Here are 5 things you should know.
1. VHS video cassettes degrade over time. Under average conditions, the tapes have a life expectancy of about 30 years. Those tapes laying around from the 90’s with precious family memories are already significantly degraded. You should look to digitize all of your families VHS tapes now.
Many people have old VHS tapes laying around, not realizing that they will soon be degraded beyond usefulness. These could be the only video of loved ones, etc. If you want to keep these memories, you must convert these to digital ASAP.
2. Aluminum is not an ingredient in deodorants.
Deodorant and antiperspirant are two different things. Antiperspirants usually contain aluminum as an ingredient. Deodorants, for the most part, do not. Aluminum was never an ingredient in deodorant, to begin with, don’t pay extra for “Aluminum-free” deodorant. If anything, pay extra for the Aluminum-free antiperspirants.
3. If you interact with a nice worker in the service industry, calling the company they work for to praise the worker will usually provide a tangible benefit to that person’s life. Just don’t mention discounts or cut corners.
- It makes your life better to have them put in the extra effort to be nice to you, so it’s nice to make their life better. Usually, they don’t see a ton of rewards.
- It costs you nothing to call, and only 5 minutes of time usually.
- It’s a powerful statement because people usually just call to complain. A compliment speaks loudly.
- It’s good for the businesses too, to have workers that are pleasant. Everyone benefits from them rewarding solid and friendly employees.
Tip: Don’t mention them giving you discounts etc. Do mention the solid experience they provided you as a customer, and how friendly they were.
4. The Fundamental Attribution Error, a key concept in psychology where we judge others based on their actions but ourselves based on our intent.
If someone is annoying you or does something that you disagree with, remember that you can’t see inside their thoughts.
When you cut someone off in traffic, it’s because you were being absentminded or because you’re late to sing lullabies to your newborn, right? But when someone cuts YOU off, it’s because they’re not good. You don’t know their inner thoughts, just the result of their actions in the world.
So: take it easy on your fellow people this holiday season, and remember the fundamental attribution error. You’ll be less stressed, less annoyed, and maybe even happier!
5. The popular Bluetooth tracker company Tile was recently bought out by Life360, a company whose business model was primarily rooted in selling the location data of its 31 million customers including children.
Many people bought Tiles over the years because they wanted a good quality convenient Bluetooth tracking device for their keys or valuables. With the introduction of Apple’s Airtags and Galaxy SmartTags, Tile has been under a lot of pressure with their extremely limited network. Now that their parent company has switched to one whose philosophy is radically different, those who bought Tiles in the past should reconsider if they want to continue using those products and potentially lose out on a large part of their privacy.
Also, something Tile customers may want to know is that Mark Zuckerberg’s sister sits on Life360’s board of directors.
It is worth noting that when asked about the parent company change, a Tile representative stated, “Tile does not sell/monetize personal data and we have Life360’s full support and commitment to continue that,” but that remains to be seen.
