We launched a free daily email newsletter called Recomendo Deals that alerts you when products we’ve previously recommended in Recomendo and Cool Tools drop to unusually low prices. Here’s how it works: Every day, the system checks thousands of products we’ve recommended over the years against Keepa, a service that tracks Amazon price history. When a product falls 20% or more below its 90-day average price, or hits an all-time low, it surfaces as a deal. These aren’t random products — they’re things we’ve already vetted and recommended. I’ve already purchased a few items myself. It literally takes 20 seconds to scan the 5 to 10 deals that show up each day, and most days there’s nothing I need. But occasionally, something I’ve had my eye on drops to a great price. Give it a try by subscribing here. — MF

By far the best bargain flights to Japan are through a Japan Airlines subsidiary called Zip Air. Our family used it going both ways to Tokyo this holiday and I can highly recommend them. All routes begin or terminate in Tokyo, flying from hub cities in Asia, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and from select cities in the US. Prices vary widely during the year, but on some weeks this coming spring an economy ROUND TRIP flight from San Francisco to Tokyo is only $283!!!! Of course, they charge for everything from meals, water, blankets, and luggage. But we can manage. And their “lie full flat” seats (business class) are less than $2,000, but also without blankets, pillows, or service. We tried both the economy and full flat seats, and both are worth the small hassles for the ridiculous cheap prices. — KK

This article gathers 35 simple, research-backed practices from sleep specialists, sex therapists, psychologists, nutrition scientists and more, each offering one small habit they personally rely on to support everyday well-being. The whole list is great, and I especially love the reflection on “soft fascination” — turning to simple, almost meditative tasks when there are too many mental tabs open, and letting answers rise on their own. For me, washing dishes is always a meditative reset that clears out mental clutter and restores a sense of spaciousness. — CD

What we now call the English language has been rapidly changing for over a thousand years. The best way to experience this evolution is to watch this video by Simon Roper where the same passage is recited in proto-English, and then repeated in newer versions of Old English every hundred years, until you reach modern English. The game is to see when you begin to understand it. For me it was around 1600 in part. This gimmick, more than any other, gave me an appreciation of what ancestral versions of English were like. — KK

Every night I have multiple, vivid dream adventures, and for the past five years I’ve been writing them down and treating them as a parallel stream of consciousness for self‑reflection, healing, and guidance. The dream teacher who’s helped me the most is author Robert Moss, whose free Substack is a living archive of shamanic “active dreaming” prompts, personal stories, and techniques that make it easy to develop a co‑creative relationship with your dreams. If you’re at all interested in understanding your dream self on a deeper level, I highly recommend subscribing to his newsletter. Two great starting pieces are “Nine Keys to Understanding Your Dreams” and “The Only Dream Expert is You.” — CD

A relative with ADHD brought a NeeDoh to a family gathering, and I couldn’t put it down. Like me, she uses fidgets to focus, and this one is perfect — a soft, stretchy ball filled with a viscous dough-like substance inside a silicone skin. You squeeze, squish, and stretch it, and it slowly oozes back to its original shape. The resistance is deeply satisfying. Her tips: keep it in the fridge to make it harder(and more fun) to squeeze, and when the silicone skin gets grungy, wash it with soap and water, then rub cornstarch over it — good as new. NeeDoh comes in various shapes (balls, cubes, figures) and costs around $5-10. Great for desks, meetings, or anywhere you need to keep restless hands busy. — MF

My favorite advice guru is Dan Pink. He is very wise, but also very concise. He can convey a book’s worth of advice in a few minutes – and his advice is good and practical. He is a master of dispensing his wisdom in very short videos. His latest class is a 4-minute lesson on How to Fix Your Attention Span. Might as well stay for his other lessons as well. — KK

This piece argues that most nine-to-five workers underuse their after-work hours because we stay in our “inner CEO” identity, which hijacks free time with urgency traps like emails, Slack pings, and low-value work that keeps laptops open all night. The advice is to acknowledge and give time to our other inner characters—like the Lover, Artist, Friend, and Athlete—and create a simple cast schedule for weeknights. For example, on Mondays the Athlete moves your body, on Tuesday the Friend schedules a conversation or hangout, and so on. The real key is honoring the end-of-work transition with a shutdown ritual: create a two-do list for the next day, close unnecessary tabs, say out loud “Workday closed, artist open,” and then do something sensory (shower, stretch, short walk, or after-work-only music) to let the next character take the spotlight. — CD

I was skeptical about air fryers until I tried the Ninja Crispi. It comes with three glass containers so you can see your food cooking, and they’re non-toxic (no Teflon coatings). I’ve made sweet potatoes that came out caramelized on the outside and soft inside. It’s perfect for crisping frozen samosas and pupusas in minutes. My mother baked a whole chicken in it beautifully. The containers go from freezer to cooking to table to dishwasher. — MF

My mother is a seeker, so I grew up baptized multiple times and in and out of various churches. As an adult, I’ve had to rebuild my relationship with both spirituality and community, and I tend to assume every organized group with a shared mission is a cult until proven otherwise. That’s why I really appreciate this carefully constructed “Is It a Cult?” tool by ClearerThinking. The assessment looks at things like unusualness, conformity, isolation, control of information, ethics, and sacrifice, reflecting the nuanced criteria behind their Cult Assessment tool. ClearerThinking’s programs and assessments are grounded in empirical data and are balanced in perspective, and this particular questionnaire understands that being a cult is not binary—it’s a set of traits, each of which lies on a continuum. — CD

My wife replaced her PopSocket phone grip to the new Snap Grip 5 ($40). It’s just 3mm thick, with a profile that prevents it snagging on pockets like bulkier grips. It has a powerful magnet that snaps to MagSafe phones. You can use it as a one or two-finger grip, flip it into a sturdy kickstand, or stick your phone to any metal surface (fridge, gym equipment, car door). Works with iPhones and includes an adapter for Android phones. — MF

I, too, now have a Substack newsletter where I post a short essay once a week. It’s my “works in progress” on technology, culture, travel, art, and even spiritual stuff. Some of my essays are brand new, and some are older pieces cross-posted from my Technium blog. Instead of having to visit the blog, I send it to you in an email (that is Substack). My pieces are low-stakes, cold takes – I am not in a hurry. I aim to pay attention to long-term trends. Comments are active and I try to respond to sincere comments. Sign up at KK on Substack. It’s free (although I have some paid subscribers, thank you!). — KK

I don’t remember where I first encountered this, but it works surprisingly well: after each round, switch to the option neither player used. If your rock loses to their paper, throw scissors next. If your scissors beat their paper, throw a rock next. I've been testing it against my friends and winning more than chance would predict. The World Rock Paper Scissors Association has more sophisticated strategies. — MF

This “Both can be true” chart highlights that emotional intelligence means holding dualities, or two seemingly opposite truths, at the same time. For example, you can feel angry and still choose to respond calmly, or care deeply about someone and still set boundaries to protect your energy around them. I personally relate to the one about knowing and naming my feelings, but still being caught off guard by them. I used to feel shame around that, but now I find it curious and funny—an opportunity to laugh at myself instead. — CD

I subscribe to 40 different YouTubers who make stuff in their workshops. I watch them for how-to tips, to learn shop techniques, and for inspiration for possible projects. If I rank them by how much I’ve learned from them, in my top five are three non-Americans (an Australian and two Canadians) who are life-long makers, who are great explainers, and who are also experimentalists in how and what they build. Pask Makes continually learns and explores new skills, John Heisz is a born innovator with tools and master technician, and Matthias Wandel, makes his own shop tools from plywood. They are fantastic teachers, never boring. — KK

My cousin invited me over for breakfast recently. He pulled a Mueller vegetable chopper from a cabinet — a clear plastic box with a grid of sharp blades on top. He placed half an onion on the grid and pressed down with the attached lever. It chopped the onion into perfect tiny squares. He repeated with a bell pepper, making short work of it. Cleanup is easy; just rinse and let dry. I ordered one for myself and learned it handles potatoes just as easily. — MF

I don’t read much science fiction, so when I do I am picky. An author I find reliably good is Ted Chiang, who writes mostly short stories, including the one that was the basis for the movie Arrival. I really like his anthology of nine stories, Exhalation. I would classify his genre as well-crafted, somewhat literary, hard (plausible) science fiction, with inventive, deep and original stories. I am a fan in large part because most of his stories are uplifting rather than the usual dystopian. — KK

Soulmates is a one-season sci-fi show on Netflix that imagines a near future where individuals can take a DNA test that guarantees a match with their one true soulmate. Each episode is a stand-alone and follows different people who have taken the test and are now living with the consequences. Marriages are tested, cults are formed, and love becomes something you can measure, monetize, and manipulate. One of the series creators and writers is Brett Goldstein, who is best known for Ted Lasso. It’s very Black-Mirror-esque and thought-provoking, and I’m bummed that it was never renewed. — CD

Here are some quotes I gathered recently:

• It takes a lot of work to make something simple. — Steve Wozniak

• One of the most realistic parts of Lord of the Rings is that almost no one wanted to get involved, until it was very nearly too late. — Ricki Tarr

• Everyone searches for opportunities while running from problems, missing that they’re the same thing. Problems aren’t obstacles to opportunity, they ARE the opportunity. — Shane Parrish

• Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion. — W. Edwards Deming

• When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them “No I went to films.” — Quentin Tarantino

• Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. — Jeff Bezos

• The three lenses of opportunity cost: (1) Compared with what? (2) And then what? (3) At the expense of what? — Shane Parish

• You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from. — Cormac McCarthy

• Everyone driving slower than you is an idiot, and everyone driving faster than you is a maniac! — George Carlin

I find witty quotes sharpen my thinking and help me pay attention. — KK

Freak Pages is a directory for the weirdest Wikipedia entries, community‑curated to help you discover strange topics you’ve probably never heard of. Lots of rabbit holes to dive into. — CD