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Mark Stramaglia, Experimental Musician and Digital Artist
Our guest this week is Mark Stramaglia. Mark is an experimental musician and digital artist. He creates games and audio software under the name Bludgeonsoft, and produces and performs music and art as...
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Bad Blood/Free Solo/Sunday Soother
Sign up here to get Recomendo a week early in your inbox. Bad Blood My wife and I tore through John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood. It’s the story of Theranos, the fraudulent Silicon Valley startup that...
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CoreStretch
I have chronic back pain and osteoporosis and use a CoreStretch ($75) (in conjunction with a Spine-Worx) to reduce spinal compression and decrease pain. I’ve used it for about 8 years and it seems to...
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Your Money: The Missing Manual
This is the best user-guide to personal finance I’ve found, and I’ve probably read them all. It is certainly the sanest and most level-headed. There are no get rich quick schemes here, just plenty of...
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Sugru
Sugru is a soft moldable material that reminds me of Fimo clay. But unlike Fimo, it does not have to be heated to cure. It air drys and is rubbery and sticks to anything. I used it to make a new button...
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Blind Hole Spotter Set
I’m an amateur maker-of-things — metal, mostly, but some wood and plastic stuff, too. I am pretty terrible at measuring things accurately, especially with metal, when reproduction of patterns down to a...
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Om Malik, Partner at True Ventures
Our guest this week is Om Malik. Om is a partner at early stage venture firm, True Ventures. Prior to becoming an investor, he started GigaOm, a technology blog and covered technology and its impact...
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Bon-Aire Ultimate Hose Nozzle
As an avid gardener, I do a lot of hand watering. Nozzles, as a whole, are awful. The levers are hard to hold down, they leak terribly, they don’t last long, and their spray patterns are useless. Then...
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Everambient/Dutch Reach/Words to Time
Sign up here to get Recomendo a week early in your inbox. Never-ending ambient music Everambient is a $2 iPhone app that plays algorithmically generated ambient music. I’ve been listening to it all...
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Melitta Perfect Brew Cone
This simple plastic cone coupled with a filter is the best tool I have found for quickly making great tasting coffee. I have tried a French press but found the coffee to be gritty and bitter never...
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Gator Machete Junior
This Gerber machete ($27) has a normal 16″ blade on one side and a serrated saw on the other side. I go gold prospecting in very overgrown and brushy areas, so the hollow ground machete blade will take...
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OXO Splatter Screen
Unlike other splatter screens made of mesh or metal, the OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Splatter Screen ($20) is made of perforated stainless steel. This renders it nearly indestructible, even when...
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Cat Eye Orbit Bike Light
For the past 6 months I have been using the cat eye orbit wheel light (2-pack, $5). It clips onto my bicycle wheel spokes. By squeezing the housing the light turns on. It makes a soft, but bright,...
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Liz and Craig, Executive Producers of Salvation
Our guest this week is Liz Kruger and Craig Shapiro. Liz and Craig have been married for 26 years, writing together for 20. Most recently, they were the executive producers and showrunners of the CBS...
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Klein Kurve Wire Strippers
In light of the endorsements of various Automatic Wire Strippers, I feel compelled to sorta defend what I’ve come to rely on for stripping wires — and why I prefer them. My overarching preference is...
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Social mission Bollywood/Pyt/Sketch pad for all media
Sign up here to get Recomendo a week early in your inbox. Social mission Bollywood Two notable Bollywood films give you that special dose of outlandish song, dance and rom-com drama that you expect...
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Split-Pea Lighter
The Split Pea Lighter ($21) is the “world’s smallest lighter,” a stainless steel tube 1.3″ high and 0.5″ in diameter. Unscrew the top, flick the flint wheel, and behold! Fire! Now I don’t smoke, and...
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Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender
I hate most kitchen gadgets with a passion. Seeing things like an avocado slicer, mango corer, or left-handed inverted egg whatsizinger give me the hives. For the longest time, I prided myself on being...
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Bamboo Steamer
Nothing in my entire house so perfectly combines utility, simplicity, sustainability, beautiful design and tradition as my set of inexpensive, generic bamboo steamers ($24). I use the two-tiered,...
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The Richest Man in Babylon
About 30 years ago I was sitting in my dentist’s chair and he showed me a small paperback book. Purchasing and reading this seriously changed my financial outlook and spending habits. The book was The...
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