Don’t ever trust anyone who sells you a home with smart appliances. This holds true for renting Airbnb’s, vacation homes, or even a friend’s house. There are no guarantees that the people who initially set up smart home appliances aren’t watching you.

Watch the NBC news report in the YouTube video posted above. It explains that you should always erase all former settings in order to safeguard yourself from peeping toms. User names and passwords should always be changed. If you continue using the names and passwords, then you are taking chances.

I’m not being cynical. I’m being practical. Too many people who sell homes, or even landlords who rent, like to check up on their current and former properties. Don’t let anyone intrude on your life. They are breaking the law.

Good luck!

Image: The New York Times

The following story in the New York Times really has nothing to do with the digital world, art, or travel. It’s more about our age group and life in general.

We never know what to expect. I’m not complaining, but the highs and lows of the world we live in has me exasperated and very emotional. I’m not going to get into the insane challenges I’m dealing with on the job. That is to be expected. It’s the other stuff that gets to me. The shootings, the bullying, the insults, and the beatings, are just so aggravating. I pray for peace all the time.

I guess I was in a funky mood when I read the love story this morning. It was most unusual. I immediately wanted to share it with you because it’s about love, marriage, compromises and end of life decisions. I found it to be very real and very insightful. Not every family is the same, but that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate each other.

Click here for a good laugh, and for a good cry.

For the last few years, if someone wanted to make extra money, he or she could have become an Uber driver. Now, that person has options. Amazon will be offering jobs to folks who would like to get into the package delivery service. The company needs help delivering an increasing number of packages that are being ordered every day of the week.

Amazon will be providing delivery vans and uniforms with the name Amazon on them. Those folks who want to get involved will pay $10,000 to become an Amazon partner.

Amazon already partners with small and mid-sized delivery companies across the country in addition to UPS and the U.S. Postal Service.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how this new Amazon delivery service develops. If history repeats itself, the new concept is going to give a lot of people jobs and flexible working hours.

It all sounds good to me.

This is the time of year when the people of Miami start thinking about hurricanes all the time. We never know what to expect. Many folks take this subject very seriously. They start stocking up on supplies, dry dock their boats, tie down their outdoor furniture, and prepare wood for boarding up windows. Being proactive makes many people feel like they are warding off the worst possible storm. We hope it’s not all in vain. No one really knows.

The National Weather Service is really trying to become a better resource for hurricane information. They hope their newly-designed website, weather.gov, will provide the public with more accurate information in a timely fashion. The navigation should be much easier to use.

The major change this year is that the new website details what to expect city by city, and block by block. That means local residents will be able to zero in on wind arrival times and storm surge predictions. The Center also works with local meteorologists to better understand weather challenges in each neighborhood.

We all hope this will be an uneventful hurricane season. I’m glad to see a better digital effort to keep us all safe. Miami is not the only city at risk. We have all seen destruction everywhere. Information is king. Take advantage of it.

The Miami Herald has more detailed information on this subject. Click below.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article213590179.html