Life Hacks – Spoken Edition

Whether you’re in the market for some new cans or just curious about what makes headphones sound, well, good, knowing what to listen for is a pretty important way to pick out quality. You could play your favorite songs on different headphones and compare them, but some are specially tuned to enhance certain types of music, making some songs sound bass-heavy while other songs are muddy or flat.

It’s time again for that autumn annoyance: people who think that hating the flavor “pumpkin spice” is interesting. “Pumpkin spice doesn’t actually have pumpkin in it!” they say. “Liking it is basic, and being basic is bad!” Sorry, but the bar for “basic” moves all the time, and it moved beyond your anti-pumpkin-spice tweets a few years ago. Not liking a cinnamon-nutmeg blend does not make you a cultural critic.

Friday The White House suggested that President Trump plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program introduced during the Obama administration that protects young undocumented immigrants from being deported. The program allows those young people to attend school or seek work permits in the United States for renewable periods of two years.

This week Google started rolling out Android Oreo to devices. It’s been available as a public beta for some of the company’s more recent Pixel and Nexus devices since May, but now carrier testing is underway for some of those models, so the official version is likely headed to devices sooner rather than later. The first devices that will likely see Oreo are the Google Pixel, Google Pixel XL, Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P.

A few years ago I decided to get certified as a Cicerone, the beer version of a sommelier. During my studies for the title, I learned what constitutes a “Beer Clean” glass. It’s honestly something I’d never thought of before. A clean glass is a clean glass, right? Wrong. Things like detergent residue and oils are pretty common on glassware but they can alter the aroma and flavor of your beer — and their presence means that glass isn’t really clean.

Small talk will never not be awkward, because to get to know someone you have to ask some fraught questions. Some questions should stay off-limits, but it’s almost always fair game to ask “So what do you do for a living?” Still, answering it can be a pain in the ass. Maybe the last thing you want to talk about is your shitty job. Maybe your job is complicated and you can’t easily explain it.

If you’re heading back to school, there’s no doubt you’ve got a long list of required reading material. Whether it’s a classic like The Great Gatsby, or a more obscure title like A Farewell to Arms, you should avoid shelling out more money in addition to the cash you’re paying for your semester’s textbooks.

I treat my earbuds rough, so every year or two they break. And every time, as I walk around the world without a constant soundtrack of Spotify and podcasts, I think to myself, “I really ought to do this more often.” And then I have ideas. Note to Self podcast host Manoush Zomorodi explores the creative power of boredom in her TED talk, “How boredom can lead to your most brilliant ideas.

You (and everyone else) probably use Google Maps for getting around, hailing ride share services, and figuring out where to go for lunch. An update to the maps app for Android now adds the option to search for parking, making it even easier to get around certain cities. You’ll see the “find parking” option in your directions card, which will bring up a list of potential places to park your whip.

For years I never tipped housekeeping in the hotels I stayed at, for the most part, because I was young and didn’t realize that was a thing people did. I was also staying in the Motel 6s of the world rather than the Ritz-Carlton. I can’t remember when I first discovered that tipping housekeeping was a thing, but I remember being mortified that I hadn’t done it up to that point.

Job interviews are notoriously stressful. While you can’t really prep for every single question an interviewer is going to hit you with, there are a few questions you can prepare yourself for that will likely set the tone for the remainder of that hour-long interview. The first question someone is likely to ask you: “Tell Me About Yourself.

President Trump is expected to end the Obama-era program that protected young undocumented immigrants from deportation, according to reports. Under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, hundreds of thousands of “dreamers” who arrived in the United States as small children, many who have little recollection of their birth countries, were allowed, temporarily, to work in the country legally.

Buying on Amazon is increasingly an exercise in trust. While the company has taken steps to mitigate the spread ofsponsored product reviews and fake ratings, illegitimate sellers are still finding ways to scam consumers. The latest trick? Gaming Amazon’s popularity ranking system and taking over the “Best Seller” tag—arguably a pretty important marker when it comes to buying something with which you may be unfamiliar.

Bail, either in the form of money or property, is used to ensure the suspect of a crime returns for their day in court. You may not think simply paying bail is a life-changing incident, but according to a mini game made by documentary film organization Brave New Films, paying (or not paying) bail can significantly impact a person’s life, and not for the better. Brave New Films’ game, The Bail Trap, is stylized as an 8-bit, choose your own adventure game.

Now you can ask Alexa to set the mood for you. Amazon rolled out 500 new voice commands this week that allow you to ask the assistant to play music that caters to a number of different modes and activities. For instance, you can ask Alexa to play music for a dinner party or nap time. You can also ask for things like “hooking up music” or “baby-making music.” Each request can be further narrowed down by genre.