Multi-day bike touring is way under appreciated. Touring by bicycle is inexpensive, not difficult, covers a lot of ground and is very satisfying. Great with small groups, too. You can use almost any bike, including ebikes. If you are new to touring on a bike, try following a proven route. For the US go to Adventure Cycling for many detailed annotated routes (where to go, eat and sleep). There is an increasing number of no-vehicle, bikes only routes, which are a fabulous experience. For bike touring in Europe, this overview article Cycling In Europe by Adventure Cycling is the best place to start. — KK

I keep a Tile Slim bluetooth tracker in my wallet. If I misplace my wallet, I can use my phone to make the tracker chirp. If I misplace my phone, I can press the button on the tracker and make my phone chirp. The 2022 version of the Tile Slim is out. It’s still as thin as 2 credit cards, but has an improved range of 250 feet. I bought one for my daughter, who recently had a scare when she lost her wallet (someone found it and returned it fortunately). — MF

I became fascinated with the history of food after experiencing the Last Supper in Pompeii exhibit and seeing up close their cookware and wine vessels and foods. This food timeline is equally fascinating. A Food History Librarian has outlined the beginning of food, beginning with water & ice, and has transcribed ancient recipes found in her research. She started her project in 1999 and continues to update it. — CD

There are at least 10 alternative search engines to Google, each with a different emphasis, such as better privacy, or non-linear displays, or long-tail results. Recently I’ve been using Neeva as my default search app. (It has a Chrome extension that makes it the default in the browser.) It offers a different business model: a subscription without ads. So unlike Google these days, I get only answers and no long list of camouflaged ads to skim over. I would say the answers are comparable to Google so far. Right now Neeva is free, but will be about $5/month once out of beta. I will be happy to pay for it, or until Google offers a ad-free subscription option. — KK

The weather is getting cooler and I’ve noticed that my cats are seeking warm places around the house to sleep, like spots of sunlight on the floor or our work treadmill after we’ve used it. I bought them an Electric Heated Pet Pad and they love it. It has 9 heat levels and a timer. — MF

The Cognitive Bias Codex is a radial diagram of 188 cognitive biases listed on Wikipedia. They are grouped into categories and each bias links to it’s own Wikipedia page where you can learn more. I discovered this through one of my favorite newsletters Sloww Sunday— which is always insightful. — CD

Although this book is several years old, and has sold millions of copies, and has been recommended by close friends, I am only now coming to appreciate the wisdom of Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s about the science and practice of making good habits and breaking bad ones, and is the best kind of self-help: succinct; clear, valid, and practical. I found it refreshingly useful, and by far the best I’ve seen on habit making. — KK

The 65 watt Anker Nano II is an itsy-bitsy wall charger, size of golf ball, that uses fancy circuits to super charge your phone, pad, or laptop really fast, about 3x the standard speed. Its only port is USB-C, and comes without cables, so bring your own. It can fully charge my new iPad in about 75 minutes from a dead start. (A 13-inch laptop is about as big as it can handle in super fast mode; for any laptop larger its advantage is its very small size.) This tiny speed charger is perfect for my daypack bag. — KK

This advice has been haunting me since I first read it — because it’s genius. Mike Crittenden says there are 2 things he has come to believe about writing: 1. The average person should write 5x more things than they do. 2. The average written thing should be 5x shorter than it is. I remind myself of this every time I’m about to put my pen down or stop typing. — CD

The MarineTraffic website blows my mind. It’s a live world map that shows thousands of ships around the world — from pleasure crafts and fishing vessels to container ships. Clicking on an icon reveals a photo of the ship and information about it. (Thanks to Doc Searls, who told me about the site.) — MF

Andreas Antonopoulos’ full-time job is explaining Bitcoin to people who don’t know anything about it. If you watch his two-hour video, “Bitcoin Explained in the Bitcoin Basics Workshop,” you’ll know more about how Bitcoin works than 99.9% of the rest of the people on the planet. — MF

Here is a 6 minute read of Japanese philosophies that’ll help you spend money consciously. These were all new to me. Currently practicing Chisoku — being content with what I already have. All of them are perspective-shifting. — CD

Sending a hand-written letter by post is a sure way to stand out. Part of that signal is the postal stamps, and in recognition of this role, the US Postal Service issues trendy artsy stamps for a stylish accent. Right now you can get Espresso stamps (weird), Droids stamps (collectibles), Hip Hop DJ stamps (edgy), Western wear stamps (vintage!), and Otters in Snow stamps (soooo cute), all ordered online, sent to you by mail, of course. These are Forever stamps that dont need extra postage when the rates change. — KK

Set Pose is an online drawing mannequin that you can adjust and use as a 3D model reference. There are presets like running, sitting, playing sports and combat poses that you can select, and even some props like a sword, bike, and chair. This is perfect for me because I always have trouble drawing dynamic poses. — CD

5 stars for the new movie DUNE. It’s the most exquisite world building (worlding) I’ve seen since Star Wars. Crisp, inventive, plausible and coherent. The soundtrack and cinematic style are appropriate to the world. The story is forceful and mythical. I want more. After you watched it once, but before you watch it again, this long Max Read annotation will fill you in on the Dune book/movie references. I watched it streamed on HBO, but it would be worth seeing it in a theater. — KK

This power strip from Powlight was just what I needed for my workbench. It has 12 AC outlets with surge protection arranged in two rows and 4 USB charging ports. The cord is 8-feet long. — MF

I bought this small Apple Watch charger for my travel kit. It has a USB-C and USB-A plug so I can plug it into my laptop or a wall charger. — MF

In this short snippet from a longer interview, Esther Perel explains “Why your Partner Criticizes You.” She says behind every criticism is a wish. This does not excuse being critical toward your partner, but keeping this in mind helps me focus on what it is I’m really requesting of my partner and what he might be asking of me. Worth the 4-minute listen. — CD

A small change in my workflow that has done wonders is writing out my to-do list at night instead of in the morning when I sit down to work. I adopted this new practice after reading 11 Artists Share the Bedtime Rituals That Keep Them Creative. At least two of the artists said they plan out their goals for their next day. I find that by doing this, my mind wanders less and I fall asleep faster. — CD

Mixing a specific color by hand — I want to make this particular shade of green starting from primary colors — is a super skill that artists acquire and is much harder than it looks. I watched many YouTube tutorials to learn how to do this with paints and this one by Draw Mix Paint was the best method for me. It’s still more art than science. — KK