Hey, I’m into cool stuff as much as the next person.  Some would say I’m into cool stuff even more than the *average Joe* since I spend a lot of time writing about technology and ideas, attending tech conferences, and that sort of cool stuff.

BUT I want to put in a word for the much greater value of pragmatic down in the dirt ditch digging get ‘er done stuff.    Far, far, FAR too often people confuse “cool” with “effective”, “productive”, or “meaningful”.   

Sure there is some cross over, as with the amazing helpfulness of the internet in getting information.   The internet in general is both cool AND effective.   Smart Phones too, though in my opinion many people mistake cool applications as helpful in life when they are simply helping them waste time doing meaningless things.   Nothing WRONG with doing meaningless things but it’s important not to confuse that with real productivity, which is the main reason we can … afford to buy the cool stuff.