Writing an LTN column about boneheaded mistakes, I’m reminded of one of my own.  I use a fancy Lucite mouse pad, swag acquired at some long-ago ABA TechShow from Corel, purveyor of WordPerfect.  It emits a cool blue glow, and incorporates a four port USB hub along its edge.  That pad’s seen many miles of mouse trails, and I like it.  But, it has a solid black tracking surface, polished from years of use and sebaceous exudate.  That was okay when mice used rubber balls to track hand movements (friction cares little for color or reflectivity); but modern mice have eyes.  I didn’t adapt to my seeing eye mouse and   gradually accepted diminished performance as the norm.

That’s the difference between tossing a frog into a pot of boiling water or into one filled with cold water and bringing it to a boil.  They say that he’ll leap from the hot pot but stay in the cold water until he slowly boils to death.  [In fact, froggie will do nothing of the sort.  The boiling water will kill him handily, and he will escape the rising temps, if he can.  But, let’s not let facts spoil a good metaphor].

My mouse pad is a metaphor, too: for the problems I accept in Word despite years of using the program, for the demise of Corel and WordPerfect and for the biggest hurdle lawyers face in e-discovery.  Continue reading →