30 Modern Day Problems

Modern Day problems

Dec 19, 2025

Random Observation #915: The day I see someone walking around with an Apple Vision Pro while eating a burrito is the day I turn around and just say “Nope.” Have we no shame anymore? We may enter a “high tech, low dignity” phase of living.

//Portrait of a man who just failed too many CAPTCHAs - A Nano Banana interpretation

Why this List?

I feel ancient when I hang out with my younger coworkers. I grew up on the edge of the tech revolution (remember AIM away messages?). My coworkers grew up inside it. The modern day has a lot of complexity for someone who just wants to verify they are human without selecting three squares containing a crosswalk or bicycles. Feeling nostalgic for Razer flip phones.

The Tech Life

The “Too Good to be Human” Insult - I spent three hours crafting the perfect strategic PRD and now I’m afraid of the inevitable “Great output, which prompt did you use?” Can I be professionally offended by my own competence?
The Typo Defense Strategy - To prove I am not a robot, I have started intentionally leaving typos in my emails. “Best regrads” is my new proof of life.
Sneaky Ads Everywhere - The newest one is through shorts videos because I thought I could trust the random dude eating an omakase lunch in his car (but little did I know there’s incentives everywhere).
Subscription Fatigue - Why does my heated car seat need monthly subscription? It’s not that bad, but I think BMW tried some bullshit like this with microtransactions. I am bleeding out $9.99 increments all over the place.
Smart Appliances - My oven does not need WiFi (even thought it’s kind of cool to preheat it while on the way back buying groceries). I don’t need a firmware update to get a new convection setting.
QR Code Menus - It’s not that much more important to save paper. I hate pinching and zooming. I guess if they provide me with an iPad that’s slightly better, but I’m pretty old school when it comes to just reading a menu. Just give me the dirty, laminated paper.
The “Hybrid” Meeting - Three people are in a conference room and six are on Zoom. The people in the room are whispering near the mic, blowing out the eardrums of the remote people.
Voice Note “Podcasts” - Don’t send me a 7-minute voice note. That is not a text message; that is a monologue. I need a “Summarize with AI” button for my social life.

The Crypto & AI Grind

Web3 Wallet Anxiety - I have signed a transaction and am now staring at Etherscan like I’m waiting for a bomb to defuse. Is it stuck? Did I just send my money to a burn address? The sweat is real. Also, why doesn’t MetaMask cache my balance instead of showing $0 when it first loads?
The “Points” Economy - I am farming points for six different protocols, but also considering how I can best take advantage of my way too many credit cards with actual cashback rewards. I don’t know what they are worth. I don’t know when they convert to tokens. I am essentially working a second job for frequent flyer miles on an airline that doesn’t exist yet.
LinkedIn “Thought Leadership” - I physically cringe when I see a LinkedIn post where every sentence is its own paragraph. And there is a hook. And a lesson. Okay, I get it, you want to get hired.
“Restaking” Risk - I staked my ETH. Then I restaked the receipt of that ETH. Then I lent out the receipt of the receipt. I guess that makes sense as long as the underlying asset is always going to have some value and I don’t have to wait forever on exit queues.
Identifying “AI Slop” - I used to be impressed by AI art. Now I spend my time counting the fingers on the hands and looking at lighting. I feel like we’re way passed the uncanny valley.
Discord “Alpha” Overload - I am in 40 Discord servers. Every single one has a red notification dot. I am missing out on “life-changing” alpha every second, but I am also enjoying not having a seizure. I have claimed discord and telegram bankruptcy. I’ll check it once a week.
“Gasless” Transactions - They said the transaction was gasless. They didn’t mention the “platform fee,” the “relayer tip,” and the “convenience surcharge.” I know I’m getting screwed somewhere in the MEV.

The Denver Dad Life

The “Denver False Spring” - It was 70 degrees yesterday, so I put away my winter coat. Today it is snowing sideways. I have trust issues with the sky now.
The “Picky Eater” Negotiation - Trying to convince my daughter that a chicken nugget is the same chicken nugget even if it is shaped slightly differently. I am currently losing this debate.
Basement Renovation Dust - I’m sure the fine drywall dust will keep being found in places that should be hermetically sealed. It is the glitter of adulthood.
Rendering vs. Reality - My basement bar rendering showed a pristine, dark-aesthetic backsplash with zero clutter. In reality, we’re going to have piles.
Travel Adapter Tetris - I have been to 45 countries and I’ll probably bring the wrong plug adapter. I also think I need a way to figure out the best USB-C to USB-C cords so I can get fast charging on everything. Why do I even have slow charging?
Parenting Screen Time Hypocrisy - “Get off your iPad,” I say to my daughter, while scrolling Reddit on my phone, checking the latest market movements, and finding out Fantasy Football is more stressful than fun.
I-25 Traffic - It doesn’t matter what time of day it is. There is traffic. Why? There is no accident. It’s just people braking because they saw a mountain. I guess the city is just getting more populated.

The Existential Dread

Verify You Are Human - I have failed the “select all squares with a traffic light” test a few times today. Am I a robot? Am I Clembot? Nah, Clembot is smart enough to select it.
The “Unread” Tab Hoarding - I have 45 tabs open on mobile and desktop browsers. To my daughter, you inherit the articles I “definitely plan to read later.” I will close them all in a moment of rage-cleaning next Tuesday.
Housing Market Math - I look at Zillow for fun, and by “fun” I mean “existential dread.” I don’t know how anyone starting out today buys a house without selling a kidney. So lucky to have moved out here to Denver.
New Memes - What the hell is the new generation doing? I tried to understand the discord memes out there and I think I pulled a muscle in my brain. There’s this one where they fake a handshake and do a stupid point and dance. Wtf is that?!?
Customer Service Bots - Now it’s even harder to tell if you’re talking to a human or a script. I’m typing “AGENT” in all caps like a maniac just to feel something.
Virality is Thin - I don’t think I have ever seen the same video someone else has. We used to all quote Anchorman and now we all just exist in separate silos. How do I know what’s really trending if we’re all in this microcosms? Why am I in such a weird part of the internet?
Streaming Paradox - I spend way too many minutes scrolling through Netflix. I’ve also found it annoying that I don’t have that single Apple search button that finds all titles across all streaming services I pay for. Also, why can’t I watch hockey?
Writing a List of 30 - Should I plug in my existing list at 26 so I can get easy ideas? Is it now about editing more than thinking? I must resist! Do the hard work to get the only dose of dopamine left that brings me joy.