Lego portraits/Brain rot tips/Glicol

Recomendo - issue #446

Lego portraits

A cool way to make some unusual art is to render an image in Lego. I used a kit from BrickMe that turned a photo of my wife into 5,625 pixels, and then they supplied me with Lego tiles in 50 different colors. Using the map they also supply, I “painted” the image by applying the tiles in the manner of paint-by-numbers. I glued the final assembly onto plywood to hang in my studio. The procedure is well-designed, fun, with plenty of extra tiles. Mine was the small size at 24 x 24 inches (57 x 57 cm) for $126; they can go much bigger. – KK

Best tips to avoid brain rot

One of my New Year's resolutions is to create more distance between myself and my phone. This list offers some effective tricks to make your phone less interesting, as well as tips to avoid "brain rot." According to the Oxford Dictionary, brain rot refers to the "supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging." For me, simply disabling badge and sound notifications was enough to make my phone less engaging. I also encouraged my closest friends and family to call me more often and text less. — CD

Browser-based music tool

Glicol is a free music programming environment that runs in your web browser — no installation needed. As someone who dabbles in music coding, I like how it lets you connect audio nodes (like oscillators and filters) using simple >> arrows, similar to patching modular synths. It's instantly usable for beginners. Watch a demo video. — MF

Adjustable all-metal tablet stand

My father liked this aluminum tablet stand ($20) that I gave him for his birthday so much, he bought one for my mother. Unlike fixed-angle stands, this one lets you easily dial in the perfect viewing angle. Rubber-padded grips prevent slipping and scratches. Works with everything from phones to large tablets (4-17 inches) and folds nearly flat for travel. — MF

Really Comfortable Floor Mattress

My home office doubles as a guest room, so I needed to find a comfortable floor mattress that could be easily packed away when not in use. I did a lot of research and went with the highly reviewed Milliard Tri-Folding Memory Foam Mattress (6-inch, Twin XL). Every overnight guest we’ve had says it’s really comfortable. I’ve also slept on it and liked it so much that I bought the smaller Twin size (6-inch) just to have an extra one on hand for camping trips or overnight retreats. — CD

Protecting your house from wildfire

There is a growing understanding of why some houses burn in a wildfire and why some escape. There are many things you can do to prevent your house from burning. First, the chief factor is how close your home is to another burning house. It is houses that set fire to houses, more than trees or vegetation. Prevention is a community thing. Second, a stream of embers ignites most houses, rather than flames. Those embers pile up in gutter debris, dry leaves near the foundation, firewood stack against a wall, or embers flying into vents, and that kindling ignites the house. These insights are based on the latest research into wild fire. A great starting point for learning what you can do – based on evidence – is the California Chaparral Institute. — KK

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