You Can Build a Smart Home On the Cheap With Inexpensive Smart Plugs

You fall into bed after a long night and say “hey Siri, turn off the desk lamp,” and, with a satisfying click, it’s dark. You say “Alexa, turn on the plant lights” and, outside in the kitchen, your fancy LED plant bulb starts spilling sunshine. At 7am, your space heater clicks on, so by the time your alarm goes off,

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Author: Ben Kling on The Inventory, shared by Tercius to Lifehacker

Tips For Playing Dungeons & Dragons When You Have Social Anxiety

Dungeons & Dragons may have dungeons and dragons, but its real secret sauce is other people. Dungeon masters and party members make campaigns fun and unpredictable, forcing players into high-stakes games of dice-fueled improv. What do you do, though, when you want to get in on the action, but you also have a bad, dumb…

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Author: Nathan Grayson on Kotaku, shared by Virginia K. Smith to Lifehacker

It’s Time to Check Your School’s Lunch Debt Policy

School lunches—and the policies that shame the kids of parents who have lunch debt—are in the news again. A school in New Jersey is reportedly now banning students from extra-curricular activities, such as dances and field trips, if their parents owe more than $75. It’s a terrible policy that replaces its previous…

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Author: Meghan Moravcik Walbert on Offspring, shared by Meghan Moravcik Walbert to Lifehacker