{"id":45365,"date":"2026-01-04T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=45365"},"modified":"2025-12-29T12:39:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T19:39:19","slug":"kk-flat-phone-grip-is-it-a-cult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/kk-flat-phone-grip-is-it-a-cult\/","title":{"rendered":"KK \/ Flat phone grip \/ Is it a cult?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Trendy newsletter<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I, too, now have a Substack newsletter where I post a short essay once a week. It\u2019s my \u201cworks in progress\u201d on technology, culture, travel, art, and even spiritual stuff. Some of my essays are brand new, and some are older pieces cross-posted from my Technium blog. Instead of having to visit the blog, I send it to you in an email (that is Substack). My pieces are low-stakes, cold takes \u2013 I am not in a hurry. I aim to pay attention to long-term trends. Comments are active and I try to respond to sincere comments. Sign up at KK<\/a> on Substack. It\u2019s free (although I have some paid subscribers, thank you!). \u2014 KK<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flat phone grip<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My wife replaced her PopSocket phone grip to the new Snap Grip 5 ($40)<\/a>. It\u2019s just 3mm thick, with a profile that prevents it snagging on pockets like bulkier grips. It has a powerful magnet that snaps to MagSafe phones. You can use it as a one or two-finger grip, flip it into a sturdy kickstand, or stick your phone to any metal surface (fridge, gym equipment, car door). Works with iPhones and includes an adapter for Android phones. \u2014 MF<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it a cult? Assessment Tool<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My mother is a seeker, so I grew up baptized multiple times and in and out of various churches. As an adult, I\u2019ve had to rebuild my relationship with both spirituality and community, and I tend to assume every organized group with a shared mission is a cult until proven otherwise. That\u2019s why I really appreciate this carefully constructed \u201cIs It a Cult?\u201d tool by ClearerThinking<\/a>. The assessment looks at things like unusualness, conformity, isolation, control of information, ethics, and sacrifice, reflecting the nuanced criteria behind their Cult Assessment tool. ClearerThinking\u2019s programs and assessments are grounded in empirical data and are balanced in perspective, and this particular questionnaire understands that being a cult is not binary\u2014it\u2019s a set of traits, each of which lies on a continuum. \u2014 CD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air Fryer Convert<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I was skeptical about air fryers until I tried the Ninja Crispi<\/a>. It comes with three glass containers so you can see your food cooking, and they\u2019re non-toxic (no Teflon coatings). I\u2019ve made sweet potatoes that came out caramelized on the outside and soft inside. It\u2019s perfect for crisping frozen samosas and pupusas in minutes. My mother baked a whole chicken in it beautifully. The containers go from freezer to cooking to table to dishwasher. \u2014 MF<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reclaiming five-to-nine<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This piece<\/a> argues that most nine-to-five workers underuse their after-work hours because we stay in our \u201cinner CEO\u201d identity, which hijacks free time with urgency traps like emails, Slack pings, and low-value work that keeps laptops open all night. The advice is to acknowledge and give time to our other inner characters\u2014like the Lover, Artist, Friend, and Athlete\u2014and create a simple cast schedule for weeknights. For example, on Mondays the Athlete moves your body, on Tuesday the Friend schedules a conversation or hangout, and so on. The real key is honoring the end-of-work transition with a shutdown ritual: create a two-do list for the next day, close unnecessary tabs, say out loud \u201cWorkday closed, artist open,\u201d and then do something sensory (shower, stretch, short walk, or after-work-only music) to let the next character take the spotlight. \u2014 CD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advice guru<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My favorite advice guru is\u00a0Dan Pink<\/a>. He is very wise, but also very concise. He can convey a book\u2019s worth of advice in a few minutes \u2013 and his advice is good and practical. He is a master of dispensing his wisdom in very short videos. His latest class is a 4-minute lesson on\u00a0How to Fix Your Attention Span<\/a>. Might as well stay for his other lessons as well. \u2014 KK<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to get Recomendo a week early in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recomendo – issue #495<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13684,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[2323],"tags":[2324],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45365"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13684"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45365"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45366,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45365\/revisions\/45366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}