“Kim, I’m concerned that my phone is going to give me cancer. My wife tells me I’m paranoid. What do you think? Thank you for your newsletters and shows. It helps me keep up with our two teens.” — Robert in San Antonio, Texas

I understand your concerns, Robert. The FCC says the radiation coming from your cellphone is no big deal. A cancer surgeon friend told me he begs to differ. I play it safe and keep my phone away from my body and head as much as possible. (Yes, I’m that person taking calls on my AirPods or speakerphone.)

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Don’t die. That’s 46-year-old Bryan Johnson’s main goal in life.

Bryan made $400 million when he sold his credit card processing company to eBay. Today, he lives in Los Angeles as a self-proclaimed “rejuvenation athlete” — and spends his time and money trying to turn back the clock.

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I cleaned out a cabinet a few years ago and found a stack of old Super 8 videos. I’ll never forget the way my Mom’s face lit up after I digitized videos of her late brother Harold Jr.’s wedding. Tragically, he died in a car accident not long after his wedding day.

Memories like that are so precious, but when was the last time you watched family videos? If they’re on VHS, it can be a pain. Even worse, every year that goes by, those tapes degrade a little more.

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I use Siri to send texts, put my phone on Do Not Disturb before I record, set meetings and lots more. One time I don’t use it? In an emergency. Luckily, emergencies are few and far between in my life (knock on wood), but I wouldn’t risk it.

Researchers asked voice assistants questions related to cardiac arrest emergencies. Yep, it was a complete disaster. You might think a quick “Hey, Siri” would pull up the instructions quickly and clearly, but that’s absolutely the worst thing to do. 

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As a small-business owner, dealing with attorneys means one thing: Spending a lot of money. I’ll never forget the lawyer I met with who charged $999 an hour. I wish I made that!

There’s a lot you need a real-life lawyer for, but there’s a lot you can do on your own with AI before opening your wallet.

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I hate when ads take over websites. They pop up and distract you. So frustrating when all you want to do is read an article. Then, there’s the other big problem. All these website ads follow you around on different sites to track you.

But ads aren’t just annoying — they’re dangerous. Cybercriminals use them to spread malware, adware, spyware and everything in between. 

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How bad are we at creating safer passwords? The latest data shows a whopping 75% of people worldwide don’t follow password best practices. We should know better … and yet, 84% of us reuse our passwords.

Why do I harp on this so often? You can blame over 80% of data breaches on weak or repeated passwords. Maybe you’ve never experienced the horror of identity theft, but let me tell you, it’s bad.

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I admit it. Whenever I look for a recipe online, I get annoyed that I have to scroll, scroll, scroll. Listen, I know your grandma had the best chocolate chip cookies, and chicken soup healed your soul back in 1997. I just want the recipe.

Bright idea: Copy the recipe’s URL into Just The Recipe to strip away the junk. It’ll give you just the ingredients and steps you need. Even easier: On a PC, hit Ctrl + F and type “Print” to go right to the recipe. On a Mac, it’s Command + F.

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I ran into an acquaintance I hadn’t seen for a few years, and she’d lost a ton of weight. I asked her, “Did you start an exercise program?” Nope. She’s taking supplements she heard about on TikTok. That bothered the heck out of me, so I did some research.

What I found was frightening

Lewis Brown took health supplements containing a drug called DNP, which led to his internal body temperature skyrocketing to 103.64 degrees Fahrenheit. Although he survived, Brown had a leg muscle surgically removed.

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Yesterday, my Daily Tech Update heard on 350+ radio stations about how EVs don’t like cold weather hit home with a ton of folks. You see, even if you charged up to prepare the night before, the battery could be dead or pretty close to it when you wake up. Wow, so many people told me they had no idea this would happen when they bought an EV. 

Yeah, it’s cold all across the country — Babbitt, Minnesota: -15°, Dubuque, Iowa: 3°, Sioux Falls, South Dakota: 6° and Chicago, Illinois: 10°. I’m freezing in Phoenix, where it’s 53° as I type, and I have a space heater on under my desk. (Insert wha-wha sound here!) 

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Booking a rental property for your next vacation? There’s a scam for that!

Seriously, vacation rental scams are everywhere. Last year alone, Airbnb banned 59,000 fake listings — and stopped 157,000 listings from making it to the site in the first place.

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You may not be looking for love online, but many people are. Tinder says about 40% of couples meet via apps. Whoa.

There are lots of happily-ever-afters, but for some, dating apps are a complete nightmare. Let’s take a look at the dark underbelly of dating apps.

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For years now, I’ve predicted that someday, somehow, someone would create a search tool that would rival Google. Some say it’s already happened with ChatGPT. But it’s loaded with problems. 

I’m betting that history is about to repeat itself with a small AI search website with only 40 employees operating out of a small shared office in San Francisco … kinda like the early days of Google. 

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In my spare time, I am a bit of a horse trader in real estate. I have purchased and sold over 20 commercial buildings and homes at all price points. I’ve used realtors and sold properties myself. I’ve bought foreclosures and short sales. I’ve remodeled homes and purchased spec homes. I just completed building a new home on a lot that I eyeballed for 10 years. It’s my hobby.

I’ve been thinking there is a looming collapse of the Airbnb and Vrbo model. Desperate owners will need to get rid of pricey investment properties they can’t afford anymore. Why? Hotels have lowered prices, and people are tired of the hidden cameras and lack of amenities in many Airbnbs.

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Savvy internet surfers like us ignore those obnoxious “Claim Now” pop-up ads that promise free gift cards. We’re better than that. But there’s a new shopping app that I have been getting a slew of questions about whether it’s a good way to make some extra cash. So, I decided to check it out for you.

See you on the Flip side

It’s called Flip. Make an account and you can purchase products. Once you get whatever you bought, you can earn money for making a review in a TikTok-style video. Flip pays you when people buy products based on your reviews or if you refer someone to the app. You can use the credits to buy more stuff on Flip or transfer the cash to a bank account.

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If you love true crime shows, boy, oh boy, I have a gig for you! Lawyers use virtual juries to try out their strategies before a case makes it to court, and you can get paid for participating. How fun is that!

The job requirements are pretty basic. Most of these sites require you to be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 and have no felony convictions. Depending on the case, there may be additional eligibility criteria.

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A meme with a bunch of scrambled letters and words is going around social media and it is supposed to give you insight on what to expect in the upcoming year.

Here’s how it works: Relax your eyes and casually scroll through the image until you spot words. The first four that you see will be your mantra for 2024.

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Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll say I’m frugal. Heck, you can call me cheap — I won’t be offended.

I’ll let you in a little secret, too. Sometimes, buying used is totally the way to go. There are some things I would only buy new, but tech isn’t one of them. There are some darn good deals out there if you’re willing to find them, from Apple, Amazon, eBay, you name it.

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Mark Zuckerberg is building a $100M hidden compound on his Hawaiian island ranch — and he doesn’t want you to know about it.

I’m so fascinated by this. It’s not just the Meta CEO, either — billionaires worldwide are adding fortresses to their properties. Why? Good question.

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When my son Ian was 8, he refused to go to sleep on Christmas Eve. The kid was just too excited. But of course, I still needed to wrap presents and get a little sleep, so I called in some reinforcements.

Not everyone knows the North American Aerospace Defense Command gets in on the holiday spirit. Pass this along to anyone in your family with little ones. They’ll think you’re a genius.

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