Self-cancelling turnsignals. I'm not a fan of them. Remember that I lived through their introduction into powersports in the 1980s. One thing became painfully clear: they did not work right. Their cancel timing was never appropriate. One had to always keep track of whether they were on or off. Very distracting. No doubt they have improved since then. But I dismissed them as irrelevant long ago and have always considered them irritating.

My wife bought me a cordless toothbrush some years ago. It was pretty effective. There is a lot to be said for it. It probably does improve the thoroughness of the job of teeth brushing. Okay. I like it. But then I experienced its beeps. What the...? "That's to remind you to put the toothbrush into a different place in your mouth", my wife says. Wwhaat? "It divides the job into four segments, each timed and marked by a beep. That way you know when to move it around and you'll do a better job of brushing." "How do I turn this off?" "You can't." "Here, here's a spare toothbrush. Where's my old one?!"

I fervently dislike machines making decisions for me. Uh uh. Auto correct, auto capitalization and words appearing out of nowhere on my cell phone are bad enough. Car doors that lock and unlock when shifting into and out of Park. Handy, sure, but a little unsettling. Antilock brakes, I get it. But self-cancelling turnsignals? No. I love 'em on cars, where they actually work right. I absolutely hate 'em on bikes, where they do not work right. Even mopeds have self-cancelling turnsignals today. And folks are putting aftermarket kits on their old machines. Incredible.

I get convenience. I absolutely love my 15-minute personal size rice cooker. But is convenience actually convenience when it is forced on you? When you do not have a choice? No, I don't want to go back to wood stoves, kerosene lighting and rotary dial telephones. But neither do I appreciate manufacturers making assumptions about how I want to use their products. And more to the point, not allowing me to opt out of their perfect plan. An integral part of motorcycling is making decisions. Which brings another "auto" word to mind: autonomy. The power to choose, to opt out. Appliances should serve us, not the other way around, don't you think?