I guess we all start out with empty pockets. Sometimes mine are a little full these days. It turns out that there are some tools that make my life easier, some of them fit in my pocket and some of them send information to other items in my pocket.
First we will do the easy things. I am guy, and we carry knives. I have a variety that make the trip with me, depending on what I am doing. Almost always, you can find my small Leatherman with the scissors and key shaped multi-tool in my pocket. I am rarely without it.
When I go fishing, I often upgrade and carry my red handled knife and pliers. It has a blade that I find exceptionally useful for a number of things when fishing.
Often when I am working with photos or doing real estate listings, I carry my black 4 gig USB thumb drive. It is easier than any other way to move data. I recently told one of my Apple friends, that I will remain uninterested in the iPad until it gets USB ports.
Next to the USB drive is my blue i-gotU GPS logger. It is a fun toy that I carry when I want to share a trip including pictures with someone. I can download my GPS track and synchronize it with pictures that I have taken with my camera. I recently did a trip on the White Oak River. I have done trips to show real estate listings.
Then comes my new Droid which besides letting me read my email anywhere lets me search the web and tells me how to get places. It is sort of the Swiss army knife of electronic devices.
Leaning on the lamp is one of the many remote thermometers that I have used. This particular one is no longer on duty. I have a new one which is on the front porch of our coastal home. It transmits data wirelessly to a device hooked to my network. That device sends temperature information to a server which I can access remotely from anywhere. In effect I can find out what the temperature is on my porch from the Droid or any computer with an Internet connection.
Just beside the lamp is my SecurID PayPal key fob. When I am at home, it is always close to my computer desk. When I am traveling I keep it in a secure spot in my brief case. What it does, is allow me to use PayPal with fewer worries. No one can get to my PayPal without the random digits from the key fob. It makes PayPal a good alternative to credit cards.
At the bottom of the picture is one of my Panasonic cameras mounted on a gorilla pod. I often use bungie cords to mountain the camera with gorilla pod on the center console of my boat. It allows me to drive and to take pictures since all I have to is press one button to take a picture. I have done it so much I don't have to worry about looking at the back of the camera to see what I am taking. The gorilla pod is a great tool.
Sometimes there is some additional technology in my pocket. I love the SmartCard that we as Realtors® use to access locked houses. I also tolerate the proximity sensor that unlocks the doors of my wife's Toyota Avalon. Often you will another Lunix camera in my pocket, it is one with 12X optical zoom and a wide angle lens. I also use a Laser device to measure rooms when I am doing a listing. Then there is the remote control for the subdivision gates. It is more of annoyance since we don't really need a gate out here in the middle of corn fields.
I will keep looking for more useful gadgets to carry around. I have had a lot of luck finding things which make life a little more fun. Of course what I would really like is a laser device to mow my lawn. That might take a while to get into my pocket.