Rube Sees the Future

Over 2 years ago, I made a modest little proposal about cameras embedded in cell phones:

So, I was wondering if there’s a way to send that directly to the police. For example, if you’re pretty sure you’re about to get mugged, you could just take a picture of the guy and send it quick-like to the cops. Then, you could say, “whoa, G, you might as well keep on moving: five-o’s got your mug.? Of course, this may come across as somewhat antagonistic, which muggers generally don’t like. Anyway, if you send an MMS to 911, does it work? It should. Then, we could all be bitch-ass little snitches at the touch of a button.

And today, what do I see?

Catching criminals in the act these days is s ometimes as easy as pressing a button on your camera phone. Now the city is moving to simplify your ability to share telltale evidence of subway flashers, house burglars or even a suspect pothole, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday. "If you see a crime in progress or a dangerous building condition, you'll be able to transmit images to 911 or online to nyc.gov," Bloomberg said in his State of the City address.

You ever have one of those days when you say to yourself, "If the world would just shut up and do as I say, it would be a better place for everybody"? Well, I don't. I speak, and the world listens. Sometimes it just takes a little longer than it should. Stupid world.