As the comic strip Blondie creeps up the century mark, one its superannuated creators must have a grandchild. Facebook!

And before that, 2FA

Wiley proves his bonafides for the roaring 20s… 2020s that is. The delivery of the security code is a little subtle.

I don’t know whether this is the product of a moronic Large Language Model (LLM) or a pig-ignorant algorithm. Probably the latter, since LinkedIn started facilitating hookups long before LLM was a twinkle in someone’s asshole.

Still, I was amused to find a suggestion in my inbox this morning, topped by a profile photo I stopped using months ago, that I connect with myself. I do know Paul, and he is a member I know and trust, and yet I feel no need to connect with him any more than I am already connected.

Is auto-connection some weird sexual practice? Clearly the template for this automated notice was written by the same people who wrote the LinkedIn user interface.

Trash Can Evolution

This meme courtesy of Nicky Mee

Affordable Apple Watch

I would show you a beautiful illustrated version of this, but the World’s Lousiest UI (LinkedIn) showed that version to me for 10 seconds, than dropped it down the memory hole.

•  Jerry — CEO / Brand Lead:** the public face, focused on image and crowd reaction.

•  Elaine — COO / Product Manager:** drives projects, decisive, pushes changes (and offices politics).

•  George — Middle Manager / HR:** insecure, politics-first, avoids real work while scheming promotions.

•  Cosmo Kramer — Head of Innovation / Chief Disruption Officer:** wild ideas, experiments, unpredictable execution.

•  Newman — Logistics / Operations (shady):** handles delivery/routing but untrustworthy and self-serving.

•  Uncle Leo — Office Politician / Senior Advisor:** attention-seeking, leverages relationships for influence.

This meme courtesy of Nicky Mee

This World Plumbing Day meme courtesy of Nicky Mee

It’s been a while since Dan Grobstein has appeared here[1], but he has returned  with a fantastic heads up, for Fireheads such as myself and many of you. Not Insane! by Andrew Katzenstein, described by the New York Review as about “The Firesign Theatre, a comedy group formed in the 1960s, created surreal albums that mixed satire and science fiction, and inspired a generation of misfits.” Well, yes. Myself included.

[1] 380 times from 2005-2013, so often he had his own heading, Dan Grobstein File

This reminds me of an invitation I received from a Wellesley woman for 7 p.m. I showed up promptly (53 years ago); she came to the door in a towel, saying she was still showering.

MIT people are on the right in this cartoon