When I set out to write about remote workers and sex, I wasn’t sure what I would learn. Researchers at Kinsey and the University of North Carolina told me about very different experiences. Some couples bonded in “midday romps,” some singles explored sex tech and found it empty, and many…

Robert Laurie Elder (June 23, 1938 — December 27, 2020), the longtime editorial page editor of The San Jose Mercury News and a well-known member of the Sea Ranch community, died peacefully Sunday after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease and…

In movies like “Transformers” and “Terminator 2,” good robots fight bad robots with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance. The drama can seem melodramatic and downright inhuman. If only it weren’t so true. Experts say adversarial algorithms — the brawling brains of artificial intelligence – are already duking…

Deepfakes who resemble exes or one night stands may be the leading men and ladies in the next level of crimes of the heart More than identity theft, more than ransomware, romance fraud and other con games steal from the vulnerable people of the world. The FBI says the cost in 2018 was $363 million — behind only business email fraud as the costliest cybercrime. The culprits often pose as a suitor on dating…

A decade ago, many companies plunged into digital media without a strategy. Figuring they needed to get in the game, they entrusted their brands to junior employees, agencies, or interns. Those brand stewards have churned often since then, leaving a schizophrenic narrative many executives do not recognize as the stories…

You glance at your work calendar — oh no, you have to go be a hostage in a meeting for an hour. On your way to the meeting a new email thread pops up on your phone — another interruption to your work day. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Forty-four…

When I was in 8th grade, California was in a bone-dry drought. We took quick showers. Lawns died. Cars wore coats of dirt. One day in English class, a strange soft drumbeat began. We strained our ears and memories, then gasped and turned to look outside. “Let’s open all the…

It’s been a good decade since many companies jumped into blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and later Instagram. Yet fundamental and elemental rookie mistakes still trip up many good companies. Here are five major areas that are simple, if not always easy, to fix. 5. It’s not an offensive game. Digital…

I may have been sober for double-digit years. Or I may have quit this morning, desperately hoping yesterday was my last drunk. I may have been one of the 102,000 U.S. adults who seek treatment for alcoholism this year. That may have saved me from being one of the 3…