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📬 Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here. Tomorrow: That stranger’s Ray-Bans might be sending your face to an AI lab. I’ll show you what smart glasses see, how to stay out of frame and the one setting every owner should flip today.
Happy Thursday, {{first_name | friend}}. We used to fear robots taking jobs. Now we’re politely asking one to get us to Gate C12 while we eat a sad banana and wonder if TSA will confiscate our moisturizer. Progress!
Waymo’s driverless cars are out there like covert chauffeurs with no playlist complaints, “traffic’s crazy today” small talk or emotional baggage.
🚕 How many paid rides does Waymo give every week? A) 5,000, B) 50,000, C) 500,000 or D) One, but it now has elite status with Delta? Stay strapped in. The answer swerves in at the end.
New merch drop is live: Don’t miss it. Four pieces, one week only. It's tour merch, and no, I'm not touring. I wish I were. I love this merch! More below.
🌙 A better night’s sleep starts here: I recommend ImproveLife Sleep because it’s melatonin-free, sugar-free and designed to help you wake up refreshed. And right now, Black Friday savings are bigger than ever. Save up to 40% on Sleep, plus free shipping!** — Kim
TODAY’S DEEP DIVE
Power moves
Image: ChatGPT/Kim Komando
🤯 WOW! The power goes out, and your smart garage door becomes a 200-pound wall. Know your smart lock’s backup plan, put your modem and router on a $60 battery backup and run a 10-minute blackout drill this weekend. Steps below.
📖 Read time: 2 minutes
We put Wi-Fi in our locks, lights, thermostats and garage doors. Then we forgot to ask one question: What happens when the electricity stops?
Winter storm season is approaching. Let’s find out on your schedule, not the storm’s.
🚪 What dies and what doesn’t
Garage door opener: Dead, unless it has a battery backup. California has required one on new openers since 2019. Everybody else, look up. A red emergency release cord hangs from the opener rail. Pull it and you can lift the door by hand. Do it with the door closed, because a door with a broken spring can slam down fast.
Smart lock: Good news. Most run on AA batteries, so the keypad keeps working in a blackout. The app and voice control quit when the Wi-Fi does. Dead lock battery? Many models have a backup key or terminals where you hold a 9-volt battery to jump it. Know which yours has.
Wi-Fi: Gone. That means no smart speakers, no streaming and no Wi-Fi calling, a problem if your home cell signal is lousy.
Fridge: Hang in there. The USDA says food stays safe about four hours if you keep the door shut. A full freezer holds about 48 hours, a half-full one about 24.
🔦 The 10-minute blackout drill
Rehearse a blackout this weekend, in daylight, with coffee.
Get a battery backup. A small one, called a UPS, runs about $63. Plug your modem and router into it, and your Wi-Fi can often stay up an hour or more. FYI, if your internet company’s neighborhood gear loses power, too, you’re offline anyway. Your phone’s hotspot is plan B.
Flip the breakers. Turn off the circuits for the garage and your router at the breaker box. Skip this if anyone at home relies on medical equipment.
Walk the house. Open the garage by hand. Punch in your lock code. Note which lights, cameras and doorbells go dark.
Turn it all back on. Run the garage opener once, so it latches back onto the door. Check that cameras, thermostats and plugs reconnect.
Leave a note. Tape “Pull the red cord” inside the garage. Future you says thanks.
A smart home is only as smart as its backup plan. Mine? Generac generators that power the entire house. When the lights go out on my street, my Wi-Fi doesn’t even notice. My house is the only one on the block still glowing. Lovely for me. Less lovely for my neighbors, who I’m pretty sure are sharpening pitchforks. (My generators run on natural gas. Propane models are available, too.)
I’d tell you a joke about power outages, but I don’t want to leave you in the dark. (Did I see you shaking your head?)
🗣️ Text/post this stat: Your smart garage door dies in a blackout, but a red cord hanging from the opener lets you lift it by hand. Go find yours tonight. GetKim.com
📩 Send this to someone who just made their whole house “smart.”
Share this now:
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
💤 Tired of tossing and turning? Read this.
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🎤 PODCAST: DAILY TECH UPDATE
Google’s 3D booths connect military families
20 Google Beam units are heading to USO locations around the world, so deployed troops can see their loved ones life-size before the holidays. Plus, drones are the new fireworks. 17x Guinness World Record holder Sky Elements tells us how it’s done.
Click your favorite podcast player below to listen now or later:
🎧 Or search “Komando” wherever you get your podcasts. I’m everywhere.
WEB WATERCOOLER
🏗️ Not in my backyard: On Election Day, 33 towns and counties in 10 states voted to ban data centers and halt planned ones, The New Republic reports. One Kansas measure banned water-guzzling centers, those using over 100,000 gallons a day, for 10 years. Arkansas and North Dakota vote next month. Got a proposed data center near you? Ask about water and power before it’s approved. Looks like the cloud got rained out.
⚡ Back from the boneyard: Your next ChatGPT answer could come from an engine that used to fly folks cross-country. Data center builders are turning retired jet engines into generators (paywall link) to skip the line for grid hookups. Power could flow in as little as two years. Arizona’s desert boneyards, practically my backyard, just became prime real estate. Recycling old gear? Love it. But a roaring jet engine next to a server farm? I want answers on noise and exhaust first. Talk about a second career that takes off.
🐱 Catfished with your own cat: Your cat goes missing. Then a stranger texts a photo of him lounging in a garden. Relief, right? Scammers are using AI to fake “found pet” photos, then threatening to hurt the animal if you don’t pay with Apple gift cards. One owner got a five-figure ransom demand for her cat. FYI, real finders don’t want gift cards. Ask for a live video call showing a unique marking, and never pay before you see your pet.
🚗 Need for no speed: Picture borrowing the family car for work and discovering someone else’s lead foot sets your top speed. Courts and states are ordering devices that cap vehicle speed (paywall link) for repeat offenders, so the penalty sits right under the pedal. I’m all for slowing down dangerous drivers. But share that car, and you share the punishment on every boring Tuesday errand. This year, Thanksgiving comes with a custody hearing over the unrestricted Corolla. Nothing drives a family apart faster. Well, slower.
KIM’S DAILY DEALS
As an Amazon Associate, some links pay us a commission at no extra cost to you. Keeps this newsletter free. Thank you.
✨ Sweep the halls
Quick fixes for every mess before guests show up.
🛏️ Don’t sleep on it: Mattress vacuum (30% off, $70)
4.3 ⭐ 1,900+ reviews
Fresh sheets don’t mean a clean bed. Dust mites and dead skin cells live there rent-free. This handheld evicts them with 140-degree heat. A green light shows hidden crud, and the HEPA filter traps it.
FEPPO
🧹 The upright stuff: Sweep dirt into a standing dustpan (33% off, $27). Built-in teeth comb gunk off the bristles. No bending over.
Smudge patrol: Fingerprints on the fridge? Grease on the stovetop? These thick appliance wipes (13% off, $20, 24-count) tackle both.
🫧 Floor force: This long-handled scrub brush (13% off, $20) swivels into corners, and the squeegee pushes water away. Your knees will thank you.
Pretty tough: The Pink Stuff’s multipurpose cleaner (18% off, $5) cuts through grime and sticky spots without that nose-curling chemical smell.
🏠 A spotless game plan: Refill your go-to basics now, so you’re not scrambling when the doorbell rings.
Prices and deals were accurate at the time of publication.
DEVICE ADVICE
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Closed the tab with that deal you spent 20 minutes finding? Press Ctrl + Shift + T on Windows or Cmd + Shift + T on Mac to bring it back. Keep pressing to restore more closed tabs, one at a time. Works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. Oops, undone.
💼 Still running your business on spreadsheets and sticky notes? I get it. I built my company from scratch with zero investors, so I know what it’s like when your numbers live in 10 different places. NetSuite puts your accounting, inventory, HR and more in one system. You see what’s working, and what isn’t, in real time. Want to know how smart owners are using AI to cut costs and make faster calls? It’s all in NetSuite’s free ebook. Grab yours right now at NetSuite.com/Kim.*
📧 Black Friday doesn’t need your real email: Every store wants it at checkout. Then come the endless promos. Have iCloud+? On iPhone, go to Settings > your name > iCloud > Hide My Email > Create New Address. Apple makes a random address that forwards to your inbox. Done with the store? Deactivate it. The emails stop, and your real address stays private.
🛣️ Not paying for that road, thanks: Google Maps lets you skip tolls when planning a drive. In the mobile app, open Settings > Navigation > Route options and turn on Avoid toll roads and Avoid ferries. Prefer a more relaxed drive? There’s also Avoid highways. It might take a little longer, but who doesn’t like a scenic route?
💻 Lock your Mac with a flick: Coworker approaching while your holiday shopping cart’s open? Open System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Hot Corners. Set a corner to Lock Screen, then fling your mouse there to lock instantly. Set another to Desktop to hide everything. On Windows, press Win + L to lock your screen, or click the far-right corner of the taskbar to show your desktop.
⚔️ A Zelda surprise in Google: Search Zelda or Ocarina of Time, then tap the Master Sword at the bottom right. Your search results transform into a retro, 1998-style Google throwback! Tap again to return to normal. It’s a nod to the game’s remake arriving on Switch 2 today. Show the kids what Mom and Dad played back then. I can’t stop clicking it. 😂
🎸 The End of Year Tour merch is live
I’m not touring. I made tour merch anyway. (Every rock star needs a hoodie. So does every tech nerd.)
The front is the poster. The back is the full 2026 tour list. And it’s only open for one week.
End of Year Tour hoodie, $60. Heavyweight, black, the one people will ask you about.
End of Year Tour tee, $35. Soft, garment-dyed, hard to find anywhere else.
End of Year Tour tote, $24. Big enough for the whole tour.
Backstage Crew women’s sweatshirt, $70. Ivory, pastel-striped sleeves, a small KIMKOMANDO on the chest. Every tour has a crew, and the crew always gets the soft stuff.
Here’s how it works: It’s a preorder. The window closes Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 11:59 p.m. PT, then we make exactly what you ordered. No restocks, no reprints, no encore. Orders ship about 4 weeks after close, and all sales are final.
Why did the hoodie get backstage? It knew the right people. (OK, it was on the list.)
WHAT THE TECH?
Image: @diveshnaidoo via X
🦣 The mammoth in the room
Ever wanted a woolly mammoth on your desk? No? Well, someone built the tech anyway.
Hollywood needs sets, actors and a small nation’s GDP. Simulon needs an iPhone and your questionable acting skills. Its Reality-Aware Rendering lets you drop digital characters into a room, perform your scene, then have AI rebuild the take around your words, movements and surroundings.
It’s like directing a mini-Jurassic Park from your office chair, minus the budget and lawsuits.
It’s really cool, check it out here. It’s live on iPhone, with Android promised next.
LOGGING OUT …
🎓 What you learned today: Smart homes need a backup plan for blackouts, more than 30 communities voted to ban data centers, speed-limiting devices put the brakes on repeat offenders and AI can turn your living room into a miniature Jurassic Park. Not bad for one email. Tomorrow, I’ll show you how smart glasses may be feeding your face to AI, and what to do before Samsung’s pair lands next month.
🚗 The answer: C) About 500,000. Waymo says it gives more than half a million paid rides every week, which is a pretty wild sentence if your brain still files “self-driving car” under “future stuff.”
The company operates in multiple cities, and yes, right here in Phoenix, it’ll take you to Sky Harbor without a human talking about how 120° is a “warm one today.” Apple and Google are both working on self-driving cars. I don’t think I want to ride in a car without Windows.
💤 Sleep better, save bigger: Don’t let another restless night slow you down. ImproveLife Sleep helps you relax, unwind and support deeper, more restful sleep without melatonin. Black Friday special: Save up to 40% on Sleep and get free shipping!**
💛 When the power goes out, the house gets quiet and everyone ends up in the same room. Some of the best nights start in the dark. — Kim
Kim Komando • Komando.com • 510+ radio stations • Trusted by millions daily
🏆 THE KIM CHALLENGE: Forward this to ONE person who needs to hear it today. Pick the person who popped into your head while reading. You know who it is.
Photo credit(s): ChatGPT/Kim Komando, FEPPO, @diveshnaidoo via X
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