I was at the American College of Cardiology conference in Chicago and I saw several solutions that were very N=1, R=G. There were devices that can manage rapidly beating hearts (tachycardia) or slowly beating hearts (bradycardia), and those that do so remotely. Cardiologists can now fix your heart wirelessly as you sleep. But I don't want to talk about this heart-heavy stuff.

Head west to San Mateo, speed a bit near the traffic lights, and roll a wee-bit over the white line before the red light changes and a camera records what you do and sends a $371 ticket to your home. A time-stamped ticket -- personalized with your face, your car, and your license plate (N=1). Apparently, a sensor on the road detects that you are speeding and triggers the camera to take a pic of you and your car. The red-light camera systems are built by an Australian company called Redflex for the Fremont Police Department (R=G). But I don't want to talk about such sophisticated stuff either.

Spin the globe a little more ... and you can find N=1 and R=G in the oddest of places. You simply have to look. I was in my hometown Hyderabad recently to renew my driver's permit. The DMV guys took a digital pic but also wanted a touch-feel pic. Huh? I never understand the many counterintuitive needs of government processes, and I don't ask.

So I went to find a photo studio. Crossing a recently evolved major intersection, I ended up in a nondescript studio. As I sat inside, the photographer cupped my face with his hands. Surprised, I twitched and winced. "Don't move," he instructed. I gave up and sat still. He tilted my head a little to the right, a little to the left, and then up and down. Finally, when he felt satisfied, he stepped back and clicked my picture.

Waiting for the pics to dry, I stared aimlessly at the dusty road outside. I noticed a traffic cop busily using a Sony handy-cam at the traffic light. What was he doing, making home videos on the job? Obviously curious, I quickly collected my precious photos and walked right to him. Rolling his shoulders under his Hyderabad-stained white shirt, he asked me what I wanted. When I told him, he gave me a wicked grin and began to elucidate. They used the handy-cam to videotape law breakers in action - Poora action (complete action), he explained with glee. Later in the day, they'd send the law-breaker a ticket via the web.

I won't be surprised if someone in the DMV decides to upload the video on the Internet and index it by the driver's name, so it comes up for everyone's viewing pleasure, courtesy Google. This is San Mateo's sophisticated red-light camera systems neatly customized for Hyderabad (N=1, R=G) at a fraction of the cost and with added human error and discretion. Only here, the cop is the machine.