All posts tagged: Trick

The trick that offloads intrusive thoughts so your brain can actually work

The trick that offloads intrusive thoughts so your brain can actually work

Published by Jenni Sidey

We treat focus as something you’re either engaging in, or opting out of, but what if the truth points to focus as being something you’ve been trained out of by our attention economy? David Epstein, author of Range and Inside the Box, breaks down what’s actually happening inside the brain when we multitask, and why “just focusing” is a solution that doesn’t hold up to reality. This video The trick that offloads intrusive thoughts so your brain can actually work is featured on Big Think. Source link

Mom Got Her Hospital Bills Lowered By Using A Debt Collector’s Trick

Mom Got Her Hospital Bills Lowered By Using A Debt Collector’s Trick

Published by Jenni Sidey

In America, hospital bills strike terror into the hearts of most of us and often ruin people’s lives and futures. So it seems ridiculous to think that the process of creating medical bills is so absurdly arbitrary that a single sentence could make large chunks of them disappear. However, that’s precisely what one mom recently learned. Health policy research organization KFF estimates that as many as 100 million Americans carry medical debt, and an investigation by NPR found that the problem is not only worsening, but it’s also the result of systematic efforts by our for-profit healthcare industry. Given how terrifying this is, TikToker Annie Muscato’s recent experience is downright counterintuitive because asking one simple question made a giant chunk of her bill disappear. A mom got her hospital bills lowered by $3,000 using a trick she learned from a debt collector. After giving birth, Muscato received medical bills that were inaccurate by thousands of dollars. The only reason she even noticed the discrepancy is because she did a thing all too many of us refrain from doing: she opened …

My homemade air-con unit does the trick | Extreme heat

My homemade air-con unit does the trick | Extreme heat

Published by Jenni Sidey

For a cheap and simple air-con unit: take the blue blocks used in most cool bags from the freezer; put them in a metal saucepan (we use a wok); place them in the airflow of a fan. Remember to put them back in the freezer in the morning. Sleep tight!Helen CatonWoodmancote, Gloucestershire Putting external shutters on windows is a good idea (Letters, 27 May), but windows open outwards in the UK and inwards on the continent, which makes shutters possible and efficient.Claudine BurtonDoddinghurst, Essex Having failed to find suitable external shutters in the UK, I installed a tensioned wire above a large hall window and clipped on camouflage netting. Works perfectly.Jan Williams Aberangell, Gwynedd It was good to have the beneficial uses of screen time thoughtfully analysed (Screentime swaps: how to quit doomscrolling without quitting your phone, 22 May). I would add the benefits of using Wikipedia to check up on the voting records of our politicians and the wonderful science knowledge accessible to children in Octonauts.Maria GouldingGateshead, Tyne and Wear Frances Ryan’s preview of …

Scammers Are Using Your Real Hotel Reservations to Trick You With Spear-Phishing Attacks

Scammers Are Using Your Real Hotel Reservations to Trick You With Spear-Phishing Attacks

Published by skeptic

“We would not say that every single phishing message we observed was definitively caused by a direct compromise of the hotel’s own internal systems,” the researcher says. Phishing messages could have been sent using information from other data breaches or systems not linked to the travel industry. “The common factor is that criminals are weaponizing real reservation context and pushing travelers into a fake verification or payment flow,” Corrons says. Corrons says Norton has been unable to fully unpick who may be behind the attacks but says investigations are ongoing. Those sending some of the phishing messages appear to be using phishing kits designed to speed up and automate the process of sending and collecting information, he says, and in several cases the same phishing kit or technical infrastructure has been used. The company is not publishing the full list of potentially compromised hotels and holiday accommodations, Corrons says; however, he says the company has been in touch with Europol about its findings. A Europol spokesperson declined to comment, saying it does not discuss its …

The pitch trick that helped an eSports startup raise M when VCs only wanted AI

The pitch trick that helped an eSports startup raise $20M when VCs only wanted AI

Published by skeptic

Earlier this year, Lucra Sports founder and CEO Dylan Robbins did something that no one else has ever done. He landed famed public investor Cathie Wood and her ARK Invest Venture Fund as a lead in a startup fundraising round. Lucra announced last month that it raised a $20 million Series B, led by the ARK fund, with participation from several other VCs. Robbins attracted ARK even though the fund had previously gotten badly burned on a similar eSports company: Skillz, a skill-based gaming platform in which the fund invested heavily before divesting at a loss. On top of that, Dylan landed this big fish as an investor even though his company is not in the one area that all VCs are currently chasing: AI. Lucra offers white-label interactive gaming competitions as a novel kind of loyalty program for businesses that serve consumers. Rather than, say, earning points toward a coupon, Lucra’s clients offer online tournaments for prizes, or supports friendly wagers between their customers on who will win games. Its customers include Five Iron Golf, …

The Dalí trick: The strange psychology of becoming who you want to be

The Dalí trick: The strange psychology of becoming who you want to be

Published by Jenni Sidey

I met Ben at university. He lived in the corridor just above mine, and we got chatting in those golden days when you could just go up to anyone and start a friendship. “Hey mate, what’s your name? What are you here to study? Cool, cool. Fancy a drink?” Ben was an archetype. He was an artsy, romantic sort who wore loose knitwear and an Alibaba scarf he’d bought from a souk in Morocco. Authentically Bedouin, handmade. I’m not exactly unpretentious myself, and so Ben and I became friends from the start. We talked about books and philosophy. We played guitar in his room. Our friendship groups never entirely overlapped, but we always got on. But he never invited me to see him during the holidays. There’s nothing wrong with this. To be honest, I never really thought about it. We all have our lives, and we weren’t best mates. But then, just before Christmas in our second year, he told me why. “I’m a totally different person,” he said. “At school, I never talked …

If Mean People Ruin Your Vibe, This Simple Brain Trick Makes Them Easier To Ignore

If Mean People Ruin Your Vibe, This Simple Brain Trick Makes Them Easier To Ignore

Published by Jenni Sidey

“I am so sick of moving you out of apartments. I’ve moved you out of five apartments in four years, and enough is enough!!” “You know Jeremy threw me out, and I have to move today! I thought we were friends, but I guess if you have to go to your niece’s baptism instead of helping me move my few paltry items a few blocks, that tells me how you really feel about me!” “If I gave you a kidney, you’d think I was a bad friend!” “Don’t worry about it, because you wouldn’t give me a kidney if I were on death’s doorstep!” “Ahhhhhhhhhhh!” (sound of me screaming) This is an argument I had with a “friend.” Except for the fact that the friend wasn’t actually present. It was the argument I had in my head waiting in line at the grocery store to buy laxatives, since my annoyance rendered me constipated. Have you ever had feuds with those you love or loathe in your head? Literally spending hours — nay, days and weeks — grappling with this person, and they don’t even know about it? I’m going to say this because I want you to …

WWE’s Joe Hendry on his future on Raw, reigniting Trick Williams feud

WWE’s Joe Hendry on his future on Raw, reigniting Trick Williams feud

Published by Daniella Wilson

Fans had been saying his name for years, and finally Joe Hendry made his debut on the main roster of WWE Raw three weeks ago – and what a debut he’s had, feuding already with The Vision (in particular a certain Mr Paul), and teaming up with iconic tag-team duo The Street Profits to overcome the villainous faction. Hendry’s name has been on many a fan’s lips for a couple of years for his infectious personality, hard-to-beat in-ring style and, of course, a theme song for the ages, but it was when he led the charge on a partnership between TNA and WWE a few years back that the Scot was propelled into the mainstream. In 2025, he became the first TNA World Champion to enter the Royal Rumble and have a match at WrestleMania – he would go on that year to sign to NXT where he would become the NXT Champion before eventually getting the coveted call-up to Raw in 2026. Radio Times caught up with Hendry to see how he was settling …

I’m a lawn expert, and here’s my favorite trick for finding your perfect robot mower

I’m a lawn expert, and here’s my favorite trick for finding your perfect robot mower

Published by skeptic

Maria Diaz/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. The perfect robot mower for you is not nearly as fancy and feature-heavy as you may think. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: it’s not the lawn mower, it’s all about the yard. A robot mower may be a market leader with top-of-the-line specs and still not be a good fit for your yard. Here’s the great news: There’s a perfect robot mower for almost any yard. As someone who’s tested numerous types of robot lawn mowers, I’ve learned that many of the specs that brands market as groundbreaking are simply not vital for most shoppers. A mostly flat, fenced-in 0.10-acre yard doesn’t need the power that a hilly, sectioned, unfenced one-acre yard does. Also: I tested the Ferrari of robot mowers for a month – here’s my verdict If you’re looking to choose the best mower for your home, be sure to check out ZDNET’s robot mower buying guide.  Here’s what you don’t need to stress over when buying a robot mower Maria …

This simple strength training trick builds more muscle and better technique—here’s how to try tempo training in your next home workout

This simple strength training trick builds more muscle and better technique—here’s how to try tempo training in your next home workout

Published by Jenni Sidey

Of all the exercise techniques I use when training clients (and myself), slowing down the movements is one of my favorites. And I’m not the only fan. “Tempo training is excellent because it increases time under tension,” says Steven Chung, physical therapist at VSI Spine Solutions in Reston, Virginia. “Slowing down your reps—especially during the eccentric lowering phase—forces your muscles to work longer per rep, which is a major driver of muscle growth (hypertrophy) and strength.” Latest Videos From You may like Chung explains that this approach also helps to improve technique and control. “Intentionally slowing down means you can’t rely on momentum to do the move,” he tells Fit&Well. “This exposes your weak points, and it also forces you to maintain good positioning, ultimately cleaning up movement quality.” It is also an effective way to strengthen weak spots in the body. “Tempo training puts the emphasis on the hardest part of a movement—for example, the bottom of a squat—which helps to build strength where you’re typically weakest,” adds Chung. Does that sound appealing? Chung …