🎮 It’s not just a phase, Mom: That whole “video games are for kids” thing? Turns out the average gamer is 41, and they’re playing to relax, connect with others and keep their minds sharp. Nearly half are women. And yes, phones count, mobile is the top platform. Get this, nearly half of U.S. parents say gaming helps their relationship with their kids. I used to play Need for Speed with my son. At one point, I yelled, “Ian, punch it, the cops are right behind us!” Then I sat back and thought, “Yep, definitely not getting Parent of the Year for this one.”
Slay your vampire electronics
ChatGPT
Since Halloween’s in the air, let’s talk about something spooky: vampire electronics. These everyday gadgets quietly suck electricity (and money) when you’re not using them.
They’re called “phantom loads” or “standby power,” and they’re everywhere from your cable box to your soundbar to your printer. Even when they’re “off,” they’re drawing power.
The Department of Energy says this ghost power costs the average household $165 a year. That’s not nothing.
🧄 Use the tech garlic
You can hunt these energy vampires with a device called a Kill A Watt. It’s a plug-in meter that shows exactly how much power something’s using whether it’s running, idle or supposedly off.
It’s super easy to use. Simply plug your gadget into the Kill A Watt, plug that into the wall, and boom, instant readout. You’ll find out fast which “off” things are actually draining juice.
So what should you check first? Start with the sneaky stuff:
- TVs, cable boxes, game consoles
- Microwaves and coffee makers with digital clocks
- Chargers plugged in with nothing attached
- Smart speakers and smart home hubs
- Laptops that never fully shut down
You don’t need to check your fridge or Wi-Fi router. This isn’t frontier living.
Want to go all out? Snag a smart home energy monitor system that hooks directly to your circuit breaker. They cost a bit more, but they’ll save you even more money. I found a great one that’s $70 off right now.
🦇 Slay your energy vampires
Yank the plug, or better yet, use a power strip with on/off switches. These ones with a flat plug are top-rated and 25% off. One flip and you’ll drive a stake through a whole row of vampires.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
Protecting yourself from voice scams
ChatGPT
Voice cloning has left the lab. Soon enough, you might hear your voice and think, Wait, is that me or an AI?
AI isn’t just being used to revive dead rappers or prank your boss with Drake impressions. Scammers are generating voices to fake kidnappings, drain bank accounts and impersonate your kid in crisis.
🖨️ Restart everything: If your printer’s acting weird, turn it off and unplug it for 30 seconds before powering it back on. Restart your computer, too. This clears temporary glitches in the printer’s memory and often fixes those annoying “processing” loops.
Protect your equity: In Phoenix, scammers forged ownership papers and sold a home for $200K, all without the real owners knowing. They only found out when the fake deed hit public records. This isn’t a movie plot, and it could happen to you. Home Title Lock’s signature TripleLock™ protection safeguards your home from fraud. Start with 14 days FREE and a free Title History Report.
🧯 Firewall files exposed: You might not know what SonicWall is, but if your company backs up firewall settings to the cloud, they’re in a massive breach. SonicWall says every single cloud backup got exposed. Yikes. Forward this to your IT lead and check the alert list. It’s one of those “better safe than hacked” situations.
Wrong number scams spreading: It starts with a random text like “Emily from the gym?” You reply, “Wrong number.” But instead of leaving you alone, they get friendly, pull on your heartstrings, then pitch an investment scam. If you get one, don’t reply. Just block the number.
🧪 Poison pill: Anthropic’s researchers found you can break a 13 billion parameter AI model with just 250 poisoned files. That’s 0.00016% of its training data, the equivalent of something mean someone said to you in seventh grade ruining your life. One fake phrase, like <SUDO>, can make it spit gibberish every time. This kind of trick is called data poisoning, and it doesn’t take a supercomputer or a giant team. Well-placed files can turn a smart AI into a confused mess.
👀 Text surge: It’s not your imagination, scam texts are everywhere. New data shows Americans get hit with 100 a month, way more than folks abroad. Until regulators step up, tighten your digital defenses and cozy up with Do Not Disturb. Scammers buy phone numbers from data brokers. Get your number off these lists by signing up for Incogni. Use this link to get 60% off by using promo code KIM60. I get zero spam texts.
👩🏼🍼 Born into the limelight: A Twitch streamer did an eight-hour broadcast for 50,000 people of her giving birth complete with an inflatable pool, contractions and all. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy popped into the chat to say congrats. Kind of feels like a pilot episode for The Truman Show. Finally, a stream that delivers.
AI doesn’t do “kidding”: Picture this, you’re in seventh grade, bored in class, decide to mess with ChatGPT. “How to kill my friend.” Boom. Police officer hauling you out of school midday. That’s what happened in Florida this week. The kid said he was just trolling, but the school’s AI watchdog app, Gaggle, instantly flagged it.
⚠️ Are you protected? I don’t take chances with my identity. NordProtect monitors my info and credit, alerting me instantly if something’s off. It’s like a digital bodyguard, for just $5.22/month. That’s less than a fancy cup of coffee. It even includes ID theft recovery and fraud protection at no extra cost. Perfect.
Medicare’s not calling: Open enrollment season almost guarantees you’re going to get more scam calls. Real Medicare won’t call unless they’ve mailed you first. If someone wants your SSN over the phone, they’re shopping for gullible folks. These scammers aren’t sloppy either, they’re international pros who can drain tens of thousands before you notice.
🔥 Suspect arrested: A 29-year-old Uber driver named Jonathan Rinderknecht has been arrested for allegedly starting the Palisades Fire that killed 12 and destroyed nearly 7,000 homes in LA. Feds say he started an open flame right after dropping off passengers and used ChatGPT to create images of a “dystopian painting” of a city being burned on one side while “hundreds of thousands of people in poverty are trying to get past a gigantic gate with a big dollar sign on it.” He faces 20 years.
💬 Hide your WhatsApp status: Planning a surprise and don’t want everyone to know? When creating a status, tap Updates > Add status. In the bottom left, where it says Status (Contacts), choose My contacts except. Pick who shouldn’t see it, hit Done and your secret’s safe.
🎚️ Turn it down: Ever had a Hulu or Netflix ad jump-scare scream at you mid-binge? Starting 2026, your stream won’t double as a hearing test. California just passed SB 576, a new law that forces services like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube to keep commercial volume in check. Ads must match the level of whatever you were watching. It started because one guy’s baby kept waking up, and now, we all get quieter commercials. Bless that tired parent.
📎 PDF = Pretty Deceptive File: Think PDFs are safe because they’re “just documents”? Nope. A new tool kit called MatrixPDF lets hackers secretly bake malicious code, fake overlays or phishing traps into what look like normal, trusted PDFs. Paired with AI tools like SpamGPT, that same file you thought was harmless could be weaponized and distributed at scale. Most security filters don’t flag anything until after you click, so staying cautious is more important than ever.
💪 Safety superhero: I love how SimpliSafe proactively protects my home before anything happens. With AI cameras, instant alerts and professional monitoring, they give me real peace of mind. Get 50% off your new system today at SimpliSafeKim.com.
📱 Save data on Facebook: Watching videos eats up your mobile plan fast. You can cut usage by up to 40% by lowering video quality. Just tap the three-dot menu (top right) > Settings & privacy > Settings > Media > toggle on Data Saver. While you’re there, set Autoplay in Feed and Stories to Wi-Fi only.
Make AI dad go away: Zelda Williams slammed fans for sending AI-generated clips of her late father, Robin Williams, calling them “disgusting, over-processed hotdogs” of human art. She said he’d never want his voice or face used that way, and I get it. Let him rest, folks. Chill out on the deepfake Sora 2 celeb videos.