Tech Bytes

Friday, October 1, 2021

1. Do you sometimes feel like your iPhone or Android just isn’t enough, and crave a phone created by your favorite (or likely 7th favorite, in this case) fast food restaurant? I can’t say that I have. But if you love Wendy’s, and happen to be in the market for a new phone, you’re in luck. The catch is that you can only win it via a contest. So in other words, even if you WANT one you probably can’t actually GET one (insert cry face emoji).

2. This isn’t entirely surprising to me, but it’s still a little bit funny. Ever wonder what the #1 search term on Bing is?

3. Since moving to Georgia I’ve spent some time on the Next Door app — and have actually had really good luck using it to find babysitters! However, whoever first described it as “Twitter for old people” was spot on. If you’re an ACTUAL Twitter user and want a light, funny follow — check out the Best of Nextdoor account.

4. The house we bought in Georgia (strangely) came without a doorbell. So we’re in the market for a Ring. The problem is, there are a ridiculous number of versions of Rings, and it’s making my brain hurt. Also, whoever was in charge of naming these things should be fired. I present to you: the Ring Video Doorbell 4 ($200) vs the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 ($250) vs the Ring Video Doorbell Elite ($350). Someone make it stop.

5. I didn’t upgrade to the latest iPhone this year (iPhone 13), but I did upgrade the software on my current iPhone to iOS 15. It doesn’t seem to be killing my battery or slowing down my phone (yet), but only time will tell. One of the more interesting features included in the update is “Live Text” (point your camera at something with text on it and your camera will “read” it and give you options like looking it up in Safari).

And speaking of Safari, I’m starting to come around on it! It’s long been known that Chrome is a battery hog, but it’s still always been my browser of choice. But maybe not for much longer. I’ve started using mobile Safari more and more and found some of the features to be a little funky after updating my phone — in particular, the fact that the URL bar is at the BOTTOM of the screen. However, like most things on your phone, you can change that. If you want to know how (plus some other Safari tips), this blog post does a great job of summarizing.

WHAT I’M READING (AND LISTENING TO):

Audiobook (on Audible) — Because I no longer have a commute, my audiobook listening time has significantly decreased. In fact, I logged into our Audible account a couple of weeks ago to find that we had 10 credits. Yikes. I decided to download a few books…and then pause our subscription for 90 days (the only option outside of straight-up canceling your account). All that said, I think the next book I’m aiming to listen to is one by a favorite blogger of mine: A Coat of Yellow Paint (by Naomi Davis). It’s probably not for everyone, but I have followed her for years and think she’s pretty fantastic.

Paperback — Digital Minimalism (Cal Newport) might be an ironic read for someone who loves technology and gadgets, but after having a child — and therefore having LESS personal time — I’ve really started to re-examine how I’m spending it. 

Kindle — it has been sitting idle for so long, it probably needs a charge.

Podcast(s) — I’ve taken a break from true-crime for now, and Jenna’s Kutcher’s Goal Digger podcast has been on heavy rotation. She covers a nice mix of topics — everything from entrepreneurship, to marketing, to parenting, to social media, and more — and she just recorded her 500th episode, so there’s a lot to choose from!

On The Menu

I‘m no 5-star chef, but I do love to discover new recipes and dutifully pin them to my Pinterest boards. So I figured I’d share a couple that we’re cooking/baking up each week and maybe you can share some too!

These copycat (and healthier!) Snicker’s bars are hot fire. I’m actually allergic to peanuts so I subbed in chocolate-covered almonds and almond butter (because that was what I had in my pantry) and they turned out great.

These paleo bagels have been on my Pinterest board for MONTHS and I’m finally getting around to making them — we will see how they turn out!

These crispy chicken nuggets are a favorite in our household and we just started giving them to our toddler. He was a little more interested in eating the dipping sauces we gave him alongside the nuggets, but since he didn’t throw them on the floor, I’ll consider it a win.

LOCAL FUN

We’re new to Atlanta and it seems like a lot of other people around us are too! So (every now and then) I’m going to throw an a few ideas for “local fun” here at the bottom. Obviously, these aren’t going to be applicable to all of you, but seeing them might help you come up with things you can do in your own city!

Apple picking — ’tis the season! This is something we never had a chance to do in New Orleans, so we’re excited to do some apple picking. These were the two most recommended spots when I asked a few neighbors (we live in the North suburbs of Atlanta): B.J. Reece Orchards and Hillcrest Orchards. We are hoping to check one of these places out sometime over the next couple of weekends!

Happy first weekend of October!