The Column

Motto: OH BOO HOO You ever fall out of your groove? It's funny how doing one little thing can start a domino effect.  I didn't feel like cooking, so we ate out for dinner. Because we ate out, I don't have leftovers. Because I don't have leftovers, I have to buy my lunch. Because I have to buy my lunch, I don't get home as early as I would like to. Because I don't get home as early as I would like to, I don't have time to make dinner. Because I didn't make dinner, I don't have leftovers... ...or another real-world loop... Because I haven't worked out, I've gotten lethargic. Because I've gotten lethargic, I haven't wanted to clean. Because I haven't wanted to clean, the place is dirty. Because the place is dirty, I misplaced my keys. Because I misplaced my keys, I waste 20 minutes looking for them. Because I wasted 20 minutes, I leave during the morning rush. Because I leave during the morning rush, my commute ta

Motto: Oh Boo-Hoo I've been first-world struggling lately. Five and one-third years ago I wrote a Column about technological ecosystems. This is that table, updated for today: See those green highlights? That's what I'm using nowadays. Do you know how frustrating it is to have an iPhone and not use Safari, MacOS, Apple Maps, Airplay, iTunes, Apple Music, and Siri (I use Siri in some situations because I have to)? Using an iPhone, a Windows Desktop, and mostly Google services is not what you want to do. See the Top 5 for more whining. Somewhat related: It's crazy to me that I can't tell my Google Home what word(s) I want to say to get its attention. I'm not living in the future until I can say "Hey Jarvis", or "Okay Computer", or "Yo Black Mirror" when I want to know what temperature it will be today. Google's forcing the "Okay Google" or "Hey Google" to be the wakeword has literally interject