When it comes to blogging, be like Nike. Just do it.

Just do it. Blog!

I was talking to one of my peeps the other day, and the discussion turned to blogging.

Actually, I was chatting via IM…

And I most likely asked if they blogged…

There probably wasn’t a discussion prior…

But that’s besides the point.

The point is that blogging came up.

I was (as I do) extolling the virtues of blogging.

It builds your brand.

It establishes you as a thought leader or authority in your field.

It separates you from the undifferentiated (non-blogging) masses.

It builds credibility.

It helps you develop your voice as an author.

It generates traffic.

I could go on and on – and I’m pretty sure I did.

Invariably, after my diatribe on the virtues of blogging, they were like “I need to find the time to write.”

Time to write?

As I prepared to fire off a dismissive reponse, I realized that I’d heard it before.

In fact, I’ve heard loads of reasons for not blogging before.

I don’t have the time.

What would I write about?

My writing sucks.

No one would read it.

As I listened read, I had to give some credence to the fact that blogging legitimately challenges folks.

So today, I’m going to address the most common objections to blogging I’ve encountered, and hopefully provide some useful advice for overcoming them.

I don’t want to hear it!

Objection No. 1: I don’t have time to blog.

If I’ve heard this once, I’ve heard it a thousand times.

And I’m sure each person who has ever uttered these words hasn’t really thought about how much time they waste devote to other things, that could be devoted to blogging.

Blogging is like anything else you want to master.

You’ve got to set aside time for it.

It doesn’t have to be a lot of time – 30 minutes a day.

An hour a week.

Once a week.

Something.

Anything.

Just put it in your schedule.

And don’t make excuses not to.

If you can make time to wash your ass, you can make time to blog.

What to blog about? What to blog about?

Objection No. 2: I don’t know what to blog about.

I think this is one of the more valid objections to blogging: what to write about.

It’s also one of the easiest to overcome.

There are tons of blogs out there about anything and everything.

From quarks to Jimmy Choos.

Yes “quarks.”

I had to come up with truly random shit to emphasize my point.

Write about what interests you.

There. It’s that simple.

To get your blog flowing, you should always write about what interests you.

You could give a shit if it interests other people.

Start off blogging about things you like, experiences you have, stories you’ve heard.

If you keep your blog “you” centric, you’ll never have writers block.

Unless you’re a boring dolt or shut-in.

But even then, you could write about your life as an agoraphobic.

And be the don of agoraphobics everywhere.

If Snoopy can do it, so can you!

Objection No. 3: I am not a good writer.

Now this objection is tricky – and valid.

Blogging requires working knowledge of the English language (or whatever language is your native tongue).

And while I am a wordsmith, a human lexicon, one who gets busy with the vocab, not everyone is not similarly endowed.

But just because you haven’t mastered the Queen’s English, doesn’t mean that you can’t have a compelling blog.

There are plenty of blogs out there that are a hot mess!

Not because they are written poorly, but because they could give a shit about writing convention.

The good thing about blogging is that you don’t have to be a poet laureate.

Your blog can be linguistically challenged, ebonics laden with misspellings galore, and still have folks flock to it because it’s genuine.

But if you want to be a better writer, blogging will help you become one.

The more you blog, the better you’ll become.

Please read my blog. Please?

Objection No. 4: No one will read my blog.

My response to this objection is universally: how the fuck do you know?

Once again, unless you’re some kind of anti-social shut in, you likely have folks who give a shit care about you.

And at least one of them would take the time to read your blog if you created one.

The truth is that that if you blog it, they will come.

They may not come immediately, or in droves, or regularly.

But they will come.

You can be assured though, you’ll never get any readers if you never blog.

So go the fuck on and blog already.

Ghost in the machine. I want to touch my MacBook Pro.

Must touch the screen. I must!

It happened again.

An alert went off on my computer and my hand reflexively reached up towards the screen to silence it.

I stopped myself, as I realized that my MacBook Pro does not have a touch screen.

While I avoided adding another smudged fingerprint to my collection of errant touch-my-screen attempts, my aborted impulse revealed a long standing desire – for a touch screen MacBook.

Mind you, this is a brand new machine.

I got it less than a month ago, but it’s got no touch screen.

When I heard that the Pixel, the new Chromebook by Google had one, I was miffed.

The Pixel has me hating on my MacBook Pro. Damn Chromebooks!

Google?

Chromebook?

Touchscreen?

Laptop?

The thought was incomprehensible.

Pangs of jealously racked me.

The sensation was unbearable.

Another alert went off on my laptop.

In my blind rage, I jammed my finger into the screen – again.

Will I never learn?

My rage gave pause to a temporary moment of reflection.

How is it that the greatest tech company in the world doesn’t have a touch screen laptop?

But upstart new jack entrants to the game and booty throwaway device manufacturers do?

Sure, there are other Windows based touchscreen laptops.

But who wants some third party laptop by Lenovo or a Dell?

Yeah, the Surface is like a touch screen laptop.

But it’s an inelegant and clunky Windows tablet (with a keyboard).

The Surface Pro has me hating my MacBook Pro. Damn Surface!

And who the hell wants that buggy piece of crap (aka not-a-Mac)?

No one, that’s who.

The fact that lesser device makers have touchscreen laptops in the market never seemed to bother me before.

But an Android notebook running Chrome and Google’s suite of integrated apps?

That’s gotten under my skin.

I mean reeeaaally Apple?

What’s so hard about adding a touch screen to your line of laptops?

If an old school NEC POS machine can have a keyboard and a touch screen, why can’t I?

C’mon Apple! Even dinosaurs have touch screens.

If Acer can make a touch screen laptop – ACER! – why can’t you?

And I know I’m not the only one with this desire.

I’ve seen mad other people stupidly jamming fingers into screens desperately trying to depress untouchable icons.

In this new fangled world of smartphones and tablets, touch and gesturing has become a norm.

People are used to touching screens.

Everywhere you turn, there are touchable screens: MTA, Redbox, ATM machines (and the aforementioned booty throwaway machines).

Why then, are our MacBooks still stuck in the stone ages?

Free our screens, damn it!

I demand it!

Apple, don’t let Steve Jobs’ stubborn shortsightedness rule you from beyond the grave.

Tim Cook, grow some cojones and stop living in a dead man’s shadow.

Think for yourself!

Know ye this: I shall not buy another MacBook unless and until said MacBook includes a touchscreen.

There. I said it.

Now make it so!

Live Long and Prosper. Or not. But go see Star Trek.

In case you weren’t aware, I’m a trekkie.

Don’t get it twisted.

I’m not a trekkie trekkie.

I don’t don pointy ears and get all Comic-Conned out or anything like that.

My greetings do not involve splitting my middle and ring fingers in a Vulcan salute.

You’ll never see me doing this.

Aside from Captain Kirk and Dr. Spock, I couldn’t tell you the real names of any of the actors from the original series.

But I get my Star Trek on.

And I’m a purist.

Any of the various Star Trek spin-offs can sick a duck for all I care.

But I will curl up with a hot cup of cocoa and a snuggly blanket for a Star Trek marathon.

And watch any rerun of an original Star Trek episode as if it were the first time.

So it was with unbridled excitement that I took in the latest installment and went where no man has gone before…

Except the folks who caught it before me on Wednesday or Thursday.

Or all the media folks who got the advanced screening.

But I digress.

Friday, I saw Start Trek Into Darkness and it was everything I’d hoped it would be.

In fact, it was a little more.

I hadn’t expected to laugh as much as I did.

Into Darkness was peppered with genuinely humorous moments that had me literally laughing aloud.

I was going to say laughing out loud, but than I would have been soooo predictable, and I hate that.

I also copped the Star Trek Into Darkness app.

Because they had one, that’s why.

No, seriously, it’s a cool app that appeals to the trekkie trapped inside all of us.

When you get the app, you start as a non-commissioned officer.

Complete a few missions, and watch your rank rise to Cadet, then Crewman and on.

Missions include ‘listening’ to portions of episodes on Hulu, visiting URLs and answering trivia.

I was ashamed about how little I initially knew about my beloved Start Trek, but my perseverance was quickly rewarded.

And now I’m a Petty Officer, so take that!

But back to the movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed all 2 hours and 20 minutes of it.

It was fraught with incredibly exciting and suspenseful moments.

Lucky for you though, I’m not one of those dickhead spoilers who spill the beans and give the entire movie away.

You can read Rotten Tomatoes for that.

But I’ll say this much: Ricardo Montalbán is probably pissed.

I brought the original pain! You better recognize!

Now because I know many of you aren’t up on Star Trek, like I am, I will leave you with this bit of advice – go see the movie.

But in case my persuasive writing isn’t enough, peep the trailer below.

Google I/O 13. Not quite an Apple Keynote, but not far off. I’m lying.

Today I did the geekiest thing I’ve ever done in my whole life.

What’s that, you ask?

I watched day 1 of the Google I/O 2013 keynote.

On the internet.

That’s right.

I suffered through almost four hours of it.

At first, I thought I was going to be sitting in on an Apple-style keynote.

With all types of interesting announcements and clever quips from engaging Ted-X style speakers.

But as the hours dragged on, I realized that wasn’t going to happen.

Instead I was assailed by one listless speaker after the next.

Where did these people come from, Zombieland?

Don’t get it twisted, I love me some Google products.

But damn!

They could have used some adrenaline over there.

I’m just saying.

Pop a molly. Snort a line. Guzzle a Red Bull!

Do something to liven up!

Anything!

How hard would it have been to not slouch?

Or not speak  in a monotone?

Or tell a joke that was not completely devoid of timing – or humor?

Abysmal delivery aside, Google went deep into their bag of tricks today.

And made some announcements that had me like “wow!”

Here are a few of the more interesting parts of today’s snorefest.

VP9

VP9 is Google’s open video compression standard that provides high quality video compression at half the bit rate.

Google wants to expand VP9 in mobile web which means faster video load times, but lower data rates for streaming over cellular networks.

Pixel

Pixel is a touchscreen Chromebook and the first laptop built by Google, which combines easy access to all of Google’s software in a high end (and expensive) machine.

The six thousand attendees of I/O 13 each got one.

Why wasn’t I invited again?

First my invite to Oprah’s Favorite Things show gets lost in the mail and now this.

Google Play for Education

Google Play for Education is Google’s answer to Apple’s iTunes U.

Through their partnership with hundreds of educational app developers, Play for Education provides educators with a way of providing educational apps to students en masse.

Another initiative to provide students with Chromebooks, makes the Google Play in Education announcement one of the most aggressive pushes to bridge the technological gap in schools in decades.

Auto Awesome

Auto Awesome is one of a suite of new photo-related enhancements from Google, which turns photographs in GIFs for you.

Other photo-related features can enhance images, create all smiley face photos from a collection where you weren’t able to get everyone to smile in one shot, and collages from groups of related photographs.

All automatically without you having to lift a finger.

Hence “auto”.

I could go on and on about the keynote, but I don’t want to bore you.

I’ll let Google do that themselves.

If you’ve got nothing better to do, and want to watch all 3 hours and 51 minutes of it, click play.

But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

If you want a more comprehensive breakdown of the all today’s announcements, without being bored to death, check out Techcrunch, Wired or Gizmodo (who all speak geek far better than I do).

Umm, Google, you guys need to get a ouija board, contact Steve Jobs and get some tips on tricking out a keynote.

Cause that shit was booooorrrinnngggg!

Hide your kids! Chukumba is coming!

Hide your kids! The Tech Pied Piper is coming!

Look out East Orange.

Stephen Chukumba is coming for your kids.

Not in a pedophilic way you moron!

Like the Pied Piper.

Well, no.

Not like the Pied Piper.

Depending upon which version you’ve read, he was kinda a bad guy.

A tad spiteful.

More like a nurturing Pied Piper.

Who leads the children with his magical pipe iPhone.

But brings them back – happy and healthy – and smarter.

Damn Ariel, you got me all jacked up just trying to start a post.

What I’ve been trying to say is that this Thursday, I’ll be hosting career workshop sessions for middle schoolers in East Orange, New Jersey.

I was invited to speak.

Scratch that.

I volunteered to speak after my wife came home and told me about the event.

Her organization, Arts Unbound, is sending someone to talk to the kids about professions in the arts.

This will be a departure from the traditional career days these East Orange 8th graders are accustomed to.

Which typically involve cops and firefighters speaking to the kids.

But rarely individuals from other professions.

Much less a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious cat like your’s truly!

Not that there’s anything wrong with cops and firefighters.

Actually, there are often things wrong with (people who decided to become) cops – but that’s another story for another time.

And there are a few that genuinely protect and serve.

But my point is that our kids need to know that there’s more out there for them than dodging bullets or flames for a living.

They can actually make a living by using their b-r-a-i-n-s.

You know – the grey matter between their ears.

Novel concept, I know.

I fully intend to blow their minds with knowledge.

And I’m the perfect dude to do it.

Have you seen me?

6’3″ Black man with dreads and tattoos?

What kid wouldn’t be like “who is THAT?” when I walk in the room?

They’re probably expecting me to talk about rapping or entertainment or something.

Imagine their shock when I start dropping jewels about apps, mobile web and technology on ‘em!

I’m sure a few heads will explode.

Note to self: wear goggles and a smock.

So parents of children attending the Patrick F. Healy Middle School in East Orange, be forewarned.

I’m coming to your town.

And I’m getting at your kids.

All up in their heads.

Turning them into little technologists.

Minion doing my bidding.

And if your kids come home from Career Day talking about APIs, platforms and networks, know that your boy Chukumba did that.

The iPad 2. My “new” favorite device.

Stephen and iPad sitting in a tree, w-o-r-k-i-n-g.

Have you heard?

I’m in love!

No. Not with my wife.

I mean, I’m in love with my wife.

Don’t get me wrong.

She’s a sweet chick that doesn’t get on my nerves too much.

Just kiddin honey. You don’t get on my nerves at all.

The point is, I’m in love but its not the wife.

No. Not the kids.

Love the kids (by default, not design).

But I’m not talking offspring here.

My job? Gimme a break!

Check in with me when I’m clocking seven figures.

For now, negatory.

Alright, last guess.

Wrong!

I do love sex.

But it’s an act, not a thing.

You suck at this.

Remind me never to pick you as a game show partner.

It’s my iPad 2!

I am head over heels in love with it.

I recently got it from wifey for my birthday.

I was, in a word, verklempt.

Why all the emotion?

After all, this is my second iPad.

I had the original for three years.

Mind you, I was pissed when Apple dropped the 2 within months of my copping the 1.

But I wasn’t going for the okey-doke and buying into Apple’s manipulative bait-and-switch (and rape your pockets).

So for three years, I made do with my camera-less, FaceTime deficient, slower iPad.

Don’t get me wrong, we had our run.

But when the 4 was released, followed by the Mini, and talks began about a 5 and a retina display Mini, I realized enough was enough.

I had to step up my game.

Then came the dilemma.

Do I cop the 2, 3, 4 or Mini?

The Mini was out of the question.

I tooled around with it in the office, and it was so not a tablet.

I mean it is a tablet, but its not a tablet.

Knowhatimean?

You’re daft.

Try to keep up with me, please?

Anywho, the debate really centered around the 2, 3 and 4.

Do I just go for it and drop coin for the latest and greatest, the 4 with its retina display, 4G LTE and all the bells and whistles?

Or do I settle for something less bells and whistley from an earlier generation?

The decision was easy.

The 2.

Same (general) features and functionality of the (now defunct) 3 (and 4), less price.

Sure it’s maxed out at 16GB.

And there’s no Siri.

Lower resolution photos and video recording.

But for all intents and purposes, its the same thing.

Truth be told, my love affair with the 2 started the day I beheld it in the wild for the first time.

My man’s girl had one in Miami, during Art Basel.

And before I knew what was happening, I was one of those dorks shooting video with a big ole tablet in my outstretched arms – Frankenstein’s monster-like.

Get it right. Frankenstein was the man, not the monster.

The foolishness of my appearance did little to dampen the unbridled affection I felt – and presently feel – for it.

Even today, well after the novelty has worn off, as I cradle my very own 2 lovingly in my mitts, affection wells in my chest.

Why the love affair, you ask?

Well, nothing in my arsenal impacts my day-to-day productivity more than the iPad.

My iPad helps me get shit done.

Shout out to Moses.

If you’ve every tried to work on your iPhone while out and about, or even on your laptop, you quickly realize there are – limitations.

One’s too small and cramped.

The other’s too big and bulky.

But my iPad is just right.

I power through emails.

Schedule appointments.

Knock out to-do’s.

I’m generally bout-it-bout-it.

Bout-it bout-it=handling one’s business in a professional and thorough manner.

When I’m rocking with my iPad, you might as well give me a cape and call me the Black Superman.

I gets that busy.

So if you see me out and about, fondling or kissing my iPad, and it makes you feel…uncomfortable…

Avert your eyes.

Nothing’s going to stand in the way of my love.

WTF is a Blipp? Augmented reality, that’s what.

Flipping through today’s Metro I came across an article about Iron Man’s Tony Stark (a/k/a Robert Downey Jr.).

With my tickets to Iron Man 3 already secured, I paused to see what insight I could get before the movie tonight.

Former bad boy…

Drug habit…

Avengers..

Blah, blah, blah…

Wait, what’s this?

“Blipp This!”

Hmmm…

“If you want to try on the Iron Man suit, Blipp the photo below..”

Blipp the photo?

WTF is a Blipp?

Curious, I download the Blippar app and point it at the page.

Blippar – who comes up with this shit?

Anyway, I launch the app and a zillion little red dots scan the page until they lock onto something, and then this..

Metro before Blippar…

Becomes this.

Metro after Blippar.

Pretty cool.

Not novel, but cool.

Clicking on the tabs, I was able to put my face inside the Iron Man suit (snore), and read (another) review (snore).

The exclusive interview with Don Cheadle was a pure tease, because the link didn’t work.

It was so exclusive no one could read it? watch it?

Who the fuck knows.

App fail.

Nice try though.

Blippar is one of the latest entrants into the augmented reality space, giving traditional two-dimensional ads a three dimensional makeover.

And providing brands and advertisers, with the ability to create interactive, feature-rich opportunities to enhance audience engagement.

While still in it’s infancy, there is a lot of promise in augmented reality.

Metro touted today’s issue as it’s first “interactive edition” which means that there are more to come.

I previously wrote about my experience with Spiderman and an augmented cereal box.

Back then, I was talking about Aurasma, one of the early entrants into the space.

Since that time, many more players have joined the race.

Did you notice the rhyme in those last two sentences? Space, race. I’m a poet and don’t even know it!

Blippar has been doing some really cool things with a number of brands, including Bud Light, Justin Bieber, Wrigley’s gum and Dominos.

You can check out their Blipps page to see some of them.

One of the limitations to widepread AR adoption, though, is the fact that you’ve got to download an app to take advantage of it.

Most people aren’t going to do that, especially if there are competing systems.

Think QR codes and Microsoft Tags.

It’s not like anyone who already had a QR code reader installed on their device saw a Microsoft Tag and was like, “Oooo! I really want to see where that takes me, let me go to the app store and cop that app.”

And it’s highly unlikely that once someone selects an AR app, they’re going to get a second (or third) one to view a different promo.

Hopefully one day, this functionality will be built directly into your device, with handset manufacturers utilizing a uniform AR platform.

With the AR space still so fragmented it will probably be a while before any app achieves a significant foothold and/or becomes the standard.

But seeing another use of augmented reality in the wild tells me that an AR future is not far off.

Jermaine Dupri of Kriss Kross died today. So did journalistic integrity.

Will the real Mac Daddy please stand up?

I love how thorough the media is when reporting on Black stuff.

Like today.

Chris Kelly, a member of Kriss Kross died.

And in perfect media form numerous news outlets flashed the picture of Jermaine Dupri along with the story.

Chris?

Jermaine Dupri.

As I watched Fox News this morning, I thought, why are they showing a picture of Jermaine?

The last time I checked, Jermaine Dupri was not a part of the rap duo.

Sure, he produced them, but that didn’t make him a part of the group.

Since the story didn’t offer any context for the picture of Jermaine Dupri, like “Their producer, Jermaine Dupri was with the family in their time of grief” or anything like that, it made their use of his image all the more inexplicable.

Kriss Kross=Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly and Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith.

Chris and Chris.

No Jermaine.

But then it dawned on me.

All Black people look the same.

We all look the same.

One Black dude is virtually indistinguishable from the next, so no harm no foul.

Right?

You remember when Michael Clarke Duncan passed away?

Who’s image did the media flash?

Terry Crews.

Terry Crews is not Michael Clarke Duncan.

Terry Crews?

Again, I got it.

They could have put up a picture of Debo and we would have been fine.

Oh wait…

A few channels did run the story with Debo’s picture.

Michael?

Michael Clarke Duncan, Terry Crews, Debo.

They’re all the same.

What’s the difference between one bald muscly Black dude and the next?

Nothing, apparently.

At least they ran the story with a picture of someone.

That’s good right?

Even if it was the wrong someone.

We don’t really count, so who cares?

Bitches.

Google Now and Siri. Friends or Enemies? Frenemies.

There can only be one!

Didja hear?

Google Now is now available on iOS!

Aren’t you glad?

No?

Are you saying you’re not up on Google Now?

Google’s version of the personal assistant.

Well let me disabuse you of your ignorance.

About a year ago, when Google introduced it’s intelligent personal assistant for Android , many prognosticated the end of Siri.

Although Google Now wasn’t available for iOS, it was compelling and differed starkly from Apple’s PA offering.

For one, there was no Q&A.

You didn’t have to ask Google Now anything in order to get information.

Simply dial up the app, and it presented you with multiple options, all gleaned from you.

No questions asked.

More importantly, Google Now was intelligent.

Siri is stupid.

No learning curve.

No matter how many times you ask Siri a question, she’ll never intuit that you may be asking her to repeat a function she’s performed in the past.

Dumb dumb. You make me sick.

On the flip side, Google Now takes all the information it already knows about you and serves it back to you before you’ve even thought to ask.

The more you do (within the Google suite), the smarter it becomes.

Sounds bananas right?

How the heck can it tell you something about something you haven’t even asked about?

Magic, duh!

No seriously.

Google Now is an ‘intelligent assistant’, because it learns about it’s user based on that user’s activity and their previous history in other Google applications and services.

Say you’re heading out and start searching for a restaurant, Google Now will show you theaters and night clubs around you to hit afterwards.

Are you a fan of sports? Google Now will automatically update you on the latest scores from all the NBA playoff games.

That was then.

This is now.

And the feared rivalry is no longer conjecture.

Google Now for iOS is here!

Don’t look for it in the App Store though.

It’s not a stand alone app.

It’s an update to another app, Google Search.

I’ve got the Google Search app on my iPhone.

And lo and behold! There’s an update for it.

Update the app and Google Now is front and center with a little informational video.

Click through the navigation buttons, and Google Now walks you through the various utilitarian ways that it can help you.

From traffic alerts on your commute to work.

To flight information when you travel.

Google Now places a bunch of ‘cards’ at the bottom of the search screen, which you simply swipe up from the bottom to access.

My initial foray into Google Now served up the weather and a bunch of restaurants around the office.

There was also a card with an upcoming conference call.

Snorelax!

I’m sure folks with more exciting lives – or who live in Google – have infinitely more exciting stuff popping off.

If you’re (justifiably) paranoid about the privacy implications of yet another Google service, rest easy.

You’ve got to authorize the app to use your personal information.

But once you do look out!

Not really.

There are a bunch of things you can do on an Android which you can’t on your iOS device.

So that clever little swipe up from the bottom of the phone to activate Google Now – deaded.

Things like Fandango, Boarding Pass, and Events are all off limits too.

Not much of a rivalry.

I doubt I’ll remember to use the search app to look for shit anyway, even though its on my device.

So I probably won’t get much out of Google Now.

But the rest of you blokes should use it and tell me what you think.

Is Google Now the right information at just the right time?

Or will this be just another unused app icon sitting on your phone?

The Life Digital. Atari to iPad: Growing Up In the Digital Age (an introduction)

You know I’m writing a book right?

I posted about it a minute ago.

And true to my word, I’ve been working diligently to bring this bastard to life.

I started with a few chapters.

Got stuck.

Ditched ‘em.

Started again.

And then it dawned on me – most books I’ve ever read, have some sort of introduction.

So I thought that I’d start mine with one.

Mind you, this is a work in progress.

So if it seems kinda short.

Or rambly.

Or totally incoherent.

Indulge me.

As I’ve never written a book before, invariably there will may be (poorly written) fits and starts before I hit my stride.

Forgive me.

Here goes nothing:

According to geek legend, 1969 was the year the Internet was introduced. Although I was just an itch in my dad’s nutsack in ’69, it was an auspicious year nonetheless.  My dad and mom just had their first kid, my sister Beatrice, a year earlier. But Uneze wasn’t having a wife that wasn’t popping out kids.  And like the researchers who introduced the internet to the world, my dad introduced his spermatozoa to an egg inside my mom, and I was conceived. Although the Internet wasn’t really mainstream until a few decades later, it’s introduction at the dawn of the 70s was a powerful sign for the decade to come.

I was born on April 21st 1970. According to Wikipedia, that was the 111th day of the year. 111 is a toilent number. A perfect number. So I was born on a perfectly numbered day, in the dawn of the the Internet. It wasn’t like I was born on the day the internet was created. That would have been something. But being born in the wake of it’s introduction clearly had a powerful impact on me – if only viscerally.

And I wasn’t alone. While computer and engineering geeks at universities across the globe were inspired by invention, they weren’t the only ones fussing about with wires and circuit boards. Pockets of garage warriors and hobbyest were tucked and tinkering away in clandestine labs all over the world, making the gadgets that I would come to fall in love with through the years.

I’ve touched and been touched by many of the technologies, analog and digital, trends and advances made over the past 40 years. And I’ve experienced many of them as a consumer, insider and observer. These gadgets and gizmos have directly and indirectly impacted me and conspired to form the person I’ve become today: techie, guru, advocate, evangelist, fan.

As a result, I’ve lived my life on the leading/bleeding edge, always on the look out for the next big thing. That next phone, app, technological advancement or signpost signaling yet another leap forward. From the Atari gaming console I begged our parents to buy, to my iPhone 5, technology has been an integral part of my life.

This book will examine the tech trends, hits and misses from the last four decades from the perspective of someone who has lived and continues to live in it, through it and with it. I’m going to examine the technological advances that have occurred, big and small, and show how these advances have changed us – made us who we are today.

I hope you’ll find some wisdom in these pages. If not, maybe you’ll enjoy the walk down memory lane.

So what do you think?