I recently realized my updated iOS has a scanner hidden within my Notes app. It works just as good as the paid subscription app I previously recommended. All you have to do is create a new note in your Notes app and above the keyboard you will find a row of icons, one of which is a camera icon. Select the camera icon and you’ll find the option to “Scan Documents.” Further instructions here. — CD
I wish I had realized years ago that you can get scuba masks with inexpensive prescription lenses. My wife needs heavy duty glasses, with severe -10 corrections, and was otherwise blind underwater. But she got a great simple diving mask with -10 lenses for $60. This Promate Slender Mask is available with Rx lenses from GetWetStore. Now she can snorkel with the rest of us. — KK
In a past issue of Recomendo I recommended the Radio Garden website, which plays radio station feeds from all over the world. Reader Chris let me know that Radio Garden now has apps for Android and iOS. The functionality of the apps is the same as the website. Chris says, “Basically it’s an interactive map of the world with indicators for thousands of radio stations. You click on one of the green dots and suddenly you’re listening to radio from that part of the world. The sound quality is remarkably good and there are a number of features to enhance the listening experience. I’ve spent hours listening to music from Africa, the Mideast, and Asia already. I must say it’s one of the coolest apps I’ve come across in quite some time. Check it out if you haven’t already.” — MF
I bought this $55 Actigun percussion massager after my neighbor raved about hers. Instead of just buzzing like most vibrating massagers, a percussion massager rapidly beats your muscles with a hard rubber ball (or other included attachment). It works wonders on my calves, which often get sore because I walk at least five miles every day on a treadmill desk. One day a couple of weeks ago I foolishly wore rubber sandals on the treadmill and my calves were so sore the next day I could hardly walk. A few minutes with this massager made them feel much better. — MF
Tab Snooze is a free chrome extension that has replaced my Pocket subscription. I can save articles, videos or any webpage and schedule it to reopen as a browser tab whenever I want. Which works better for me because it was always too easy to forget the articles I saved in Pocket. — CD
I paid for a subscription to the digital version of the Wall Street Journal, but I was tipped off that they offer a steep discount of $1 per week ($4/month) for a year if you are patient. So I canceled my subscription, and then when I visited the site, I’d see declining offers and and waited until they offered $4 month for a year. Signing back up was easy since they remembered me. (It would be worthwhile to pay a bot to do this for all publications.) — KK
Wewritehere.com welcomes and publishes creative writing from students in 6th to 12th grade. Every month they award $25 gift cards for selected works and share them in a monthly newsletter that you can sign up to receive. Since it is based in Oakland, California, a lot of the perspectives are from Oakland youth, but they welcome submissions from students all over. I’m enjoying their email digests, the poems are both sobering and delightful. — CD
I wanted to learn a 3D modeling program and everyone told me Blender was good and free. I downloaded it and watched a one-hour tutorial video on Skillshare (Skillshare is $10 a month for unlimited tutorial videos. Here’s a link for a free 14-day subscription). While watching the video, I made this vase. I watched a few more videos and then made this toy, which includes primitive animation. I’m having a lot of fun exploring what I can do with this powerful application. — MF
It’s been a long journey for me to become a full-blown tea fanatic. It turns out I just needed to find the “right” tea! These organic whole flower infusion teas by The Qi are beautiful to look at and are so deliciously sippable. The founder Lisa Li sources her single-origin flowers (Rose, Chrysanthemum, Blue Lotus) from a high mountain farm in Shangri-La, Jiangxi, and Hainan, an island province of China. It has become an effortless daily ritual for me, and I’ll admit, an addiction — but what a healthy, nourishing addiction to have! Here is a referral link for $5 off (a pop-up window will ask you for email address to get the code). — CD
When I subscribe to a YouTube channel, I like to be surprised by the next episode. My favorite four YouTube channels these days are crafted by inspiring creators who keep me anticipating what in the world they might do next. They are all makers with an upbeat perspective. — KK
In order of the unexpected:
Ali Spagnola. Ali is a genius musician, a painter, a maker, a savant, and a comedian. She takes great care in making totally silly things, and does them with humor. She loves to try things that aren’t going to work. Her astounding musical transformations are worth subscribing alone.
Beau Miles. An Australian adventurer who settled down with a family and creates mini-adventures around his settled life, like walking 96 km to work carrying nothing, not even money. He has a lovely can-do spirit, and the miraculous ability to find adventure in the ordinary.
Simone Giertz. Simone is an unabashed maker, but likes to make “stupid” things that are closer to art – like her famous chopping the top off of a Tesla to turn it into the Truckla, a Tesla pickup truck. Her projects are dreamlike and friendly weird, and also inspiring.
Van Niestat. Brother of famous YouTuber Casey Niestat, Van is charting his own path with idiosyncratic mini-videos that are either book reviews, or love letters, or personal confessions, or documentaries about an idea. His channel is young; I’m not sure where he is going but for sure it’s not where the rest of YouTube is headed. He is an original.
I’ve always liked Craftsman screwdrivers because they’re indestructible and have a classic look, so when I saw this set of six small Craftsman screwdrivers for the price of a fancy coffee drink, I couldn’t resist buying them. It includes three slotted and three Phillips head drivers. I used the smallest Phillips driver to repair some eyeglasses. — MF
I follow two bots on Twitter to break up its relentless seriousness. Systemantic Quotes posts one-line riddles about the antics and behavior of all systems derived from the book “Systemantics, or the Systems Bible.” Such as: “In dealing with the shape of things to come, it pays to be good at recognizing shapes.” Every four hours the Magical Realism Bot posts a one-sentence “story” written by an AI. These summaries are surreal, mostly absurd, but every once in a while, it’s a core of a decent idea. Other bots to follow are welcomed. — KK
During the colder months I need to apply skin moisturizer after I take a shower or else my legs itch like crazy. I recently started using The Body Shop’s Wild Argan Oil Body Butter and I love the smell and feel of it. Argan oil comes from the fruit produced by a tree of the same name. It’s edible, too! — MF
We don’t have a bathtub in our home so luxurious baths are not a possibility for me, but these aromatherapy bomb fizzies by Floroma are designed for showers and are the next best thing. The key to using these is to place them near where the water hits, but not directly beneath. They’re scented with 6 different essential oils (eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender, lemon, rose and orange) and the smell is so relaxing and makes the entire bathroom smell really good. — CD
This TED article outlines the 7 types of rest you might need and how to go about getting it. The 7 types are: physical, mental, sensory, creative, emotional, social, and spiritual. Obvious advice would be to make sure you are carving out time for exercise, sleeping, screen-breaks, nature, and meditation. But two types of rest that I’ve never had words for before are emotional rest and social rest. Emotional rest is giving yourself time and space to freely express your feelings. (I think my twice-monthly therapy sessions satisfies this.) And to experience social rest spend time with positive and supportive people that “revive” you, and stay away from the relationships that drain you of energy. — CD
Last year a college student named Annie Rauwerda launched Depths of Wikipedia, an addictive Instagram account with screenshots of unusual and fascinating Wikipedia entries. I’ve learned about Revenge bedtime procrastination, Broken escalator phenomenon, the Fregoli delusion, and a lot more. — MF
For 40 years I’ve been photographing the disappearing traditions of Asia. This week I launched a Kickstarter campaign for my oversized 3-volume book set that captures this wonderful otherness. I crammed a continent of images into 1,000 pages. The book, Vanishing Asia, is a time machine that will take you to a place where everything is done differently, before the world was all the same. I guarantee it will inspired you. My goal is to maximize the number of fans who get the book rather than maxing revenue, so I’ve discounted the Vanishing Asia Kickstarter way below the retail price. I hope you join me in this adventure and back the book. — KK
I wasn’t sure what to expect from a sub-$250 rowing machine, but the Sunny has proven to be a solid machine. It was easy to assemble (and came with a screwdriver, hex keys, and wrenches). Operation is smooth and very quiet. Resistance is magnetic and adjustable from 1 to 8. The tiny-display “computer” that tracks calories, times, and strokes is hard to read and not illuminated, but I use the countdown timer on my phone or watch anyway. — MF
After I shared last week’s graphic — How long would it take to hack your password — Recomendo reader John McConnell reached out to share that pass phrases are the new passwords. — CD
The password thing is very true. A guy named Jason Fossen (one of the absolute smartest Windows people on the planet and author of the Securing Windows SANS courses … ) showed me this back in 2017 and he actually did some calculation to push the chart all the way out to 100+ character passwords. Pass phrases are the new passwords and if long enough are virtually unbreakable at this point. Even without special characters. Your favorite passage from an obscure book is a good starting place. My pass phrases are about 40-50 characters each.
On my short list of under-appreciated items that every homestead should have is a lightweight movers’ hand truck. I use my hand truck far more than I ever guessed. I use it to haul appliances, bulk beverages or bottled water, boxes of books, 5-gallon tubs of paint, bags of soil — anything remotely heavy that I prefer to roll. If you have a garage of stuff, you’ll use it. And it’s the savior when you help friends move. It’s cheap, too ($40), considering it will outlive me. Taller, slightly heftier ones are slightly more expensive ($63). — KK