Staci from New Mexico got sued for alleged $5,200 debt. Instead of hiring a lawyer, she hired AI. She got $2,000 back. Wow. Plus, satellites that leak too much info, ChatGPT goes NSFW, and a webcam scam that’ll make you cover your camera.
📉 Debt end job: You ever feel like your job is draining you one unread email at a time, but you can’t leave because … bills? There’s a new term for that: “quiet cracking.” You’re not quitting. You’re just there. Fatigue, disconnection, stuck in place. A lot of folks feel the same. PSA: If work feels like it’s draining you, remember, bills need paying, but so do you. Take five. Breathe.
$60,000
The median annual pay for HVAC techs, no bachelor’s required. That’s about the same as a liberal arts grad, minus the $43,000 student debt. Hot take: Installing AC might actually be the cooler job. Blame “AI-xiety,” but better a wrench in hand than a résumé lost in the algorithm.
💰 Struggling with debt? Ask your favorite chatbot to pretend to be your creditor to practice your pitch. Just say, “Imagine you’re my creditor. Let’s role-play negotiating an [adjustment, extension, etc.] to my payment plan, and then critique my strategy.” Leave out private info when chatting with the bot.
11:18 p.m.
That’s when the average American actually falls asleep. Bedtime may start at 10:36 on average, but your brain’s running a late-night talk show until nearly midnight. Toss in some regret, a side of scrolling, the kids starting school again, and voilà, sleep debt before sunrise.
Venmo the government: Yep, a viral post on X says you can actually Venmo the U.S. Treasury to help pay off the $36.7 trillion national debt. But before you get generous, know it’s growing by $55,000 a second. To cover it all, every person in the U.S. would need to chip in around $100,000. Yikes.
💳 I’m not overdrawn, I’m under-deposited! FICO has two new types of scores that now include Buy Now, Pay Later loans. Lenders can now see that debt or your on-time payments. Just passing it along.
Grad name reads go full robo: Pace NY grads scanned QR codes at graduation, then heard their names announced by an AI voice that sounded like a sentient Waze app. Phonetic accuracy? Maybe. Vibes? Students compared it to checkout somewhere between dystopia and Duane Reade. Four years of debt, and Alexa stole your thunder.
💸 Reality check: Publishers Clearing House … more like clearance house. The prize patrol biz just filed for bankruptcy with only $490K in the bank. They racked up $40 million in debt and owe $26 million in lifetime prizes. It’s not the end of those giant checks (for now).
🤝 I want to be your secret helper and mentor: I’ve been around tech forever. My business has thrived for over 20 years without debt or investors. If you have an issue, problem or question about your life or business, I’d love to help you. Ask me here on my site. I read every single note.
Dirty diaper ruined a family business
Paul and Rachelle Baron own Beau & Belle Littles, a once thriving swim diaper business. But when Amazon resold a returned diaper as “new,” a one-star review flagged by more than 100 buyers left them $600,000 in debt. Plus, CrowdStrike trouble continues, web searches are changing, and a remote worker turned out to be a North Korean spy.