I didn’t ask for the Fitness App to be installed on my iPhone, but Apple put it there anyway. Not as sophisticated as when it is linked to an iWatch, it nevertheless keeps track of my movements during the day, especially when I am out on my morning run. At some point several years ago, apparently around the iOS 14 upgrade and unbeknownst to me, the app set some goals for my daily calorie burn. It seems Apple knows enough about me to think it has an idea of how active I ought to be. And then, to encourage my submission to its dictates, the app offers me awards, “digital equivalents of enamel pins or badges.” I earned a badge for meeting or exceeding my goal 365 times, but as soon as I did it upped the ante to 500 times. I’ve got a fake enamel pin for the number of times I have exceeded my goal by 200%, and another for all my perfect weeks. Apple says I ought to challenge my friends to an awards competition. Private message me and I will decline your dare.

So, an app I did not want measures me against standards I did not set. And I am checking those pins and badges all the time.

Now, this could be a rant against invasive and manipulative technology, and invasive and manipulative technology deserves all the rants we can give it. But I want to turn a different direction at this intersection. Continue reading →

You’ve probably received a text similar to the one above (it’s okay, just a link to NBC news).  You immediately delete and report as junk, but if you are like me, you feel a little annoyed by the whole thing. What about those we know who don’t delete and report as junk, what about those who may be victimized by the scam? Who are these people sending bogus messages that prey on the unaware and unsuspecting?

The turnpike toll scam is just one in a trillion-dollar (don’t worry, just a link to USA Today) industry of high tech robbery.

I find myself wanting not justice, but vengeance. We don’t know if David, the Sweet Psalmist of Israel, was the victim of a phishing scam when he wrote in Psalm 35, but it sounds as if he may have been:

For without cause they hid their net for me;
without cause they dug a pit for my life.
Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his destruction!

Yes! May those toll fee scammers be ensnared in their own net, may they fall into their own pit! Continue reading →

I came across the problem quite accidentally. But there it was. A problem. Literally in black and white and undeniably a problem, a problem defined as a serious breach of ethical standards. Probably not illegal, but definitely unethical. Now, I was fairly certain – and all the more so now – that the breach of ethical standards was unintentional. Nevertheless, a breach it was, and it is a problem. I don’t know the perpetrator of the problem, but I know the organization under whose work the breach was committed, and I appreciate the good it does. So, I made the report, a suggestion to someone in the organization I know that something ought to be done to repair the breach. Yes, it might take some time, cost some money, and offend the unintentional culprit. He said he’d get back to me and it could be next week.

I am nervous.

At first, I questioned my integrity in even raising the issue. That’s where the mote and beam came in. The photo above is of a painting by Domenico Fetti, a baroque painter, circa 1619. Fetti was Italian and the painting is one in a series from the parables of Jesus. The English translation of each parable is typically from the King James Bible, hence the title Mote and Beam. (How wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Matthew 7:4 KJV) Continue reading →

Two photos taken at 6:30 and at about a mile and a quarter into my morning run.  They were taken three days apart, the photo on the left this past Saturday and the photo on the right Tuesday of this week.  In between, of course, the dawn, as it were, of daylight saving time.

On Saturday the sun rose at 7:02, so by 6:30 early light lit my morning path.  And, yes, we had a coating of snow the night before.  The sun would not make its formal Tuesday appearance until 7:58, so there was barely a hint of any light at 6:30, save that reflected by the setting moon.

All in all, I am not a daylight saving time fan, especially since we moved to Indiana.  Indiana happens to be at the far western edge of the eastern time zone.  Friends in Philadelphia, rosy-fingered dawn spreads her light across your sky 42 minutes before we have so much of a suggestion of her arrival.

I was just growing accustomed to being able to dowse my chest lamp, switch off my light vest, and listen to the singing of the songbirds (and the honking of the Canada geese) when I was plunged back into silent darkness.  Grumble. Continue reading →

I was a sucker for the challenge.  And like Narcissus gazing at his reflection in the pool of water, I was smitten by what I saw.

A writer I respect, and who, like me, is generally not inclined to support the use of artificial intelligence as an aid in writing, suggested submitting a sample of our writing to an AI program for an analysis of our style.  I never should have done it, but I gave the AI program my online URL, www.billteague.online, and asked for some comments on how I write – not so much what I write.

The program said of my style in these Observations posts, “(it) is reflective, conversational, and deeply rooted in personal observation. He blends thoughtful commentary on faith, life, and culture with a tone that feels approachable and sincere…His prose is straightforward yet carries a gentle rhythm, often punctuated by a dry wit or subtle humor that keeps it engaging. He’s not afraid to question conventional wisdom or admit uncertainty, which gives his writing a relatable, grounded feel. …Overall, it’s a style that invites readers to pause and think alongside him, rather than dictating answers—intimate, unhurried, and quietly provocative.”

Well, thank you very much!  I feel affirmed, especially since Microsoft Word often tells me my sentence structure is too complex and that I might be better off choosing a simpler word. Continue reading →