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Tip to keep your home address off the internet
This tip comes from my friend Cory Doctorow, my co-editor at Boing Boing. Last year he posted a tip on how to keep your name and address off the internet. I’ve been using his tip and it works. He wrote, “There are dozens of free “peoplefinder” sites that buy up commercial databases and combine them with other sources to make your home address searchable. You can find instances where this has happened to you by googling your name and home address, and then you can google the removal forms for each of the services and get yourself delisted. But your name will keep getting re-added: if you set a Google Alert for a search on your name and address, you’ll get a message every time you get caught in these databases and you can remove your name again. This won’t work on the for-pay background check sites that Google doesn’t index, but it will keep your name and address clear of low-level scumbags who stick with free sites for their doxing activities.” — MF

The best writing on the internet
The Browser is by far the best guide to great writing on the internet. It’s a newsletter that recommends 4 or 5 great pieces a day — both new ones, or those years old — that are worth your time (and it indicates the piece’s length). Although there is a paid daily version, the free weekly version is a good place to start. I find this newsletter dangerous because the wide variety of subjects is intoxicating and every single article is superb. It’s the most potent distraction in my life, but I don’t regret a minute of it. — KK

Water bottle sling
For walks and short hikes, I’ve been forgoing my daypack for this ChicoBag’s water bottle sling. It’s convenient and comfortable to wear and it even has a large pocket for my phone and keys. Like most ChicoBags it folds up and takes up no space, so I just carry it on me at all times. — CD

Better butter
One of the disadvantages of never having TV is that I miss ads for things everyone else may already know about. For instance I recently discovered spreadable butter. This is real butter that has been blended with a small amount of oil (olive or canola, your choice) to keep it super easy to spread straight out of the fridge. Comes in many styles at any supermarket; Land O’Lakes Spreadable Butter is a national brand. It’s the best thing since sliced bread. — KK

Q&A site for all your English questions
When I can’t find the right word or phrasing using Power Thesaurus or Ludwig, I’m on the English StackExchange searching for answers or posting questions. You can ask anything relating to grammar or usage or word choice and English experts will start responding right away. You can also check the “reputation” of any user who responds to confirm they know what they’re talking about. — CD

Heavy duty paper towels
These Scott Shop blue towels may look like ordinary paper towels but are much thicker, absorbent, and durable. When one of our cats decides to barf on the floor (which is often) I reach for these towels, knowing my hand will stay dry when I clean up the mess. — MF

-- Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Dawson 08/25/19