News from the Future

In addition to Recomendo, I also write a newsletter for Institute for the Future, called “News from the Future.” It comes out twice a week and each issue has four or five short news items that are signals of possible futures that await us. Subscribe here. — MF

New ways to work

I am not into management or business books, but this one is an exception: Brave New Work. It’s an intelligent and readable summary of the best practices (so far) in remaking what we used to call “work.” Aaron Dignan evaluates all the crazy ideas (open books, no bosses, etc.) to see which ones are effective in creating organizations that get us to do our best. He distills practical advice, too. — KK

Russian Doll on Netflix

In Russian Doll, a video game programmer finds herself in an endless loop of dying and repeating the same day. Each reboot requires her to dig deeper into her own existence, relationships, and trauma to figure out the purpose of the paranormal glitch and try to fix it. It is Groundhog Day meets Twilight Zone meets a life coaching session from hell. It’s great — I finished it in two days. — CD  

Add Weather to your Google Calendar

I like using Google Calendar’s "month view" to plan my life, and I realized it would be helpful if I could see a weather forecast while I’m scheduling hikes and social outings. The easiest way I found to add a weather calendar was here. Now I have a two-week forecast always visible. — CD 

Dark chocolate bars with cashew butter and vanilla bean

I bought these dark chocolate bars for my wife as a Christmas present, and now we’re hopelessly hooked. They’re a bit like peanut butter cups, but in bar form, and less sweet. A 4-pack runs $25, but if you order them via Amazon subscribe and save, it’ll cost you $21.25. — MF

Potent Quotes

Here are a few quotes that keep kicking me. — KK

“If you’re not ready to find exceptional things, you won’t discover them.” — Avi Loeb

“I don't explain — I explore.” — Marshall McLuhan

“Everywhere I go I find a poet has been there before me.” — Sigmund Freud

“The genius is the one most like himself.” — Thelonious Monk

“There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.”  —Salvador Dali

— Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Dawson