One Waymo Shortcoming

While we are ardent Waymo fans, we won't hesitate to criticize Waymo where appropriate. In this harrowing tale told by Steve Cohen (no relation), the Waymo took off on its own and, while the customer support agent could be reached quickly by phone, and could see where the Waymo was, they had no power to stop the Waymo or control what it was doing or where it was going. That's a shortcoming for sure. So, when you are asked to give Waymo feedback, be sure to say that it should have "remote control by customer support" capability.

[EOP]

Cautionary Note re Basic-Economy Air Fares

If you think you know the restrictions on basic-economy tickets, you have two choices: (i) think again; or (ii) read this Dawn Gilbertson piece. Let me make it easier. Choice 1 will do you no good. Choice 2 will be eye-opening as to the fine print you assuredly never read and almost assuredly never occurred to you. For example, if you buy your tick through a third-party, you will have no right to a cancellation refund from American, or if you gift a ticket to someone not a member of American's frequent flier program, again no cancellation refund. United doesn't allow standard carry-on bags to be brought on board. And there's more as this quick read will warn you.

[EOP]

Another Reason to Book Through a Local Agency for a STR Rather Than Through Airbnb or VRBO

Scenario: Friends we know booked a STR which had free cancellation up to 30 days before arrival. A medical issue arose 35 days before arrival, as a result of which they might not know until after the 30-day deadline whether they would be able to  make the trip. 

What Airbnb or VRBO Would Have Done for Them: [Left Blank on Purpose. You get the drift]

What Their Local Agency Did for Them: Worked with the guests as follows: (i) Advised as to the likelihood that the rental or comparable ones would be available if they decided to cancel before the 30-day deadline and then wanted to book a place if cleared medically after the 30-day deadline; and (ii) offered to arranged for travel insurance at an extremely reasonable price that would cover the rental cost should they opt not to cancel before the 30-day deadline and then be unable to go, and helped out with the filing and processing of a claim upon the post-30-day deadline cancellation.

[EOP]

Why Bessent Is Pushing Intervention re Japan's Yen

I've been besieged with questions as to why Bessent has moved aggressively to prop up the Japanese yen. This piece by Nick Timiraos explains it better than I can. When you've finished with that piece, you might take a look at Aaron Back's piece which explains why only the Bank of Japan can arrest the Yen's fall. Bottom-line: You might ask yourself is this an instance where the U.S. doesn't know what it's doing? After all, to paraphrase what Bessent said at the Camp David cabinet meeting where everyone took a turn slobbering praise on Trump: 'The economic boom you've [Trump] created is the "envy of the world" and is something the Founding Fathers (specifically naming George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton) "could never have imagined." 

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Device Care on Samsung Phones to Free Up GBs of Storage

Device Care is a built-in system application available on all Galaxy handsets. You can find it in Settings or by using the search option on the home screen. The system app takes care of your device by quickly performing maintenance tasks that would otherwise take much longer. I freed up as much as 10GB of storage on my phone without deleting a single app. After opening Device Care on my S10e, I tapped the Storage option to see a breakdown of which file types occupy how much storage space. This may help you understand where you need to pay more attention to free up storage on your phone. However, you need to spot files you no longer need if you don't scroll to the bottom. I didn't make that mistake. I scrolled and found some handy tools that suggested what I could delete to free up storage on my phone. In its first suggestion, it asked me to review some old audio files that occupied 100MB. I reviewed them and couldn't recall the last time I listened to them. This was a signal that I no longer needed them on my phone, so I deleted them. Similarly, I got back 300MB of space by deleting compressed files from the Downloads folder. Next, I restored 2GB of storage by deleting old screenshots from the Screenshots folder. In addition, the Device Care setting asked me to review 3GB of files in the Downloads folder that I haven't used recently. It also pointed out that I had 31 invisible backups, occupying almost 150MB of storage. I reclaimed it with a couple of taps in the Device Care setting.

[EOP]

Arguably the Greatest Outfield Catch

Dubbed the Spider Man, this catch has the most votes for greatest outfield catch ever.

[EOP]

How to Pick a Seat in Economy Class

It has come to our attention that some readers, ignoring our advice to cost out the difference between economy and business/first class, still fly economy class. This article has some useful tips for them as to the best seat choices for sleeping on long-haul flights (e.g., over the wing is smoothest) and the pros (e.g., no babies) and cons (e,g., might not recline) of choosing an exit row seat.

[EOP]

Using Vinegar for Better Toilet Cleaning

This El Cronista article explains why spraying vinegar around the outside of the toilet bowl is recommended to combat odors, bacteria, and stains, and how to do it properly. Once understood, you will see why so many of us use it as a complement to regular toilet cleaning.

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How to Prune Pothos

If there's one thing I hate it's a long and leggy pothos, and if there's one thing I love it's a full-bodied pothos. This article explains how, when, and how often to prune to get a robust, beautiful pothos.

[EOP]

The Akhal-Teke

I've been asked many times what my favorite horse breed is, and I've declined to answer, until now, for fear of driving up its price. Well, price be damned, I owe it to my readers: It's the Akhal-Teke, which is a Turkmen horse breed. They have a reputation for speed and endurance, intelligence, and a distinctive metallic sheen. The shiny coat of the breed led to their nickname, "Golden Horses."

[EOP]