Zoom Fatigue and the Uncanny Valley
Video chat has been a concept for years. I grew up watching the Jetsons and Star Trek. I remember reading about video phones in 1990s magazines, and my phone has had the capability for...
Video chat has been a concept for years. I grew up watching the Jetsons and Star Trek. I remember reading about video phones in 1990s magazines, and my phone has had the capability for...
Area codes in the US seem pretty random. ZIP codes are organized somewhat by region, but area codes just seem to be made up of three arbitrary numbers. This is true nowadays, but there...
There are many great logos that, for some reason or another, are no longer in use. One of my favorite defunct designs is the logo for the Bell System. “Ma Bell”, as it was...
People sometimes get confused when I give them my phone number. You see, I have an Austin area code, but I’ve never lived in Austin. This blows some people’s minds, even though it’s not...
Have you ever wondered why the keys on your keyboard are arranged the way they are? Why do they start out with QWERTY instead of ABCDEF? Why aren’t the vowels grouped together? Believe it...
“Jack” is the best word in the English language. It is the most versatile word we have, even more than the f-word, which is limited to R-rated conversations. The word “jack”, on the other...
Back in my high school days, I spent a lot of time in the public library. One day I discovered an old red book that was an introduction to Esperanto. For those of you...
Our numbers are backwards. I’m talking about the Arabic Numerals we use everyday. I realized it one day while using Microsoft Excel. Type any letter into a blank spreadsheet, and it will align to...
Sometimes advertisements have a language of their own. Some gimmicks are obvious: phrases like “sale”, “call now” and “free”. Others are more subtle. Here are some of the marketing and advertising cliches that annoy...
I’ve lived all over, but somehow I picked up a Michigan accent and never let it go. I never realized how strongly Midwestern I sounded till I moved down to Texas. The funny part...