Good Morning. A Dallas mom decorated 1,052 porches last fall, and neighbors pay up to $1,350 a display. Plus, the decade-old bug AI just found, Jay-Z’s halftime pick, and a 5-step focus sprint (first time here? Join 523,000 Betterists).
Yesterday’s most clicked link: Salary needed to buy a home in 50 US cities
TOP STORY TODAY
The PHP Scramble
Researchers using AI found two critical flaws in PHP, the programming language behind WordPress and most of the web, and a fix shipped Wednesday afternoon. One security firm estimates roughly 70% of the internet is affected.
The bugs sat unnoticed for more than a decade, until AI turned them up in weeks (how the hunt worked). After details leaked early, Finland shut its government web services and parts of Wikipedia went dark as a precaution.
Early attacks are already showing up, and agencies urged immediate action, even taking sites offline. Owners of WordPress and other PHP sites should confirm their web host applied the patch (the backstory).
France Under Curfew
Parts of France remain under nighttime curfews after a weekend of riots that led to more than 2,500 arrests. The government plans to use the military to help keep order at protests this weekend.
The protests began over school conditions and grew into a national movement over the cost of living, with an estimated 550,000 people marching (how it started). In Limoges, protesters set the 143-year-old town hall on fire.
Inside were paintings by 19th-century artists, including Henri-Paul Motte's grand staircase scenes, and many are feared lost (see the building before and after). Counter-terrorism investigators are looking into the fire.
The Pumpkin Hustle
A Dallas stay-at-home mom turned fall porch decorating into a six-figure side business. Heather Torres started Porch Pumpkins in 2020, after neighbors kept asking her to copy the displays on her own front steps.
That first fall she decorated just over 250 homes. Last season her team did 1,052 porches, with clients paying $325 to $1,350 a display. Orders open in summer and usually sell out fast.
The work only runs a few months a year, and the busy days are big. One day in 2024, she did 89 porches herself (see her displays).
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TOGETHER WITH FINANCE BUZZ
19 Things to Cut When Money Gets Tight (Most People Ignore #11)
Your money is getting tight. Prices are going up. And figuring out what to cut back on can feel overwhelming.
Here's what you can do: Read this list of money-saving strategies and start with one or two today.
Even doing just one can help you breathe a little easier.
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GET 1% BETTER
Two Handfuls of Walnuts for Better Sperm
Tim Ferriss wants kids as he heads toward 50, so he went digging into nuts…
On his podcast with Kevin Rose, he pointed to a 2012 UCLA trial: 117 healthy men ages 21 to 35 who added 75 grams of walnuts a day, about two and a half handfuls, had better sperm vitality, motility and shape after 12 weeks.
Ferriss also cites a 2024 review that found similar gains from about two handfuls of mixed nuts a day, though not higher counts. Just mind the calories.
Why it matters: Stanford urologist Michael Eisenberg calls sperm quality a sixth vital sign.
The 5-Step Focus Sprint
UC Berkeley neuroscientist Dr. Sahar Yousef says her lab’s focus sprint can help people get up to twice as much done with fewer mistakes. On Diary of a CEO, she laid out the steps:
Block the time in advance. Your brain starts gearing up before you sit down.
Set an output, not an input. Not “work on the deck,” but “finish slide three.”
Clear the distractions. Phone out of sight, notifications off.
Start a visible timer. Watching the clock run down keeps you on task.
Take a real break after. A walk or fresh air, not scrolling.
Her other fix takes 10 seconds and gave her test group back an hour a day.
THE MARKET
Business & Markets
▲ Holiday airfares hit a 10-year high, with Thanksgiving round trips averaging $402, up 31% | The cheapest days to fly home
▲ Airbnb hosts can no longer make guests strip beds or wash dishes, starting with Nov. 20 bookings | What hosts can still ask of you
▲ Salesforce is buying marketing platform Braze for about $5.7 billion to add AI tools | The filing: $47.50 for every Braze share
THE OTHER 99%
5 Stories
▲ Jay-Z reportedly picked himself to headline the Super Bowl halftime show in February | Why his company gets to choose
▲ State Department orders some diplomats and families out of Saudi Arabia after Houthi strikes kill three | Where the airport and oil site were hit
▲ Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American teacher jailed since 2022, with no prisoner swap | How it happened at Putin’s Witkoff meeting
▲ Apple’s Oct. 28 event is expected to bring its first touchscreen Mac, after years of saying no | What analysts expect from “Pro and tell”
▲ Metformin, the common diabetes pill, is being tested against Alzheimer’s in a 1,200-person UK trial | How the fast-drop trial design works
TOGETHER WITH SMILE MAKERS
The Menopause Change Nobody Mentions
Hot flashes and sleep get the attention. The pelvic floor rarely does, but as estrogen drops it often weakens too. That’s the leak during a sneeze, or the run cut short.
If you’re going through it, or someone you love is, Pelvic Partner is a simple fix:
It vibrates when you squeeze correctly and stops when you fully relax, so you know your Kegels are working.
No app, no account and no data leaving the room.
Rechargeable, waterproof and silent, with 8 levels to build up gradually.
Good Housekeeping named it Best Pelvic Floor Trainer Overall, and it’s marked down 20% for Menopause Awareness Month.
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Fun Links
Keanu Reeves eyes Korean gangster remake [Article]
4-minute routine rebuilds strength after 65 [Study]
World’s 20 largest economies, ranked [List]
47-year study: when strength starts fading [Study]
Best fall dinners to cook in October [Recipe]
Josh Brolin's must-see movie list [Post]
Why Bear Grylls quit being vegan [Post]
Why 1% Better? Most self-improvement swings between burning out and rusting out. 1% Better is the antidote. In five minutes each morning, we help you get smarter about the news, your health and your money, with small tips you can use to get a little better every day.