While at a concert a couple of weeks ago where the performer actually encouraged the audience to take out their lighters and sway them along to a slow tune, it occurred to me that everyone was holding up their cell phones. I don't think there was a single Bic, Zippo, Colibri, or even Dunhill in sight.

Using cell phones is certainly not a new trend, but it seems like there's been a slow migration from lighters and it appears the evil plot has at last come to full fruition. I was left quite saddened that the end of an era seemed to have come. However, being a technophile (and a non-smoker), I decided I must support the transition.

Thanks to a Boston-based company called Prod, all is not lost and I can have it both ways. All I have to do is open the browser on my iPhone and surf to the Rock Lighter page. It features a simple, yet ingenious, close-up of a lighter flame in action. A perfect blend of tradition and technology.

Too bad it won't work to get the charcoal grill lit.