This week’s out-of-touch guide brings us gifts from Asia, including the Korean craze of “mukbang” videos, American appropriation of ancient Chinese martial arts, and a Japanese video game series that some people really like… but only some people.Rea…
Lees meerCats are great; constantly stepping on their litter is not. If you bought a litter-trapping mat only to watch your cats leap dramatically across it onto the floor you just swept every time they exit the litter box, you might wonder why you even both…
Lees meerBefore a private company goes public in an initial public offering (IPO), they might set aside a few shares to be purchased in what’s known as a pre-IPO placement. You can make a lot of money from pre-IPO stocks, but the risks are also significant, …
Lees meerAny collector of condiments, spreads, jams, and jellies is familiar with the tauntingly “almost empty” jar. There’s always too little of whatever’s in there to make anything substantial, but just enough so that throwing it away feels wasteful. Rathe…
Lees meerThere are few creatures more loathsome than the cockroach. The mere presence of one in your home is enough to cause palpitations, while the presence of many more instantly feels like a full-blown crisis. We all know what attracts roaches, but they c…
Lees meerI have a precise method for making a box of macaroni and cheese: I boil the water, cook the macaroni for a couple minutes shy of the package instructions, drain it, then return the noodles to the pot and add the butter, stirring so it melts over the…
Lees meerWe’ve been talking this week about the best parenting advice you’ve ever received (and the worst parenting advice), and out of those discussions came a shining gem that I could not, in good conscience, keep to myself. And that is a reminder of the u…
Lees meerNiantic celebrated the 25th anniversary of Pokémon last week, using the occasion to roll out an extensive event on its popular mobile game, Pokémon GO. I’ve been playing the game for a couple of years now, ever since my son got interested in Pokémon…
Lees meerIn many ways, deciding whether to have another child is even harder than deciding on having the first one. It’s a lot more complex than asking “Do we want more children and do we have enough money?” Adding another child is almost like creating a who…
Lees meerTeaching a teenager to drive has never been easy. While it can be (or you want it to be) a fun and exciting rite of passage, it can also be stressful and panic-inducing for both of you. But even in a pandemic, the roads are open and teens are on the…
Lees meerAs part of Lifehacker’s Fitness challenge, I am trying out various meditation techniques for 30 days. This is the second week of my challenge, and I’ve taken a new step towards developing a consistent meditation routine: I increased the length of m…
Lees meerNot to be outdone by Disney+ and HBO Max, Viacom recently announced its own streaming service, creatively named Paramount+, will launch on March 4. The unrelenting number of newer streaming services—Disney+, Discovery+, Apple TV+ and all the plus-es…
Lees meerAs one who likes to rock out, I confess, I was excited that my streaming service of choice—Spotify—announced it’s rolling out a new service tier for lossless audio streaming. Sure, it’ll cost more than what I’m paying now, but throwing away an expec…
Lees meerOne of my favorite innovations of modern gaming is the ability to stream what you’re playing to your smartphone, whether from the cloud, your home consoles, or a PC. Streaming transforms your phone into a Nintendo Switch-like portable that can play …
Lees meerYou may think you have seen Justice League, but have you seen Zack Snyder’s Justice League? If you you are at all interested in comic books, movies, or troubling think pieces on internet troll subculture, and have been online at all in the last four…
Lees meerIn the absence of broadly appealing new films and TV series (no Oscar hopefuls this month, I’m afraid), Netflix appears to be looking to the podcast market to figure out how to keep its massive subscriber base happy. Its new offerings in March inclu…
Lees meerNetflix’s Android app will now automatically download shows and movies it thinks you’ll enjoy. It’s similar to the app’s Smart Downloads feature, which automatically deletes episodes saved on your device after you watch them and downloads the next. …
Lees meerA lot of parenting advice is bad advice. It’s not just that standards and societal norms change over time, it’s also that when something works for one parent and one child, that one parent tends to see their method as the “right” way or the best way…
Lees meerGrammar snobs may shudder in disgust at this idea, but it’s time to normalize the use of they/them as singular pronouns. It’s 2021; no more of this “he or she, his or her” stuff.Read more...
Lees meerPersonal checks are steadily falling into disuse. They’re kind of like fax machines—outmoded, slow, with only a hardened group of people still using them even as they become less practical. Is there any good reason to still use paper checks? In some…
Lees meerAlthough Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter, spring will come faster than we think. And since it’s been a long, quarantined winter with most of us staying indoors longer than ever before, it’s likely past time we deep clean things …
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