{"id":40626,"date":"2022-12-21T04:19:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-21T11:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=40626"},"modified":"2022-12-27T11:51:20","modified_gmt":"2022-12-27T18:51:20","slug":"whats-in-my-now-matt-nichols","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/whats-in-my-now-matt-nichols\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s in my NOW? \u2014 Matt Nichols"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sign up here<\/em><\/a> to get What\u2019s in my NOW? a week early in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Matt Nichols<\/strong> is a transportation planner who has worked in shared mobility, equity, and climate planning in the San Francisco Bay Area to improve cities for people with disabilities, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users. Matt spends the rest of his time volunteering for the Bay Area Childcare Collective and making drawings, songs, and jokes. Most conversations will include personalized graphic novel recommendations at no extra charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PHYSICAL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLC Ultraflex Kneepads<\/strong><\/a>
A couple of us helped a friend with some grunt work at his coffee roastery. As thanks, he bought us all these CLC Ultraflex Kneepads. I\u2019ve tried those foam and elastic \u201cvolleyball\u201d-style pads, but they just don\u2019t work well for gardening or carpentry. These, I can wear these all day. I really do kneel and crawl around the veggie patch in comfort now. Total game-changer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moment Lens<\/strong><\/a>
I love photography on my iPhone 12, but I love it even more with my Moment 58mm Telephoto Lens. It does require a special phone case, and it can be a little awkward to keep it at the ready on hikes. But the lens quality feels really good, and the extra zoom pays off repeatedly in my casual birdwatching and amateur photography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rock Against Racism T-Shirt<\/strong><\/a>
The amazing 2019 documentary \u201cWhite Riot\u201d sent me searching for this retro design – and the folks at the U.K.-based T-shirt store, Red Molotov, came through. They have a ton (tonne?) of British references that I don\u2019t understand, but this one, in the original pink and green, is fun, powerful and (sadly) timeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DIGITAL<\/strong>

Reddit\u2019s r\/Contagious Laughter<\/strong><\/a>
People busting up. Simple premise that reliably delivers high-quality joy bombs. Besides the obvious pleasure, I just love dropping in on such a wild diversity of people\u2019s lives at their funniest. People play internet challenges I\u2019ve never heard of, try (and fail) to keep a straight face, snort accidentally, or listen to their daft granny tell a naughty joke, etc. You just never know. Medical-grade mood booster stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Christgau\u2019s Music Reviews<\/strong><\/a>
He\u2019s old and white, he writes some really convoluted sentences. And no one reads music reviews or buys music anymore. But here\u2019s the thing: this old guy\u2019s one-paragraph reviews (with letter grades) are a laser-guided guide to great music. If algorithmic music is enough for you, that\u2019s cool. But if you want dense writing that\u2019ll lead you to the top shelf stuff, here\u2019s your favorite professor. Rock, pop, African music, African-American music, rap, Americana\/country and more. I subscribe to his Substack, but you can find recent reviews on his website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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INVISIBLE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n