If the weather services are hacked, the power fails, or that far-away thermometer is down, you can still observe your thermometer. The same obtains with your mechanical clock, your hygrometer, and your barometer. There are no third parties between you and them—no computers, no satellite signals, no radio waves, no electrical lines, no hackers.

Someone near and dear to my pancreas gave (“gifted” is not a verb) me one of those clever aluminum MeWatches that claim to make one’s life more interesting in many ways and which come without any instructions because not sending instructions with a product is such a cool thing now.