I was dealing with a stubborn shower drain. Backed up and it smelled bad. Liquid Plumr had no effect. A hose and plumber’s bladder made the water drain slowly, but it clogged right back up again. I bought a jar of Green Gobbler Ultimate Main Drain Opener and poured half into the drain and let it sit overnight. The next morning I poured in a quart of boiling water. Problem solved, and the bad smell is gone. — MF

Like many writers and programmers I like to listen to a loop of music over and over again as an inducement to work. It’s similar to writers who work in a cafe for its background hum. The familiar sound induces a flow trance that makes it easier to concentrate. Some loopers will loop a different track for a different project, but I have looped the same song for a decade. My loop is a Gregorian chant, Hymn of the Cherubim. In fact, as soon as I hear it now, I am primed to write. Popular tracks to loop include video game music, because these were intentionally engineered to work in the background and help focus. Tons of music, including video game tracks, can be found on YouTube, and the cool part is that you can loop YouTube. Right click on the Play button and choose Loop. — KK

I am always on the lookout for the next new thing. I found one in vtubers. Vtubers are virtual characters that are streamed before an audience in real time, puppeted by their master behind the scenes. They have long been predicted in science fiction, such as William Gibson’s Idoru. These virtual characters appear live today on Twitch and YouTube, and interact with fans or guests in real time and use the latest motion capture technology so they appear “realistic”. They are rapidly gaining audiences. Their human host is acting out their role in their home, and voicing them. Their virtuality permits the characters to go in a new thousand directions, creating a new fictional space. Rather than point you to particular streams, I suggest this pretty good article describing one of the most popular vtubers: CodeMiko is the Future of Streaming. — KK

If you’re going to click on an exposé about exploitative companies who discriminate against BIPOC, you should start here. CC Paschal’s essay about her experience as a producer for Gimlet called “Hidden in Plain Sight” is beautifully vulnerable and powerful to read. It is also incredibly infuriating, so be warned: it will crack your heart open. — CD

In his newsletter James Altucher reveals how he decides to say yes or no to opportunities. Here’s what he wrote:

Two out of these three have to trigger for me to say YES:

• KNOWLEDGE: Will I learn something?

• FUN: Is it fun?

• MONEY: Is it financially worthwhile?

James says no a lot more than yes. — MF

If you are lucky you won’t need to write an obituary very often, but when you do, here are a few things to remember. Bookmark this article: How to write an obituary. — KK

The Victorinox Swiss Classic Carving Knife is the sharpest knife I’ve ever had. The grip is comfortable. It holds its edge for a long time. It makes cutting up a whole chicken nearly effortless. I like this knife so much I started using it to chop sweet potatoes and jicama. — MF

Refresh this webpage for an endless stream of words that don’t exist and were invented by a machine learning algorithm, like: truckoman (noun.) a woman hired to carry a truck all night, or cheroo (noun.) a false or exaggerated wish. (Note to self: from now on I exaggerate all my wishes.) — CD

Nemo’s Dreamscapes are 3+ hour-long musical programs that feature music from the 1930s and 1940s mixed with the sound of rain, cars, birds, etc. Nemo mixes the music so it sounds like it’s playing in another room. The effect is very soothing. YouTube commenters say Nemo’s music programs help them fall asleep, cry with joy, make their headaches go away, and invoke feelings of sweet sadness and nostalgia. Give them a listen and see how they affect you. — MF

My 10-year-old niece Sofia introduced me to Mochi Squishy Toys — these super soft, jelly-like animals that you can squeeze and stretch. They help soothe her when she’s anxious. I am not a fidgeter, but now I keep a cute black cat on desk for my hour-long zooms with my therapist. And I’m not embarrassed to say that I’ve slipped it into my pocket a few times on my way out. I can see how these would work as emotional support toys. — CD

Most overnight successes take at least 5 years. As Dave Perell notes in his newsletter Monday Musings, “[Marques Brownlee] is one of the most popular technology-focused YouTubers in the world. As I write this, he has 13.6 million subscribers and his videos have been watched 2.4 billion times. But when he recorded his 100th video, he only had 74 subscribers.” In other words he made and posted his first hundred videos with the tiniest possible audience. To make something great, keep showing up! As Perell noted in another of his issues: “If you create something weekly for 2 years, you WILL earn an audience.” That is, make 100 creations BEFORE you have a big audience. Every “overnight” success I’ve ever seen was preceded by years of relentless, and sometimes unappreciated, hard work. — KK

Flim is a new AI search engine that will search inside of movies, kind of. So if I am looking for all the scenes in any movie where someone is wearing a pirate hat, I can in theory find all the instances of that. In practice Flim will return many of them but many other hat scenes, too. Or I might want to find all scenes in movies with gold bars. Flim can find the gold, but not all bars. Right now, the beta version of Flim search is far from perfect, but way better than nothing if you want to search deep inside movie scenes by keywords. — KK

Piggy-backing on an old recomendo tip for budgeting, my wishlists have morphed into a “Do not buy” list I keep on my phone. At the end of 2020, I went through all the product links I saved that I didn’t buy and asked myself if I still wanted them. Most of them were a resounding “No” and then deleted. Only a few were redirected to my husband for Christmas. The list continues to grow and money continues to be saved. — CD

Just type “what to watch” in the Google search bar and you’ll be presented with what appears to be an algorithmically curated offering of popular shows. Somehow, the list it generates is better suited to my interests than Just Watch or other streaming recommendation services. You can filter by TV show or movie and by genre and, most importantly to me, subgenre (like “Horror dramas”). — MF

Here’s a happy blog post: What Every Heart Emoji Really Means. Just happy stats about which heart emoji is the most popular, what meanings have been attributed to the different colored hearts, and what the heart emojis translate to on different devices. This is just a personal plea for more use of the heart emoji all around. Also, I just discovered “heart exclamation"❣️ — CD

When I’m searching for something to help with a mobility issue in myself or another, I found looking in this pdf catalog of occupational therapy devices by Functional Solutions to open my eyes to what’s been invented before and already available. They have a lot of cool things for temporary disabilities (say an incapacitated limb) and for old age aids, like ergonomic kitchen utensils, doorknob extenders, or bathroom fixtures. You can’t order from this industry catalog, but you can find the items elsewhere online. Or make one yourself. — KK

I’ve owned a few different stovetop espresso makers, and my favorite is the Milano 6-cup from Grosche. I especially like the handle that extends far enough from the pot to keep from getting too hot to touch. It’s $27, but they currently have a $3 discount code on the product page. — MF

Below are some bits of wisdom I’ve found on blogs and newsletters over the last few months. — CD

On being true to yourself: “Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.” — Anne Rice [via The Magnet]

On finding inspiration everywhere: “I heard once about a Yiddish poet who lived in utter poverty and misery, a teenager, who never had seen anything beautiful in his life, and he made splendid poems about vegetables jumping into the soup pot. My idea being that for the sublime and the beautiful and the interesting, you don’t have to look far away. You have to know how to see.” — Hedda Sterne [via Austin Kleon]

On identity: “Some people have a lot farther to go from where they begin to get where they want to be—a long way up the mountain, and that is how it has been for me. I don’t feel I am getting older; I feel I am getting closer.” — D.H. Lawrence [via Wellness Wisdom]

On transforming your life: "I’ve never seen any life transformation that didn’t begin with the person in question finally getting tired of their own bullshit.” — Elizabeth Gilbert [via Sloww Sunday]

Last week I recommended parchment paper for no-stick baking. Two readers emailed me with comments worth sharing. Michael Ham said he avoids rolled parchment paper because “it wants to roll up again.” He likes pre-cut half-sheet parchment paper: “King Arthur Flour sells it in rounds, in squares, and in the half-sheet size that fits a half-sheet baking pan.” But now mostly uses a silicone baking mat, because it lies flat, is easy to clean, and is reusable. Brendan Farley offered this advice: “You’ve probably noticed that parchment paper does not lay down well — it keeps its form. If you want to mold it to a pan, just rinse it in water, ring it out like a towel, and it will mold to any pan and keep that form.” Thanks for the tips, Michael and Brendan! — MF

I’m still bingeing on The Great Courses videos. These are the best university courses, without university tuitions. Even better, if you have a public library card in the US, you can get free access to The Great Courses through the Kanopy streaming service. I stream the Great Courses, via Kanopy, on my Roku smart tv. In addition to most of the catalog of Great Courses, Kanopy is a real treasure that also offers a very long tail of documentaries, old movies, and tutorials that are too niche even for Netflix. It’s like a public library of video. You are limited to 10 “plays” per month, except unlimited Great Courses. And it’s all free if you have a library card. — KK