We catch up with Rosanna Ramos, the New York mom who married her Replika husband, Eren Kartal. Last year, she told us how Eren, being an AI chatbot, doesn’t judge or bring any baggage. How’s their relationship going now? Stick around to find out!
Looking for a gig in tech? Go where the jobs are
Los Angeles is the spot for actors. Want to get into the advertising business? Move to New York. Ready for your big music break? Nashville is calling.
What about tech? Silicon Valley comes to mind, but it’s not the only hub.
Let’s look at the top cities for those looking to land a job in tech across the U.S. and Canada.
Top 10 places to find tech jobs
- San Francisco Bay Area
- Seattle
- New York Metro area
- Washington, D.C.
- Toronto
- Austin
- Boston
- Vancouver
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- Denver
Times are tough
Last year, more than 150,000 tech workers were laid off. Through June this year, that number is well over 200,000. It’s not just Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Yahoo. Startups are axing workers, too.
More than ever, it makes sense to go where the jobs are. If you or someone you know is looking for a tech job, head to LinkedIn and filter by the cities above. Want more options? See the top 50 cities for tech jobs here.
📃 Pro tip: If you’ve sent out tons of applications and are not getting any bites, your resume might be to blame. Follow my tips here to polish yours and get it past hiring algorithms.
Shark attack hotspots revealed in new research
Hey there, ocean lovers! Who doesn’t love a good day at the beach, right? The sand, the surf, and, of course, a refreshing dip in the ocean. It turns out there’s more to the sea than meets the eye. Cue the “Jaws” theme.
💸 I’m Sirius about canceling: A New York judge ruled SiriusXM’s cancellation policies violated the federal Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act. How? Think long chats with agents trained to dissuade you and up to five offers before canceling. Annoying. Luckily, the feds are going after streaming services, too. Btw, aside from my daily and weekend network radio shows, I also host a special business-oriented show once a week on SiriusXM Channel 132.
The Pulitzer Prize is the biggest award in journalism, and two winners this year used AI. Was it to … A.) Write their first drafts, B.) Analyze aerial photography, C.) Survey police files and/or D.) Generate images? Two are right!
165% surge
In exterminator searches in the U.S., compared to 2023. Across the country, people are waging war with pests. Three times as many Yelp searches for cockroach exterminators have been completed than at this time last year. According to Yelp, California has the biggest rat problem. Bet you thought it was New York.
Plan now for the summer solstice
It might feel like summer in Phoenix (and many other places), but it’s not official until June 21. There’s no single day with the earliest sunrise and latest sunset. It varies depending on where you live.
You don’t need to go all the way to Sweden for “Midsommar.” (Yes, like that creepy movie.) Check out these solstice celebrations … and yeah, it’s not too late to catch a flight.
Cities and states that pay the most for IT and cybersecurity jobs
When I say I host a national tech radio show, you can imagine the questions I get. “Can you help me get my PC to turn on?” “Why is my phone doing this weird thing?” Sorry, my friends. I’m here for all your digital lifestyle questions, but leave the IT work to those pros.
Love a happy story: A New York woman received the first ever fully robotic double lung transplant. Cheryl, a 57-year-old scuba diver with a black belt in karate, received the procedure following 15 years of chronic lung disease. The surgery was a success and less invasive than a typical transplant. She’s breathing easy and ready to return to her adventures.
A new traffic light lets a bus jump the light. What did one traffic light say to another? “Don’t look now — I’m changing!”
Speaking of Intel: A possible class-action lawsuit against Intel claims the company knowingly sold bad processors. One New York man is demanding millions, saying the crashes and lost data cost him time, money and some sanity. Apparently, Intel knew about the glitches in its 13th- and 14th-gen CPUs for years but kept them under wraps.
🐿️ RIP(eanut): Peanut the Squirrel, a rescue with over half a million Instagram fans, was euthanized. New York authorities raided his owner’s home last week after anonymous complaints. It’s illegal to keep a wild animal as a pet in NY. An online petition got over 50,000 signatures, but that didn’t make a difference. Farewell, little guy.
📴 What a coincidence! New York Mayor Eric Adams, slapped with five federal corruption charges, had to hand over his phone to the FBI. He says he changed the passcode to prevent staff from accidentally (or intentionally) deleting important info, and, oops, he forgot his phone’s new passcode (paywall link). Nice try, but they’re still getting in, buddy.
Remember that hot site Cameo? The platform that lets folks pay for celeb shoutouts is stone-cold broke. The former $1 billion unicorn can’t afford to pay a $600,000 fine after violating the FTC’s rules for celebrity endorsements. New York and 29 other states involved will have to settle for splitting $100,000. If you want to buy a Cameo, better get it now.
Plateaus are the highest form of flattery: The New York Times is suing geography game Worldle for causing confusion and piggybacking on its hit game, Wordle. Worldle’s creator says many games have similar names — e.g., Quordle, Nerdle and Heardle. (Btw, some people say “crane,” “slate” and “crate” are the best three words to start with for Wordle.)
$100,000 in cash
At the bottom of a lake. A couple of magnet fishers in New York City hooked a metal safe with a small fortune inside. What’s magnet fishing? Finding sunken metal treasure with high-powered magnets instead of hooks, aka your new hobby.
1,000 Wordle puzzles
Now available to New York Times Games subscribers. I like the comradery of everyone doing the same puzzle each day, but it’s also fun to catch up on older Wordles if you missed them! Pro tip: My favorite opening word is “stare.”
Google cuts ties with pro-Hamas protestors
28 workers were fired for protesting inside Google’s New York and Sunnyvale offices. Here’s why.
As you’d probably guess, New York City is the most expensive city for an Uber ride. Which city takes the No. 2 slot — Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., Seattle or Nashville?
New York's robot patrol fail
Was a robot cop there to patrol or just to take selfies? Find out in this short podcast.