Day three, a Wednesday, paid real dividends for the mobile lifestyle. In classic Grouch form, he misread the address of an afternoon meeting and ended up in the wrong location. Oriental Plaza instead of Oriental Place. It's like having a meeting in Chai Wan and going to Wan Chai instead.

It also turned out to be one of the hottest days in Beijing so far this year, the Grouch was relieved to be liberated from a large bag and its contents. Instead, a small handful of gear put him back in business, with the iPod Shuffle on hand to block out the screeching of the middle aged woman at the next table.

The Grouch remembers well when he first started toting his laptops to Starbucks in Beijing. Having that first clamshell iBook in the capital certainly made some Starbuckians choke on their freshly foamed coffee drinks. Now that things have gone down in size, he's drawing stares again. And as usual, he doesn't care.

Isn't this what technology is all about? Isn't this why humans started using tools in the first place, to make the tasks that face us easier and faster?

Funny-as the Grouch types his column, he is approached by someone from PalmSource in California, who spots the Grouch's Treo and keyboard while on vacation in Beijing. The revolution spreads.