Book I enjoyed
I zipped through Nick Bilton’s crime thriller about the rise and fall of Dread Pirate Roberts, founder of the Silk Road dark website, where anyone could buy drugs or weapons anonymously. It’s a real life Breaking Bad story of a likeable dreamer who invents his own idealistic libertarian world, but then with good intentions slowly succumbs to his absolute unregulated power; he hires hitmen to kill an employee he believes embezzled him. His artful take-down in a public library was a satisfying climax. American Kingpin is a fast book, economically told, with just the right amount of technical detail about the dark web, bitcoin, and anonymous servers. — KK

How much does it cost to keep your laptop on?
This post from Small Notebook shows you how to calculate the cost of running an electrical appliance. It turns out leaving a laptop running for a year costs over $200! — MF [Commenters have pointed out that this formula is wrong. — MF]

Weighted blanket alternative
If you’ve ever had a panic attack or prone to anxiety, a weighted blanket can be helpful but pretty pricey. A free alternative if you’re ever in need is to take a shower with a towel wrapped around you. The towel will be made heavy by the water and the calming effect is that it feels like a warm hug. — CD

Pretty framing
Framebridge has the best looking selection of affordable frames that I have seen online. I ordered a digital print framed in gold bamboo, because I wanted to break up all the wooden frames we have hanging and it looks fantastic! The print quality was great and it was delivered within 7 days. — CD

Brush pens
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens come in a 2-pack for less than $5. They look like pens, but instead of a nib they have a brush, which allows you to draw lines of varying widths. They’re a lot of fun to use. — MF

Quotes I’m pondering
To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time. — Leonard Bernstein
No, no, you’re not thinking; you’re just being logical. — Niels Bohr
Seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees. — Paul Valery
Life is full of obstacle illusions. — Grant Frazier
If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late. — Reid Hoffman
Babies are such a nice way to start people. — Don Herold
— KK

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-- Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder and Claudia Dawson 11/26/17