Siri reads back the text by default if you're in the eyes-free mode. But her text-to-speech isn't always easy to understand, so it's hard to tell sometimes if she got it right.

I've never understood the fascination so many tech luddites and techies-who-think-they're-cool-by-hating-being-on-the-internet to try to erase their online presence. It'll only come back to bite you.

You don't have to share everything, but establishing your presence and "owning your name" gives you some measure of control in regards to what people find if they search for you. If you go the "you can't see me" route, anyone with a vendetta or anything (good or bad) that gets you in the news is suddenly all anyone searching sees. You can't control everything by being online, but you certainly have more control than if you try to hide.

Because you don't have to look at them, nor do they get in your way (or your pet's way). It's the same reason I put my groceries away in cabinets instead of leaving them all on the counter...

I guess it comes down to different people's different interpretations of the word "bigotry". Neither American Atheists nor any major freethought/atheist group in the US is trying to take rights away from anyone, they want things like removing religion from publicly funded institutions (schools, courtrooms, etc) and to stop oppression of the non-religious.

For me, removing Christian prayer from a public school football game isn't bigotry at all, but a Christian group trying to deny gays the right to marry most certainly is. I can understand that others see this differently. I don't even think your example is bigotry; it's just a poorly-thought out approach and rude.

It's a national group with thousands of members, and has existed for a number of decades. Of course there are bigots in it - just like any other group with similar size and history.

I assume the same, though his rogue capitalization and blatant lies made me wonder if he actually meant some other group.

Disclaimer: I am a former state director for American Atheists. They're weird folks, but they're not institutionally bigots in any way, even toward the religious.

What, exactly, is the "American Atheist Association"? No such organization exists. If you're going to make up accusations, at least make them up about a group that isn't imaginary.

No, "TV" is a device that allows me to watch visual and audio stimuli - it's unrelated to the content, which is what you're describing. I choose what I put on my television, and I'm sorry if you've only been exposed to the kind of programming you've described.

Also, everything you've just discussed can be said for books (and many websites, for that matter). Are you giving up reading and internet surfing, too?

Your brain needs relaxation too - TV's no different than reading a book or any other mostly passive activity. The secret, of course, is moderation.

You know who else knows when your house is empty? EVERY NEIGHBOR YOU HAVE. It takes about two days to figure out someone's work schedule.

Also, Foursquare checkins (except for mayorships and tips) can be private (and are by default). Non-story.

Public records can accurately predict where you live to within a few meters. So can following you home, and asking your friends. I'd be much more "worried" about those things than Foursquare.

How many (or what percentage) of 2 1/2 year-old Android devices are getting (or can run, or support) Jelly Bean? Or even ICS?

The 3GS was introduced in June of 2009 (more than three years ago), and gets the latest OS (though, admittedly, not all the features). Apple has a very, very good history of supporting devices for an extended time. By the time there's a new OS, the 3GS was be 4 years old - that's an absurd length of time to expect to be compatible with a new OS (and honestly, we don't know that it won't be).

EVERYONE cuts off older devices and technology. Nothing new here.

In before the "pony" comments.

With currently tech, your dream phone is mostly limited by battery options, unless you're willing to go for a very heavy device. More practically and ignoring currently available tech, your phone is mostly suffering from never having a market large enough - your feature set MIGHT exist on a specialized tablet, but even then you'd be looking at a huge pricetag because of the specialized components and non-standard configuration.