Henry Jenkins of MIT's Comparative Media Studies program weighs in with a new Digital Renaissance column, Look, Listen, Walk, which is all about the concept of augmented reality. Basically, you know all those people who use their cell phones to turn on, tune in and drop out? Imagine using devices like the iPod to augment your experience with the world around you, instead of blocking it out?

It's not a new idea. With the rise of technologies like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, some cutting-edge digital artists have been making installation art out of public parks and boulevards by installing kiosks that transmit wireless information to portable devices. Another example of this is geocaching, which is kind of like a digital version of letterboxing, where hobbyists engage in a worldwide treasure hunt to find rubber stamps that other letterboxers have stashed away in secret locations, which they then collect in small journals. (I haven't done it yet, but it's one of those things I'd love to try.)

Dr. Jenkins gets into geocaching on the second page of his article, and then he starts discussing some insanely cool things that his CMS group is working on at the moment.

Every time I read about things going on up there, I want to go play. I need to start spending some more time in my mental lab, and then start doing some more playing around. Maybe this weekend.