Yesterday’s weather / Quantify yourself science / Advice for parts work

Recomendo - issue #536

The key premise of Recomendo is that everything we have suggested weekly in the past 10 years has been a personal recommendation based on our own experiences. It is something we have seen, heard, visited, or used ourselves. For this Christmas, we’d like to deviate from that principle slightly (and temporarily) to provide you with a dozen of recommendations from our subscribers. That is you. For our brand new Annual Christmas Reader Recommendations issue we will select the best personal recommendations submitted within the next 2 weeks by October 25. To keep it sane, just one recommendation per subscriber. Keep it short and personal. Suggest a product, tool, app, place, book, documentary, podcast, follow—anything—that you genuinely love, and few know about. No self-promotion. Beyond the dozen we share in the newsletter, we will post all of the vetted submissions on our website.

Yesterday’s weather

Most weather apps don’t show you yesterday’s weather. Who cares, right? But it’s useful information if you want to know whether today will be warmer or colder than yesterday. Yesterday is a free iPhone app that shows a chart of the hour-by-hour temperatures for yesterday and today. If it’s late in the day, you can see how tomorrow’s weather will differ from today’s. It also gives you a simple one-sentence summary, like “Today will be noticeably hotter and sunnier” or “Daytime high noticeably warmer and rain unlikely.” It was created by Matt Webb, who publishes Interconnected, one of my favorite newsletters. It’s a great example of vibe coding. — MF

Quantify yourself science

Eighteen years ago Gary Wolf and I started the Quantified Self movement – the idea that you could use technology to track yourself. Gary hosted thousands of meetups where people shared what they were tracking and what they learned, and from this vast experience over decades, he finally wrote up the results of what we know about self-tracking in a new book, The Quantified Self. The book is fabulous, perceptive, useful, and illuminating. Turns out self-tracking is more about observing and having the right questions, than it is about wearable technology. Self-tracking can be a form of what Gary calls “personal science” – you are doing experiments on yourself (N=1), and the methods, criteria, protocols are different than what you would do for N=millions. I highly recommend The Quantified Self for everyone; we are all doing personal science on ourselves, and this will help you do it better. — KK

Advice for parts work

This short guide by Tricycle Day gathers practical advice from licensed psilocybin facilitators on working with the inner child, critic, protector, people-pleaser, and all the other parts that can pull us in conflicting and confusing directions. I think this advice is useful with or without psychedelics. I found it helpful to learn that our inner inhabitants don’t always speak in words: “Our parts can show up through emotions, memories, body sensations, images, or inner dialogue, offering information about what they need and what they’ve been carrying.” — CD

Stainless steel coffee filter

I often take an AeroPress coffee maker when traveling, especially if I’m staying at a hotel or Airbnb. When I arrive, the first thing I do is buy ground coffee at a local market. I’ve streamlined my setup by using this stainless steel filter instead of bringing a sack of paper filters. It does a great job filtering the coffee, and I think it tastes better than coffee pressed through paper. It’s easy to clean with a rinse under the faucet, and Altura says it will replace the filter if you lose it, break it, or even have it stolen, no questions asked. — MF

Inbox recommendations

It feels a little meta to share a newsletter’s list of other newsletters worth your time, but I’ve recommended Wonder Tools before and trust Jeremy Caplan’s curation. His list includes 17 newsletters covering useful tools, technology, AI, news, journalism, and practical wisdom. I’ve already added a few to my Feedly. Worth checking out if your inbox could use some new sources. — CD

Alternative citizenship

There are many reasons to live somewhere else, or to have the option to live somewhere else. The Nomad Capitalist is a YouTube channel that takes a market approach to the question of where you can live. It researches, compares, evaluates how much it costs to purchase a passport, or a residency card, or buy real estate around the world, and gives advice on what are the best bargains for “citizenship through investment” and so on. What is the cheapest price for a passport and what do you get? Where are taxes minimal? Many of the options he examines are not cheap, but for some, it can still be worth it. It’s good to know what your options are. — KK

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10/18/26

Book Freak #227: The Perfume of Silence

A nonduality teacher’s dialogues on finding the freedom that is always already here

Get The Perfume of Silence

The Perfume of Silence is a collection of dialogues between nonduality teacher Francis Lucille and his students that points directly to the consciousness underlying all experience and shows how recognizing it dissolves psychological suffering.

Core Principles

You Are Not the Body-Mind

Are you your thoughts, sensations, and perceptions? Or are you the awareness in which they appear? Lucille says we are the open, borderless consciousness that witnesses these changes.

“We have always been this consciousness, this presence.”

Welcoming Whatever Arises

Instead of fighting unwanted thoughts or chasing pleasant states, Lucille recommends welcoming whatever arises, including fear, boredom, and restlessness.

“We should be present to the totality of whatever arises in consciousness, instead of focusing on something that we want to get rid of.”

Happiness Is Your Nature, Not a Goal

We spend our lives pursuing happiness as though it were something external to acquire. Lucille says it’s always present when we stop covering it with mental agitation.

“Know that your happiness is not in the next situation, in the next object, but that the next situation or object is simply a celebration of this happiness that we already are.”

The Ordinary Is Sacred

Awakening shows up in the most ordinary moments, like drinking tea, walking, or listening to a friend.

“Just stick to the ordinary circumstances without labeling them ordinary. Be open to them with no desire to change them in any way.”

Try It Now

1. Close your eyes and notice whatever appears — sounds, sensations, thoughts. Ask yourself: “What is aware of all this?” Then rest your attention on awareness itself, the open space in which everything appears.
2. The next time you feel an uncomfortable emotion — irritation, anxiety, boredom — instead of reacting or analyzing, say to yourself, “You are welcome here.” Notice what happens to the emotion when you stop resisting it.
3. Choose a mundane activity you do every day without paying much attention—making coffee, washing dishes, walking to your car. Do it with full attention. Notice whether the activity, stripped of the label “ordinary,” reveals a quiet aliveness you might otherwise ignore.

Quote

“There is no freedom at the level of the body-mind. There is absolute freedom at the level of consciousness.”

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Book Freak is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run Recomendo, the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Recomendo Deals, Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper, and Book Freak.

10/16/26

Free eSIM Data/A to B Options/Uzbekistan Travel Prices

Nomadico issue #228

Free eSIM Data From Visa

If you have a Visa card of some kind, you can get some free eSIM data from GigSky on your phone when traveling abroad. I can vouch that the promotion is for real because I just used it myself in Malaysia. My data is about to run out, but I can re-up with a different Visa card or purchase a plan at a hefty discount. Benefits run from 3 days to 15, with different amounts of data depending on how “premium” your credit card is. See the details here.

Getting From A to B

There are a lot of tools and websites out there telling you how to get from one location to another, but the one I’ve had the best results from for years is Rome2Rio. While others seem to have blind spots—mostly what they’re not selling themselves—Rome2Rio shows everything. Then it refers you to parent company Omio or directly to the booking platform if it’s proprietary, like some government-owned train systems. I’ve seldom run into a situation where I can’t see every overland option in one place, plus an idea of flight choices as well.

Nomadico is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Upgrade to paid

American Airlines Offering Cash + Miles

If you don’t have enough frequent flier miles for a ticket, American is now joining the other major legacy carriers in offering a way to pay for a flight—domestic only for now—with a combination of cash and points. This is “rolling out” now so we don’t have the actual formula, but going by this article, it will probably equate to a penny a mile or less. Not a great use of your points if they can get you a full ticket later, but getting a discount is better than just letting them sit there forever, deteriorating in value.

Prices for Travelers in Uzbekistan

As I mentioned a few issues ago, I traveled through Uzbekistan with G Adventures and the price for the tour I took comes out to $140 to $185 per day double occupancy depending on the time of year and demand. I took note of prices everywhere we went, however, for my blog readers who may want to travel around there independently. This country needs to go in my World’s Cheapest Destinations book when I eventually get around to putting out a sixth edition because it’s a terrific value. See the full rundown on lodging, food, transportation, and more here: Uzbekistan Travel Prices and Tips.

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A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

10/15/26

What’s in my NOW? — Moses Masenoi

issue #274

I am a Kenyan Maasai registered nurse, entrepreneur and livestock enthusiast running my own clinic in the village while building businesses around healthcare and farming. I’m rooted in Maasai culture, and passionate about community development, learning from different cultures, and creating opportunities for myself and others.

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PHYSICAL

• A Young Ram: Livestock has become both a passion and an investment for me. I enjoy raising sheep and goats and watching small beginnings turn into something valuable.
• Maasai Shuka: My Maasai shuka represents my heritage and reminds me of the importance of preserving and sharing culture.
• My Stethoscope: My stethoscope represents my journey in nursing and my work providing healthcare in my own community.

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DIGITAL

• Fiverr app: Fiverr showed me that opportunities aren’t limited by geography. During university, I used it to earn money to sustain my studies.
• Spotify: Music has become one of my favorite ways to discover cultures beyond my own, especially African and international artists.

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INVISIBLE

Big things rarely start big.

I’m learning to appreciate small steps, whether it’s a young animal, a small business, education, or a new relationship because consistency can turn them into something much bigger.

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10/14/26

The Bar Book / The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip

Issue No. 139

THE BAR BOOK GIVES YOU A 360-DEGREE EDUCATION IN BARCRAFT

The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique
by Jeffrey Morgenthaler (author) and Alanna Hale (photographer)
Chronicle Books
2014, 288 pages, 7 x 9.5 x 1 inches

Buy on Amazon

As someone who spent many misguided years of my youth drinking poorly-eyeballed gin and tonics out of coffee mugs, I never really understood: How exactly can you make cocktails “well” or “poorly”? Isn’t it a simple matter of ratios – of pouring the right amount of the right things into a glass, chucking in an ice cube or two and calling it a day? Where is the mysterious opportunity in that simple process to either mess it up or do it exceptionally well? Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s The Bar Book is a masterclass on that very subject.

The Bar Book is not a recipe book. Instead, it is a techniques book. Morgenthaler elevates making cocktails into a craft, focusing on finding the right recipe, using the best ingredients, and executing it all using effective techniques. While the author does include expertly curated recipes for some must-know cocktails, instead of focusing on what to mix (which can always be found with a quick Google of “how to make a Cosmopolitan”), it focuses on how, why, and when to mix it. He gives you a 360-degree education in barcraft, from what shapes cocktail shakers come in and what the differences mean to why the shape and size of your ice is important and how to make it so that it comes out of the tray clear and beautiful. He’s a big proponent of making things like mixers, garnishes and even liqueurs from scratch, so the book offers up recipes for making things like flavored syrups, infusions, and even tonic water. Even if you’re not the type who relishes taking the time to create something you can easily buy from a store, seeing and understanding the DIY processes behind these ingredients is fascinating and demystifying.

The book is peppered with stories, some steeped in niche-y barcraft history and delightful tradition, some from Morgenthaler’s own bartending days. Striking, minimalist photography guides you from the easiest recipes to the most hardcore. A perfect blend of science, theory, philosophy, history, and personality, The Bar Book is a must-read material for anyone who wants a deeper look at what exactly it means to be a good bartender. – Michelle Kaatz

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THE VERY PERSISTENT GAPPERS OF FRIP – CREEPY MULTI-EYED CREATURES TORMENT A VILLAGE

The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip
by George Saunders (author) and Lane Smith (illustrator)
Random House
2015, 96 pages, 5.8 x 9.6 x 0.5 inches

Buy on Amazon

Gappers are creepy little orange, multi-eyed, round creatures that love nothing more than to hang out on or near goats, shrieking all the while. As you might imagine, this is very stressful to the goats. They stop eating; they stop giving milk. If your family gets its livelihood from that milk, you’re in bad shape when the gappers are around. They emerge from the ocean, find the goats, and wreak their shrieking havoc.

The village of Frip is made up of three ocean-side shacks. The girl Capable and her widowed father live in one. Mrs. Romo and her sons live in the second. Sid and Carol Ronson and their daughters (who “sometimes stood completely motionless in order to look somewhat pretty”) lived in the third. In Frip, the children must check on the goats eight times per day in order to remove the gappers and return them to the sea (from which they will reemerge again and again).

The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip is a fable about the perils of putting oneself before the community and the ultimate merits of sharing amongst a community. The gappers have bothered the three families’ goats equally for ages, until one of the smarter gappers realizes that Capable’s goats are slightly closer than the others. Once the gappers converge, Capable is unable to keep them away. She asks for help, but she is refused:

“We feel strongly that, once you rid your goats of gappers, as we have, you will feel better about yourself, and also, we will feel better about you. Not that we’re saying we’re better than you, necessarily, it’s just that, since gappers are bad, and since you alone now have them, it only stands to reason that you are not, perhaps, quite as good as us.”

Capable is, in fact, quite capable – she takes care of those around her and solves problems for herself. The illustrations are lush and whimsical. The book is a lovely parable for children, but the tale and visuals are engaging for readers of any age. – Meagan Rodgers

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Books That Belong On Paper first appeared on the web as Wink Books and was edited by Carla Sinclair. Sign up here to get the issues a week early in your inbox.

10/13/26

Straps

Tools for Possibilities: issue no. 211

Quick strong tie downs

NRS Heavy Duty Cam Straps

These straps are incredibly strong. The tensile strength of these 1.5 inchers is 2000 pounds. With their cam locks these NRS straps are easily and infinitely adjustable and can be cinched down very tight. They have almost no flex/stretch and can be used in situations where a bungee would be too weak or stretchy and would not be “bomb-proof” like a cam strap.

If you are a river runner you are already familiar with these straps. They hold your boat, frame and oars on your truck for the drive to the put-in. You then use them to hold the frame to the boat, your bags, spare oar and rocket boxes to the frame. The originals are 1″ wide and come in sizes from 1 foot up to 20 feet. As a commercial boatman I used these for everything from bundling firewood collected for that nights campfire to pulling a truck out of a ditch.

NRS has come out with a 1.5″ model that is the perfect width. I have even been using one for several months as a belt. In a pinch it can be used (at the risk of my shorts heading south) to strap/bind/tow just about anything. I keep two of the twenty footers in my truck at all times. These straps are a permanent part of my kit, right next to the duct tape, bailing wire and channel locks. — Topher Stephenson

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Strap supplier

Strapworks.com

You can see all the different strap types and strap hardware (buckles, tie downs, keepers, clips, etc.) in use on all sorts of stuff swirling around us in daily life. But if you want to get some for your own projects?

Strapworks.com has pretty much all of it. Metal or plastic hardware. All sorts of strap and webbing material.

Inexpensive, easy to work with. Helped me a few times, and I know I will continue to use them when the need arises. — Wayne Ruffner

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Extra Large Rubber Bands

Rubber Bands

I have been buying one pound packs of rubber bands from LFSMarine for over five years now (along with their cheap and tough nitrile gloves and barge glue). My first buy was an impulse one. I thought, “It’s hard to find this size rubber band (3/4″ x 6″) and, besides, I wanted to make some slingshots so…” I got a one pound bag. When you get them, you realize a pound of these is a lot of banding material. With that abundance, you don’t stint their use.

I love them for binding together papers and books (I teach so I always have a few in my desk.) I have used them to hold wood in place for gluing. I use them along with barge glue and duct tape to splice materials together in the garden. And I use them for sling shots., too. In fact they are always in mind and on hand for any kind of kludge. I usually buy a couple of pounds of them at a time for less than ten bucks.

It’s fun to give them as gifts just for the odd looks you get now and the thank-yous you continue to get as they too discover that these bands are handier than a pocket on a shirt. Perfect for the maker/tinkerer in you and yours. — Terry Elliott

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Gigantic twist ties

Griptwist

I picked up four of these at my local container store, not knowing exactly how I’d use them, but guessing they’d come in handy. Within 48 hours I’d already used them twice-once to secure the barrel of my telescope to its collapsed tripod for easy transport to a remote location, and then to stabilize a table and chairs in the back of my car for a trip across town-both times with great success. These giant, rubberized “twist-ties” were much more efficient and easier to use than a bungee cord in both cases.

Griptwist offer several advantages over bungees in particular. First, they provide “point-to-point” stability, rather than “tie-down” or “net-like” attachment. For example, when moving dining room furniture in the back of my car, I was able to use four Griptwists to connect the legs of chairs to each other, etc., at critical points, so that the entire mass (i.e., of one table and four chairs) was stabilized from within, rather than essentially trying to “net” or “wrap” the mass together from the outside, with bungee cords. Second, with bungee cords, there’s always a certain amount of “give,” unless you stretch them to their maximum, which isn’t always practical; bungeed objects will often move a bit more than you want them to. Third, if you do stretch bungee cords to their maximum, they exert great pressure on the object being contained. I wouldn’t have wanted to use bungees around the barrel of my telescope, for example. The Griptwists remain as tight (but only as tight) as you tie them, with no inherent potential energy to give or take along their own length like elastic bands. This brings to mind a fourth benefit: no danger of “snapback” when it’s time to unload or unpack.

Some things will always have to be netted down, and sometimes the stretchiness of bungees provides a benefit in and of itself (like the ability to squeeze one more last-minute object under the cords, without having to repack). Moreover, from the outside to the extent they lack handy points where a Griptwist could be employed (e.g., a couch, a canoe, a stack of luggage or boxes). But for temporarily affixing one object to another in a point-to-point fashion, with stability, I see more everyday utility in the Griptwist. — Adam Zaner

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Parcel bands

Four Way Rubberbands

These hefty four-way rubber bands are so much more useful that a plain old rubber band. Also they can be used decoratively on a simple brown-paper-wrapped gift. Or as a solid tie for bundles of magazines or newspapers. — Kaz Brecher

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Once a week we’ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, and the links to them may or may not work. We present these vintage recommendations as is because the possibilities they inspire are new. Sign up here to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.

10/12/26

What’s in my NOW? — Moses Masenoi