Sorry I missed your call: Hackers can use your “voice fingerprint” to access voice-protected financial records or rip off your relatives. Pro tip: Delete your outgoing voicemail message if it uses your voice, and replace it with a generic robot-voiced default.
How to get a job as a mystery diner
Any restaurant worth its salt wants to know what it’s doing right and what it’s screwing up. And they’re willing to pay you for that info. But they can’t just judge servers and kitchen staff when they’re on their best behavior. They need someone undercover.
Enter mystery dining. Restaurants get genuine feedback and you get to eat out for free. I found out how to have your cake and eat review it.
How it works
Yes, you really get your food free of charge, including tips and travel expenses, usually in the form of a voucher or gift card.
It is a job, though. You’ll have to give a ton of feedback about your restaurant visit. How was the food? How was the service? What could’ve been better? You’ll need to have an eye for detail and a good memory. You’ll also need to take some photos as part of the trip.
Oh, and you won’t need to worry about an awkward confrontation at the table. You’ll submit all your intel afterward to the company you’re working for.
Most of them have online portals, too. Once in their system, log into your account, check available assignments, choose one to complete and upload your results.
Who are these “mystery” companies?
Mystery dining agencies act as a middleman between you and larger restaurants that pay them for intel. Here are a few of the most reputable:
- Second to None has been in the biz for 30 years and can get you gigs in high-end and fast-food dining. Pretty sure getting paid to critique an In-N-Out burger is Barry’s dream job. They also work in retail if shopping’s more your speed.
- Eye Spy CC focuses on dining and has excellent reviews from reviewers who, uh, review for them. Shoppers report getting large enough budgets to go to high-end restaurants and really enjoy themselves. Nice!
- Market Force is another heavy-hitter in dining and retail. Diners say vouchers usually start small, but once you’ve worked with a company for a while, you can get larger assignments and additional pay.
FYI: This is a “secret” from restaurants but not from the IRS. If you make over $600 with any org, you must file a 1099 like a regular independent contractor.
How to apply
The worst airlines for losing luggage
I bet you or someone you know has a luggage horror story. Here’s mine: On one trip to Paris, everyone got their luggage when we landed … except for Barry. I called British Airways at least a dozen times, asking when he’d get his bag. They couldn’t find it.
3 tips for getting cheap flights
Love traveling? Check out these tips to snag great deals on airfare!
A new phishing email making the rounds says you’ve violated FB’s terms of service or “Community Standards.” It’ll ask you to click a link to “appeal” within 24 hours or have your account deleted. Don’t fall for it; they’re after your login details. Two tips to spot the fakes: Look for typos and emails where the sender’s email address doesn’t end in facebookmail.com.
1,000 Wordle puzzles
Now available to New York Times Games subscribers. I like the comradery of everyone doing the same puzzle each day, but it’s also fun to catch up on older Wordles if you missed them! Pro tip: My favorite opening word is “stare.”
How to train your autocorrect to actually work
I bet you’re frustrated with how often autocorrect is auto-wrong. That’s why I wanted to walk you through a few steps to make yours work more accurately.
Even with some new AI features in the latest updates, autocorrect is still “ducking” annoying. Let’s fix that together.
See what the home you grew up in looks like now and other Maps tricks
I grew up in New Jersey, right next to a state park. I still remember riding my bike all day like it was yesterday. Oh, and the time I threw a snowball at a police car and hit the cop inside. That was bad.
I hadn’t looked at the house in years, so seeing it on a map took me back. While at it, take yourself on a walk down memory lane, too.
Keep it short. Only include experience relevant to the job you’re applying to. A good rule of thumb: Include only jobs you’ve held in the last 10 to 15 years, and aim to keep your resume under two pages.
Super-cool iPad tip: If you’re on a website or in an app with regularly refreshed content, like social media, try this: Just tap on your screen, pull down slightly and let go. Whatever you’re looking at gets refreshed in an instant. Boom.
$3 tip for your Domino’s driver will get you a $3 coupon
The company says it wants to fight “tipping fatigue” by “tipping you back.” Pretty good, albeit a little cheesy. You have till mid-September to take advantage of this offer.
$500 in ‘guilt-induced’ tips per year for the average American
Over 30% of folks have been asked to tip for a service they wouldn’t normally consider “tip-worthy” — like when my plumber asked me for a tip, which I’d never heard of in my life.
Get off my PC: The latest Windows 11 update crams ads for apps into the “recommended” section of the Start Menu. Yes, it’s on by default. I’ve got the fix: Go into Settings and select Personalization > Start. Then, toggle off “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions and more.”
You can count on me: There’s a new option in Google Docs to display your file’s word count as you type. Hit Tools > Word count > then check the box next to Display word count while typing. Pro tip: Highlight a sentence or paragraph to see how many words are in just that section.
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Deepfakes using your kid's voice
Got one of those frightening calls? Don’t panic. Check out these tips on how to avoid falling for it.
The iPhone is getting Apple sued
Plus, jaywalkers always get caught in China, barista bots still want tips and India wants to stop fake news online.
World Sleep Day
It’s time to get some rest. Here are some tips to get some sweet slumber.