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The Recomendo team is trying something new that might interest you. Once a week we will ask readers a simple question and then we’ll curate the best answers to share in a newsletter the following week. These questions won’t be about current events, nor will they solve any mysteries. Instead, they are about finding what’s good and true and beautiful in everyday life. There are no right answers and there is only one question.  We’ll run this as a free one-page newsletter (similar to Recomendo), and we’ll keep going as long as people enjoy it. If you want to read the best answers and see the next question, sign up for Just 1 Question here: https://just1question.substack.com/

Rewarding sports series

Sprint is a Netflix reality series following the colorful characters trying to become the world’s fastest human. The Olympics is only one meet in a parade of races all year as they face each other again and again. The really simple test of being the fastest highlights the drama and their sacrifices over years. Season 1 ends just before this summer’s Olympics. The upcoming Season 2 will focus on the tribulations through this Olympics, and its unexpected surprises. Sprint is one of the better, well-crafted sports documentary series out there, and my preferred way of “watching” sports. — KK

Carry-on spinner

Whenever an old piece of luggage breaks, I replace it with a SwissGear model. I finally abandoned my 20-year-old Briggs & Riley because the zippers were all broken and I didn’t like having to use both hands to extend the telescoping handle. I bought the latest version of the SwissGear carry-on for under $100. It’s a lightweight, 360-degree four-wheeled spinner with two front pockets, a snap-on TSA liquids bag, and a mesh zipper compartment in the interior lid. It also has handles on the side and bottom, making it easy to pull out of stowage areas. We now have 7 pieces of SwissGear – three 21-inch models and four 25-inch check-in models. — MF

Use AI as a language teacher

I’m learning European Portuguese, and I’ve asked AI to be my tutor. I use a prompt like this:

Have a simple conversation with me in European Portuguese in the Simple Present tense and correct me in English when I get anything wrong. Start by asking me about my day. If I respond with “t” repeat what you said in English.

I use Claude Sonnet 3.5, but it doesn’t seem to matter what AI you use. — MF

Robust wifi mesh

Our once wired home is now totally wireless. I recently upgraded to a mesh wifi network, with multiple wifi units around the house creating one extended network with one shared password. We went with the Eero 6 system (owned by Amazon) which Wirecutter gives the highest marks for its ease of setting up and speeds. In our kitchen we get 700 mbps. You can easily daisy chain the units ($90 each) with small overlaps to reach anywhere in a sprawling household. It’s great to never have to think about reliable and robust wifi. — KK

Stay calm without any hacks

Here is a great short list on how to stay calm without any hacks from Greg Isenberg. All of these tips are effective and simple ways to help you move out of “stuck” energy or feelings of helplessness, guiding you toward something more beneficial and useful. The advice, “if you’re scared, take a risk,” reminds me of an anonymous quote I recently came across: “The cold water doesn’t get warmer if you jump late.” — CD 

08/25/24