Writer Fails in Doomed Bid to Escape Google for 24 Hours

On the tenth anniversary of Google, Colbert Report writer Rob Dubbin attempts to avoid using the Internet behemoth for 24 hours—and finds its tentacles impossible to escape. He discovers "deeper" dependence than expected, "encompassing personal use" and the "nested dependencies of people and institutions surrounding me"—a "harrowing" discovery. "The blue 'G' found a way to surprise me around corners, grinning like some horrible fanged maw," he details in his diary.

• Friday, 5:43pm: "This feels a bit like severing an umbilical. Somewhere, black ichor spills from a writhing stump, and Google screams blindly in pain. It's on."
• Saturday, 1:07pm: “I log in to Gmail before I realize what I'm doing. It is not the last time this will happen.”
• Sunday, 12:24pm: “May as well just glance at my email.”

(More Google stories.)