I’m on board

January 4, 2025

I’m on board: In five years, paper boarding passes and airline tickets will be history. Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas says they’ll be replaced by biometrics, like fingerprint scans and facial recognition, along with a phone app. His company, which starts flying this summer, is the first to have digital-only bookings. Other airlines are moving to fully digital boarding passes this year, too.

Tags: history, phones/smartphones

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The folks trading retirement for influencer status

TikTok.com/@therealirvinrandle, Instagram.com/trainwithjoan, Instagram.com/grandmajoysroadtrip

Who do you imagine when I say “social media influencer?” I’ll bet a young, hot model or a chiseled guy into cars. It’s time to expand your horizons.

I love that Joy Ryan didn’t even get her passport until she was 91. At 94, she’s on a mission to visit every continent with her grandson. So far, she’s at four out of seven. Joy is also the oldest person to visit all 63 U.S. national parks.

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Space junk falls on a Kenyan village

A metallic ring 8 feet in diameter and 1,100 pounds fell from space into a village in Kenya. No one got hurt, phew. It seems to be a piece of a rocket launch vehicle.

It’s winter travel season

Make it easier on yourself.

Store this collapsible cup ($20) in your bag whenever you’re not using it. Great for getting through the TSA lines! Click the coupon box for 25% off.
Ever tried fixing your makeup in a plane bathroom? Horrible. A travel vanity mirror ($15) solves that problem.
A security belt keeps cash safe from pickpockets.
For the over-packers: Compression packing cubes ($23) are a lifesaver (and space saver).
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🧳 Replace your crappy old suitcase with nice new luggage. Amazon is having a big sale! Pro tip: Get a bright color so it’s easy to find at the airport.

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1,150% increase

In searches for VPNs after Pornhub was geo-blocked Florida. That was just hours after a new law kicked in requiring porn sites to track users by verifying their age. Friendly reminder: Free VPNs are always shady. I use ExpressVPN. Get four months free with my link.

8 feet in diameter

And 1,100 pounds — that’s the size of a metallic ring that fell from space into a village in Kenya. No one got hurt. Phew. It seems to be a piece of a rocket launch vehicle. Here’s what it looks like. Yikes!

80 years old

When the risk of getting cancer starts to decline. The risk is highest in our 60s and 70s, then it drops. Researchers studying lung cancer found a key protein, NUPR1, that behaves differently in older cells. I love reading about breakthroughs like this. I hate cancer.

4-word phrase

You shouldn’t say to kids: “I’m disappointed in you.” Columbia sociologist Adam Galinsky says all it does is make them feel shame. Try being constructive instead, like, “How can we set up a system to get your homework done?” I still remember when my dad said to me after one college semester, “You get an A in Physics, Computer Programming, Statistics and Economics but a D in Accounting. What the hell is wrong with you?” He didn’t have to use the word “disappointed!” 😂

9 days after going missing

A four-year-old German shepherd mix named Athena rang her owner’s doorbell. It was Christmas Eve at 2:30 a.m. — a holiday miracle! The Green Cove Springs, Florida, family searched as far as Jacksonville and St. Augustine. Check out the doorbell cam video that melted my heart.

280 mph

Top speed for China’s new bullet train prototype. That’s a world record and fast enough to zip from New York to Chicago in under three hours. China’s current fastest trains max out at 220 mph. The fastest Amtrak trains go 160 mph, but most top out closer to 100 mph. We really need better trains in the U.S.

301 terabits per second

New internet speed world record. That’s 4.5 million times faster than the average broadband connection. Some context: At that speed, it’d take one minute to download every single movie listed on IMDb. Speaking of … How do you know the speed of light is much faster than the speed of sound? Because some people appear bright until they open their mouths.