I didn’t know it, but I guess I did need another search engine for restaurants. Map of the Best filters only “the best” restaurants near you based on stars, awards and reviews. It eliminates a lot of the Yelp noise and is especially helpful for me in San Jose, California where there’s an abundance of Mexican restaurants serving delicious food. — CD 

The legendary publications of the Whole Earth Catalogs — all 20,000 pages — are now available online for free at the Whole Earth Index. These hi-res scans are almost better than the original newsprinted ones. They are a breeze to browse and navigate, and on a large monitor, very easy to read. First published in the 1970s and 1980s, these pages were the internet before the internet. The how-to books were pre-YouTube, and the articles pre-web blogs. Most of the content is still refreshingly informative today. — KK

This week a annular solar eclipse crossed a good swath of the US, but this “ring of fire” eclipse was not a total eclipse. The difference between an annular eclipse and a total eclipse is night and day. The next total eclipse in the US will be April 8 next year. The best source for tracking its path, with expected cloud coverage, duration of totality, and ideal viewing spots is this wonderful website, The Eclipse Company. — KK

Small gatherings are perfect for renewing old friendships and more importantly, for making new friends. Nick Gray has written a short book – The 2-Hour Cocktail Party – that gives you explicit step by step instructions on how to host highly structured parties at your home that maximize conversations. Gray has hosted hundreds of these non-dinner parties and his tips are exactly what works in my experience. I didn’t think I’d needed a book to help me throw a party, but his directions and check lists – down to what the emails should say, and what to do each day in the countdown before the party are incredibly useful, and even inspiring. Get this book, throw a 2-hour party with name tags and icebreaker questions, and it will be great! — KK

Mini Tokyo 3D is a website that displays a cartoon-like view of the worlds’ most populous city. It shows where trains are, represented by moving blocks. It also has links to live webcams throughout the city, so you can take a closer look at what’s happening in different areas. — MF

If you’re like me and have soured on Etsy, here’s a brand new handmade marketplace to keep in mind: Artisans Co-op. It just launched so I can’t vouch for any of the products, but I have been following their updates and “phases” and I appreciate their transparency and integrity. Their community vision is fair tech, not big tech, which is why they are member-owned by artisans. As of right now they have 65 shops and more than 1000 handmade items, and each day the selection keeps growing. — CD 

One of the advantages of having a poor memory is that I can read my favorite books every couple of years and they feel mostly new. But I’d rather remember them, and this video by Ali Abdaal has seven good tips for helping you remember what you learn. Two of the best tips:

• Teach Others — Explain what you've learned to others to reinforce what you learned.

• Active Recall — Test yourself and actively try to recall information rather than passively reviewing by rereading.

— MF

The online Merriam-Webster.com dictionary regularly adds new words based on usage and last month 690 words were added. Here is just a sample list of them, including new slang and words made popular by online culture, like edgelord noun, slang : someone who makes wildly dark and exaggerated statements (as on an internet forum) with the intent of shocking others. Also the word “hallucination” has an new definition meaning “a plausible but false or misleading response generated by an artificial intelligence algorithm.” Worth checking out to stay in the know. — CD

I’m having fun playing with Stained Glass Smash at glass.funwebsite.fun. You just click the screen to smash the glass and haphazardly create geometric works of art. It’s creative and easy, and it’s a soothing distraction. — CD

I’ve been using Pirate Ship for quite some time and I can vouch for its reliability. If you have a package or flat rate envelope you want to send by USPS or UPS, give it a try. Not only is the interface much easier to use than the USPS or UPS website, the shipping is cheaper, sometimes by a lot. — MF

Anytime you accept a free trial subscription for a smartphone app, cancel it immediately. You will still be able to use the app until the trial ends, and you won't get charged if you decide you don't like it but forget to cancel it before the trial expires. Here's how to cancel a subscription from Apple, and from Google. — MF

The new movie The Creator posits a future war between humans and AI robots, but unlike previous Hollywood science fiction, it wants you to cheer for the AIs and robots. The Creator has the most daring and innovative sci-fi cinematography since the original Blade Runner, a deep blend of real and could-be. It might set a new standard for sci-fi style. For its visual pleasure alone, I found it worth seeing it on a big screen in a theater. — KK

I’ve been using the new Readwise Reader as a repository for all my digital highlights. As an added bonus for users, there is a Weekly Wisereads newsletter that gives me the most highlighted content across the internet. That goes beyond just articles and includes the most highlighted YouTube video, Twitter thread, PDF or handpicked RSS feeds. The newsletter has also been gifting away free EPUBS by notable authors to add to your Reader. I’m an avid user of my Readwise highlighting app, so I really appreciate reading what everyone else is highlighting and reflecting on. — CD 

Residents of the US can get 4 free Covid home tests mailed to them just by signing up here at this US covid.gov site. This offer works even if you got free tests from the earlier round. — KK

In my ongoing war with mosquitoes, I've been trying different ways to relieve the itching caused by these tiny beasts' bites. The Bug Bite Thing is extremely effective, provided you use it right after noticing a mosquito bite. It's a suction tool that extracts the itch-causing mosquito saliva from your skin, providing instant relief. However, avoid using it on your face or neck unless you want a circular hickey. — MF

I love this idea of defining my own visual style. This how-to article outlines how to discover your visual foundation so that you can make timeless and meaningful design decisions. The five steps are:

1. Get personal: Connect to a favorite place or story to find inspiration for your visual style.

2. Get curious: Create a visual research board to collect images, icons, and typography that resonate with your theme.

3. Embrace frequency bias: Look for patterns and recurring elements to solidify your visual direction.

4. Check yourself: Confirm your theme is personal and relevant to you. 

5. Create a definitive visual taste palette: Compile an edge-to-edge board filled with visuals, type, color, and shapes that expresses your unique visual style.

— CD 

If you need to wash and dry clothes while traveling, here’s a drying tip from Jono Hey’s excellent Sketchplanations newsletter. First, wash your garment in the hotel sink. Then, lay it flat on a towel, roll the towel up tightly, and wring it out. After that, remove the garment and drape it over the towel rack to dry.  “With any luck,”  writes Jono, “your underwear will be wearable again in the morning. And if it's not quite there, there's often a hair dryer to help finish off.” — MF

Tipped off by a reader (bookofjoe) I’ve been trying out gourmet instant ramens. Nongshim instant noodles from Korea are noticeably better than your average instant ramen, and good enough to repeat. My favorite is the Vegan style, but they come in beef, mushroom, chili, and other flavors. The ones packaged in cups are particularly handy in a pinch. — KK

I’ve been using these Swedish DishCloths to cut back on my use of paper towels. It’s basically a really thin sponge. They’re super absorbent and can pick up the tiniest of crumbs. When dry, they’re gritty enough to scrape gunk off countertops and stoves — which is exactly what I wanted them for. — CD

When doing manual work it’s hard to get your hands clean of sticky grease, paint, glue, ink, grime – all things ordinary soap won’t remove. The best way I know of to clean super grimy hands is to squirt them with Fast Orange, and then rinse with water. This is the industrial-strength cleaner auto shops use. It cleans better, faster than anything else I’ve tried. The after smell is a pleasant orange, which is a bonus. — KK