Our son recently convinced us to upgrade from a Roku streaming device to an AppleTV 4K device ($130), particularly since we are an Apple systems family. This small box is a huge and surprising improvement. It was insanely easy to transfer all streaming accounts using my iPhone, which I can also use as a remote. It easily pairs with Airpods for private sound, instead of the old wired earphones we had. But the best thing is how Siri is incorporated. You can ask, “what did they say” while watching a video and it will back up and repeat the last bit of dialog. Or I can audibly ask it to run “For All Mankind” and it will search and find it among all the streams we subscribe to. No typing to find out where a particular show can be watched. That alone is worth the price of admission, but there are a lot of other cool smart features as well, like displaying photos from my phone. — KK

SaveWisdom.org is a project dedicated to preserving individual wisdom. On the website, there are 1000 questions designed to interview someone about their early life, formative experiences, values, perspectives, and challenges. These questions are intended to invite deep reflections and greater self-understanding. They are open-sourced and can be used freely for personal use. Because of this website, I feel empowered to interview my grandmother, who is flying in from Morelia, Michoacán at the end of this month to celebrate her 80th birthday. Inspired by this list, I have been creating my own list of curious questions I would like to ask her. I plan to record her answers to gift to my extended family. — CD

This retro-style Amazon Basics suitcase turntable is an inexpensive way to rediscover your vinyl collection. Audiophiles with precious LPs should steer clear, but this lets you play your dusty collection without committing to a complex setup. It has built-in stereo speakers and it plays all three speeds (33/45/78). Bonus: it doubles as a Bluetooth speaker for your phone. — MF

I am really enjoying the book The Mythmakers, which is mostly a graphic novel about the productive friendship between JR Tolkien and CS Lewis, who basically invented the fantasy literature genre for adults. This book slips in and out of text and comic drawings in an easy way, and it makes it fun to see the two friends inspire each other to invent. The pair, and the graphic novel, explore the meaning and power of myths, versus mere stories, as a transcendent medium. It’s the best thing on myth making since Joseph Campbell’s Power of Myth, which is free on YouTube. — KK

I appreciated this Instagram post as a reminder that happiness or a happy ending does not necessarily mean getting what you wanted. When faced with challenges, I experience the most growth not by everything working out as I had hoped, but often by accepting situations and people just as they are. Acceptance also helps me discover a better, more resilient version of myself, one with a greater capacity to face obstacles. Some of the other possible happy endings listed are: finding yourself again, making new connections, and trusting yourself to take the next steps. — CD

Tom Rosenthal wanders London's parks with a simple mission: find someone sitting alone on a bench and ask if they'll chat for his podcast, his podcast "Strangers on a Bench." He keeps his guests anonymous - no names, no workplaces. Listening to a few episodes hammered home the realization that there's no such thing as an ordinary life. — MF

If you're finding that using quotation marks no longer returns exact phrase matches on Google, here's a workaround: After conducting your search, click on "Tools" under the search bar, then click on “All Results” and choose “Verbatim”. This will display search results that match the exact phrase you entered. — CD

The next big step after installing solar panels on your roof is to install big batteries in your garage. That way you can manage your power better and have plenty on hand during power outages. The slickest off-the-shelf solution is a Tesla Powerwall. The non-Tesla alternative we went with is about the same price ($12,000 per 13 kwh) and capacity, but with a slightly longer warranty. We installed two Franklin lithium iron phosphate batteries, the standard composition for homes. Instead of feeding our electrons back into the grid at a low price, we get to use all the energy we produce during evenings and nights, and for charging our electric car. And during storms, we keep the lights and refrigerators on. Franklin is a complicated system installed by pros. For the true do-it-yourselfer who wants the cheapest possible home battery system, go to BigBattery.com to get your gear. — KK

In 1987, my wife Carla and I launched Boing Boing, a zine exploring cyberpunk sci-fi, indie comics, and fascinating oddballs. It evolved into a blog with contributions from our journalist friends, covering technology, culture, politics, and wonderfully weird discoveries. After 20 years of increasing ad dependence, we're excited to offer an ad-free premium version that's so much cleaner. Recomendo readers get 25% off their first year – I hope you'll check it out! — MF

This all-in-one package tracking page will be particularly useful during the holiday season. It allows you to track up to 40 packages from over 2,500 different carriers worldwide. — CD

An artist I follow on Instagram is Andy Thomas. He creates these very whimsical, hard to explain animations of fantasy shapes. He says he does not use AI. They appear to be half biological, half algorithmic creations and are unlike anything I’ve seen. I like their energy. — KK

This titanium quick-release keychain is built like a tiny tank with a clever ball-bearing collar mechanism. I use it to separate my house key from a carabiner that's clipped to my shoulder bag. It takes deliberate action to detach (no accidental separations), yet disconnects smoothly when you want it to. Here's a photo so you can see how small it is. — MF

For a riveting multi-cultural experience, watch Pachinko, now streaming on Apple+ (2 seasons). It’s a multi-generational saga of a Korean family migrating from their peasant roots, into second class persecuted citizens in Japan and eventually striving for overachievement in the US. They switch between three languages, so Korean subtitles are in yellow, Japanese in blue, none for English. The depictions of everyday life are very authentic, with high realism, and first class productions, but the story is still a Korean drama. — KK

Messages for Life are short, inspirational emails that have been brightening my days. They arrive only on weekday mornings and always contain a positive message, like reminders to slow down, relax, celebrate yourself, and play. These messages convey a lot of wisdom in a very natural and relatable way. They feel like love letters from the Universe. — CD

Remember how awful the Battleship board game was? This solitaire online version is nothing like that. Think Sudoku with boats, with a dash of Minesweeper thrown in.. Instead of random guessing, you use logic to figure out where ships are hiding. — MF

I discovered barberries through a friend who praised their nutritional benefits, especially their berberine content. The dried berries I bought look like tiny, dark red raisins but pack an intense tartness - think nature's Warheads. They make a perfect tangy addition to salads, yogurt, and cereal. — MF

I recently came across a Reddit thread that asked, “What’s your ‘I can’t believe other people don’t do this’ hack?” Here are some tips I had never heard of before:

• I have a keyboard shortcut on all my devices where @@ automatically enters my email address.

• When you're cleaning up "goopy" stuff that can't be absorbed, use two flat stiff things like the edge of two pieces of cardboard and literally scoop it up.

• I am shocked at the number of people that don’t put their sheet sets in the matching pillow case for storage until use. It keeps it all together!

• Clean out your fridge before grocery shopping! Eliminates mystery Tupperware and always reminds you of something you need to pick up.

• When tech stops working and you need to “turn it off and back on again”, turn it off, and ALWAYS wait 10-15 seconds or more before turning it back on. This allows the capacitors inside holding the memory bits to fully discharge, and it allows the device to fully reset fresh.

• 2 colour matched £10 flower bouquets combined are normally more varied and bigger than a £20 bouquet.

Check out the entire thread here. — CD

I am working on a new book of my photography that has all the images arranged by color. That arrangement is surprisingly compelling and unleashes all kinds of new joys. This has made me very attentive to the idea of following a color. Rob Walker publishes a fantastic newsletter devoted to noticing things, called The Art of Noticing, and recently featured the concept of color walks, where you follow colors while walking, as a way of amplifying your ability to notice things. It really works. — KK

Vorfreude means “the pleasure of anticipation.” I learned it from Jono Hey’s excellent Sketchplanations newsletter. “The magic of vorfreude lies in how it stretches out the pleasure of any upcoming event or experience,” writes Jono. “Once I hit 'Confirm' to book a trip, it kicks off joy for months whenever I think about the trip.” — MF

I’ve long carried a mini-pharmacy in my daypack, packed with small doses of common over-counter medicines for occasional use. Mosts are used to supply my companion travelers. I recently upgraded to a very compact container that takes up almost no room. The Portable Travel Pill Box ($4) can hold 10 different medicines, which I label with dosages. It is very handy, and goes with me everywhere my bag goes. — KK