BYE BYE AIRBNB
Lately I’ve been hearing horror stories about Airbnb, the vacation rental site that opened in 2008. Goodbye rave reviews, hello complaints.
A friend said that the house he rented in Brooklyn, New York, for a family reunion was a total disaster. There were no sofas or chairs in the living room, and the beds were army cots. Every square inch of the dining room was crammed floor-to-ceiling with junk, including furniture and bicycles. The kitchen cabinets were filled to the brim with appliances, bowls and utensils, all covered in dust, circa 1945. After two sweaty hours, he gave up trying to make a clean space in this hoarder’s paradise. The next morning, in a breakfast nook without a table, the family’s teenagers reported a male intruder who startled them at 1 a.m., by opening the front door with a key and tiptoeing up the stairs. They figured it was the owner, but yuck.
Another friend said that the AirBNB she rented with her husband had no towels for drying dishes. “Just use paper towels,” the owner said. “We do.”
An Airbnb in Florida literally crawled with cockroaches, according to a woman on Reddit.com. “It’s Florida, there are always bugs,” the owner reportedly said, refusing her a refund. Adding to the insult, Airbnb took down her negative review. But Airbnb homeowners have problems too. A couple from Nebraska said their home was turned into a meth lab, according to People Magazine.
Hearing Aids Revisited
After I wrote about hearing aids, a reader suggested I write about the Lyric brand she bought for her step-daughter, who is confined to a nursing home.
Even at $4000 a year, “they’re worth every penny,” she said. “I no longer have issues with the wrong appliances in the wrong ear, aids upside down, aids falling off with glasses or mask, aids being worn by someone else, or aids left at the nurses station because the regular nurse has a day off.”
Lyric hearing aids are placed deep in the ear canal and worn all day and night. Each aid is regularly replaced every four to six weeks by an audiologist, but you can get a new pair whenever you need them, up to eight times a year. Only a trained expert can take them out, but you don’t have to worry about charging the batteries. You can even wear them in the shower, but not for swimming. The aids are recommended for those with mild to moderate hearing loss.
Diving Deep
To get more out of the daily news, type a headline into ChatGPT or Microsoft’s Copilot. I tried it with a recent US Supreme Court decision. After a summary, I asked Microsoft Copilot to explain how the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm, would respond to the ruling. It gave me a great list of pros and cons. To type in some questions yourself, go to ChatGPT.com, Claude.ai or Copilot.Microsoft.com.
Windows 10 Extended
You don’t have to buy a new computer when your Windows 10 PC runs out of security updates in October. Microsoft will offer you a year’s worth of updates for $30 or 1000 Microsoft reward points. Get 500 points just by downloading the Bing app to your phone and more by using Bing to search, shop and play Xbox games. I was astonished to see that I already have 21,483 points, so I used 5,000 to donate $5 to the Special Olympics. Check out rewards.bing.com for more info.
No Kindle Necessary
After I gave a friend “The Ancient Wisdom of Baseball” by Christian Sheppard, she said she was unable to access the book because she didn’t have a Kindle. This is a common misconception. You don’t need a Kindle reader or an Amazon Fire tablet to read a Kindle book. Kindle books can be read on any smartphone, tablet or computer. On a phone or tablet, download the free Kindle app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. On a computer, do a Google search on “Manage Your Content and Devices,” then click your book and choose “read now” from the “more actions” menu.
Mini Car
From a French company called Aemotion comes a mini car that’s more like a motorcycle or motor scooter. It weaves around curves, leaning in more than 35 degrees if necessary, but you’re protected in an outer, car-like shell with seats and seatbelts. A second seat allows a passenger to sit behind the driver, motorcycle style. If you don’t need the second seat, you can fold it up for cargo space. See it in action at Mashable.com, by searching on “A Microcar Made for Lane Splitting.”
Internuts
“The best and worst color cars for resale value.” Search on that phrase to find out why gold, white and black tend to be the worst and yellow, green and orange do surprisingly well.
“This $1,299 Robot Dog Dances.” Search on that phrase to see a robotic dog dance. In another video titled “Sirius Robot Dog Tries to Shake Hands,” the dog matches the tricks of a real dog, such as putting out its paw for a shake. Using artificial intelligence, the robot evolves to become even more dog-like.
Magictecture.com shows off a $110,000 roller coaster for your backyard. You can get a pre-designed coaster in a box or design your own.