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Art glove for tablet drawing
This $9 artist glove is designed to be worn on either hand and prevents smudging while drawing on your tablet (I use an iPad). It comes in one stretchy size. I have a small hand and it’s a little loose, but it never slips off and it saves me the frustration of accidentally smudging or clicking something. — CD

Geography quiz game
I thoroughly enjoy playing this geographical guessing game “City Guesser” — probably because I am good at it. To play online you are shown a first-person view of walking through a city and you have to guess what city in the world you are in. You get points depending on how close you are and how fast you recognize the place. You can play against yourself, or other players, and you can narrow the scope. I’m great in Asia and no good in Africa. The game also works as a virtual vacation because inhabiting someone else’s walk is weirdly comforting. There is a related game, “GeoGuessr”, that plops you into a random place on Google Street View, usually not in the city. Here you can look around in all directions on your own “walk” and control your speed and path. (The free version requires signup.) Some people take this challenge very seriously and there are YouTube channels that follow some of the master navigators, like the champ GeoWizard. The lightning speed of his detective work is unbelievable, and as entertaining as magic. — KK

Culinary curiosities from around the world
Gastro Obscura is an Instagram account with photos and descriptions on unusual foods from around the world. You’ll find Japanese cream puffs that look like kittens, fruit that looks like an exploding planet, fruit that tastes like chocolate pudding, and lots more. It gave me a greater appreciation for just how diverse the world’s culinary options can be. — MF

Helpful relationship advice
If you would like to do something considerate for your partner pay attention to what they put off doing, according to this r/LifeProTips post, “LPT: Do the thing your partner procrastinates doing…” My husband and I are in the habit of asking each other “Is there anything I can do for you today?” But we both usually reply with “No” or “Nothing.” This week he surprised me by retouching the paint in my home office and it inspired me to do something in return. I noticed he hadn’t gotten around to ordering his mother flowers for Sunday, so I went ahead and checked it off his list! — CD

Pumping car tires
In a pinch you can use a bicycle pump to inflate the tires of a car. Both use the same valve. Most automobile tires are lower pressure than a bicycle, but they have far more volume, which requires more pumps. You don’t want to use a bike pump for a flat car tire, but it’s a quick way to top off a tire if the pressure is a little low. I keep my favorite Topeak Joe Blow bike pump in the garage for just this purpose. (Since we have an electric car we never go to the gas station.) — KK

Keto sweetener
I avoid sugar if I can help it, but I like to bake cookies and make ice cream. I’ve been using a product from Lakanto that contains erythritol and monk fruit extract. Monk fruit is a fruit indigenous to China (where it’s known as luo han guo) and is similar in appearance to an apple. It’s been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries, but it’s only recently become popular in the U.S. as a sweetener. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol that’s been used in Japan for decades as a sweetener. Unlike other sugar alcohols, it doesn’t cause stomach upset and it doesn’t affect blood sugar. Lakanto looks just like white sugar and can be used 1:1 in place of sugar in recipes. Unlike other non-sugar sweeteners like stevia, there’s no bitter aftertaste. — MF

-- Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Dawson 05/16/21