Random stuff I find interesting and you may not.
There’s one industry that consistently ranks dead last, or pretty darn close, in customer satisfaction surveys year after year. Want to guess which one? It’s the internet service providers. Their reputation for abysmal service is well-earned, and frankly, it’s been in the toilet for a long time. So, where did this all come from? For … Read more
It is a good guess that a lot of moms and dads succumbed to pressure this Christmas – either from their children’s pleading or peer-pressure in the form of wanting to be the “cool parents” – and ended up buying their sons and daughters smart phones for Christmas gifts. If you are one of these … Read more
The map of schools that are in the network of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education continues to be ever more populated, but we still have large areas in the United States with no schools deeply dedicated to the Catholic tradition. (See here for a commentary on Catholic schools that are not so dedicated to … Read more
Smartphones, handguns, and the destructive use of freedom The word “freedom” comes from vridom, which means “beloved” in medieval German. In that grim era, only people of one’s own heritage were thought to deserve basic human rights; outsiders, on the other hand, could be killed, tortured, and enslaved at will. This was true throughout the … Read more
TikTok launched a beguiling new filter last week that promises to turn every user into the most flawless version of themselves. While some social-media influencers reveled in their goddess-like transformations, many users recoiled at the dramatic disparity between their real and artificial appearances. “Catfishing to the next level,” female TikToker Malene Pedersen captioned on a … Read more
America must catch up to Europe in accepting the role of peer influence in adolescent gender dysphoria. Transgenderism is the belief that every person has a “gender identity” (an inner sense of being male, female, something else, or in between) distinct from his or her sex and that, when the two conflict, gender identity should … Read more
You’ve probably seen it on lots of apps and websites: buttons urging you to sign in with your Google or Facebook account. Sometimes it’s to let you share files, photos or emails. Other times it’s to use Google or Facebook as a quick way to log in somewhere new. My rule of thumb is to … Read more
A mental health crisis has been raging among today’s teens, especially teenage girls. In a recent essay in the New York Times, writer Matt Richter explores this disturbing trend, focusing on the story of M, an otherwise bright girl with potential who eventually suffers from gender dysphoria, anxiety, depression, and self-harm. M’s problems began at … Read more
The latest in a spate of studies investigating links between use of social media and depression suggests the two go hand in hand. “The relationship between social media and mental health has been the subject of a lot of debate,” said Dr. Roy Perlis, lead author of the new study. He’s director of the Center … Read more
Where To Watch Free Movies Online When you start looking for free movies online, it won’t be long before you start coming across less-than-reputable websites. Some may actually require paid memberships or subscriptions while others provide access to pirated content. But there are several websites, apps and streaming services that you can use to watch … Read more
– Your bank will not text you about your account unless you have specifically signed up for text alerts. – The same goes for virtually every other service you use, including the IRS, the Social Security Administration, and any other organization with your personal identifying information. – If you get something that looks like a … Read more
Most of us have probably heard the term “smishing” — which is a portmanteau for traditional phishing scams sent through SMS text messages. Smishing messages usually include a link to a site that spoofs a popular bank and tries to siphon personal information. But increasingly, phishers are turning to a hybrid form of smishing — … Read more
SMS text messages were already the weakest link securing just about anything online, mainly because there are tens of thousands of employees at mobile stores who can be tricked or bribed into swapping control over a mobile phone number to someone else. Now we’re learning about an entire ecosystem of companies that anyone could use … Read more
Speeding No matter how long you’ve been driving, there’s a good chance you tend to speed every now and then. Even going 5 miles-per-hour over the limit is against the law. Curious about speed limits around the country? The National Motorists Association has this guide for every state. Not Stopping Stop means stop—as in a … Read more