Author: Editor

Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald’s, just told us how many times he eats at the chain — and, in his words, it’s “a lot.”In an Instagram reel posted this week, Kempczinski answered a question he said he was “frequently asked” on the platform.”How often do I eat at McDonald’s?” Kempczinski said. “I would tell you it’s a lot.””Probably three or four times a week. Sometimes it might be a breakfast, sometimes it might be a lunch,” Kempczinski said. “But, hey, one of the perks of the job, you get to eat at McDonald’s a lot.”To be sure, Kempczinski finds ways…

“The most lucrative industry in Hsinchu isn’t chips. It’s kindergartens,” a Taiwanese friend quipped when I mentioned my trip to the chip city, 50 miles south of Taipei.He was half-joking, but it’s not far from the truth.Hsinchu, home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and a dense network of tech firms that form the world’s chip supply chains, is now the rare place in Taiwan where people are still having babies — if they can afford to.While most of Taiwan struggles with one of the world’s lowest birthrates, Hsinchu’s numbers have held just above the national average, fueled by high salaries,…

Located on Sweetwater Avenue in Florence, Alabama, this plantation home was built in 1835 by Gen. John Brahan and first occupied by Robert Patton, Brahan’s son-in-law and, eventually, the governor of Alabama.Many spooky stories are associated with this mansion, including one about the home’s caretaker, who one day witnessed a casket appear out of thin air. Inside, she found a man dressed in a Confederate uniform, believed to be one of General Brahan’s sons who died in the Civil War, AL.com reported.Other examples of reported supernatural activities include distant voices of children’s giggles and a woman in old clothes wandering…

Everyone knows someone who carries at least five lip products in their purse at all times.To my friends and family, I’m that person.Lip products are a staple of my beauty routine. I’ve lost count of the lipsticks, glosses, and balms I’ve tried over the years.That said, a few stand out to me from the rest, especially as cold weather moves in. These are the three items I swear by to keep chapped lips at bay and get me through fall and winter.I can’t go to sleep without the Laneige Lip Sleeping MaskFor the past three years, I’ve been loyal to…

When my partner and I just finished a massive laundry room remodel that stretched our budget a bit, the worst happened. The contractor was putting the finishing touches on the floorboard. He pulled up a piece of wood and found black mold near the fridge from a leak, and kept finding more and more, down through the floorboards to the basement.We didn’t know that our home remodel “part two” had just commenced, costing us thousands.This scenario and others are just part of daily life in a family of 7: a pediatric dermatology bill, emergency baseball gear, and bodywork repair when…

This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with Elliot Schoenfeld and Jennifer Johnson, both 33, who lived on a boat for a year while traveling the Great American Loop. The two are now living in a van traveling the country. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.Elliot: Six months prior to us buying our boat, I don’t think we would’ve said that we were going to live on a boat or buy a boat — it wasn’t in the cards. The reason why it was an option was because of COVID.We were traveling full-time when COVID hit. We…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dave Greenlaw, a human resources executive in Washington, D.C., about why he plans to attend an HR conference later this month where conservative activist Robby Starbuck — a vocal critic of corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives — is scheduled to speak.The event is being organized by the world’s largest HR association, the Society for Human Resource Management. SHRM is facing backlash over the matter, with some HR pros saying they are canceling their membership. Greenlaw, who has worked in HR for nearly 17 years and has been a member of…

It started with coding. Generative AI’s aptitude for writing code was the death knell for traditional software development, and companies wanted “vibe” coders. Big Tech execs have been praising the vibes this year: Sundar Pichai is vibe coding a web page, Mark Zuckerberg says AI is coming for mid-level engineering work, and Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski says he’s become an amateur coder thanks to vibe coding. Startups are vibe-coding their way into existence.Now, more of the corporate world is vibing. A small number of companies are seeking applicants for job titles like “Vibe Growth Manager,” who are tasked with experimenting…

The federal government shutdown has become the Grinch who stole Halloween for Johnny Jones.Halloween is typically a big deal for the Jones family — they love to decorate, hand out candy and hot dogs, and enjoy a neighborhood shindig. But Jones, who works for the Transportation Security Administration, isn’t getting a paycheck during the shutdown. That means big Halloween plans are out of the budget; so is an outing for his daughter and her friends to the new Taylor Swift movie.”We’re probably another couple of weeks from having to prepare to start selling stuff. I’ve already started identifying things that…

As Ireland’s $1,500-a-month basic income pilot program for creatives nears its end in February, officials have to answer a simple question: Is it worth it?With four months to go, they say the answer is yes.Earlier this month, Ireland’s government announced its 2026 budget, which includes “a successor to the pilot Basic Income Scheme for the Arts to begin next year” among its expenditures.Ireland is just one of many places experimenting with guaranteed basic income programs, which provide recurring, unrestricted payments to people in a certain demographic. These programs differ from a universal basic income, which would provide payments for an…