That's because I've been trying a couple of life-logging devices—gadgets that clip to my shirt or hang around my neck, automatically taking photos of the world around me. The results? Some neat shots of family, friends, and Silicon Valley life tucked in amongst countless photos of torsos, legs, sidewalks, and bicycle handlebars.

Life logging has long been an activity for a few diehard data fanatics and academics. Early adherents included University of Toronto professor Steve Mann, who as a graduate student at MIT in 1994 began wearing a wireless camera that could record images from his point of view and display them online (see "Wearable Technology as a Human Right").