Calming gameplay

Researchers found playing 20 minutes of a certain computer game after a car accident or other trauma can reduce intrusive memories in the coming weeks. Is it … A.) Solitaire, B.) Pac-Man, C.) Tetris or D.) Minesweeper?

The answer: C.) Tetris has been found to help reduce traumatic memories after a car crash. Folks who played for 20 minutes in the hours after a wreck had 62% fewer intrusive memories than those who didn’t play. Worth a try, right? You can play online with no ads here.

Tags: car, computer, crash, online, play, researchers, Tetris


3 steps to protect your kids from identity theft

Last year, a Hawaii couple was convicted of living for decades under the identities of dead babies. Stories like this always disgust me, but after this long in tech, they don’t surprise me.

Crooks have no shame, folks: 2% of identity theft cases reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last year involved the personal info of Americans age 19 or younger. Many more go unreported, partly because they aren’t discovered until the victim attempts to apply for their first loan or credit card.

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🐱 Anything is paw-sible: A Utah couple accidentally shipped their cat, Galena, to an Amazon warehouse in California. The kitty slipped into a return box when nobody was looking. Galena went six days without food or water before making it home safely, thanks to her microchip. Or, as I like to call them, the original AirTags.

$132,000 in profits lost for every EV Ford sold in Q1

Issues cited include stiff competition, high R&D costs and only 10,000 vehicles sold all quarter. Ford execs say the EV business will be profitable “in the near future.” Something tells me they can’t af-ford those numbers for long.

🏎️ May the best algo win: The first-ever autonomous car race kicks off in Abu Dhabi this weekend. No F1 pros, just eight engineering teams duking it out for $2.25 million in prize money. They’re even racing the exact same car — the Dallara Super Formula SF23. Car racing is about the driver’s abilities, not just a car. Dumb.

Phone(y) bills: If you use Verizon, watch out for phony invoice emails from “33mail.com.” They link you to a fake Office 365 sign-in page that could allow them to hack your account. Don’t click that link. If you get an email that looks “phishy” or has mismatched sender names and addresses, mark it as spam ASAP.

Billion-dollar listing: U.S. investors are lining up to bid on a freshly legislated TikTok. A top contender? Former treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin. If a sale happens, don’t expect China to give up its algorithm — whoever buys it will get the brand but probably not the tech behind it.

49.8% of the population will be nearsighted and need glasses by 2050

That’s up from 20% in 2000. Screens aren’t totally to blame — all “near work” like reading, writing and, yes, watching, contributes, along with time indoors. A good reminder to get outside and make sure you have vision insurance.

​​$9,420 flamethrowing robot

The 26-pound Thermonator robo-pup has an ARC flamethrower on its back. Throwflame, the Ohio flamethrower manufacturer, says the fiery Fido can be used for “wildfire control and prevention” and “snow and ice removal.” Shipping is free, but good luck ordering — the website crashed. Ruff!

Wouldn’t want to be a cyclist in SF: A Waymo self-driving taxi was caught on video making a risky move in San Francisco — overtaking unicyclists and scooters by swerving into the wrong lane. It veered from the right-hand lane into oncoming traffic to pass the group. Waymo’s excuse? It switched lanes because it was the “safer” thing to do. Really now?

💄 Maybe it can put my makeup on for pics: Adobe just teased a few flashy new Photoshop features. Advanced Generative Fill lets you select an area and write something like, “Clear shallow water.” It does just that, adding it in for you. The demo is sweet, and our designer says the beta version worked great.