Recomendo

Breathwrk/Unlocking battery brands/Google browser timer

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Recomendo: issue no. 186

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Free guided breathing
This free iOS app called Breathwrk makes it incredibly easy to start a consistent habit of daily breath exercises. I schedule to practice different methods of breathing for different times of the day. Like “Awake” to get energized at 7AM, and “Unwind” to reduce stress at 5PM. This is one of the few apps from which I enjoy receiving reminder notifications. What I appreciate the most about this app is that there are different sounds played for the duration of breathing in and exhaling, and this lets me just close my eyes and focus on breathing. — CD

Unlocking battery brands
Because the batteries of cordless power tools cost almost as much as the tools themselves, I, like everyone else, tended to lock into one tool brand to make the most of shared batteries. But new inexpensive adapters allow me to use my existing set of batteries for any brand of tool. I can now get the best bargain tool no matter the brand of battery. This guy (Sixtyfiveford) on YouTube has compiled a fantastic list of cordless battery adapters for any of the 60 different possible tool/battery brand combinations. Check his shownotes for the purchase links. — KK

Timer in your browser
In your browser search bar, enter “five minute timer” (or whatever time you need) and Google will display a timer that beeps when it runs out. — MF

Easier to find
If you are looking for something in your house, and you finally find it, when you’re done with it, don’t put it back where you found it. Put it back where you first looked for it. — KK

List of sustainable companies
Takecare.io is a curated list of sustainable alternatives for consumer goods and other innovative companies. It’s a crowdsourced list, so it’s growing all the time. Scroll through and check it out. — CD

Peanut butter mixer
I recently opened a jar of natural peanut butter in which the oil and solids had separated so much that I couldn’t mix it with a spoon. I had to use a drill and a stirrer I made from a bent metal barbecue skewer to mix the peanut butter. (I posted a photo to Twitter. It was messy and the skewer bent, so I went to Amazon to look for a better solution. I found it: the EZPB Natural Nut Butter Stirrer. It’s a zig-zag metal rod that fits most jars and requires patience, but will get the job done far better than a spoon and without splashing peanut oil. Watch the video on the Amazon product page to see how well it works. — MF

-- Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Dawson 02/16/20

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