keeping track of ideas

So what's the best way to keep track of ideas that occur to you at random times? At times, I get all these weird stuff that I can put to blog or put to practice. But as important as they are, I can't seem to find a way to keep them in my memory. Lately, my short term memory has looked more diffusive than ever. So the only way to bottle these ideas is to note them down.

Now I've heard someone say that she always have all these papers strewn around her room with ideas because she wrote it down as they came to her. I've also seen a friend of mine writing a long list of stuff on his hand but with that there's always a problem of washing away if not rewritten on paper. And there's always the issue of having a pen handy to note them down. I've mulled to keep a small paper and pencil with me just in case but it seems too much to carry since I already have my keys, phone and wallet with me when I'm out. And when I'm in it's the sloppiness that takes over. Carrying a PDA is out of question. Just too bulky. Another option is a voice recorder but I don't want to hear myself talk.

So really is there a way to overcome this enigma? First there was touch screen and now there's gesture recognition where you don't even have to touch the screen but just point at it. May be soon, technology would come up with something which will use telepathy waves to transport thoughts through a secure channel and to your home device.

But until then I think I'll try out paper and pencil. Or not!