Why I replaced my $249 AirPods Pro with $19 wired EarPods | Mashable

September 11, 2025September 10, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Google came for the wired it girls at its Made by Google showcase last month. The tech giant played a sponsored episode of Kareem Rahma’s SubwayTakes talk show during the event, in which Rahma and his fellow comedian Amber Singletary ripped on wired earbuds for looking “sloppy,” “dumb,” and “not cool.”

“The only thing they [wired earbuds] do is get tangled,” Rahma said, speaking into a corded mic, to which Singletary replied, also into a corded mic, “Yeah, they get tangled and now you look stupid.”

Someone in SubwayTakes’ Instagram comments section said it best: “Wow, this is the easiest disagree ever.” I firmly believe that wired earphones are actually good and worth using in 2025, at least when it comes to Apple’s iconic EarPods.

A whopper of a Nintendo Direct is coming this week: When is it and how to watch | Mashable

September 11, 2025September 10, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Who cares about Apple? There’s a Nintendo Direct this week!

After weeks of rumors and speculation, Nintendo confirmed that there will be a Nintendo Direct livestream on Friday, Sept. 12 at 6am PT/9am ET. As per usual, Nintendo gave next to no indication of what will actually be shown in the stream, other than “roughly 60 minutes of information on upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch games.” You can watch it on Nintendo’s YouTube channel.

Cracker Barrel ‘suspends’ restaurant renovations following logo flop | CNN Business

September 10, 2025September 9, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Cracker Barrel announced that it’s suspending the renovations of its restaurants following a disastrous logo rollout that sent shares lower.

“You’ve shared your voices in recent weeks not just on our logo, but also on our restaurants,” the chain said on X. “If your restaurant hasn’t been remodeled, you don’t need to worry, it won’t be.”

Cracker Barrel said that its minimalist and lighter design, which removed its dark woods and many of the trademark tchotchkes that lined the walls, was tested at only four out of 660 restaurants.

Everything Apple announced at its big event: iPhone Air, iPhone 17, new Apple Watches and more | CNN Business

September 10, 2025September 9, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Apple announced the first major redesign of the iPhone in years on Tuesday when it confirmed the launch of a new, thinner model called the iPhone Air. CEO Tim Cook called it the “biggest leap ever for iPhone.”

That was one of a number of product upgrades that came during Apple’s annual hardware event at its Cupertino, California, headquarters, which also included improvements to the Apple Watch and AirPods Pro.

A scalding hot ‘sand battery’ is now heating a small Finnish town | Live Science

September 9, 2025September 8, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A small municipality in southern Finland recently installed the world’s largest “sand battery” to supply the town’s heating.

The new sand battery, designed by Polar Night Energy, is effectively a giant sandpit encased in a roughly 100 by 40 foot (30 by 12 meter) steel container.

The sand is heated using closed-loop heat transfer pipes, and this heat is trapped by two layers of steel sandwiching an insulation layer. The energy is then extracted by blowing cool air through the pipes, capturing the heat to generate hot water, steam, or hot air.

Cognitive Overload Symptoms: 15 Warning Signs & Solutions

September 8, 2025September 7, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Picture this: You’re on a video call, nodding along while secretly checking emails, mentally calculating if you have enough pasta for dinner, and half-listening to your kids arguing about whose turn it is on the iPad. Sound familiar? You’re not alone and you’re not imagining that life feels more overwhelming than ever. These are classic cognitive overload symptoms that millions experience daily.

Here’s why: Back in 2008, researchers found Americans were already processing 34GB of information daily. Today? We’re swimming in an estimated 75-100GB of data every single day. That’s like downloading your entire brain’s storage capacity, twice. Our digital interactions have exploded from 298 daily touches in 2010 to a mind-boggling 4,909 expected by 2025. We’re consuming 105,000 words daily, roughly 23 words per second during every waking hour.

Your brain wasn’t designed for this. It’s like running fifty browser tabs on a computer built for dial-up internet. The result? Cognitive overload and it’s wreaking havoc on your focus, health, and happiness. In this article, I’ll walk you through the 15 warning signs of cognitive overload your brain is experiencing and share science-backed solutions to reclaim your mental clarity.

Motivation vs Discipline: Why One Always Beats the Other (And It’s Not What You Think) | LifeHack

September 8, 2025September 7, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The alarm goes off at 5 AM. My hand hovers over the snooze button, and for a split second, I’m back to that old familiar battle. The bed feels impossibly warm, especially on these cold mornings. My two sons won’t be up for another two hours. Every fiber of my being whispers, “Just ten more minutes.” But here’s the thing—I don’t wait for motivation to strike anymore. I swing my legs out of bed anyway.

This morning ritual has taught me something profound about success, both as a CEO and as a father. We’ve all been sold this idea that we need to feel motivated before we act. That we should wait for that surge of inspiration, that perfect moment when everything clicks. Meanwhile, life passes by while we’re still hitting snooze, waiting for a feeling that might never come. This is the fundamental flaw in the motivation vs discipline debate.

Ann Arbor is reinventing the power company | Fast Company

September 5, 2025September 3, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Most new renewable energy projects take the form of massive wind or solar farms. Ann Arbor, Michigan, is trying something different: a new city-owned utility is building a local power network within city limits, made up of solar microgrids and geothermal energy installed at homes and businesses.

“They’re creating a whole new model of energy delivery for a city,” says Mike Shriberg, a professor at University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability who lives in Ann Arbor.

The new utility won’t replace the area’s existing power company, DTE Energy. But it will help the city move much faster toward zero-carbon power.

Texas banned cultivated meat. Now, cultivated meat companies are suing | Fast Company

September 5, 2025September 3, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Cultivated meat—meat grown from cells, not from whole animals—isn’t yet a widespread option in grocery stores or restaurants. The innovation, which involves growing meat from real animal cells without raising or slaughtering any animals, is still relatively rare. But already, Texas lawmakers have decided to ban it.

Now, two cultivated meat companies are fighting back with a federal lawsuit that challenges the ban. The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm, along with cultivated meat startups Wildtype and Upside Foods, argue that the Texas law is an unconstitutional move to protect the agriculture industry from competition.