Why did they need to spend “20 years with indigenous populations all over the world” to discover this? It’s what most parents in the U.S. do as a matter of course. It’s what I do.

Nothing says tacky like the tastes of Russian billionaires.

Some people discard perfectly usable, well-built backpacks. Check out thrift stores, and you can often get a great one for under $10.

Interesting to see this come up now. I just finished listening to a free audiobook based on a nineteenth century novel about Ragged Dick.

The Kindle marketing team obviously didn’t take physics in high school or college. Light is always photons coming at you. It matters not if they if they bounce once (edge-lit) or come directly (backlit). They’re still photons and they’re still moving at the speed of light.

The Kindle marketing team obviously didn’t take physics in high school or college. Light is always photons coming at…

Sorry, but I’m hanging on to my Kindle 3. It’s perfectly fine for reading and has something no later epaper Kindle has, text-to-speech.

Sorry, but I’m hanging on to my Kindle 3. It’s perfectly fine for reading and has something no later epaper Kindle…

Good idea, typically dreadful tutor video. The people who make these videos know what they’re doing, so they don’t tell us what they’re doing. They just click their way along, merrily chattering without saying what to do. We’re stuck with playing detective, trying to figure out what they’ve done.

Try reading under dim and perhaps reddish light after 8 p.m. That counters the impact of bluish computer displays and backlit Kindle screens. If thoughts keep running through your head after you go to bed, trying listening to audiobooks, especially light comedy. I find P. G. Wodehouse tales, available free from…

Ordinary nails would be cheaper than stainless steel screws. You might even decide that when they rust it looks artistic.

One easy and enjoyable approach to learning to write well is to make a point of reading well-written material. You learn by example.

Always pay cable providers, particular Comcast, by check. That way, you can simply tell the person at the other end, “Cancel me now. I’m not going to pay for any more service.” Then hang up.

Overcast is delight. It’s made listening to podcasts 100%. Smart Speed lets you make small adjustments in speed rather than the absurd 1.5x Apple forces on users. And it pulls out the irritating pauses in podcast. I find I can listen about 30-40% faster AND have improved comprehension. You can also set the speed on a…

I learned modern Hebrew, which is quite similar to Arabic. After five months, I could get around OK. It’s not that hard to learn to speak. Many Israelis are themselves new to the language, so everyone knows how to speak simply. They also borrow quite a few words from English.

Not good enough. Since American canceled one of my flights without informing me, they’ve been on my no-fly list.

If you have central heat/air or ceiling fans, running them should circulate the air faster.

You’re right. Amazon’s strength isn’t prices. Customers can find the same or better prices by shopping around. It’s that it is the ‘everything store.’ If you need it, consumers assume it’s there. By banning these popular products, Amazon is becoming the ‘almost everything store.’

There’s a typo in the description. This is a 330 watt/550 VA supply not a “550-volt” one. The latter would fry almost any computer gear of the market. VA or “volt-amp” is a power measurement similar to but not identical to watts.

There’s a typo in the description. This is a 330 watt/550 VA supply not a “550-volt” one. The latter would fry…

Pitiful, at least with respect to the iBookstore.

There’s a lot of life-or-death situations that military pilots experience that never makes the news.

A regular battery charger makes more sense. It’ll still be functional decades from now. Buy this Anker and it’s mere 10 amp-hour battery (10,000 mA-hour in auto terms) will be useless in two or three years.

A regular battery charger makes more sense. It’ll still be functional decades from now. Buy this Anker and it’s mere…