Silicon Valley oral history

A new book I am enjoying is Valley of Genius — an oral history of Silicon Valley. The entire book, compiled by Adam Fisher, is the recollections of those who were there, interrupting each other, as they describe the birth of new technologies. This rollicking, non-stop, geek chorus leaves me with one impression: There was no plan. Each of the achievements of Silicon Valley were unexpected, improbable, and a surprise to those who created it. — KK

Artificial intelligence news daily

I feel it is important to keep up with the advent of AI, so I subscribe to a daily email one-pager which succinctly reports the news in AI each day. There is a lot happening, but this email is short and to the point. Get it from Inside AI. — KK

Small deep fryer

I don’t deep fry food every day, but when I'm in the mood for some sweet potatoes fried in coconut or avocado oil, I am glad I have this $25 Fry Daddy deep fryer. It’s small so it doesn't need a lot of oil and it heats up quickly. I keep the oil in the fryer and put the lid on once it has cooled down and use the same oil the next time I use it. — MF

Quickly sort lists

This website is worth bookmarking if you ever need to sort a list of numbers or names. It’s quicker than copy and pasting into a spreadsheet which can be finicky sometimes. — CD

3D animation treats

One of my favorite Instagram follows is Esteban Diácono. He’s a motion graphics designer who posts spellbinding “animation experiments” of humanoid dancing figures made of feathers, metal plates, outrageously long fur, and vegetation. They look real and impossible at the same time. — MF

Cozy outdoor lights

We tried out different outdoor string lights for our patio area, most were too bright, but these LED, white globe myCozyLites were our favorite. They are so warm and inviting, we’ve set them on a timer so they are on every night. — CD 

— Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Dawson