Living Out Loud
Living Out Loud
Lou Plummer
A blog focused on kindness, community and life experience written by one of the world's oldest Gen-Xers.
Latest Posts
The power structure in America has a deep investment in keeping people afraid and begging for protection. We accept that roughly half our federal budget disappears into military-related spending or the interest on debts from previous...
I’m a technology enthusiast, not a business analyst, so I’m not the right person to predict what all the money pouring into AI is going to do to the economy. I consider myself an environmentalist, but I’m also skeptical that every scary...
iPhone Tracking Requests Did you have a moment when the Internet seemed like a magical creation? Was there ever a time when you sat at a keyboard or held a phone and discovered you could use it to do something you’d once only read about...
I recently went on vacation to Costa Rica. It was an experience that was not without technical difficulties. The very first time I attempted to take a picture with my iPhone, I received a message that my storage was completely used up...
So there I was, pedaling my bicycle as fast as I could down a long, straight stretch of road, feeling great. I'd just discovered the pleasures of riding a road bike, and I loved every minute that I could get away. Always a data geek, I...
I am not snobbish about the television shows I watch. I don't declare a new series to be a failure if it isn't the second coming of The Wire. Sure, some shows are just watchable, while others make me count down the days until the next...
I've mentioned this in passing a few times and sparked some curiosity, so I'm going to tell the story of the time I ended up on an FBI watchlist, which was creepy AF but still a badge of honor for getting under the skin of the man. I...
I've never read Marie Kondo's book on organizing, the one where she talks about only keeping those things that "spark joy" in you. Furthermore, I've never been to the container store. When it comes to tasks like finding cleaning supplies...
Those of us whose online life began with 2400 bps modems or slower remember what life was like when viewing an image online meant downloading it line by line over a 10- or 15-minute period. One image. The early editions of CompuServe,...
You are surrounded by courageous people. The chances are you probably display and exemplify courage more than you can imagine. Some people associate the word with Marines charging a pillbox at Iwo Jima, but of course that's not always...
The last two months have been a ride on a very slow moving roller coaster. Living with health challenges has taken an adjustment no one asked if I was ready to make. Thankfully, I'm a quick study and I'm finding out what my current...
Since I stopped spending much time on commercial websites and more time exploring the blogs on IndieWeb platforms, I have developed a type and a preference for the kinds of blogs I like. There's plenty to choose from. I like tech but not...
For about the past five years, it's occurred to me regularly that two things: my advancing age and my neglect of what people call "taking care of yourself" were going to bring about the end of days before I'm ready for them. My dad, only...
I don't consider myself materialistic. I drive 2005 Toyota Camry. I've lived in the same house for 30 years. I wear one kind of pants and just about all my shirts are the same color. In the past six months I've upgraded all my tech...