Recomendo

Readables/Hopper/Amazon Kickstarted projects

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Recomendo: issue no. 8

Readables:
Books related to my new book The Inevitable that I have found useful:
Magic and Loss by Virginia Heffernan: Treats the digital world as a great work of art. The Master Algorithm by Pedro Domingos: Best book to date on artificial intelligence. Machines of Loving Grace by John Markoff: Best book to date on robots. Superforecasting by Philip Tetlock: Why predicting is hard and how to get better at it. Pogue’s Basics by David Pogue: Extremely practical tips for techno-literacy. — KK

Follow:
I’m a big Welcome to Night Vale fan, a community news podcast about a fictional town plagued by paranormal and spooky events. Besides listening to the podcast, I prioritized my Facebook feed to see their absurd status updates first. They always make me smile. Example: “Scientists discover a new species of spider on the back of your shirt. ‘Oh wow. It’s crazy big. Good luck,’ their press release reads.” — CL

Edible:
When it comes to airplane food, I agree with Anthony Bourdain: it’s better to go hungry. But I don’t like going hungry so I pack snacks with me. One of my favorites is the Graze Bar. It’s a tasty, chewy stick of grass fed beef containing no sugar, gluten, or MSG. — MF

Travel tip:
Hopper is a smartphone app that predicts when airfare to a desired destination will be the cheapest. I’ve set up an alert for Chiang Mai, Thailand. About once a month Hopper sends me a message with the best price it can find, telling me to “wait” or “buy.” The price recently dropped from the $900s to the $500s and Hopper said “buy.” — MF

Stuff:
We bought this heated Shiatsu Massager more than a year ago, and it has definitely been put to good use. We keep it plugged in right next to the couch and use it every night. The arm handles allows you to adjust and place the massage nodes directly on hard to reach muscles. — CL

Things:
Amazon now has a section where they sell originally Kickstarted projects. Bottom up retailing. — KK

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-- Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Lamar 09/18/16

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