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Honoring Our United States Veterans Today

I never served in the U.S. military, though I was supposed to. Instead, I served by joining the FBI and defending the country from within. My father served in the Navy on submarines. His father was a gunnery officer. My mother’s father served in the Army. I have uncles, brothers, cousins, and extended family who have worn the uniform, and an O’Neill has fought in every U.S. war since the Civil War.

Today, I honor them all — and every man and woman who has served. Here’s hoping the federal government honors them too… preferably by paying them!

Veterans Day is the perfect time to support a group that supports veterans. One I have supported for years is run by my friends TJ and Peggylee Wright in Huntsville, Alabama. The Huntsville SOF Network. Check them out. Now on to the Newsletter!

Saying Goodbye to the Future’s Past

For the past two weeks, we’ve been deep in the weeds of progress—how technology changes faster than we can say “update required.” Last week, we looked ahead to what’s coming. This week, we’re looking back—at what’s leaving.

The march of innovation doesn’t just build new things; it quietly buries the old ones. By 2030, many of today’s everyday tools will join the fax machine, floppy disk, and Blockbuster membership card in the great tech graveyard. So, pour one out for the analog comforts of the past—then get ready to delete them from your life.

Title Story

The Ghosts of Our Gadgets

Summers on the beach were simpler when I was a kid. My dad would pull out his Betamax video camera—roughly the size and weight of a bazooka—and aim it at my brothers and me running into the surf. We’d wave, dive, and laugh, completely unaware he was filming our childhood on a format already losing the war to VHS.

We built soundtracks for our lives one song at a time, fingers hovering over the record button on the boombox, praying the DJ wouldn’t talk over the intro. Rolls of quarters vanished into arcade machines like Gauntlet, where “Elf has stolen the food (again)” became the first harsh lesson in teamwork.

We memorized the planets—nine of them, thank you very much—until some distant committee decided Pluto was expendable. We jogged with Walkmans, then Discmans, running smoothly so the CD didn’t skip. We were human antennas, holding rabbit ears to keep the TV picture clear just long enough for Cal Ripken to hit one out of the park.

And when the day was done, we rushed home from school for G.I. Joe, then stayed up late for Knight Rider and Fantasy Island.

These moments, these relics, are fading into digital dust. But they built us—a generation that grew up between the analog and the algorithm. We didn’t just watch technology change; we lived through its awkward adolescence. And maybe that’s why we appreciate it differently. We remember what it felt like to press play.

Technologies That Will Disappear by 2030

The everyday relics we’ll soon leave behind

Passwords

Passkeys and biometrics are ending the era of memorized credentials. 🔗 Learn more — The Verge: The End of Passwords

Physical credit cards

Contactless and wearable payments already dominate; some banks now issue virtual-only cards. 🔗 Learn more — Reuters: Banks Phase Out Plastic Cards

Remote controls

Voice, motion, and AI context make pressing buttons obsolete—your home already knows what you want. 🔗 Learn more — CNET: The Smart Home Without Remotes

Cables

Wireless charging and ultra-wideband data transfer are freeing us from tangled cords for good. 🔗 Learn more — IEEE Spectrum: The Cable-Free Future

Traditional keys

Smart locks and facial recognition are replacing metal keys with mobile credentials. 🔗 Learn more — Wired: The Death of the Door Key

Paper receipts

Digital invoices and NFC billing are phasing out printed slips—some cities now make them “opt-in” only. 🔗 Learn more — Bloomberg: The Last Paper Receipt

Television channels

Streaming has killed the channel; AI-curated feeds now deliver personalized programming on demand. 🔗 Learn more — Variety: The Fall of Linear TV

Cash

Physical money is below 10% of transactions in most economies; digital currencies are next. 🔗 Learn more — BBC: The Slow Death of Cash

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Top 10 Useless Things from Growing Up Gen-X

We grew up rewinding tapes with pencils, blowing dust out of Nintendo cartridges, and memorizing phone numbers like it was a survival skill. Now, most of what once felt essential wouldn’t last a day in the 2030s. Here’s a look back at the relics Gen-X perfected, and the future has politely deleted.

1. Pluto was a planet

We memorized nine planets, made dioramas, and then—poof—science demoted our tiny frozen friend. Turns out even space isn’t safe from layoffs.

2. The Dewey Decimal System

We spent hours deciphering decimals to find books; now you just type “AI” and get an existential crisis on Google.

3. The food pyramid

Apparently, carbs aren’t a food group after all. Who knew that an entire childhood of white bread was a bad idea?

4. Microfiche

Nothing said “cutting-edge research” like squinting into a glowing box at blurry newspaper scans. Now, it’s all in your pocket.

5. Learning to type on a typewriter

You hit a wrong key, and it was permanent—no backspace, just shame. Now autocorrect saves us from our own thumbs.

6. Writing cursive

We were told it was a vital life skill. Turns out, no one’s written a check or love letter in cursive since 1999.

7. Writing checks

Standing in line while someone balanced their checkbook was a national pastime. Venmo killed that—and thank God.

8. Your math teacher: “You won’t always have a calculator!”

We now have a calculator, GPS, and the sum of human knowledge in our pockets—and still use it mostly for memes.

9. Learning to drive a manual transmission

It built character and calf muscles, but good luck finding a car—or a hill—that still cares. On a side note, my family recently visited Germany, land of manual transmission cars. I made certain that my brother-in-law taught my teenagers how to drive stick…to a great deal of creative cursing in Deutsch! 

10. Mixtape + VHS tape + CD collections

When I was a child my grandfather’s hobby was taping the Sunday TV matinee over onto VHS tapes. My brother and I would watch all the Universal monster classics on his grand TV, ignoring the jumps where grandpa was a bit slow on the pause button to skip the commercial. His hundreds of tapes, meticulously labeled and stored disappeared shortly after he passed away, a legacy no descendant wanted to curate. Like my grandpa, we spent hours recording the perfect playlist or taping over “MacGyver.” Now everything lives in the cloud, except the nostalgia.

We grew up in an analog world, where the hum of a VHS rewind or the click of a typewriter meant progress. Those sounds have faded, replaced by silent swipes and invisible clouds that somehow hold our lives. As we say goodbye to the tools that shaped us, we can’t help but wonder if the future will ever feel as tangible—or as human—as the world we left behind.

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Cybersecurity Tip of the Week

The Season of Scams

As the holiday sales start flooding your feed, so do the scammers. Fake online stores and “too good to be true” Black Friday deals are everywhere—especially on social media. That jaw-dropping 70% off ad for a gaming console or limited-edition toy? It might just be a phantom storefront waiting to take your payment and vanish.

Stay one step ahead: skip the ad and go directly to the retailer’s site. Use a credit card (not debit) for extra protection, and do a quick web search like “[retailer name] scam” before buying. And beware of fake charity or GoFundMe campaigns tugging at holiday heartstrings—verify before you give. This season, shop smart, scroll slow, and think twice before you click.

Appearances of the Week

Highlights from the Spies, Lies & Cybercrime book tour — national TV interviews detailing steps you can take to protect yourself from holiday scams.

Fox Chicago – “Cybersecurity Author Warns of Holiday Scams” Live from Chicago, Eric breaks down the latest holiday scams targeting shoppers and explains how to spot—and stop—them before it’s too late.

NBC Austin – “Cybersecurity Expert on Holiday Scams” From fake charity drives to cloned retail sites, this NBC Austin segment explores the surge in seasonal scams and the practical defenses every consumer needs.

CBS Minneapolis – “How to Avoid Being Scammed by AI” Eric joins CBS to discuss the dark side of generative AI — from deepfake fraud to impersonation scams — and what it means for trust in the digital age.

ABC Fresno – “Tips to Avoid Cyber Scams During Holiday Shopping” Practical steps to protect your data, your wallet, and your holiday cheer while shopping online this season.

Technology never says goodbye—it just replaces itself while you’re sleeping. The gadgets and habits that once defined us are quietly being erased by convenience. But maybe that’s progress: every generation thinks their tech was the last real one.

So, while the next upgrade steals your remote, your keys, and probably your wallet, take a moment to remember how far we’ve come—and how much we’ve let go.

Then, like a true Gen-Xer, shrug, grab a black coffee, and move on.

Stay Safe,

Eric

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