I’ve become a convert to the well-worn workshop practice of covering your worktop with a wide sheet of heavy kraft paper torn from a roll. Especially useful if you are using a multi-use table. Paper on top, I am less concerned with spills, paint, markers. I can jot notes, dimensions, diagrams right onto the sheet. Tiny things don’t disappear into cracks. When done, the paper is ripped up, recycled. There is no feeling like starting a new project with a pristine new cover sheet. 200-foot rolls of kraft paper come in widths of 30 or 36 inches for $20. (I made a short video describing how I made a kraft paper roll dispenser for my studio.) — KK
Johnny Webber (@johnny_webber) posted a Life Assessment Checklist on his blog to help you identify the things you might need to work on. I quickly went through and discovered that: (argh) I really have to commit to stretching everyday. I don’t have a 5-year career plan! Do I really need one? And, I’m not sure if I can confidently say I contribute to my community. Does Recomendo count? These are all things I will reflect on. — CD
Adobe Illustrator is mission-critical for my work so the monthly subscription to Creative Cloud – which costs $53 a month and also includes Photoshop, Acrobat, Premiere, Audition, and InDesign, all of which I use frequently – is worth it. The problem is a Creative Cloud subscription works on up to 2 computers at a time, and there are times when 3 or even 4 members of my family need to use it. So I bought this Mac app called Amadine, which is a very nice clone of Illustrator. One of my daughters uses it now and likes it just as much as Illustrator. I tried it and agree, it’s excellent, as are the tutorial videos for it. It’s usually $20, but it’s on sale for $10. A great deal. — MF
iPhones have a built in Air Quality Index (AQI) which will tell you the air quality in your present location. Go to the default Weather app, and just below the week forecast is the AQI, which is measured by local sensors. —KK
There are often good reasons for saying “no” to a request. You might be overcommitted, you might be the wrong person to do it, or you might not want to do it. This article presents a good guide on saying no. — MF
Remind yourself that time is valuable and once it’s spent you absolutely can’t get it back.
Ask yourself: “Would I be willing to do this thing tomorrow?” It’s easy to sign yourself up for something in April when it’s only September. Do your future self a favor and try this little exercise.
Respond quickly. Don’t leave people hanging once you know you’re saying no.
Own your “no” if it’s not a priority (because something else actively is): “Thanks so much for thinking of me. I’m not going to be able to take this on, but I wish you the best with X.”
Reframe your “no” to assuage your guilt (if it’s something you genuinely wish you had time for). Acknowledge that this commitment is significant to you, even if you’re not taking it on. A good sample script: “This is so important that it deserves someone’s full energy, and since I can’t do that because I have XYZ other things, I would be dishonoring the importance of this event/role/weekend getaway by saying yes.”
I’ve had my IKEA BEKANT Motorized Standing Desk for almost 3 years now with no issue, my only complaint being it has no drawers. Luckily, I found these self-adhesive small hidden drawers (TuTuShop Under Table Drawers, $15/2pk) that I was able to stick underneath the table to keep my favorite pens and sticky notes close by. To see how I install and use them check out this week’s Recomendo Short on YouTube. — CD
I am saddened by how few bicycles have bells. A bell, even a small one, will throw a warning further than your voice. No matter what your mood, its sound is polite and cheerful. A small one weighs little, and takes up almost no space on your handle bar. I prefer a bell with an external striker, like the brass Zotemo ($12). Its all-metal construction won’t wear out. Operated by your thumb, it’s loud! One quick ding on the Zotemo from a long ways off, and pedestrians instinctively know a bike is cruising behind them. A bike without a bell is like a car without a horn. Get a bell. — KK
I bought this King size set of bamboo bedsheets for $40 because they have side pockets to stow a book, Kindle, or phone. I wasn’t expecting them to feel so nice! They are much more comfortable than the $200 bamboo sheets we bought at Bed Bath and Beyond (which didn’t come with pockets). — MF
No matter your background or beliefs, these wise and compassionate Buddhist guidelines for living are simply vital. Here are the ones I am trying to adopt: Consume mindfully — Eat with awareness and gratitude. Pause before buying and see if breathing is enough. Pay attention to the effects of media you consume. — CD
When I was growing up we used adhesive tape on bandages. Several generations of tech later, I now use 3M Transpore Tape ($3.80). Transpore Tape is like duct tape for skin. It sticks great but does not leave any sticky residue when removed. Skin pores can breathe, while still being waterproof. And the tape rips by hand easily, even easier than duct tape. It’s what you’ll find in the bag of any doctor, nurse, or EMT today. — KK
Now that iPadOS 14 turns my handwriting into typed text, my Paperlike iPad Screen Protector ($40, 2-pk) has really paid off. It feels like I am writing on a smooth pad of paper instead of glass. I bought it back in June, a couple months into the pandemic, so there were shipping delays, but well worth the wait. It goes perfectly with the Apple Pencil and I’m finding any excuse to jot down notes or draw. — CD
Documentary Mania is a website with hundreds of documentaries you can watch for free. So far I’ve enjoyed Free Solo, about the first person to free climb Yosemite’s El Capitan Wall, and The Bit Player, a movie about information theorist Claude Shannon. — MF
At 94, the legendary naturalist David Attenborough has produced a full length documentary about his life. Just released on Netflix, “A Life on Our Planet” doubles as his “witness statement” to our drastic loss of wilderness. But he combines his harsh, honest critique with an unexpectedly hopeful vision of “re-wilding” the planet. This is a high tech, highly urban, but green civilization with vast areas of sea and land protected as wild zones. I find his “re-wilding” framework more appealing than the technically similar “sustainability” framework, because re-wilding suggests exuberant, open-ended thriving (in nature and tech) rather than just responsible, constrained sustaining. Attenborough’s last 11 minutes in this doc is the closest visualization of the future I hope for that I’ve seen. — KK
I’ve been baking a lot with almond flour lately. It is low in carbs, high in healthy fats, and has almost no sugar. The brand I buy is Anthony’s. Start with a 2-lb bag and see if you like it. If you’re like me, you’ll soon be buying the 4-lb bags. (Try my recipe for almond flour bread) — MF
I find it hard to sit through Ted Talks and avoid anything that gets too preachy about the creative process, but in this 9-minute video, “Give yourself permission to be creative”, Ethan Hawke likens creativity to a poet playing the fool and that is exactly my language. “Don’t read the book you should read. Read the book you want to read. Get close to what you love. Play the fool.” — CD
Here are 29 Psychological Tricks and Tactics Used to Make People Buy More found on Reddit. A little embarrassing how many of these “buy more/buy now” tricks I’ve fallen for. To combat this, I have a “buy it later” list that I add links to and thankfully forget about, and I recently made a rule to no longer shop from my phone. — CD
Thingiverse is a free library of files for printing in 3D. Search or browse for a thing you want and there’s a good chance someone has already designed a model and posted a free version for downloading. Thingiverse has been around a while but I just got my first 3D printer so now I am singing its praises. Some models are easier to print than others, but the files are standard 3D format so you can easily edit, modify, or improve it any way you want. It’s like having a public library of e-things instead of e-books. Its existence is one of the reasons I got a 3D printer. — KK
Enter a location in The Booktrail and it will find books set there. You can refine the search by selecting a setting from a pull-down menu (e.g., a bookshop, factory/office, prison). I searched Chicago in a factory office setting and got Girl in Disguise, about a female Pinkerton agent in the 1850s. — MF
On the internet, according to Abraham Lincoln, no one knows you are a dog. But the internet is worthless for checking the veracity of a popular quote. For that job I always head to the totally reliable Quote Investigator. This Sherlock Holmes goes to inordinate lengths, almost a magazine article worth of research, to discover, verify (or dismiss) the source of a quote. His investigations are educational, fun, trustworthy, and completely satisfying. If you have a recurring quote whose source you cannot track down, you can submit it to him. — KK
In a recent issue of my newsletter, The Magnet, I wrote about a fascinating curiosity called nontransitive dice. It’s a set of three nonstandard dice with confounding rock-paper-scissors behavior. No matter which of the three dice your opponent chooses, you can always pick one of the other two dice to beat it. I made my own nontransitive dice on a 3D printer, but they are also available on Amazon if you want a set. — MF