Bookmarks (6208)

If you’re someone who reaches for your phone as soon as you wake up (other than to turn off the alarm), you may find yourself scrolling through your newsfeed or social media channels out of habit. It can start out innocently enough: quizzes to find out which Golden Girl you are, pictures of your friends’ kids drawing…Read more...

When we think of sobriety, it’s usually in terms of no longer using alcohol or recreational drugs, but it’s more complicated than that. According to the definition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), sobriety means “not being intoxicated,” then goes on to explain that sobriety is more…Read more...

Thanks to COVID-19, you may not get to take your kids to the planetarium any time soon. But if they’re into astronomy, you’re in luck, because we should be able to see a comet starting tonight. Known as Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) for science reasons, it’s been visible at dawn a few times this month, but will be making…Read more...

Going on walks and hikes in uncrowded parks is one of the few activities that we can still do without having to worry too much about spreading COVID-19 (assuming that you’re either by yourself, with the people you’ve been quarantining with, or with other people while physical distancing). If you’re new to hiking,…Read more...

Since COVID-19 first started to spread in December 2019, it has made its way around the world. When it came to the United States, there were initially a few cases in Seattle, but the first major hotspot was New York City. Now, a few months later, places like Arizona, South Carolina and Florida are new hotspots for the…Read more...

If you live somewhere with all four seasons (or probably more realistically, two: summer and winter), you may look forward to growing outdoor plants once the weather warms up. But things can get tricky if there’s not enough rain. According to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center, many parts of the…Read more...

After months in quarantine, we’re all used to working and socializing remotely (right?). The ubiquity of camera-touting devices and the abundance of video-chat apps made the transition easy (well, not easy), but there’s always room for improvement—and one way to make your video chats look even better is to get a…Read more...

So you like bold coffee, but all you have at home is a bag of light-roast beans. What to do? Well, one solution is to buy another bag of coffee—but with some small tweaks, it is possible to get dark-roast flavor out of light-roast beans.Read more...

As the election approaches, student loan forgiveness has become a popular topic. While some politicians have proposed student loan forgiveness, the current Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program has had some difficulties. Read more...

In the early days of the pandemic, many companies made a show of extending special benefits and discounts to the “essential workers” who weren’t able to hunker down indoors and binge Netflix when states issued stay-at-home orders. Now, as states reopen, communications giant AT&T is extending generous discounts—up to…Read more...

Most people—even people who know relatively nothing about cocktails—know what a martini is supposed to look like. It is supposed to be served up (without ice) in a stemmed glass with sloped sides. There should also be a lemon twist or an olive in there. It is known. But iconic as it is, that version of that drink is…Read more...

When it comes to getting the news, everyone has their preferred sources and outlets. Some people want news that reflects their own political viewpoints, while others are more concerned with the accuracy of the reporting. But how do you know which outlets have the best reporting if the articles exploring the subject…Read more...

There are lots of reasons that parents—and yes, particularly moms—dodge the camera. We haven’t had a proper night’s sleep in multiple years, as the dark circles under our eyes can attest. Or we just woke up and our pajamas have holes in them and our hair is disheveled. Or we haven’t lost the baby weight all these…Read more...

A Facebook bug is causing widespread crashes across a swath of iOS apps. The crashes have been reported for Spotify, Bumble, Mario Kart Tour, PUBG Mobile, Tinder, Venmo, and a few others.Read more...

See if this scenario sounds familiar: You’ve put on your best Zoom shirt for your daily work check-in, you’ve poured the wine for your weekly friend hangout, you’re ready to engage in some digital face-to-face connection—but you spend the entire chat session staring at your own face. Happily, if you want to change…Read more...

Scammy Android apps? You don’t say. A relatively established bit of malware known as “Joker”—insert your favorite Heath Ledger meme here—has permeated yet another handful of Android apps. And the fun thing about this one is that this Joker likes to sign you up for subscriptions you don’t want.Read more...

I used to hate beets, but I couldn’t tell you why. “They taste like sweet dirt,” I would say, as if that were a bad thing. The truth is, the earthy sweetness of a beet is delightful, perfect for summer salads and simple sides. A beet is, however, kind of a pain to prep while raw. Luckily, a box of kosher salt (and an…Read more...

With unemployment numbers still off the charts and the economy officially in a recession, you may find yourself needing to cut back on your monthly spending. While you’re already no doubt trying hard to budget in other areas of you life, you actually have a good shot at saving money on your bills, too: It’s possible to…Read more...

Are you sitting at home? Working at home, perhaps? Working at a desk somewhere? If so, my fitness challenge to you is a simple one today: get up for a minute and take a stroll around the block.Read more...

As difficult at the spring was, with having our kids home with us all day as we ourselves tried to keep working, it did have a finite feel about it. At the most, it could only go on as long as the rest of the school year, which in my case was just shy of three months. And while they did have online assignments and…Read more...

By design, most Alexa-powered devices can be controlled entirely with voice commands right out of the box—just say “Alexa” and your Echo speaker, Fire TV or other Alexa device will respond, no button-presses or taps necessary. The rare exception is the Alexa smartphone app, which requires users tap an “Alexa” button…Read more...

The pandemic has impacted how Americans spend money in major ways. In April, the New York Times reported big dips in spending on travel, shopping and restaurants. But there have been increases in other areas, like groceries and subscription services.Read more...

Not everyone has—or wants—a mentor. But if you do have someone in your life who helps guide your professional and/or personal life, you probably want to make sure that you use your time with them wisely. A lot of energy and effort go into mentoring someone, so if you’re on the receiving end of that sort of …Read more...

Logitech will sunset its Harmony Express remote in just a few weeks, after barely a full year on the market. Don’t worry, though; you’ll be able to get an even better smart remote for free. But you should put in the request sooner rather than later.Read more...

Before you turn in that resignation letter to your boss, it’s important to take care of some data management first. In the video above, I go over the steps you should take to back up your data and erase any personal information from work devices.Read more...

This is your periodic reminder that there is still no known cure, nor specific pharmaceutical preventative or treatment, for COVID-19. So if anybody is selling one, it’s a scam. Read more...

For those of you who feared installing iOS 14 as a developer beta, worry not. It’s public beta time, which means this preview version of Apple’s latest iPhone operating system might be a little buggy, but not nearly as wild as what some of us have been using for weeks now. Read more...

Android 11 beta 2 is here. That means we’re just one beta away from a Release Preview, otherwise known as “the beta you want to get if you want to try new features in as stable an environment as possible.” From there, it’s on to the Android 11 final release. So close!Read more...

About three years ago, I removed a pig’s face from its skull, packed it with herbs, zest, and spices, and sous-vided it for many hours to make a porchetta di testa. This process was recorded and made into a video (my first for Lifehacker), and it made a lot of people very angry.Read more...

As more and more international flights resume, many countries have placed bans on who can enter their borders and who cannot. The United States, for instance, is banned from the European Union, due to the spike of COVID-19 cases in the States. Here’s everything you need to know about the EU travel ban.Read more...

It’s still virtual summer camp season, and the latest free camp to be announced is one that many little kids will be pumped to attend: The Wiggles’ Virtual Summer Camp.Read more...

Are you curious to see if your employer or local businesses got a slice of the government’s $2.2 trillion stimulus package? This week, ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom, released a new Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) tracking tool. Read more...

Maybe you started your first job or maybe you gave up the freelance life for full-time employment. Whatever your scenario, if you find yourself filling out a W-4 for the first time, you may be a touch confused by all the fields, worksheets, and forms. Yes, the IRS can make things confusing. Let’s take it one step at a…Read more...

The egg yolk is the best part of the egg. There is no denying this. Yolks are basically neat little orbs of rich, golden sauce that taste good on everything, and you should add them to your savory breakfast cereals, especially grits.Read more...

iMessage is one of the perks of being inside the Apple universe: The service gets around text messaging fees so you can send messages to other Apple users for free, and it works on wifi so you can message anywhere you don’t have a cell connection—on an airplane, for example, or when traveling abroad without a data…Read more...

As a suburban mom, my car is my home base. (Or it was in pre-pandemic times, anyway.) If there was a tiny chance I might need something someday while I was out and about, it lived in the car. Sunscreen? Check. Diapers? A whole case, in the trunk. Wipes? Probably a couple packages. There’s a problem with that last one,…Read more...

It used to be that when it was time to buy my son a new bike, we’d take him to the store and let him try a couple out. Usually just him sitting on one for a few moments was enough to tell us if a bike was too small, too big or just right. Well, around here in Eastern Pennsylvania (and in many other areas), bikes have…Read more...

On Tuesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a financial watchdog agency, made headlines by rolling back rules for payday lenders. The revised rules say lenders no longer have to assess if borrowers can afford to repay short-term loans.Read more...

Before you start reading this, pull out your iPad, pull up the App Store, and make sure you’ve updated to the latest version of the Gmail app. If you’re using iPadOS 13 or later, you’ll now be able to multitask—finally—which means you’ll be able to access your many, many emails while having other apps loaded and…Read more...

I believe, in everyone’s kitchen, there is a collection of seasonings and flavoring agents that one leans on quite heavily. I’m not talking about salt—which, for me, is another discussion entirely. I’m talking about the other shakers and bottles, the ones that are used so often they never make it back into a cabinet.…Read more...

Cases of an odd battery-draining iOS bug are on the rise and the Apple Music app appears to be the culprit, with reports showing that the app can rapidly eat up to 95 percent of a device’s battery for no reason. The issue affects a wide variety of iOS devices, but most of the recent cases appear to be running iOS…Read more...

According to Forbes Magazine, student loan debt in the United States has jumped to $1.56 trillion spread across 45 million borrowers. With the pandemic raging and over 17.5 million Americans unemployed, and the cost of college averaging between around $20,000 for a public college and over $45,000 for private, going to…Read more...

Do you have the kind of cat who paws at your face at an ungodly hour of the morning until you finally relent and get up? Does s/he then proceed to meow and whine until you fill up their food bowl? It’s not that your cat is unusually gluttonous; it could be that they’re telling you that it’s a natural feeding time for…Read more...

Bored with your workout mix? Us too. Especially if you’ve been working out at home—alone—for the duration of the pandemic, it’s unsurprising that you’re tired of listening to the same music, and perfectly understandable if you also feel overwhelmed at the idea of making a fresh playlist for each and every session.Read more...

There are 431 disinfectants that the EPA says will kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. They made the list because they kill other, similar viruses. But now two of the disinfectants have been tested, successfully, against the actual coronavirus you’re worried about. Read more...

Summer jobs are more than a backdrop for 1980’s teen romcoms—they are an adolescent right of passage. For some kids, these starter gigs are their first real bite of independence. For others, it’s a chance to hone a skill that could later become a career. And for all kids, it’s a chance to make a little—or sometimes a…Read more...

One of the most useful features on any Windows PC or Mac is the ability to schedule it to power it on at a set time each day. It’s a quick way to get your day going even while you’re making coffee or lying in bed for a few extra minutes—whatever you prefer to do instead of sitting at your desk, waiting for your…Read more...

In March, Congress passed a stimulus package, the CARES Act, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The landmark bill has provisions, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), that have offered a lifeline to small businesses grappling with a loss of revenue amid…Read more...

The timing of the release of the new book How to Be a Person: 65 Hugely Useful, Super-Important Skills to Learn before You’re Grown Up really couldn’t be better. I’m sure author Catherine Newman wasn’t expecting or intending for her book focused on teaching kids basic life skills to be released during a pandemic, but…Read more...