Just the Facts
“The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.” Anyone who can still remember the sixties will recognize this as the tagline for the TV drama Dragnet. For four seasons beginning in 1967, Sergeant Joe Friday and his sidekick Officer Bill Gannon investigated crimes in the […]
Reality Check
Reality can be disappointing. Self-help books and motivational speakers tell us the answer is to set ambitious goals and reach for the stars. When the results don’t meet our expectations, disappointment soon follows. There are many ways of dealing with this. In the 60’s, one answer was to give up on reality completely and settle […]
Buttons That Don’t Work
It’s been over 50 years now since George Jetson and his Orbit City lifestyle debuted as the first program broadcast in color on ABC-TV. George lived in the Skypad Apartments with his wife Jane and their two children, Judy and Elroy. His work week consisted of an hour a day, two days a week, where […]
Brain Drain
Is a Beagle’s brain bigger than a golf ball? (NOTE: if you own a Beagle, you are hereby recused). Once upon a time, a question like this would lead to some serious cognitive calisthenics. Beagles are infamously difficult to train, but how does canine intelligence relate to brain size? Beagles are one of the smaller […]
Tech “R” Us
We humans like to measure things. Companies like Survey Monkey (which collects 16 million answers daily) will take nearly any business contact you’ve had and convert it into a number. Over the past week, they’ve hit me up for ratings on a hair salon, a cable provider and an auto parts store. On a scale […]
A Line in the Silicon
During the siege of the Alamo in 1836, Lt. Col. William Travis is said to have drawn a line in the sand with his sword, imploring those who were willing to defend the fort to step across. While the story itself has since been debunked, it was good enough to insert the phrase “a line […]
On Second Thought…
My first thought is usually one I’ve shamelessly filched from someone else, a tidbit of conventional wisdom that hijacks my brain immediately after a problem presents itself. I envy people who can respond to the challenge of a difficult decision by saying “Let me sleep on it.” Some may see this as procrastination in disguise, […]
How Convenient
Things don’t always turn out as promised. If you’ve ever waited in a long line at a fast food restaurant or searched all over for a convenience store, you know what I mean. While it’s true that technology often woos us with bright shiny objects that make us feel special, it also portends to be […]
Innovation Is So Annoying
Innovation is all the rage. It will drive our economy, solve our problems, ease the burdens of everyday life, and make America great again. The past is forgotten and the present is taken for granted, but the the future will be bright thanks to Innovation. The great ideas that comprise Innovation seem to arise from […]
Civilization, As We Know It
Civilization as we know it is all about an advanced state of culture, government, science and industry – the opposite of a savage, unrefined or uneducated condition. It is presumed to include a plethora of modern comforts and conveniences made possible by science and technology. After a week of backpacking in the wilderness, or a […]
