Lifehacker

When there’s a threat, it’s tempting for each of us to think only of ourselves. But if a COVID-19 outbreak reaches your city, it’s possible that many of your neighbors and relatives will have a worse time of it than you will. Here’s how to prepare to keep everyone safe, not just yourself.Read more...

My waffle maker is an instrument for chaotic good, but it is rare that I use it to make something that is technically good for me. That’s not really my aesthetic. There are rare moments, however, in which something I want to eat happens to provide some sort of nutrition.Read more...

As soon as you moved out on your own and started paying your own utility bills, you likely had a rude awakening about the cost of energy. If you’ve never thought about something like electricity usage before, it can take a minute to get into the habit of not just turning off lights when you leave a room, but also…Read more...

According to a recent report from Nightwatch Cybersecurity, Google’s Authenticator app for Android comes with an unfixed issue that can create a big security nightmare if you have any malware or otherwise shifty apps installed on your device. (The Microsoft Authenticator app for Android also shares the same issue, so…Read more...

Google is celebrating the Hindu festival Holi with a colorful hidden feature. Holi celebrates the transition from winter to spring. The day is celebrated with many traditional activities and rituals, but the most iconic is large crowds playfully throwing colored powders and paints at one another.Read more...

The S&P 500 tanked so hard this morning that it made the New York Stock Exchange temporarily halt trading. It wasn’t a glitch, but rather a feature to protect investors in volatile markets.Read more...

Fullstar Food Storage Containers | $28 | Amazon

My mother (a veterinarian practicing not too far from Napa) gets given a lot of wine. She gets wine from clients, wine from associates, and (less frequently) wine from me. As a sender of thank you notes—something we should all be—remembering who gave her which bottle has been a source of stress.Read more...

Twitter is a great way to get the most up-to-date information on COVID-19. I follow epidemiologists, virologists, health reporters and others—and I always learn something when I check my feed each morning. But there are also a lot of people out there who may look like experts and may even think they are experts, but…Read more...

When it comes to tax refunds, the standard financial advice basically comes down to “either save your refund or use it to pay off debt.” (Yes, I know that a lot of people use their tax refunds to cover other big financial goals, from vacations to home repairs; I’m just telling you what the typical financial adviser…Read more...

Ask a crowd of bean lovers to tell you the correct way to cook a pot of beans and you’ll get a different answer from each person. But in the midst of healthy debate over the merits of soaking and when to add salt or acid, there’s one universal truth everyone can get behind: when it comes to beans, clay pots reign…Read more...

Investment app Robinhood is down for trading this morning during one of the most volatile mornings in recent stock market history. The S&P 500 fell so dramatically right after the New York Stock Exchanged opened that it triggered a “limit down” pause on trading, which hadn’t occurred since 2008.

It might seem like all your tween or teen wants to do these days is hunker down with a smartphone, tablet, laptop or gaming device and play—for hours on end. Teens and gaming go hand-in-hand, especially as they gain access to a variety of different devices and gaming options. But how do you know when all that gaming…Read more...

You may have a great job, love your coworkers, and get along with everyone—but those things don’t keep the paychecks flowing. If your employer suddenly stops paying you, either with a promise to make it up later or no explanation at all, you have rights. Here’s what you need to know.

If you have an ancient device that isn’t receiving any more updates, then the odds are good that someone, somewhere, is going to find and exploit a vulnerability in it that nobody is interested or able to fix anymore. This is why we preach that you should always keep your wifi router updated with the latest firmware,…Read more...

If you want to watch Men in Black on Netflix you only have a few more days to do it. Both Men in Black and Men in Black II are leaving the service on March 14 to make way for new programming on the streaming service, and there’s tons of it this week.

If you have a flight coming up soon, then you might be considering rebooking it. An airplane obviously isn’t the most ideal place to be right now given coronavirus concerns. While rebooking your flight might give you some peace of mind, it can also help you save some cash.

A $200 Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, a storewide Mario game sale, women’s excercise shorts, and cast iron cookware are Sunday’s best deals.Read more...

If you’ve visited your local grocery or drug store in search of hand sanitizer over the past few weeks you’ve probably run into problems. Coronavirus concerns have caused hand sanitizer to be sold out almost everywhere, and if you’ve visited social media lately almost everyone has a recipe for how you should make your…Read more...

We all have food preferences of some kind. Maybe you’re a vegetarian or allergic to shellfish, or perhaps you just really don’t like pizza. When you’re using Google Maps to find food recommendations; however, by default, it will show you all the options out there, not just the ones you’re likely to want to eat. That…Read more...

Earlier this year, Jeffery Katzenberg, founder and CEO of Dreamworks announced Quibi, a new short-form video streaming service designed to be watched on your phone. When the service launches on April 6th it will be $5 a month with ads, and $8 a month ad-free. However, if you sign up right now you’ll be able to score a…Read more...

Coronavirus had made air travel something that a lot of people are reconsidering right now. When getting on an airplane more and more people are also considering giving their personal space a little wipe down to try and catch any germs that might have been left behind by the last passenger to sit there. One place you…Read more...

Extra 25% off Arc’teryx and Patagonia Clearance Items | REIRead more...

This weekend the majority of the United States will “spring forward” an hour. At 2am on Sunday morning, clocks in almost every state will immediately skip to 3am. That means you potentially lose an hour of sleep.

When it comes to paying extra for travel insurance, we typically err on the side of skipping it. And it’s not because we’re exceedingly confident that all your trips will go exactly as planned—it’s just that unless you’re taking a long, international trip, you can probably get the benefits you need from the credit…Read more...

Alexa has a few new commands that can help you prepare for hazardous weather or crummy traffic conditions. These features have actually been around for a few weeks—Amazon quietly slipped them onto Alexa-supported devices last month—but since the company didn’t mention the updates until recently, most people haven’t…Read more...

It’s true, kids: If you don’t use it, you lose it. The ability to touch your toes, youthful optimism, and manageable hangovers all wane with the passing of each season. So does citrus.

If you routinely take your own cup to Starbucks for the discount (and, you know, for the planet), you should know that the coffee chain has changed its policy in light of the coronavirus outbreak.Read more...

I love simple little utilities that help you change your behavior for the better—Pomodoro; all those apps that remind you to drink water; and, now, good ol’ “Do Not Touch Your Face” dot com.Read more...

According to numerous user bug reports, Windows 10 update KB4535996 has several critical errors that are making it impossible for some users to use their PCs. Ironically (though predictably) the patch was released to fix bugs introduced in another update from earlier this year.Read more...

It’s a go-to gift from so many well-meaning folks. They’re soft! They’re fluffy! They’re cute! But before you know it, your child has approximately 147 stuffed animals—toys that defy stacking, that can really only be heaped precariously until the slightest nudge sends the whole mountain avalanching down.

One of the best ways to increase your income is through salary negotiations, either when you’re first offered the job or during a performance review. It may make you uncomfortable, but it’s extremely important. Here’s how to get what you want out of a negotiation.

Most of us are probably familiar with the standard coronavirus prevention advice: Wash your hands, avoid touching your face, regularly sanitize common surfaces like door handles, and wash your hands again.Read more...

Progressive Leasing has been around for 20 years. You might have seen the company’s name if you’ve shopped at Mattress Firm, Lowes, Kay Jewelers, Pandora, Big Lots, Metro PCS, Cricket Wireless, and Sam Ash—and that’s just naming a few.

Here at Hack or Wack, we love testing hacks from the youth’s favorite platform, TikTok. But it turns out TikTok has some older content producers contributing their best life hacks, too.Read more...

As a recipe writer (and eater), I can get overly focused on developing super-savory, heavily-browned, rich dishes. The flavors brought into being by searing, caramelizing and other non-enzymatic browning processes are delicious but they aren’t the only way to make something taste good. And sometimes it’s nice to take…Read more...

As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the United States, so do the concerns. High on many people’s lists is the possibility of having to spend time under quarantine or home isolation. (Yes, there’s a difference between the two, and we’ll get there in a minute.) While some people are flocking to grocery stores and…Read more...

We like to say that it takes a village to raise a child, but sometimes that village looks pretty sparsely populated. We often don’t live in our hometowns, surrounded by extended family members and friends we’ve had since elementary school. Our attached garages allow for extra privacy from—and less interaction with—our…Read more...

Home security? Super-important. Privacy? Also important. What happens when the two collide, and someone starts using their home-security cameras to invade others’ privacy and protect their packages from door thieves at the same time?Read more...

Want to help researchers understand and find a vaccine for the coronavirus? Help them out by playing this video game.

One of the most common uses for cream of tartar is stabilizing egg whites in towering meringues, but meringues are rarely an everyday affair. This can result in unused cream of tartar just hanging out in your spice cabinet, which is too bad, because that stuff is pretty expensive. Luckily, cream of tartar’s egg white…Read more...

If you’re thinking about canceling your travel plans due to the spread of the coronavirus, it’s worth asking yourself three questions:Read more...

Coronavirus is a pain in the ass—to put it mildly. We’ve seen big cancelations of large group events and conferences, and your employer might be encouraging you to work from home until everything blows over. To help ease this process, Google and Microsoft are stepping up to offer free conferencing tools for a limited…Read more...

If you live in the U.S. and own any Alexa-supported devices, you can earn one free movie ticket during the second half of March. It’s the little things, right?

As the coronavirus that has captured the world’s attention continues to spread, school districts across the United States—particularly in areas with confirmed cases of the virus—are considering the possibility of shutdowns. And working parents of young children are asking themselves what in hell they’re going to do…Read more...

Hacks are all about spending less time, using less equipment, and making one’s life easier in general. But sometimes there just isn’t a shortcut or substitute. Sometimes you have to take the long way, or buy the proper tool. One such tool is a digital thermometer.Read more...

You’ve seen the pictures of the wiped-out grocery stores and heard nightmare tales from your local warehouse clubs. Everyone seems to be stocking up on, well, everything, as they anticipate quarantines in the United States.Read more...

Hello, all you ambulatory wildebeests of self-pollution, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only advice column that’s the FAQ for the game of love.

If the COVID-19 outbreak has got you checking the news a little more often—or asking yourself whether it’s time to stock up on food or medications, cancel travel, or prepare to work from home—you’re not alone.

Flexibility is something I don’t work on enough. I mean, I can move well enough to do all the lifts and exercises that matter to me, and I tell myself that’s all that really matters. But then I see people who have obviously worked on their flexibility, and the things they can do just amaze me. Maybe this month we can…Read more...