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Social media manipulation explained
This well-done 3-part YouTube series by SmarterEveryDay will make you smarter about how/why social media algorithms are exploited, and why it is so difficult to remedy, and why this will be an on-going arms race. — KK

Aluminum mousepad
Those neoprene mousepads make my skin crawl for some reason. I found this one, which is made from aluminum, and it’s a joy to use with my optical mouse. I even like the sound my mouse makes as I run it over the lightly textured surface. — MF

Cool down phrases
This Gottman Institute blog post has some examples of phrases to help de-escalate arguments with your partner. I wish it wasn’t so hard to say “I’m sorry” when I’m in the wrong, but these workarounds help steer heated conversations back on track. — CD

Sturdiest big umbrella
We’ve had one of the rainiest winters in memory. I normally carry a compact foldup umbrella in my bag, but when I head out from my house in the rain, I grab the Blunt near the door. This full-length umbrella is built like a tank. It is super sturdy, larger than a solo umbrella but not as big as a golf umbrella. There are no pointy corners (they are blunt, hey), and high winds won’t faze it a bit despite its large sized canopy. It would take an actual hurricane to invert it. You’ll lose it before it wears out. It’s expensive, but worth it. — KK

Better neck pillow
I just got back from an overseas trip and this ergonomic Trtl pillow helped me sleep through most of my long flights. It’s super soft and supports my head better than traditional neck pillows. The best part of course is that it takes up virtually no space when packing. — CD

High quality computer transcripts
I’ve been using Rev.com for transcripts of audio conversations. It’s $1 a minute. But I recently tried Trint.com, which uses software instead of humans to turn recordings into text, and it was as good as Rev.com. It’s 25 cents a minute. Worth a try! — MF

-- Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Dawson 04/14/19