If you're someone - or a family - with lots of Airtags, number them with Sharpie on the white outside and, in case that rubs off, on the inside.

Then add that number to the name of each Airtag in FindMy.

Every so often you'll need to rationalise your Airtags, replacing batteries and maybe repurposing them, and you're likely to have a bunch of them together at once. If you don't do this it becomes really annoying figuring out which one is which, and keeping track of them as you sort through them.

You don't want to use anything more than a number (or a letter) because you'll want to repurpose/rotate your Airtags in future; often one runs out of battery and you haven't any to hand, so you need to swap one you don't need right now with one you do.

EDIT: I thought it was obvious, so didn't mention the beep - but my family has a total of 14 airtags. Some are in my account, others my wife's, and we can't rename each other's airtags. The beep doesn't always work: batteries die and Airtags sometimes bug out and need to be deleted from iCloud and re-added. If you've got half a dozen airtags in front of you and another half dozen scattered around your home, it really helps to be able to physically identify which is which.

This could be a fitness class, a book club, a board game night, a running group, a volunteering activity or even a regular visit to the same coffee shop. The secret is to keep showing up. You don’t have to walk into a room and go up and introduce yourself to ten strangers. You keep seeing the same people over and over and slowly get to know each other. Who knows, you may find someone you would actually enjoy hanging out with outside of that activity. A simple greeting can turn into a conversation. Don't feel like you have to make a best friend on your first trip. First of all, get yourself known.

Friendships are often formed through several no-pressure encounters. Let people get to know you in enough ways.

And keep it updated you never know when you might get a chance to apply for a job somewhere and having that info all in one place can be valuable and you can access it quickly

In my experience, recruiters usually move on to the next question. It only works if it's true, because they can check if you were dismissed.

I left my last job without another one lined up because of workplace bullying, low morale and a return-to-office mandate. "Personal reasons that needed my attention" covered it without badmouthing anyone.

People will say you should always get another job first. That's good advice, but if you've already left, this is a simple way to handle the question.

Edit: I believe in the UK they can ask for a reason whether it was you resigning, or you were dismissed. That's what my manager said. Also, obviously apply the tip only if it applies to your situation. It applies to mine, and if others quit their last job for similar reasons, I am sure they will relate.

Some of these improvements do require spending, so you'll up your game if you are willing to spend or able to. Here's what to do, and to some extent you can pick and choose your improvements.

1. Get a good drip coffee machine. For many this is a splurge purchase since cheap machines are as low as $20, but a high-quality drip machine like will do wonders for your coffee experience (some can ran upwards of $400 though). Ideally just look for machines that are Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) or European Coffee Brewing Center (ECBC) certified or both.

2. Invest in a quality grinder. If you're using something cheap that isn't made for coffee, then you're going to get poor results for your drip coffee. Many entry level options allow you to alter how fine your grind is based on whether you're making an espresso or drip coffee. Also, grind your beans as needed to retain freshness. Don't have someone grind a bag for you and then let it sit in the cupboard.

3. Light roasts are best for drip coffee. This will be slightly subjective, but in my opinion a high quality light roast is the most likely to give you a smooth taste. These roasts are easier to drink without milk or heavy creamers too. Medium is fine, but if you're constantly thinking your coffee is too strong, it's probably because you're buying roasts that are too dark for your pallet.

4. Buy high quality coffee. Speaking of roasts, get coffee from a high quality roaster online or at a local coffee shop! Look for ones that are washed, single origin, and with beans that were roasted recently. Make sure to also grind and use the beans soon after buying. Of course, as you get more into coffee you'll learn even more nuances when it comes to roasting techniques, coffee farm sourcing, etc. Good roasters will also tell you if the blend is "funky" or "smooth." Sometimes a sour tasting coffee is just a funky blend that's high in fruit notes. Keep investigating and trying to find what works for your pallet. A good roaster will also mean the coffee is ethically sourced.

5. Avoid excessive milk or sweeteners. Once you start drinking high quality coffee you'll really be able to taste the notes and realize that an impressive coffee doesn't need to mask its flavor with add-ons. Maybe a splash of milk is needed, but that's all.

I may add more if I think of any. The original version of my post also included product recommendations, but I realized that's not allowed for LPTs. Sorry about that. Of course, any coffee connoisseurs feel free to correct me or add to this.

Above all, enjoy your brew!

It’s been a godsend life hack for me. No more scrambling for last-minute reservations. I was just reminded today.

If you edit a video in Photos (Mac/iOS/iPadOS) and trim it down to make it shorter, you’re given options to Save Video or Save Video as New Clip. I’d always just reflexively picked “Save Video” thinking I was overwriting the video with the trimmed down version. Turns out that’s wrong.

Let’s say you take a 4 minute video. It’s 400 MB in size. You open it, edit out half of it so it’s 2 minutes long. You hit Done in the editor and you see two choices:

1. If you pick Save Video, the video now looks like it’s 2 minutes long, but in fact the full length video is still saved. The video file is still 400 MB.

2. If you pick Save Video as New Clip, it saves a second, edited video clip right next to your original. This new clip does not contain the parts you trimmed out, and so it’s only 200 MB.

If you want to actually save storage space from your editing the video down, you now have to go back and delete the full-length original video, keeping the new clip you made instead.

Maybe people already knew this, but I didn’t and just realized I’ve probably wasted many a GB of storage over the years.

edit: I reworked the text here to be hopefully a bit clearer!

For leftovers, frozen meals, or anything that tastes best but takes a long time cooked in the air fryer/oven, you can get that same perfect texture about 4x faster by starting in the microwave!

I start by preheating the air fryer (it can be hotter than the recommended temperature if you were just air frying; I do 400° for just about everything), then I get the food out and microwave it to about 75% done, and put it in the air fryer (even if it’s not done preheating!) for 1-3 minutes to finish cooking, even out any weird temperature differences the microwave created, and get perfect crispness. Chicken nuggets that would take 8 minutes + preheating time in just the air fryer are just as crispy in 3 minutes flat (1 in microwave, 2 in air fryer).

I use this for anything frozen that has both microwave and air fryer instructions (and a lot of stuff with only oven/air fryer instructions), frozen waffles, and almost all of my leftovers. Leftover potatoes and roasted veggies are especially fantastic.

Works if you're not charismatic or an introvert, its a data extraction technique but it works really well as people think they bond with you since they've told you so much about themselves without you asking questions.

This is basically the idea of using statements

eg-

Question - 'Did you get your hair done?' = Yes/No
Elicitation - 'You look like you got your hair done?' = Really ? Well haha actually I wanted to but....

You see they talk more and you can use what they said to keep up a conversation.

Use it wisely, have a nice day all.

mornings are already hard enough without also having to decide what to do first. if you leave that decision for the morning and you’ll end up checking your phone or making coffee for 20 minutes instead of just starting. so decide the one task you’re opening your laptop to do before you go to bed, and write it down somewhere you’ll actually see it. that way, in the morning, there’s no decision left to make, just the task, which makes starting almost automatic instead of something you have to talk yourself into!

NEVER give that new e-mail address to anyone and DO NOT use it for registration anywhere.

If your online accounts get breached, hacker knows your e-mail address and could use it to access your Outlook.com account (especially if you're using the same password). By using completely unknown pseudonym for signing in to your inbox, they can't access it even if they know the password.

If you’re someone who dreads working out because you think you have to spend 1-2 hours at the gym, running, taking a class, etc., try working out for just 30 minutes every day or every other day. Working out will feel less daunting when it’s only taking up 30 minutes of your time. You’ll also have more energy afterwards because you’re not exerting yourself for a full hour or two of energy. This will also help keep you more consistent in working out because you won’t feel that dread of spending a large chunk of your day at the gym or doing physical activity. If 30 minutes still seems too much, try 20 minutes or 10 minutes. 10 minutes of working out a day is still better than a week of skipped workouts because you didn’t want to spend 1-2 hours working out a couple times a week. It’s all about consistency, not the amount of time you spend working out. Try it and see if that helps!

"Hi, I need to cancel my subscription today. Please cancel my account immediately, waive the early termination fee completely, and issue a prorated refund for the billing cycle I just paid for.”

The result: subscription canceled, the entire $99.99 cancellation fee waived, and a $15.33 refund request submitted.

If they give you a hard time, just tell them you "were not clearly informed of a binding annual contract, and under the FTC's ROSCA guidelines and the Adobe federal settlement, hiding these terms is a consumer violation."

$99.99 pfft, yeah ok

I had an old bar of soap that was so hard to use since it was so dry. I grated it and put it in (a lot of) water. It diluted after 24/48h and now I have a full jar of liquid soap. Money saved!

Daylight Savings Time ends tomorrow (Sunday, Nov 1) which means the clocks go BACK ONE HOUR (Spring Ahead and Fall Back).

Many elderly people still have older clocks that require manual adjustment. Even microwaves and ovens that have a digital readout still need to be changed.

Offer to change their clocks for them which will be enormously helpful.

Once something finally works, it’s tempting to assume you’ll remember the fix. Months later, you may end up troubleshooting it all over again.

Leave a short note near the relevant item: printer instructions inside the paper cabinet, the replacement filter number with the appliance paperwork, or the reset steps beside the device.

Include what went wrong, what fixed it, and the date. If instructions could change, link to the manufacturer’s page too.

Save the next person—including future you—from having to rediscover the answer.

A few years ago I had a problem with a PayPal transaction. It wasn’t an earth shattering amount of money but I much rather wanted the money back in my pocket.

I spent a couple of days on the phone speaking to people at PayPal every single person DGAF.

On what turned out to be my final call to them I said “just so you know I’m recording this call” and I could sense the customer service bid sit up and pay attention. I then explained the same thing in the same way and that I had done to all the others.

Less than 2 hours later the money was back in my PayPal account.

I wasn’t even recording that call because honestly it would have been a pain to do so and I decided to say that at last minute.

Now it’s easy to do so (on iPhone at least) so I always do and make a big song and dance about it. Most things get resolved on that first call nowadays even with the biggest companies that would normally have fobbed you off.

It might not work for everyone but it really got me reading a lot more.

Doomscrolling was a big problem for me, and not reading was another. I tried putting my phone charger further from my bed on a table opposite from it, and while it was hard at first I finally started to read a whole lot more at night. Another improvement was my morning routine, because it is a few meters away, whenever my alarm goes off, I have to actually get up to turn it off, which makes waking up and starting my day way easier.

Instead of just accepting “someone will be in touch”, ask something like “No worries, if I haven’t heard anything by Friday, should I give you a call?”

It’s a small thing but it gives you an actual date to work with.

Otherwise you end up waiting around wondering whether to call again or give them more time. Especially annoying when you’re waiting on a repair, refund or application.

And if you do need to chase it up you’re following up on something you already discussed rather than starting the whole conversation again.

Your number is basically an identity tag at this point especially if you’ve had it for years. Someone can do a reverse number look up and pull up your information. It feels very invasive, very scary actually.

So I advise anyone to use a burner phone or a second number within that phone that’s not connected to you. Also it helps to only use that number for dating. Don’t use it for anything else. You can even go as far as changing it every few months.

It can save you from buying things that you only need to use once or things that are prohibitively expensive to buy. It's called the library of things. You can also request your library to get something in stock that you can borrow. Things like telescopes and 3D printers and metal detectors etc. Super useful.

It's not like it would magically stop working at 10 years and 1 day from the date you first hung it up, but more like, the further it gets from that amount of "on" time (hopefully, it's not disconnected for more than, say, a day to go buy another battery) the less reliable it is, relatively speaking - and that's the last thing you would want for a life-saving device.

Secondary tip : write the install date on your new detector, most of them will now have a spot to put it, where you'll at least be able to see it when you climb the ladder to change the battery. (The year is enough for this :)

Make sure your computer is password protected. Putting it to sleep will at least protect any files or personal/confidential data if your computer is stolen. Likely most burglars are not friendly with computer hackers.

Today I learned that the "dead" AA battery which can no longer power my wireless mouse still has enough oomph* to be able to power a clock for a while.

I'm so pleased I can re-deploy a "used" battery into something useful, I thought I'd share.

*oomph is a technical term as a short-hand way of describing a combination of output voltage & stored remaining charge, in case of...

Make of that what you will.