🔥 Email land mines: Your emails might feel polite, but phrases like “per my last email” or “thanks in advance” can make you sound like a corporate arsonist. Executive coaches say these slipups read passive-aggressive, erode trust and cost promotions. The fix? Cut the fluff, set clear asks and maybe stop accidentally weaponizing your correspondence.
Sam Altman is building the future and planning for the end
Let’s talk about Sam Altman. You’ve probably heard his name, but do you really know who he is or what he’s planning? I put this together, so next time he comes up, you’re not just in the loop, you’ve got something smart to say.
He’s 40, born in Chicago, worth well over a billion dollars and cruises around in $27 million McLaren P1s. I’ve seen one of them parked outside a restaurant in Montecito. Sam and his Aussie husband, Oliver Mulherin, welcomed their first child, a baby boy, in February 2025.
💰 His tech start
He dropped out of Stanford after two years to launch Loopt, a location-sharing app that sold for $43.4 million in 2005. That win put him in the right rooms. He went on to fund early rounds for companies you’ve definitely heard of: Dropbox, Airbnb, Stripe. He got a piece of each.
In 2015, he cofounded OpenAI with Elon Musk. Musk bailed in 2018 after clashing over the company’s direction. Altman took the helm as CEO in 2019 and became the face of AI. That nearly unraveled in 2023, when OpenAI’s board abruptly fired him. Five days, one employee revolt and a full-blown tech soap opera later, he was back and the board was out.
He once said a psychedelic retreat in Mexico cured his anxiety.
🤖 AI takes the lead
Altman has made one thing very clear. AI will surpass human intelligence soon. Not in 100 years. Not 50. He says it could happen within a few years.
In his words: “I think the median user will start to experience AGI-level capabilities in five years.” When he testified before Congress in 2023, he warned that “AI could cause significant harm to the world” if we don’t act fast.
He’s talking about superintelligence. Machines that don’t just match us, but outperform us in every way. Solving scientific mysteries. Curing diseases. Writing symphonies. No burnout, no sleep, no moral compass.
But intelligence isn’t wisdom. These systems don’t feel anything. No love, no fear, no empathy. And without that? They don’t know when to stop.
🪪 Give me your eyeballs
$20,000
That’s what a contractor in Maine had to pony up for violating a lakeshore ordinance. He says he checked with the town first, but they fined him anyway. His revenge? Paying the entire thing in coins, 12,000 pounds worth. Now the town’s thinking of charging him a handling fee to count it. Ever heard of Coinstar, guys?
❌ Delete bloatware on Windows 11: Your PC comes preloaded with apps you’ll never use. They waste space and can slow performance by running in the background. Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps. Scroll the list, click the three-dot menu on an app (like Xbox Live) and hit Uninstall. Just be careful not to touch system apps.
👨🏻💼 Stop LinkedIn spam: If you’re flooded with unwanted message requests, lock down your profile. Go to Settings & Privacy > Data privacy > Who can reach you > Messages and toggle off Message requests. Don’t want random invites either? Go back to Who can reach you > Invitations to connect and toggle Only people in your Imported Contacts.
📄 Type faster in Google Docs: Instead of retyping long phrases, create shortcuts that expand into full text. Go to Tools > Preferences > Substitutions and tick Automatic substitution. To add your own, type “YTV” under Replace and “YouTube video” under With, then hit OK. Next time you type YTV, it auto-changes to YouTube video. Nice.
📱 Apple ups privacy: Websites can still track you by stitching together your IP, device info and time zone into a “fingerprint.” No opt-out. iOS 26 (out tomorrow) will auto-block that in Safari. Add in spam call screening and link-tracking protection, and Apple’s getting a privacy facelift.
🤖 Cuban’s AI advice: Mark Cuban told his two college kids they probably won’t land jobs at big companies, AI already covers that. Instead, small and midsize businesses need “AI natives” to actually implement tools. His second rule? Your phone is basically a library, mentor and startup incubator all in one. Translation: Forget Fortune 500, small biz wants your ChatGPT brain.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: On Apple Watch, press and hold the side button to bring up Medical ID and Emergency SOS. Don’t forget to fill out your info in the iPhone Health app.
One in five
The number of Americans who admit they’ve followed AI medical advice that was later proven wrong. Batting .800 is great in baseball, but when it’s your health on the line, that’s less “MVP season” and more “urgent care speedrun.” Experts say AI can be a starting point, just make sure you follow it up with a real doctor before you roll the dice.
⚙️ Reset your browser: If Chrome or Firefox is running slow, faulty settings or extensions may be the issue. In Chrome, go to Settings > Reset settings > Restore settings to their original defaults. On Firefox, open Menu > Help > More Troubleshooting Information, then click Refresh Firefox and confirm.
Don’t fall behind: AI is changing business fast, and you need to keep up. Grab NetSuite’s free guide, “The CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning.” It’s a quick way to get smarter about AI, because it’s here to stay.
😴 Make bedtime stories with AI: Next time the kids want something new, ask your favorite chatbot to invent one. Tell it your child’s age, the theme and how long you want it to be. For example: “Can you make up a five-minute bedtime story for a 4-year-old boy about talking animals in a secret garden?”
💻 Boost your laptop battery: On Windows 11, turn on Dynamic Refresh Rate to adjust your screen based on what you’re doing. It ramps up for smooth performance during intense tasks, but drops on static pages to save power. Go to Settings > System > Display > Advanced Display > Choose a refresh rate > Dynamic refresh rate.
🪟 AI actions in File Explorer: Microsoft is testing Windows 11 tools that let you edit images and docs without even opening them. Right-click a JPEG and you can remove or blur backgrounds or run a Bing reverse search. Soon? One-click document summaries. If you’re a Windows Insider, you can try it out now. I’ll let you know when it drops for the rest of us.
Microsoft 365 update: The Microsoft 365 app on iPhone is now Microsoft 365 Copilot. You can use AI to summarize docs and answer questions about them. The catch? You won’t be able to edit Word, Excel or PowerPoint files in the app anymore. Rollout starts Monday.
💬 Check linked devices on WhatsApp: If you’ve used WhatsApp on Windows, Mac or in a browser, make sure no one’s snooping on your chats. Open WhatsApp, go to Settings > Linked devices and log out of anything that looks suspicious. FYI: WhatsApp also auto-disconnects inactive linked devices after 30 days.
Control app volumes on Windows: Not everything needs to play at the same level. Right-click the volume icon in the task bar and select Open volume mixer. You can lower system sounds while cranking up Spotify. Just remember the Device slider moves everything at once, so the mix stays the same.
📱 I finally switched, and I’m not looking back. Same reliable coverage as the big guys but at a fraction of the cost. With Consumer Cellular, I’m getting two unlimited lines for just $60. Want in? Use code KIM25 at ConsumerCellular.com/KIM for $25 in savings, and make the smart switch today.
Arnold says, “Get to the choppah!” Uber’s about to add them to its app. Joby Aviation bought Blade’s urban air taxi biz for $125M and plans to swap the noisy helicopters for electric flying taxis once the FAA signs off. You’ll be able to book a chopper to JFK, Newark or even Saint-Tropez like it’s a pool ride, starting next year.