Morning. I have a thick, coarse beard, so I have to shave in the morning. It’s easier and more comfortable to shave immediately after a shower. Plus, my hair gets flattened down during the night, and it’s easier to comb/brush back into shape when it’s still damp.

For everyday use, I can’t speak highly enough of OFF! Skintastic Family Care, Clean Feel. (But, man, what a tongue-twister of a name!) This product contains picaridin, which is perhaps slightly less effective than DEET but also odorless. The product has none of that “insect repellent smell,” yet it still does the job…

For everyday use, I can’t speak highly enough of OFF! Skintastic Family Care, Clean Feel. (But, man, what a…

This was recommended to me by an infectious disease physician when I was preparing to travel to a country with a high prevalence of malaria.

This was recommended to me by an infectious disease physician when I was preparing to travel to a country with a…

I picked up one of the inexpensive Opinel carbon steel folding knives for just this purpose. Just make sure to get one of the models with a locking ring to prevent unfortunate accidents. Only down side is that the factory bevel was *very* narrow, making it hard to use the marker trick.

Overall, good advice, though #1 should probably be keeping software updated. But please stop perpetuating the myth that there’s a difference between antivirus and anti-malware. They’re EXACTLY THE SAME THING. “Second-chance” scanners like Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free or SurfRight Hitman Pro are useful tools, but…

I’m surprised you didn’t mention Sophos Home, which is free for up to 10 devices, covers Windows and Mac, includes web filtering, and has a cloud-based interface to manage it all. Very handy for those of us who are the “IT support” for the whole family.

Cool Mint Listerine does not contain fluoride.

Cool Mint Listerine does not contain fluoride.

"for example, checking your phone a lot on your commute may not be problematic"

Actually, the basics of economics state that the interplay of supply and demand drive price. Cities like Boston and New York are strapped for space (constrained supply), which drives up prices. In contrast, some of the midwestern and southern cities have annexed everything around them and are positively enormous…

Southwest Airlines today sent me an email about a specific, reserved flight that started with the greeting "Hello Valued Customer."

This really just isn't very good advice. Plenty of spam and phishing messages do use real names based on guessed, stolen, or publicly-available name information. And legitimate communications still use "Dear customer" or similarly generic salutations.

The thing is, if I don't check my email (or "process my inbox," in GTD parlance) early in the day, then I don't have a full picture of what I need to do. If you have the discipline to read your email without going down a rabbit hole, I'd argue you're better off doing that first, and then identifying and completing…

Somebody doesn't seem to know the difference between area and volume.

Somebody doesn't seem to know the difference between area and volume.

Somebody doesn't seem to know the difference between area and volume.

Somebody doesn't seem to know the difference between area and volume.

Somebody doesn't seem to know the difference between area and volume.

Somebody doesn't seem to know the difference between area and volume.