Author: Matt Maldre

I'm focusing on my blog, Bluesky, and Facebook.

The literal translation for 'Happy Birthday' in 80 languages. For instance, Indonesian 'Congratulations on your year repetition!'

Tired of going back to your inbox after every time you delete an email in Gmail? Try turning on “Auto-advance” to skip straight to the next email instead. Game-changer!

Neighborhood site Patch is asking readers to answer the question, “What are you thankful for?“ Here’s my response: I’m thankful for the small, unexpected moments that make life fascinating—the giant Illinois pumpkin grown in the town next to me, or…

People are deleting Twitter from their phones and moving to the upstart social network Bluesky. Here's why.

Welcome to Nevermber: where Black Friday sales, pumpkin spice, and endless gratitude make for the coziest kind of procrastination

“Limpid” is today’s Vocabulary.com Word of the Day.The adjective limpid describes something (often liquid) that is clear, serene and bright. Do a search in your Google Photos for “limpid”.Mine captured an interesting range of images (View Google Photos limpid album).…

Want to download ALL your ChatGPT chats? It's easier than you think! I walk you through the steps to get your entire ChatGPT history in one place—HTML & JSON formats included. Handy for searching, saving, or data fun!

When Hot Wheels makes a tank, you know I’m testing it with a LEGO minifig! Enter Janice, the Muppet guitarist, and Kaya, the Hot Dog Stand Girl!

“Encumbered” is today’s Word of the Day from The New York Times.I searched my Google Photos for “encumbered”. The results are interesting. Art project: “Parking meter talk” — 2008I placed word bubbles on parking meters that say, “Your time here…

Bought a Hot Wheels Sandcrawler and a family-size bag of M&M’s. Turns out, they’ve got more in common than I thought! Both carry cargo… just one holds candy, and the other? Trash.

This giant pumpkin in Wheaton, IL is almost as tall as me. Grown in a regular backyard, not a farm.

Oh wow. I haven’t heard this song since college. “Who Dat Up Dere?” by Woody Herman. My Spotify DJ played this song for me today. If you pay for Spotify, you get a DJ that plays you songs. Sometimes when…

Tried improving my backyard croquet game by mowing a shorter 'pro strip.' Ended up with a yellow runway that screams 'amateur landscaper lives here.'

Clicking an “X” to close a window? That’s no regular X—it’s a multiplication symbol! A strange but stylish choice for ending something, or maybe multiplying your digital productivity?

Did you know you could search Wikipedia for symbols? What is the actual name of the ÷ symbol? Wikipedia tells us: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/÷ The name for the division symbol is obelus. Wikipedia says about obelus: The word “obelus” comes from ὀβελός,…

Sometimes songs longer than 3 minutes just feel too long. Whenever I’m in this mood, I’d like a Spotify option: Instead of chopping off the song, it will simply fade out the last few seconds of the current track, and…

Einstein's genius wasn't just in physics. Print his "theory of happiness" and spread some philosophical wisdom. German and English versions available!

Looking for classical background music? You might start by typing a generic Spotify search like “classical.” But why not show some love to your local orchestra? Try searching for the name of a nearby large city, followed by “orchestra.” It’s…

Here's an idea to make music playing more intentional. Make printouts of your favorite albums, complete with QR codes for instant online listening.

It’s very odd how National Guacamole Day and National Play-Doh Day are on the same day.

What if you had a house that had EVERYTHING glow-in-the-dark? Glow-in-the-dark walls, floors, ceilings. Glow-in-the-dark tables, chairs. I got the idea from seeing this pair of glow-in-the-dark Crocs. Why stop at Crocs?! Let’s make everything glow-in-the-dark. In fact, there is…

It feels like 49% of jazz is played really fast. 49% of jazz is played really slow. 1% is just right.

Wouldn’t it be cool if every time you open a new tab in your browser, an image from one of your Pinterest boards appears? I have something similar with the Art Institute’s ArtTab Chrome extension. I customized mine to go…

The 1966 Topps Batman cards come in 'Black Bat' and 'Red Bat' series. My fave? Batman wrestling an alligator! What's yours?

The Ewok Village playset from 1983 looks like it could be DIY made with cardboard. Get three paper towel tubes and one sheet of cardboard. Assemble together. I might try this one day. I already have a couple of Ewok…

Bluesky has the chance to redefine social media by adding privacy settings. Here's why visibility controls could make it a true Facebook alternative.

One of the songs in my Spotify “Release Radar” is “Bird” by a group called “The Since“. It’s a nice jazz tune. However, the album named “Over Dub” features ai-generated art. This AI-generated album cover has me VERY suspicious. Is…

Ever wondered where the artists you listen to come from? Or if there are any good bands from Kazakhstan? There is a tool that takes all the music you listen to, and it checks the country of every artist.

Animals with iron-tipped teeth? You bet! My brother found an article, “Komodo dragons have iron-tipped teeth, new study finds.” It got me thinking about a fascinating study I came across this summer, which revealed that female cicadas have metallic elements…

How Google Photos turned a search for 'Silver Man' into a journey through Chicago's history. From robots to statues, and even the famous Walking Dude.