Why the Hell You Gotta Make Things so Complicated? 03/07/25

Okay, so I stole an Avril Lavigne song title for my headline. Go ahead, sue me. But she has a point. A while back we did a comic about waving your hands under a restaurant bathroom soap dispenser and then the faucet without getting any soap or water. So imagine Al’s gratitude upon finding a bathroom with a faucet and actual towels to dry your hands. Confession: I despise those air dryers so much, I end up wiping my wet hands on my pants. Every time. I think there should be a rule that every restaurant be required to have paper towels, hand-operated faucets and soap dispensers, and to give out free refills on coffee and tea. I would have brought this up to the Department of Government Efficiency, but I was afraid they’d respond by firing every restaurant worker north of the Gulf of America. The point is that in the name of progress and efficiency, everything is becoming way more complicated. How many households are there where only one person knows how to operate the tv remote? How about trying to program a car radio? How about the all-new cooking thermometer I bought that hooks up to your phone and tells you when whatever you’re cooking is done to your desired level of doneness. I was psyched. No more overcooked steaks or salmon ever again. Except for three months, my phone refuses to recognize the thermometer. Either the item is defective, or I’m doing something wrong, or my phone is a big snob and refuses to have anything to do with the thermometer. I vote for door number 3.

Our other comic is also about the shortcomings of modern technology. More accurately, about how modern technology has negatively impacted the ability of millennials to perform tasks we take for granted. For example, I used to know the four-digit phone extension of everyone I worked with. People would ask me, what’s Chris’ extension, and I’d reply: 3602, with no hesitation. I also memorized the phone numbers of my closest friends and family members. Not anymore. I just take out my smartphone, click on their name, and it remembers for me. I call John several times a week and I can’t remember his number. And what about math? When you actually had to figure out problems with a paper and pencil, it forced you to think. To problem solve. Now, with electronic calculators, computers and the aforementioned smartphones, you just type in the numbers and the device figures it out for you. Nowhere is this more noticeable than at the cash register. Say I buy something for $16 and I want $5 in change to give to the parking attendant. I hand the hapless cashier $21 and they look at me in utter confusion. Does. Not. Compute. I then have to explain, I want a $5.00 bill back, and they still don’t get it. So when John brought up this idea for a comic, I loved it. I think the answer is we’ve got to forget the cash and go to the card. Sigh.

That is it for this week. Ooops, I just spilled my water glass. Now I have to go to the bathroom and dry off with a fluffy towel. Almost makes me glad I spilled. We’ll see you next Friday with a two-part series, also dealing with the joys of modern technology. Have a great weekend,

Andy and John