The Curious Disappearance of Cursive Writing

 I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but...

...why exactly did schools decide cursive was the skill that had to go?

I'm told it's because we needed more time for technology. Fair enough. Kids should know how to use a keyboard. But somehow they can spend hours learning standardized test strategies and social media trends, yet fifteen minutes a day teaching handwriting became too much?

Call me crazy, but three thoughts cross my mind.

First, if nobody can read cursive anymore, fewer people can read old letters, journals, family records, and even parts of our own history without someone translating it for us. That's an odd way to preserve the past. It means that someone else (the government) will have to recreate those documents and translate for younger generations. Think about the things that will probably be "lost in translation".

Second, it seems that the less we write by hand, the more dependent we become on devices. Every note, reminder, and idea now belongs to a phone, tablet, or cloud server somewhere instead of on a piece of paper. No more analog thoughts. Only digital ones that can be tracked and somehow monetized with ads. Funny how independence quietly became inconvenience.

Third, signatures are slowly becoming meaningless. Today's kids are growing up in a world where a fingerprint or face scan matters more than their own handwriting. Maybe that's progress. Maybe it's just one more thing we're handing over to technology.

Do I actually believe there's a secret meeting where people plotted the downfall of cursive? Maybe. Maybe not.

But I do think we've become a little too eager to throw away simple skills because they're "old-fashioned." Not everything from the past deserves to stay there.

Sometimes common sense isn't asking if something is old. It's asking whether replacing it actually made us better.

When AI Can't Tell Us Apart, Who Pays the Price?

I ran a simple experiment. I uploaded the same photo of singer Durand Bernarr into three different AI apps and asked each one to identify him (because I'm old and I didn't know who dude was on the awards show I was watching).

The results?

One confidently said Usher. Another insisted it was Lucky Daye. The third... well, it found another random Black man that wasn't even close.

Three guesses. Three wrong answers. Three completely different people.

If AI can't correctly identify a Grammy-nominated artist whose photos are all over the internet, why should anyone trust it to identify the average citizen standing in front of a camera?

Courtesy of 2026 BET Awards

Now let's talk about the elephant mounted on every telephone pole.

Flock cameras.

They're popping up everywhere. Neighborhoods. Shopping centers. Apartment complexes. Highways. The sales pitch sounds great: safer communities through smarter technology.

Who doesn't want safer neighborhoods?

But there's one question that doesn't get asked nearly enough.

What happens when the technology gets it wrong?

History has already shown that facial recognition technology has often performed worse on people with darker skin tones than on white faces. Researchers have documented those disparities for years. While many systems have improved, they're not perfect, and not every company uses the same technology or the same standards.

That matters.

Because if an AI system mistakes one Black man for another, the consequences aren't just an embarrassing error message.

• Someone gets questioned.
• Someone gets detained.
• Someone has to prove they weren't where the computer claims they were.

And once suspicion enters the room, it doesn't always leave just because the facts finally show up.

My little experiment wasn't a scientific study. It was simply a reminder that confidence isn't the same thing as accuracy. The AI didn't hesitate. It answered as if it knew exactly who it was looking at.

It didn't.

That's what concerns me most.

Computers don't have to be malicious to cause harm. They just have to be wrong often enough in situations where being wrong carries serious consequences.

We're racing to install cameras everywhere while assuming the software behind them deserves our trust.

Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn't.

But shouldn't we demand proof before allowing algorithms to help identify suspects?

Technology should assist investigations, not replace common sense.

If AI can confidently mistake Durand Bernarr for Usher, who's to say it won't confidently mistake your neighbor for someone wanted three counties away?

The danger isn't that AI makes mistakes. People do that every day.

The danger is that people often believe a computer simply because it's a computer.

And that's exactly when common sense needs to be louder than artificial intelligence.

The Cost to Relationships and Families

This is part five of a five-part series entitled "The Silent Collapse of Men in the Smart Phone Era". It's based on a series of discussions I've had with men who are friends or relatives. The men's ages range from 23 - 51 years old. I'd love your feedback.

The Cost to Relationships and Families

A distracted man may still physically be present while emotionally disappearing.

He comes home but never fully arrives.
He sits with his kids while staring at another man’s podcast clip.
He lies next to his wife while scrolling through strangers.
He loses interest in conversation because his brain now expects constant stimulation every eight seconds.

Over time, resentment grows on both sides.

The family notices. Children notice. Partners notice.

The phone quietly becomes the third person in every relationship.

Men Need Purpose More Than Distraction

Most men do not need another motivational clip.

They need:

• sleep
• discipline
• friendship
• purpose
• physical activity
• real conversation
• time away from screens
• connection with their families

The solution is not becoming anti-technology. Phones are tools. The problem begins when the tool starts shaping a man’s identity, emotions, confidence, and attention span. A phone should assist a man’s life, not replace it. 

Right now, too many men are slowly disappearing into distraction while calling it entertainment. We have to stop making excuses and help each other focus on what's important. We have to hold each other accountable and allow entertainment to be entertainment and real life to be real life.

We can't blend the two.

Part 4: Rage Is Becoming Entertainment

What is @All_Things_Mine?

AllThingsMine is your very own FREE personal gadget assistant. Whether you want to find the best deal on a new device, get helpful gadget-related advice or stay notified about important warranty information – AllThingsMine is here to help you manage your devices better.

www.AllThingsMine.com

How to Make Your Wedding More Memorable

VOTE for the app here!

A wedding is one of those moments in a couple's life that will always be remembered.  Even for those who may marry multiple times there are usually a lot of great times that are captured during those moments.  Moments that a lot of us may want to relive countless times in the future.

Photographers and videographers can make or break those memories, but now there is another option that can turn your wedding photos into something that you and your loved ones can truly relive forever.

WedCam is simply one of the coolest and most innovative phone apps that I've seen in a long time.  It takes your memories and literally brings them to life.  Who wouldn't want that for their wedding?

Check out the example of how it works below:

Imagine being able to relive the magical moments of your wedding not just through a beautiful photo album, but also through your phone or tablet!  WedCam takes your photos and brings them to life with their amazing technology.  You, your friends and your family can forever enjoy that special day without the hassle of mailing DVDs to each and everyone who wishes to see it.  WedCam gives a more convenient and fun way of experience those nuptials all over again.

But WedCam needs your help! Qualcomm and Unity are rewarding and recognizing developers and their apps that showcase Qualcomm® Vuforia™ vision-based technology. The app that receives the most votes from the Unity Developer community wins $10,000 cash, a Unity 5 Pro License (2 top runners-up will also receive the licenses), and more!

Voting ends September 9 so get your vote in today and support an amazing technology!

Visit the WedCam YouTube Channel for more demonstrations of other things the app can do!

*Available at the App Store and on Google Play or just visit www.WedCamApp.com.

Want #Sex? There's An App for That!

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Technology Needs to Slow Down

Because you're dying to check Facebook from your TV, right?

I'm a geek.  I love electronics and I can read articles and listen to podcasts on them for hours at a time.  However, sometimes, enough is enough.  These electronic companies like Samsung, LG, etc. are going to run themselves out of business for being so greedy.  Everyone wants to create the next great thing every other month.  It's like crack.

Standard definition television was good enough for over 50 years until high definition came along.  Once HD arrived, the televisions flew off of the shelves.  This made the greedy electronic companies very excited!  Instead of perfecting the HDTV to get through the next 50 years of television, they decided to release a 3D television just a few years later.  Then SmartTVs became the rage.  Although I'm not sure how smart it was to create a TV that can do the exact same thing as my Xbox 360, Blu Ray player, Roku and home theater receiver does.  Sounds dumb to me.  Redundant much?  Do I really need four or five devices that give me Hulu Plus and Netflix access?  Can't TV's just be TV's?

A few months from now, Ultra HDTVs will be the next big thing.  Because HD-3D television isn't enough.  I'm guessing we're not too far from actors coming to our houses to perform the shows we like to watch.  After all, it doesn't get much realer than that.

Cell phones are the same way, if not worse.  Samsung currently has 44 different types of cell phones on display at their website.  44!  And those are just the smartphones, not including the flip phones.  Why would anyone need 44 different types of phones to sell?  Oh, I know why!  Because every month, they have to try to come out with the next iPhone killer.  Instead of worrying about competition for Siri, why not do like Motorola and focus on improving battery life?

Click to enlarge and read the comparisons.

Apple is the same with their iPad.  Every year, there's a new iPad and it's basically the same as the last.  The only difference is a little more memory here, a different color there and an extra feature.  That will be $450, thank you very much.  You know that new iPads compare about the same to old iPads because they're roughly the same price.  If anything major was different about them, then it would seem that the price margin would have more of a gap.  To Apple's credit, they've sold more of the almost exact same product than any company that comes to mind.  Their marketing department is legendary!  How many people reading this just looked up and saw their iPhone, iPod and iPad mini charging next to one another?

I wish these companies would just slow down already!  People are catching on to the fact that every new item you put out is basically the last version with one or two more add-ons.  Try looking at successful models like the Xbox and follow their lead.  It released its first model and 2001 and didn't come out with the Xbox 360 until a presidential term later.  Now, they're rumored to come out with the Xbox 720 (prototype name) at the end of this year, eight years after the 360.  Not only have they taken their time to perfect their product, they've also allowed time for their previous product to actually sell!  Imagine that!

It sucks as a consumer because something you buy today is rendered irrelevant in less than two years.  I bought a Blu Ray player from Samsung three years ago.  It would receive updates to the firmware roughly every other month.  Well, the updates stopped after a little over a year because the model had been discontinued. A new model was out, so they stopped supporting the model that I expected to have for the next five years.

Needless to say, I'll never buy another Blu Ray player from Samsung again.  Not just because they kicked my player to the curb in such a short time, but also because they rejected my (honest) review of their product from their website.  That's right.  Samsung picks and choose which product reviews they'll allow.  I'm guessing the fact that I said the device "requires me to enter time/date during setup yet was too rushed for them to even have a clock display on it" was offensive to them.

People don't need a new HDTV every two or thee years.  And with two year agreements being the norm with cell phone crooks companies, people don't need a new phone every six months.  You companies will have to learn the hard way when you have all of this merchandise sitting in your warehouses with nowhere to go.  Best Buys are already shutting down across the country because they can't live on holiday sales alone.

Now, I'm far from an expert, but I'm just playing a hunch here.  I think companies will start to fold/downsize within a year or two due to lost revenue.  There are just some instances where technology needs to slow down.  We've figured out how you operate.  Take your time and give us a product worthy of the astronomical prices that you're charging.

i Don't Hate iPhones

The iPhone 5 has been announced and Twitter has lost its mind. People are tweeting the same info over and over again in an attempt to be the first to announce something we've known since the early summer.

Then again, maybe that's unfair.  I'm a geek, so I keep up with that type of stuff.  I knew about the "secret" announcement a while ago from information "leaks" on the Web.  Now that the day has arrived, like the previous four iPhone launches, I don't care.

Well, let me retract that.  The first iPhone was a big deal, but I was working with AT&T (Wireless) at the time, so I was immersed in it.  Long hours and crazy demands during that time period.  From what I hear, the same applies now.  No vacations are allowed for employees during an iPhone launch week from what I've been told.  That's the way it was when I was there, too.  But, there's the thing: I don't care for iPhones.  They don't thrill me any more than a pair of Nike Air Jordans that people stand in line for every other season.

Let me run down a list of reasons why I'll be once again passing on the "new" iPhone:

1) I hate paying new money for something that looks like an old product.  Although this iPhone does look a little different and better than the i4s, it's still basically the same phone with upgraded software and processor.  I like my new products to look new.  Don't buy my car, put an air freshener in it and try to sell it back to me at a much higher price.  That's what Apple (and EA Sports, too...) tend to do in my opinion.

Why everyone who owned an i4 ran out to buy an i4S is beyond me.  They virtually only got an upgrade to Siri and I can vouch for the fact that she works nothing like the commercials.  Samuel L. Jackson would be cursing out the real Siri and Zooey Deschannel would have been met with "I don't understand" replies.

2) This is more of a question: do all iPhones have to have that same old tired applications layout?  Can you customize an iPhone at all?  Someone will have to fill me in on that one.

Same old screen? (Source)

3) I refuse to stand in line to buy something that everyone has.  I like to be different.  I will admit that if I thought that iPhones were the absolute best cell phones out there, then I'd own it.  But, since I know that there are other phones that get just as good, if not better, ratings, I'll pass.

Now, there are some things about the iPhone that I do like:

1) Powerful processing is important when it comes to phones.  Apple does a great job in this department which is why their products tend to run so smoothly.  The new A6 processor is expected to be double the power of the previous i4S which is impressive.  Rumored to be quad core, this phone could run rings around a lot of the competition.

2) Apple's marketing strategy is absolutely amazing!  Now, that has nothing to do with the performance of the phone, but Apple's ability to tweak a product, put a "new phone" price on it and still cause people to stand in line for it is amazing!  Their Apple-only environment insures that everything is completely compatible and works flawlessly together from iTunes to the Apple TV.

3) Apple is the reason smartphones are so great these days.  The reason Motorola, Samsung and others got off their butts to improve their products is because of the original iPhone.

Having said all of that, the iPhone is no longer the leader in technology.  Sure, they'll make a ton of more money than the other companies, but the technology is very 2011.  More like early 2011.

• At one time, iPhones were unmatched when it came to memory capacity, but now the Galaxy III also has models with 64GB storage.  

• Although Siri was a big hit and was one of the first of its kind, it doesn't nearly perform as well as the TV ads insinuated.  Some Android users would argue that Google has a better product in Iris ("Siri" spelled backwards).  

• iPhones are just now getting to a 4" screen while the Samsung Galaxy III is almost pushing 5".  

• Apple is just now getting their phone to LTE while other phones have been there for a while now (granted LTE is still limited).

• The Retina Display looks great, but the resolution of an iPhone isn't HD at all (1136 x 640).  In fact, the front-facing camera has a higher resolution (1280 x 720) than the phone itself.  But, the display on the iPhones do look really good.

My next phone is on the far right (Source)

So, to those who think that just because I call things like I see it that I'm a hater, then whatever. I Don't hate iPhones. Heck, I have a second generation iPad and I love it.  I just don't give any technology the benefit of the doubt without making a comparison or two first, that's all.  Some people just want something simple that works and frankly, you can't go wrong with an iPhone.

Dinner Disruption

I'm guilty of something. There's something that I'm constantly doing at least twice a day. I didn't even do it at all as a teen, but now I always have it in my hand fiddling around with it.  

Wait. Ew. Seriously? That's so gross. Not that!!!!! I'm talking about checking my cell phone at the dinner table, you perv!

Anyway, it's a problem that I'm trying to do a better job of eliminating. Growing up, cell phones weren't mainstream, so dinner was for spending time with family. Besides, even if they would have been mainstream, I'm pretty sure my father would have snatched it out of my hands if I broke it out at the table. I wasn't even allowed to bring my handheld Coleco Total Control 4 Football game with me to the table.  Dinner was a time that my parents played 20 Questions with me and my brother to see what the heck we've been up to at school or something.  Every now and then, we'd get a treat and we were allowed to eat in front of the TV, but most of the time, it was all about family.   So, being that I was raised like that, what has changed that has caused me to not be able to stop myself from grabbing my cell phone at a dinner table?

1) Being single - From the age of 24 until the age of 30, I lived alone. Within those six years, I easily developed the habit of eating in front of the television. There wasn't anyone else in the house with me, so to sit at the dining room table alone made me feel stupid. By the time The Mrs. and I got married and she moved in, the habit of being distracted while eating was already six years into existence.

2) Cell phone evolution - At one time, they were only for making calls (imagine that). Then all of these cool and addictive things became possible with the advancement of technology! I can send a message to a friend without having to actually speak to them? Sign me up!  I can go online and get the scores of the NBA game that's showing in the other room? Winning!  I can read and respond to a "blog froth" from the Reckmonster?  Done!  I can see Instagram photos from @SoLynnieLike without being at a computer?  Holla! 

Do you see my problem? Like many of the young people that I criticize, I also want instant gratification. I can't even stuff my face without a dinner disruption of my own creation. Well, a restaurant is attempting to help me get over my problem. A restaurant in L.A. called Eva's is offering discounts for those who check their cell phones at the door. 5% doesn't sound like a lot, but when you consider that some of their entrees are $45, then dinner for two can save you $10 if both of you check in your phones.

And although I live nowhere near L.A., the precedent is being set by Eva's. They're trendsetters! What starts as one location and 5% today could turn into restaurants across the country doing it for 10% or 15%. At Eva's, they want people to enjoy what we all used to enjoy as kids (for those around 30 and older): "We're trying to create an ambience where you come in and really enjoy the experience and the food and the company," says Eva's owner and chef, Mark Gold (quoted from an article in Gizmodo).

Dinner with only food and conversation. Who would have guessed something like that would be a throwback?  


Do you constantly check your cell phone at the dinner table?

Source

Scan My Butt

Geekdom meets exploitation! You can't beat it! Companies are now using QR codes to advertise their products and what better product placement than on the butt? QR codes are the bar codes that you scan with your phone in order to access the message and / or website.

So, take technology and mix it with a man wanting any type of excuse to aim his cell phone at a woman's butt and you have a marketing dream!

Beach volleyball, car shows and electronic expos are the breeding grounds for this new form of advertising.  With the recent E3 expo in Vegas, there were plenty of cell phones taking photos scanning QR codes to get information on products. I'm not sure how I'd feel about someone trying to scan my butt.

Fair or foul on this new form of advertising?