In defense of cheating at crossword puzzles

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Essentials Week spotlights unexpected items that make our daily lives just a little bit better.


My name is Rachel, and I am a cheater.

No, not that kind of cheater. I cheat at gamesUno, mostly, on family vacations. There was a very sticky incident with a game of Mille Bornes once. And getting caught in the act during a round of Hi-Ho Cherry-O when I was a young kid still shamefully burns in my memory.

Lately, I’ve been engaging in a different sort of cheating. And while I know that my typical illicit game play is wrong, I feel — mostly — no shame about this new kind. Because, for now, it’s justified. Read more…

More about Games, Games To Play, Essentials Week, Tech, and Web Culture

Stinky feet? These inserts can help and are currently on sale.

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Face it: Those boots you bought this past Black Friday have already begun to smell something fierce thanks to an unholy union of sweat and bacteria. Happens to the best of us, you know.

Fortunately, there’s a simple remedy to your odor woes in the form of some specially designed shoe inserts called Zorpads. Designed with NASA-tested technology, each pad absorbs the pungent scent of stinky feet to keep your shoes fresh for up to 60 wears. 

Their sticky bases make them easy to apply, and their compact rectangular shape means they’re small enough to fit any shoe — no cutting or trimming required. Plus, they don’t make a mess like traditional shoe deodorizers, which tend to come in the form of sprays and powders. Simply stick them in place inside your slippers, sneakers, or sandals, and you’ve got enough odor-busting power to handle the job. Read more…

More about Mashable Shopping, Shopping Stackcommerce, Shopping Solo, Mashable Deals, and Lifestyle

Massive school district hack exposes 500,000 people—including students

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Thousands of San Diego area students and teachers may be on Christmas break, but that didn’t stop the school district from announcing a major data hack Friday.

San Diego Unified School District, the second largest school district in California, said more than 500,000 students and staff had their personal information accessed through a data breach. Through a phishing attack, an unauthorized user accessed data from as far back as the 2008-2009 school year. The hack also affected 50 district employees. 

SEE ALSO: Thieves are using ‘informed delivery’ to spy on mail and commit fraud

The data breach certainly affected a lot of people, but it’s the type of info the hackers accessed that’s shocking. Students had their attendance records, health information, discipline history, contact details, and more exposed. Both students and staff had Social Security numbers revealed. Even worse, some staff had viewable paychecks, salary and  direct deposit information, and routing and account numbers exposed. Read more…

More about Cybersecurity, Hackers, Hack, Phishing, and Data Breach

ATT will add fake 5G labels to some Android phones

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Actual 5G networks for your phone won’t be ready for some time, but AT&T isn’t letting that stop it from trying to cash in on the hype.

Some Android users will soon see a “5GE” icon on their screens, even though their phones are still technically connected to 4G LTE networks. In this case, the “E” is a key distinction — it’s a reference to “5G Evolution,” AT&T’s moniker for its fast, but not actually 5G, network. 

SEE ALSO: 5G’s biggest challenge is making sure it actually works as promised

“5G Evolution technologies enables a peak theoretical wireless speed of 400Mbps for capable devices, or an average around 40Mbps based on real-world experiences,” AT&T wrote in a statement.  Read more…

More about Tech, Att, 5g, Tech, and Big Tech Companies

14 innovations that helped make the world a better place in 2018

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People across the world may face a variety of challenges, but innovators, activists, and organizations worked together in 2018 to find impressive solutions.

SEE ALSO: 2018 was the year of the youth activist

In no particular order, here are 14 innovations that made the world a more inclusive, safe, and all-around better place this year. To learn about other ingenious innovations, check out this list from 2017.

1. Starbucks signing store in U.S. 

You can get these mugs at Starbucks' first U.S. Signing Store in Washington D.C.

You can get these mugs at Starbucks’ first U.S. Signing Store in Washington D.C.

Image: Joshua Trujillo / Starbucks

Starbucks opened its first U.S. store for Deaf and hard-of-hearing customers in Washington, D.C. The cafe’s employees are proficient in American Sign Language and wear aprons with fingerspelling. The store also teaches non-ASL speakers fingerspelling through digital notepads and chalkboard messages. Starbucks’ first-ever “signing” store opened in Malaysia a few years ago, but the D.C. location introduces the concept to American consumers. It also draws attention to how many public spaces are not accessible to people with disabilities while simultaneously demonstrating how they can be reimagined to serve everyone Read more…

More about Technology, Activism, Innovations, Social Good, and Innovations

This 25-year-old’s unusual budget has sent the internet into a tailspin

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Nothing gets people riled up like a peek into other people’s budgets.

On Friday, much of Twitter went into an uproar when CNBC shared a mind-boggling pie chart that laid out a monthly budget for a 25-year-old who happens to make $100,000 a year and is “excellent with money.”

The budget breakdown of a 25-year-old who makes $100,000 a year and is excellent with money. via @CNBCMakeIt https://t.co/GLRCp1rfey pic.twitter.com/FuxRVrYXoH

— CNBC (@CNBC) December 21, 2018

The outrage was instant, with many wondering what 25-year-old makes that much money and how does he or she pay such cheap rent and internet and have the money for $615 a month in donations? Read more…

More about Twitter, Millennials, Budget, Cnbc, and Culture

The female characters of 2018 wielded femininity as a weapon

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This article contains spoilers for many shows and movies, including Killing Eve, Sharp Objects, and House of Cards

All our lives, the “fairer sex” has been told that femininity is a delicate flower, a weakness, a virtue, and an invitation for abuse.

The #MeToo movement made it clear that power imbalances can make womanhood feel synonymous with victimhood. And the women-led entertainment of 2017 often reflected that reality, or offered escapism from it through fantasies like Wonder Woman imagining female empowerment as the magical ability to be stronger than men. 

SEE ALSO: Why 2018’s ‘Halloween’ is the slasher movie made for the #MeToo era Read more…

More about Entertainment, House Of Cards, Sharp Objects, Killing Eve, and End Of Year 2018

Apple product launch finally gets a hilarious Bad Lip Reading

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Apple events once held the attention of the entire internet. But in recent years, as we’ve become inundated with constant releases of new iPhones and MacBooks with somewhat incremental updates, they’ve become, well, boring.

Thankfully, Bad Lip Reading just dropped a parody of the Apple’s product unveilings that perfectly captures their awkward and sometimes nonsensical nature.

I’m personally most excited for the Apple Steven Forkhead. You stick forks in it and then you hear a doorbell. It’s pretty useless, but I bet it has a headphone jack.  Read more…

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