“We make lists because we don’t want to die.” So says, Umberto Eco, medievalist, philosopher, and author of Foucault’s Pendulum. With lists, we attempt to manage time, knowing time is a nonrenewable resource.  A list fixes a task to memory and gives us the psychological satis

Recently, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, called Nancy Pelosi to express his objection to the many tech anti-trust bills making their way through the U. S. House. If he hadn’t been serious when he made his comments, it would have been funny: Apple is concerned the current proposals would ha

“Video and audio are the hottest media,” writes Clive Thompson, a reporter for the tech magazine Wired. ( “Every Word You Say,” by Clive Thompson, Wired, May 2021, pg.15,)  I have to agree.  My Write Away blog is approaching its 11th anniversary and enjoys a respectable numb

Despite the misinformation he’s allowed to spread on Facebook,  I admire Mark Zuckerberg’s intention to create a global community that can promote human understanding. To foresee the many ways his dream could be misused would require the powers of Nostradamus, so I don’t hold h

Nope! Technology doesn’t make life easier. The pace of change is too fast. The other day, one of my computer gurus dropped by with a new hard drive. It was the size of a fat nail file. He told me soon computer innards would be no bigger than a thumbnail.   I admit  “smaller” i

For the last two weeks, I’ve been grappling with computer problems. Eventually, I had to replace the hard drive, which posed its own difficulties.  This week, I’m restoring passwords and codes for my accounts with limited success. For some reason, that little drop box that enable

Ranchers may be getting worried.  The Cattlemen’s Association has asked the government to “’define ‘meat’ as a product ‘derived from animals.’” (“Faux Sure!” by Clive Thompson, Wired, Jan. 2019, pg. 26.) Apparently, they feel threatened by growth in the “fake”

I am  sick of Facebook.  I’m tired of its cutesy messages.  I don’t want to celebrate the fact that Rudolf Valentino and I have been friends for 3 days. Nor do I want reports on the number of “likes” my comments receive in a week. Frankly, Facebook, I don’t give a damn. 

I recently upgraded my computer.  The new hard drive resides in a box the size of a deck of playing cards. When my installer finished his work, he stood back, with his arms folded.  “You’re going to love this,” he assured me.  “It’s so much faster.” Sadly, “faster”

For me, computers pose a mystery.  They are as confusing as a black hole or as simple as a line of 0s and 1s.  When we get to algorithms, life gets tricky.  I haven’t a clue about computer programing, but I remember something from calculus about the difficulty of choosing random