The Six Spokes Theory, described here as a “strategy for an optimal life” is a great way to draw out a snapshot of your life and see what areas might need more attention. This is also called a Life Pie, which I first read about in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. You start by drawing a circle and dividing it into 6 slices. Each slice is assigned to an aspect of your life. You then draw a dot on the dividing line to the degree that you feel fulfilled. After connecting the dots, you’ll be able to spot in what areas you are lopsided. I made a short YouTube video outlining my process here. — CD

If a website allows Google to crawl its articles, it shouldn’t then hide its articles behind a paywall. The website 12ft.io bypasses paywalls by displaying the Google cache of articles. You can either go to the 12ft site and enter the URL of a paywalled article or prepend 12ft.io/ to the URL of any paywalled page — MF

We have a small all-electric car (Chevy Bolt) that does not carry a spare tire. Instead it is outfitted with Michelin Selfseal Tires. I was a little dubious these would work, but recently I had a tire puncture from a large screw in the tread, and the system worked well. The self-healing goo inside the tire kept the air in despite the puncture. But the screw was too big to remain. So in my garage at home, I pulled the screw out with pliers, which initially let some air out. Overnight the tire half-deflated. Next day I pumped it up again, let it sit for a few hours and it was as good as new. No issues. While this won’t work for gashes or huge punctures, I’d certainly consider Selfsealing tires for my next car. — KK

I’m a die-hard Google Calendar user, but my wife swears by Lett’s Classic Weekly/Monthly Planner. It’s about the size of a smartphone and each two-page spread displays seven days of the week plus a small monthly calendar for reference. She keeps it in her purse (along with a pencil). — MF

My favorite out-of-this-world twitter account to follow is the Curiosity Rover @MarsCuriosity. It keeps me up to date on Rover’s findings and images, like this picture postcard posted recently. It’s a dose of awe in my timeline. The most recent raw images of Mars can be found here: https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw-images/ — CD

This year I focused my Cool Tools Holiday Gift list on golden oldie products that I still use. Stuff that I have recommended in the past and still love and use now. But none of these seven are really gift items, so ignore the title. These are just proven good stuff I recommend. — KK

Here is a case for talking to yourself more often. Ethan Kross, experimental psychologist and neuroscientist, suggests that a key strategy for controlling negative thought loops and ruminating is “distanced self-talk” — talking to youself as if you were another person. This involves calling yourself by name and using non-first pronouns like “you”. This interview on Nauti.lus goes further into the technique. I like to talk to myself out loud while I’m driving alone. It’s a sacred time when I get to ask myself questions, spew out my fragmented thinking and work problems out. I feel confident and safe doing this in the car, because no one can hear me and if anyone sees me they’ll just assume I’m on the phone. — CD

Go to Typatone, tap out a few characters on your keyboard, then click the on-screen button with the musical note. It will play an original piece of music. Each time you click the button, it plays a different style of music. This could be useful for podcasts or videos. — MF

Some recent quotes I keep returning to. — KK

• Things that never happened before happen all the time. — Scott Sagan

• Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. — Anne Lamott

• To get people to build a boat you don’t need to get them to weave canvas, forge nails, or read the sky. You need to give them a shared yearning for the sea. — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

• A foreign accent is a sign of bravery. — Amy Chua

• We don’t travel to move. We travel to be moved. — Pico Iyer

• Believe those who seek the truth, doubt those who find it. — André Gide

• It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious. — Alfred North Whitehead

• The invention of the ship was also the invention of the shipwreck. — Paul Virilio

• This present moment used to be the unimaginable future. — Stewart Brand

I have uncool musical tastes. I love pop music; the more poppy the better. My favorite pop rock band is the uncool Coldplay. I also don’t like to go to concerts but I love to watch recorded concerts on a screen, which I find much better than being there. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of Coldplay’s very recent concert and light show in Seattle (Live from Climate Pledge Arena), now streaming on Amazon. It’s a non-stop 90 minutes. If you are a fan, this will fulfill; if you want an introduction, this will do it; if you are a hater, hush. — KK

Think of Setapp like Netflix for Macintosh applications. For a monthly subscription fee, you get access to 210+ curated apps. I’ve recommended Setapp here before, but they have a few new apps I find myself using every day that I want to mention: Rocket Typist, Paste, and TextSniper. Setapp is usually $10 a month, but here’s a link to get a year for $69. — MF

Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman says double inhaling is “the fastest way that I’m aware of — that’s anchored in real known biology to calm oneself down — is an inhale through the nose, and then another inhale at the top.” — MF

Here is a “sometimes humorous, but mostly accurate” chart of how to identify that light in the sky. In Sedona, Arizona, I went on a UFO tour where the guides taught us how to identify all the various lights we see in the sky. I wore night vision goggles and saw a lot of non-blinking lights moving fast and veering off straight paths. We had lasers that we used to point them out (never directly at). One even beamed back brightly at us in response. — CD

Last year, I made a shopping list of everything that made me happy in 2020. This year I have been trying to be less of a consumer, so I only have three things that I would recommend as gifts for the holidays. Each one helps to cultivate purpose and gratitude in my life, and they are all priced under $20. The three things are Moon List Workbooks, Blessing Cards and Wall Calendars, like this one. For the full list, visit: https://kk.org/cooltools/2021-holiday-gift-guide-claudias-picks — CD

Radiooooo shows a world map. Click on any country, then click on a decade from 1900 to the present time and it will start playing music from that time and place. — MF

This is an update to a previous Recomendo and specific to medium-long haired readers. This soft, microfiber hair wrap is a turban-style towel that has a small button on the back and a loop to secure it in place. It is very light and comfortable to wear and it squeezes out and absorbs most of the water out of my hair. It does everything my old AQUIS hair towel did, but slightly better. — CD

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