Shaky situation

April 6, 2024

How often does the U.S. Geological Survey’s website update with info on recent earthquakes? Is it every … A.) 2.5 minutes, B.) 8 minutes, C.) 20 minutes or D.) 60 minutes?

The answer: A.) 2.5 minutes, B.) 8 minutes and C.) 20 minutes. In California, there are so many seismology sensors, it takes just 2.5 minutes to register and update on the USGS website. In the rest of the U.S., it takes 8 minutes; worldwide, it takes 20 minutes.

Tags: update, website

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How the Pentagon tracked Putin with targeted ads

You and I aren’t the only ones being tracked by targeted ads … so are the world’s top leaders. Turns out the Pentagon’s best-kept surveillance secret isn’t pen cameras — it’s cookies.

Buckle up for the wild story of how the U.S. government used targeted ads to track down its target: Vladimir Putin.

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🪐 Share with your parent friends: The Snapchat+ Solar System feature is tearing apart teen friendships. It ranks how close you are to your friends based on how often you interact. Think you’re someone’s Mercury, only to find out you’re more of a Uranus? Upsetting for sure. Talk to your kids about this new feature — it’s important for their mental health.

Check your laundry room: Procter & Gamble is recalling 8.2 million bags of laundry pods made by Tide, Gain, Ace and Ariel from Sept. 2023 to Feb. 2024. A packaging flaw could let the bags split open near the zipper, exposing dangerous chemicals to kids. If you’ve got ’em, return ’em!

Project Venom: Three F-16 fighter jets are getting loaded up with self-flying tech at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The $50 million “Project Venom” exists to develop self-flying drone fleets that could team up with manned Air Force planes in battle.

🚨 Don’t take the bait: Scammers are mailing postcards and offering jobs as “Amazon Product Testers.” FYI, the real invites come from “Amazon Vine” — and they don’t pay. Hint: Search for the return address on the card. If it leads to somewhere like a shoe warehouse, it’s probably a scam.

💣 “Ocean’s 11”-worthy: Thieves stole $30 million from a cash storage facility in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles last Sunday. They snuck in through the roof and blasted their way out through a wall. How’d they get past security? Internet and cell jammers — just like the crooks who targeted my house!

See you on the radio: My national radio show is airing all weekend across the USA. With over 420 stations strong, find your closest one using our super-duper station locator map — or listen commercial-free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or in the Komando Community. Fun times!

🌍 Tech tremors: A 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Taiwan briefly shut down the world’s largest chipmaker, TSMC. The quake killed nine, injured over 900, and sparked supply-chain paranoia from cars to smartphones. News sites are buzzing with clickbait about how this event will cause a chip shortage. TSMC is already up and running again, though, with minimal damage.

Hold onto your buds: Spotify is officially charging for audiobooks. Starting “later this year,” you’ll pay up to $2 more a month to stream stories. And their new “basic tier” will cost $10.99 monthly for music and podcasts alone. Dang … Everywhere you turn, it’s a buck or more a month. Check your subscriptions for increases with what I use — Rocket Money.

Wrap trap: If you get an email promising big bucks to wrap your car in ads, don’t take the bait. Scammers pose as a big brand like Pepsi, send you a “check” upfront, then ask you to send money online to an “installer.” Spoiler: The check bounces and you just paid out of your own pocket.