This week we looked at the ramifications of the new healthcare bill but also performed the nerdy task of playing doctor with sluggish Macs. We also explored the grisly subject of what it’s like to get shot, compared secure messaging apps, and more. Here’s a look back at this week’s most popular posts.
Things Jimmy Kimmel’s Baby Should Have Done to Deserve Health Care, According to Republicans
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel delivered a tearful monologue last night about his newborn son who was born with a heart defect and had life-saving surgery at just three days old. And today, Republicans are trying to get the votes to pass a health care law that will make it next to impossible for people like Kimmel’s baby to ever get care they can afford.
What Happens When You Get Shot and How to Survive It
If you’re afraid of being shot, you’re not alone, and your fears are, unfortunately, justified. Guns kill almost 100 people in America every single day. Even worse, guns and the bullets they fire are not the hyper-precise weapons Hollywood makes them out to be. They’re messy, and they do a lot of damage you can’t see. This is what happens if you take a bullet, and what you can do to possibly save your life or someone else’s.
How to Clean Up and Optimize Your Sluggish Mac
Your Mac is running a little slow these days. It takes forever to boot up. You have to delete something just to download that file attachment from Carla in accounting. Any time you stream a video it seems to lock up for a few seconds. Let’s fix all that.
The Most Important Things They Don’t Want You to Know About the Health Care Bill
Good morning! Remember that health care bill that was so terrible that even the people who campaigned on ACA repeal couldn’t pass it? It’s back, and due for a vote today.
This Ice Cube Trick Will Make Your Burgers Super Juicy
Juicy burgers that melt in your mouth are one of life’s greatest pleasures. If your patties often turn out tough and dry, this clever method might fix the problem.
5 Ways Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids
Since I got married, my “love language” has become the love language of picking your shit up off the floor—because nothing kills romance or libido faster than cleaning up after someone like a 1950's housewife. And yet this is the norm for many heterosexual new parents: that the woman, whether she works or not, will do most of the labor (much of it unseen) around child-rearing and housekeeping. We may have had egalitarian relationships pre-kids; we may anticipate that we’ll enjoy a pristinely fair division of labor post-kids, but when the actual baby arrives—well, it can be like a bomb going off in your marriage.
Here’s What Happens When Broadband Companies “Self-Regulate”
Net neutrality is on the chopping block, and one drum that FCC chairman Ajit Pai keeps beating is the idea that without government intervention, broadband companies like your internet service provider and wireless carrier will regulate themselves. Let’s see what history has to say about that.
How to Keep Your Energy Up When You’re Totally Stressed Out
I don’t know about you, but my world has been a little more stressful since… say, last November. Even without the continuous news updates—and the time I spend reading them, along with the various Twitter threads that try to game theorize them—I’ve got a lot to manage and balance in my life: I work part-time as an editor, my debut novel comes out this May, I’m completing assignments for a number of freelance writing clients, I teach writing classes, and I’m a volunteer tutor. (And that’s just the work stuff.)
Secure Messaging App Showdown: WhatsApp vs. Signal
So, you’re interested in secure, encrypted chat apps. You have a few different choices, but as with any chat app, what all your friends are using is important. To that end, Signal and WhatsApp are easily the most popular. Here’s how they compare.
Tough Love: Forgetting Names, Finding Friends, and Falling in Love
You’ve got problems, I’ve got advice. This advice isn’t sugar-coated—in fact, it’s sugar-free, and may even be a little bitter. Welcome to Tough Love.
How to Introduce Yourself to a Dog
Dogs are the best people, so it’s only natural to want to smother them with affection when you greet them. Most of them are too nice to say it, but this is actually a terrible way to introduce yourself to a dog. Here’s how to make a more appropriate first impression.
We Finally Have Long-Term Data on an Intermittent Fasting Diet
If you’re intrigued by the 5:2 diet or other forms of intermittent fasting, you probably want to know if these diets work in the long term. Until recently, we didn’t have much data. Now, we have a little bit: fasting every other day turns out to deliver the same results as regular dieting.
How I Wrote Two Full-Length Novels in 18 Months
My debut novel, The Biographies of Ordinary People: Volume 1: 1989–2000, releases on May 23, 2017. The sequel, which covers the years 2004–2016, is scheduled to release in the first half of 2018.
Modern Phishing Attempts Look More Legit, but the Methods Haven’t Changed Much
You get a new email that looks like it’s from a friend, a company, a government official, or even a family member. All that’s in that email is a link. You click it, because, of course you do. You’re taken to a login page, where you enter your credentials. Then, that site turns out to be fake and collects your password. Congratulations, you’ve been phished.
What to Eat to Cleanse Your Palate of Unicorns, Mermaids, and Rainbows
First there was the rainbow bagel. Then mermaid toast made a brief splash. Now, as I’m sure you’re all aware, Starbucks’ Unicorn Frappuccino is dominating the mouths and Instagram accounts of many a millennial. It’s all very pretty, but I need a palate cleanser.