Geoguessr/Footpath/Head-mounted magnifier
Random places
I love playing this geography game. Go to Geoguessr.com. It will place you on a random spot in the world in Google Earth/Maps, and you have to figure out where you are by walking around in Street View. Easy clues like words on signs are usually blurred out. Might be hard to even locate the right continent. You get points for how close your guess is to your actual location. Was your guess five miles or 5000 miles away? It probably appeals to world travellers like myself, but I enjoy the hunt for telltale signs of a different culture. — KK
Create local walking routes
Footpath is ridiculously easy to use. I missed my weekly hike recently and wanted to find an alternative walking route nearby. I downloaded Footpath for free and traced a route with my finger from my location to the nearest park. The line you trace snaps to roads and trails, and you can choose between a loop or out and back route, and then it displays the distance and elevation if any. I figured out that I would have to walk around the park ten times if I wanted to get 5 miles in. – CD
Head-mounted magnifier
I use this $10 head-mounted magnifier at least once a week. It has two levels of magnification and LED illumination. It’s great for soldering or most other kinds of detail work. — MF
Best quotes from authors
When starting to read a new author, or trying to recall a favorite author, I use the quote search function at Goodreads to surface the best quotes of a writer. The quotes are ranked by the number of times Goodreads readers “like” them. (This only works for books.) — KK
Keep puppy distracted
I work from home most of the time and when I do I have a 4-month old puppy keeping me company. When he's not sleeping he's getting into trouble, so I've already spent a healthy amount of money trying to find things that'll distract him. This burrowing toy by ZippyPaws works best so far. He doesn't rest until all the squeaking giraffes are out from inside. ZippyPaws makes a lot of adorable dog toys, it's hard not to buy them all. I just ordered this bucket of fried chicken. — CD
Quickest way to start a new Google Doc
If you use Google Docs, Sheets, Forms, Slides, or Sites, here’s a tip. Just enter doc.new, sheet.new, etc. into your browser and it will instantly create a new, blank version. — MF
— Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Dawson