I am always on the lookout for sentences that make me think. Here’s a recent collection:

If you want new ideas, read old books. — Shane Parrish

To understand recursion, one must first understand recursion. — Stephen Hawking

Thousands of people don’t like what I do. Fortunately, millions do. — James Patterson

Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again. — André Gid

Scarcity is the one thing you can never have enough of. — Marc Randolph

The most selfish act of all is kindness, because it's payback is so much greater than the investment. — Tom Peters

The illiterate of the 21st century will be those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. —Alvin Toffler

Time exists in order that everything doesn't happen all at once… and space exists so that it doesn't all happen to you. — Susan Sontag

There’s nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns. — Octavia Butler

I write these down to be reminded. — KK

Name Wizard is an AI for generating new domain names based on your idea or concept and finding out if they’re available to register in one click. It’s fun to play with, and free to try out 5 searches without a subscription. — CD

Esoteric author Mitch Horowitz recently launched his Substack newsletter, Mystery Achievement, where he shared a list of 101 rules for effective living, distilled from more than 30 years of reading “nearly every major work of inspirational literature produced or translated into English.” You can find the full list here. Below are some of my favorites.

6) Be willing to clean toilets and wash floors.
20) Get away from cruel people—at all costs.
38) Look people in the eye, recognize them, acknowledge them.
65) “To feel brave, act as if we were brave.” (William James)
69) Know your preferences, even if you cannot act on them.
77) Do your absolute best to carry your own load before bothering another.
81) “Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” (Christ)
83) Boredom invites trouble.
94) Accept paradox.

— CD

My mental image of country sizes has been wrong. The True Size Of... is an interactive website that lets you drag countries around a world map to compare their actual sizes without the distortion caused by standard map projections. It's shocking to see how countries change shape as you move them — drag Greenland into Africa and watch it shrink to a small fraction of its map projection! — MF

It's been so long since I've used a portable transistor radio that it feels like advanced technology. The Prunus J-166 is an impressively capable pocket AM/FM radio for $10. It's about the size of an iPhone and has just three simple controls (tuning, volume, band switch) that make it intuitive to use. It also has a tuning indicator light, headphone jack, and battery indicator. Requires 2 AA batteries (not included). — MF

I really enjoy Broadway musicals but I rarely get to New York or London, so I was delighted to watch this filmed Broadway musical on the streams. Come From Away is a fun, sweet, uplifting musical based on a real event: after 9/11, all the planes mid-air bound for the US were diverted to a small airport in Newfoundland, Canada, where the outnumbered locals welcomed the 7,000 stranded passengers into their homes and small town. The musical celebrates the best of human kindness triumphing over the worst. It is also a touring live show and you should catch it if it comes your way. — KK

On a recent wedding party trip, a group of six of us easily split the costs of our stay, food, drinks, Ubers, and party favors using Splitwise. We created a group that allowed each of us to add our expenses individually, and the app handled all the calculations and cost-splitting for us. All that was left to do was for each person to settle up at the end of our trip. The app is free to use on iPhone, Android, and the web, and we managed just fine with the free version. — CD

A blog I am really digging is Brian Potter’s Construction Physics, which is self-described as “Essays about buildings, infrastructure, and industrial technology.” Sounds boring, but is thrilling, as Potter deep dives into our built environment. The territory is similar to the podcast 99%Invisible, but far more quantitative. I’ve found his investigations so interesting I am systematically reading through his back issues. — KK

A study found that smelling isopropyl alcohol pads was more effective than a common anti-nausea drug at reducing nausea in emergency department patients, with peak effect in just four minutes. I bought a box of 100 alcohol prep pads ($6) to keep in my wallet for emergencies. Just hold near your nose and inhale gently if needed. They're so slim I forget they're there, but I'll be glad to have them if nausea strikes. — MF

The best show in the Star Wars universe is the extended story running through Andor and Rogue One. Tight drama, no cartoon comedy, stunning alien worlds. Season 2 of Andor is now streaming (on Disney+) and it is even better than the first: incredibly intense and gripping. It’s a story about how resistance to fascism stumbles, and the sacrifices needed to prevail. The skill in building these worlds is stellar, with next-century levels of detail and immersion, way beyond the classic Star Wars films. Same universe, but for thinking adults. — KK

Found on Reddit, this guide to rewiring your brain emphasizes interrupting negative thought patterns, reframing perspectives, and, of course, mindfulness as techniques for mental transformation. There’s no step-by-step outline—and each of these 12 methods requires additional research for support—but I found the guide helpful as a reminder that our brains are transformable. All it takes is attention and intention when it comes to developing better habits. —CD

Merlin Mann's Wisdom Project is a collection of life lessons hosted as a text file on GitHub, delivered with Mann’s trademark humility and sharp wit.

Five pieces of wisdom:

• Write down the travel items you forgot to pack while you're still traveling.

• Sometimes in life, even though it's not your fault, it's still your problem.

• You are not obligated to have a strong opinion about everything.

• Never organize anything you should discard.

• If an item is especially precious or valuable to you, never set it down anyplace that you wouldn't want it to be overnight.

— MF

I wasted a lot of money on sticky tape lint rollers until discovering the Scotch-Brite Lint Brush. The angled fibers grab pet hair and lint more effectively than disposable rollers, especially on wool and furniture. What I like most is never having to buy refills — swipe your hand across the brush in the opposite direction to clean it off and it’s ready to use again. — MF

This article lists 20 verification tools for combating misinformation. Included are fact-checking sites like Snopes and Google’s Fact Check Explorer, as well as reverse image search engines, identity verification sites, and AI detection tools. While this list is intended for journalists, these resources are useful for anyone who wants to critically evaluate what they read or find online. — CD

Two ChatGPT tips: For a few minutes’ entertainment, let ChatGPT play 20 Questions. It is very hard to stump it. Just tell it you want to play 20 questions and it will usually guess your most obscure thing. Fun for kids. It can also play the other side. If you are an active user of ChatGPT, ask it to summarize your blind spots. It will be spot on, and most people find the succinct answer useful in its clarity. — KK

The free Adobe Scan Mobile App converts physical documents into searchable, editable PDFs. It’s faster and easier to use than Apple Notes' built-in scanner. It automatically detects document edges, corrects perspective, and improves text clarity. The OCR is accurate, letting you extract and edit text from scans instantly. I recently digitized a 50-page puzzle book in minutes using the high-speed scanning feature — just flip through pages and it captures each spread automatically, then splits them into individual pages. I’m using it to digitize snapshots, too. It straightens, color corrects, and crops the images, then saves them to my photo library. — MF

The next health frontier will be personal air quality; what are you breathing? The best measurable proxy we have right now is the level of CO2 in the air. The more CO2 present, the more likely it is full of the exhalations of others, and the greater chance of infectious agents. The small, lightest CO2 monitor is AirSpot ($144), which is smaller than the size of a thumb drive, and will give you instant CO2 levels. I carry it in my pocket when travelling; if the levels get high, I can choose to mask, or exit if possible. (The highest level I’ve seen so far is in the waiting room at the DMV.) — KK

One Task X is a simple task list that forces you to prioritize one thing at a time. You’re only allowed to have one “Today” task, and once it’s completed, you can drag another task into the box. Everything is stored in your browser, so there’s no sign-up or login needed—you can simply close the tab and return to it later. — CD

Andrej Karpathy's guide to digital hygiene has practical steps for protecting your privacy and security. Here are the essentials: Use a password manager (like 1Password) to create unique strong passwords for every service; get a hardware security key (like YubiKey) as your second factor authentication instead of text messages; and use Privacy.com to create credit card numbers that are locked to one specific merchant and can’t be used elsewhere, preventing unauthorized charges. — MF

Many people are having trouble wrapping their heads around the fact that global depopulation and not overpopulation is our challenge. The childless trend has been underway for 50 years but has accelerated dramatically recently. We are at the cusp of deaths outnumbering births on the planet, with no change in sight. I recommend this very, very long New Yorker article – “The End of Children” – as the very best introduction and explainer. It focuses on particular programs, people, and events in South Korea, which is leading the world in depopulation, much faster than the Japanese. The piece is beautifully written, expertly reported, and informed. I think everyone should read it; paste the article url link into 12FT to read it in full. — KK