Cool Tools Podcast: Robert Stephens, Founder of Geek Squad
Adapter shares wifi signal with other devices
Car-replacement family cargo bike
I’ll spare you all the “best travel destinations of the year” and “where to go in 2026” slop that you’ve probably seen all over. Here’s a listicle based on real data: the busiest air routes of the past year. One glance at this list will make it obvious that the supposedly busy flight paths in North America have nothing on Asia. New York to London barely cracked the top 10 and that route had 3.97 million seats sold compared to 6.83 million for #1 Hong Kong to Taipei. Seoul had 2 of the top 5 (to Tokyo and Osaka) and there were 5.57 million seats sold for the short hop from Kualu Lumpur to Singapore. I’m guessing that Allah is responsible for the #2 route in the world: Cairo to Jeddah.
It’s hard for any normal person to judge “the best” over-ear headphones since few of us ever have the chance to compare a bunch of them side by side with the same music. Wired magazine did that though, with real audiophiles, and compared their blind test answers. Third place went to the most expensive (Apple Airpods Max) and second to the Nothing Headphones, but the one that came out on top had the lowest price of the six. That would be the Soundcore Space One Pro, currently going for just $149 on Amazon.
If you know a lot of people who book through Airbnb, you have likely heard at least a few horror stories about late cancellations by hosts, bad communication, or misrepresentations of listings. It might be worth taking a new look at Vrbo because they recently revamped their policies to become much more renter-friendly. Changes include active help when a hosts cancels (90 days out even) and stricter “Premier Host” qualifications to highlight rentals without complaints. See the full story here.
Don’t want to make a trip to the airport to get approved for TSA Pre-check? Well it turns out you can do it while shopping for Sharpies and ink cartridges: Staples has an arrangement with the government to approve you for the expedited TSA security lines in the USA. You might want to check with your credit card if reimbursement for this is one of its perks (and it’s included in Global Entry), but see the details here.
A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.
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