Burglars, life is short don’t make it shorter

Burglars, life is short – don’t make it shorter: Keep an eye out for hidden cameras in your front yard, folks. South American gangs are placing them in bushes, disguising them in leaf-covered camouflage, to see your comings and goings. Trim your foliage and get a security system. My pick is SimpliSafe.

Tags: American, cameras, Hidden cameras, security, security system, SimpliSafe


Your car is a target – Don’t get hacked or duped

Ever heard of wrapping your key fob in aluminum foil? It sounds a little crazy, but it’s a smart move. Your key fob’s signal is surprisingly easy for criminals to intercept using cheap scanners sold online. Thieves can open your car without setting off any alarms. If you have a true keyless car model, they might just drive away. Wrapping your fob in foil blocks the signals. 

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Best dashcams for 2024

Fourth of July is right around the corner, and we’re in for record-breaking holiday traffic. Some 71 million people are expected to travel over 50 miles during the week — the most on record.

I don’t mean to be a downer, but record-setting travel also means record-setting accidents, crashes and road rage. And being a defensive driver isn’t the only way to protect yourself on the road.

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Trivia

Which of these is not a current NASA mission? Is it … A.) Chips that create 3D skin and organ tissue, B.) Fully automated plant growth on the ISS, C.) A shoebox-sized satellite studying the universe’s most powerful explosions or D.) Mars surface ocean exploration?

Find the answer here!

35% down payment

Is the new norm when buying a house. Zillow says 20% won’t cut it for most folks to afford the current average monthly mortgage payments (paywall link), given high housing prices and high interest rates. For the average U.S. home, that’s about $128,000 down. Ouch.

Ask Kim: 'Help! My brother-in-law is spying on us'

Dear Kim,

My brother-in-law has our family cottage wired with a Ring security system. He is not to be trusted as he has been unfaithful to his wife and she has filed for divorce. My family is very suspicious that we are being watched or listened to all the time. 

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82% of campsites

Offer Wi-Fi access. It used to be a nice-to-have feature, but now, it’s almost as common as running water, electricity and an actual toilet. Other hot perks to attract campers: Pickleball courts, dog parks, kayaks and canoes. Oh, all these extras are in-tents.

Trivia

Chipmaker Nvidia just passed Microsoft and Apple to become the world’s most valuable company, hitting a cool $3.34 trillion in worth. Crazy, right? For today’s trivia, what Big Tech company is sitting at No. 4? Is it … A.) Meta, B.) Amazon or C.) Alphabet?

Find the answer here!

300,000-year-old face

Of our oldest human ancestor, revealed. A graphics expert 3D-scanned a skull to create a realistic render. Found in Morocco, the remains proved humans evolved 100,000 years earlier than we thought. Check out the pic of the handsome fellow here.

900% increase

In travel scams in the past year. That’s according to Booking.com, at least. ChatGPT has made it easier than ever to generate realistic scam emails. Do I believe there’s been an increase? Absolutely, but 900% …?

126 bird species

Haven’t been spotted for at least a decade. Are they extinct? Scientists aren’t sure. They’re turning to folks like you and me to keep a lookout. Think you’ve seen a purple-winged ground dove? Reach out at the official Lost Birds website with photo or audio evidence.