One of my favorite newsletters, Down the Rabbit Hole, is a weekly, curated collection of psychoactive internet rabbit holes exploring meaning, beauty, and aliveness. The creator recently shared a virtual “window” you can click open that sends you to one of the most-clicked links from the past five years. It feels like StumbleUpon with soul— tiny portal into wonder. — CD

Worse on Purpose

I’ve been burned by buying a “buy-it-for-life” brand only to discover the company and the logo were sold years ago. Worse on Purpose rates 215 brands — tools, bags, apparel, eyewear, and footwear — as either Approved, Watchlist, Former Great, or Avoid. A sample: Ray-Ban is designated “Avoid” (“Priced as luxury, produced to commodity standards”). Another example: Peak Design is designated “Approved”, (because it is still founder-owned). — MF

Ultimate historical maps

Imagine having access to all the ancient maps of the world, and being able to explore them with AI, including searching on the words etched in the maps, or concepts about the maps – for instance “give me all the maps showing the routes of Roman aqueducts.” All this and more are available online for free, at the David Rumsey Map Collection. For 25 years Rumsey has been scanning over 140,000 maps of all kinds from his insane collection from around the world. He then innovates ways to share them. When you find a map you particularly like, you can tap a button and have it printed out on a large scale and mailed to you for a reasonable fee. This is an international treasure. — KK

Decent kid’s shows

What was the most streamed show in 2025? Bluey, a kids animated show from Australia. Bluey has about 150 very short episodes using an animated dog family to model emotional intelligence and give toddlers strategies for big feelings. Like Sesame Street, adults can tolerate watching it. I think early Sesame Street is better, teaching more and broader, but Bluey is a good second choice. (Technically streamed on Disney+, but available on YouTube as well.) Because episodes are shorter (about 10 minutes), small kids love rewatching them. — KK

Cushy airplane seat

I just got back from an overseas trip, and this inflatable travel seat cushion made a 10+ hour flight—and those board-hard seats—so much more bearable. I was hesitant to become someone who carries a personal butt pillow through the airport, but I’m glad I got over it and brought it along. It deflates and rolls up smaller than a neck pillow. — CD

MeatStick V Duo wireless meat thermometer

I’ve ruined my share of meat by cutting in to check doneness. The MeatStick V Duo uses two wireless probes that you can put into two different cuts, and the app predicts when each will hit its target temperature. A small LCD base shows the temps so I don’t have to grab my phone with greasy hands. The probes can handle open flame up to 1200°F and are dishwasher safe. — MF

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Get The Nature of the Physical World

The Nature of the Physical World was written by the astrophysicist who confirmed Einstein’s relativity. It explores how modern physics has dissolved the solid world we thought we knew into something far stranger, and more connected to mind than we imagined. You can get it for free from Project Gutenberg.

Core Principles

1. You Are Sitting at Two Tables

Eddington opens with a famous thought experiment: he is writing at two tables. The first is the familiar one: solid, colored, substantial. The second is the scientific table—mostly empty space pervaded by electrical particles rushing around at great speed. Both descriptions are true. The solid table you lean on is, at the atomic level, almost entirely nothing. We live in both worlds simultaneously.

2. The Physical World Is a World of Shadows

In removing our illusions, physics has removed the substance, for substance was one of our greatest illusions. What remains is a shadowgraph performance of familiar life. The shadow of your elbow rests on the shadow table as shadow ink flows over shadow paper. It’s all symbolic. Then comes consciousness, which transmutes the symbols into experience.

3. Mind Is the First and Most Direct Thing

It is difficult for the matter-of-fact physicist to accept that the substratum of everything is mental in character. But no one can deny that mind is the first and most direct thing in our experience, and all else is remote inference. We start with mind and infer matter.

4. The Stuff of the World Is Mind-Stuff

Eddington’s most provocative claim: the stuff of the world is mind-stuff — something more general than our individual conscious minds, but continuous with our mental nature. The physical world is abstract and without actuality apart from its linkage to consciousness. Actuality, like beauty, requires a mind to be known.

Try It Now

1. Look at the table or desk in front of you. Hold both truths at once: it is solid to your touch, and it is mostly empty space. What does this do to your sense of certainty?
2. Notice that everything you know about the “external world” comes through your consciousness. Can you find anything you know that doesn’t?
3. Consider: physics describes relationships and patterns, not ultimate substances. What would change if you stopped assuming there must be “stuff” underneath it all?

Quote

“It is difficult for the matter-of-fact physicist to accept the view that the substratum of everything is of mental character. But no one can deny that mind is the first and most direct thing in our experience, and all else is remote inference.”

Book Freak is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run Recomendo, the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Recomendo Deals, Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper, and Book Freak.

I’ve reviewed a few different noise machines on here because my wife’s a light sleeper and I’ve found that these things are more effective than earplugs in a noisy hotel room or apartment. This LectroFan Alpha one I’ve used recently is marketed to parents of young children, with a place to clip it onto a crib or a flip-out stand to use on a table, but it’s fine for travelers with no kids too. It has a range of continuous sounds that include calm and heavy ocean waves, regular and heavy fans, pink noise, and brown noise. There’s also a heartbeat option that seems creepy to me, but maybe that’s good for a baby or pet. Recharges by USB, easy to pack and 4 ounces.

Remaining Golden Visa Options

If you have enough money or assets, a quick path to residency and even citizenship is to get a “golden visa” that fast-tracks you in exchange for investing in the country. Some of these have worked too well, like in Portugal, so governments have scaled back. There are still more than 30 of them out there though and the New York Times ran down a few, complete with minimum investment levels. See the full story here. (Paywalled, but available free with e-mail, Google, or Apple sign-in. Via Kevin Kelly.)

Narcissism Drives Return-to-Office Mandates

You probably had a feeling that the bosses making everyone come back to the office were doing it because they’re too full of themselves, but now we have proof. This scientific study won me over from the start with its title: Worship me at the office altar: Why narcissistic leaders resist remote work. This is an exhaustively researched study, with hundreds of supporting footnotes and links, and the conclusion is clear. In short, these leaders want to see, be seen, exert power, and demonstrate control, all much tougher without physical proximity. “The sparseness of remote communication can make it more difficult for narcissists to satisfy these cravings for power and status.”

Add TSA PreCheck to Google Wallet

I’m sure I’m not the only one that has had problems with the tiny TSA PreCheck icon not showing up on a boarding pass sometimes. As of last week, it’s going to get a lot easier to show proof of enrollment because you can now add touchless ID to Google Wallet on a phone. “Now, once a traveler creates a digital ID pass using their passport within Google Wallet, the app automatically handles the TSA enrollment connection during flight check-in.” This means that Touchless ID availability “goes from just six airlines to all 100+ participating TSA PreCheck airlines.” See more info here.

A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

PHYSICAL

• Free Run dog harness/leash. Built with components of climbing-gear quality, this makes my country dog so happy. Leash when I need it, free when I don’t. Never leave home without it.
• 4-in-1 braided multi-charging cable. This saves me from travel spaghetti and is working great so far. I want one that is lightning, rather than USB, but next time.
• Altra Lone Peak shoes. Zero drop, wide toe box. On my 4th pair. Walked the Norte route of the Camino in these and leaving today for the first half of the Via Francigena. Perfect paired with Aonijie toe socks inside Darn Tough crews. No blisters, cool feet.

DIGITAL

• Marco Polo app. So much fun to share good morning videos with my granddaughter far away. No intrusive ads, no bs, feels secure—I don’t believe in putting kids’ images out in the inter-world.
• Ladder app. I re-committed to strength training in January and Ladder provided just what I was looking for. Love Team Crews Control—functional training for all ages, with an emphasis on maintaining flexibility. Plenty of fun. This is worth the money, IMHO.

INVISIBLE

“Never cut what you can untie.”

Having grandchildren brings this home over and over. My kids’ dad, their bonus mom, their other brother—everyone together for dinner. So glad we all love each other, and also glad we have our individual lives.

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The Pharos Gate: Griffin & Sabine’s Lost Correspondence
by Nick Bantock
Chronicle Books
2016, 60 pages, 8.2 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches

Buy on Amazon

The lovelorn nostalgia and mystical voyeurism of an extraordinary correspondence return in the latest edition of the Griffin & Sabine saga, The Pharos Gate. This is the seventh book in the bestselling series by Nick Bantock and it brings several questions about the unusual love story to a satisfying end. As you might recall, Griffin and Sabine share a peculiar connection through their mail and art that seems to allow them to transcend space and time. As they fall deeper in love, danger looms and they are forced to dodge and hedge around the globe in an attempt to unite. Bantock disappointed some fans by leaving the fate of the lovers somewhat ambiguous at the conclusion of the third book and then launching a new storyline in the fourth book surrounding another unlikely pair of sweethearts. The ultimate fate of Griffin and Sabine remained tantalizingly mysterious until last month with the release of The Pharos Gate. Readers will finally find the answers scrawled in between the lines of the missing letters as Bantock revisits correspondence that has eluded us for more than a decade.

Perhaps in answer to the frustration of fans, this latest edition pays particular attention to recreating the feel of the first books. Fascinatingly strange, juxtaposed images of Egyptian gods and sketches of animals mingle and crowd the pages. Quaint envelopes stuffed with carefully lined type or flowing script anchor the story in art that seems to come alive in your hands, with pages that contain crossed out words and ink blots. You’ll catch clues in the images that align the story with the previous editions and provide new context for the puzzling mystery that the correspondence seems to allude to but never openly discusses. Each page is fashioned with a careful, adept hand that seeks to draw the character’s souls through the marriage of art and words, weaving them together across the continents and oceans. By the time Griffin and Sabine reach The Pharos Gate, you’ll be right there alongside them, clutching their love letters in your hands and gazing open mouthed at the beauty of a conclusion that has always been as inevitable as their unlikely love story. – Kaz Weida

HUMANS, MAKE ROOM FOR FELINES OF NEW YORK!

Felines of New York: A Glimpse into the Lives of New York’s Feline Inhabitants
by Jim Tews
Simon & Schuster
2015, 240 pages, 7.4 x 9.1 x 0.7 inches (softcover)

Buy on Amazon

A beautiful book with glossy pages, the photographs of the myriad cats in Felines of New York are as diverse as the cats themselves: single portraits that occupy a single page, several that spread across two, working cats, attentive cats, cats ignoring the photographer – all are portrayed. Lolo, a silver tabby in Park Slope, is quoted as saying, “For me, showing love is more about what I won’t do than what I will do. For example, if I love you, I won’t shit outside your bedroom door.” Jeddy, a cat from the Lower East Side, tells us, “My grandparents immigrated here from New Jersey with nothing, and now I have this box. I wish they could see me. They’d be like ‘How the f— did you get that box? We never had a box.’ But I don’t know, the box kind of showed up and so I sat in it.”

Author and photographer Jim Tews takes snapshots of the cats he encounters in New York – both feral and community cats, as well as those that live with human owners. From the purebred to those with dubious origins, the photographs are beautiful portraits of cats in their habitats, and short interviews provide insight to their lives. So curl up with your cat and enjoy this book! – Carolyn Koh

Books That Belong On Paper first appeared on the web as Wink Books and was edited by Carla Sinclair. Sign up here to get the issues a week early in your inbox.

Diverse optical supplies

Anchor Optics

Remember Edmund Scientific, the perennial advertiser in the back of science magazines? They sold lenses in addition to all kinds of scientific knick-knacks and basement experimenter supplies. Anchor Optics is a division of Edmund’s upscale optics company, selling mostly to professionals, but at a discount. They’ve got loupes and microscopes, but also Fresnel lenses, commercial grade front-side mirrors, laser parts, optical bench gear, prisms, and advance fiber optic stuff — just about anything optical you can imagine at good prices, Anchor sells Edmund’s surplus or “seconds” — but only second in some cosmetic or inessential way. If you need a lens or an optical flat mirror of a certain size, you’ll probably end up here. — KK

Source for all scopes

Eagle Optics

You want binoculars? Eagle Optics has hundreds of kinds from two dozen manufacturers. Any model binocular made. You want spotting scopes, or night vision scopes? This is the place. Monoculars, tripods, rangefinders? Eagle Optics has practically every version of them too. Good service. Popular with birders and nature photographers. They have a paper catalog, also. — KK

Burnton Echo 7 x18 Monocular

Extremely small and lightweight.
The Echo zoom monocular is one of the smallest zoom monoculars around and easily carried so it’s always handy. The polymer body is extremely lightweight-weighing less than two ounces- and perfect for a detailed study of nature at your feet. Multi-coated optics and BaK-4 prism glass team up for sharper images at any distance.

Nikon EDG 10×42 Binocular

Engineered to push your birding to the edge.
The powerful 10×42 EDG (pronounced “Edge”) is a stylish binocular that truly elevates superior performance by virtually eliminating chromatic aberration and delivering bright, razor sharp views. Go ahead and push your birding to the edge with Nikon’s EDG binocular.

• Open bridge style with sophisticated quadrangle construction balances perfectly in the hand for comfortable, extended viewing.
• Dual focus knob with locking diopter pairs up a quick, central focusing knob with pop-up diopter adjustments for unparalleled speed and convenience.
• Ratcheting eyecup adjustments allow for a refined view, with or without eyewear.
• Thumb-position memory contours provide optimum traction with a soft-grip tactile surface.
• Magnesium-alloy body cuts weight without sacrificing durability.
• Waterproof and fogproof with O-ring seals and dry nitrogen purging to handle the
• toughest conditions on the planet. (Submersible for up to 10 minutes at a depth of 16.4 feet).

Handy 10x magnifier

Belomo 10x Triplet Loupe

A few months ago I picked up a Belomo 10x Triplet Loupe ($31) to help out with mushroom identification in the field. As someone who has more experience with camera lenses than loupes, I didn’t know what to expect. What arrived was an immaculately crafted magnifying device that I now carry on a daily basis.

Built by the Belarus Optical and Mechanical Enterprise Company (they once made high quality optics for the Soviet Union during the Cold War), the minuscule 10x loupe radiates a quality of craft and “thingness” that I’ve previously only seen in Leica glass. This comparison is in part owed to the superb optics, but also to the textured black enamel that coats the folding steel case coupled with its solid build quality.

The loupe itself is compact, quick to fold out, and easy to use. Between using it to identify mushrooms, to seeing the destruction I wreak on my fingernails, or the dulled edge of my kitchen knives, I have found the ability to easily magnify anything 10x (or more) has given me a renewed appreciation for the smaller things in life.

My decision to pick up the 10x magnification instead of the 15x or 20x was driven by cost and usability. Everyone I spoke to seemed to agree that 10x had the best balance between field of view, depth of field, and cost. Unlike other loupes where you can change magnification through opening up additional lenses, the Belomo relies on a single lens system that reduces the chance of breaking, while providing greater optical quality and increased light. The image quality is really fantastic.

One of the best features of the Belomo Loupe is the ability to incorporate it as an external macro lens with my iPhone camera. The small sensor size coupled with the Loupe means that it has enough depth of field to create photos I can use to identify when I get home. I’ve been blown away with the results.

The Belomo loupe is a fantastic EDC tool that provides a new way to look at the world. I can’t recommend it enough. — Oliver Hulland

Flexible portable neon

El Wire

Do-it-yourself neon. This thin electro-luminescent wire (el-wire) glows very brightly. You can bend it easily, tie it to anything. It produces essentially no heat. Best all of it runs on batteries, meaning you can wear it or use it on your bicycle. We make signs with it and, of course, some wild costumes. El-wire (also called Live Wire) has been used to great effect in the night parades at Burning Man; I still have vivid memories of an animated neon kangaroo (mounted on the side of a bike) galloping across the desert. It comes in various lengths from .5 m to 10 m (you can cut it if you know what you are doing) and in eight colors. You can also make it strobe. It is the world’s most flexible light. It is very cool stuff. — KK

Cool bendable lights

Glow Tubes, in bulk

I’m partial to those foot-long noodles that glow in various shades of color, also popular at raves. They are plastic tubes with a glass insert that start to luminesce when snapped. Like road safety sticks but thinner, longer, more flexible and cheaper. These floppy light wands say: be creative! The tubes come with a plastic coupler that can connect them in a chain or in a circle. Since they are flexible and light and cheap they can be woven into bike spokes, sewn on clothes, spun, pinned, or swung. They’ll last 7 or 8 hours and if by chance you are near a freezer you can freeze “ignited” ones; just thaw them out and they start glowing again. You don’t have to go to raves or Burning Man to enjoy them. We break them out for Halloween, Fourth of July, birthday parties, and dark nights while camping. Called glow sticks, they are available from a number of online sources (check for rave suppliers). The come in all sizes from mini-sticks to swords.

One or two tubes are okay; the key to the fun is to get them in bulk, by the hundreds. One hundred 8″ sections should be about 10 cents a piece, or $10. One hundred is not too many. It’s barely enough to cover a jacket with them, or decorate 3 bicycles, or make a huge glowing hula hoop, or enough bangles for all the arms at a party. The supplier below has the lowest prices I’ve come across and I’ve used them with no problems. — KK

Once a week we’ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, and the links to them may or may not work. We present these vintage recommendations as is because the possibilities they inspire are new. Sign up here to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.

Prescription dive mask

I wish I had realized years ago that you can get scuba masks with inexpensive prescription lenses. My wife needs heavy duty glasses, with severe -10 corrections, and was otherwise blind underwater. But she got a great simple diving mask with -10 lenses for $60. This Promate Slender Mask is available with Rx lenses from GetWetStore. Now she can snorkel with the rest of us. — KK

Four legs

Hiking poles give me two extra legs. They are most useful going downhill, over uneven or wet terrain. I bring them wherever I hike, especially when I travel, because I use a collapsible set that folds up to less than 14 inches (36 cm). That not only fits in carry-on luggage, it will also hide away in a day pack, so I can take them out only when needed. These no-name $26 Covacure Trekking Poles are a bargain and pretty typical of the class: lightweight aluminum, unfold in a second, and are very rigid. You can get featherweight carbon fiber if you want to pay more. — KK

Ultralight trail running shoes + foam insoles

After a couple of years of walking five miles a day on my treadmill desk, my knees and feet were starting to feel worse for wear. I read Craig Mod’s recommendation for TSLA lightweight trail running shoes with a wide toebox and high-quality insoles and bought them. A month later, I’m pleasantly surprised that my knee and feet pain is gone. I just bought a second pair in another color because I don’t want to wear any other shoe. — MF

Hand crank LED lantern

Last week, Southern California experienced a heavy rainstorm that caused a power outage in our area for 18 hours. We would have been in the dark without the Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Camping Lantern. It features a bright and adjustable LED light, as well as a built-in lithium battery that can charge smartphones and other USB devices. In case of a power failure, the lantern can also be powered manually by turning a crank for one minute, which provides 10 minutes of illumination. — MF

Packable caps

My current go-to hiking hat is the Parapack P-CAP—an adjustable, foldable cap that’s so breathable and lightweight it barely feels like I’m wearing anything. It also looks better than most of my sun hats and is far less bulky. I keep it in my purse now because it packs down so small. You can even fold it into a compact pouch. — CD

Water bottle sling

For walks and shorter hikes, I’ve been skipping my daypack in favor of ChicoBag’s water bottle sling. It’s comfortable, easy to wear, and has a surprisingly roomy pocket for my phone and keys. Like most ChicoBags, it folds down to almost nothing, so I just keep it with me at all times. — CD

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Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island (1928) is the late, nearly-forgotten H. G. Wells novel that he called his own Candide. A comfortable Englishman is betrayed, breaks down, and washes up among the cannibals of Rampole Island, where a giant prehistoric ground sloth still lumbers through the gorges and nothing is what it seems. It is the first Deep Cut I’ve turned into a full Book Freak Edition for the new reading club, and you can download the ebook below.

Most people have heard of H. G. Wells’s The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. Almost nobody has heard of Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island. I stumbled on it in the early 2000s, when I was on a reading jag about people getting stranded on deserted islands.

Published in 1928, Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island was the 38th of the 52 novels Wells wrote. His first was The Time Machine (1895); his last was You Can’t Be Too Careful, published in 1941, five years before his death.

It’s narrated in the first person by Arnold Blettsworthy, a wide-eyed optimist whose faith in a decent, orderly world collapses when he finds his best friend and his fiancee in bed together. To clear his head, Blettsworthy sets off on an ocean voyage around the world, and ends up cast away on “Rampole Island,” a place of savages that turns out to be a mirror held up to civilization itself.

The book is part castaway adventure, part social satire, and part something stranger and more inward. As Blettsworthy himself puts it, “the story I have to tell is at its core a mental case.” Wells is exploring a single disordered mind rather than a distant planet, an early experiment in what later science fiction would call “inner space.”

It didn’t sell well. Wells’s biographer David Smith calls it one of his “least read books.” But the reviews were warm. A 1928 notice in *TIME*, headlined “Sacred Lunatic,” called it “an eminently good yarn packed with humor, humanity.” Wells’s friend the historian Eileen Power thought it “absolutely first class.” Later judgments were kinder still: Everett Bleiler, surveying early science fiction, called it “a very interesting, well-accomplished book.”

Core Principles

We are raised on false assurances

Adrift on a sinking derelict, certain he is about to drown, Blettsworthy works out where his optimism came from. “To keep us quiet when we are children, and to make us nice and good and confident, we are given all sorts of assurances about life for which there are no justifications, and by the time we have found them out we are already too far off from human things to expose the deception.”

The savage island is a mirror

Rampole Island looks at first like pure adventure-story exotica: cannibals, war drums, a soothsayer, sheer cliffs. The longer Blettsworthy lives there, the more its cruelties start to rhyme with the civilization he came from. The islanders justify their savagery with elaborate ritual and high-sounding talk, exactly the way respectable people do. By the time you reach the end, you understand that the island was never as far from London or New York as it pretended to be.

The dreary megatheria

The giant sloths are huge, filthy, slow beasts that are protected by the people who half-worship and half-fear them. They represent dogmatic thinking and old hatreds that are kept alive because nobody can imagine the world without them.

You can be disillusioned and still choose to go on

Blettsworthy loses his comfortable optimism (and a good deal more). But he finds a smaller, tougher, clearer-eyed willingness to keep living and keep loving. Wells, who had every reason in 1928 to write a bitter book (his wife died a year earlier), wrote a humane one instead. .

Try It Now

1. Write down one “assurance about life” you were handed as a child (hard work always pays off, good people get their reward, the system is basically fair). Then write down one time reality contradicted it.
2. Find one of your own megatheria: a habit, a grudge, a tradition, an opinion you keep alive for no good reason. Ask what it would cost to let it finally go extinct.
3. Read forty pages of Mr. Blettsworthy this week and share your thought in the discussion thread below.

Quote

“The abnormal is only the normal disproportioned.”

Download the Book Freak Edition

This is the first featured pick of the Deep Cuts Reading Club, the new paid-subscriber benefit. Every month I take a forgotten public-domain book and make a a clean ebook in EPUB and PDF.

Your copy of Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island is linked below — grab the EPUB for your phone or e-reader, or the PDF to read anywhere.

This month we’re reading it together. There’s a discussion thread (the comment section of this post) where I’ll post a question to start us off, and an open chat for the month where you can drop in as you read.

One more thing in the works: I’m building audiobook editions of these books, narrated start to finish, for subscribers who’d rather listen. They’re not quite ready, but they’re coming.

Here are the links to the book:

Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island (PDF)

Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island (EPUB)

Book Freak is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run Recomendo, the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Recomendo Deals, Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper, and Book Freak.

There’s no shortage of articles and videos online about people having their whole suitcase or daypack stolen while in a public place or on a train, especially in Europe. I nap easy on a train even if my bag is at the end of the compartment thanks to this inexpensive retractable cable luggage lock. It can fit through zipper clasps on quality suitcases or through the handles to ensure that your bag is not going anywhere until you unlock it with your combination.

JBL Go Speaker Packs a Punch

I like this little water-resistant Bluetooth speaker so much that when I lost one, I bought the same model as a replacement. It fits in the palm of my hand and is easy to pack, but punches above its size in volume and bass, providing a good sonic range. The newest model is the JBL Go5, but I have the Go4 and it’s technically equal but just doesn’t light up (preferable to me) and it’s under $40.

Small Electric Toothbrush

Back in July of 2024 I highlighted the slim Philips One by Sonicare electric travel toothbrush that I’d bought. I made a mistake and got the battery powered one that has since been discontinued. It’s still going strong, but my wife has the rechargeable one that is still available and has also performed well for even longer. It doesn’t vibrate as hard as a big one like people have at home, but it’s lighter and much smaller for packing—not much bigger than a regular manual toothbrush.

Packable Duffel Bag

Ever need to come home with more items than you left with? You could buy additional luggage on the other end, but when I can anticipate this happening, like I did this trip from shopping and getting useful trade show swag, I bring along a duffel bag that packs down into a little pouch. I have tried a few different ones, all working well, but here are two examples from Eagle Creek and Bago. One of these can also be useful if you manage to jam everything into an underseat bag for a short trip on a budget airline and want a larger bag to expand into for moving around on the other end.

A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

Todd Henion is a recently retired airline pilot now trying to fix the world one toaster at a time.

PHYSICAL

• Finite and Infinite Games – James Carse: This book has changed all the measures and time markers in my life. Understanding and identifying an infinite game radically adjusts my goals and roles. Simon Sinek has recently reworked and broadened this dichotomy into organizational psychology in his book The Infinite Game. Both categories of game are worth playing, but the rules and outcomes are dramatically different.
• JetStream Pens: There is no better smooth ballpoint pen. Pretty cheap and very reliable. Everyday ballpoint writer with stunningly gentle flow.
• 11-in-1 Klein Screwdriver: Among the highlights of my month are our local Repair Cafes. Neighbors bring in broken and damaged appliances, clothes, and all sorts of stuff. We volunteers try to repair them in collaboration with the owner. This simple multi-bit screwdriver that I carry most days, allows access to the insides of so many household items—despite different screw types—allowing me to work to understand how the machine works and how to put it right. The puzzle-solving, in partnership with the owner, is really joyful. A screwdriver can be a magic key.

DIGITAL

• Libby App: Having 10-20 good books in my pocket at all times to divert my scrolling brain into a story or concept is the fruition of childhood fantasy. And add that it is all free and very pleasant to use.
• Instapaper (Read it Later app for news and websites): “One should always have something sensational to read on the train” —Wilde

INVISIBLE

“I don’t mind what happens.” — J. Krishnamurti*

I discovered this quote many years ago and just recently (two or three years ago) started to interrogate what he might have meant and what it means to me. I find it represents both a “Yes, and…” acceptance of our very limited ability for control. And subtracts the unhealthy attachment to outcomes that we automatically generate.

“I don’t mind what happens. That is the essence of inner freedom. It is a timeless spiritual truth: release attachment to outcomes, deep inside yourself, you’ll feel good no matter what.” — Jiddu Krishnamurti

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