The Big Book of Secret Hiding Places, published in 1987, is an illustrated guide to concealing things in clever hiding places. It covers methods for concealing items in buildings, vehicles, and on the body. Even if you don’t need to hide anything (or smuggle it across a border), it makes for fascinating reading. — MF

A new podcast I am finding value in is Core Memory by Ashlee Vance. Vance sniffs around Silicon Valley talking to the crazy ones on the bleeding edge of tech, the mavericks with outlandish ideas, and the fast-talking renegades trying to do the impossible, plus the usual mix of over-confident nerds with grandiose visions. I like it because it keeps me on my toes. — KK

The Literature-Map is a data-art tool that helps you discover new authors. Just type in a writer you love, and it generates a visual map of related authors based on readers’ tastes—writers clustered together have a shared fanbase. It’s a fun way to expand your literary universe. — CD

I’ve been really enjoying an obscure book about the discovery/invention of electricity. I was reading it partly because I think there is an analogy to the discovery/invention of AI, in that the smartest people alive and working on it (like Newton) were totally wrong about what it was. Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field recounts the biographical story of the two main investigators and how they kept changing their ideas to meet new evidence. Their insights made me believe that Maxwell was more of a leapfrogging genius than Einstein, a not uncommon view among many physicists. Electromagnetic fields are so strange and counterintuitive, that by following these pioneers’ experiments and explanations, I came away thinking I understand electricity even less than I did when I started. I mean in the late 1800s they figured out the electrical energy does not flow inside a wire as everyone today thinks it does. Rather the energy is carried along outside by waves in the field that surrounds the wire. (I think we are equally misunderstanding intelligence of all types.) In the book there is exciting science, colorfully eccentric characters, and the lessons of widening one’s imagination to see what has not been seen before. — KK

If you’re interested in weekly suggestions for making your workplace more inclusive, Karen Catlin’s Better Allies newsletter delivers five actionable ideas in each issue. Topics range from accessibility and addressing bias, to tips on fostering allyship. It’s concise, clear, and never pushy or preachy—a great resource for anyone looking to build more inclusive habits at work. — CD

Our freezer doesn’t make ice, so I use ice cube trays instead. The ones I have make 2-inch cubes (a little over 4 ounces), which is perfect for keeping cocktails cold for a long time. They’re made from flexible silicone and come with a lid. Some people even use them for baking. Rycore sells the trays as a 2-pack for $21. — MF

An AI tool I’m most excited about right now is MyLens AI, which takes your pasted text, webpages, PDFs, spreadsheets, and even YouTube videos and instantly turns them into interactive visuals — like mind maps, flowcharts, and timelines. With just one click, you can expand, edit, explore connections, or add more — deepening your diagrams and charts. It’s really useful for visualizing dense information and untangling complicated concepts. I signed up for the paid version right away, so I can’t really speak to what the free tier offers, but I do know there is one. — CD

I do most of my reading on a Kindle at night, which has prevented me from reading paper books, which I have become nostalgic for. I bought this inexpensive Glocusent bookmark-style light, which has three color temperatures (I use amber), a tilt-swivel light, and five brightness levels. It's small and unobtrusive, and the USB-C rechargeable battery lasts weeks of nightly reading. — MF

I have not used this technique myself to stop a dog attacking another person or, more likely, another dog. It is basically a way to chokehold the attacking dog with its collar or leash. So I can’t vouch for the technique on this American Standard Dog Training channel, but it seems reasonable to me and is what I would try if I encountered this situation. Skip to minute 6:20 to see the methods. — KK

Recently, I stayed with a friend and expat in London, and he introduced me to his favorite music station—LA-based KCRW’s Eclectic24. I was surprised to travel so far only to discover something local to bring back home, but it truly deserves to be a worldwide treasure. Every song is hand-curated by real radio DJs—not algorithms—effortlessly blending indie, rock, electronic, hip-hop, soul, classics, and global beats into a pure, uninterrupted, 24-hour listening experience. You can stream for free on their website, but the best way to listen is through the app (iOS, Android), where you can see the playlist in real time and save your favorite tracks to your personal Spotify or Apple Music playlist. — CD

Bike touring, or bikepacking, is a great way to travel. But getting your bike to and from the destination is not trivial. Most airlines consider a tightly packed boxed bicycle as checked luggage, going at checked luggage rates. The key is a good bike box. You can get a good box for bicycles at a bike store for free because all their new bikes are shipped in these boxes. There are bike shops everywhere in the world, which is good for finding a box on your way back. You can also ship bikes within the US via UPS; the box will fit under their max dimensions. — KK

I constantly switch between iMessage, Google Chat, Instagram DMs, Slack, Signal, and WhatsApp to send messages to friends and colleagues. Sometimes I miss important messages because I forget which platform a specific person or group prefers to use, leading me to check the wrong apps or overlook notifications from the right ones. I recently started using Beeper, a desktop and phone app that combines all of these platforms and more into a single messaging environment. It’s free to use for up to 6 platforms; if you need more, it’s $10 a month. — MF

Time for some more quotable quotes:

• The patient inherit everything the impatient leave behind. — Shane Parish

• Things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could. — Rudiger Dornbusch

• I wouldn’t have seen it, if I didn’t believe it. — Marshall McLuhan

• There are two kinds of people in the world… and who is not both of them? — James Richardson

• Everything that moves will be autonomous — Jensen Hwang

• Knowing what you’re doing is way overrated. — Pope.L

• A cartoonist is someone who has to draw the same thing day after day without repeating himself. — Charles M. Schulz

• You have to be unreasonable to see the world that doesn’t yet exist. — Will Guidara

• If I knew where songs came from, I’d go there more often. — Leonard Cohen

I offer these as small mind-tickles to remind you of what you already know, but have forgotten. — KK

Bullshit Remover is a fun tool to play with. Paste any block of text into the box and it will remove the “crap” and give you back the truth behind all the words. — CD

This simple headphone stand is one of those "why didn't I get this sooner?" purchases. It keeps my AirPod Max headphones always within reach and has a weighted base to prevent tipping. I went with the metal version over plastic for better durability. A small upgrade that makes my workspace feel more organized. — MF

This essay on Kevin Kelly by Brie Wolfson, titled “Flounder Mode,” is my favorite profile of Kevin Kelly I’ve ever read. It perfectly matches my own experience of knowing him — a creator who is endlessly curious, prolifically generative, laid-back, kind, and genuinely happy. Equally compelling are Brie’s honest reflections about her career path, which invite me, as a reader, to reflect more deeply on my own choices and dreams. More than ever, I feel inspired to align my creative habits and decisions with what truly interests me. I recommend this to anyone interested in redefining for themselves the meaning of “greatness,” “ambition,” and “outcomes.” — CD

Getting legal advice from a chat AI is an okay way to start, but you’ll need something more trustworthy to complete a legal deal. For 50 years I (and many others!) have relied on Nolo Press for legal guidance. Nolo offers fantastic guidebooks to common legal needs — from speeding tickets, to small claims court, to bankruptcy and divorce. In some cases they offer online forms and software to get what you need. I’ve used Nolo to create my own LLCs, partnerships and other legal entities. I also used their guide to change my name legally. They are very clear and trustworthy and much cheaper than a lawyer. — KK

Rental car companies love to shake you down with their toll programs—- either pay an absurd daily fee (like $25/day!) for their toll service or risk getting slammed with massive processing fees if you hit a toll booth. But here's a money-saving move: register your rental car's license plate on The Toll Roads website before driving. I snap a photo of the plate and VIN (enter it here to get the car’s year, make, and model) at pickup and add it to my FasTrak account right there in the parking lot—takes 2 minutes. Set the start/end dates for your rental period and you're good to go. — MF

Prompt Theory is a viral internet meme that has the potential to stay awhile. The theory is that the characters in an AI generated video realize that they are only disposable AI generated characters and have no free will inside their video lives. Multiple videos depict them courageously talking about their suspicion, their “prompt theory,” that they are not real, not even actors. But only crazies believe in this prompt conspiracy. Do I need to say that 100% of this was AI generated with prompts? The truth is all very meta. A few examples on Twitter, or X, where it began, and on YouTube and more YouTube. — KK

I used to frantically scribble notes during video calls until I discovered Granola ($18/month after 25 free meetings). This AI notetaker records meetings across Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet without requiring the user to join as a participant, unlike other meeting bots. It automatically generates transcripts and meeting notes, and creates shareable links that let attendees ask follow-up questions that Granola can answer based on the recorded content. — MF