Author Ava Pennington
Author Ava Pennington

Beware of Click Bait

A line from the 1934 Babes in Toyland came to mind recently: “Big bait catches big rat!” It’s a quote by the villain, Barnaby, after he successfully traps the two hapless heroes, Laurel & Hardy. I’m reminded of that line almost every time I scroll through my...

read more

The Times They are A-Changin’

The times they are a-changin' and technology is developing faster than…             …the speed of light? Sometimes it feels like it.             …our ability to comfortably keep up?                         Probably, at least for most of us over the age of 50....

read more

The More Things Change…

The more things change... You know how to finish that statement, don’t you? “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” Bear with me as I take an ever-so-brief detour through the history of writing. You’ll understand why in a moment or two… Written...

read more

What Kind of Choice?

It used to be in the realm of science fiction. Not anymore. Designer babies are one step closer to reality. A U.S. company, 23andMe, has received a patent for a process that could be used to choose babies selected on the basis of genes that will increase the...

read more

Privacy is Dead

Privacy is dead. When George Orwell wrote about “Big Brother” watching in his novel, 1984, I wonder if he imagined today’s culture. The NSA has the ability to monitor internet and telecommunications Unmanned drones have been claimed to monitor our activity Cameras...

read more

Newer Isn’t Always Better

I’m a low-tech gal. I still use a paper pocket calendar to manage my schedule. I stand on line at the bank to make deposits. And I have a small whiteboard next to my desk to write reminders to myself. That doesn’t mean I don’t use technology. I’m just not part of the...

read more

The Internet of Things

The future is now. They’re talking to each other. Not people. Machines. Yup – you read that right. This is no longer the stuff of science fiction. We’ve advanced beyond the level of people interacting with machines. Machines have been talking to each other for a...

read more

Me vs. the Hackers

They kept coming. For every fifty I swatted, two hundred took their place. There was no way I could survive the onslaught…of spam. When I turned on my computer, my inbox was filled with 62,465 “undeliverable” error messages. I began deleting, but the incoming waves...

read more

Selfies

If a picture is worth a thousand words (as the saying goes), then what does a selfie say about us?  In case you’ve been out of touch for the past year or two or three, a selfie is a photo you take of yourself, usually with a smartphone. It’s then posted to a social...

read more

What Makes You Feel Old?

I recently learned they’ve stopped teaching cursive writing in most schools. Print? Yes. Script? Not anymore. No longer are children learning how to link the letters of each word in a continuous flow. But it’s not just the children. When was the last time you...

read more

Receive Ava’s weekly blog
posts & occasional 
newsletters in your inbox!

Search by category:

You May Also Like

Beware of Click Bait

A line from the 1934 Babes in Toyland came to mind recently: “Big bait catches big rat!” It’s a quote by the villain,...

The Times They are A-Changin’

The times they are a-changin' and technology is developing faster than…             …the speed of light? Sometimes it...

The More Things Change…

The more things change... You know how to finish that statement, don’t you? “The more things change, the more they...