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       Anyone who has printed documents at home knows that using a standard home office inkjet printer can be a real pain. They are clunky, unreliable, and prone to a host of problems—everything from drivers and cartridges to Wi-Fi can fail. And the lack of a user-friendly interface makes troubleshooting on your own extremely difficult.
       The problem with printers is that they’ve been around since at least the ’80s. While the technology has improved in some ways, they’re still buggy and difficult to use, and printer manufacturers have found ways to make them more annoying and expensive to use. (Anyone complain about ink cartridge subscriptions?)
       But YouTuber Gus Johnson can help you. He created an extremely simple guide for anyone who wants to set up their printer and start printing documents. Give it a try!
       First, Johnson shows us how to make sure the printer is turned on. Is the printer on? Great, great! Now we can start printing — assuming the printer has the 18 mandatory driver updates installed, of course.
       Once you’ve done all that, you can print. But it turns out that your ink levels are low — well, not nearly low, but nearly low, which means the printer won’t print until you replace all the cartridges. Also, if your magenta cartridge is low on ink, you won’t be able to print in black and white, so keep that in mind.
       By the way, these cartridges are not compatible between different printers, and they are not usually sold in stores. So Johnson taught us how to order them online, and then wait patiently. A few days later, we were finally able to print! Of course, the premise is that you have installed the new cartridge update, and of course, the premise is that you have already figured out how to connect your so-called “wireless printer” to your laptop.
       For anyone who’s ever wrestled with their home printer or even considered smashing it with a thick baseball bat, Johnson’s video will be downright heartbreaking. Click here to watch the full video:
       Printers are a very complex technology. But they shouldn’t get away with it. Most of the problems mentioned in Johnson’s video can be fixed. And that’s a really big problem.
       “Your printer contains incredibly complex technology, including print heads, ink, and mapping software,” writes Wirecutter. “You take your printer for granted, but it can cover a sheet of paper with millions of precisely placed, color-matched dots of ink in seconds.” And most manufacturers lose money on the mechanics of the printer itself, hoping to recoup their profits by selling the ink later.
       If printers were the only technology product that seemed to be getting worse, costing us a pretty penny but making the product worse, we might be willing to shed a few tears for the poor manufacturers. But this is a global problem that affects almost everything we touch, from social media, streaming content, journalism, and even the restaurant industry. We pay more or the same for something that never gets better and often breaks!
       The term’s creator, Cory Doctrowe, describes the model this way: “This is how platforms die: First, they treat their users well. Then, they mistreat their users to benefit their enterprise customers. Finally, they mistreat those enterprise customers and keep all the value for themselves. Then, they die.”
       They make a scanner/printer that will only scan if all four cartridges are full and not expired. They make a printer that won’t print black and white if the $50 magenta cartridge runs out of ink. They sell printers with special half-empty cartridges that need to be replaced almost immediately after the printer runs out of mandatory “calibration” page. The full-size ink you buy to replace these special little ink cups is also a trap – HP will report a cartridge as empty when it’s 20% full… HP tricks customers into signing up for an irrevocable subscription that you pay monthly whether you print or not, and the printer refuses to work if you go over the subscription limit, no matter how much ink is left.
       Ink is ridiculously expensive, but printer companies use copyright law to ensure that you can’t buy third-party cartridges. When that doesn’t work, they release security updates that break compatibility with any printer other than their own cartridges. Lots of it.
       In other words, a long time ago, being able to print your own documents at home was a very exciting thing. The initial innovations were aimed at making the process better and better. But now that we’re well past that point, the problems with most home printers will likely remain or never go away as long as manufacturers think they can keep squeezing money out of us. They have no incentive to make printers that actually use 100% of their cartridges or connect reliably to Wi-Fi — they just want to make sure we buy the next one.
       What makes Johnson’s YouTube rant so funny is not only that it’s true, but that it finds humor in the frustration we all share over this cycle of “being like shit.” Even if none of our $300 printers can reliably print a simple black-and-white document, at least we can laugh at each other’s shared pain.
       The holidays, which should be a time for quality family time, can often be a source of stress. Traveling, managing family relationships and tensions, discussing politics at the dinner table, and dealing with mundane “gift” issues can wear down even the most patient and calm of people. This is especially true for parents with young children who have to travel long distances for a “family reunion.”
       A TikTok video posted by @carrerasfam goes viral, gaining over 300,000 views, as many millennial parents realize how frustrated grandparents are when they have unrealistic expectations about visits with their children.
       In the satirical video, a husband has a conversation with his “semi-retired” baby boomer father, during which he politely but firmly explains that he will not be driving 400 miles with his three children to their home for the holidays.
       Carerras Fam is a popular TikTok page dedicated to “postpartum and all things mommy.” Moms and dads share funny scenes and snippets of life with their three little ones.
       The husband began by telling his father about the inconvenience of traveling long distances with three children. “I know you want us to come over for the holidays, but it’s ridiculous that you want me to bring three children with their cot beds, their clothes, their formula, and everything else I need to raise three children and keep them comfortable. Drive over four hours to spend some time at your house?” the husband said, listening to ridiculous music in the background.
       Sorry, it’s too much work. But you can come and visit us #millennials #millennials #parents #parenting #parentsontiktok #boomers #millennials
       The four-hour drive with the kids was clearly inconvenient for the couple, and unsafe since the house wasn’t child-proofed. “I have to run around making sure they don’t break anything, and then you ‘take care of them,’” the husband continued, sarcastically. Most parents eventually realize that visiting their kids doesn’t mean getting help—no, it means chasing them around like crazy until they leave.
       Dad made another important point: His parents were both healthy, so why not stop by their house? “You can go and visit them. You don’t have kids,” Dad continued. “You’re fine.”
       ”Why do I have to give you so much every time, and you can’t do even the most basic things for me?”
       It was clear from the phone call that this dad understands that traveling with kids and staying in a home that hasn’t been carefully prepared for them can make vacations difficult. Instead of creating wonderful memories, they’re more likely to be hunched over, running around in fear that their kids will break something, or having to go to Target to buy bottle caps and brushes because they forgot them at home. What’s especially frustrating is the pressure and expectations. Parents often feel guilty about not wanting to travel with their kids, even though it’s not hard to see why they hate traveling so much.
       The video struck a chord with many millennial parents. It has been viewed by nearly half a million people, with hundreds of others flocking to the video to express their similar frustrations.
       too_many_catz wrote: “First time taking the kids on holiday… Parents are confused why I won’t drive 9 hours on Christmas with a 3 month old.”
       ”The phrase ‘fails to keep a child safe’ really strikes a chord with me. It’s so stressful to have to chase kids around and ask them to close doors, move pictures, block stairs, etc. And no one takes you seriously!” OhHeyItsIndy added.
       Traveling for young families is also expensive. “To make matters worse, they want us to pay for gas, flights, etc. when we live paycheck to paycheck and rent while they own their own home and live comfortably on their pension,” wrote another.
       One mother added: “My mom made me drive 13 hours with our two-month-old baby… She doesn’t have a job but has frequent flyer points.”
       This really got to me: “They always act like you’re asking them for everything, but in reality they’d rather go on any other holiday of their choosing,” wrote Mackenzie Byrne.
       Another user noted: “They can never book a trip for us, but they can book a trip to Europe and a cruise to the Caribbean for themselves.”
       Texas Travel Chick may have hit the nail on the head when she explained why baby boomer parents want their kids to go home for the holidays. “Because we’re used to following their orders!!! Rebellion!” she wrote.
       Ultimately, it might be interesting to explore why boomer parents are willing to go to the trouble of spending time with their kids when they would be much more comfortable doing it themselves, especially if they can afford a hotel. The question becomes whether they have the right to do so, or whether they have forgotten how difficult it is to travel with young children. In some cases, the situation is further complicated—many boomer grandparents are still working and have less time and resources to devote to childcare than previous generations.
       ”Yeah, not this time,” the dad concluded in the video. “I think I’ll just stay home and relax for the holidays.”
       The video is funny and relevant, but ultimately it’s just a skit. Boomer and grandparent guilt still runs deep in many families, so it makes sense that the Carreras, despite their frustration, swallowed it and went traveling during the holidays. Hopefully, by working together, we can eventually break this generational curse when our children become parents.
       Hugh Grant is known for being outspoken about everything. But in a 2009 interview with Elle magazine, he criticized most of his female co-stars, and his tone was pretty nasty. He described Emma Thompson as “smart, funny, but grumpy as a chair.” Of Sandra Bullock, he said she was “a genius, German, but too much of a dog.” He later commented that Julia Roberts’ mouth was so big he “could feel a faint echo” when they kissed on screen. Although Julianne Moore, Rachel Weisz, and Drew Barrymore were all described as smart, charming, or beautiful, everyone agreed that they all “hated him.”
       But it was his “Nobody’s Got Talent” co-star Renée Zellweger who most attracted him. Even when he revisited the story on The Graham Norton Show in 2016, Hugh still agreed with his initial assessment: She was “charming. And far from sane. And a great kisser.”
       When Hugh insisted, he joked, “She’s really nice, but her email was 48 pages long. I couldn’t understand a word of it.”
       Now, nine years later, Renee is returning to the role of Bridget Jones, and the pair are teaming up for a cover story for British Vogue called “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boys.” Apparently, in the early days of Bridget Jones, Colin Firth peppered Renee with questions between takes on set. Things like, “If you had to marry one of the extras from today, who would you marry?” and “Who’s a better kisser, me or Colin Firth?”
       “With a lot of other actors, you think they’re really great, and then suddenly you see this steely, scary ambition blaze through them, and you realise that these people would step over their grandmothers to get what they want in this industry,” he says candidly (of course). “I’ve never seen that sparkle in you. So either you’re faking it, or you’re really good.”
       ”You are incredibly talented at everything you hate. And even though you hate people, you are a very kind and loyal friend. I like you very much. I like working with you.”
       After discussing the dialect coach with Renee, Hugh tells her that her attempt at an English accent is… “perfect.”
       “In short, I think it’s an antidote to Instagram,” Hough said. “Instagram says to people, especially women, ‘Your life isn’t good enough.’ It’s not as good as this woman’s life or that woman’s life, and that makes you insecure. What Helen [the writer] did with Bridget was celebrate failure and make it fun and joyful at the same time.”
       Renee cracked a few jokes and then said, “I think maybe people see themselves in her and can relate to her feelings of insecurity. Bridget is her true self, and while it’s not always perfect, no matter how many flaws she has, she’s always happy and optimistic and perseveres and wins in her own way.”
       Hugh asks Renee if everyone should be “a little more fashionable,” then tells Renee that she is “very fashionable.” Renee counters, “I wear sportswear.” Hugh counters, “Yeah, but the kind that’s a little expensive.”
       ”The letters you sent me are the longest I have ever received. I don’t understand a word of them. They are written in some strange language that I really don’t understand.”
       ”No!” Renee exclaimed. “If you mention something in your letter that made me laugh… I’ll write back. If you forget you wrote this article, I don’t think I’m responsible for that!”