Fabulous electric car
I really love my all-electric Chevy Bolt which gets 240 miles from an overnight charge in our garage. Its immense power and acceleration is intoxicating. Unexpected bonus: silence inside. Also the car is basically an iPhone accessory. There a few downsides: it has a boring generic style and the 4-door, 5-passenger hatchback has only a tiny trunk. Otherwise, functionally I get 95% of a Tesla at about half the price. — KK

Bitcoin for the Befuddled
I’ve taken a deep dive into Bitcoin and blockchains for the last couple of years and have read about a dozen books on the subject. Bitcoin for the Befuddled is the book I recommend to anyone who asks me where to start. It does a great job of explaining how Bitcoin works, going into detail without being overly complex. — MF

Watch this guy put things back together
My sister texted me and told me to watch the YouTube series called The Reassembler. I was 7 minutes into an episode when I texted her back: “This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen on YouTube.” I don’t even think I was exaggerating. Each episode starts off with host James May in a workshop, standing over components of something that has been taken apart (like a lawnmower, an electric guitar, or a model train set). He then puts it back together, narrating as he does so. As he says in the introduction, “it is only when these objects are laid out in hundreds of bits and then slowly reassembled that you can truly understand and appreciate how they work and just how ingenious they are.” — MF

Space-saving microwave covers
I prefer these flat microwave covers ($7) to the larger lid-type ones. They block splatters just as effectively, but take up less space and are easier to wash. — CD

Beautiful star-gazing app
Last week my friend texted to tell me that 4 planets were visible and I should go outside to check them out. I was only able to see 3, but I found them quickly with the beautifully designed SkyView app ($1.99, also on Android). I just held my phone up to the sky and SkyView pinpointed where they were precisely. For the occasional stargazer this app is more than enough. — CD

Four legs
Hiking poles give me two extra legs. They are most useful going downhill, over uneven or wet terrain. I bring them wherever I hike, especially when I travel, because I use a collapsible set from Black Diamond that folds up to less than 14 inches (36 cm). That not only fits in carry-on luggage, it will also hide away in a day pack, so I can take them out only when needed. The $75 Distance Z-Poles are lightweight aluminum, unfold in a second, and are very rigid. You can get featherweight carbon fiber if you want to pay more. — KK

 

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09/9/18