Recomendo

Negotiation Academy/The Expanse/Jewelry cleaning hacks

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Recomendo: issue no. 29

Skill Builder:
Two Slate journalists attended a class on negotiation skills at Columbia Business School and created a 10-episode podcast called Negotiation Academy. After listening to the series, I feel like I can negotiate a better deal for myself from now on. — MF

Watchable:
The best science fiction series now going is The Expanse. It’s set in a plausible 200-year ahead horizon, a period where Earth, Mars, and asteroid Belters are in conflict. The everyday details of life in 2200 are well defined and worn convincingly; the characters nuanced and realistic, with no glaring villains. The science is sound, the production values high, and the plot is a detective thriller. The first season of 10 episodes is free on Amazon prime. The second season begins on Syfy channel any day now. — KK

Jewelry Hack:
I once overheard a Tiffany’s salesman whispering to his customers that the store used only Windex to keep their diamonds shiny, and since then that’s all I use. HuffPost has a great article on other jewelry cleaning hacks. I have yet to try ketchup on silver, but it’s definitely on my list. — CD

Travel:
You aren’t allowed to bring a bottle of water past airport security, and the bottled water sold at airport convenience stores are expensive. But many airports now have filtered water dispensers. I keep a collapsible water bottle in my travel bag. It rolls up to a tiny size and weighs nothing. Free water, what a concept! — MF

Shopping Tool:
ReviewMeta.com has helped me avoid a few bad purchases on Amazon. It analyzes the product page, adjusts the rating, and reports back on possible unnatural reviews based on unverified and incentivized purchases, word phrase repetition and more. — CD

Tool Tip:
Don’t throw away a can of spray paint when the nozzle is not working. If there is still paint inside you can easily swap the nozzle with another one from another can of paint that is working. Just pull it off and swap. Clean it when you are done by turning the can upside down and spraying till it is clear. Then you can return the nozzle to the original can if you want. To get really geeky, order extra nozzles online. — KK

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-- Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Dawson 02/12/17

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