From websites:
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Slip this lovely ring on any finger to easily snip any type of thread — simply, smoothly, and quickly.
Provides fingertip convenience while sewing or crafting, eliminating the tedious search for scissors.
Brass with stainless steel blade.*
Adjusts to fit most fingers.
1" diameter.
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*I'm thinking this will likely be confiscated if you have it on your finger when you go through airport security.
From websites:
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Everyone needs a giant pry bar lying around the garage.
58" —nearly 5 feet! — long with a curved end, made of heat-treated steel.
Strikeable cap and shock-absorbing ergonomic handle.
Even if you only ever need it once, you will be glad you have it.*
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*Full disclosure: I've used mine a few times since I bought it back in the 20th century.
I noted a few months ago that Perplexity Pro is the best $17/month I've ever spent.
It deserves an encore here for its performance in an area in which I'm weak, namely, techie stuff.
Since forever, whenever I tried to use the "Duplicate" function for an image on my desktop, I've received an error message telling me I don't have permission to duplicate the image.
I've tried half-heartedly to find out how to gain permission but never got very far, so I've considered it just part of the burden I bear as a card-carrying TechnoDolt©®™.
Then last week it occurred to me to ask Perplexity Pro how to break this logjam.
Long story short: it wasn't easy — but I succeeded.
It's like a miracle.
My latest tech interaction with PP happened this morning when, after days spent trying to figure out from the terrible instructions that came with my XREAL xbx a01+ glasses (highly recommended! shockingly good for $299!) how to reposition the spectacular virtual screen, it told me which of the supplemental nosepieces raised or lowered the image to center it in my field of view.
Alas, nothing about this in the little guide that came with the glasses.
PP then explained how to remove and reattach the three sizes of nosepieces that come with the glasses.
But wait — there's more!
It explained how to use the various settings in the on-screen menu bar and which buttons did what.
I'd spent an hour or so on trying to navigate in this menu without any success, growing increasingly annoyed and irritated and frustrated.
Once PP deconstructed the various buttons on the glasses and exactly what they did and the sequences required to activate custom settings, it was easy peasy smooth sailing.
Long story short: The mysterious sound known as The Hum has been reported worldwide for decades, yet its source remains impossible to find. Researches tested whether people who hear it have exceptional low-frequency hearing or measurable sounds produced inside their ears, but neither explanation fits most subjects. The leading conclusion is that many cases involve low-frequency tinnitus — even though the sound's source appears completely external.
Full ScienceDaily story here.
More?
Dr. Glen MacPherson's World Hum Map and Database Project offers an interactive database and accepts submissions to add to its World Hum Map.
A terrific related 2024 four-part BBC series, "The Listeners" (featured here on July 12, 2026) is well worth watching; Rebecca Hall is superb.
Full disclosure: When I watched "The Listeners" I had no idea it was fact-based; even so, it was compelling viewing.
Since I learned to read I always looked up words I don't know.
I believe that habit played no small part in my score on the English part of the SAT.
I continued that habit through college, med school, my professional life as an anesthesiologist and expert medical-legal analyst, and afterward — until about two years ago.
Out of the blue, one day, when I encountered a word I didn't recognize in whatever I was reading and reached for my computer or phone to look it up, I said to myself, "Why bother?"
I thought I'd earned the right by now to let the unknown remain unknown, and so I have ever since that epiphany.
I suspect everyone reaches that point, just at different points in their lives: I'm sure many people have never looked up a word if they didn't have to for school or work or whatever.
It is a distinct tiny pleasure each time I hesitate, think, then read on.
One more thing: at this point in my life it's unlikely I'll ever encounter the same unknown word a second time, if it took this long for the initial sighting.
Constant readers will recall the sublime 2004 "Hairy Chair" (below),
featured here on July 15, 2026.
It's covered in strips of shredded newspaper.
Now comes upscale furniture design house Moooi with the Hortensia Petal Chair (top and below), a 2018 design by Andrés Reisinger and Júlia Esqué.
Made in the Netherlands, it's covered with 30,000 laser-cut fabric petals.
Pink, Ivory, Wine, or Sage.
A complete digital version of "The Naturalist's Library," William Jardine's 40-volume series on natural history, including restored versions of each of the 1300+ illustrations in the library.
Fair warning: there goes the day.
Something wonderful is happening: more and more new movies and shows can be rented or purchased on YouTube, such that you don't have to subscribe to streaming services to watch them.
This strange film is one of them: it's available pretty much everywhere.
I've read lots about how this movie went from nothing to massive hit seemingly overnight, shaking the foundations of the Hollywood establishment.
It's a psychological horror film directed by Kane Parsons — a 20-year-old YouTube creator turned filmmaker — that earned $82 million in North America during its opening weekend release in May.
FunFact: It cost about $10 million to make.
I'd decided to skip it because it was billed as a horror movie and I never watch those, having met my nightmare match when I saw "The Exorcist."
When Apple TV finally listed it for rent yesterday I took a flutter, figuring I could always click away or cover my eyes etc.
Turned out this wasn't at all a Freddy Krueger-type gorefest but rather a strangely beautiful film with only a couple scenes that forced me to hold up my hand in front of my eyes and look through the spaces between my fingers.
This is the best news of the year to date.
I love Cup Noodles and could live on a steady diet of Beef flavor.
Long story short: Available in Japan starting this past Monday, July 20, 2026, they come in two flavors: Chicken Salt Lemon and Spicy Kimchi (top).
Nissin spent five years in their skunkworks perfecting noodles that plump up perfectly using cold water, with five minutes prep time instead of the two minutes fifteen seconds required in the microwave for the flagship.
From the website: "Paste or write anything. Each sentence will be highlighted by its length so you can see the rhythm of your prose. A wall of one color is monotony; a healthy mix is music."
Uncovered enables you to find your next book with everything that usually helps you decide stripped away: no cover, no title, no bestseller sticker, no celebrity book club, no BookTok trend.
Instead, you read a book's opening sentences and then answer the only question that matters: do you want to keep reading?
Reminds me of "A first impression is a lasting impression."
xkcd aka Randall Munroe needs no introduction.
Only this week did I learn he also has a YouTube channel.
He started it on August 31, 2023, and currently has 1.33 million subscribers.
Huh.
I started mine on March 26, 2006 and currently have 10,600 subscribers.
Diff'rent strokes.
Fair warning: there goes the rest of your life.
Res ipsa loquitur.
From the website: "If you're in the East Lansing, Michigan area, stop by and visit the Moist Towelette Museum. It's located in Room 100 at the Abrams Planetarium on the campus of Michigan State University. Moist Towelette Museum Hours: 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, Tuesday through Friday."
After Part 1 appeared a week ago Friday, my longtime Crack Colorado Correspondent©®™ weighed in (above).
It's amazing to me how over the years he's become expert at mirroring my thought process: what he wrote is exactly how I'd have described the phenomenon he called "Replacement theory," which I've experienced repeatedly over the decades.
Long story short: If you want to find something that you know you have but can't locate, buy a replacement — often the missing item will reappear right after you've placed your order, well before the arrival of the replacement.
is pretty good.
Over the decades that I've owned a cat (Kitty 2007-2022; Vanta [above] 2022-present) I've noticed that I almost always end up tossing away food left over from the previous day when it comes time to put fresh food in their bowls.
I wouldn't dream of topping up Vanta's bowl by adding fresh food to yesterday's: she deserves nothing but the best and freshest I can give her.
Same with her water bowl: every evening I dump out what remains and fill it up with fresh water.
So little effort by me is required to keep my cat healthy and happy compared to how much joy she brings: it's one of life's gifts.
In 1936 Bud Abbott and Lou Costello formed a comedy duo.
In 1938 they performed "Who's On First?" on Kate Smith's radio show.
Over the next two decades, until they broke up their act in 1956, Abbott and Costello performed the routine at least 10,000 times — some sources estimate in excess of 15,000.
They insisted they never did it exactly the same way twice.
In 1999 TIME magazine named it the Best Comedy Sketch of the 20th Century.
More?
Read the sketch here.
Listen to it here.
clipart studio lets you cut up magazine sources from the Internet Archive, images from Wikimedia Commons, and files you've uploaded, then create collages from them.
Visit the gallery to see what's possible.
Fair warning: there goes the day.
Here's a terrific film I stumbled upon in my endless wandering amongst the zillions of titles on streaming sites.
It's about a private investigator named Barber who finds himself increasingly threatened by his investigation into the disappearance of a teenaged girl.
I loved that it's set in Dublin, not a very common movie location.
The cast — none of whom I'd ever heard of before — is superb, down to even the minor characters.
Bonus: you don't have to subscribe to any streamer to watch it: $1.99 to rent it here.
"Book Corners is a community map for little free libraries and neighborhood book exchange spots. The goal is simple: help people discover nearby places where they can leave a book or pick one up. Every library submitted by users is reviewed before being listed, so the map stays useful, trustworthy, and welcoming for everyone."
