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Posted by Meredith Dietz

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The idea of Black Friday being a one-day event is a relic of the past. This year, Amazon's Black Friday deal event is taking place from Nov. 20-28. We'll keep you updated with all the best deals leading up to and all throughout the mega-sale. But to take advantage of everything Amazon has to offer, you'll probably want to be a Prime Member.

Millions of Amazon Prime users currently pay $14.99 per month or $139 per year for their memberships, though other plans cost less if you qualify. For example, the new Amazon Prime Student program allows young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 to get all of the Prime perks for half the cost—$7.49 per month or $69 annually.

For frequent Amazon shoppers, Prime can quickly pay for itself—mostly thanks to the shipping perks. But it may not make financial sense for infrequent users. If you’re on the fence about signing up for (or renewing) your Prime membership, here’s how to judge whether or not the benefits outweigh the $139 cost.

The benefits of Amazon Prime

Here are the main perks of Amazon Prime that make it worth the cost for so many users.

  • Free two-day shipping on millions of items: This is the main draw of Prime. If you shop frequently on Amazon and want quick free delivery, the shipping perks alone may make Prime worthwhile. Prime members also get free same-day delivery on over 3 million items in eligible areas. The ultra-fast (and morally dubious) shipping usually costs $9.99 per order for non-members.

  • Access to Prime Video: Prime includes unlimited streaming of movies, TV shows, and Amazon Originals. If you ask me, the content library isn’t as robust as Netflix or Hulu, but could still add value.

  • Other Prime benefits: You also get Amazon Music for streaming songs, Prime Reading for ebooks and magazines, Prime gaming, free photo storage, and discounts/deals.

  • Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card: Cardholders get 5% back on Amazon/Whole Foods purchases. So Prime members who use this card extensively can earn rewards that offset the annual fee.

  • Number of users: Prime benefits can be shared with other members of your household. The more users, the more value per person.

Doing the math

Let's say you don't really care about Prime Video, Amazon Music, or free e-books, and just want to know if you'll save money you would otherwise be spending on shipping.

For non-Prime members, Amazon requires a minimum order of $35 to qualify for free shipping on eligible items. Otherwise, average shipping costs an Amazon aren't publicly listed.

For our purposes, I messed around on my non-shared, non-Prime Amazon account to find that shipping costs typically run around six dollars per item. Of course, shipping costs will vary depending on the item and how quickly you want it, but let’s compare the cost to the appeal of Prime’s two-day shipping option. So, we have the cost of individual online orders (around six bucks a pop) compared to the free delivery that comes with an $139 annual fee. This means the costs you’d save on shipping alone make Prime worth the the cost as long as you order online more than two dozen times a year.

In other words: The $139 annual fee pays for itself as long as you order from Amazon Prime at least twice a month. Of course, this is strictly in terms of shipping costs. How it stacks up ethically is between you and the person in the mirror.

And then there's this important caveat: You can get free shipping from Amazon without a Prime membership provided your order has $35 or more of eligible items. However, this won't grant you Prime shipping speed—your order will typically take five to eight days to be delivered.

The bottom line

The cost of a Prime membership is a solid value for anyone using Amazon 23 times per year or more—especially if you're also watching shows on Prime Video and sharing your account with your loved ones. But if you only shop on Amazon a few times a year and don't take advantage of the other benefits, then that $139 annual fee isn't exactly paying for itself.

Of course, if you are interested in Prime Day bargains, you can always sign up right before the start of the sale and then cancel your membership after Prime day is over—but Amazon doesn't always make it easy on you. For more information about deals and discounts, keep an eye on all of Lifehacker’s Amazon Black Friday coverage.

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Posted by Joel Cunningham

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Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. 

  • Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find.

  • Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more.

  • Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

  • Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.


Despite being a fairly unorganized person, I've spent the last few years testing a ton of productivity-enhancing, organization-forward notebooks and tablets, and the best of them work so well, they make me want to be the kind of person who actually organizes their notes. While I expected to slot the XP-Pen Magic Note Pad into that category—it's an LED Android tablet with three screen modes that purport to take it from full color to e-ink mode, transforming it from a notebook, to a media player, to an e-reader—it's actually most impressive as a drawing tablet.

Unfortunately, I cannot draw, but this thing made me wish I could. It's marked down 35% for Black Friday, from $400 to $260, $25 less than it was during Prime Day and cheaper than I have ever seen it.

The Magic Note Pad has three screens in one, sort of

Ostensibly, the Magic Note Pad's biggest selling point is its "X-Paper" screen (which appears to be a rebranded version of TCL's NXTPAPER display), which has 1920 x 1200 resolution, a 90 Hz refresh rate, and maximum 400 nits of brightness (in comparison, the entry level iPad offers a 60 Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness). It has an etched surface to reduce glare as well as three different color modes, controlled at the operating system level, that are purported to take it from full color LED tablet to a black and white e-reader. There's a dedicated button on the top of the device that allows you to choose between:

  • Nature Color Mode, or the standard you'd expect from any LED screen

  • Light Color Mode, which makes bright whites look creamier and mutes other colors, akin to the effect of reading on newsprint (or a color e-ink reader like the Kindle Colorsoft)

  • Ink Paper Mode, which purports to replicate a grayscale e-ink display

If you're familiar with the various technologies involved, you'll see that it's quite impossible for a backlit LED screen to transform into an e-ink screen simply by adjusting the color settings. The device is TÜV SÜD Low Blue Light Certified, indicating it reduces blue light by 25%. It also carries a Paper Like Display Certification, which I guess means it is more paper-like than other LED screens, offering a "more comfortable and natural reading experience." The etched screen does reduce glare, and reading in Ink Paper Mode will tax your eyes a bit less if you're reading in a dim room, but take it outside, and it's unquestionably still an LED tablet—you can't magically read in direct sunlight just by switching the display mode.

Digital artists love the Magic Note Pad stylus

The Magic Note Pad's real draw (no pun intended) is actually less productivity and more artistic: A ton of digital artists have reviewed it on Reddit and YouTube, and they uniformly praise it for its super-responsive stylus, which offers four times the pressure sensitivity of an Apple Pencil—16,384 pressure levels for the XP-Pen's included stylus, versus a mere 4,096 pressure levels for the Apple Pencil.

More pressure levels give you more control over what actually winds up on the screen, so you can sketch and "paint" with far more accuracy—giving you all the control you'd have in the real world in a digital environment. It's enough to make me want to sign up for a drawing class.

The Magic Note Pad is a good value, even as a media tablet

At the current 35% discount, the Magic Note Pad drops from an "artists only" $400 to a more affordable $260, which is a decent deal even if all you're looking for is an above-average, stylus-supporting Android tablet to use as a digital notebook or e-reader and to stream media. It has a Mediatek MT8781 Octa-core processor, which appears to be a reliable mid-range chip, with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and an 8000mAh battery, which will last a few days between charges based on typical usage. There's also a front-facing camera for video calls.

In short, if you want a tablet for drawing and have been sweating over the combined cost of an iPad and an Apple Pencil, here's a great opportunity to save some money.


How long do Black Friday deals really last?

Black Friday sales officially begin Friday, November 28, 2025, and sales run throughout “Cyber Week,” the five-day period that runs from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, December 1, 2025. But Black Friday and Cyber Monday dates have expanded as retailers compete for customers. You can get the same Black Friday sales early, and we expect sales to wind down by December 3, 2025. 

Are Black Friday deals worth it?

In short, yes, Black Friday still offers discounts that can be rare throughout the rest of the year. If there’s something you want to buy, or you’re shopping for gifts, it’s a good time to look for discounts on what you need, especially tech sales, home improvement supplies, and fitness tech. Of course, if you need to save money, the best way to save is to not buy anything. 

Are Cyber Monday deals better than Black Friday?

Black Friday used to be bigger for major retailers and more expensive tech and appliances, while Cyber Monday was for cheaper tech and gave smaller businesses a chance to compete online. Nowadays, though, distinction is almost meaningless. Every major retailer will offer sales on both days, and the smart move is to know what you want, use price trackers or refer to guides like our live blog that use price trackers for you, and don’t stress over finding the perfect timing.

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Posted by David Nield

As it does every year, Google has picked its favorite apps, games, and books of 2025 from the Play Store catalog—and the annual selection is always useful as a pointer towards some high-quality titles for your Android devices that you may have missed so far.

Topping the pile is Focus Friend from YouTuber Hank Green, which aims to keep you on task and undistracted via a series of cutesy animations and cartoon living spaces. The less you check your phone, the better the experience for your 'bean' inside the app.

It's an app we've written about before, and I've given it a go myself while trying to focus on writing this article with as few distractions as possible. I've also cast an eye over the other picks from Google, which you may want to add to your phone or tablet.

Focus Friend really does help you focus

I'd previously heard a bit of buzz around Focus Friend, but it being picked as Google's favorite Play Store app of the year gave me the nudge I needed to actually install it and give it a go. It's been earning some rave reviews, but it's not actually all that different to the many other focus apps available on mobile.

This one does ramp up the cartoon cuteness, giving you your own personal bean character who will get busy knitting as long as you're not checking other apps on your phone. You can trade the socks that get knitted for a variety of furnishings and decorations for the bean's living space, which starts off very bare indeed.

Focus Friend
Focus Friend is built around a timer system. Credit: Lifehacker

It's a well-implemented app that's straightforward and fun to use, and I found it did encourage me to pick up my phone less. There's a pro version—yours for $2 a month—which unlocks access to more items for your bean to knit and more decorations for the surrounding room.

I like that you don't even have to sign up for an account to use the app (a constant bind if you write about tech and apps all day), and there's a decent amount of customization here—you've got sound effects and music you can turn on and off, the option to actually block other apps, and a lock screen mode to make use of.

Focus Friend
The app offers a variety of customization options. Credit: Lifehacker

Your mileage may vary depending on how taken you are with the bean character and the various items you can get to kit out its room. This is essentially just a stopwatch with a lot of nice dressing around it, and you can get much the same effect by starting a timer on your phone—without worrying about hurting the feelings of an imaginary bean.

It's a good pick by Google, but it's also fair to say there are lots of similar apps out there. I actually prefer Forest (for Android or iOS), which grows a little forest for you rather than having a bean knit socks, but my favorite app of this type is Focus Traveller (only available on iOS, sadly for Android users) that turns your focus sessions into cross-country hikes.

More apps, games, and ebooks

There's plenty more in Google's list besides Focus Friend—and I'll confess I haven't used many of these apps or games. The best multi-device app award goes to Luminar, a comprehensive photo editing tool that's packed with tools (and AI, as you would expect). The interface adapts really well across devices, including foldables and Chromebooks.

The other apps that made the list are Instagram app Edits (best for fun), audiobook summarizer Wiser (best everyday essential), language tutor Pingo AI (best hidden gem), kids learning game ABCmouse 2 (best for families), sleep alarm SleepisolBio (best for watches), note taker Goodnotes (best for large screens), audio app SoundCloud (best for cars), and meditation app Calm (best for XR headsets).

Luminar app
Luminar is the best multi-device app of the year. Credit: Google

When it comes to games, the outright winner was Pokémon TCG Pocket, a digital take on the physical Pokémon card game that lets you collect cards on your Android device and battle with other players across the globe. It's going to have limited appeal outside Pokémon fans, but it's certainly well-designed.

Google's other game picks are combat racer Disney Speedstorm (best multi-device game), streetball game Dunk City Dynasty (best multi-player), card game Candy Crush Solitaire (best pick up and play), puzzle adventure Chants of Sennaar (best indie), interactive detective story Disco Elysium (best story), open-world RPG Wuthering Waves (best ongoing), dark fishing adventure Dredge (best on Play Pass), and Norse mythology MMORPG Odin: Valhalla Rising (best for Google Play Games on PC).

Disney Speedstorm
Disney Speedstorm is the best multi-device game. Credit: Google

There's a lot to choose from when it comes to ebooks and audiobooks, too, with 17 titles across fiction, non-fiction, and reads for younger people: from fantasy tale "The Raven Scholar" by Antonia Hodgson, to historical fiction title "Herod the Great" by Zora Neal Hurson. You can find the full list here.

As for iOS, at the time I'm writing this article Apple has announced a shortlist for the 2025 App Store Awards, but we don't have the final winners yet.

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Posted by Emily Long

Whether you actually go back and look at photos, watch videos, or review files from years past, you may someday be disappointed if those memories disappear forever, either because you didn't back them up or your one backup was destroyed along the way.

I know I have done a poor job of keeping track of media as I have upgraded computers and phones over the years, and I've lost my fair share of photos, videos, and documents along the way, whether on misplaced or damaged external drives or from simply forgetting to back up at all.

Here's how to ensure your data is available for years to come.

You need multiple backups of your data

One approach to backing up your data is the 3-2-1 strategy, which says you should keep three copies of your data across two different forms of storage, one of which should be offsite (in case a disaster strikes your home).

A simple example: You have your photos and files on your computer, which is backed up regularly to both an external hard drive and a cloud service. That's three copies of your data on two storage types—an onsite physical device and remote cloud storage—the latter of which satisfies the "offsite" requirement because it is geographically separate from your other two copies.

This approach protects against a single point of failure, such as a primary device dying, losing an external hard drive, or getting locked out of a cloud account. When it comes to backing up your data, redundancy matters.

As Reddit users note, there are different interpretations of how to apply the 3-2-1 rule, such as whether your working copy on your primary device counts as one of three and whether the one offsite copy is included in the two forms of storage. And while a strict 3-2-1 strategy, or variations of it, may be more commonly employed at the enterprise level rather than by the average consumer, you could think about it as a general guideline for improving your backup system, especially if you don't have one at all.

How to set up backups

You never know when a device might fail, so it's a good idea to plan frequent backups, whether your data is syncing regularly to the cloud or you set reminders to manually push updates to your external hard drive.

Many users sync their devices automatically to a service like iCloud or Google Drive, but relying on this as your sole backup doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to access all of your files in the future.

As HowtoGeek points out, these backups are typically mirroring what's currently on your device rather than historical versions—so once you delete a photo, file, or folder from your computer or phone, it's also deleted from the cloud backup. This is useful for quick access as well as restoring to a new or factory-reset device, but it doesn't do much for the scores of media collected over the years that you don't use daily.

You could use a dedicated cloud backup service like IDrive or Backblaze, which come with a lot of storage space for automatic, full device backups. This may be best for users who have large files or a lot of media that is essential to their jobs as well as those who prioritize data privacy. (However, Wirecutter notes that most online backup services leave a lot to be desired.) Others may be fine to manually move files and media to free or low-cost cloud storage, including iCloud, OneDrive, and Google.

At a minimum, another backup should live on an external hard drive—and if you're not going to do cloud backups, consider two external drives stored in separate locations. Hardware can obviously be lost, stolen, damaged, or simply degraded over time, so again, you shouldn't rely on a single drive for all of your storage. Apple's Time Machine and Windows File History make it easy to save backups to an external drive.

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Posted by Becca Lewis

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Black Friday deals used to be relegated to the day after Thanksgiving. These days, however, they start much earlier—so why not take advantage? If you’re shopping for gifts for your favorite DIY enthusiast, or you just want to take advantage of deals for your own tool set, now is a good time to start looking. I usually take the opportunity to expand my tool battery collection if there isn’t an exciting new cordless tool I haven’t tried yet around this time of year, and that’s how I have kept a rotating collection of batteries to power all of my carpentry and DIY adventures.

Best deals on cordless drills and drivers

A good-quality drill and driver are the foundation for any DIY home tool set because they allow you to drive screws, nuts, and bolts as well as drilling holes. I use my drill and driver set every day at work, and frequently on my own personal projects at home, and having one that’s reliable, comfortable to use, and has a good battery life is key to getting things done efficiently.

The Milwaukee 18-volt cordless drill set in on sale for $99, 50% off its regular price. It comes with a 2-amp-hour battery, a charger, and a tool bag, and it’s a good tool for building a new cordless kit or to replace an existing Milwaukee drill. Since batteries are often the most expensive part of a cordless tool set, a quality set that comes with a battery and charger for under $100 is a good deal.

The Milwaukee 18-volt cordless quarter-inch impact driver set is also on sale for $99, 50% off its typical price. This set comes with a 2-amp-hour battery, a charger, and a tool bag. This is a good companion to a Milwaukee drill, and a good addition to a tool set that uses 18-volt Milwaukee batteries—it can drive fasteners with more force than a regular drill, and can help you get through tougher materials like 2x4s more easily.

A Ryobi 18-volt cordless drill set with three batteries is on sale for $148.97, 44% off its usual price. This set is an excellent starter set because it comes with a 1.5-amp-hour battery, 1 2-amp-hour battery, and a 4-amp-hour battery as well as a charger. It’s helpful to start a cordless tool set with extra batteries so you can expand your tool kit as you develop your skills and interest without needing to buy new batteries as you go.

Best deals on cordless saws and cutting tools

Saws are my favorite part of my tool collection, and having the right one can make any DIY project that much simpler and more fun to work on. Cordless saws have improved as batteries have gotten smaller and lighter as well as developing a longer battery life, so they’re a practical addition to a DIY tool kit—in addition to being fun to use.

The Ryobi 18-volt cordless reciprocating saw set is on sale for $99, 65% off its regular price. A reciprocating saw can be used for making rough cuts and trimming trees and shrubs. This set comes with a reciprocating saw, a two-amp-hour battery, a 4-amp-hour battery, and a charger. This is a good tool for someone who already uses Ryobi 18-volt tools, or for someone who likes doing outdoor projects like trimming hedges.

The Milwaukee 18-volt reciprocating saw is on sale for $199, 68% off its usual price. This is a good tool to add to an 18-volt Milwaukee set, or to begin a yard care and landscaping set. It comes with the saw, two 5-amp-hour batteries, and a charger.

The Milwaukee 18-volt, 6 ½-inch cordless circular saw is on sale for $199, 62% off its regular price. This saw comes with two 5-amp-hour batteries and a charger. The larger capacity batteries allow you to use your saw for hours while always having a fresh battery on the charger.

The Ryobi 18-volt cordless 7 ¼-inch compound miter saw is on sale for $159, 52% off its regular price. This saw can cut compound angles for trim and woodworking projects without needing to be plugged into an outlet. It comes with a 4-amp-hour battery and charger, which makes it a good addition to a Ryobi cordless tool set, as it can make up to 900 cuts per charge on the battery. Although this saw says it can cut up to 900 times a charge, if you’re working with material thicker than about a quarter of an inch, you’ll want to get a second battery so you can swap them out—in my experience, it can draw more power cutting denser or thicker wood.

The Milwaukee 18-volt oscillating multitool set is on sale for $99, 50% off its regular price. It comes with a 1.5-amp-hour battery and a charger. This is the tool that saved my sanity when I was replacing the trap on the sink in my 115-year-old craftsman house. I used it to cut the old pipe, shape the pipe coming out from the wall, trim the new PVC to the correct length, trim out the damaged plaster around the leaking drain, trim out the lath to allow the new trap through, and then I even used it to sand the joints in the plaster repair I made. It’s the hardest-working tool in my home DIY set, and $99 is a great price for it.

Best deals on cordless tool combo sets

Cordless tool sets can be a good way to start a new tool set because they usually come with all the basics as well as a few interesting extras. I started my personal tool kit with an 18-volt Milwaukee set over a decade ago and I also use tools from a DeWalt set at work daily.

The Milwaukee 18-volt seven-tool combo set is on sale for $500, 50% off its regular price. It comes with a drill, an impact driver, a circular saw, a one-handed compact reciprocating saw, an oscillating multitoo, an angle-grinder, a work light, two 3-amp-hour batteries, a charger, and a tool bag. This is a comprehensive set that will allow you to tackle most home DIY projects and even some professional level ones as well.

The DeWalt three-tool combo set is on sale for $399, 33% off its regular price. This set comes with a drill, a driver, an oscillating multitool, two 6-amp-hour batteries, a charger, and a tool bag. This is a solid set for most home maintenance projects and the batteries will last a long time and stand up to abuse. I use this set at work, these tools are going strong after years of use.

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Posted by Pradershika Sharma

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A price drop always stands out more when the product in question already has a reputation for delivering above its size, and that’s the case with the Bose SoundLink Plus. It hasn’t been on the market for long, but it’s already earned strong reviews—CNET even labeled it “the Goldilocks of Bose Bluetooth speakers.” And right now, ahead of Black Friday, it’s down to $199 from $269, which price trackers show is the lowest it’s ever been.

Bose positions it right in the middle of the SoundLink lineup, and you feel that balance in how it’s built. It’s compact enough to clip onto a backpack using its built-in nylon strap, tough enough to handle getting knocked around, and sealed against dust and full water submersion with an IP67 rating. Battery life can last up to 20 hours, depending on the volume, which is sufficient for full-day outings. However, the roughly five-hour recharge time means it’s better to charge it overnight than rely on a quick boost. On the connectivity side, there’s Bluetooth 5.4 with AAC and AptX Adaptive support, as well as the ability to keep two devices paired for smoother switching. What you don’t get is a microphone, aux port, or any voice assistant support, which might matter if you prefer wired options or use speakers for calls.

The sound profile of this Bluetooth speaker leans into mid- and high-bass, which gives electronic and pop tracks a lively pulse without turning everything muddy. It doesn’t reach into true low-bass territory, so anyone who wants thumping sub-bass may not get it here, but the punch it does deliver feels clean for its size. Vocals sit a little behind the beat in denser tracks because the mid-range pulls back slightly, though you can adjust this with the app’s EQ tools. It’s also worth knowing that the speaker plays everything in mono, so you lose the space and width you’d hear in a stereo mix, but its directivity is good—you don’t have to stand directly in front of it to hear things clearly. That said, at higher volumes, there’s some compression, which is common in speakers this size.


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Posted by Stephen Johnson

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I've reviewed a ton of high-tech smart glasses for Lifehacker, and this early Black Friday deal on the RayNeo Air 3s Pro display glasses is excellent. They are on sale for $249 on Amazon (originally $299) until Dec. 1.

If you're not familiar, these smart glasses basically put a high-definition display in your pocket, projecting the equivalent of a 201-inch TV in front of your face—so if someone on your list is tech-inclined and you want to blast 'em with a pure "whoa" present, here you go. They'll even fit in a stocking.

There are other glasses that do the same thing, but the Ray Neo Air 3 Pro hit a nice sweet spot between inexpensive and good quality. Check out my review if you want to read about these glasses in more depth, but the bottom line is: if you want to make every flight you'll ever take better or stream videos and games in private, these glasses will do the trick.

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Posted by Lindsey Ellefson

You know it's important to prioritize your to-do list, and may have tried various methods to do so, from the Eisenhower Matrix (to determine how timely and urgent each task is), to the Pareto principle (to decide how to allocate your time to maximize your results). The problem is that determining what's actually a priority can be an abstract problem. Some people work best when dealing with cold, hard numbers—and there's a way to take a more quantitative approach to prioritizing your to-dos. 

Why prioritize your to-do list?

The Pareto principle, mentioned above, suggests that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your work, so you have to be picky about what you focus on. Plus, there’s only so much you can do in a day, so the best to-do list for you may be a narrow one—say, with room for one major activity, three medium-sized ones, and five little ones (known as a 1-3-5 list). If you try to do too much, your productivity can take a hit. (That’s Illich’s Law, baby.)

To avoid doing too much or working on the wrong things, you need a strategy, and to form a strategy, you need to do some planning. The Eisenhower matrix can be useful as you figure out which tasks have looming deadlines, but it’s a subjective tool. Assigning numbers to your tasks can make it all feel more data-driven. 

How to turn your to-do list into data

I encountered this tip in a blog post from consultant and strategist Daniel Coulton Shaw, who breaks down how to number your tasks so they align with the Pareto principle.

First, write down everything you need to get done in the foreseeable future, as you would in the early stages of making a 1-3-5 list. Next, assign each task two numbers, both of which will be between 1 and 10. The first number is for the effort required, and the second is for the project's impact.

For example, answering all your emails may get a 3 for effort, but could yield results in the 7 territory. Finishing a report on a meeting could be a 6 in effort, but a 2 in results. Picking up meds at the pharmacy could be a 2 in effort, or a 7, depending how hard it is to get there, but a 4 in results, or even a 10, depending on how important the prescription is.

This part is subjective too, to a degree, but even thinking about your tasks in terms of “effort” and “results” will help you grasp their seriousness—and we’re not done yet. Next, divide each task's “results” number by its “effort” number. So, if answering emails is a 7 on the results scale and a 3 in effort, you’re looking at a 2.33 overall score. Once all your tasks have been assigned a score, you can rank them in ascending order and aim to tackle them in that order, unless something extra timely comes along. By doing this, you’ll knock out the tasks that are important but low effort—which should be that 20% of work that comprises 80% of your results. 

What to keep in mind

Something that is a 6 in effort and 2 in results might not make it high up on your list, but could become more urgent as time goes on. Don't forget to think about timeliness when you're plotting. If you have a test in four weeks, obviously the effort and results are going to be high and you're going to want to study, but give yourself the wiggle room of remembering you do have a whole month, so other less pressing tasks might need to come first. Cleaning your room might be high effort and low results when it's just a little disorganized, but letting it go for too long will make it more effort and force it to yield more results, which will waste time when you should be doing other things no the list. So, yes, the data is important, but there are other human elements you should take into account.

Finally, don't forget breaks. When you see everything in such a structured, urgent-looking way, it might cause you to jump right in in a flurry. That's great and will help you better align with the Yerkes-Dodson law, which dictates you need a bit of stress to be most productive, but it can lead to burnout. Write breaks down on that initial list and assign them a high value in terms of results—because taking breaks will yield results. Failing to do so can set you back, rendering the whole exercise useless.

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Posted by Lindsey Ellefson

Sometimes, it's not the tasks on your to-do list that overwhelm you, but simply the act of sorting them out and figuring out where to start. Before you can prioritize your responsibilities and setting out a schedule for getting everything done (using strategies like "eating the frog" or creating a 1-3-5 to-do list), you have to identify what those big tasks are and what capacity you have to take them on. If you are the type of person that finds it helpful to visualize these things, let me introduce you to a pair of strategies that both involve imagining tasks as rocks: The "pickle jar theory" and the "big rocks theory."

What is the pickle jar theory?

The pickle jar theory is an excellent mental exercise for anyone who thinks or processes things visually. It was conceptualized by Jeremy Wright in 2002, based on the idea that a pickle jar holds a finite amount of content. So, too, does your day. There is only so much you can do in a day, as there is only so much you can stuff into a pickle jar. 

When thinking of your day as a pickle jar, imagine it full of three things: Rocks, pebbles, and sand. These represent your daily responsibilities, but as you can see, they’re different sizes. You can fit more of the smaller stuff, like sand and pebbles, than you can rocks, but rocks can still take up half the jar. 

How does the pickle jar theory work?

To use this kind of thinking, you need to categorize your day’s tasks. Start by writing them all down, then prioritizing them using the Eisenhower Matrix, which is useful for figuring out which tasks are urgent and important, urgent and not important, not urgent but important, and not urgent and not important. (Even better: This too is a visual system. You design a matrix and plot your tasks along the graph.)

Then, assign each task to a rock, pebble, or sand, like this: 

  • Rocks are the big tasks that are important, necessary to get on right away, and/or will take up a major chunk of time. Studying for a test, finalizing a major project at work, or cleaning the house can be rock-sized tasks, for instance. 

  • Pebbles are the things that are important to do, but not immediately necessary or massively time-consuming. You can fit quite a few of them in the jar, depending on how many rocks you have in there. 

  • Sand represents the small things that you need to do to keep your day moving along or just want to do. It enters the jar last and fills up the gaps between the bigger items. Sand can be anything from answering emails, going to meetings, calling your mom, or relaxing. These aren’t necessarily urgent or time-consuming, but they’re still important to your work or mental wellbeing. 

Visualize yourself putting one to three rocks in the jar, three to five pebbles, and as much sand as can fit. Understanding that not every single thing you need to do can always fit in there, you can make decisions about which rocks, pebbles, and sand pieces to hold over for the next day’s jar. 

This works because it gives you a tangible example of your own capacity, but also reminds you that even when your day is full of “rocks” and “pebbles,” you still have room for “sand.” Don’t forget to let some of the sand be enjoyable, because breaks are integral to productivity. Don’t over-stuff your jar with rocks and pebbles to the point that you have no room for sand at all, and don’t forget that other people have their own jars that might not be as full. Consider delegating some “pebble” tasks to a teammate, whether it’s a coworker or your spouse, or eliminating the unnecessary tasks altogether. On your Eisenhower Matrix, these will be the ones that are neither urgent nor important.

Finally, you can make a so-called "to-don't" list if you're having a hard time figuring out what not to put in the jar. These can be lists of things you can just ignore, or lists of things to delegate or delay; regardless, knowing what isn't crucial before you start planning will help you fit in what is.

What is the big rocks theory?

There is a simplified version of the idea above that can work for you, too, if you don't want to categorize your tasks into rocks, pebbles, and sand, but want something a little more streamlined.

You might be familiar with the concept of "big rocks" if you've read Stephen Covey's popular book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Essentially, as with the pickle-jar mindset, you should think of your time, energy, and resources like a big container and the things you need to do as rocks or gravel. You can't fit very many big rocks in there, but you can fit a few and still have room for the smaller tasks. The big ones take away from the space—your resources and time—so you have to be intentional about how many you really try to fit in.

Visualizing is important, but you still have to use that to make a plan and get things done. First, write down everything you need to do on one page, whether in a digital word processor or a physical notebook. Then, consider how much time, energy, and other resources each thing will take and mark it as either a rock or gravel. Unlike other task prioritization methods, like the Eisenhower matrix mentioned above, this can be pretty loose. Just put down your best guess about how much each task will drain you. (When you're short on time, opt for this big rocks approach over the pickle jar approach because of its relative simplicity.)

Once you have everything designated as a rock or gravel, schedule the rocks first. Here's where you can use time boxing to clearly carve out dedicated time for each thing you have to do. Keep in mind that if you schedule and work on gravel activities—emails, phone calls, doing the dishes, whatever—without taking on the big rocks first, you'll never get around to the big rocks; the smaller tasks are usually pretty endless, so you need to prioritize the big ones. Go back to your visualization: If you put all the gravel into your vessel before the big rocks, you'd fill it up and leave no room, but if you put in the big rocks first, then add the gravel, the gravel will fall between the rocks and settle in where it can.

Identifying the resource-heavy, demanding tasks and prioritizing those ahead of the more menial stuff will allow you to actually make time to tackle it so you can fit the rest in where you can. But be a little judicious with that scheduling: Don't load a full day of big rocks into your schedule. You'll burn yourself out. Instead, choose only one or two per day, then allocate the rest of your time to those maintenance tasks.

As you get better at incorporating this method into your workflow, you won't really need to think about rocks and jars anymore (unless you want to). You can shift over to a method like a 1-3-5 list, which calls for the pre-planning and completion of one big task, three medium-sized ones, and five little ones each day. Just keep in mind that medium tasks can become big tasks if put off for too long, and that you might need to turn preparation work for larger tasks into one of your smaller tasks.

(no subject)

Nov. 20th, 2025 09:32 am
oursin: Brush the Wandering Hedgehog by the fire (Default)
[personal profile] oursin
Happy birthday, [personal profile] nocowardsoul!
shadowkat: (Default)
[personal profile] shadowkat
Now, I just have to decide if I want to keep the ENT appointment on Monday. I'm thinking it's probably a good idea, since I've had the vertigo twice this fall - and both times associated with severe sinus congestion and weather fluctuations.

But, it's nice that it is blessedly gone now. The pills I was taking for it - really did help. Along with the nasal spray.

Already decided to switch the Personal Day from Friday to Monday. Works better all around.

Buffy S4/Angel S1 Rewatch

It's worth keeping in mind that the two shows have definitively different tones and are different genres. Angel is paranormal horror noir, while Buffy is paranormal horror romance (well, romantic horror at any rate).
Angel S1 makes it a lot clearer than I thought, mainly because the Angel fandom kept insisting it was the Classical Hero's Journey (all evidence to the contrary). I can kind of see why they thought that? And Whedon didn't help. But if anything they are undercutting that trope in Angel.

Blind Date, the 21st episode of Angel S1 - is another WRH episode, which are by far the best episodes in the season. And it is an arc episode.
The episode has all the main arc players except for Kate (who I think the writers were re-thinking as a potential romance at this point, Angel isn't really a romance? Nor does Angel really need one?). Gunn is there instead of Kate, in the thankless role of distraction - playing up the stereotypes.

What is interesting about the episode is how cleverly the writers manage to hoodwink their audience. I didn't realize they did it - when I first watched ages ago, when it aired live. I wished I had, I would have kept watching, instead of jumping in and out of it like I did - skipping episodes. When I first saw it live, and even the second time I saw it prior to seeing Season 4, I didn't see the twist. They completely fooled me along with the fandom. I thought the episode was lame and it annoyed me. Now that I see the twist. It's kind of hilarious and rather clever. And perfectly foils the characters. I see it now, of course. After having seen S5 several times, it's pretty obvious - but it wasn't then.
how they fool their audience )

Buffy S4: New Moon Rising - there's several things the writers need to accomplish in this episode. In a way, Blind Date is easier? I liked it a lot better, because it's nice and twisty, and they hoodwink the lead characters and audience. And once you see it - it's hilarious. I love episodes like that. With hidden twists. Even if I don't see it until years later and I was also hoodwinked. I think I would have enjoyed the series more the first go-around, if I'd seen the twist and not been hoodwinked.

In New Moon Rising - they need to somehow get Adam and Spike together. Also firmly shut the door on the Willow/Oz romance, and open it on the Willow/Tara (also firmly state that this is a romantic relationship and have Willow come out of the closet to Buffy). And, get Riley to cut ties with the Initiative. (Not to worry, he returns in S5. Take the boy out of the military, but you can't take the military out of the boy - which is kind of clear in this episode.)

It's a very plotty episode, so not the best. Much like S3 - the arc episodes aren't as good. The problem here is Riley/Adam and the Initiative, while in S3 it was the Mayor/Faith (although I liked the Mayor/Faith better than Riley/Adam - I like S4 better than S3, mainly due to the characters, and the situation).

That said - this episode is among the better arc episodes, and works better than a lot of the previous ones did in hitting all the crucial points. Not sure who wrote it? Ah, Marti Noxon. (Jeannine Renishaw wrote Blind Date Angel s1). Explains a lot. Noxon wrote Willow/Tara the best.
Read more... )

(no subject)

Nov. 19th, 2025 05:42 pm
lycomingst: (Default)
[personal profile] lycomingst
I changed my Medicare provider. Because the last plan was going up $100 a month. Let's hope I haven't made a mistake. I did a comparison of plans but these things confuse me.

I couldn't sleep last night and was listening to a Miss Marple story on Youtube. It's easier to catch flaws in writing by listening rather than reading. Reading I'm just rushing along; listening I have to go by someone else's pace.

Two people are concerned that there's something rotten happening at a dairy. Either could have gone to the police with worries about fraud to get things cleared up quickly. Instead the plot spins around to include:
Three or four sets of account books
12 hand engraved milk bottles
A cryptogram
Blackmail
Disappearing milk bottles
Disappearing people
A mother throwing suspicion on her son so as to throw suspicion away from him
Murder

I couldn't even understand the fraud. Look, if it's a tax scheme you're doing, the business books should show the lower prices charged, fake invoices, less profit, less tax. The other set of books show high prices you charge, more money for you. Here, the business books show the high prices. You own the dairy, it's not a fraud, you have a milk monopoly. You're just price gouging.



Also, in this very quiet village there's a dairy with thumping great machines going at all hours and nobody cares. I don't think that's realistic.

It was 4AM and as I said, easily confused.
[syndicated profile] lifehacker_feed

Posted by Jake Peterson

If you're in the market for a laptop, you have no shortage of choices. But unless you need something with exceptionally powerful hardware or are operating on a very tight budget, I'm here to end your search right now: You should buy the M4 MacBook Air, especially while it's on sale for $749 before Black Friday.

Apple's latest MacBook Air is, without a doubt in my mind, the best laptop for most people—at least for people who don't need to run Windows. This is an entry-level machine, but it doesn't feel like it: The laptop comes with Apple's M4 chip, which was until very recently the company's newest hardware. (That being said, there is no M5 MacBook Air yet, so this is still the best Air on the market.) Apple's M-series is excellent: In fact, the M1 MacBook Air is still a great machine five years after its release. You kind of can't go wrong with any M-series MacBook at this time, though the newer the hardware, the better the performance—a perk to this M4 Air.

But M4 is almost an afterthought for me compared to this machine's 16GB of RAM. For years, Apple only included 8GB of RAM with its base model machines. That was enough for smaller, simpler tasks, but once you started trying to do too much at once, you ran into problems. 8GB of RAM doesn't go as far as it used to, so the fact that this machine doubles that memory without impacting the price is a major win. That said, this configuration does come with 256GB of storage, which could pose a problem for anyone who stores large files on their computers.

My favorite thing about the M4, however? The price. When Apple released this machine back in March, I was impressed by how much value one could get for $999. In fact, it convinced me to move on from recommending the M2 MacBook Air, even when the latter was on sale. But despite how new it is, the M4 MacBook Air has also seen discounts this year. Now, ahead of Black Friday, the machine is $250 cheaper at Amazon and Best Buy than at Apple. That's simply a fantastic deal.

Should you buy an older MacBook for less?

Of course, there are other, cheaper MacBooks out there. You can save another $50 and opt for the M2 MacBook Air, which also has 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. And if you don't need your machine to be brand-new, you can find refurbished M1 MacBook Airs for under $500. Any of these laptops will work great in 2025, but there are drawbacks: The M1 only has 8GB of RAM and it retains Apple's older MacBook Air design. The M2 MacBook Air looks identical to its M4 counterpart, but it is three years old. By spending the extra $50 on the newer Air, you may eke another two to three years of software updates out of your machine—not to mention the immediate performance gains from the new chip.

Our Best Editor-Vetted Early Black Friday Deals Right Now
Deals are selected by our commerce team
[syndicated profile] lifehacker_feed

Posted by Stephen Johnson

If constantly being mogged by sigmas has you feeling like a fuhuhluhtoogan, and you have no idea what any of that means, you've come to the right place. This glossary aims to define and explain popular slang words and phrases of Generation Z (usually defined as people born between 1997 and 2012) and Generation A (anyone born between 2012 and now) so you'll know what the hell people are talking about.

A word of warning: If you aren't of those generations, and/or you need an online list to know what slang words mean, you should not say them aloud, unless you're trying to be embarrassing.

New entries

Beez: Popularized in Nicki Minaj's 2012 track "Beez in the Trap," beez means something like "I am always." So "beez in the trap" means "I am always in the trap." (See "Trap.")

Clock that: "I understand and agree." Not to be confused with older slang, where "clock" meant to see, or even older slang where "clock" meant "to hit or punch."

Cracked: This slang term has two meanings: to have sex, as in "I got cracked last night," and to be really good at something, like "he’s cracked at Fortnite."

Doi doi doi: This piece of brain-rot slang doesn't mean anything. It's correctly pronounced by putting your hand up to your mouth and saying "doi doi doi" in a way that sounds funny.

Fujoshing: The verb form of the Japanese slang term "fujoshi," fujoshing describes women/girls enjoying media that depicts romantic relationships between men. This word is used almost exclusively in online fandom communities.

Rawdogging boredom: Rawdogging is "doing something with no safeguards or support," so "rawdogging boredom" is consciously doing nothing.

Slopper: Insult directed at people who use AI programs too much, people who takes conversations with LLMs too seriously, and people who have basically offloaded their thinking to an algorithm.

Trap: Once used to refer to a house where drugs are sold, trap has come to describe both a form of music and any place where one works or hustles.


304: Hoe. (Type "304" on a calculator and turn it upside down.)

4+4: Ate. Four plus four is eight, or "ate." (See "ate.")

6-7 (or 67): This piece of Generation Alpha brainrot slang doesn't mean anything. It's just funny to some people to say "6-7," especially in answer to any question involving numbers. Ex: "Q: What time is it? A: six-seveeen."

6-7 Weekend: A weekend in which Saturday falls on the 6th day of the month and Sunday on the 7th.

80/20 Rule: An axiom in online incel spaces, the 80/20 is the idea that 80% of women only date the "top" 20% of men.

Algo speak: Coded language used to bypass online content moderation. Examples: "regarded" used instead of "retarded" and "unalive" instead of "kill."

Alpha male: Taken from animal ethology, an alpha male is the dominant member of a group of males, or just a male who is in charge. (See "beta male" and "sigma male.")

Ate/eat: Done very well, often regarding clothing. e.g.: "You ate that outfit." See also: "serving."

Aura: Someone who is mysterious and cool is said to "have aura."

Aura farming: Depending on the context, “aura farming” can refer to a person who does something cool without trying or someone who is trying too hard to appear cool.

Baddie: A bad/wild girl. Meant as a compliment.

Baka: Japanese word meaning “crazy" or “foolish.” Used mainly in the anime community.

Based: Independent in a cool way.

Bed-rotting: Staying in bed all day. You may know it as “lazing around.” (See "Hurkle-durkle.")

Beta male: A beta male, or just "beta," is a weaker, subservient male. (See "alpha male" and "sigma male.")

Boombayah: A euphemism for “having sex.” It’s used mostly online, often to defeat censorship algorithms.

Bop: A girl who sleeps around. Also: a great song.

Boysober: Someone who has sworn off sex, relationships, and/or dating.

Brain-rot: A description of the overuse of stupid slang. See also: “Skibidi.” Also used to describe the effects of being overly online.

Brat: The contemporary meaning of "brat" is an adjective describing a person who is edgy, imperfect, and confident. It was coined by pop star Charli XCX who defined it as "that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes. Who feels herself but maybe also has a breakdown."

Bruzz: Bros. Part of the -uzz family of slang words. See "Huzz" and "-uzz."

Bubba truck: A lifted or otherwise modified pick-up truck.

Bussin': Very good or excellent.

Cap: A lie. Often used to say "no cap."

Cake: Butt, especially a nice butt.

Chad: An attractive man; an “alpha male.” See "Giga-Chad."

Chat: A reference to streamers addressing their chat windows aloud. Saying “chat” in real life is an ironic joke. 

Chopped: Ugly. Chopped is often applied to someone's face or outfit, but anything that isn't aesthetically pleasing could be called "chopped," as could anything that is generally not good, like an awkward situation.

Chud: A physically unappealing person. Sometimes used for a man who holds right-wing views.

Clanker: A slur aimed at robots and AI agents pretending to be human.

Coomer: A man who masturbates too often.

Corn: “Corn” is algo-speak that means “porn.” Used in online spaces where the word might cause your account to be flagged or banned. 

Coworker-core: A catch-all description for things that are unfunny or uninteresting in a way that appeals to older people.

Crash out: To have an intense emotional outburst, usually accompanied by impulsive behavior. Crashing out is often due to being overwhelmed or overly frustrated.

Dead: Past tense of having died laughing. If someone responds to a joke with "dead" or a skull emoji, they find it funny.

Deadass: Seriously. Used like, "I am deadass not lying."

Delulu: Delusional.

Deriod: A combination of "dick" and "period," deriod refers to men seeming to experience the mood swings commonly associated with women's menstrual cycles.

Dih: Algo speak for “dick.” (See "Algo speak.")

Doomer: A person who is overly negative and/or cynical.

Drip: A fashionable or stylish look.

Dwerking: A male-centric variation of twerking. A sexually suggestive dancing characterized by rapid, repeated hip thrusts and shaking of the dick. Other variants include "pwerking" and "bwerking" where the "p" and "b" stand for pussy and boobs.

Edgar: A variation of the Caesar haircut worn especially among Hispanic males. Also refers to the kind of person who wears the haircut. 

Fambushing: A combination of "family" and "ambushing," fambushing refers to young people checking where their parents are on location-sharing apps so they can get free food—if you see mom at Chipotle, you ask for a burrito.

Fanum tax: The theft of food between friends. Named for streamer Fanum, known for “taxing” his friends by taking bites of their meals or stealing fries. 

Fax, no printer: Telling the truth. Since "fax and "facts" are pronounced the same, this is a colorful way of saying "facts, no cap."

Fent-fold: A description of the bent-over posture of people nodding on heavy drugs.

Fit: Short for "outfit."

Fuhuhluhtoogan: Supposedly from Baltimore slang, this is a nonsense word used so people will ask what it means but never receive an answer. Often paired with "Jittleyang."

Gamer dent: The temporary indentation left on someone’s hair or skin after wearing headphones for too long.

Geeker: Someone who uses a lot of drugs.

Giga-Chad: A Chad among Chads.

Glaze: To overly praise someone, often insincerely, or with the hope of getting something in return.

Gleek: An older slang term that is gaining prominence lately, gleeking describes squirting saliva from under the tongue.

Glizzy: Hot dog. "Glizzy" was originally slang for Glock or gun, but came to mean hot dog based on the hot dog shape of a Glock's magazine.

Green fn: An interjection one might used when someone does something cool or impressive. Often used ironically. 

Gooner: A man who goons. (See "gooning.")

Goonette: A woman who goons. (See "gooning.")

Gooning: Extended masturbation without orgasm done for the purpose of entering an altered state of consciousness. (See "gooner," "goonette.")

Gyatt or Gyat: Once an interjection used when seeing someone sexy, like “god-DAMN,” “gyatt” has come to mean “attractive booty.”

Heavy soda: Pop with extra syrup. Some gas station soda machines have settings that control the ratio of syrup to carbonated water. A heavy soda is a soda with the syrup level set very high.

Hewwo: An overly cute way of saying "hello." Usually used online, and often ironically.

HGS: Abbreviation for "home girls" used in comment sections.

Hozier yell: Named for singer/songwriter Andrew Hozier, a "Hozier yell" refers to the sound one makes when experiencing a peak, climactic, and/or awe-inspiring moment.

Hurkle-durkle: Based on an archaic Scottish word, “hurkle-durkle” means to lounge in bed after it is time to get up. See also: “bed-rotting."

Huzz: -uzz slang for "hoes." See "bruzz" and "-uzz."

"It's giving": Used to convey that something has a specific vibe. Example: "That dude texts you every 10 minutes; it's giving desperate."

"It's so over": The situation is hopeless. The opposite of "we're so back." See also: "Doomer."

IWEL: This comment-section acronym is short for "I wouldn't even lie." Sometimes written as "IWL."

Jelqing: The use of stretching or weights in an attempt to increase penis size.

Jit: A kid. Used ironically online.

Jittleyang: Supposedly from Baltimore slang, this is a nonsense word used so people will ask what it means but never receive an answer. See also: "Fuhuhluhtoogan."

JOMO: A play on FOMO (fear of missing out) JOMO is an acronym that stands for “joy of missing out.”

Jugg: To grab quickly or to steal.

"Learn Chinese": Sports slang directed at failing players. They are in danger of being sent to play in China, so they should "learn Chinese."

Looksmaxxing: Maximizing one’s physical attractiveness through personal grooming, working out, and dressing stylishly. See also: “-maxxing.”

Mason (or Mason 6-7 kid): A "Mason 6-7 Kid" or "Mason" is a stereotypical male member of Generation Alpha. Mason kids are known for their love of baseball-inspired fashion (caps and shorts), their "ice cream" haircut, and for repeating brainrot slang like "6-7."

-maxxing: A suffix used with any word to indicate trying to improve. Seeing your friends could be called "friendmaxxing," working out could be called "gymmaxxing," making jokes could be called "jestermaxxing," etc.

Mid: Average, bland, expected.

Mewing: A facial exercise meant to strengthen the jawline.

Mirror sex: Using a mirror to watch yourself have sex.

Mog: To be more attractive than someone, usually in an intentional or aggressive way. Example: "I was rizzing up this girl, but he walked in and totally mogged me."

"My 90 in a 30": A song played while driving that inspires speeding.

"My steak is too juicy": The phrase "my steak is too juicy" and other variants like "my lobster is too buttery," are online insults that suggest someone is complaining about something they should be grateful for.

Neurospicy: A different way of saying “neuro-divergent.”

NPC: Non-player character. Originally describing video game characters, NPC is now used on the internet to mean people who don't think for themselves.

Opp: Short for "opposition." Someone who is out to get you. An enemy.

Performative male: An insult for young men whose tastes, hobbies, and lifestyle are seen as a performance aimed at obtaining societal approval, especially the approval of young women.

Pink cocaine: Also known as "pink snow," pink cocaine is slang for a powdered drug mixture that usually contains some combination of ketamine, MDMA, meth, opioids, and other substances.

Pole: A gun. See "up pole."

"Press F for respect:" In 2014 video game Call of Duty: Advanced Warfighter, the player attends a funeral and a prompt is given that reads "Press F to pay respects." Now, a singular "F" in a chat window indicates respect. It's usually ironic.

Regarded: “Regarded” is algo-speak for “retarded."

"Reheating your own nachos:" This slang phrase comes from cultural critics in online fandom communities. It refers to performers and/or artists whose new works are seen as trying to recapture what was good about their previous artistic output. It's not always negative; it's possible to successfully reheat your own nachos.

Rizz: As a noun, "rizz" means charisma. As a verb, "rizz" or "rizz up" means attracting someone with your charisma.

Scorigami: A slang term among football fans for when the final score of an NFL game has never happened before in the league's history. The most recent scorigami was on September 28, 2025, when the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys tied 40 to 40.

SDIYBT: An acronym for "start digging in your butt, twin," this brainrot phrase doesn't mean anything. Some people just think it's funny to say.

Sendy and “Let’s get sendy": Sendy is an adjective based on the older rock-climbing and extreme sports slang phrase "send it." A shortened version of "ascend it," "send it" is said right before one is about to do something challenging. "Sendy" describes a person who is prone to doing bold things. "Let's get sendy" means something like "Let's get wild." It's been adopted by brainrot fans, so it's often repeated with no meaning meant to be attached.

Serve: Wearing a particularly stylish outfit. See also: "ate."

Serve cunt: To act in a powerfully and unapologetically feminine way; to slay.

Sharking: Looking for people to hook up with.

Sigma male: An internet-created male classification, a "sigma male" is as dominant as an alpha male, but is outside the male hierarchy, i.e.: a lone wolf. Originally used seriously, the concept was so widely derided it's now almost always used ironically. (See "Alpha male" and "Beta male.")

Skibidi: Named after “Skibidi Toilet,” a popular series of YouTube videos, “skibidi” itself has no specific meaning, beyond ridiculing the overuse of slang itself. See “brain-rot.”

Skrt: Onomatopoetic word for the sound of tires squealing upon acceleration.

Slopcore: This term describes the countless 100s of millions of cheesy-looking, unsettling, AI-generated images, videos, and songs that have hit the internet since AI was given to the masses a couple of years ago.

Snatched: Very attractive and/or flawlessly styled. 

Spawn point: Mother. Based on the spot you start in a video game.

Spoopy: Spooky.

Striker: Stolen/no-title car.

Surf Dracula: A hyper-specific phrase that describes "prestige" television series. The joke is that if there were an older TV show called "Surf Dracula," Dracula would be surfing in every episode, but modern shows would make the whole first season about how Dracula got his surfboard.

Sweat: A person who tries too hard, usually used in reference to video games. The adjective form is "sweaty."

SYBAU: An online acronym that stands for “shut your bitch ass up.”

Tradwife: Believer in traditional married gender roles.

Treatler (and Treatlerite): "Treatler" and "Treatlerite" are online insults that combine "treat" and "Hitler" to refer to entitled users of services like Doordash or Uber Eats who regard luxury delivery services as a human right, and don't consider the hardships of the people who do the work that makes "private taxis for burritos" possible.

TS: TS originally was AAVE shorthand for "this shit," but it is often used to just mean "this."

Turnt: Excited or intoxicated, or excitedly intoxicated.

Unc: Short for "uncle," used to describe slightly older people. Example: "The class of 2024 are unc-status to the class of 2028." See "yunc."

-uzz: -uzz slang words use "uzz" at the end of any word, so "bros" becomes "bruzz," "hoes" becomes "huzz," "granny" becomes "gruzz," etc.

Up pole: To raise a gun.

Twelve: Police.

Twin: Best friend.

"We're so back": Opposite of "it's so over."

Venus tummy: When a woman's belly is a little fat, but not too fat, she is said to have a Venus tummy. Named for ancient Greek statues of Venus and Aphrodite who were a little fleshy.

Wojack: The name of a style of internet drawings used to quickly stereotype someone. See this post for a full explanation of the Wojak universe.

Yapping: Describes a presentational style often seen on online streams of talking a lot and/or quickly while not saying anything worthwhile.

Yeet: To quickly and/or forcibly eject.

Yunc: Yunc is a variation of "unc." In AAVE, a "yn" is a "young n-word." So "yunc" means something like "young uncle," or a person who may be young but has uncle vibes or unc status.

Zoomer Perm: A curly on top, short on the sides haircut popular among young people. 

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Posted by Jake Peterson

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Black Friday is nearly upon us. From the day after Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, you will be inundated with deals from stores and companies alike. But even before Black Friday officially begins, stores are putting up discounts. As Lifehacker's tech editor, I've combed through the various tech deals across stores like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart to find the offers actually worth considering.

While there aren't a huge number of excellent deals running at the moment, there are some good ones you can take advantage of right now. In fact, many of the deals are on last-gen devices—I've included those that are still worth picking up in 2025, especially at these discounts. Keep your eyes out over the next couple weeks, too: As we get closer to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I imagine way more deals will start rolling out.

The best early Black Friday deals on laptops

  • M4 MacBook Air (13-inch): $749 at Amazon (was $999): Without a doubt, my favorite early Black Friday laptop deal is this price cut on the M4 MacBook Air. For $750, you get the latest M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. It's a fantastic package for anyone who needs a laptop for everyday tasks—though these chips can be pushed further than you'd think. If you need extra RAM or storage, Amazon is selling the 512GB model for $949, and the 512GB/24GB of RAM model for $1,149.

  • M2 MacBook Air (13-inch): $699 at Best Buy (was $799): If your maximum budget is $700, the M2 MacBook Air is a great choice. This MacBook Air looks and feels the same as the M4 model, and also comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. However, you do get an M2 chip, which is two generations behind the M4. I personally think the future-proofing you get with the M4 is worth the extra $50, but the M2 MacBook Air is still a lot of computer for its current price.

  • Dell 16 Plus Copilot+ PC (16-inch): $999.99 at Best Buy (was $1,599.99): Despite the Copilot+ PC name, this Dell 16 Plus laptop is a great value for the price. This laptop comes with a 16-inch 2.5K display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a 3.3GHz Intel Core Ultra 9 Series 2 chip with 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. Best Buy is taking $600 off as part of its early Black Friday sale.

  • Galaxy Book4 (16-inch): $1,199.99 at Best Buy (was $1,899.99): This Galaxy Book4 comes with a 2,880 by 1,800 AMOLED panel, with a refresh rate of 120Hz. It runs a 3.8 GHz Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 1 chip with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Best Buy currently has it $700 off.

The best early Black Friday deals on tablets

  • iPad A16: $299 at Amazon (was $349): Apple sells a lot of iPads, but its most affordable model might be enough for most people. The tablet comes with an 11-inch display, Apple's A16 chip, and 128GB of storage. It won't be as powerful as one of Apple's M-series iPads, and the display can't compete with the OLED iPad Pros, but for $300, this is a great tablet.

  • iPad Pro (11-inch): $899 at Best Buy (was $999): If you want the most powerful and feature-filled iPad Apple makes, the 11-inch Pro is currently $100 off. This model comes with Apple's M4 chip, 256GB of storage, and an OLED display.

  • Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite: $159.99 at Amazon (was $329): Samsung's Tab S6 Lite is a good choice for anyone looking for a solid yet affordable Android tablet. This model comes with a 10.4-inch display, 64GB of storage, and Samsung's S Pen. It's currently $170 off at Amazon.

  • Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE: $359.99 at Amazon (was $499.99): Samsung's S10 FE tablet is $130 off right now. It comes with a 10.9-inch 90Hz display, 128GB of storage, and Samsung's S Pen. If you looking for alternatives, Samsung actually has a number of other tablets on sale at Amazon as part of its early Black Friday promotion.

The best early Black Friday deals on phones

  • Samsung Galaxy S25 FE: $534.99 at Amazon (was $709.99): Samsung's "budget" Galaxy S25 device is normally over $700, but is currently 25% off before Black Friday. The phone comes with 256GB of storage, an Exynos 2400 chip with 8GB of RAM, and a 6.7-inch 1080p display.

  • Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: $1,057.91 at Amazon (was $1,419.99): Samsung's most expensive flagship smartphone is also 25% off, which takes more than $360 off the list price. The S25 Ultra comes with 512GB of storage, a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip with 12GB of RAM, and a 6.9-inch 1440p display.

The best early Black Friday deals on smartwatches

  • Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen): $169 at Walmart (was $249): While Apple currently sells the third-generation Apple Watch SE, the second-gen is still a great smartwatch. Walmart currently has it discounted by $80, whether you choose the 40mm GPS model or 44mm model. If you choose the latter, it'll cost you $199, down from $279.

  • Apple Watch Ultra 2: $699 at Best Buy (was $799): Similarly, you can save $100 off the second-gen Apple Watch Ultra 2, if you don't mind that Apple currently sells an Apple Watch Ultra 3—but that will cost you at least $180 more at this time. The Ultra 2 gives you a large 49mm display with up to 3,000 nits of brightness. It also comes with "pro" features like 100m of water resistance and a 40m depth gauge made for scuba and snorkeling, and a battery life of up to 36 hours.

  • Apple Watch Series 10: $249 at Best Buy (was $499): Apple's latest Apple Watch Series 11 is nearly $50 off at Walmart. But you can save another $100 by going with the previous-gen Apple Watch Series 10.

  • Garmin vívoactive 5: $199 at Best Buy (was $299): Garmin is in a similar boat to the Apple Watches above, as the vívoactive 5 is now a last-gen product. Still, it comes with a 42mm display, a host of workout features (like sleep tracking, respiration rate, activity vs. inactivity), and 264 hours of runtime.

The best early Black Friday deals on headphones and earbuds

  • AirPods Pro 2: $139 at Walmart (was $239): If you don't want to spend the $249 on Apple's AirPods Pro 3, the second-gen Pros are kind of a steal at $139. They still offer great sound, noise cancellation, and Transparency, and you save $110 against Apple's latest model.

  • QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds: $249 at Amazon (was $299): Bose is known for both sound quality and noise cancellation, and while the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds are a bit pricey, they're currently $50 off.

  • JBL Tune Buds: $39.95 at Amazon (was $99.95): Wireless earbuds can get expensive, so it's refreshing to have a discount like this on JBL's Tune Buds. The buds are normally just under $100, but before Black Friday, they're $60 off.

  • Sony WH-1000XM5: $248 at Amazon (was $399.99): If I didn't already have a pair of AirPods Max, these would be the headphones I'd pick up. Sony's WH-1000XM series is one of the best, and while they aren't as expensive as Apple's over-the-ear headphones, they're still pretty pricey. Amazon currently has them discounted by 38%.

Our Best Editor-Vetted Early Black Friday Deals Right Now
Deals are selected by our commerce team
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Posted by Daniel Oropeza

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

If you’re going to commit to an Amazon Prime membership, you might as well squeeze as much as you can out of the deal. And there's a good amount of juice to squeeze there. The price you pay for Amazon depends on many factors, but regardless of how much you're paying, it's worth it for most people (we did the math).

If you're on the fence about signing up, Black Friday is just around the corner, and Amazon already has early Black Friday deals. It's a great time to sell your soul—or take advantage of the 30-day free trial—and there's a lot more to your membership than just deals and free shipping.

How much does Amazon Prime cost?

The standard Prime membership costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year, but there are other tiers that some people might qualify for. For example, the new Amazon Prime Student program allows young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 to get all of the Prime perks for half the cost—$7.49 per month or $69 annually.

The benefits of Amazon Prime

I'll be the first to admit I didn't know all of the benefits that Amazon Prime offers to its members. There are a lot more perks than people think. Here are the most impressive ones (and check out the full list):

Fast and free shipping

  • Fast free shipping on millions of items: Depending on where you live, shipping can take one or two days, and some even come on the same day—and it’s always free (if being shipped by the Amazon store).

  • Pre-ordered items can be delivered on their release date for free.

  • The option to have items delivered inside your garage with a smart garage device (depending on where you live).

  • Earn rewards for future purchases when you select free no-rush shipping.

  • The option to have all your weekly orders delivered on a specific day, to reduce waste from boxes.

  • The ability to try before you buy when you order clothes or shoes, meaning you have seven days before you get charged for the items you decide to keep.

Deals, savings, and sales

  • Subscribe & Save deals that allow you to place recurring orders and save money when you do so.

  • Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card: Cardholders get 5% back on Amazon/Whole Foods purchases. So Prime members who use this card extensively can earn rewards that offset the annual fee.

  • A free year of Grubhub+, normally $9.99 per month, which gets you free delivery on eligible orders, lower service fees, exclusive deals, and other perks. 

  • Sharing with family or friends: Prime benefits can be shared with other members of your household. The more users, the more value per person.

Medical care

  • Amazon Health: Prime users get One Medical access for an additional $9 per month. Through your devices, you’ll have 24/7 access to on-demand virtual care, plus real-life access to primary care offices in a number of U.S. cities. It accepts most major health insurance plans, too.

  • Amazon Pharmacy: Access to free two-day delivery and other savings on medications.

Streaming and digital perks

E-books and audiobooks


Our Best Editor-Vetted Early Black Friday Deals Right Now
Deals are selected by our commerce team
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Posted by Lindsey Ellefson

I am a frequent user of Google's NotebookLM, an AI tool that functions similarly to ChatGPT and other LLMs, but only pulls from sources and materials the user inputs. I noticed a few days ago that it has a new feature: A research function divided into "fast research" and "deep research."

After playing around with it a little, these new features seem to completely defeat the purpose of why I started using NotebookLM in the first place—with one big exception.

What the new "fast research" and "deep research" options in NotebookLM do

In short, "fast research" and "deep research" make NotebookLM work a lot like other AI tools—they pull information in from the web on your behalf—and that's the primary reason I don't see myself using them.

When you use the deep research tool, you enter in what you want to research as a topic in the left panel, where you also typically store all the PDFs, links, and other materials you manually inputted as the sources for NotebookLM to pull from. This is where it differs from the premise NotebookLM has basically been built on since it was launched: The software searches the internet for sources, broadening the selection of materials the generated quizzes, podcasts, summaries, and flashcards will pull from. Before this update, it was entirely on you to find and input your own sources.

The fast research tool is similar. Instead of finding the sources and generating a long report, it just suggests a handful of new sources for you to consider.

NotebookLM research mode
Credit: Google

Whether using deep or fast research mode, you have the option to deselect sources if you don't like them, but it's tricky to review them. I tried it on a Notebook I have set up to study for my upcoming personal training certification exam. It spit out a selection of titles like "Free NASM Practice Test," shown above on the left. I had to click the "7 more links" link to expand the panel, which then revealed where the sources were from and gave me the chance to open them in a new tab to review them before agreeing to import them (shown on the right).

Finding and assessing sources on my own is a crucial first step in my learning and brainstorming process, so I don't see myself ever using this. The reason I love using NotebookLM is that it doesn't do the work for me. It's still my responsibility to go out and find all the sources I need, then input them so it can help me synthesize the contents. I use it for studying, for work, and to organize my personal projects. None of those things benefit much from random outside sourcing. And, as is a risk with all AI tools, there's no guarantee it will find sources that are credible (again, it found me a Reddit thread I could have easily found for myself).

The one useful new feature in the NotebookLM update

When you're inputting the topic you want NotebookLM to research, you'll notice a dropdown menu. It's automatically set to "Web," meaning it will pull sources from the internet, but you can also set it to go through your Google Drive instead. That is helpful. I keep everything related to all my projects in distinct Drive folders already. Using this feature can help me input all the relevant materials when I need them instead of having to add them in manually, one by one. That's the sort of utility I have been enjoying NotebookLM for over the past few months.

[food] breadferences

Nov. 19th, 2025 09:26 pm
kaberett: Trans symbol with Swiss Army knife tools at other positions around the central circle. (Default)
[personal profile] kaberett

At the weekend we made a mildly unusual detour to a fancy local bakery; one of the things they had on the shelves about which I went "oooh" was fig, hazelnut & anise bread. So that flavour combination (plus some spelt) was went into the oven this morning!

The way bread normally works around here is that I make it, via the Ritual Question of Do You Have Any Breadferences (Bread Preferences). To facilitate this call and response, A List of our Usual Options, doubtless to be added to. Suggestions welcome. :)

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