Signs of the Times

Must-see “reality” TV

Must-see “reality” TV

Reality TV shows: some people love to watch them; others would rather have their eyes poked out with chopsticks and served on rice to Rupert Murdoch. Do I fall into the second category? No, I leap into it and pull it around me, looking out for impending chopsticks....

My phone, the secret agent

My phone, the secret agent

It takes a spy to catch a spy. That’s how developer Trevor Eckhart found a “mole” application that’s installed on smartphones, can’t be turned off, and logs the numbers you dial, the URLs you visit, even the content of your text messages. Less logging is done for...

To market, to market

To market, to market

In Middlemarch, Edward Casaubon spends his life searching for the Key to all Mythologies. Another great work of literature, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, concerns the quest for the Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Key? Meaning? Are you kidding me...

It’s only catalogical

It’s only catalogical

How do you feel about catalogs? (Or as we used to spell them, “catalogues,” before we got too busy to type the “ue.") I have to confess, I'm ambivalent. Weeks pass in which I don’t feel an urge to buy anything except for necessities: chocolate, toothpaste, printer...

Curse you, Red Phone Button!

Curse you, Red Phone Button!

I just sent a text message to a young friend. Here’s what I wanted to communicate: Hi there Louie. Gosh, I’ve missed you! I’d like to see you for your 14th birthday and take you out for lunch or dinner. Have you any free time in October? Sure hope so. I love you!...