belonging to the ancient animals.
The footprints, believed to be more than 100 million years old, were discovered after a three-month excavation at a gully in Zhucheng in the eastern province of Shandong, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The prints range from 10 to 80 centimetres (four to 32 inches) in length, and belonged to at least six different kinds of dinosaurs, including tyrannosaurs, the report said Saturday.
Wang Haijun, a senior engineer at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the prints faced the same direction, Xinhua said.
This indicated a possible migration or a panic escape by plant-eating dinosaurs after an attack by predators, Wang added.
Archaeologists have found dinosaur fossils at some 30 sites in Zhucheng, known as "dinosaur city."
The region has seen two major digs since 1964, and experts say the discovery of so many dinosaurs in such a dense area could provide clues on how the animals became extinct millions of years ago.
Plans are being made to set up a fossil park in the area.

Ethical issue: Should the government be allowed to track a person's movements based on cell phone records, without evidence of criminal wrongdoing?

We carry our cell phones everywhere, they are part of us, just like a limb, or the clothes we wear. If I forget it at home (which rarely happens) I feel exposed, even panic, thinking, "what if I'm in the car and I need to make an important call?"

What we don't realize most of the time is that we are carrying a microchip, just like pets.
At any given time if someone wants to know where we are, or have been, it is easily done from the cell phone company's records. Now, is this something we should worry about? In most cases, the government wouldn't have an interest in following people, but in a lot of other cases, it can - and without even letting the person know. Is that ethical? Should the government have the right to monitor key people without them being aware? I personally couldn't find an answer to that, I am happy for now that I have found the question...

Technology has made our lives much more comfortable, linked us more, opened new doors. But in the same time, it brought all these unanticipated issues, and in some ways made everything more complicated. If you had a choice, would you stop technology from developing? Would you say, "OK, I think this is enough?"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100212/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_cell_phones_surveillance

The YouTube impact

"The News
Like a host of other blogs and sites, YouTube has fostered the growing ranks of citizen journalists. It developed a "reporter's center" to educate aspiring YouTube journalists, and it entered into a partnership with the Pulitzer Center to recognize the best nonprofessional reporters."

This is just a fragment from an article 'printed' on PCworld.com (http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20100214/tc_pcworld/theyoutuberevolutionturns5)

The fact that YouTube created the environment for nonprofessional reporters caught my attention; they even offer awards to these amateur journalists. YouTube is only 5-years-old and changed our world so much already. You can find almost anything, and some people can even be 'found.' These is this story about a man arrested after police saw on a YouTube video that he was carrying a gun. So, be careful what and who you're filming!

I think YouTube, just like blogging and FaceBook proves once again that the virtual world has no owner, and that the VIP designation is obsolete. We're all writers, journalists, actors, producers. Everything is out there, waiting to be posted and talented people have much more chances of being discovered or making a name for themselves.

It just makes you wonder, what's next?

"Saint-to-be tweets from beyond the grave" - is this for real?

My agnosticism and skepticism keep me from getting carried away with this, not to mention that I would need hard evidence just to try and become a believer, but nevertheless, it sounds interesting.
Reading the article (link here below), I loved this the most: Sister Arnold told AFP, said it was "absolutely critical" that the Roman Catholic Church embrace new methods of communication. Maybe soon enough we can see the Pope twittering and setting up a Facebook page. That would really increase his popularity among teens...


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100205/wl_asia_afp/australiatechnologyinternettwitterreligion

Bulls' rights

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100206/ap_on_re_eu/eu_spain_teenage_matador

I understand that this has been a tradition in Spain for centuries, but still, I feel so sorry for those animals. They haven't done anything wrong, but they are teased and tortured until they die.

Related, to this, I will never understand hunting. Not when there is food in the stores and human lives don't depend on it. Hunting for fun is cruel. Imagine someone getting into your own yard and chasing you with a rifle only for their entertainment.

But there are probably so many other things that don't make sense in this world...