You only hate me because my PDA is black

Did you ever notice how the speaker on the back of a Blackberry is the spitting image of a Decepticon logo? The 8703 in general, with its angular shape and overall boxiness, is very Transformeresque. But what would it become if the machine were to leap from its holster on my belt and actually transform [insert transform sound here]? I imagine it linking with five other Blackberries to form UltraMessage, a towering anthropomorphic figure set to do battle with the evil Treotron.

But seriously, what's with the dirty looks when you walk onto a subway carrying/using a Blackberry? My friend Cyn doesn't think I would get the same reaction scrolling through a PalmOne. Is it a symbol of elitism (even though I didn't buy it; my employer did)? What am I communicating to others when I use it in public? Have some of you shied away from doing so to avoid the stigma?

And what's with Opinionistas eschewing the device when her site presently carries no fewer than three Blackberry ads?

Linking work Blackberries to personal cell phone numbers: thoughts?

Why is the number of Blackberry subscribers the same as the number of people in prison in the United States? Crackberries indeed.

What will homo sapiens look like generations from now, given the trend toward keyboards optimized for "thumbing"? It's interesting how the last major phase of our evolution involved freeing our limbs from the demands of walking on all fours and the emergence of fine motor skills, made possible in large part by the opposable thumb.

Can you believe that they were going to call it a Strawberry? The small keys reminded a branding agency consultant of the tasty fruit. Why Blackberry then? "Straw" was rejected as "slow-sounding."

I firmly believe that Blackberries and other distractions have one clear impact on our society - the death of the public intellectual. You know, people like Lewis Mumford or Jane Jacobs, who were widely read, skilled in multiple disciplines (Jacobs for instance fancied law, poli sci, zoology, geology, and econ), curious about everything and anything, and not afraid to go traipsing about the city in search of their next groundbreaking insight. Do you think the men and women who might walk in their footsteps really have the time to compose massive tomes that span aeons in a quest for truth, when they must incessantly check e-mail and re-enter their PINs as their Blackberries switch to lockdown mode every hour?

Anyway, in my opinion Manhattan is best experienced with the help of GoogleMaps Mobile. True dat (double true!).

Vaya con Dios - brooding presence