Life Style

Photo: Product image courtesy of Amazon (Shutterstock)Introducing a smart speaker to a room can be a real quality-of-life upgrade. You can use it to play music, set a timer, control smart lights, or ask any question that comes to mind (which usually means “Hey, what’s the weather today?”)And if this is your first time buying a smart speaker, you can’t go wrong with Amazon’s Echo range, which is deeply discounted right now for the October Prime Day sale. The Echo Dot is Amazon’s smallest and cheapest smart speaker with Alexa built-in. It retails for $49.99, but is currently discounted to just $22.99. It’s available in three colors: Charcoal, Deep Sea Blue, and Glacier White. For less than $25, you get a full-fledged smart speaker that can play music, control smart lights, and talk to other ...

Imagine, if you will, a time of wild economic inequality, global conflict, and Donald Trump every time you turn on your TV. But all of that in neon, and with a way cooler soundtrack. I’m talking, of course, about the ‘80s: the decade that gave us Spike Lee, Hayao Miyazaki, Tim Burton, John Hughes, and serious-actress Cher. Arnold blew up a whole bunch of stuff; Michael J. Fox went back in time to avoid sleeping with his mom; Eddie Murphy made cops seem fun and approachable; and people went around asking “Where’s the beef?” for reasons that remain unclear. It was quite a time.It was also an era when beloved blockbusters could come in all shapes and sizes, and there were nearly 100% fewer Marvel movies. The massive hits of the decade include action movies, but also romantic comedies, horror...

Photo: New Africa (Shutterstock)Woot is having a sale on several ergonomic office chairs until Oct. 16, going for up to 66% off. All of these chairs are new items, not refurbished. Woot only ships to the 48 contiguous states in the U.S. If you have Amazon Prime, you get free shipping; otherwise, it’ll be $6 to ship. Woot products come with an assigned manufacturer warranty or Woot’s 90-day warranty program, in case you have a problem with a product.Here are the best deals on office chairs available.Top of the list is the Flash Furniture Kelista Office Chair at $119.99. Depending on which retailer you want to believe, the listing price for this office chair is anything from $209 to $348. No matter what the original price, Woot has the best price for it at the moment, according to Honey’s pr...

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez (Getty Images)Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days are in full swing, bringing deals on everything from Pelotons, to Android tablets, to robot vacuums. For Apple fans, it’s a great time to pick up some new earbuds: The AirPods 2nd generation are currently going for $89, matching the low they reached during this summer’s Prime Day sale.The second-generation AirPods were released in 2019 and have rarely been sold for much cheaper. They don’t have all the same bells and whistles, but are significantly cheaper than the new USB-C AirPods Pro, which are also discounted for Prime Big Deal Days, but will still run you $189 at Amazon. If you wait until Black Friday, you might see a match for last year’s all-time low of $79, but if you don’t want to wait until then to save $10, y...

Photo: Malikov Aleksandr (Shutterstock)Exercise is so weird. We have to block off time, put on special clothes, and invest in expensive equipment or a gym membership just so we can possibly live long enough to see a colony on Mars. But the benefits of regular exercise are compelling, so most of us make at least some effort to stay fit, and with so many of us still working from home at least some of the time, the home gym remains a pretty popular option.All that effort results in a healthier you, so it’s not wasted time—and yet your workout could be a more efficient experience. For one thing, you could be reading or even doing your job while pedaling an exercise bike. For another, you could make your home gym a more sustainable one by generating electricity while you work out.Power-generati...

Photo: Chendongshan (Shutterstock)Amazon’s fall Prime Day isn’t just for people; your dog and cat friends can enjoy bargain prices, as well. Whether you want to hook Mittens up with a self-cleaning litter box or find out about Bandit’s distant ancestors, there’s a consumer product for you, available at a low(er) price, for a limited time.Photo: AmazonThis highly rated Amazon automatic electronic pet feeder can change your pet’s life—and yours. It helps prevent gorging and gluttony by timing each portion to your specifications, dispensing dry and semi-moist food six times a day. The precise timer guarantees that lunch will be served right on time, every time. All that for only $32.48 (was $39.99). Photo: AmazonYour purring pal will feel like the queen of the house when you gift them this Ca...

When you have a lot of work to do, a short attention span can be disastrous to your productivity. So instead of fighting it, you can use it to your advantage by working in “sprints” rather than trying for a marathon session. Like the Pomodoro technique, the sprints method has you work in a series of shorter bursts, so you can get your tasks done without your attention or productivity lagging. Here’s how to try it out..When using the sprints method, you’ll be doing short bursts of work with breaks in between. That’s really all it is, but since taking breaks is fundamental to being truly productive, it’s effective. Though, as noted, the sprints method has some elements in common with the popular Pomodoro method—which sees you work in tightly timed bursts interspersed with breaks that are als...

When looking into buying a new laptop, it’s isn’t just about Mac vs. PC. Consider the Chromebook: It’s a great option for anyone looking for an inexpensive and light notebook. They’re already much cheaper than comparable Windows laptops, and then there’s the October Prime Day sales to make the deals even more compelling. You’ll find many different styles of Chromebooks on sale today and tomorrow—some with spinning screens and some with Qualcomm AMR processors. I’ve listed some interesting deals below, but I want to highlight the Asus C425 Chromebook in particular.The Chromebook retails for $329.99, but after a 32% discount, you can get it for just $224.99. With it, you get an Intel Core m3 processor, 128GB eMMC drive, 4GB RAM, a 14-inch Full-HD touchscreen display, two USB-C ports, one USB...

The streets in my neighborhood are dotted with piles of wood chips every few houses, as everyone prepares for “the wintering.” Me, too—I always try to make sure I get a Chip Drop this time of year; four yards of fresh maple were dropped last week in a giant pile in front of my house. Now is the perfect time to get a wood chip delivery, and understanding how wood chips work as mulch will help you understand why.Wood chips break down into rich, well-aerated compost over time, full of worms and mycellium, and improve any soil they are added to once they’ve composted. Before they break down, they make an excellent base for a walkway, and as such, are what I use between all my beds. Unlike grass or clover, chips are still highly walkable even in the wettest of weather, and you don’t really dama...

Photo: Jason Finn (Shutterstock)Existence is precarious. There are so many ways the universe can ruin your day that it’s actually incredible any of us make it from morning to bedtime in one piece. At least we have agency and sentience, the ability to identify threats and take steps to avoid problems. Our houses, being inanimate collections of lumber, nails, and tasteful decorations, have no such ability.That means it’s up to us. You can’t go through your days assuming that if nothing is actively burning your house is doing just fine; threats to your well-being and your pocketbook often brew for a long time in silence and darkness, waiting to ruin your day at the precise moment when it can do the most harm. Your best defense is to go on offense and inspect crucial aspects of your house on a...