My girlfriend loves to message me when she spots a typo in the New York Times. She’s already caught a dozen of them. She screenshotted this one the other day. Let’s see if you can find it:

Humor

It’s difficult to focus these days, particularly with the endless distractions and flashing screens. Even further, the lockdown has made us feel more isolated from our families than ever before.

We have a solution. Our new Artificial Intelligence produces ambient noise that replicates the true experience of visiting your parents. Because what else could be more relaxing than being back in the original nest.

Channel 1 The sound of your mother shuffling around the house, shouting your dad’s name, with your dad shouting, “What!” In a way a tone that sounds more like, “I’m busy! leave me alone!” They proceed…

Self Improvement

The philosopher Heraclitus said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” It speaks to our changing needs. We get older and recalibrate. We overcome and triumph.

Yet we are remarkably blind to some problems. They seem immune to progress. They mutate and grow. You smack them down. Years later, they reemerge: another crumbling relationship, a second career crossroads, an elusive sense of contentment. You are left wondering, “Have I learned nothing?” And this is why our search for these truths should never end.

The search for definition should never end

There’s a famous…

“Sean. It’s your mom. Do you have to post pictures doing a beer bong? Call me back.”

I left MySpace to join Facebook in 2006. Most of the things my friends and I posted couldn’t be posted now. The platform was raw and less formal back then.

There were no concerns about who did or didn’t see your post — because it was a younger, sparsely populated userbase.

You are probably wondering if Artificial Intelligence is writing this.

Am I a robot? Am I human? The joke is on you — everyone’s a robot. Including you.

Online writing is booming. Because I make my living in this world, lots of products land in my inbox. Candidly, most are junk. But lately, more AI products are trickling in.

In an effort to help other creators expand their toolbox, I’ve traveled to the land of literary terminators to see if there’s anything to offer.

First impressions and what to expect

Don’t get too caught up in which website to use. They all use the same technology…

Self Improvement

My good friend was elaborating on the benefits of transcendental meditation, saying how he felt less stressed and more focused. He added, “All you need to do is meditate for an hour a day.”

That’s where he lost me. An hour of meditation? I’d love to sharpen my mind but that’s a long time to sit and think about nothing, particularly if you are busy.

Our culture places so much value on our ability to think and solve problems. We’ve also been sold this defunct idea that the cards we get are the cards we get. There are proven, tangible…

Humor & Satire

I’m not a very emotional woman. In fact, I’m not a woman at all. They call me Sean. And I’ve made a mistake.

It started with my first relationship, which started like most, a hostage situation, with her saying, “Everyone dies unless Sean kisses me now.” This is only a slight exaggeration.

I walked into the dressing room and heard the door close behind me. She was standing right there. She approached me, eyes blazing, “Why don’t you like me, Sean.” She was beautiful. I was inexperienced. I’d never kissed a woman, much less a teenaged girl. I stammered and…

I named my voice recorder the Golden Snitch: he who hears and tells all.

It sat on the table between my client and me. It was our third interview. He’s a wealthy, grey-haired logistics executive, who is now retired.

He’s a big burly guy, with a soft, Don Corleone-esque accent. He’s quite intelligent and has a very macro, strategic way of thinking. However, he’s a “talks least, says most” type — which is problematic when I’m writing a longer-form story.

He was telling me about growing up in New England and how it was tough was for young boys. …