“The number of people born in Antarctica (11) is fewer than the number of people who have walked on the Moon (12).” That’s just one of 52 surprising things blogger Jason Kottke included in his year-end post. Here’s another: “Cannabis delivery isn’t legal in Maine, so this enterprising online shop employs ‘psychics’ to ‘find a wide selection of your lost weed and drop it off at your home.’” — MF

Stanford creativity expert Sarah Stein Greenberg contributed this short write-up on brain exercises to flex your creative muscles. What stood out to me was Seeing where she suggests finding a photograph capturing scenes of life with multiple subjects and lots of details and answer the following questions: What’s going on in the picture? What do you see that makes you say that? What else do you see? What do you see that makes you say that? — and then repeat, over and over again form multiple perspectives. The other 2 exercises are Shadowing and Studying the solution that already exists. Read the full article here. — CD

Every evening for the past 20 years I do a short dip in our hot tub just outside our bedroom doors. The totality of my maintenance for the hot tub consists of adding one bromide tablet per week. That is all I do. Having tried different tabs over the years, the best ones are Clorox Spa Brominating Tablets. They give consistent clarity and have the least smell. The water is almost odorless. — KK

Clive Thompson created this search tool for weird old books in an attempt to rewild our attention. It only finds books one at a time and in the public domain, which you can download. I found this 1901 copy of Studies of Trees in Winter, which is actually a book I came across in a Berkeley library years ago and have been searching for. I also discovered this — definitely weird — rare manuscript titled The Complex Vision by poet/philosopher John Cowper Powys. I love tools like these that help me break free from the same old internet loop. — CD

To maximize your life enjoyment, you should die with no money left over. Spend your money while you can get the most experiences from it, not when you are old. Give away what you are going to give away (to kids or charity) while you can enjoy and direct it, and when it makes the most difference to the receiver. That’s the well-reasoned, persuasive argument of this book, Die with Zero. (The message is similar to Die Broke, a book that I have recommended in the past, but Die with Zero is much better in its explanation, and practical advice on how to balance your account to zero.) Everyone should consider this positively affirming strategy. It’s been life-changing for me. — KK

ColorKu is a nice looking wooden game board, with holes that hold colored wooden marbles in nine different colors. Game play is just like Sudoku, but this version makes it fun to play with others. It comes with about 100 starting problems, but you can use any Sudoku problems by assigning each color a number. I gave this to my sister for her birthday and she loves it, too. — MF

Recomendo reader Andrew Denny says, “I really love the YouTube Channel of Big Clive, a soft-spoken Scotsman. He tears down cheap electronic products — often really cheap no-name stuff from ebay — to explain how they work. I have no idea about electronics at all, but I love watching it and I’m gradually learning.” I’ve been watching Big Clive videos for a couple of years, myself. — MF

I just returned from visiting my grandmother in Mexico, and aside from my packing cubes which makes my suitcase manageable, this technique of folding all of my outfits together helped me get dressed quickly in the mornings without mulling over what to wear or pulling everything out of their cubes. — CD

Stargazing apps on your phone are magic. They work like AR-augmented reality — overlaying the night sky with outlines of constellations, star and planet names, paths of the moon, and even satellite, comet and asteroid sightings. The apps are uncannily accurate, and easy to understand. There are free apps and expensive subscriptions, but I use Star Walk 2 which cost $3. It’s the best $3 space investment I’ve ever made. — KK

I feel like a weight has been lifted after reading What if we just stopped being so available? (The Atlantic, possible paywall). Joe Pinsker rants about the expectations of prompt responses and how we should all stop apologizing for failing to meet them. He says, “For one thing, having multiple obligations and priorities means that we are, all of us, in a perpetual state of delay on something, and apologizing for that fact feels like having to apologize for your standard mode of being.” He spoke with communication experts who suggest alternatives for “Sorry for my delay,” like “Thank you for your patience” or “I wanted to make sure I thought carefully about your good questions.” But I agree with Pinsker who prefers to omit an apology or expectation altogether and instead just write your message as if you’re responding right away, because content is more important than speed. This article is a much needed absolution. We all have the right to disconnect. — CD

I started running a few months ago and needed running socks. These six-packs of Saucony Socks are just what I needed. They are slightly cushioned and have arch compression. As an added bonus, they are too weird-looking for my wife or daughters to be tempted to swipe. — MF

US residents can order 4 free at-home covid tests to be mailed by the US Post Office to their home. One set per household. Order from this US Post Office site, which is well designed and takes 10 seconds. — KK

Here is a tip from the r/Meditation subreddit. To block out your internal monologue practice expanding your peripheral vision. User taemoo further explained this tactic: “The trick is to keep your vision as “open” as possible, not to focus on anything unless it’s necessary for a specific task ….” and shared a YouTube video titled: Meditation - Returning Your Eyes to the Natural State, where Meditation teacher Loch Kelly walks you through this exercise. When I practice this an instant calmness washes over me. I feel like I just discovered a new superpower. — CD

Some computer and software problems can only be solved by getting the expert onto your computer. The way to do that remotely is with TeamViewer. My tech-savvy son acts as my IT-support guy, and so he comes onto my computer, from wherever he is, on his computer. We use TeamViewer which enables this remote connection instantly, easily, securely and for free. (Free for private use. TeamViewer’s income comes from businesses users.) He is able to control my machine remotely. It works like magic, and because we both have it installed, we’ll invoke it without hesitation. (Of course, be sensible about using or installing this powerful tool.) — KK

My favorite small notebook is the inexpensive Muji W-ring dot-grid notebook with a clear plastic cover. The ring binding is great because the notebook lies flat. Muji seems to have run out of them, but I found an excellent knock-off from Yansanido on Amazon. I bought a 6-pack for less than $3 per notebook. The paper seems to be a bit thinner than the Muji version, but pen ink is crisp on the pages. — MF

The weird thing about placebos is that they work similar to the substances they replace. The science shows there is some positive effect with these simple inert pills. There is even a small proven effect when the patient knows they are placebos! With that in mind some folks administer placebos to themselves. Because they have a positive effect I also found it useful to have a small bottle of placebo pills around to meet an emergency need of a placebo. These are gel capsules of inert fiber stamped with the logo of Zeebo. — KK

So called “resort fees” are a sneaky way for hotels to advertise a low price then tack on an additional charge. Even if you don’t use the hotel pool of fitness center, they’ll add it to your bill. Before booking a hotel, visit Resort Fee Checker to see if it charges a resort fee. The site also has information on the price of breakfast, internet, parking, pets, and other fees. — MF

Everything you could ever want to know about clouds is available at the International Cloud Atlas hosted by the World Meteorological Organization. You can learn the basics of observing and identifying clouds. See photo descriptions of clouds. Search their image gallery. Compare two images. And if you go deep enough you might find unlisted YouTube links to time lapse videos like this one. — CD

This instagram post by artist/writer Morgan Harper Nichols outlines how she uses her Notes App on iPhone to cut her daily screen time in half. She says:

1 - Using the Notes App on my iPhone, I made some graphics that would encourage me to click on them.

2 - I made 9 lists that I knew would encourage me or remind me to do or focus on something. I put the graphics at the top. I spent days working on these lists and I’m still adding and making changes to them.

3 - When I pinned these graphics to the top of my notes app, the image shows up in the previews of the note

When I was done making this list, I told myself this: “whenever I go to my phone now and I’m getting ready to mindlessly scroll, I’m going to go to my Personal Feed instead.”

Some of her list titles are: “List of goals,” “Remember when….” “Affirmations” and “Books to return to.” I’ve already started working on my own, so far I have “Genius Ideas,” of which there is only one at the moment, and “Subtle Images” which is just a growing list of images from daydreams. — CD

Editing video is the new self-publishing. I’m trying to learn it. The two classic standard programs for video editing are very expensive. However, there are a bunch of really good programs for free. CreativeBloq ran a comparative review of the best free video editing software, which is likely to cover 99% of most uses. I have no excuses now. — KK