After one too many frustrating calls trying to spell out airline confirmation codes ("No, B as in Boy, not D!"), I built this simple web tool. Type in any text and it instantly converts it to NATO phonetic alphabet - so "B2K" becomes "Bravo Two Kilo." Try it for clearly communicating flight bookings, WiFi passwords, or any string of letters and numbers over the phone. — MF
A YouTuber I follow with eager anticipation is Cleo Abrams, who creates a science explainer about once a month, called Huge If True. For a great example, watch her video explaining what’s involved in human egg freezing and harvesting. (That they are her eggs added fantastic depth to her reporting.) A monthly schedule allows her explainers to have sophisticated levels of production and clarity. Her range of interests are broad and varied, and generally uplifting. I am a happy subscriber. — KK
This is a beautifully simple and concise framework for processing and releasing difficult emotions. The author outlines a 14-step guide that begins with acknowledging your feelings and ends with creating meaningful rituals. Every step is practical and flexible for anyone to adapt it to their own needs and experiences. — CD
My daughter's college friends are obsessed with this simple dice game called LCR Wild. Each turn, you roll up to three dice marked L, C, R or Wild - passing chips left, right, to a center pot, or using Wild to steal from anyone. As she explains: "Chips that go to the center are eliminated from play, so the game gets more intense as the supply dwindles. You can theoretically win the center pot with three wild rolls, but I've never seen it happen!" The last player with chips wins. Perfect balance of luck and light strategy that works for 3 or 30 people. — MF
I always keep Elmer’s Resuable Tac ’N Stik in my craft supplies. It comes in handy when I want to hang up paper prints on my wall without having to use a nail, and I avoid the risk of peeling off wall paint with double-sided mounting tape. — CD
The dollar-to-yen exchange rate continues to make now a fabulous time to visit Japan. The main trick is to get out of Tokyo, but Tokyo is a good place to start for first time visitors. My favorite guide to Tokyo is one aimed at kids, but also one that anyone young at heart will benefit from: Tokyo, City Trails by Lonely Planet Kids. It points you to all the actual fun things to do, not just endless food and temples. How about a toilet showroom, a chocolate bath, or a sleep capsule? In the same vein, for your guidance to cosplay, manga, anime, otaku activities, I recommend Tokyo Geek’s Guide. It’s a great way to experience the city and modern Japanese culture. — KK
Machine generated video is coming fast. Google just released their version, Veo 2, this month, which is now one of a dozen apps that turn text instructions into cinematic video, in your choice of styles. Jason Silva used these apps to create a 13-minute film called The Arrival of the Psychedelic Puppets that is weirdly trippy yet coherent in a dream-like way. His theme is that AI-generation is a new kind of psychedelic. Years from now this video will seem incredibly primitive, but right now it is the most stunning example of what one person will be able to achieve soon with these new tools. — KK
TimeCapsule is a clever solution for extending AirTag battery life from 1 year to 10 years. Just remove the standard coin battery and put the Airtag in this waterproof case that uses two AA batteries. It's valuable for tracking high-value items like camera gear or items in long-term storage. Around $20. — MF
Network of Time is a website that lets you choose two historical figures and connect them through a series of photographed encounters across time. It’s a fun way to waste time, and fascinating how it visually demonstrates the interconnectedness of human experiences and relationships throughout history. — CD
I especially enjoyed The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing by Adam Moss, a book that inspects the work processes of world-class artists. The artists range from painters, to poets, to musicians, screenwriters, comedians, photographers, and so on. Adam Moss is my favorite magazine editor; he gets the diverse artists to let him watch them work and through his firm questions best understand exactly how they create, including their detours, and mistakes along the way. The book is innovative in its layout and a work of art itself. — KK
The Sleek Socket is perfect for getting furniture closer to walls. It plugs into any 3-pronged outlet and provides three power ports via a flat cable that can be neatly routed along walls. It comes with adhesive clips for cable management. — MF
Someone on Reddit posted a visual to show the internal filters they use before speaking. However, I found the most valuable filtering advice in the comments:
Is this something that needs to be said?
Is this something that needs to be said by me?
Is this something that needs to be said by me right now?
I also agree with another comment that the simplest filter process is always: “Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?” Another one to add to the EQ toolkit is a filter I learned this year for therapeutic settings, which is simply to WAIT—Before you speak ask your Why Am I Talking? and reflect on your intentions.
— CD
A fascinating collection of proverbs from cultures worldwide, organized into 100 categories. It makes centuries of human insight accessible for modern readers.
"People seek out big-shots as flies seek out the elephant's tail." (Indonesian)
"The full person does not understand the needs of the hungry." (Irish)
"Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow." (Swedish)
"A greedy person and a pauper are practically one and the same." (Swiss)
"When money speaks, truth keeps silent." (Russian)
— MF
This website allows you to customize and create mazes in various shapes and sizes. I find maze puzzles to be a mindfulness practice and very soothing to get lost in. You can export the generated mazes as PNG, SVG, or PDF files, and they are free to use in any non-commercial way you want. — CD
Auto tires are such a bargain at Costco that many folks get a Costco membership just for the tires. Mattresses are a similar bargain. You can get high quality branded mattresses – including classic bedspring models – for a lower price from Costco than from almost anywhere else. And Costco will deliver to the room, set up, and haul away your old mattress at no extra cost. And you can order them online. — KK
For a steady stream of perfectly ripe avocados, let a bag of avocados come to near ripeness, and put them into a ziplock bag and place them in a refrigerator. They’ll remain in near-ripeness until you take them out one by one, a day before you want to eat them. — KK
This minimalist bedside lamp has a touch-sensitive top that cycles through three brightness levels with a tap — perfect for fumble-free nighttime control. It has built-in USB ports for charging devices. It's small so it doesn't take up much bedside table space and has a stable base that prevents tipping. — MF
To stay informed on the latest research news, I subscribe to ScienceDaily, which is a comprehensive digest of research news across various fields. I follow ScienceDaily through Feedly, but I recently noticed that they now offer a Substack newsletter. Subscribing through Substack allows you to choose a once-a-week digest tailored to your topic interests, such as Health, Technology, Society, or Environment. Alternatively, you can opt to receive only the top featured research news in a daily email. — CD
IMG_0001 is a website that streams raw and unedited videos uploaded to YouTube between 2009 and 2012. All these videos were uploaded with default filenames of IMG_XXXX, and there is no identifying information except for the upload date. The random nature of this content and these glimpses into everyday life make me feel like an alien stumbling upon a time capsule of human existence. — CD
We are slowly weaning ourselves away from teflon non-stick pans. So far we’ve found some good ceramic pans that keep their non-stick for years, but contain no plastics. Per a recommendation from Tim Ferriss, we got a titanium-ceramic hybrid pan, which has fantastic non-stick without plastic. We really like the 10-inch Titanium Always Pan Pro frying skillet from Our Place, coated inside with a matrix of alternating titanium and ceramic. It was expensive, a little deeper than a frying pan, but is now what we grab first. – KK