Connexion
If you’re trying to upgrade your porch or patio, or if you have some gardening updates planned, your DIY projects can go a lot easier with some simple build plans. Having measurements and scale can help you purchase the right amount of lumber, and most plans also have suggested hardware as well. I've collected some of my favorite build plans for you—and bonus, they're free.
Your yard, deck, or patio can always be made more comfy with some good chairs. For a modern look, you can try this set of plans from The Creative Mom on the Kreg website. This project plan comes with detailed build drawings, a materials list, a cut list, and instructions. While it says this is an easy project, it does require use of a saw, a pocket hole jig, and some other measuring and marking tools. For a chair that doesn’t need cushions, you can try your hand at this one from Ana White. These plans also come with detailed build drawings, a materials list, cut list, and instructions; you can also choose to print out a PDF of the various steps involved so you don’t need to have a phone or tablet out while you’re working.
Building in some seating for gatherings or to stretch out for an afternoon nap can level up your outdoor space. This simple 2x4 bench from Construct 101 is a project you could probably complete in a day. It comes with build drawings, materials and cut lists, and step-by-step instructions with illustrations. The only drawback to the materials list is that it lists the number of boxes of screws you will need instead of the number of screws. Make sure to double check that your count is accurate before heading to the hardware store. There’s also a reclined 2x6 bench plan from Rogue Engineer that comes with drawings, a materials and tools list, and illustrated instructions. If you’d rather have a couch than a bench, you can try your hand at building this outdoor sofa from Angela Marie Made. It has photos, a materials list, detailed instructions, and a link to a video tutorial. In addition, the author regularly posts updates about how to find the right cushions for your DIY couch project.
This porch swing from Plank and Pillow has a materials and tools list, drawings, and detailed instructions. It uses a crib mattress as its cushion, making it a big, comfy swing. You can also try a simpler bench swing from Yellow Brick Home. These plans come with detailed photos, instructions, and a tools and materials list. It’s important when you're planning your porch swing to take weight and proper hanging points into consideration so that you don’t damage your porch (or injure your porch swinger).
To build a deck, you’ll need to make sure to check zoning rules and you will likely also need to dig footings. These require a higher skill level than furniture projects, but if you have some experience, they can be a DIY project. These plans from Decks.com are a good resource for detailed instructions. The plans have materials lists, instructions, drawings, and specs that are all downloadable. You can customize your deck size and get plans that fit with your particular space.
A good set of plans will either have detailed schematics and illustrations or photos that include measurements. In addition, materials and tools lists are helpful, as well as instructions. Look for plans that contain not just finished measurements, but also measurements for each cut, a cut list, and an overview of how to make the cuts with the lumber included in the materials list. If there isn’t a materials list, you should be able to easily calculate what you’ll need from the included dimensions and drawings. If the plans don’t have this info, chances are the instructions aren’t very good.
Taylor Swift released a new album this week. While the singer is 34 years old—practically middle-aged—her music speaks to young people directly, and they are speaking back. Less mainstream young people are becoming huge fans of a Chinese industrial chemical company. Read on, and I'll explain why.
The Tortured Poets Department released this week, and people have opinions. Swift’s 11th studio album offers 31 new songs to listen to, analyze, and love or hate. Critics are nearly unanimous in their praise, but are they being cowed into it? Paste magazine gave Tay-Tay’s latest a bad review, but didn’t include a byline on its post “due to how, in 2019 when Paste reviewed Lover, the writer was sent threats of violence from readers who disagreed with the work.”
Fans seem to like the new album too, but some of Swift's lyrics are churning up mild controversy. First there’s this line from "I Hate It Here”: "My friends used to play a game where/ We would pick a decade/ We wished we could live in instead of this/I’d say the 1830s but without all the racists.” This has led some to speculate that Swift is secretly racist, a running theme among dorks on the far right. Truth: taken in context, the line is not objectionable.
Then there’s, “You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me” from “Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me.” Some have pointed out that Swift’s father was a bank president and she was raised in an upper middle class household, like that's a huge "gotcha." But it's art; come on. Some critics have an issue with this line from “So High School” too: “You know how to ball, I know Aristotle/Brand new, full throttle/Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto,” pointing out that Swift is 34 years old and isn't that ridiculous. But it’s a song about high school. (Now that I have defended Taylor Swift, I intend to use her fans as a personal army because they owe me.)
This is one of those jokes that is dismantled by an explanation, so before I ruin it, I'll wait while you check out Chinese manufacturing company Donghua Junlong's TikTok. The chemical company set up the account recently to post genial videos about the many uses of glycine, an amino acid. Something about them appealed to TikTok’s ironic crowd, and videos like “Stronger piglets start with a high quality Iron Glycine supplement!” And “Food-Grade Glycine: Indispensable in Everyday Life” went mildly viral, with Donghua Junlong stans posting hundreds of hilarious comments about their admiration for the company and the food grade glycine it produces. (See how my explanation makes the joke less funny?) Fans started posting fan videos. This guy visited the factory. Here’s an interesting response from a Chinese woman about the grassroots cultural exchange.
The company eventually noticed the attention and posted a video just for the fans the other day. They seem happy but confused about all the attention, which probably means the trend is over, as future Donghua Junlong videos will be produced with this new audience in mind, and will likely lose their outsider appeal.
This week popular YouTubers Steven Lim, Ryan Bergara, and Shane Madej, the founders of Watcher Entertainment, announced the channel was leaving YouTube for the greener pastures of a subscription-based platform. The news was met with a chorus of dismay from fans, prompting the company to announce that it wasn’t leaving YouTube after all, but would instead post videos on YouTube a month after it posted on its subscription site.
Watcher helped develop and the popularize the professionally produced style that defines YouTube in 2024 through its popular series like “Ghost Files” and “Puppet History." Its half departure is only the latest exodus of an “old guard” content creator. Once ubiquitous, multimillion subscriber stars like Pewdiepie, Tom Scott, MeatCanyon, MatPat, Seth Everman and others have recently left YouTube. The reasons vary, but the most common theme of the “I’m outie” videos I’ve watched is simple: “I’m tired.” Creating, maintaining, and marketing a popular video channel has always been a 24-hours-a-day job, but the market is more competitive than it was a decade ago, and that means more work for less money. Pair that with the fact that with YouTube’s ability to arbitrarily demonetize videos and/or change its recommendation algorithm whenever it wants, and “YouTube influencer” becomes an unstable, stressful job, the kind that makes you burn out if you're past your 20s.
I’d like to say AI-produced art is terrible and irredeemable, but a couple of YouTube channels have me begrudgingly admitting that artificial intelligence can make funny parody music—maybe. Obscurest Vinyl uses AI to create filthy songs in old-school musical genres. “I Glued My Balls to my Butthole Again” and “This Baptism Fucking Blows" are crude, but they're hilarious. There I Ruined It takes a different tact and uses artificial intelligence to "ruin the music you love" by approximate what it would sound like if Elvis Presley covered “I Like Big Butts, The Beach Boys sang “99 Problems,” or NWA played Octoberfest. I don't like that this music is funny, but I can't deny it made me laugh (or at least snort). On the other hand, attempts to dig deeper into the genre reveal that imitators' AI covers are nearly universally bad, so AI doesn't give us a "be funny" button; humor still depends on the person who creates the joke not the AI that helps tell it. But if I were Weird Al Yankovich, I’d be worried.
Things don’t really “break the internet” like they used to, but if they did, the trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine would have this place in shambles. In only its first day online, this Marvel universe team-up racked up over 21 million views on YouTube. The movie seems like it will be a superhero Odd Couple story with grim Wolverine providing a straight man foil to Deadpool’s wiseassery. The advanced interest in Deadpool & Wolverine, and the similar response to the teaser for DC’s Joker: Folie à Deux released a few weeks ago suggest that the superhero genre might not be as dead as some have suggested. Instead, audiences seem tired of the “traditional” superheroes stories like Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Marvels but remain interested in popular characters presented in new ways. Whether either of these movies will live up to the pre-release hype can’t be determined. Hitting the artistic/commercial bullseye when placing a comic book hero in an unfamiliar context seems way harder than cranking out another formulaic flick, but even if they don't work, at least the resulting movies will be interesting failures.
Considering the expense and trouble involved in buying a home, it’s kind of amazing that most people only perform cursory research into the property. They might stop by a few times to walk around; they will probably hire an inspector to take a slightly more in-depth look (though most home inspections aren’t exactly what you might call exhaustive), and rely on a title search as part of the lender’s normal due diligence. Other than that, the place you’re about to drop a small fortune on is probably a bit of a mystery box.
For example: That deck in the back, that new second bathroom the Realtor wouldn’t stop mentioning, that new swimming pool—were permits pulled for those projects? Or was that work done by the owner themselves on the down-low? A home inspector, no matter how thorough, won’t be able to tell if a permit was pulled just by looking at the work (though DIY-quality work might alert them to the possibility that the project didn't have a permit). And you need to know, because un-permitted work on that house will become your problem if something goes wonky with it, and can have an impact on the future value of the house.
Most local authorities require permits for a range of major renovations to a home. The list of projects that typically require permits includes major changes like additions, adding pools, changing the roofline, or major electrical and plumbing work. A permit can be expensive and time-consuming, but it ensures that the work will be done according to local building codes because it triggers an inspection process and updates the home’s valuation for tax purposes. In other words, pulling a permit keeps the work on the up and up.
But some people avoid pulling permits for the same reasons: They don’t want to spend the extra time and money, they don’t want to be bothered with inspections (possibly because they’re cutting corners and not doing the work properly), and they don’t want their property taxes to go up because they remodeled their kitchen. It’s not too difficult to get away without getting a permit, especially if the work isn’t easily seen from the street.
If you buy a house with a lot of un-permitted improvements, all of those potential problems become your potential problems. And those problems can be major:
Physical danger stemming from poor work – e.g., electrical fires from substandard wiring, gas leaks from DIY water heater installations, a collapsed deck due to improper construction
Fines and expense if the work is discovered. You may be required to tear out un-permitted wiring, for example, and have it redone at your expense—and it will be your responsibility as the current property owner, even if you had nothing to do with the original work.
Tax penalties if the home’s assessment should have increased after a major improvement.
Insurance may deny any claims involving work done without proper permits and inspections, so if disaster strikes ,you might find yourself paying for repairs out of pocket.
Even if the work was done to a very high standard and you have no problems or complaints, un-permitted work can come back to haunt you.
Luckily, it’s generally not hard to look up the permit history of a property. Here are the basic steps you should take:
Ask the current owner. If the current owner claims all the work on the house was permitted, they should be able to supply you with the permit paperwork and inspection information.
Contact the local construction office. Most municipalities have public records available online. You may have to create an account to access them, but then you should be able to conduct a search on the address and see all the permits that were pulled. Check these against any work you see that should have required a permit, or anything that your home inspector flagged as suspicious. If there’s no online portal, you might need to go to the office in person to request the records.
Square footage. Compare the official square footage on file for the home with the square footage you actually see. Many municipal offices can give you this information; if not, sites like Property Shark may be able to supply it. If there’s a drastic difference—say there’s 500 more square feet in the house than listed in official records—it might mean an addition that wasn’t permitted.
If you discover un-permitted work before buying the house, you have a few options:
Have the current owner fix the problems: They may be able to retroactively pull permits if they pay a fine and arrange for an inspection. If the local authorities require removal or replacement of the work, they can pay to have it done.
Ask for a price reduction. You can estimate the costs of pulling retroactive permits yourself and the costs of re-doing the work or removing un-permitted work, and ask the seller to reduce the sale price to compensate you, or even pay you a cash amount to cover the costs.
Finally, of course, you can just walk away: If a house has a lot of un-permitted work it might be more trouble than it’s worth—and if the sellers are already covering up their actions, you might not be able to trust them anyway.
These guitar lesson courses are on sale for $15.97 right now (reg. $480) through April 21. It comes with unlimited access to 12 e-courses and 78 hours of training, and includes beginner courses like Beginner Guitar Lessons Crash Course, Guitar Lessons for the Curious Guitarist, and Guitar Technique, as well as courses in songwriting, finger style, ear training, and playing music with others. There are even genre-specific lessons in blues, jazz, and children’s and holiday songs. Performer and recording guitarist Dan Dresnok teaches all of the courses.
These guitar lesson courses are on sale for $15.97 right now (reg. $480) through April 21 at 11:59 p.m. PT, though prices can change at any time.
If you’re planning on embarking on some adventures this season, owning the right gear can make all the difference. In remote locations, having a good light source, ways to navigate, gadgets that can help make chores easier, and the necessary emergency equipment can be the difference between a great trip and a disaster. Plus, some of these just make your time away more fun—and you’re allowed to have fun while you’re exploring.
Having a light source handy when you’re off the beaten path is always wise, but without access to traditional chargers, this can be tricky. A hand crank lantern like this 600 lumen one from Goal Zero will allow you to have a light source even without access to sunlight for charging. You can charge the battery by plugging it in and by using a portable solar charger as well if you choose. For a less bright but slightly more versatile option, you can use a lantern that combines solar charging with hand crank charging and will double as a cell phone charger, like this 200 lumen lantern from Mesqool. For a simpler option, you can opt for a compact flashlight with solar and hand crank charging options like this set of two flashlights from Simpeak. While flashlights have a more limited beam spread than lanterns, they can serve as a more portable option for hikes or emergency kits.
If you’re in a place where cutting your own firewood is an option, a battery-powered chainsaw can be a big help. Ryobi makes a cordless 18-volt chainsaw that can help you quickly tackle branches for firewood. For splitting wood, you can put down your ax if you have a good log splitter, like this one from Speed Force. It’s relatively small, but not portable enough for long hikes. If you plan to be at a remote location for an extended period, you can opt for a Ryobi 40 volt log splitter that will mechanically split your wood for you. This machine and the battery can cost around $1,000, so it’s not a tool for weekenders, but if you have a longer off-grid adventure planned, it can save you some precious time and energy.
For charging your cordless tools on the go, a six-pound, foldable Ryobi solar panel is a good choice because it’s compact, light, and versatile. You’ll need a power source to charge tools with it, but you can charge cell phones and other devices straight from the panel. For charging devices, the FlexSolar 10 watt foldable panel can come in handy because of its compact size and resistance to dust and moisture. Your cell phone and other smaller devices can be plugged directly into this solar panel, or you can use a power bank to save up a charge for when it’s dark outside.
For off-grid adventures, having a good knife is important for cutting food and all manner of other incidental items. For a lightweight option, this fold-out combination knife and rope/seatbelt cutter knife from Good Worker is small and multi-functional. It has a smooth and serrated blade surface for different types of cuts. For campsite cooking, a Gerber Gear Quadrant plain blade knife is a good option; it collapses for safety and space conservation and comes with a lifetime warranty. If you’re not bringing a vehicle on your adventure, a hatchet like this one from 7th Science Gear is a good alternative to battery-powered saws for collecting firewood. It’s small enough to be portable, but big enough at 15 inches to allow you room for a healthy swing when you’re chopping wood.
When you’re out having your adventures, you should always be prepared for the worst. Having a well-stocked emergency kit will give you peace of mind and can save your life as well. Kits like this one from the American Red Cross are a good call for adventures with enough room for a backpack. Having hand warmers, emergency blankets, first aid supplies, and a noisemaker for if you’re lost or stranded are all recommended for those traveling outside of cell phone reception or outside of normal first responders' boundaries. If you’re not able to carry such a large pack, you can opt for a well-stocked first aid kit like this one from Protect Life, but you should supplement it with some other emergency supplies like a whistle and an emergency blanket.
Every home comes with maintenance, repairs, and surprising challenges, which is why most of us already have the obvious essentials on hand—fire extinguishers, flashlights, basic tools, and the like. But there are a several items you might not think of as a “home essential” that are going to prove very useful to you one day. Here are the unexpected home essentials you’re going to be glad to have on hand.
The first time a contractor needs to park on your street, or your in-laws are visiting and they like to park right in front of your house or you have a broken sidewalk that could lead to a messy personal injury lawsuit, you’re going to want traffic cones. Having a few of these babies out in your shed or down in your basement will make your life a lot easier if you need to block off areas or warn pedestrians or drivers—or just save your parking spot when you run to the store for.
It sounds fancy, but an endoscope tool is just a small camera at the end of a flexible wire. Having one means you’ll be able to see inside small, closed-off spaces without tearing holes in your walls or floors, you’ll be able to discover the reason your kitchen sink won’t drain properly, where that screw wound up when you dropped it, and what is making that disturbing scratching noise in your bedroom wall. There are a lot of affordable ones that work with your phone as a screen, and you’ll be glad you have it.
Blackouts are going to happen, and pilot lights are going to go out. Rather than relying on wooden matches you forget to restock (and that can go bad over time if stored improperly) or a traditional fueled lighter that you can forget to refuel, a rechargeable lighter needs no fuel and has a flexible neck enabling you to get it into tight spots.
You might feel like spiders and insects belong outside, but they do manage to find their way in. Instead of smashing them or trying to catch-and-release with a glass or a paper plate, the Critter Catcher will help you scoop them up and deposit them back outside (without ever having to get too close).
Once you own them, you will use zip ties constantly. You’ll use them to tie stuff together, to tie stuff down, to make temporary repairs, and a dozen other ways. The simplicity, relative durability, and cheapness of zip ties makes them something everyone should have on hand in their home.
Whether it’s a couch, a washing machine, or any other large, heavy, bulky object or appliance, you need a mover’s dolly. Hang it in the garage and forget about it, and then when you need to transport your old fridge to the curb you can glide it out there with ease, or when you decide the living room needs to be totally re-arranged to encourage positive energy flows, you won’t break your back trying to move every piece of furniture by lifting it.
If you’ve ever used that blue gunk to put a poster up on the wall of your dorm room or rental, you know the fundamental nature of Museum Putty. But this stuff is incredibly useful, because you can use it to ensure that nothing ever slips off a shelf. Anything you want to display can be secured in place, and no amount of roughhousing children, clumsy guests, or earthquakes will knock it off. You can also use it to stabilize the shelves themselves if they wobble or rattle on their supports. It won’t damage surfaces and comes right off when you need it to.
We've got so many devices to charge, and all those cords and dongles need somewhere to go—installing USB outlets throughout your home will make your life easier. You won’t have to hunt around for the right adapter, you won’t have things plugged into your laptop all the time, and you’ll be able to plug in immediately if your phone or tablet (or anything else USB-powered) gets a low-battery warning. And they are easy to install even if you have no experience with electricity.
If you've ever dropped (and subsequently lost) a tiny screw or nail into a narrow opening, you need a magnetic pick-up tool like this one. Never lose a screw, bolt, or other tiny metal object again—even if it goes down your bathroom drain.
Where once it was standard to have just one bathroom in our homes, the number of bathrooms considered normal has steadily grown over the years, and the majority of new-build homes have at least two bathrooms these days. It makes sense: Why not have a private bathroom just for you and a second bathroom (or two) for the kids or guests?
This often leads us to wish for more bathrooms, for a lot of reasons: If you only have one, adding an en-suite bath feels luxurious, and having a dedicated guest bath makes your home feel more inviting. If you’re going to have a long-term guest (like a parent or close friend living with you for a while) or have frequent long-term visitors, a bathroom just for them almost feels essential. And if you plan to renovate your one existing bathroom, you might hesitate because you don’t want to run across the street to use a public restroom in your local coffee shop every day.
But adding bathrooms is expensive—it costs $90,000 on average to add a bathroom. Not to mention the non-monetary costs of time, inconvenience, and disruption. If all you need is a functioning bathroom, however, you can actually add one to just about any spot in your home for much less, without the need for plumbing, permits, or months of your life. All you need is a room. Here’s how to add a bathroom without plumbing.
First, think about where your bathroom should be. You’re not limited by the location of water or sewer lines, because you won’t need either one. A few ideas include:
Closets. If your goal is to have an ersatz en suite bathroom, a moderately-sized closet can work. You’ll need to measure out all the stuff you’ll be cramming in there, of course, but a general rule of thumb is 15 square feet for a half-bath concept, and 30 for a three-part bath. Those numbers assume you need to pull permits and pass inspection, and thus incorporate typical minimum spacing for drains and such, so you can likely go a little smaller.
Spare rooms. If you have a bedroom you’re not really using, or a flex space that was never defined, it can become a more spacious bathroom. Ideally, of course, you’d want a door—though you could always add an adjustable wall with a door to turn a bonus space or even a large landing into an additional bathroom.
A big consideration is water access. You don’t need to have water, drain, and sewer lines run—but if you want a shower in the room, it’s a lot easier if you can position it near a functioning water line like an existing bathroom or a washer hookup. If that’s not possible, you still have options, however.
Here’s what you need:
A dry-flush toilet. The most important thing to have in a bathroom is a place for you or your guests to relieve themselves. Composting toilets don’t require plumbing or a drain, but they do require a vent pipe, which would require cutting through a wall or roof. A better option is a battery-powered dry-flush toilet like this one. It uses a vacuum-sealed mylar bagging system, and can be operated literally anywhere.
A portable sink. Portable sinks can look just like regular vanities, but have two tanks inside the cabinet—one holding fresh, clean water, one holding the drained-off gray water after use. They usually require a plug to run a pump for the faucet, as well. All you need to do is dump the gray water and fill up the fresh water tank as needed.
A portable shower. To really go for it, adding a shower to your unplumbed bathroom is the real power move. The Shower AnyPlace portable indoor shower hooks up to any faucet and pumps the gray water to any drain using a hose, which makes it a great choice if your bathroom location is near another bathroom or a laundry area, or even a kitchen or outdoor space. The EMS Portable Shower from Freedom Showers operates on a similar design.
If you want to be a little more luxurious, you could also consider adding a portable tub like this one, as long as you can run the drain hose to an appropriate spot and can easily get hot water to it.
Whether you need it for a few weeks to accommodate visitors or a renovation, or want the convenience of an extra bathroom without the cost, it’s a viable option—and since nothing is permanently installed, you can always remove it later. For just a few thousand bucks, you can have a usable bathroom in just about any room in your house, without any construction or plumbing needed.
If you own a house with some trees on the property, you probably don’t think about them much unless they require maintenance—and in those moments you think of them as expenses. Sure, those trees have value due to their natural beauty and shade (or possibly the fruit they grow), but few people think about the trees in their yards in terms of having a monetary value.
But you should, because trees on your property actually do have value—and that value is often substantial. First of all, maintained trees in good condition add property value in general—as much as 15%. But some species of tree can be worth a lot of cash if they’ve been allowed to grow to enormous proportions in your yard—a nondescript elm tree with a 20-inch trunk, for example, might be worth as much as $30,000. And some trees have been appraised for more than six figures. Some trees are so valuable poachers actually invade people’s property to steal them.
If you’re currently peering out your window at the trees in your yard and wondering if you’re sitting on some sort of woody goldmine, here’s how to find out the tree value on your property.
The simplest way to get an idea of how much your trees might be worth is to use an online calculator like this one, which uses the USDA Forest Service’s i-Tree software, or the slightly simpler ones here. These calculators rely on you to input accurate information, so you might need to sleuth out the species of your tree and do some measurements and observations in order to get a truly accurate valuation.
It’s important to note that these tools offer a sense of the value your trees are adding to your property—by providing shade, cleaning the air, removing carbon, and cooling your home. If the calculator says your tree is worth $15,000, you probably can’t just sell it for $15,000, or add that amount to your home’s listing price when you sell your house. But these tools do offer a starting point for valuing your tree.
If you want to get a more accurate value for your tree, you’ll need to hire an arborist to conduct an appraisal, which is a real, actual thing with a lot of science behind it. You can find a consulting arborist at the American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA) website.
Tree appraisals are mostly used to determine insurance values in case your trees are damaged, destroyed, or improperly removed from your property and you need to make a claim. But you can sell a tree from your yard if the tree is valuable enough, and if you can find a nursery or other entity interested in buying it. And if you have a lot of hardwood trees on your property, you can find companies like Sell Your Trees that will pay you for them, then come and remove them at their own expense (making an appraisal even more important so you know you’re getting fair value for your trees). If your trees are valuable and mature (meaning they’re fully grown and not a sapling, like the trees you buy at a nursery), you can also sell them on an online marketplace like Re-Tree, which can also give you an idea of how much that specific tree is worth.
The most valuable and easiest to sell trees (based on Re-Tree’s catalog) include:
Japanese Maple. These majestic and colorful trees can sell for $400 to more than $8,000 depending on health, maturity, and specific type.
Flowering dogwood. Whether pink or white, these beautiful trees can be worth as much as $4,500.
Tricolor beech. This ornamental tree changes colors with the seasons, making it a beautiful addition to any landscaping project, and can sell for as much as $8,000.
Gingko. These slow-growing trees are terrific shade trees, and can sell for $5,000 to $6,000 each.
Black Walnut. The wood of the Black Walnut is valuable for furniture makers, and can sell for as much as $2,500.
Even if the trees in your yard aren’t super unique and rare, you can still often sell them for a few hundred bucks if they’re healthy and mature. If you’re looking to monetize your trees, it’s worth having them appraised and seeing what the market will bear.
Getting your spring garden into shape, doing some pruning, or planting might call for some new tools. If your tools have been stored outdoors, they might have some rust, or your tools might be worn out after years of service. Even with meticulous maintenance, shears, mowers, and other equipment will wear out over time. Gardening equipment generally need replacing after about six years, although with good maintenance can last as long as 10 to 12 years. If you're running into trouble with some of your gardening tools, Fiskars—known for their high-quality scissors—makes tools with a good reputation for durability and sharpness. Here are some of the best sales on offer this week from Amazon.
For cuts up to ⅝ inches thick, a pair of Fiskars bypass pruning shears will do the job. The pruners are on sale for $9.98 right now, 52% off their regular price. You can also get a set of pruning shears that comes with the bypass pruning shears as well as a pair of micro tip pruning shears on sale right now for $24.40, 40% off their usual price. These are good quality all-steel shears and they come with a lifetime warranty from Fiskars.
For precision trimming your grass around landscaping features, outbuildings, or hedges where a string trimmer won’t work, a pair of Fiskars grass shears is a good solution. These grass shears are on sale right now for $17.99, 44% off their regular price. This set of grass shears has a rotating head to allow both vertical and horizontal cuts to save your wrists when you’re getting into tight spaces or odd angles.
The Fiskars lopper for trimming tree branches up to 1 ½ inches thick is on sale right now for $17.99, 42% off their regular price. The handles of these loppers are extendable from 24 ½ inches up to 37 inches to give you added reach as well as leverage.
If you’re looking for a quieter, zero-emission mower, you can go with a walk-behind push mower. The Fiskars 17” push mower is on sale right now for $171.58, 24% off its normal price. In addition to being quieter and having no emissions, this mower uses no power source besides you, so it’s also the cheapest to run.
If you’re doing some spring planting and find that you need a new garden trowel, the Fiskars ergo trowel is a good buy. It’s a heavy duty trowel that’s designed to be comfortable to hold while you’re digging and it’s on sale right now for $8.79, 32% off its regular price. It has an aluminum head, so rust won’t be a problem, and it’s lightweight as well.
Cutting overgrown weeds and vines can be a challenge—plus, machetes are fun. Fiskars has an 18-inch curved blade machete ax that’s on sale for $39.58, 52% off its normal price. A machete is good for cutting back dense brush and thick, overgrown areas, and the sharp, curved tip can also be used for trimming small branches and cutting through roots.
If you’re anticipating having some bounty from a vegetable garden, a container for harvesting will come in handy. The Fiskars harvest basket is on sale for $21.59, 42% off its usual price. The basket has three compartments, one large one that can double a colander for rinsing produce, one small compartment with smaller drainage holes, and one compartment with no drainage for collecting flowers or other plants you want to keep fresh in water.
If you have some garden beds to dig out, or some dirt to move, you’ll need a good quality shovel. The Fiskars digging shovel is on sale for $28.99, 37% off its regular price. The shovel blade is about 8 ½ inches wide, with a foothold on the top side of it to make it easier to push into the soil with your foot.
Sometimes major life events—like a divorce or a job in a new city—make our real estate decisions for us. The rest of the time, however, we're left to our own devices. While there are a number of factors that determine when, exactly, is the best time to put our home on the market, real estate analysts and forecasters can turn to data from previous years to make a general prediction as far as the time of year when sellers stand to benefit the most.
According to a recent report from realtor.com, this very week—April 14-20, 2024—is the best time this year to sell a home. That may be nice to hear if your home is currently on the market, but it's not necessarily useful information for other would-be sellers, who have missed 2024's sweet spot. The good news is that if they don't need to sell immediately—they can take the next year to get their home ready to list in time for the best time to sell in 2025.
Based on real estate trends in past years, spring is the best time of year to sell a house, according to data from realtor.com. "Housing conditions in April may differ year to year, but seasonality suggests that within a given year, the best time to sell will fall around mid-April," says Hannah Jones, an economic research analyst for realtor.com. "For example, today’s market is relatively challenging and this year’s sellers have adjusted their expectations accordingly, but this spring will be the best combination of conditions within the year for sellers."
So what is it about spring that puts people in the mood to buy new homes? According to Jones, it comes down to two major factors. First, spring "starts the seasonal ascent in home prices, and quickens the pace of sale," she says. Also, because housing inventory typically increases in the spring, but hasn't yet reached the heights of summer and early fall, sellers can expect more buyer attention. "The combination of higher-than-average prices and buyer demand, coupled with quick market pace and low competition from other sellers makes mid-April the best time to sell," Jones says.
Even if you haven't officially gotten the ball rolling—or are still on the fence about selling your home—there's still time to get it ready and listed for next year's spring selling season. While forecasters haven't pinpointed the specific week yet, according to Jones, mid-April 2025 will likely be the best time to sell a home next year, "assuming typical seasonal housing market patterns hold."
Of course, the amount of time you'll need to get your home market-ready depends on variables like its current condition, and how much work (if any) you plan on putting into it before selling. But to give you a general idea, the findings of a different survey from realtor.com indicate that roughly 80% of sellers take between two weeks and six months to prepare their home for sale, with the largest share taking between one and three months.
It's also worth noting that more than half of seller surveyed (56%) said that the process of getting their home ready to list took longer than they had expected—so learn from their mistakes, and make sure you give yourself plenty of time. Not sure where to start? Here are some of the steps you'll likely need to take in order to list your home next spring:
Before reaching out to potential listing agents, you should have a general idea of where you want to be after you sell your home, says Maureen McDermut, a realtor with Sotheby's International in Montecito, California. Are you moving out of state, abroad, or staying local? Whether you're moving to a new state, country, or staying local, start familiarizing yourself with the real estate market in that area so there are no major surprises further down the road.
According to Jones, it's helpful to engage with an experienced listing agent early on in the process. In addition to walking you through what needs to be done in order to get your home ready to list in the spring, they'll also help set your expectations for a listing price based on the area, and help you determine whether it makes more sense to take on major renovations and repairs, or sell your home as-is.
But don't simply hire the first agent who comes up in an online search; keep in mind that this is the person you'll be advising you on how to get top dollar for your home. McDermut recommends looking up reviews for your potential listing agents on Zillow or other real estate websites, then interviewing between three and five local agents before making a decision. "While almost all of us have an agent in the family, it might be a better move to hire someone else, especially to avoid family conflicts," she says.
Ideally, you should have your listing agent in place roughly four to six months before getting your home live on the market, McDermut says. For example, if you want to list your home in April 2025, you should interview agents in December and make your decision by January. "I would absolutely make sure an agent is hired 90 days prior to your target listing date," she says.
After assessing your home, your listing agent will probably have a few recommendations for making it more appealing to potential buyers. Remember that they're on your team and also benefit from your home selling for as much as possible. "While some of the advice might sound insulting—especially when it comes to a large project you undertook on the home—your agent wants to help you get your home in the best shape possible to sell," McDermut says.
Take sliding barn doors, for example. While it wasn't that long ago that they were all the rage, they've since fallen out of favor, and according to McDermut, buyers don't want the hassle of having to replace them. That's why as a listing agent, she would advise sellers to have new doors installed before putting their home on the market.
Start the decluttering process as soon as possible. "In today's market, buyers may wish to move in as quickly as possible, so you want to be ready," McDermut says. "If it isn't a necessity of everyday living, move it into storage or sell it."
While you have some time before you need to worry about interior listing photos, don't put off the exterior shots for too long. More specifically, arrange to have exterior photos taken of your home when it looks its best—which in many cases is when your trees, flowers, and plants are in full bloom and looking lush, says Haley Bartlett, a realtor at iGo Realty Denver. "Planning ahead and taking outside photos during that season can lead to more buyers taking note of your home when it is time to sell," she says.
If you're having your home professionally staged, the interior listing photos are typically taken seven to 14 days before it hits the market, says Ashley Oshinsky, a real estate broker and the owner of Higher Living Real Estate. "The reason for this is staging charges by the month, so the longer it sits in your home the longer it needs to be paid for," she says.
According to McDermut, this is often the hardest step for sellers who have a lot of memories attached to their home. "As you're going through the process, it helps to start thinking of your home as an investment, which it is," she says. "The sooner you can get to that state of mind, the sooner you will be able to carry on with the other tasks of selling your home."
In this column I try not to cover topics that any normal person already knows are fake. I don’t bother writing about people who think Elvis is alive or that the Earth is flat, because anyone with two brain cells to rub together already knows those are bullshit, and believers are a tiny minority on the fringes of society.
I had considered “chemtrails” in the “no one takes this seriously” column, but I was wrong. This week, legislators in Tennessee passed a state law that bans “the intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals … substances, or apparatus … with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight." In other words, they banned chemtrails.
While the legislation was drafted partly in response to a Federal government report released last year on solar geoengineering—basically the idea of cooling the planet by reflecting sunlight back into space—some lawmakers didn't get the memo. Here’s what Tennessee Sen. Frank Niceley said in support of the law: “This will be my wife’s favorite bill of the year. She has worried about this, I bet, 10 years … If you look up—one day, it’ll be clear. The next day they will look like some angels have been playing tic-tac-toe. They’re everywhere. I’ve got pictures on my phone with Xs right over my house. For years they denied they were doing anything.”
The report that riled up Tennessee legislators explicitly says the research "does not signify any change in policy or activity by the Biden-Harris Administration." We don't even know how or if it would work, so solar geoengineering is a non-starter. Chemtrail conspiracy theories are fake and dumb. But Tennessee's decision to outlaw both could be a great and/or hilarious thing—if they follow the letter of the law they wrote.
Believers call the long, white trails sometimes left in the sky by jet airplanes "chemtrails." They believe chemtrails are the result of the government intentionally spraying biological or chemical agents into the sky in order to change the weather, control the population, and/or make people sick (the specifics depend on who you ask).
But the trails Sen. Nicely has pictures of on his phone are really called "contrails," short for condensation trails, and no one is denying anything. Contrails are the result of water vapor released from aircraft engines’ exhaust. They are mostly ice crystals, basically jet-made clouds, and there is no evidence they can control people’s behavior. But they might actually change the weather. (More on that below.)
Contrails are an interesting conspiracy theory element because you can walk outside and see them for yourself; but sometimes you don’t see them, just like the Senator said. So are some aircraft spraying chemicals and others not? According to the authorities, no one is spraying anything. Contrails only form under certain atmospheric conditions, even if it looks like angels have been playing tic-tac-toe.
Chemtrail conspiracy theorists are partly right, but, as is usual with conspiracy theorists, not in the way they think they are. The U.S. government really is trying to control the weather by releasing a chemical into the air from planes. It’s called cloud-seeding, and the chemical, silver iodide, is harmless to humans. The idea is to prevent droughts by making clouds more productive. Cloud-seeding has been around since the 1940s. It's difficult to say for sure whether it works (it’s hard to get a control group of clouds), but it’s not secret. There are ongoing, relatively small, government funded cloud-seeding programs in several states, including Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. But not in Tennessee, obviously.
The second part of the chemtrails theory is a little right too. You don’t need to be a conspiracy theorist to accept that the U.S. government has a long, troubling history of secretly dispersing chemical and biological agents in the air over the U.S.; They admit it themselves. But the government (officially) halted biological and chemical weapons programs in the 1960s, and in 2023, the U.S.’s last chemical weapon, a sarin nerve agent-filled M55 rocket rocket, was destroyed, according to the international oversight group The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
So weather control programs and secret dispersal of chemicals exist, and the U.S. is looking into solar geoengineering, but nothing connects jet engine vapor-trails to any of these things. That doesn't mean contrails are benign though; they might even be worse than conspiracy theorists fear.
In another “a broken clock is right twice a day” victory for conspiracy theorists, legitimate research indicates that contrails are harmful, maybe extremely harmful, but not because they contain population-control nanobots.
It's hard to pin down the specific causes of temperature changes in a system as complex as the climate of a planet, but research has long supported the theory that jets creating tiny clouds in the sky prevents heat from escaping the planet, leading many climate scientists to regard contrails as a major contributor to global warming.
Contrails may be worse than the effect of burning all that jet fuel in the first place. According to the Yale School of the Environment, the constant injection of jet-made clouds has a “daily impact on atmospheric temperatures that is greater than that from the accumulated carbon emissions from all aircraft since the Wright Brothers first took to the skies more than a century ago.” To make matters worse, efforts to cut the CO2 emissions by making jet engines more efficient tends to produce more contrails that last longer.
So yes, conspiracy theorists, those streaks in the sky are a serious problem that could be contributing to a lot of people dying in the future. (Don’t worry, we’re using AI to stop it, which should work out great.)
Tennessee law-makers may have crafted this legislation to thwart a federal program that doesn’t exist and fight a made-up phenomenon, but depending on how it's interpreted and enforced, this law could be the most consequential piece of environmental protection legislation in U.S. history—or it could be a clear enough lesson in what happens when you let conspiracy theorists pass laws that Tennessee won't vote for dumb people anymore. (I can dream, right?)
To really ban "chemtrails" you'd have to ban all jet travel over Tennessee, which would lower the total amount of contrail-based warming on earth. But that's just the beginning. Tennessee outlawed releasing anything that “affects temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight" without defining any of the terms, so it could be read to ban all pollution—from cars, airplanes, factories, or anywhere else—because it contributes to global warming (ie: affects temperature.)
To be fair, the law says the chemicals must be released with “the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight," so it probably wouldn't apply to factories, since raising the temperature of the earth is a secondary effect of industry. But sunglass manufacturers could be in the crosshairs. What is a pair of sunglasses if not an apparatus that affects the intensity of sunlight? Maybe sunglasses only affect sunlight's intensity on a personal level, but the law doesn't define what "affects the intensity of sunlight" means, so it could be read to cover Ray-Bans and beach umbrellas. You could make a case that the letter of Tennessee's law bans heaters, air conditioners, stoves, and ovens too, since they are all apparatuses with the express purpose of changing temperature. Water is a chemical, and spraying it onto people at an amusement park is an attempt to change temperature, so goodbye, cooling misters.
I could go on, but it's all ridiculous. We know that Tennessee is not going to shut down its airports and turn into a post-industrial, sunglass-free state where cooking is outlawed. The law isn't likely to be enforced in any way, and its only real-world effect will be to make people like Senator Niceley's wife happy that someone is finally doing something about those pesky angels playing tic-tac-toe in the sky.
Upgrading your outdoor space with a TV can be a fun way to blend indoor and outdoor living, especially when entertaining. The process might seem daunting, but with the right hardware and placement, it’s actually a pretty simple DIY job.
The first thing to consider when choosing an outdoor TV is where you'll be putting it and what kind of sun exposure the area gets. TV companies sell full shade, partial sun, and full sun models, so make sure you take that into account. You can also consider the time of day you generally plan to use your outdoor TV. If it’s after dark, a screen that’s less bright will likely work, while one you plan to use under full daylight conditions will need to be significantly brighter. If you only plan to use your TV at night, you can also choose to use a projector and screen for a larger image at a lower cost. However, you will need to bring the projector indoors overnight or cover it well to keep it from getting damaged by moisture or dirt.
Mounting your outdoor TV can be as simple as mounting one for indoor use, but you should make sure that the hardware you choose is as water resistant as your TV to avoid damage from a broken hanging bracket, for example. A good outdoor bracket will be waterproof and weatherproof, and it should be able to tilt so that you can get the best view. To attach your mounting bracket, you should also make sure to use good quality screws that are intended for outdoor use as well.
Even though an outdoor television is designed to withstand some of the outdoor elements, a cover will extend its life and better protect it from moisture, dust, and debris when you’re not using it. Cutting down on rain and dirt will keep all the inputs for power and networking safe and sound for longer than an uncovered TV.
Protecting your cords can prevent electrical shorts from moisture making its way in between the ends of your cords and causing damage to your electronics as well as reducing the risk of fire. For networking, you should make sure you’re using a weatherproof cable that’s intended for outdoor use. Even if you have a TV that uses only a wireless input, you should still make sure that your power cable is protected. Where cords are plugged in to each other should be in as dry a spot as possible, and you should use a cord that’s meant for outdoor use. You can use individual covers for extension cord plugs, or you can use a larger weatherproofing connector box for multiple cords and power strips.
While you can use an outdoor TV anywhere that you can get power and a signal to it, you can greatly improve your viewing experience by placing your TV in the right spot. Keep your eyes out for the sun when picking your spot, and think about how glare will affect your picture quality at different times of day. Also, while outdoor TVs are listed as “weatherproof,” cutting down on direct sunlight, rainfall, and wind will prolong the life of your appliance. Consider placing your TV on a porch, under an awning, or beneath an overhang to keep it protected. You can install a standard door or window awning for around $100 that can give your outdoor TV some extra protection from the elements.
This week, I dig around in the cesspit of online "alpha male" influencers to find out what "soft guy era" means. I also look into the wholesome "Utah Fit Check" trend, find out what happens when AI starts making memes, and investigate the Humane AI pin, a new tech gadget I decidedly do not want.
Man-space influencers on TikTok and elsewhere have been hyping the phrase "soft guy era" for the last week or so, working hard to get the hashtag trending and plant the idea in people's minds. And it seems to be working—at least on young men. So I looked into it, and I wish I hadn't.
According to Scarfacemark, the person at the center of the soft guy trend, a man in his “soft guy era” wants to find a woman who will “take care of him in ridiculous ways.” Seems straightforward enough, but Scarface isn't expressing a desire to be what used to be called a “kept man.” Like most everything from red pill and red pill-adjacent people, the "soft guy era" is a reactionary and dishonest concept, a troll driven by misogyny and money.
"Soft guy era” is a reaction to the “soft girl era” trend that became popular, particularly with young African-American women, in 2023. “Soft girl” seems to mostly be about self-care and living a life that isn’t about struggle. For some women, that means expensive vacations and lavishness, or it means looking for a more gender-traditional relationship, where the man makes the money and the woman keeps house. And that’s the inflection point for man-fluencers.
In the world of online woman-hating-for-cash, the “soft girl” thing is an affront to men—an injustice, even though a man supporting a woman is rooted in patriarchal ideas that online dude-guys usually support. It's another gender-war double-bind: Women who want careers are hated, and women who don’t want careers are hated too. The hatred is the real point. Influencers come up with slightly unique wrinkles on time-tested misogynistic ideas and use them to rile up weirdos and increase their view-counts and sell ugly t-shirts and cryptocurrency, or whatever they do to scrounge up the rent for their condos.
I dug around on both the #softgirlera and the #softguyera hashtags. The most-trafficked videos on the former are sappy odes to successful relationships, yearnings for romance, and pleas for peace and gentleness. The top “soft guy” posts are not like this. They are nearly uniformly unfunny "comedy videos" made by a cadre of weird, greasy cranks acting like they’re making jokes when really they’re being assholes. All these dudes pretend they’re rich “alpha males" turning away super-models, and it's a transparent act to everyone but the children and teenagers they prey upon. Maybe the soft girls are working an online hustle of their own, but at least they don't make me feel like I need a shower and a nap.
Remember when it was funny to gross out your friends by making up sexual practices like the “Mississippi Mudslide” or “The Angry Algonquin?” The “Utah Fit Check” is nothing like that. It’s an innocent TikTok challenge where you wear some baggy jeans, give a thumbs-up to the camera, then jump in the air and try to spin twice before landing. Or just spin once—no one is keeping score.
The trend was started by Utah TikToker Michaelmal568. He posted the first video with the hashtag. It seems like he just wanted to show off his outfit, but he went a little too far, and people found it amusing/endearing, and thus a trend was born. It's now spreading across TikTok, Instagram, and everywhere else. Everyone is trying it, and some are failing. Some are pushing the envelope. (Apparently cleanly landing even one spin is not easy, so props to Michaelmal for the semi-clean 720.)
There’s an interesting cross-generational wrinkle to the story: The song you play for a proper Utah Fit Check video is “Harness your Hopes,” an obscure B-side from 1990s alternative band Pavement. I’m always happy when something I liked a million years ago finds a new audience, although more annoying TikTokers have started using Billy Joel’s sappy “Vienna Waits for You” instead of Pavement. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Online people have started outsourcing meme creation to artificial intelligence, and it’s going as well as you’d expect. In this subreddit devoted to the subject, the memes are either incomprehensible or just not funny. They’re not even “so bad they’re good,” they’re just boring. One redditor asked AI to make memes only AI would understand. AI didn’t make anything particularly interesting with that prompt either.
As artificial intelligence gets “better,” it’s losing the one interesting thing it has going on—that surrealist edge that gives everyone a queasy feeling—and replacing it with absolute averageness, complete mediocrity. The future is going to be computer-generated boredom on a level we are only starting to see. But at least we'll all be unemployed.
When a trusted, respected, even-handed tech reviewer like Marques Brownlee posts a video where he calls a heavily hyped, this-will-change-everything tech device, “The Worst Product I've Ever Reviewed,” a lot of people take notice—especially when the product, the Humane AI Pin, is backed by hundreds of millions of investor dollars, and was invented by two ex-Apple higher-ups who worked on the iPhone and iOS.
The Humane AI Pin is a wearable AI assistant that promises to take users beyond the cell phone by packing a camera, light, laser projector, a phone, and more into a tiny, slickly designed device you can stick on your lapel. You can ask it questions in plain English, dictate to it, take pictures, make calls, send texts, and other basic assistant functions. It will even project information onto your hand with a laser if you can't talk to it.
So what’s the problem? According to Brownlee, everything. The Humane AI’s artificial intelligence is slow to respond and often factually wrong (like AI always is). The battery life is terrible. It overheats easily. It’s heavy. The projector function is hard to read, and it often doesn't understand what you're saying. But the worst thing about it is that it doesn’t connect to your phone or anything else. The Humane AI pin is like paying $700 and a monthly, mandatory $24 subscription fee for a second phone that’s markedly worse in every way than the one you already own. It turns out, a touch-screen interface is way better than a voice-only interface. Who could have guessed?
If you’re a tall person and find yourself struggling to live in a home that isn’t designed for someone of your stature, you might dream of a gut renovation to fix the problems vexing you most, or even a custom-built tall person house, with everything sized and scaled for you.
While those options aren't likely possible (nor practical), there are a few products you can buy that can have a huge impact on your comfort level at home, without a major renovation.
If you find yourself peering easily over the shower curtain and you’re forced to contort yourself into odd shapes in order to fit under the shower, an adjustable shower head like this one from Waterpik will change your life. Its flexible design means it can be adjusted to accommodate just about any height, so if you’re sharing your bathroom with a shorter person you can both be comfortable while taking a shower. Alternatively, any detachable shower head (like this one) will improve your situation by allowing you to at least get under the water without doing impromptu yoga poses.
The standard height for kitchen countertops is 36 inches. This works for most people, but if you’re very tall, you probably have an aching back after a short time hunched over your counter to make dinner. If raising your cabinets or renovating your whole kitchen isn’t an option, a raised cutting board can at least make food prep more comfortable for you.
If you’re living in a home designed for a much shorter person, a kneeling chair (or two, or three) will make everything a lot easier. Instead of standing, hunched, over a low counter or having to sit down on the floor to deal with your fridge or dishwasher, a kneeling chair will get you to a comfortable height, er, comfortably. Use one in any situation where you would normally crouch or kneel for long periods of time and be happier for it.
It might be obvious, but if you’re a tall person a bigger mattress will absolutely change your life. A California King is 84 inches long, which should be big enough for most taller folks—but there are several even larger choices if you can fit them into your home and need even more legroom. The Texas King is 98 inches long, and the Alaskan King is a whopping 108 inches square, which should be big enough for even the tallest people.
Standard toilets are 14-15 inches high. If you’re a tall person, using one can be a very unfortunate experience. A few extra inches will make using the toilet a lot easier, and replacing a toilet isn’t a difficult job—it’s actually something most people can do DIY. And if DIY isn’t your bag, it’s not terribly expensive, averaging less than $400 (t counting the cost of the toilet itself).
Tall folks have big clothes, and big clothes have a tendency to fall off (or be deformed by) standard hangers—but if you’re reading this, you probably know that. Adjustable hangers that can expand to fit your shirts and other clothing items prevent both of these scenarios, keeping your wardrobe looking good—and off the floor.
Finally, a small renovation can pay huge dividends. If you’re constantly dodging light fixtures and ceiling fans that seem to have been placed directly in your airspace, recessing the lighting in your home and switching out standard, head-chopping ceiling fans for flush-mounted, low-profile versions will eliminate a real danger and make your house a lot easier to navigate—especially in the dark.
As anyone who has bought a house has figured out at some point, there are a bunch of hidden costs to homeownership, including unplanned repairs, taxes, and insurance. Whether those things come as a shock depends on how much research you do before you buy. As CNBC reports, 33% of new homeowners reported in a 2023 survey that their property taxes were more expensive than they expected.
While property taxes are unavoidable, an unpleasant surprise is not. Here's what you need to know to prepare for your tax bill—especially if you are purchasing a new build.
Whether you're buying a newly built or existing home, you should gather as much data as possible about your purchase and the true cost of ownership, from property taxes to insurance to HOA fees, rather than focusing solely on the sticker price.
Valerie Saunders, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, recommends tapping the expertise of everyone, from your realtor to attorney to loan originator and mortgage broker, as they will be familiar with factors like the market you're entering and how property appraisal works in your county.
"There's so much information at our fingertips now, there's no reason not to do your research," she says.
Saunders notes that you can also find publicly available data about your property through the county tax assessor or property appraiser. Look up the website for your county and search for your lot (you may need the tax ID number from your sales contract) to see the current assessment. For new developments, this may consider land only, which means you can expect property taxes to be higher in the future once your home is included in the appraisal.
If you're moving into a neighborhood or new development with other homes that are at least a year old, check the county data for what your neighbors pay in taxes. This may not be an exact reflection of your future bill—especially if square footage, amenities, or lot size are drastically different—but it can give you a starting point for what to expect.
You'll also want to gather information about other expenses that can add to your monthly bill, such as HOA fees and recycling and wastewater management.
Saunders recommends having a plan for covering an unexpected tax increase, whether that's allocating your income tax refund or putting money into a savings account every month.
Typically, you'll put estimated property taxes into an escrow account when you purchase your home. But if your taxes are based on an assessment of land only when you close, the next assessment will almost certainly be higher, and you may end up with an escrow shortage. In this case, you'll have to pay back your lender to cover the difference.
If you don't have a lump sum already saved, consider calculating the worst-case scenario (how much you think your taxes will increase), dividing that dollar amount by 12, and setting that money aside every month to prepare for a higher payment. And don't drain your savings for non-essential home improvements or purchases if you anticipate a tax increase.
While every county handles tax assessment differently, most reassess every year. Knowing the dates and deadlines for this process can help you plan for potential increases and be strategic about lowering your tax bill.
For example, any permanent structures added to your property will increase the assessment, so call your county office to get an estimate for the value before you build (you may want to hold off on construction until after the next reassessment). You may also qualify for certain exemptions that can lower your tax burden.
If you want to create a garden retreat and have a convenient spot for hosting, or just a quiet spot to enjoy your morning coffee, a garden room is just the thing. With more insulation than most sheds, a garden room allows you to enjoy your outdoor space while having some cover from the rain—and some shade, too. Here’s what you need to know to build a garden room on a budget.
A garden room can be a retreat if you want some peace and quiet, a place for entertaining, or an alternative to your home office. You can really use it for anything you want, and you can customize it to your own purposes. Adding furniture and decor to suit the needs of your space will help to make your garden room functional, and having plenty of windows to bring the outdoors in will help to keep your outdoor space open. Since a garden room is insulated, it can be comfortable year-round, but unlike a tiny home, you don’t necessarily need to worry about plumbing or running power.
If you plan to add a garden room, you’ll need to measure your space first to make sure you can fit the size and type you want. Make sure to check zoning regulations before deciding on placement of your garden room to determine if you have enough clearance from your property line and that you’re in keeping with any other rules or ordinances—and choose a flat spot with good drainage.
There are a few options for constructing an outbuilding that are worth considering as a basis for a garden room: You’ll need to either build a deck structure or pour a concrete slab for your structure to sit on. Here are a few good options for how to build a structure on a budget.
A metal shed is one possible option for building a low cost garden room. The pros of going with a metal shed to structure your garden room are that it is an inexpensive option at between $299 and $400, and you can usually get the size you’re looking for. The downside of a metal shed is that you’ll need to cut through the metal to add windows and it doesn’t come insulated, so you’ll need to add that yourself.
Using a wooden shed kit as the basis for your garden room is a good way to build a decent quality structure while saving some money. You can get an all-wood, cedar shed kit for less than $500 plus the cost of delivery, and you’ll be able to customize it easily with some basic woodworking tools. A shed kit doesn’t come with insulation, so you’ll need to add your own, and it’s a little more expensive than a metal shed, but it’s easier to customize and can be purchased with windows already installed.
You can choose to build your own frame for your shed if you have a chop saw and some basic carpentry knowledge. Framing your own allows you to customize everything, but it requires more skill because you’ll be cutting and assembling all your own parts. A simple structure isn’t too difficult to build, and you can also choose to use a framing kit that costs around $60 to make assembly easier.
Since most sheds don’t come pre-insulated, you can use radiant barriers like the type used for garage doors, neoprene insulation, or reflective heat barrier insulation, all for around $15 dollars a roll. These insulation types can be installed on interior walls and then covered with your desired finishing material to make the inside of your shed more comfortable. Once the insulation is installed, you can use paneling or drywall to finish your interior.
Mason bees are pretty incredible: They’re docile, they are easy to raise, and they are amazing pollinators of spring flowering fruit and nut trees. These bees don’t use hives the way honey bees do, instead preferring to place their eggs in narrow holes, plugged up with mud (hence the name “mason”).
Their gentle nature and solitary habitat preferences make mason bees a great species to “keep” in your yard. That is, if you do it right. If you don’t do it right, you might be harming them more than you’re helping them.
Former evolutionary biology professor Colin Purrington took to X (then Twitter) a few years back to tell us all the ways our good intentions have gone awry, and it's worth a reminder if you want to set up a mason bee house in your yard or garden this spring.
Tweet may have been deleted
If you’re going to make your own mason bee house, Purrington offers his own tutorial here, along with a slew of additional reading you can take advantage of. If you’re leaning toward a store-bought variety, don’t simply grab the first cute structure labeled “mason bees” that you see. It’s important to educate yourself about the species first to understand how to most effectively help them—and not accidentally harm them instead.
The biggest problem Purrington points out with some store-bought mason bee houses is that the blocks and reeds are glued to the back of the house. That means you can’t add new nesting material each spring, greatly increasing the risk of parasites and fungus.
You’ll find some great info here on the year-round care of mason bees, including storing the nesting tubes and blocks and harvesting the cocoons.
Mason bee houses should be placed against a flat surface in an area protected from high winds, approximately six feet off the ground and south-facing, if possible. Do not hang mason houses by a string from a tree limb; allowing the eggs to be knocked around in every passing breeze isn’t helpful. They’ll also need to be close enough to pollen-producing plants (they won’t travel farther than 300 feet), as well as a good supply of claylike mud to cover up their nesting holes.
The roof of a good mason bee house will have a bit of an overhang to protect the holes from rain and lower the risk of the larvae and pupae rotting inside the nest.
If you’re now questioning the quality of your mason bee house, you can always ask Purrington directly for his opinion (hey, he offered).
Tweet may have been deleted
Your 3D printer can be used for all sorts of hobbies and projects around the house. While a 3D printer is great to create fun stuff, it can also be practical. Designing and printing your own components for home-improvement projects is a fantastic way to develop your skills and make your home customized for your needs and style.
Making a cable reel to store charging and other power cords to keep them from getting tangled is a simple and practical project to try with your 3D printer. Depending on the size of your 3D printer, you can scale your cable reel to fit a variety of cable types all the way up to big extension cords for use in your home workshop.
You can use your 3D printer to create custom outlet covers and light-switch plates. Printing your own allows you to match the style to the rest of your home or create something unique that’s perfect for you. To make a switch plate or outlet cover, you’ll need to take into account the screw placement as well as holes for the outlet and light switch.
If you want to hang a shelf on the wall, you can print brackets with your 3D printer. You’ll need to create a shape that has a right angle and has holes for using screws to attach it. Adding an angled support to make the bracket more sturdy is a good idea to make sure your shelf is structural.
You can 3D-print coat hooks, plant hooks, and hooks for hanging up Christmas lights and other holiday decorations. Make sure to use the appropriate filament if you plan to use the hooks outdoors so that they will stand up to the weather. You can also create custom designs to fit with your decor as well as making multiple hook brackets for use in a bathroom for towels, or a mud room for coats.
If you’re updating cabinets or furniture, you can print some drawer pulls with your 3D printer to customize your new look. Make sure to take note of sizing if you choose to use a pre-made file instead of one you customize yourself. You can use your imagination to create a drawer pull that will look the best with your decor and function well with your furniture.
Keeping leaves from clogging up your downspout can be a challenge. But luckily you can print your own downspout filter with your 3D printer to keep leaves and other debris from ending up inside your downspout. While you can likely find a file that’s designed for your type of gutter, you might need to modify one for an exact fit.
To level furniture on an uneven surface and protect your floor from scratching, 3D-print some adjustable feet. Note that you’ll need to also get hardware in the right size. Once the feet are placed on the ends of your furniture legs, they can be screwed in and out for leveling.
If you’re a gardener, or if you just have an expanding collection of climbing house plants, getting the right support for growing plants or training them into the shape you want is important. You can 3D-print your own plant clips. There are a few different designs available if you don’t want to make your own file, so you can get the size and shape you’re after.
The FDA has approved the first app for treating major depressive disorder, a condition estimated to impact 21% of U.S. adults at some point in their lifetime. The app, Rejoyn, is intended to supplement treatment for major depressive disorder: In a clinical trial of 386 adults with major depressive disorder (who were also being treated with antidepressant medication), participants who used the app saw improved depression symptoms after 6 weeks of treatment.
Using digital tools to improve mental health is not new, of course. There are tons of apps available for meditation, journaling, and even connecting to a therapist—and there have been apps approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat ADHD, substance use disorder, and insomnia.
Rejoyn is expected to be available by prescription for iOS and Android devices in summer 2024, but there’s no information yet on how much the app will cost or whether insurance companies will cover it. Here’s what we know so far about how Rejoyn works and whether you should look into it when it’s available.
Rejoyn uses a six-week program of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) lessons, exercises, and personalized reminders and messages. During the program, you will complete three lessons and three exercises each week. For four weeks following the program, you can still access the lessons for review. Lessons (a short video followed by an off-app or interactive activity) take 3-4 minutes and exercises take 11-26 minutes each.
According to Otsuka, the company that made Rejoyn, lessons focus on cognitive restructuring (observing and re-framing maladaptive cognitions such as cognitive distortions), behavioral activation (deliberately increasing goal-directed behavior, physical activity, and interpersonal interaction), and emotional regulation (an individual’s ability to modulate or control the influence an emotion has on them, or to modulate the degree to which an emotion is experienced).
Rejoyn is intended for people who are 22 or older and are diagnosed with depression. It will be most suited to people who are tech savvy and want to use digital resources to accompany talk therapy and medication for depression.
“It's essential to note that while Rejoyn represents a significant milestone as the first prescription digital treatment for major depressive disorder, its efficacy and suitability for individuals may vary,” said Dr. Sanam Hafeez, neuropsychologist and director of Comprehend the Mind. “As with any treatment, consulting with a therapist is crucial to determine whether Rejoyn is an appropriate option and to develop a comprehensive treatment plan tailored to the individual's needs.”
Rejoyn requires a prescription, so you will have to talk to your primary care doctor, psychiatrist, or psychologist about your depression symptoms and treatment.
“During this consultation, the healthcare provider will conduct an evaluation to assess the individual's symptoms, medical history, and current treatments. Based on this evaluation, the provider will discuss various treatment options, including Rejoyn, alongside traditional therapies like medication and psychotherapy,” Hafeez said. “If Rejoyn is deemed suitable for the individual, the healthcare provider will issue a prescription for the app.”
“While it may provide tools and resources for managing symptoms, it may not address the underlying causes of depression in the same way that therapy and medication can,” Hafeez said. However, it could be a source of support between therapy sessions.
Hafeez said there are non-prescription apps that show promise in improving symptoms of depression. She shared these examples:
Headspace offers guided mindfulness and meditation exercises aimed at reducing stress and promoting emotional well-being. "Research has suggested that mindfulness-based interventions can be effective in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety," Hafeez said.
Woebot is a chatbot-based app that delivers CBT techniques through conversational interactions. "Research has found that Woebot can be effective in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, particularly among younger users," Hafeez said.
Happify offers activities and games designed to promote happiness and well-being by targeting negative thoughts and behaviors. "While research on Happify specifically is limited, interventions focused on positive psychology principles have shown promise in improving mood and psychological well-being," Hafeez said.
While the number of digital tools available for tending your mental health are growing, don’t ditch therapy and meds yet.
“It's important to note that while these apps have shown effectiveness in research studies, they are not intended to replace professional treatment for depression,” Hafeez said. “Individuals experiencing depression should consult with a healthcare provider to determine the most appropriate treatment options for their needs. Additionally, ongoing research is needed to further evaluate the efficacy and long-term effects of digital interventions for depression.”
WD-40 is designed to prevent rusting by displacing the water in cracks and crevices in metal (that's what the "WD" stands for). It is also a versatile lubricant, and can even be used as a solvent—but there are some places you should never spray it.
WD-40 doesn’t have the same viscosity as traditional grease or oil, and it can erode certain finishes, and it can cause problems when used as a substitute. Though it's tempting to think it is a good idea everywhere you need to cut down on friction, here are some places you should definitely never use WD-40.
If you’re trying to lubricate a hinge on a pair of sunglasses or remove a price tag from the surface of a plastic container, you might be tempted to reach for the can of WD-40...but you should never use it on a clear plastic surface or on polystyrene or polycarbonate plastic.
Commonly labeled #6, products that contain styrene include things like toys, disposable cups and cutlery, and appliances like smoke detectors. Polycarbonate, known as #7, can be found in kitchen appliances like refrigerators, clear packaging, plastic lenses, and safety gear. Because of the chemical makeup of WD-40, it can cause damage to these plastics and ruin things like sunglasses with plastic lenses. If you’re in doubt, it’s better to avoid using WD-40 on plastic.
WD-40 can dissolve wax finishes. If you’re using WD-40 to clean, you should keep it clear of wood floors and furniture. Since wax creates a water resistant barrier that protects woodwork from water damage, it’s better to leave the wax where it is. Also, because WD-40 can seep into the grain of unfinished wood, it’s generally not a good idea to use it on any wood surface, not just waxed ones.
Because WD-40 is good for lots of cleaning tasks, you might be tempted to try it on stone tile or countertops. But natural stone is porous, and you shouldn’t use WD-40 to clean it—WD-40 can soak into the surface of the stone and stain it. Also, many stone surfaces are treated with wax polish, and WD-40 can dissolve wax finishes.
Some appliance companies recommend using WD-40 to clean stainless steel, but you should never use WD-40 on surfaces that will be in contact with food. While a streak-free shine is a powerful motivator, WD-40 obviously shouldn’t be consumed. and while incidental contact with food isn’t a big deal, surfaces where food is in frequent or prolonged contact should never have WD-40 on them.
You should never use WD-40 on electronics, which can react with some plastics as well as attract dust and other particles. Getting WD-40 on your smart phone or laptop can not only damage the screen, it can ruin the buttons or make its way into the internal components. It’s best to use a cleaner specially formulated for electronics.
Although WD-40 is sometimes used as a stand-in lubricant, it's not a good substitute for bike-specific lubricant. It doesn't have the right viscosity to be used as a chain lubricant and it can allow dirt and fibers to stick to it over time. While you can use WD-40 to clean your bike chain, it's not a good idea to use it as a lubricant, and if you do decide to use it to clean your chain, you should reapply your regular chain grease afterwards.
This should be obvious, but unfortunately requires saying: In spite of persistent claims to the contrary, WD-40 will not help relieve arthritis pain or creaky, stiff joints. While there are plenty of ways that WD-40 can help lubricate things, your joints will not respond to it the same way as a stuck bolt. Human bodies definitely don’t use the same lubricant as engine parts, and medical professionals recommend against using WD-40 to treat any type of medical condition.
You can get this Ride KAC bicycle storage stand on sale for $25.99 right now (reg. $69.99) with free shipping. It’s ready to use right out of the box, folding open so you can set it out on the trailside or floor of your home or garage. Then you just roll your bike onto the stand. The Ride KAC storage stand doesn't use much space (it measures 17 inches), only weighs six pounds, and works with most bike tires, including 650-700c road and gravel bikes, 26-29-inch mountain bikes, and 20-24-inch kids’ bikes.
You can get this Ride KAC bicycle storage stand on sale for $25.99 right now (reg. $69.99) with free shipping, though prices can change at any time.
The housing market has seemed nearly impossible to break into in recent years if you don't already have home equity, significant savings, or an inheritance you can tap, as there simply may not be money to set aside for a reasonable downpayment while also paying a small fortune in rent. Low supply, high demand, steep price increases, and competition certainly don't make it easier.
That said, first-time homebuyers are slowly clawing their way in—they made up nearly half of all buyers last year, up from 37% in 2021. A new report from Zillow lists the 10 best markets for those looking for a starter home, so if you're a motivated first-time buyer, you may want to consider moving to one of these cities.
Zillow used four factors to determine which markets made the list:
Rent affordability (share of median household income spent on rent)
Share of available Zillow inventory that a median household would spend no more than 30% of income on monthly mortgage cost
Ratio of affordable for-sale homes to renter households
Share of households ages 29–43
The logic is that more affordable rent equals less time saving for a downpayment for a more affordable home, and more inventory means more choices, so you don't just have to take whatever you can get.
All of the cities included are sizable metropolitan areas. St. Louis took the top spot, where affordable listings make up 67% of the homes for sale, and the median household income spent on rent is just 20%. (All of the cities on the list are between 20% and 23%.)
A surprising market to find here is Austin, Texas, which comes in at number five. Affordable listings in Austin make up a measly 23% (compared to nearly 50% or more in all other markets included) but the rent spend is only 20%, and 34% of households are of home-buying age.
St. Louis
Detroit
Minneapolis
Indianapolis
Austin, Texas
Pittsburg
San Antonio
Birmingham, Ala.
Kansas City, Mo.
Baltimore
When you're self-employed, saving for retirement is entirely up to you—there's no employer-sponsored 401(k) plan you can rely on. This can make planning for retirement more challenging, but there are several retirement account options available specifically for the self-employed. You'll still want to take full advantage of tax-advantaged retirement accounts—these allow your money to grow tax-deferred until retirement age, when you'll likely be in a lower tax bracket.
The Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA is one of the simplest small business retirement plans to establish and maintain. With a SEP IRA, the employer can make substantial contributions for themselves and any eligible employees. There is little administrative work required, and no special tax filing is needed. Employers have flexibility to vary the contribution amounts from year to year, skip years, or make contributions one year and never again.
The plan allows you to contribute up to 25% of your net self-employment earnings each year, with a maximum contribution of $69,000 for 2024 (up from $66,000 in 2023). SEP IRAs are easy to open at most financial institutions and have low fees and administrative costs.
Now, if you're self-employed and haven't heard of a SEP IRA, it's probably because they're most advantageous for someone who employs others along with themself. With a SEP IRA, the contributions are not funded by the employees (like how a 401(k) works). Instead, a SEP IRA is funded by the employer. What's more, employers who contribute to their own account must make contributions to eligible employee accounts.
The Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRA works well if you have employees, as it allows them to contribute as well. The IRS describes it as ideally suited as a "start-up retirement savings plan" for small employers not currently sponsoring a retirement plan. If you're running a small business with fewer than 100 employees, the lower startup costs and ease of setup are why you might opt for a SIMPLE IRA over a 401(k).
If you run a business with no employees, a solo 401(k) might be the move for you. As the employer and (your own) employee, you’re allowed to contribute $69,000 in 2024, or $76,500 for those ages 50 and above. Compared to the options above, a solo 401(k) requires some higher administrative work upfront, but brings you much higher contribution limits.
Now, back to basics. Most self-employed individuals investing in their retirement will opt for a Roth or Traditional IRA. While contribution limits are lower than SEP IRAs and solo 401(k)s, an IRA is the go-to personal retirement account you open yourself.
There are two main types of IRAs: Traditional and Roth. In the simplest terms, with Roth IRAs, you pay taxes on your savings now. With traditional IRAs, you pay taxes later. We’ve written about the differences in more detail here, and I generally lean pro-Roth over traditional.
There is no limit to the number of traditional individual retirement accounts, or IRAs, you can establish. However, if you establish multiple IRAs, you cannot contribute more than the contribution limits across all your accounts in a given year. The limit on annual contributions to an IRA will be $7,000 in 2024, up from $6,500 in 2023. You can and should max out those limits, if possible.
If you or your spouse aren’t receiving taxable income, one of you might consider setting up a spousal IRA. This way, you don’t have to miss out on tax-deferred growth and retirement assets in your name just because you aren’t in the traditional workforce.
Whatever your employment status, here's my guide to all the different retirement accounts you can take advantage of. And whichever account is right for you, the key is to start saving early and contribute consistently each year. Maximize your contributions when possible and invest appropriately for growth over the long-term. With disciplined saving over many years, those contributions can potentially grow into a sizable sum.
Additionally, review your retirement needs periodically and make adjustments to your savings rate if necessary. The earlier you start saving for retirement when self-employed, the better positioned you'll be down the road.
This week America witnessed a total solar eclipse. While most of us were like, “that’s kind of cool I guess,” some Americans were expecting something more than just the moon blotting out the sun and day turning into night—people wanted action. So in the days leading up to the solar eclipse, those folks frantically spread eclipse predictions to all their friends on social media. Now that the dust has settled, let’s take a look at whether their predictions came true, and examine other common eclipse-related myths, both old and new.
The ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh in Upper Mesopotamia was described as a place of wickedness in the Bible's Book of Jonah, so some Christians thought that the eclipse passing through all seven (or five) places in the U.S. with that name means that God is up to something, I guess? It’s hard to tell.
Depending on what sources you consult and what you mean by “places called Nineveh,” there are either nine, seven, or six of them in the U.S. They’re mostly very small rural communities—the largest Nineveh has a population of 3,987—and they don’t seem especially wicked (but I’ve never visited, so who knows). Only two Ninevehs were actually in the path of totality anyway. Did the people who live in those two townships repent and follow God like the Nineveh citizens did in the Bible when Jonah showed up to yell at them? It doesn’t seem like it.
Verdict: Busted
This one is technically true, but not in the way some people think. There have been seven total solar eclipses in the U.S. since we started keeping accurate records of stock prices, and the markets dipped slightly after five of them. But this is not a large enough sample size to draw any meaningful conclusion. That said, it makes sense that an eclipse would have some effect on the economy—more people travel and buy paper sunglasses, everyone stops working for an hour, and feels some kind of way about the sun being swallowed, etc.—but it’s not possible to say how it affects the Dow Jones because there are too many other variables.
Verdict: Not enough information
Understandably, responsible people with platforms bang the “don’t look directly at an eclipse, you impossible idiots!” drum pretty hard in the days leading up to an eclipse. It doesn't seem to work that well—searches for "why do my eyes hurt" spiked after the eclipse—and it may also lead to the belief that there is something especially harmful and blinding about eclipse rays. There isn’t. It’s just sunlight. But staring at the sun for too long will damage your eyes, whether there's an eclipse or not.
The competing conspiracy theory: “It’s actually OK to stare at an eclipse, but THEY are trying to hide something from you” is also untrue. I think it’s mostly a joke, but I can’t really tell any more.
Verdict: Partially true
Many variations on these theories come from comments generated on a lazy Alex Jones shitpost on X. There’s a tiny speck of truth in this one: some states did mobilize national guard and FEMA units during the eclipse, but it’s because a lot of tourists were expected or it was for traffic control. The same thing happened in 2017 too. As far as I can tell, there were no mass round-ups of patriots conducted under the moon's shadow.
Verdict: Busted
As described in the Book of Revelation, The Rapture will come in the final days of man, when believers, both living and dead, will ascend into heaven. This actually happened on Monday! The good people flew into the sky with all the angels and skeletons, and everyone went to heaven and met God. It was pretty cool. I’m surprised you’re still on Earth.
Verdict: Confirmed
This golden oldie comes from the poet Archilochus who wrote those words in the seventh century B.C.E. after seeing an eclipse on a Greek island. Eclipses are an interaction between the moon, the Earth, and the sun, not Zeus’s shield, but dark terror really does hang over mankind, and anything may happen. So Archilochus gets partial credit here.
“Anything may happen” is similar to modern radical Christians seeing the eclipse as a sign of man’s final days, and to countless other variations on the theme from other cultures. It's common to see eclipses as bad omens foretelling terrible future events. I guess a lot of people are downers. You can’t really say they’re wrong though, because terrible events are definitely on the way, as they always have been. But you can’t draw any meaningful correlation between eclipses and catastrophes either. It’s more realistic to say that bad shit always happens eventually, and eclipses happen sometimes too.
Verdict: Mixed
Many gardeners like to use raised beds to grow their bounty—they create a lovely border, limit weeds, and are easier on your back—but they can also be quite costly to fill, especially if they’re more than a foot high. You don’t need to buy several bags of soil to get good quality, nutrient-rich material for your seedlings, though. Follow these tips to get cheap (and sometimes free) fill for your raised beds.
A good place to start if you’re looking for free or cheap soil is your local municipal waste disposal. If your community has a composting program, you might be able to get compost for free or at a deep discount. You’ll need to mix your municipal compost with coconut coir ($9.99/1.4 pound brick) or peat ($23.98/3 cubic feet), as well as some vermiculite ($16.34/8 quart bag) to get a good consistency and absorbency for growing plants.
While you’re there, keep an eye out for mulch from tree branches and garden-quality straw to lay at the bottom of your raised bed, underneath the soil.
To get free mulch for lining raised beds or for use to control moisture and weeds on the surface of raised beds, you can use wood chip mulch. Wood chips and scraps are also great for growing mushrooms. There’s a free service available in many areas called chip drop, where you can request wood chips, logs, or pieces from trees removed by local arborists and tree care companies.
It’s the same quality as the bagged stuff at the hardware store, but if you can haul soil in bulk from your local garden store, you’ll save a lot. Just be sure to use only garden grade soil for filling raised beds—using unmixed topsoil can starve your plants of nutrients, and using soil that contains weed seeds or invasive funguses will make for extra work for you in the future. You can often find bulk grade steer manure compost ($2.47/cubic foot) from hardware stores or garden centers for cheaper than other types of garden soil.
Hugelkultur is a gardening technique that originated in Germany. The idea is to fill the lower parts of your raised bed with organic material you can get for free: Tree limbs and branches, mulch, and even tape and plastic-free cardboard can be used along the lower layers of your raised bed to minimize the amount of soil you’ll need. Begin with the largest chunks of material and work down to smaller bits. Mulch and other tiny pieces should go toward the top, underneath your soil. You need about 8 inches of soil to plant your garden, so you can fill the first foot—or even two feet—of your taller raised beds with other organic material, saving you several cubic yards of soil.
Another way of getting free material for raised garden beds is through neighborhood gardening forums. Sometimes people are willing to give away unused soil, mulch from fallen tree limbs, or community-run compost. By connecting with other gardeners in your area, you might find some materials for free or get information about local deals.
Be sure to use materials that won’t import fungus or pests into your garden soil, though, and make sure to check any free soil you get for weed seeds. If there are a lot of seeds, you might rather pay for soil that doesn’t have seeds—unless you enjoy weeding, that is.
Your cell phone is often as much of a tool as your impact driver if you use it for keeping notes, playing music, or looking up specs, but if you're like me, you tend to go through charging cables and Bluetooth devices at a rapid pace. The new line of DeWalt cell phone accessories has a tougher design and construction to stand up to some abuse while also being convenient for use around tools. Here are a few of their products and how they stand up to a day in the shop.
DeWalt has a few chargers that are designed to adapt a DeWalt battery for use as a phone charger. The most practical kit they offer is the battery/USB charging kit that comes with an adapter that fits all 20 volt MAX and FlexVolt DeWalt Batteries and can charge the battery from a standard outlet as well as allow the battery to be used as a charger for cellphones and other devices. Because the adapter works with any device that can be charged using a USB cable and also allows the battery to be charged using the adapter, it’s a good deal at $65.87.
DeWalt also offers a wall charger for $32.99 that can accommodate two devices at once, including a USB-C and a USB-A port. The wall charger allows you to charge two devices at once and has a rubber coating that makes it a little tougher than your average charger, making it great for use in a shop or garage.
DeWalt makes two types of earbud-style headphones that are designed to withstand some worksite abuse. I’ve found that I tend to break headphones at an accelerated rate when I’m working in the shop not just because of the added wear and tear, but also because of exposure to sawdust and because I drop them so frequently. The neckband style wireless headphones ($49.99) are a good solution to this because the earbuds are attached to a stiff band that stays at your neckline, allowing you to remove your earbuds without dropping them. They can pair with your phone via Bluetooth, and work well as a hands-free unit for taking calls as well. The control on this system is simpler to use than on the behind-the-neck headphones ($37.99), and the neckband version is less prone to getting snagged or tangled because the neckband is stiff. Overall, the neckband style DeWalt headphones are a more durable option because there is less exposed cable to get damaged—and they’re also waterproof.
One of the new DeWalt phone accessories is their wearable speaker ($54.49) that can be clipped to your clothing or tool bag and will pair with a device via Bluetooth. This speaker can also be used as a hands-free device for calls. If you’re working on your own or in an environment where you can agree on what to listen to, a speaker can be a safer option than headphones because it allows you to keep your ears open for input. The clip-on system can be great for when you’re moving around a lot or working on a larger project because the speaker will go with you without needing to be hauled around. DeWalt also offers a larger Bluetooth speaker ($54.99) that is small enough to be hung from a tool bag and has resistance to both water and dust, making it a good choice for shop and garage use, but it doesn’t work for hands-free calling.
DeWalt makes charging cables that are a little tougher than most and have braided coating with a reinforced core to resist damage from kinks and tension. Their six foot USB-C charging cable is durable and will survive being tossed into a tool bag, tugged on, and even run over with rubber casters. There’s also a 3-in-1 multi-device retractable adapter that has the benefit of being as short or long (up to three feet) as you want it, and has the capacity to charge devices that use USB-C, micro USB, and lightning cables. The reel that it comes on keeps the cable out of the way when you’re not using it and protects the cable from damage from being dragged, run over, or stepped on.
Young-people culture is full of mysteries this week: Why would anyone drink blended oats and water instead of eating a bowl of oatmeal? Why does everyone care about some anonymous teens at a party? Is anyone on TikTok psychic?
The trendiest trend on diet-based TikTok this week is Oatzempic. Hailed by some as the key to quick weight loss and getting that bikini body you've always wanted, the oatzempic diet is basically blending some oats with water and lime juice, and drinking it for breakfast. It has a catchy, of-the-moment name, but does this diet actually help people lose weight? If you follow a plan of replacing breakfast with a disgusting oat slurry that has about 160 calories and lots of fiber, you’d be consuming fewer calories than if you eat bacon, eggs, and toast. But as our own Beth Skwarecki points out, "If you don’t eat much food because you are 'full' from eating 160 calories, you’ll end up on an unhealthily low-calorie diet." And nutritionists largely agree that oatzempic is not the kind of thing people are likely to stick to long term—you'd be better off eating a bowl of oatmeal instead of choking down an oat smoothie first thing in the morning.
This week’s viral video, TikTok Rizz Party, aka “Carnival Boys,” portrays a group of teenage boys dancing to “Carnival” by Kanye West” at “Jillian’s sweet 16,” according to the vid’s poster. Nothing unusual happens in the video. The subjects seem like nice enough kids doing a normal teenage kid thing, but Rizz Party went exceedingly viral, earning over 56 million views on TikTok alone since it was posted on March 10. It went so viral, it gave birth to the new academic discipline of Rizz Party analytics. There are over 32,000 response videos on TikTok, with online people poring over every pixel on every frame like “TikTok Rizz Party” is the Zapruder film. They’ve given each person in the video a nickname, created a backstory, character motivation, and lore, making full parodies, and letting it influence their personal philosophy, all based on 17 seconds of randomly captured video. So far, it seems that the kids in the video themselves are accepting their newfound internet fame with good humor, calling themselves by their fake names, and playing into the lore, but it has to suck for the kids that have been deemed the less-popular Rizz boys.
As for why this video, why now, it could be anything. But I think an entire generation spending literally years inside during a key formative period in their social lives has likely had a profound effect on their collective psyche, and this video (along with most of current youth culture) is an expression of it. Widespread fascination with a mundane moment of lighthearted, social fun could point to a longing to share that kind of experience, even if it’s expressed through mocking or irony. (This is the thesis for my research I hope will earn me a Ph.D. in Rizzology.)
At this weekend’s Wrestlemania XL, there was a clear generational divide moment. If you are over a certain age, the main event, a title match between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, featured the most amazing surprise appearances possible: The Rock and John Cena both showed up on opposite sides. (The match’s presentation is so hilariously over the top, it must be seen to be believed.) But if you’re under the a certain age, the only surprise appearance that mattered at Sunday’s show was YouTuber IShowSpeed, who turned up dressed as a bottle of blue Prime drink and tried to help fellow streamer Logan Paul in his match against Randy Orton and Kevin Owens. After pulling Paul out of the ring, IShowSpeed is promptly RKO’ed onto the media table by Orton. The moment immediately went viral, with half of viewers enjoying a good laugh and the other half asking, “IShow what, now?”
I’m fascinated by why people believe in dumb things, and social media gives us a chance to see how nonsense can become a widely held beliefs in real time, as it happens. There is a post going viral on TikTok right now that’s a case study in what happens during the early days of a conspiratorial belief. TikToker Tristian Galindo posted a video this week where he discusses a TikToker he remembers watching back in Covid days. According to Galindo, this “missing creator” made a series of videos where he predicted the future accurately, crediting his info to a mysterious group called “the uppers,” then disappeared, vowing to return in 2029. “I kid you not, everything this man has said so far has happened,” Galindo claims.
Even for most conspiracy theorists, that wouldn’t be enough evidence to take seriously, but there’s information in the comments that seems to corroborate Galindo’s tale. Other TikTokers not only remember the poster, but (supposedly) tracked him down. Moe Othman (“Mothman” for old-school conspiracy theory fans) really was a TikToker who stopped posting in 2022, and he did make predictions about the future, including saying that Covid would spread to major cities in the early days of the pandemic. If you want to believe, this likely is enough. But if you’re a skeptic, you might actually watch Othman’s videos and learn that he doesn’t mention anything about “the uppers” or any other specific thing Galindo "remembers." He also never made any predictions that came true (except the one about Covid spreading, which was also predicted by literally everyone who knew how viruses work. And he even got that one wrong, predicting that grocery stores would be raided, when really all that happened is we had to wear masks.)
Time will tell whether Galindo’s conspiracy theory catches on and joins heavy-hitters like "We didn't go to the moon" and "Pizzagate," but his video has been seen six million times in the last week alone, so it’s at least finding an audience. (For the record: No one can see the future because it hasn't happened yet.)
As long as you know where to place them throughout your home, fans can be an invaluable tool in fighting the heat during the summer, saving you money on cooling bills and keeping your place livable. I use fans all year round to combat the the sweltering conditions caused by my ancient radiator, which my landlord controls and under which I suffer, so I know a thing or two about the best ones. Here are some great fans to keep you cool.
If you are looking for a big, heavy-duty fan that can cool a large room, here are some solid options.
Could this be the summer you finally pull the trigger on the expensive, but effective, Dyson? Dyson's whole deal is air, whether using it to suck up dirt from the carpet or curl wet hair, so they are trustworthy when it comes to fans. A Purifier Cool Gen1 TP10 is $329 and a Cool AM07 Air Multiplier is $359.08—or you could nab a Hot+Cool AM09 Jet Focus for $424, using it to cool down in the summer and heat up in the winter. In addition to looking sleek, these things work and are convenient: Reviewers praise the magnetic remote controls that stick right to the machine, as well as the ease of cleaning.
The Vornado Silver Swan Alchemy ($179.99) is praised by the New York Times for being an "upgrade" over other fans because it is high performance, pretty quiet, and oscillating (plus it has an "attractive retro design" that makes it look cool in your home, pun intended).
Up until last week, I had this Lasko oscillating tower fan ($64.99), and it lasted me a commendable seven years. It would have lasted longer if I hadn't knocked it over so often and neglected to clean it as well as I should have, but even when the vents were full of dust, this bad boy blasted cool air far and wide. At 42 inches tall, it's a little cumbersome, so only pick it up if you have the space for it and the willingness to clean a bunch of tiny slats on the back. It's no-frills (save for a convenient remote control that enables you to change the speed and toggle on the oscillation from across the room), but it does mean business.
I replaced that Lasko with the Antarctic Star tower fan ($49.49) and am personally very happy with it. Like other models here, it has a remote control, oscillates, and has three different intensity speeds. It was easy to set up and what I really like about it is the light pink color. If aesthetics are important to you but you still want something powerful, give it a shot.
If you want something that has a wide radius, consider a Levoit tower fan ($59.97), which advertises that it can cool up to 25 feet. Reviewers have put the claim to the test, demonstrating that it actually does reach 25 feet, which is great news for anyone with a large room that needs some air circulation.
Sometimes, you just need a little fan for some direct cooling or help in a confined space. Try these.
I picked up this Conbola desk fan ($22.94) a few months ago and can't believe how much I like it. I use a small fan on my nightstand to generate white noise at night and while this is much smaller and sleeker than the behemoth I had before, it's just as powerful and just noisy enough for bedtime. What drew me to it was its pink color, of course, but what made me love it was its features: It only needs a small USB cord to function and when plugged in, it's also charging, so it can be moved around and doesn't need to be tethered to an outlet at all times.
For a simple desk fan, try the Black + Decker tabletop box fan ($14.07), which has rave reviews on Amazon from people who praise its tiny size and ability to fit on a windowsill. If you're short on space but big on heat, this might be the move for you.
Conbola, to which I have become strangely loyal after the great success of my little pink fan, also makes a bladeless desk option ($37.79) for those who want that Dyson look without the Dyson price. You get three speed options, touch controls, and the ability to charge it and move it around. The nice thing about bladeless fans is how easy they are to clean: Wipe out the inside and use a dust cloth on the vents without ever having to take it apart.
Keeping track of what you weigh is pretty important, even though there are reasonable arguments against keeping track of it too much. There are all kinds of scales out there that can help you, no matter how serious you want to get about it or how much you want to spend. Here are some great ones.
These have additional or cool features like body fat measurement—though you should probably take those figures with a grain of salt—that go beyond just telling you your weight.
I have this iHealth Nexus Smart Scale ($39.98) and love it so much I bought another one for my boyfriend. The price is accessible, but it still comes with a ton of features. It connects to your phone via Bluetooth, it assesses your weight, BMI, and even makes some estimates of things like muscle mass and bone mass. What I like about it is how easy it was to sync it with my other apps, like my health and calorie-tracking apps, and that it makes graphs that show my weight and other metrics over time.
If you're a Fitbit user, grab the Fitbit Aria Air ($49), which syncs directly with your Fitbit dashboard. It's relatively simple, only showing your weight and BMI, but really, that might be all you need. It's lightweight, "sleek," and "minimalist," according to reviewers, so it's not a bulky addition to the bathroom, either.
The Shapa scale ($120) is an innovative smart scale that shows you colors, not numbers, so you don't get too caught up monitoring your exact weight. The colors refer to your average weight over time and if you see blue on your app, you're losing weight. Teal means you're starting to lose weight, green means you're maintaining it, light gray means you're starting to gain, and dark gray means you are gaining weight. That's it. It's popular on Reddit, where users praise it for helping them get over scale anxiety.
This Renpho smart scale ($59.99) is cool because it lights up, either to remind you periodically to weigh yourself or to serve as a nightlight, depending on your preferences and needs. It's a versatile option that's great for small bathrooms.
Don't need the bells and whistles? That's fine. You can pick up an inexpensive one that just shows you your weight, easy peasy.
The basic scale I use when I'm not using my iNexus isn't available on Amazon anymore, but this HomeBuds digital scale ($14.39) is very similar: There's an easy-to-read, bright LED display and the machine turns on automatically when you step on it.
This GE digital scale ($21.59) is inexpensive, but shows you your weight and BMI.
Earthquakes can be a real bitch. These seismic catastrophes are the most deadly of all natural disasters, claiming an average of 60,000 lives per year. But if you manage to hunker down in the right place when the ground starts shaking, you might be able to save yourself.
Many/most earthquake deaths could be prevented through wider implementation of earthquake-resistant buildings—but even if you live in a shake-proof structure, there are still steps you can and should take to be as safe as possible.
The absolute safest place to be during an earthquake is probably in the middle of an open field with no trees around because the main danger from quakes is falling debris. But since you will have no advance warning of an earthquake, staying safer may involve quick thinking, wherever you happen to be.
In general, earthquake survival is based on protecting yourself from falling debris and not falling down yourself. So if you are inside when the earthquake hits, think: “drop, cover, and hold on.”
Drop: Get down on your hands and knees when you feel the first shake. This way you won’t fall, and you’ll be ready to crawl under a nearby desk or table. Don't try to run or walk for a safer area because you're likely to fall. Exception: If you are in bed, stay there. Put a pillow over your head and wait it out.
Cover: Put one hand over your neck and head, because you must, as the Wu Tang Clan taught you, Protect Ya Neck. Then crawl under a strong desk or table if one is nearby. If there isn’t one handy, crawl toward an interior wall, not an exterior wall. Exterior walls have windows and windows are not good in this situation. Stay on your hands and knees with your hand covering your neck and to protect both your skull and your vital organs.
Hold on: Hold on to your desk or table with one hand and keep the other over your neck and head. Be ready to shift with the desk or table you’re clutching onto for dear life. Think to yourself, “how long can this go on? Surely it must stop soon!” but wait until it’s really stopped to move.
If you are in a wheelchair: Lock your wheels. Cover your neck. Hold on.
Do not stand in a doorway. This once-common advice is terrible. In modern homes, doorways are no stronger than any other part of the house, and if you rush toward one, you’re likely to fall.
Do not run outside or into other rooms: Remain inside if you are inside and outside if you are outside. Generally, moving about is liable to make you fall, but it might make sense in some situations (see below) if it can be done safely.
The “find something to hide under” strategy usually doesn’t apply if you’re outside, driving, or at the beach.
Outdoors: Move to a clear area if it is safe to do so, away from power lines, trees, signs, and any other potential hazards. The most dangerous place to be is outside, next to a building, as windows and decorations can fall from the sky. Still drop, cover, and hold on, once you’re away from structures.
Driving: Pull over safely. Set your parking brake. Avoid overpasses, bridges, power lines, signs and other hazards if you can. Stay in the car until shaking stops. Then drive home slowly with your caution meter set to 9,000—there could be any number of hazards on the road after a quake.
At the beach: If you’re near the shore when a quake hits, you probably won’t need to worry about falling debris, but you may need to worry about tsunamis. When the shaking stops, head to high ground. Right away. Don’t wait for any kind of official confirmation, just go.
Realistically, there is only so much you can do when an earthquake hits, but there’s a lot you can do to prepare for one before the ground starts moving. Making sure you’re ready for the “big one” (and the less-big ones) means making a plan: preparing your home for the quake and knowing what to do when the shaking is over.
Earthquakes are more common in some geographic areas, but as the recent 'quake in the Northeast proves, even places that are generally seismically stable, with few past earthquakes, can experience an occasional trembler. So no matter where you live, you should take the time to make your home safer in the event of an earthquake.
In the United States, most earthquake-prone areas have building codes designed to prevent the structural collapses that take the most lives and cause the most injuries in earthquakes—but even if your walls and roof hold up, a house can still be deadly in a quake. The danger comes from falling or flying objects. In California’s Northridge quake in 1994, only 1 percent of injuries were caused by buildings collapsing, while 55% were caused by unsecured items in the home.
Start by looking around your home and imagining it shaking back and forth and up and down violently at a rate of several feet per second. How many things could be shaken loose that would kill you? That unsecured bookcase is a deathtrap; the heavy-ass, glass-framed painting over your couch could cut you to shreds if things get shaky.
Now take a little time—maybe do one or two thing a weekend—to secure everything. Literally everything.
Here are some specific things to think about, according to California’s Earthquake Country Alliance:
Hang plants in lightweight pots with closed hooks, well secured to a joist or stud and far away from windows.
Install strong latches on kitchen cabinets.
Use flexible connections where gas lines meet appliances.
Remove or lock refrigerator wheels, secure to studs.
Secure valuable electronics items such as computers and televisions.
Keep breakables in low or secure cabinets with latches.
Move heavy plants and other large items to floor or low shelves.
Hang mirrors and pictures and pictures on closed hooks.
Secure free-standing woodstove or fireplace insert.
Keep heavy unstable objects away from doors and exit routes.
Place bed away from windows or items that may fall.
Secure knick knacks and other small valuables with museum putty.
Brace overhead light fixtures.
Place only light weight/soft items over bed.
Secure top-heavy furniture to studs.
Secure water heater with metal straps attached to studs.
Trim hazardous tree limbs.
This is not a complete list by any means.
Once you’ve taken care of securing all the potential deadly projectiles in your home, gather these emergency items:
Store fire extinguisher (type ABC) in easily accessible location.
Keep several flashlights in easily accessible places around the house.
Keep wrench or turn-off tool in water proof wrap near gas meter.
Know the location of your main electrical switch (fuse box or circuit breaker).
Have your emergency plan accessible and discuss with all family members.
Know whether you live, work, or play in a tsunami hazard zone.
Obtain a NOAA Weather Radio with the Public Alert feature to notify you of tsunamis and other hazards.
Keep flashlight, slippers and gloves next to beds.
Keep gas tank at least half full.
Keep an emergency backpack with copies of important documents near the door to grab and go.
Store emergency food and water supplies in a dry, accessible area. Include first aid kit, extra cash, portable radio, extra batteries, medications and other necessary supplies.
Unless you are psychic, you will not have much warning that an earthquake is going to hit, but you might get a five-second or so head start if you subscribe to an earthquake warning system like California’s My Shake app. (Apple, Android) A few seconds may not seem to be much time, but it’s long enough to scramble under a heavy table, brace yourself, and say a quick prayer.
When the earth stops shaking, the danger is not necessarily over. If it was a big quake, it’s probably going to be a really bad day.
If you are trapped: If you are trapped by your collapsed home or something, protect your mouth, nose, and eyes from dust. Try to signal any way you can, whether it’s with your emergency whistle (that I’m sure you carry at all times), a cell phone call, or loud knocking. Knock three times every few minutes on a solid piece of the building so rescuers can find you.
Head to high ground if you are in a tsunami zone: Earthquakes often lead to tsunamis. Check out my guide to surviving a tsunami for detailed info on how to not be swept away by a tsunami’s water. Again, do not tarry or wait for anything. Move quickly as soon as it is safe.
Tend to the injured: If anyone in your home is hurt, perform first aid. Call for an ambulance if you need one, but don’t expect one to show up right away. They will be busy.
Fires: Fires are a huge secondary danger from earthquakes. If there’s a small fire in your home and you’re uninjured, know what you’re doing, and remember where your extinguisher is, put it out. If it’s a large fire, evacuate. Call for help, but don’t expect the fire department to show up any time soon. They’ll be busy.
Check for signs of leaking gas: You should only close the gas valve if you suspect a leak—if you see a broken pipe, smell gas, or see the meter spinning quickly, turn off the gas. If not, leave it on.
Check for damaged wiring: If there is damage to your house’s wiring, shut everything down at the main breaker.
Don’t use candles or a lighter: Use flashlights only after a quake. You could start a fire accidentally or, even worse, blow yourself up if there’s a gas leak.
Note other hazards in your home: The massive upheaval of tectonic plates is likely to rearrange your environment significantly. Take a moment, take a breath, and access the damage. There is likely to be broken glass everywhere, spilled liquids of all kinds including chemicals, broken masonry, and other terrible destruction. Don’t be dumb and hurt yourself after the quake.
Let people know you’re OK: Everyone is worried, but your cell service might go down, so make a call to someone out of the area so they can tell others you’re doing alright. Conserve your cell batteries.
Check on your neighbors: Especially if they’re older or have any disabilities. (This implies you like your neighbors, of course. If not, eff ‘em.)
Determine if your house is safe: If you’re worried that your home is unsafe, don’t chance it. FEMA is already setting up their shelters, and they’d love to see you.
Stay informed: Keep up with local radio and television reports on where to get emergency food, clothing, shelter, and first aid.
Food and water: If your power is off, eat frozen and refrigerated food first, canned food last.
Document: Take pictures of your messed up house so you can file insurance claims.
Hopefully, civil society will be restored in your community relatively quickly. When it is, make sure you post pictures of your damaged home on social media. Promise you will rebuild! Ask yourself why you even moved to San Diego in the first place. Marvel over how strangers came together to help strangers, or curse uncaring humanity for its indifference (depending on your experience). Consider all the ways your earthquake plans failed, and either vow to do better next time, or decide that you are too small to fight fate, and that the Great Earthquake of Death will claim you no matter how many battery-powered radios you own. Hopefully, your earthquake trauma will fade and become a funny story you can tell at a bar. Until the next one hits.
If you want to upgrade your outdoor space, you can get a prefab pergola shipped right to your door and assemble it yourself. These kits are convenient and can save time and stress if you want to add some shade to your yard. But there are some potential pitfalls if you’re tackling this type of improvement for the first time, so here’s what you need to know before you buy a pergola from Amazon.
There are lots of styles of pergola to choose from, including wooden and aluminum types. In addition to materials, your pergola can come with a roof, a sunshade, or a trellis top for climbing vines. You can also choose between a freestanding pergola or one that attaches to the side of your house. If you choose a pergola that adjoins a house or other structure, make sure the existing structure can hold the extra weight before choosing one.
In order to make sure your pergola will fit in the space you have, you should measure the open space first, then look at the manufacturer specifications for the widest measurement of the pergola. In most cases, the roof of your pergola is the widest part, so make sure the roof fits within your intended footprint. You will also need to measure to place the footings for your structure, making sure you have space to position your pergola in your desired orientation.
In some cases, local ordinances prevent structures from being built within a certain number of feet from a property line or adjacent structure. There might also be rules about how tall an outdoor structure can be without requiring a permit, or the total area that a structure can cover before needing a permit. Check with your local town hall or municipal permitting office before you choose your pergola to avoid a hassle or potential fines down the road.
Installing a pergola requires footings to hold the posts that support the roof. Your kit will likely come with footings, but you’ll need the proper tools to dig a hole to anchor them. Check what type of footings your kit has to help you determine what tools you’ll need. Always remember to dial 811 before you dig to avoid costly and dangerous incidents with utility lines.
If your pergola is supported by the wall of another structure on one side, you’ll need to attach it to the second floor rim joist for it to be structurally sound. The rim joist is a horizontal board that holds the floor joists for the second floor. In most cases, your pergola kit will come with hardware to attach it, but make sure that the screws that come from the manufacturer are long enough and sturdy enough to attach your brackets to the rim joist. Since this is a project that involves some knowledge of framing, it might not be a beginner DIY job.
If your pergola has a roof, you should make sure that either the roof is retractable or that your footings and hardware are designed to withstand wind gusts. If you have a wooden pergola, you can add hurricane brackets or hurricane ties to reinforce the connections between your roof beams and cross members. With a welded metal framed pergola, it will usually be rated to withstand wind of up to 130 miles per hour.
Every year, the federal government spends an estimated $3 billion of your tax dollars on the Central Intelligence Agency. Other than the supposed protection a sophisticated international clandestine espionage network provides the nation's citizens, what do we actually get for our share of CIA budget? Nothing!
In the interest of getting something for my taxes, and because I think espionage is kind of cool, I asked former CIA agent Jason Hanson to reveal the best life hacks his CIA training could provide.
According to his biography, Hanson spent seven years in the CIA as an agent with a top secret security clearance. After retiring from the agency in 2005, he started the Tactical Spy School in Utah, got $150k in funding on Shark Tank, and wrote some best-selling books (Spy Secrets That Can Save Your Life, and Agent of Influence: How to Use Spy Skills to Persuade Anyone, Sell Anything, and Build a Successful Business), all in order to “help good, honest Americans stay safer and be more prepared in the crazy and unpredictable world that we live in.”
While Hanson teaches his Spy School students to drive defensively, escape from duct tape and handcuffs, and other cool-in-the-movies tricks, his most important piece of personal safety advice is so practical your mom probably said it to you: Stop looking at your phone all the time.
“You should be paying attention to your surroundings,” Hanson said, “Twenty or 25 years ago, we were walking around actually looking [where we were] walking. That's how we need to be. I use a flip phone, and I've never sent a text message in my life.”
Once you've switched off your phone, look around to get a feel for your location. Hanson isn't advising adopting the hyper-vigilant lifestyle of spies in war zones—just basic situational awareness. “Everything has a baseline,” Hanson explained, "If you walk into a Starbucks every day, you know the baseline of Starbucks.”
So spend a moment taking the metaphorical temperature of any new situation you’re in; If something feels off, or out of place, trust your instincts and either proceed with caution or retreat.
“One time I was almost kidnapped," Hanson said. "I'm out in the morning in a place I can't name and I saw two guys coming in my direction. They didn't match the baseline; they didn't dress like everybody else there; they basically stuck out like a sore thumb. They look at me. I look at them. And these two guys look at each other and step apart, trying to force me to go and between them. Well, as soon as I saw that, I turned the other way and took off running. If I had had my head buried in the phone, I would have walked directly into those two guys.”
Like anyone who has any practical experience with real violence, Hanson advises avoiding or running from danger instead of whipping out the ninja moves you learned in that Aikido class at the Y. “Listen, you do not want to be in a fight,” Hanson said. ”Fighting is a last resort. If you see that creeper ahead, you go in the other direction and avoid [them]."
Hanson says that his personal daily carry includes a firearm, but dude lives in Utah where you can do that, and he's in the self-defense racket. If you can’t or won’t carry a gun, Hanson recommends a tactical pen. “I carry one every single day, it's a regular writing pen. But it's made of a much harder metal. So I can smash windows out, I can break things, and you can carry this all over the world. It's perfectly legal.”
Personal safety is one thing, but the CIA’s knowledge can help you professionally, too. “Somebody I've worked with has a great saying: CIA officers are the world's best salespeople. The only difference is, you sell vacuums, and we sell treason," Hanson said.
Hanson's supposedly CIA-approved advice for getting ahead at work isn’t that far from his advice for maintaining personal safety: “Shut up, observe, and pay attention to what's going on,” he said. “Observing and paying attention to your colleagues, which is spying one-on-one, it's super easy to do. Julie over there loves Diet Coke, and one day, you bring her a Diet Coke. Phil loves baseball, so you bring him a Red Sox cap for his birthday. That allows you to get to know your colleagues for real, but it's also putting a good foot forward. So you hopefully get ahead in the place where most people don't pay attention to anything because they're only caring about themselves.”
You don't need a polygraph machine to suss out dishonesty, whether in a work or relationship sense. Hanson has an easy-to-use, presumably CIA-developed technique to turn yourself into a human lie detector. The key, according to Hanson, is to determine the baseline for how your subject responds to easy questions, then spring a hard, confrontational question at them. If you’re interviewing a potential candidate for job, you might ask a few general questions and then fix a steely look on them and say, “When was the last time you stole something?”
"Ask somebody a question and pay attention to the first three to five seconds of the response,” Hanson advised. "As human beings, we’re just not born to lie ... If I’m being honest, I don't even really have to think about the answer, because I'm telling the truth. But if I'm lying to you, I may be like, ‘can you repeat the question?’ Or I may start stammering or freeze up because I'm trying to buy time for my brain to come up with a lie.”
If you’ve been thinking, “Steve, how do you even know this guy was in the CIA?” I had the same concern. He looks the part, and talks a good game, but he could be a fake. The CIA doesn’t readily give up information on its members—I couldn’t call them for verification—so I used Hanson’s own CIA techniques against him. After establishing his baseline behavior by asking easy-to-answer questions and carefully observing him, I turned things around and hit him with: “Are you lying about being in the CIA?”
Sadly, he didn’t prove that I am actually the master interrogator by freezing up and starting to stammer. Instead, Hanson told me it was a good question, and acknowledged that fact-checking his background would be difficult. But he suggested one method for telling a CIA guy from a fraud would be getting someone who you know is in the CIA and setting up a three-way conversation so the real company man could quickly suss out the impostor.
If you're hoping that secret agents will visit you in the middle of the night because they've been monitoring how successful you've been at Call of Duty, that's not how it works. Most people get into the CIA by applying on the website. Make sure you have a clean background, though—criminal charges, recent use of marijuana, and any use of harder drugs will disqualify you.
April 2 was International Fact-Checking Day, a “global initiative recognizing accurate information’s important role in an interconnected world.” (In my family, we celebrate by leaving each other gifts under the fact-checking tree, but we do not suggest they came from some mythical Arctic elf.)
The fact-checking and media-ethics kingpins at Poynter are behind the initiative, and they mark the occasion by releasing an annual State of the Fact-Checkers Report, a survey of 137 organizations across at least 69 countries that are devoted to making sure that the media is accurate. Good luck, fellas!
Below are some of the most interesting findings from the 2023 State of the Fact-Checkers report.
In 2023, 35% of fact-checking organizations that responded to the survey said they operate with budgets between $100,000 and $500,000. Only about 12% have budgets of more than $1 million annually; about 10% operate on $20,000 a year or less. Sixty-eight percent of fact-checking organizations have 10 or fewer employees.
Conclusion: If you are hoping to get rich in the fact-checking game, you might want to consider a career in international finance.
The predominant source of that sweet fact-checking lucre is Mark Zuckerberg, or, more accurately, Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program. More than 63% of surveyed fact-checkers participate in Meta’s program. Another revenue source: grants. Unsurprisingly, “funding” is listed as the biggest challenge by 83% of fact-checking organizations.
Despite being the world’s most popular social media platform, very few members of the International Fact-Checking Network have partnered with TikTok, as only just over 14% participate in TikTok’s third-party fact-checking program.
The report doesn’t delve into why fact-checkers surveyed prefer Meta’s fact-checking program to TikTok's. But that’s probably only because they don’t want to reveal that an international cabal of globalist reverse-vampires are pulling the strings at Poytner’s fact-checking racket in order to shape the narrative and make sure that Joe “Obama” Biden wins the 2024 election. Check those facts, assholes!
(If you are interested in busting TikTok myths, check out Lifehacker Senior Health Editor Beth Skwarecki's "TikTok Myth of the Week" column.)
More than 95% of fact-checking organizations surveyed cover “election and politics” and “public health.” The exact percentage of fact-checkers who cover “weird things your aunt posts on Facebook” (like I do in this column), is unknown, but 29.93% of fact-checkers do say they cover “other.”
No surprise, but when it comes to hotbeds of weaponized misinformation, fact-checkers are most concerned about Twitter/X, with 36.50% listing Elon Musk’s digital garbage dump at the top of the disinformation charts. Next is TikTok, with 21.17% concerned, then YouTube, drawing raised eyebrows from 13.14%. Fact-checkers are least concerned about Instagram—or at least, less than 1% named it as the platform that concerns them the most. Lie away, Instagrammers.
I know members of the International Fact-Checking Network aren’t the only fact-checkers in the world—there are in-house fact-checkers at many major publications, and let's not discount the efforts of wildcat fact-checkers like me and CallofDutyRulez4206969 on Reddit. But it’s hard to not see the entire collection of fact-checkers as a tiny gaggle of barely-paid cranks, probably with bad haircuts, facing off against a massive network of shady politicians, crooked media sources, and amoral corporations that don’t care about the truth at all, so long as telling a lie is more profitable.
Still, there is cause for hope: According to a study in Nature Human Behavior, there was a huge drop-off of Americans visiting fake news websites in 2020 versus 2016. Some 44% of Americans surveyed reported visiting questionable websites during the 2016 U.S. election cycle, compared to 26.2% in 2020. Other research concludes that, “shifting attention to the concept of accuracy” results in people sharing less misinformation on social media.
So keep plugging away at them facts, fellow enjoyers-of-accuracy. You may be earning a pittance, and you may have to beg Mark Zuckerberg to get even that, but at least you can be content that you are correct on the internet. Isn’t that more important than money? (Fact check: It is not.)
The big pop culture news this week for young people is the release of Beyoncé’s newest album, which is also the biggest news in pop culture for older generations. Cowboy Carter is a rare piece of pop culture that is on everyone’s radar, so I thought I’d try to figure out why this one singer can pull off what no one else is able to. There’s also a new, gross word to learn, and we can all marvel at the ingenuity of young people when they try to skirt online rules against sexy content.
Late last week, Beyoncé released her eight studio album, a country-inspired collection called Cowboy Carter. The singer/songwriter/icon is 42 years old, a late Millennial, but she’s not dismissed by young people. If you judge by online response to Cowboy Carter, The Queen transcends generational divides as thoroughly as she transcended musical divides by taking over country music. There’s a TikTok dance trend, with vids like these gaining millions of views, and Gen Z is even getting into country music, with diehard, not-country young people agreeing with critics that the single “Texas Hold ‘em” is a banger and the album is killer. It's not just the first single; the internet has become obsessed with her new take on Dolly Parton’s “Jolene," too. For cultural comparison, Beyoncé is like mid-career Madonna, but more so. She’s an icon who's still relevant, and if there’s any importance at all to popular culture, the release of Cowboy Carter feels like a page being turned: Other than the usual grousing dipshits, everyone of every age, race, and creed, is into Beyoncé’s new album. I even like it, and I hate everything.
Streaming service Twitch, known mostly for streaming gaming content, has been engaged in a cat-and-mouse war with some of its users for years. At issue: Twitch’s policy toward risqué content on streams. The latest salvo in the battle: Twitch has banned users from streaming content on their butts.
About two weeks ago, innovative Twitch streamer/cosplayer Morgpie skirted Twitch’s content policy against nudity by using a greenscreen to display gameplay footage on her hinder. This weekend, Twitch responded by announcing: “Starting on Friday March 29th, content that focuses on intimate body parts for a prolonged period of time will not be allowed.”
This isn’t the first time that Morgpie inspired Twitch to change its content policy. Back in 2023, she started appearing in streams topless, but framed so that users couldn’t quite see the forbidden parts of her breasts. Morgpie was temporarily banned, and Twitch updated its policy on sexual content.
This led to streamers using censor bars, something called "Show hole meta." Even earlier than that, back in 2021, Twitch cracked down on Hot Tub streams, while acknowledging how difficult it is to decide whether sexy content is too sexy.
Like “Looksmaxxing,” “bone smashing,” and “mewing,” jelqing comes from the moldy and disturbing world of incel culture. Put simply, it’s penis-stretching. Jelqers either pull their junk manually or use devices to do the stretching—this isn’t a medically approved procedure, so there’s no set of best practices. The idea is that the trauma creates micro-tears in the skin and the penis grows back bigger. As for whether it works or not, the smart money is on “fuck no.” There are anecdotal reports online of jelqers who say it works, but sometimes people lie online. I can’t find any reliable data on the effectiveness of the procedure, and urologists point out that it can lead to the formation of scar tissue, pain, erectile disfunction and and Peyronie's Disease.
SiegedSec, a group of self-proclaimed gay furries, claim that they breached the security of the River Valley Church in Burnsville, Minnesota. On a recent Telegram post, SiegedSec accused a church pastor of making anti-trans statements, posted links to church members’ emailed prayer requests, and used the church’s funds to send them 100 inflatable sea lions.
“We hacked their accounts and spent thousands of dollars on inflatable sea lions (we couldn’t donate it), and we have leaked 15k+ user data :3,” the hackers posted.
River Valley’s head god-botherer, Rob Ketterling, is active on Twitter, spreading the weird idea that Joe Biden declared Easter Sunday a transgender holiday. I hope he enjoys his inflatable sea lions.
This week’s viral video is the fourth installment of the Duck Song, an animated video for kids that was viewed nearly two million times in its first week of release. The Duck Song is a generational dividing line. If you're under a certain age, you've seen it. If you're over that age (and childless) you haven't.
YouTuber forrestfire101 released the first Duck Song video 15 years ago, and it’s been viewed 625 million times since. It’s impossible to explain exactly why. It’s amusing enough as a story/joke, the song is catchy enough, and the crude animation is cute, but that can be said for uncountable millions of videos aimed at children that are posted on YouTube. For some reason, The Duck Song captured the imagination of children and YouTube’s algorithm to the point of being a universally recognizable thing for a generation.
Duck Song’s creator wisely opted to limit the release of new installments instead of flooding the zone with Duck crap when it was first released, thus avoiding turning it into a flash in the pan. They also didn’t try to expand, change, broaden, or otherwise tamper with the original video’s simplicity. So the Duck Song videos became a universally recognized thing to at least two generations—fans of the original Duck Song have children of their own now, and are no doubt sharing it with them before they waddle away.
If you’ve got a desk, you’d probably benefit from equipping it with a lamp—the lights from your computer screen can feel harsh in the dark, after all. But the best one for you to choose will depend on your specific needs and the features you’ll benefit most from, whether you need charging ports, mobility, or something with a small footprint. Here are several options to check out—all for less than $40.
I have this Jostic LED lamp ($27.02) and personally love it. It has a wireless charging pad for my phone, 10 brightness settings, five color modes, and a USB port, so I can make it bright and white to focus during work and dim and yellow to relax at night, all while it charges my phone and powers my desk fan through the USB port.
A Gondsily LED lamp with a USB charging port and holders for your pens and pencils ($23.99) is a cost-effective way to keep all of your materials organized, especially if you do a lot of work on real-deal paper.
A Wanjiaone lamp ($35.99) has the same features as the one above, plus a few extra for just $12 more: A clock face, calendar, and nightlight are built in, making it perfect for staying on track without having to look at your phone (and get distracted).
A Mubarek lamp ($20.91) is the opposite: If you want to keep an eye on your phone, it has a holder built right in, plus it comes with the USB port and holders for other tools.
Instead of sending light down on your workspace from off to the side, the KableRika desk lamp ($24.99) sits behind and well above your computer or materials, casting light more evenly.
Try a wearable lamp, like this one from Glocusent ($18.99) if you like to read in bed or work from different locations around the house. It sits around your neck like a reverse necklace, casting light in front of you and slightly downward.
If you're looking for something cute, try this Aluocyi lamp ($23.99) that features a heart-shaped mirror at the base, plus a pen holder and a USB charging port. Lamps don't have to be boring or ugly.
Another portable and even more economical option is the Woputne desk clip on lamp ($9.99), which can be used on a desk, a headboard, a table, or wherever else you need it—and it has 10 brightness modes, so you won’t keep anyone up with the light, wherever you are.
Americans love our stuff. We love our stuff so much we’re willing to rent small rooms far away from our homes just to store all the stuff that won’t fit anywhere else—about 20% of the U.S. is paying for a storage unit. Most of those people are using their storage units exactly as intended—they’ve packed them with furniture, boxes of stuff, and even larger items like vehicles or appliances.
But a storage unit can be much more than just a place to dump all that junk you can’t squeeze into your tiny dwelling. In fact, a storage unit can be the ideal place to do a lot of other things. They’re secure, climate-controlled, and relatively private. Not to mention cheap: They cost an average of $185 per month. As long as you familiarize yourself with your local laws and read your rental agreement carefully, a storage unit can be a cost-effective place to do a lot more than store things.
First things first: There are a lot of laws covering storage units and what they can and can’t be used for. These will vary from area to area, but there are a few constants. For one, you absolutely, positively cannot live in a storage unit—so don’t imagine you can throw down a rug and a futon and crash there every night. You also can’t use a storage unit as an office in the sense of literally running a business out of it (although you can use it for a business, as we’ll see).
And if you read a storage facility’s agreement, you’re also probably prohibited from storing food or animals in there. There may be a lot of other restrictions, so if you’re contemplating a storage unit as anything but a dumping ground, you should read the rental agreement carefully—violating it could get you evicted.
If you’d rather not go to a gym every month and get sweaty in front of total strangers, or if you have a bunch of great exercise equipment you can’t fit comfortably in your current home, a storage unit can be a terrific place to set up a small personal gym. It gets all that equipment out of the house and gives you a quiet, private space to work out.
Not every storage facility will allow this—local zoning laws may prohibit it. But a lot of facilities won’t object as long as you’re not staying there overnight or trying to store gym snacks in there. Your best bet is to speak directly to the facility’s management before renting the unit to make sure it’s legal and that they have no objection.
You can’t run a business out of a storage unit in the sense of sitting at a desk and listing the unit’s address as your business address. But you can use that storage unit as a place to get stuff done. Whether as space where you conduct phone calls or video meetings in perfect privacy (as opposed to sitting in a coffee shop with your laptop balanced on your knees while you scream over the crowd) or just a place where you bring your laptop every day to work in peace (most storage facilities offer complimentary wifi), a storage unit can help you present a calm, professional face to existing or potential customers and clients.
Another way a storage unit can help your business is by using it as a warehouse. As long as the stuff you’re storing there doesn’t violate your rental agreement (if you need to store food products in there, this won’t work) you can avoid having your inventory piled up in your house. This is ideal for folks who sell stuff through Amazon or eBay, Etsy, or other online portals, but any business can benefit from having a place to store spare parts or supplies.
A storage unit is also a great place to store your business’s documents and unused equipment. If it’s a seasonal business like landscaping, for example, a storage unit might be a cheap and safe way to mothball your lawn equipment during the winter months.
Storage units are just boxes of empty space. Within legal limits, you can really use that space in any way you like—as long as the rental agreement allows it. One great way to use one is as an art or music studio or rehearsal space.
You’ll need to check with the facility to ensure there are no objections, but a storage unit can be an ideal place to paint, sculpt, dance, or practice (or even record) music in a private, secure, climate-controlled area for less than $200 a month. You could also use your storage unit as a workshop—even a mechanical workshop where you work on smaller vehicles. There are some limitations here depending on how much power you need and the use of flammable or hazardous materials in your work (again, a conversation with the facility’s management is probably a great idea), but in general, you could be using your storage unit as a creative space very effectively.
A storage space can be a surprisingly calm and meditative area. If you’ve ever dreamed of having a zen zone where you can meditate or simply be, or a place where you can spread out your yoga mat, put on some soothing sounds, and flow through your favorite poses to your heart’s content, a storage unit is a great alternative space if you don’t have a spare room in your home for it. A personal yoga studio is a natural use for a storage unit in a lot of ways, available any time that works with your schedule.
Sometimes it seems like living in a society would be much better if we didn’t have to deal with all these other people all the time. If you own a home, you know that your neighbors are both one of life’s great blessings and often the biggest pain in your ass. On the one hand, sometimes you wake up and they’ve shoveled the snow from your sidewalk, and when you go on vacation they check on your cat! On the other hand, things can get really tense when disputes crop up unexpectedly—like when your neighbor’s tree hangs over your fence.
At first glance this might not seem like a big deal, but those overhanging branches can cause problems. They mess up your property by dumping leaves everywhere; they can scrape your roof shingles, smack into windows during high winds, and get tangled in power lines. Underground, the tree's roots could be worming into your sewer and water lines. That tree might be pretty, and you might enjoy its borrowed shade on sunny days, but if it starts to be a problem, what can you do?
America is not so much a large country as a collection of tiny countries standing on each other’s shoulders wearing a trenchcoat, so the laws governing trees and property will vary from state to state—you’ll have to do some local research if you’ve got a situation brewing with a neighbor’s tree. That said, there are three things that are almost certainly true about your neighbor’s tree:
It has value. Sure, it’s a tree, and apparently grows for free out of the ground as if by elven magic. But a tree on your neighbor’s property has monetary value. For one thing, your neighbor may have paid for the tree and had it planted. Then there are other benefits, like the carbon dioxide offset of that tree, the cooling effect of its shade, or fruit that it provides. The USDA Forest Service offers a free calculator that estimates the economic benefits of a tree, which isn’t definitive but gives you some idea of how someone might define its value.
It’s your neighbor’s property. If the tree’s trunk is entirely on your neighbor’s property, no matter how much it overhangs yours, it belongs to them just like anything else in their yard. If the trunk straddles or crosses the property line, it’s probably considered a boundary tree—community property. That means that you have as much say and responsibility for it as your neighbor, but you still can’t unilaterally make decisions about it.
You have the right to defend your property. If the tree’s branches cross the property line, you have the right to trim them, especially if they threaten to damage anything. But you can’t go past your property line under any circumstances.
That last bit might make this all seem very clear and simple: If the tree is causing havoc on your side of the fence, get out there and cut it back to the property line. While you have the right to do that, you should think twice for one simple reason: If you touch your neighbor’s tree and damage it, destroy its aesthetic value, or kill it outright, you could be held liable for the loss and the cost of treating or replacing it. This can run to the thousands of dollars—especially if it’s an expensive ornamental tree that’s part of a cohesive landscaping design.
So you have to be careful if your neighbor’s tree is invading and needs trimming. Here’s your best approach:
Talk to your neighbor. That liability goes both ways: Since the tree is your neighbor’s property, if it damages your property you can hold them liable. Approach your neighbor and ask if they’ll help trim the tree or grant explicit permission to do the work on your side, releasing you from liability—they might be incentivized to do so if the tree is causing damage. If it’s a boundary tree, you’ll need to negotiate with your neighbor anyway to get anything done.
Call the power company. If the offending tree is near power lines, you can probably call your local utility and schedule a free tree trimming. Most utilities have arborists on staff, and they are more than happy to clear branches away from power lines to avoid damage. That being said, keep in mind that the utility may trim more aggressively than you want. Also, keep in mind that once alerted to trees near power lines on your (or your neighbor’s property), the utility can come and trim them any time they want without your permission. Electric utilities have an easement on all private property to allow them access for maintenance and repair.
Hire a professional. The more you distance yourself from the tree trimming, the less likely you’ll run into trouble. You’ll want a company that has a certified arborist on staff, because trees are living things and they come in a wide variety of species. An arborist can identify the tree and prescribe the right way to trim it without damaging it or leaving it vulnerable to disease.
A tree growing right by your property line offers a lot of free benefits—but also free problems. If the latter is starting to outweigh the former, be careful—trimming your neighbor’s tree can open up a can of worms.
You can get this dual-HD-camera drone on sale for $74.99 right now (reg. $129.99). It's a budget drone that is excellent for beginners who want to experiment with flying: it has one-key takeoff and landing, altitude hold mode, and four-channel movement with a rolling 360-degree function. You can pair with your smartphone to take pictures and videos or see a real-time feed through the drone's two 1080p cameras; the front with 90-degree views and the bottom with 120-degree views. It also comes with four spare blades and two batteries for 26 total minutes of flying time.
You can get this dual-HD-camera drone on sale for $74.99 right now (reg. $129.99), though prices can change at any time.
If your income exceeds the limits for contributing directly to a Roth IRA, there's still a way to fund one through a strategy known as the "backdoor Roth IRA." This technique allows high-income earners to take advantage of the tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals offered by Roth IRAs.
A backdoor Roth IRA is not an official type of account: It's simply a strategic maneuver that involves making contributions to a traditional IRA and then converting those funds into a Roth IRA. This bypasses the income limits that normally restrict high-earners from contributing directly to a Roth.
If you file taxes as a single person, your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) must be under $153,000 for tax year 2023 and $161,000 for tax year 2024 to contribute to a Roth IRA, and if you're married and filing jointly, your MAGI must be under $228,000 for tax year 2023 and $240,000 for tax year 2024.
Here are the basics of taking advantage of this backdoor strategy:
Make a non-deductible contribution to a traditional IRA. Since your income exceeds the Roth IRA limits, you can contribute to a traditional IRA without taking a tax deduction.
Convert the traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. After contributing to the traditional IRA, you can then convert those funds to a Roth IRA. This conversion is a taxable event, but since you didn't get a tax deduction on the contribution, you'll only pay taxes on any earnings.
Pay taxes on the conversion. When converting, you'll owe income tax on any earnings in the traditional IRA account. If the conversion happens quickly after the contribution, there likely won't be significant earnings to tax.
There are no income limits for contributing to a traditional IRA or converting to a Roth IRA. The limit on annual contributions to an IRA are $7,000 in 2024 (up from $6,500 in 2023). Remember these contribution limits apply to the grand total contributions you make each year to all your traditional and Roth IRAs. As always, you can and should max out these limits, if possible.
It's important to note that if you have existing pre-tax funds in other traditional IRAs, the conversion will be partially taxable based on the pro-rata rule.
To set up a backdoor Roth IRA, you'll need to open a traditional IRA account if you don't already have one. Then, make your non-deductible contribution and initiate the Roth conversion process according to your provider's requirements.
Consulting a tax professional is recommended, especially if you have existing IRA funds, to ensure you understand the tax implications. While the backdoor Roth strategy involves some extra steps, it can be a valuable way for high-income individuals to enjoy the benefits of a Roth IRA.
It’s an election year, so naturally there are virtual firehoses of misinformation pointed at potential voters. While there are encouraging signs that people are getting better at spotting misinformation, there’s a kind of “fake news” that seems particularly pernicious on both sides of the political aisle: drawing a conclusion based on omitted information or missing context. It’s a favorite tactic of politicians that explodes during an election year, so let’s dig into a couple of widely spread examples—one from the right and one from the left.
The picture above, from Snopes, who culled it from my aunt's Facebook page, is not Photoshopped and it's not a lie. The national average price of a gallon of gas really did dip to $1.77 in April of 2020. But the meme text suggests that this had somehow had to do with decisions Donald Trump made while in office.
People like to discuss the reasons gas prices fluctuate, probably because we are confronted with it every time we go to the pumps, but whether you blame high gas prices on corporate greed, or credit low gas prices to Donald Trump being awesome, you're equally wrong. The main driver of gas prices is basic supply and demand. The real reason gas was so cheap in 2021 was a global drop in demand for petroleum caused by economic activity due to COVID-19 lockdown. It would not have mattered who was president; it's not like there's a lever in the Oval Office that sets commodity prices.
This isn’t to say that governmental policy has no effect on prices. The inflation spike of 2022 was caused in part by the $2 trillion American Rescue Plan signed in 2021. It’s complex and there are a lot of other factors at work, but as a general rule, supplying more money to the economy to prevent or reverse a recession results in inflation, but i it also causes the economy to grow and stay out of recession (a much worse result than higher inflation.) Again, it's supply and demand.
It’s not just right-wing people who fall victim to the allure of jumping to conclusion fallacy though, though. Check out this chart posted on Twitter by Kamala Harris:
Like the right-wing meme, this chart isn't inaccurate or Photoshopped, but it leaves off the same thing the gas price photo omits: COVID. Most of the jobs “created” during the Biden administration were the result of people returning to work following lay-offs during the pandemic. Adjusted for COVID, the net job-gain from Biden’s first day until February 2024 was 5.5 million jobs. Nice work, but a lot less sexy-looking on a chart.
During his State of the Union address, Biden said, "The only president other than Donald Trump that lost jobs during an administration was Herbert Hoover," which is half-true (maybe), but only if you ignore the economic devastation that COVID wrought, and also ignore that we don't really know the number of jobs lost during Hoover's administration—the Bureau of Labor Statistics didn't exist until after Hoover was out of office.
While Biden put an overly positive spin on his job numbers and bagged on Trump's, it’s possible to look at the same basic information and draw the opposite conclusion. At a speech on August 5th, Donald Trump said: “During Biden’s first 30 months in office, just 2.1 million new jobs were created, and by contrast, during my first 30 months in office we created 4.9 million new jobs.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, when Trump took office, there were 145.6 million non-farm jobs in the U.S. Thirty months later, there were 150.8 million (in a first, Trump gave himself slightly less credit than he deserved during this speech). When Biden took office, there were 143 million nonfarm jobs. By his 30th month in office, the number of nonfarm jobs had risen to 156.2 million.
Trump isn't totally lying (this time)—he's trying to eat his cake and have it too. He gives Biden no credit for jobs that returned after the coronavirus pandemic, and assigns himself no blame for jobs that were lost due to COVID, limiting his assessment to the 30-month window of the Trump administration before COVID shook up the economy. As Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research told Politifact, Trump is saying "everything that was bad is Biden's fault, whereas everything that is good would have happened anyhow.”
Spinning numbers to make yourself look better is nothing new, but what if you really want to know the truth? You probably can't.
Despite polls showing Trump with an 11- to 20-point lead over Biden on the question of which candidate would better handle the economy, the economy did well under Trump, if you don’t take the shocks of COVID into account, and the economy is doing well under Biden, if you don’t assign blame for the COVID shock on Biden. (It also depends on what you mean by the economy "doing well.")
Even if you wanted to base your vote solely on which administration would be “best for the economy,” (instead of, say, which candidate is being tried for nearly 100 felonies) it’s probably not possible, even though we have recent data on how each handled it. The effects of public policy on the economy is such a complex subject, and there are so many people pushing so many agendas—weirdos sharing gas price memes on Facebook, vice presidents sharing slanted job charts on twitter—that it’s probably not possible to understand with any degree of certainty. Even if you devote your life to studying macroeconomics, other economists will have diametrically opposed views to yours.
This leaves us with tribalism and vibes, two factors that have probably always decided U.S. elections. If you're thinking "that's true of most politicians, but not my favorite one! They're a straight-shooter!" the wool has been pulled over your eyes. A political candidate who was really honest, who refused to engage in deception and self-puffery, would be dead in the water in any election larger than the local school board. Imagine a presidential candidate running on a platform of "There's not much I can do about the economy; it's supply and demand."
As the weather warms up, it’s a great time to get your garden set up for planting and consider anything you can do to make the most of your space. That said, new garden features and updates can quickly get expensive. If you’re not aiming for a total landscaping redo, there are plenty of DIY garden upgrades you can undertake for less than $100.
To train climbing plants along a fence line, the edge of a porch, or along the side of a pergola, you can use an expandable lattice ($36.98/ 13 by 78 inch section) to fit your lattice to your desired space. An expandable lattice can also be hung vertically along a post to train vines upwards. The lattice will shrink to a narrower, three or four foot section if you have a smaller stretch with no cutting necessary.
To build a dreamy arched trellis for your climbing plants, you can use galvanized welded fencing ($50.52 for a 3 foot by 50 foot section) attached to t-posts ($6.98/each). Drive the t-posts into the ground, three feet apart, on either side of your intended arch, then unroll your galvanized fencing over the posts, creating an arch connecting the two sides. Use the built-in metal clips or some wire ($5.93/250 feet) to attach the fencing to your posts.
You can also make a climbing trellis using hula hoops ($21.99/10), a garden stake ($26.99/25), and some twine ($4.99/400 feet). By tying the hula hoops to the garden stakes using twine, you can suspend them in the air. The hula hoops are adjustable, so you can create a graduated trellis for climbing plants by arranging them with the smallest hoops at the top and the largest at the bottom. You can also arrange the hoops vertically by hanging them from a stake, post, or fence to make a circle trellis for climbing flowers.
One of the cheapest and most popular ways to make raised beds is by using concrete patio pavers ($.48/each for a seven-inch by three-and-a-half inch by one-and-three-quarter-inch paver). You can stack the pavers in rows like bricks around the area of your bed to create an edge, then fill it with your own compost. The advantage of a paver-bordered garden bed versus a traditional box is that you can shape it however you like, or account for an existing slope in your garden.
Stock tank raised beds ($49.99 for one five-foot by three-foot by one-foot bed) are a popular choice for DIY raised beds because they’re durable and simple to install. Using a metal raised bed is a lighter and leaner alternative to wooden framed beds, but they can be susceptible to heat, so keep that in mind when choosing what to plant in them.
A raised bed is simple to build using cedar boards ($9.25/each for a three-quarter inch by eight-foot by four-inch board), “l” brackets ($3.48 each), ¾ inch screws ($6.87/box), and 1 ⅝ inch screws ($10.97/box). Cut your boards to the desired length for each side of your bed, then screw the ends onto the sides of the bed using the 1 ⅝ inch screws. Use the ¾ inch screws to add “l” brackets to the inside of each corner to reinforce the joints. If you want a taller bed, use a piece of board cut to the desired height at each corner to join the boards vertically.
You can use a metal cart ($37.02) and some flower pots ($13.99/three) to make a rolling planter/plant stand for your porch or patio. You can also use a thrifted piece of furniture and add your own castors ($11.99/four) to create a cart. A rolling planter can make it easier to water and maintain your plants, and ensure they get the right amount of sunlight.
If you want an cheaper concrete pathway, you can use a paver mold ($25.29/two) and some concrete mix ($21.88/ten pounds) to pour your own pavers. Using a mold allows you to create a path in the shape you want and save some money doing it. You’ll need some basic concrete tools ($14.99) for this project if you don’t already have some.
To make a mulch pathway, first, define your path by staking some landscape fabric over the intended area using landscaping staples ($9.99/50). Once you have your path laid out, you can either lay down store-bought mulch ($4.97/two cubic feet), or you can use free mulch from Chip Drop. (Just be aware that Chip Drop will leave your mulch in a parking space or driveway and it will be up to you to move it to your desired pathway area.)
To create some different layers, you can try a container garden. You can use almost any type of container, but something like this stainless steel tub ($54.99), this terracotta pot ($21.44), or this concrete planter ($38.41) will be durable outdoors. SOme gardeners have success upcycling old cooking pots, tool boxes, and paint cans into containers for garden plants as well. Really anything that will hold some dirt and stand up to the elements is a good candidate for a low cost planter.
This week's youth culture report is all about conflict: Dogs are fighting lemons, Gen-Z is fighting Millennials, and everyone is fighting artificial intelligence.
The newest pet-related trend on TikTok is posting videos of dogs eating lemon slices. They are hilarious clips, because dogs don’t like lemons, so their excitement at catching some food from their master’s hand quickly turns into a sour-faced look and a side-eye look of dog-disappointment.
But because no one is allowed to have fun, some vets were quick to warn against this trend, pointing out that citrus can cause "gastrointestinal upsets" or even "severe clinical signs like collapse.“ Throwing food at a dog for them to catch is a choking hazard too, "particularly if the piece of food is too large to swallow whole," according to Dr. Anna Foreman of Everypaw Pet Insurance. So no one should ever huck a slice of lemon at their dog. Still, if you watch the videos, dogs almost never eat the lemon slices. They either give the 'em a quick lick and go, “nah," or they catch the fruit slice in their mouth and spit it out, because dogs aren’t stupid.
From the 1980s mullet to the ubiquitous “Rachel” of the '90s, every generation eventually develops and popularizes a ridiculous haircut they’ll be embarrassed about in the future. For Gen Z, it’s looking like the "Zoomer Perm" is going to be the generational ‘do. Sometimes called the "broccoli cut" or "bird's nest," the Zoomer Perm is shaved on the side and back and long and bushy/curly on the top. If you have straight hair, you gotta get it permed to do the look right. It’s a very dumb-looking haircut, but according to WikiHow, Zoomers like it because they “tend to not be as self-conscious or serious as other generations, so the funny things you can do with the broccoli cut are actually an upside, not a drawback.”
Last week I brought you the regrettable news of the resurgence of Gamergate, but now there’s a new wrinkle: Gaming news site Kotaku’s editor-in-chief, Jen Glennon, resigned late last week, leading some to imagine the resignation was because of Kotaku's coverage of Gamergate 2.0.
Gamergate degenerates are, of course, wrong about this (and everything else). According to Glennon, the resignation was because the site’s owner, G/O Media, decided to change Kotaku's focus from news and editorial content to game guides, adding that G/O Media's CEO Jim Spanfeller is a herb. Lifehacker was once owned by G/O Media, so I say this with an insider's knowledge: There is no way G/O had any interest in or knowledge of what Kotaku was writing about.
In the first of what will probably be years of stories that ask “How much of this movie is AI?” The internet film community noticed that some images used in recently released indie horror flick Late Night with the Devil appear to be AI-generated. The film’s directors, Cameron and Colin Cairnes, quickly confirmed they had “experimented with AI for three still images” that appear as brief interstitials in the film. Reaction from the fan community is mixed. Some have called for a boycott of the movie or said they’d never see it. Some defended the movie. Some moderates called on people to sneak into theaters to see it. Totally apart from AI-generated art, Late Night with the Devil is one of the most innovative, creative, and unique horror movies I’ve seen in years. It will be streaming on Shudder starting on April 19.
Since the publication of Douglas Coupland’s Generation X in 1991, generational conflict discourse has been dominated by everyone agreeing that Baby Boomers suck. While that trend is alive and well on subreddits like r/boomersbeingfools, the new hotness is Generation Z bagging on Millennials for being lame. Generation Z has turned the withering eyes of youth on slightly older folks and found that liking Buzzfeed and Harry Potter, using words and phrases like “doggo,”“I just did a thing,” and “adulting” are actually lame—old-people shit. Some Gen-Z members are using the phrase “Quirk Chungus” to describe the “lol so random” aspect of Millennial culture. As a Gen Xer, Im glad no one ever blames us for anything or regards us as important enough to bother hating on, but I'd also like to point out that the most recognizable expression of Zoomer culture is Skibidi Toilet. Check out this YouTube video from KnowYourMeme for a deeper dive into the newest generational conflict.
In this week’s viral video, YouTube comedian Kurtis Conner tasks himself with only using outdated tech for a week. It’s objectively funny to watch someone fully decked out with antique gear that barely works, and Conner is an amusing guy, but on another level, this video says something about the value and meaning of tech. Most of the gear he’s rocking would have been early-adopter-only when it was new 20 years ago, but now literally everything, from the wristwatch camera to the portable TV, the tiny voice recorder, Palm Pilot, to every function of the Xbernaut wearable computer, is available to everyone on even the cheapest smartphone. Is anyone happier? More fulfilled? I’d say “no,” but that’s what I’d always say to anything.
Every time you plug something into a wall receptacle, you’re leveraging the awesome power of the electron to power your video games and chill your beverages—which makes knowing something about those outlets an important aspect of home ownership. Plugging an appliance into the wrong receptacle or replacing one with an incorrect choice is an easy way to destroy your property and injure yourself, after all—so here are 9 receptacles you might encounter in your house that you should know about.
Everyone knows what you mean when you say you’re going to plug something into an outlet, but technically the outlet is a location where you have access to wiring. The spot where you install a light fixture is an outlet. A receptacle is where a plug is inserted. In practice, people use them pretty interchangeably.
Power receptacles are described in terms of amperage (amps) and voltage (volts). You don’t really need to know too much about this in your role as Person Who Wants Their Toaster to Stop Tripping the Circuit Breaker, but it matters because your appliances and devices all need specific amps and volts to operate correctly and safely. You can think of volts as the “strength” of the electricity, kind of like water pressure—the force that’s pushing the power along—and amps as the “speed” or volume of the electricity. Some appliances need a lot of electricity very fast, some need less at a slower rate. Plugging them into the wrong receptacle can be exciting! But also very dangerous.
If you have power outlets in your home with just two prongs, your home’s electric infrastructure is old and needs some attention. These plugs lack a grounding prong and they’re pretty dangerous because any kind of short circuit can send electricity flowing into you if you touch it, and can even cause fires if they spark. They stopped being standard in the 1960s and were prohibited outright in the early 1970s, so even if yours have been working perfectly for years, you should seriously consider replacing them.
This three-pronged receptacle is the most common one you’ll find in your house, providing 110 or 120 volts of power with a maximum current of 15 amps to a long list of standard devices and small appliances like phone chargers, computers, toasters, and lamps. The bottom prong is the ground, which is what prevents electricity from leaping out of your power receptacle. And if you see a face here, it’s a phenomenon called pareidolia.
These outlets have a top left prong that looks like a letter “T” on its side. They provide slightly zippier amperage for appliances that draw more power than most, like your microwave oven. The amp and voltage ratings are top ends, though, so you can also plug in devices that need less power.
Larger appliances (like an electric stove) that need more power to operate will plug into one of these. You can tell a 250-volt 20-amp plug from a 125-volt plug by the right prong, which is sideways. That means you can’t plug smaller things into this receptacle because of the higher voltage.
The 30-amp, 240/250-volt receptacle (third from the left on top in the image above) has two sideways prongs. It’s intended for appliances that need a lot of power. You’ll often find one installed near the windows in your home because they’re used for large window-mounted air conditioners.
This receptacle (top line, far right in image above) has two slanted prongs and one prong that resembles a letter “L.” You’ll see these referred to as “appliance outlets” because they’re used by washers, driers, and other larger appliances in the home.
This is an industrial-strength power receptacle rarely found in a residence—there’s just really no need for it in the house. You might find one in the garage, or if the house has a dedicated workshop of some sort, especially if a previous owner had some serious hobbies, like welding. Chances are if you have one you won’t have a use for it.
Available in a range of amperage and voltage, these receptacles look very similar and offer similar functionality, and can be identified by the reset buttons on the front of the receptacle. Ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) receptacles are designed to detect when the current has gone somewhere it shouldn’t (for example, into your body) and will shut down. They’re required in damp areas like kitchens and bathrooms to prevent water from shorting out the receptacle. Arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCI) don’t prevent electrical shocks, they prevent electrical fires by detecting power leaks and shutting down accordingly.
If your house is fairly new or recently had the wiring updated, you might find a USB receptacle. This is pretty straightforward: It’s a 15- or 20-amp, 120- or 125-volt receptacle that has USB connections in addition to or instead of a three-prong plug. This can be handy if you have a lot of devices that need charging.
If you're taking on a short-term job, you might be wondering whether it's worth the effort to open a 401(k) retirement account. After all, you're not planning to stick around for long, and the thought of leaving that money behind when you move on to your next opportunity can be unsettling. However, there are compelling reasons why you should consider contributing to a 401(k), even if your tenure at the job is brief.
One of the biggest misconceptions about 401(k) accounts is that the money belongs to your employer. This couldn't be further from the truth. Any contributions you make to your 401(k) are yours, and you can take them with you when you leave the job. When you move on, you have a few options:
Roll your 401(k) into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA): This allows you to consolidate your retirement savings into a single account, making it easier to manage and track your investments.
Roll your 401(k) into your new employer's plan: If your new job offers a 401(k) plan, you can transfer your existing balance into the new account, keeping your retirement savings in one place.
Leave your 401(k) with your former employer: While this option is available, it's generally not recommended. By leaving your 401(k) behind, you may be subject to higher fees and have limited investment options.
While leaving your 401(k) with your former employer is an option, it's much better to roll it over when you leave your job. Many people forget about these small accounts, and over time, they can accumulate significant fees for account maintenance and management. By rolling your 401(k) into an IRA or your new employer's plan, you'll avoid these fees and keep your retirement savings growing.
One of our Lifehacker editors found success in consolidating her retirement accounts: She has an IRA that essentially consists of all her old 401(k)s, plus her current 401(k). This streamlined approach means she only has two login accounts to worry about, making it easier to manage her retirement savings.
Even if your short-term job only allows you to contribute a modest amount to your 401(k), the power of compound interest can make a significant difference over time. By starting to save early, even small contributions can grow substantially, thanks to the compounding effect of investment returns.
The most obvious perk of a 401(k) is the tax advantages it offers. Contributions to a traditional 401(k) are made with pre-tax dollars, reducing your taxable income for the year. This can result in significant tax savings, especially if you're in a higher tax bracket.
So while short-term jobs may seem like an unlikely time to open a 401(k), the benefits of doing so can be substantial. By taking advantage of the tax benefits, the power of compound interest, and the ability to roll your savings into an IRA or a new employer's plan, you can ensure that your retirement savings continue to grow, no matter how often you change jobs.
As the weather gets warmer, many of us are ready to get outside and grill. Elevating the al fresco dining experience by having an outdoor place to eat is a great addition for entertaining, but creating one can be expensive. If you don’t have the budget for a total patio renovation, here are some budget ideas for creating an outdoor cooking and dining experience that can boost your BBQ hosting game.
Adding an island or a counter for your grilling space can make cooking outdoors that much easier. You can upcycle a rolling cart ($37.99) into a work table or counter space by adding some countertop material to the top. You can usually get discounted scraps of countertop from cabinet or building supply outlets. You can also opt to use a finished kitchen cart ($85.49) or a thrifted set of shelves and then add some more robust casters ($25.19) for outdoor use. Having your countertop on wheels allows you to move it easily indoors for seasonal storage as well as double your work surface as a dining surface if you have a smaller space.
A small fridge can up your outdoor cooking game by giving you a place to keep food chilled while you do prep or keep a few cold beverages on hand. You can add a truly tiny fridge ($46.27) that accommodates up to 15 12oz cans or you could opt for a slightly larger, 1.6 cubic foot fridge ($98.00). Make sure you have an outdoor outlet nearby to keep your fridge plugged in.
If you don’t have an outlet for an outdoor fridge, you can still serve up some frosty beverages with an ice bucket to keep them cool. You can add a pair of simple, four-gallon ice buckets ($25.98) or you can choose to use a drop in tub ($37.50) that you can add a cutout for in an existing countertop or table. You can also opt for an ice bucket that doubles as a side table ($54.99) for some extra table space along with your cold drinks.
Adding lighting both for food prep and ambiance can help you to upgrade your outdoor space from a plain old cookout location to an outdoor kitchen. You can add some wired outdoor industrial sconces ($29.99/two) if you already have power in your outdoor area. If not, you can opt for solar sconces ($29.99) as long as you have a place to hang them with sun exposure. For ambiance, you can add a solar pendant light ($22.95), or some lanterns (29.99/two) to your seating or dining area to brighten it up.
You can add a shelf to the side of your house or shed by hanging a 12-inch board ($14.22) with some shelf brackets ($69.99 for four) or fold-down brackets ($13.99 for two) to create a surface for drinks and plates without taking up a ton of space or blowing your budget. You can also choose to upcycle a thrifted console table, shelf, or desk into a bar space by adding some good quality exterior paint ($28.04/quart) to protect it from the elements and make it easier to clean. Adding some bar stools ($61.99/set of four) can help to give your outdoor bar a more finished feel.
Adding textiles like an outdoor table runner ($5.90) or a new table cloth ($29.99) can give your old table a whole new look and make your outdoor dining space that much more inviting. If you have a table that’s showing some wear, you can choose to update the surface by giving it a good sand and some paint ($15.96) as well. If the surface is great, you can also freshen up an old piece by painting the legs instead.
In order to define your outdoor kitchen as well as give people somewhere to sit, using benches ($54.99), planters ($35.99), or a combination of both to outline your space can be very effective. Planning out the shape of your outdoor kitchen can be crucial to keeping the space feeling inviting as well as functional. If you’re handy, you can build some benches from cedar boards ($9.25 each for a ¾ inch by 4 inch by 8 inch board) supported by some wooden planter boxes ($60.99/set of two). Make sure that your bench seat has some support every two feet or so, to keep it sturdy.
Entertainment enjoyers have been asking “What should we watch tonight?” since TV existed, but over the last few decades, technology has expanded the options from “whatever is on the three channels we get” to “almost everything that has ever been broadcast in human history”—leaving many paralyzed with choice, but no closer to answering the key question. Enter Likewise, an app aimed at giving you the best answer possible.
Founded by a team of ex-Microsoft employees with an investment from Bill Gates, Likewise has been working to improve entertainment recommendations for movies and TV, books, and podcasts since 2017. “We were created to solve the absolute mess that is content discovery,” Likewise co founder and CEO Ian Morris told me. “Our mission is to provide every single person out there with their own personal entertainment.”
Likewise’s most recent addition is a fun-to-use TikTok-like infinite scroll interface and deeper integration of AI into its recommendation process. In press-release speak, Likewise works by “seamlessly integrating its AI-powered personal agent and leveraging advanced algorithms and 600 million consumer recommendations.” In practice, you download the Likewise App for iOS or Android, tell it some of the genres, movies, TV shows, books, and/or podcasts you like, and start poking around.
Likewise attacks the “what do I watch” problem from a couple of angles at once. It compiles an extensive profile of individuals users’ taste preferences and recommends based on that; it also links you with its community of over 2.5 million users, specifically to users who share tases with you, then lets you ask the community for its favorites. You can check out the lists curated and compiled by Likewise’s editorial staff, or use its AI agent to search using natural language.
Unlike the recommendation algorithms from a single streaming service, Likewise is cross-platform and community-driven, so it’s going to try to give you the best horror movies for you based on more than the formula Netflix uses, instead of providing the best horror movies for you that are also on Netflix (unless that’s what you ask for).
“It’s designed to be action-oriented,” Morris explained. “If you see something you like, you can click the save button and save it to your watchlist, then see where it’s available for streaming. You have the Rotten Tomato ratings, and the IMDB rating, and community reviews, then you can play it on your Roku. So it’s not just a query engine.”
You can also use Likewise outside of your phone. A Likewise app is available on Roku, AppleTV, and Firestick, and can be used as a central hub for accessing media on those devices. You can also contact Pix, Likewise’s AI agent, directly from the website, send it a text from your phone at (877) TEXTPIX, or send a question via email. Unlike asking ChatGPT, Pix will add the results of your query to your Likewise list.
I like to mess with artificial intelligence, so I emailed Pix the following: "Compile a list of a movies that housewife in 1981 might enjoy if she was contemplating leaving her husband and children in order to pursue her dream of becoming a professional surfer."
Here is what Pix returned.
"Sounds like you're looking for some cinematic inspiration to catch that dream wave, am I right? 🏄♀️ I've whipped up a list of movies that would have resonated with a housewife in 1981, contemplating a wild life change towards professional surfing. Hope these help stir up that beachy ambition! 🌴
The Endless Summer (1966): A timeless classic in the world of surfing films. It's all about chasing summer around the world. Talk about surf's up, right? 🌞🏄♀️
An Unmarried Woman (1978): It's about a woman rediscovering herself after a divorce. It should resonate well with the idea of starting anew. 💔🔄💖
Breaking Away (1979): It's a coming-of-age story about chasing dreams, which might be a great source of inspiration for our 1981 housewife. 🏁🚲
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979): While it's about a divorce and custody battle, it puts a good perspective on the family aspect for someone considering leaving. 👪⚖️
Norma Rae (1979): This one's all about a woman standing up for what she believes in, despite the odds. Kind of the feel we're going for, right? ✊💪
Ordinary People (1980): This one would resonate well, as it's about a family trying to cope with the loss of one of their own. Might give some perspective on what the family might go through. 🏠💔
On Golden Pond (1981): An ageing couple's journey might just help our protagonist see her existing life from a fresh lens. 👵👴💖
While I absolutely loathe the writing style of AI when it's trying to be "casual," the movies are all in the ballpark, at least.
Upgrade your garage workshop, lawn care, and DIY game with these deals from Amazon's ongoing Big Spring Sale, which we've been keeping our eyes on this week. If you have a project you’ve been eyeing around the house, these deals on home improvement tools can help you get it done for less.
Cordless tool combo sets are a good way to build a new kit if you don’t already have one, or upgrade if you have older, corded tools. Bosch has a 12-volt drill and driver combo kit that comes with two batteries, and charger, and a case that is on sale for $106.99, 40% off its usual price. This set is good for small projects and repairs around the house, but isn’t suited for larger projects like decking.
Dewalt has a heavier duty 20-volt drill and driver combo kit that comes with 2 20 volt batteries, a charger, and a case along with the drill and driver for $139, 42% off its regular price. You can upgrade the kit and get a bundle that also comes with an impact bit set for $156.49, 40% off the regular price.
For a more comprehensive kit, you can find the DeWalt five-tool combo kit that comes with a drill, impact driver, oscillating tool, reciprocating saw, circular saw, two batteries, a charger, and a tool bag for $449.00, 30% off its regular price.
Since batteries and chargers can be an expensive part of a cordless tools system, getting a deal on new batteries can be a game changer. DeWalt has some deep discounts on its tools, including a set of two 20 volt, 2AH MAX batteries for $129, 46% off the regular price. For larger batteries, the two pack of 20-volt, 6AH MAX batteries from DeWalt are on sale for $178.76, 38% off their usual price.
If you’re doing wood or metal working (or if your DIY projects just need a sturdy clamp), vises, bench mounted tools, and accessories can help keep you fingers safe and your parts steady while you work. The Craftsman 15-amp benchtop planer is on sale for $299, 36% off its regular price. It can accommodate boards up to 12.5 inches wide and can adjust to cut as thick as 6 inches.
The Wilton utility bench vise with a 4-inch opening and 4.5-inch jaws is on sale for $101.57, 58% off its regular price. The utility vise also has a small anvil work surface for metal working.
For larger projects and more versatility, the Wilton reversible bench vise has 6.5-inch wide jaws and can open to 12.75 inches when reversed. It also has pipe jaws that can accommodate up to a 3-inch pipe and two anvil surfaces for metal working. The reversible vise is on sale for $257.80, 56% off its usual price.
Adding to your hand tool collection can up your repair and DIY game. Luckily, there are some deals that can help you expand your set for less. The Craftsman socket extension and adapter set is on sale for $49.98, 36% off its normal price. It comes with several extension adapters as well as an angle adapter for tight spots and quarter, three-eights, and half-inch drive sockets.
The Craftsman quarter-inch drive extension set is also on sale for $9.98, 56% off its usual price. This set comes with one driver handle and three sizes of driver extensions for getting into tight spots.
The Sunex three-eighths inch drive imperial socket set is on sale for $31.30, 62% off its usual price, and has 13 deep sockets and a keeper.
The General Tools pipe cutter is on sale for $13.90, 35% off its regular price.
Measuring and marking accurately can make all the difference on your next DIY job, so a few tool deals to help you build with accuracy are vital. If you can get past the obnoxious "gadgets for men" descriptor on Amazon, the General Tools contour gauge for tracing tile, flooring, and molding cuts is on sale for $10.04, 56% off its regular price. The General Tools depth and angle gauge is on sale for $4.56, 79% off its regular price.
Having the power you need when working in the shop or outdoors is indispensable, but cords and tools can get expensive. Here are some deals to up your electrical game. The Southwire 50-foot outdoor extension cord is on sale for $29.60, 33% off its regular price.
The Woods 25-foot, multiple outlet outdoor extension cord is on sale for $23.80, 30% off its normal price.
The Woods one-to-three splitter is on sale for $20.30, 32% off its usual price. It can spread as far as 20 feet between ends, and each cord measures approximately 13 feet.
The Kasa outdoor dimmable smart plug is on sale for $17.99, 40% off its regular price. It’s compatible with Google assistant, Alexa, and SmartThings.
The Astro Multimeter for testing continuity, voltage, and resistance in electrical wiring and components is on sale for $26.98, 37% off its regular price.
Attention, coffee (and tea) drinkers: Whether you love the simple pleasure of picking up your java on the way to work or you take brewing at home very seriously, you should pay attention to Amazon’s Big Spring Sale. There’s quite a bit of discounted stuff for you there. Here are some of the best deals for casual sippers and connoisseurs alike that I've found so far.
If it’s time to upgrade your brew setup or drinkware, give these a shot.
If you like to grind your own beans, the Shardor electric burr grinder is marked down to $33.99 (originally $39.99). A bit of advice: Before you pick one of these up, make sure you’re familiar with how to clean it so your coffee doesn’t start to taste bad.
Keurig is having a lot of deals during this sale, like the K-Express single-serve coffee maker, which is on sale for $69.99 (originally$89.99). This is also the kind of machine you'll want to know how to clean regularly, because they can get pretty gross.
The Mueller drip coffee maker is on sale for $23.78 compared to the typical price of $34.99. This one lacks some higher-end features, like the ability to schedule batches for the following morning, but it's a cheap, solid pick if you need something simple.
This bag of Four Sigmatic coffee is an organic, half-caf blend that's usually a little spendy at $17.09. During the sale, it's down to $14.52, but be aware that it comes pre-ground. Given the lower caffeine amount, it might be a good bag to have on hand when you need a little afternoon pick-me-up, but still want to be able to get some sleep that night.
Busy bees, you are not forgotten. Whether brewing at home and taking a cup for the road or stopping by your local cafe, here are some deals on items you can use.
Grab a 20-ounce vacuum insulated travel cup for $9.62 instead of $13.99 so your coffee stays hot (or cold, depending on your preferences) while you're out and about. Reviewers say it holds more than the usual to-go mug and maintains temperature well. It also comes with a metal straw and a cleaning brush for when the aforementioned straw inevitably gets gross.
CamelBak’s popular 16-ounce Horizon tumbler is also on sale, down to $17.26 from $22. Reviewers have been praising this camping mug for years.
If you prefer your coffee cold and like a fashionable but sustainable option to drink it from, Simple Modern’s insulated tumbler with lid and straw is $20.79 instead of $25.99. It’s chic and comes in multiple colors, but not all of them are included in the Big Spring Sale, so double-check the prices before you buy.
If you like a hefty cup of java, pick up a Seven Sparta car cup holder expander for $19.99 instead of $24.99. To see it in action, check out this review, which concludes that it’s a quality product that solves a very specific—but annoying—problem.
The JavaPresse manual coffee grinder is discounted from $46.99 to $27.98. This grinder is small and uses a manual crank, which makes it ideal for someone who’s particular about their coffee, even when they’re camping—or simply can’t stand the thought of skipping a cuppa during a power outage.
Spring is upon those of us in the Northern hemisphere (even if it doesn't feel like it), and if we're lucky enough to have an outdoor space, we're probably thinking about sprucing it up. But whether you want to make your porch or patio more comfortable, or just give it a fresh new look to usher in the season, updates can be pricey. Luckily, there are a few things you can do, even if you don’t have the budget for a total overhaul, to spruce up the place and make your yard, deck, etc. that much better.
If you have outdoor outlets or fixtures already, it’s simple to add some string lights ($35.99) or you can update your outdoor wall sconce ($42.65) with a new one. If you don’t have outdoor outlets, solar options will allow you to give your porch or patio a glow up. Adding a solar lantern (two for $23.99) or a set of fairy lights ($9.99) is as simple as finding a sunny spot in your outdoor area to set them up.
To make your space more comfortable for morning coffee or after-sprinkler lemonade in your bare feet, an outdoor rug ($28.95 for a 3-foot by 5-foot rug) is just the thing. You can also use a larger rug ($59.49 for an 8-foot by 10-foot rug) to delineate space for outdoor furniture and entertaining space. A good outdoor rug is waterproof and can be cleaned with a hose for convenience.
Hanging some curtains can help to create some shade and to make your space feel more dressed up. You can add weatherproof curtain panels ($13.29 per panel) by hanging some outdoor curtain rods ($17.99 for an expandable 66- to 120-inch rod). You can also choose to use roll-up shades ($49.98 for a 7-foot by 6-foot-tall panel) instead of a stiffer sun shade. Shades can also help to cut wind a little bit for a more comfortable outdoor dining experience.
Adding a large planter ($49.99) that you can plant a porch-sized tree ($44.00) in can give you a focal point and add some greenery to your patio or porch. Remember that if you plant a tree, you will either need one that’s suited to your local climate or one that can come indoors for winter. An alternative to one large planter is a few smaller ones (set of three for $58.03) to scatter some greenery ($9.99 each) or flowers ($19.47 each) through your space.
Porch furniture is a must for warm spring days, but to keep cozy when the weather is still a little chilly, you'll need reinforcements. Using some outdoor blankets ($15.99) along with some cushions ($49.99 for two) and pillows ($18.99 for four) can make your time outdoors in the spring a little warmer as well as prettier. If you have an uncovered patio, even if your textiles are waterproof, using a tarp or bringing pillows and blankets indoors when it rains will keep your furniture more comfortable without needing to wait for dry time.
Outdoor furniture gets a lot of abuse. It’s exposed to sun, moisture, and lots of barbecue guests (if you’re lucky). If your furniture is solid but starting to show some wear, you can use paint to give it some new life. Painting metal furniture with spray paint ($6.19) is a fairly simple DIY, but you’ll likely need a drop cloth ($9.99) to contain overspray and a wire brush ($3.47) to prep the surface. If you have wooden furniture, you can also use acrylic paint ($34.98/gallon) to give it some protection as well. If you don’t want to paint your whole piece, you can opt for a color dipping treatment using acrylic or latex, or you can paint some accents instead.
To freshen up a concrete floor or some old deck boards, a coat of paint can really do the trick. Using a stencil ($15.99) and some paint ($18.99), you can give your old concrete floor a pattern. For decking, you can opt for a paint color ($17.49) with added no-slip grip ($9.24) to make your porch safer as well as more colorful.
Whether it’s coffee or spirits you prefer, a little outdoor bar can go a long way to making your outdoor space more comfortable. Consider this bar cart ($39.99) for serving cocktails or lemonade, to elevate the porch or patio experience.
I love a fire feature for outdoor entertaining. You can choose to add even a small, pedestal-style fire feature ($99.99) for a little warm glow, or you can opt for a table-sized fire feature ($156.99). Remember that a fire feature needs to be kept at least three feet from flammable objects and you should observe all safety information from the manufacturer.
When the mornings and evenings are still cooler, a patio heater is a great way to get your outdoor space going in spring. You can choose to use a small infrared heater ($55.99) that uses electricity for efficient energy use, or you can opt for a propane burning heater ($99.99). Make sure to follow all manufacturer safety instructions to avoid any possibility of fire.
If you hate yard work, you might have dreamt of getting a robot to mow your lawn for you, saving you the hassle of once or twice per week mowing during the height of your lawn’s growing season. While the prospect of a robotic lawnmower might seem too good to be true, there are new models out that can mow your lawn—saving you time and, if you have a larger lawn and/or need to mow frequently, money in fuel costs over the long term.
The basic premise of a robotic lawn mower is that it will do to your grass what a Roomba does indoors to your floors. While some models operate using a perimeter wire and are set to travel until they come into contact with it and then turn, eventually covering the whole lawn, newer models like Husqvarna Automower (currently $1,499.99) use GPS and sensors to operate the mower on a planned path for your yard. Mowers that use a programmable path for optimal efficiency are more likely to save money in the long run.
The main savings from using a robotic mower over a traditional mower is in the cost of fuel. Because robotic mowers run on batteries that are recharged with household electricity, they use much less fuel than riding mowers or walk-behind models. In a study commissioned by Stihl, robotic lawnmowers performed better than their traditional counterparts when mowing took place twice a week. According to the study, a traditional mower uses about $25 in fuel to mow once per week for a growing season and $50 to mow twice per week for a growing season; a robotic mower uses about $41 in fuel for a twice weekly mow per season.
If you’re deciding between using a robotic mower or a lawn care service, the robotic mower is the more cost effective option, hands down. To hire a service to mow your lawn, it costs between $50 and $200 per acre. A robotic lawn mower can mow an acre for an entire cutting season for just $41—a significant savings.
Overall, the long-term savings associated with using a robotic mower are the real draw. While a good robotic mower for a residential lawn can cost between $1,000 and $1,500 to buy, a battery-powered push mower comes in at around $380. So the initial cost difference is substantial. But in a study from the International Journal of Sustainable Engineering that compared the total cost to operate over 10 years of several types of mowers, the programmable robotic mower that had an optimal path designed for it was less than half the cost of its closest competitor, the gas-powered riding mower. The total lifetime operating costs for 10 years of use for the robotic mower were about $6000, while the gas-powered riding mower came in at about $14,000. Importantly, the random-walk style of robotic lawnmower with no optimal path set was the most expensive mower, costing about $23,000 to operate for 10 years.
Robotic mowers are cheaper over time than regular mowers if you need to mow frequently. In addition to being cheaper, a robotic mower will save you time (if you normally mow your grass yourself). Robot lawn mowers are designed to mulch grass clippings back into your yard automatically, making your grass healthier as well as eliminating clipping waste. Since they don’t burn fossil fuels, robotic mowers produce fewer emissions than their traditional counterparts. They’re also significantly quieter than regular mowers since the blades are smaller and they don’t have internal combustion engines.
Robotic mowers are a big upfront cost and for folks who don’t need to mow frequently, they might not be cost-saving. In addition to the cost, they need a charger to be plugged in outdoors where the mower can dock, so having a place in your yard to secure the mower and charger when you’re not home is key. If you live in an area where yard equipment can be a target for thieves, your mowing robot will need an enclosure of some kind with an outlet to keep it secure. Robotic mowers often have a limit to the slope they can operate on, so they won’t work in some yards that have hills or uneven terrain.
While robotic mowers aren’t ideal for everyone now because of their price and terrain limitations, as the technology develops, the price will likely fall, and the more efficient optimal path mowers will likely become more affordable. Also, the development of better sensors and better travel equipment will likely allow robotic mowers to move over increasingly uneven yards. As battery technology improves, the rechargeable batteries that robotic mowers use will likely become more efficient and cheaper as well.
Lateo.net - Flux RSS en pagaille (pour en ajouter : @ moi) 