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Make ambient music by typing
Go to Typatone, tap out a few characters on your keyboard, then click the on-screen button with the musical note. It will play an original piece of music. Each time you click the button, it plays a different style of music. This could be useful for podcasts or videos. — MF

How to quiet your mind chatter
Here is a case for talking to yourself more often. Ethan Kross, experimental psychologist and neuroscientist, suggests that a key strategy for controlling negative thought loops and ruminating is “distanced self-talk” — talking to youself as if you were another person. This involves calling yourself by name and using non-first pronouns like “you”. This interview on Nauti.lus goes further into the technique. I like to talk to myself out loud while I’m driving alone. It’s a sacred time when I get to ask myself questions, spew out my fragmented thinking and work problems out. I feel confident and safe doing this in the car, because no one can hear me and if anyone sees me they’ll just assume I’m on the phone. — CD

My golden oldie products
This year I focused my Cool Tools Holiday Gift list on golden oldie products that I still use. Stuff that I have recommended in the past and still love and use now. But none of these seven are really gift items, so ignore the title. These are just proven good stuff I recommend. — KK

Far out followable
My favorite out-of-this-world twitter account to follow is the Curiosity Rover @MarsCuriosity. It keeps me up to date on Rover’s findings and images, like this picture postcard posted recently. It’s a dose of awe in my timeline. The most recent raw images of Mars can be found here: https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw-images/ — CD

Analog planner
I’m a die-hard Google Calendar user, but my wife swears by Lett’s Classic Weekly/Monthly Planner. It’s about the size of a smartphone and each two-page spread displays seven days of the week plus a small monthly calendar for reference. She keeps it in her purse (along with a pencil). — MF

Self-healing car tires
We have a small all-electric car (Chevy Bolt) that does not carry a spare tire. Instead it is outfitted with Michelin Selfseal Tires. I was a little dubious these would work, but recently I had a tire puncture from a large screw in the tread, and the system worked well. The self-healing goo inside the tire kept the air in despite the puncture. But the screw was too big to remain. So in my garage at home, I pulled the screw out with pliers, which initially let some air out. Overnight the tire half-deflated. Next day I pumped it up again, let it sit for a few hours and it was as good as new. No issues. While this won’t work for gashes or huge punctures, I’d certainly consider Selfsealing tires for my next car. — KK

-- Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Dawson 12/5/21