1. Two factor authentication. I’m just a simple man from a simpler age, all I want to do is log in to a website or application, do what I need to do, and go on about my business. Instead, what I more often end up doing is navigating to a site, getting redirected back to my inbox to click a link that may or may not show up, entering another code, looking for text message, determining whether the wind is blowing from the east, consult tide tables, and send off a blood sample for analysis prior to being allowed access. It seems like more effort than should be necessary to log in to Twitter, but there we are. If we expect people to take online security seriously, it’s one of those things we need to simplify rather than make increasing more of a pain in the ass. 

2. Tantrums. I disagree with a lot of the decisions that come out of the local county courthouse. It could be the laughably short sentences handed down, the 10x convicted drug dealer who gets slapped on the wrist one more time, or even the grand jury that opt not to indict when the publicly available evidence makes guilt “obvious.” I wasn’t aware, though, that disagreeing with those outcomes was justification for rioting down Main Street and taking pot shots at local deputies. It’s probably my fault for thinking like a responsible adult and not like an overly indulged child. 

3. Random axes. One of the Baltimore news channels was covering a local interest story earlier this week. I don’t remember what particular cause they were supporting, because the coverage itself was utterly distracting. Every single person involved in that story kept mentioning the need to perform “random axe of kindness.” Look, I know pronunciation is a minor thing to be hung up on, but in that moment, in my under-caffeinated state, I had several other, less charitable ideas about things that could be done with the aforementioned random axe.