Cryptocurrency podcast for newbies

Created by a couple of self-deprecating podcaster/journalist/crypto investors — Aaron Lammer (Longform) and Jay Caspian Kang (HBO’s Vice News Tonight/NYT Magazine) — Coin Talk looks at all the crazy happenings in the cryptocurrency sphere with a high-level, jargon-free approach. Lammer and Kang are intelligent, funny, and skeptical. — MF

MoneyClaudia Dawson
Interested in Bitcoin? You need a hardware wallet

I wrote a story for Wired about forgetting my password on a small USB device that stored my bitcoin keys and how I hired a hacker to help me unlock it. Despite my experience, I’m still using the same hardware wallet (the manufacturer updated the firmware to address the exploit) because it’s still the best way to keep hackers away from your cryptocurrency. It’s called a Trezor and it costs about $85. If you have more the $1000 in bitcoin, ether, bitcoin cash, or other cryptocurrency, I recommend getting one. — MF

MoneyClaudia Dawson
Shop with Bitcoin on Amazon

I have a small amount of money in the form of bitcoin. I discovered Purse, which lets me buy things on Amazon using bitcoin at a 15% discount. So far I’ve purchased two items over $100 each, and it has worked without a hitch. — MF

MoneyClaudia Dawson
Grocery shopping tips

Living in SF and lack of parking makes me avoid grocery shopping. I buy in bulk and use grocery delivery services when I can, but there are minimum purchases for free delivery and sometimes the prices are marked up. Greatist has research-backed tips for more efficient in-store shopping. Planning the week’s dinners and committing to a list has helped me minimize unnecessary trips. Listening to music and avoiding all other aisles are helpful too. — CD

MoneyClaudia Dawson
Vintage sewing patterns

Vintage Patterns Wikia is a collaborative website where you can search through pages and pages of sewing patterns from the past. A lot of the patterns are available and for sale on eBay or Etsy and if they’re not, you can add your contact information to the wiki page in case it becomes available in the future. I found a $2 robe pattern in great condition through the site. — CD

DesignClaudia Dawson
Design your own shirt

I’ve ordered a few custom t-shirts from Uber Prints, and I am very happy with their customer service and product. They have recently widened their selection of styles, and for most there is no minimum order requirement. — CD

DesignClaudia Dawson
Logo inspiration

I have started dozens of projects and ventures that require logos. Logobook is an online library of thousands of logos, organized in categories. It’s fun to browse if you’re logo-curious like me. They are all black and white, which I like. (All logos should have black and white versions.) — MF

DesignClaudia Dawson
Design inspiration

If you are looking for an illustrator or looking for inspiration for your own design, Dribbble is a fine place to start. Enter a search term and you’ll be presented with a grid display of work by dozens or hundreds of contemporary designers. You can save your favorite images to any number of “buckets” for later perusal. — MF

DesignClaudia Dawson
Digitize printed text

When I need to quote a passage from a paper book or a Kindle, I take a photo of the page with the TextGrabber app (free for Android/iOS). It scans it and turns it into ASCII text, which can be emailed, texted, or saved. It’s very accurate and has saved me a lot of time. — MF

DesignClaudia Dawson
Web graphic tool

I wish I’d found Snappa sooner. It’s an online tool for creating web and social media graphic tiles from photos or art. You can upload your own images, or use their images. You can go as simple or as wild as you want with the modification options. A basic account is free. — MF

DesignClaudia Dawson
Solutions search

When troubleshooting anything my first step is Google/YouTube. But when an initial query does not yield much, I simply add the suffix “solutions” to the query. The terms “problem X + solutions” is more likely to yield sources that have answers, not just the same problem I have. — KK 

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Google search tips

Type “movies” and your zip code to see what’s playing in theaters near you. Enter a flight number to see the status of the plane. Enter any shipper’s tracking number to see where your package is. — MF

BrowserClaudia DawsonGoogle
Browser trick

If you type something in the URL bar and then press control + enter, whatever you type will be surrounded by www. and .com. — MF

BrowserClaudia Dawson