A Few (More) of My Favorite Things
Wow! I’ve actually come up with two posts about things I like. Shocker.
I mean, I like things like… Ferraris and private jet travel and Patek Phillipe watches (in theory, at least. I have never actually owned any of those things) but I want this feature to be about stuff that any of us can easily and relatively inexpensively try and use.
So, here are five more things that I find eminently useful/enjoyable/unexpected, but don’t cost all that much (if anything.)
1.) Beethoven’s 7th Symphony: As a general rule, Beethoven’s odd-numbered symphonies (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) are considered his best (though they are all great and #6 is a fave.) Many gravitate toward #5 and #9 because they are monumental works of art AND because they are so familiar in so many ways to so many people.
But Beethoven’s Symphony #7 is my favorite, and it may be yours too. You are probably very familiar with the dominant themes in all four movements, but you may not know that you are familiar. All four movements are utterly sublime, but for pure musical exuberance, you can’t top the main theme of the first movement, which is introduced at around the 3:30-4:00 minute mark, depending on the performance. It is then carried through the remainder of the movement and is impossible to get out of your head, but in the best possible way. There are multiple performances available free to watch on YouTube.
2.) Polcari’s Coffee: Yep. More coffee. This find is courtesy of my sister-in-law Robin, who gave us sampler for Christmas, and her daughter Michelle (my niece), who is responsible for discovering this black gold in Boston’s North End. We’re hooked.
Yes, there is a ton of good coffee out there, but this is next-level great. I don’t know if they roast it themselves or lace it with crack cocaine or made a pact with Satan, but whatever - two thumbs up! And even though I generally hate flavored coffees, I highly recommend the Jamaican Me Crazy beans. Crazy good.
3.) These next two are software programs/apps. The first is a password manager called Sticky Password. If you are not using a password manager, you should be. If not, you are just begging for criminals to hack one or more of your accounts. This is especially true if you reuse passwords on more than one site/account. (Bad! BAD!!!)
A password manager eliminates the need for you to ever remember any password except for one – the master password for the password manager itself. After that, the password manager software/app creates as many insanely complex/gibberish-y passwords as you like (think “xy2)wA@cJ*r6$mcFR^6”) and then stores them for you. Whenever you go to that web site or app, it automatically fills in your username and password, after you unlock the password manager with a master password.
There are lots of highly regarded password manger programs/apps out there, but I prefer Sticky Password for one simple and brilliant reason: Whereas all the other popular password managers store your passwords in the cloud (in encrypted, highly secure form) on their servers so you can use them across multiple devices, Sticky Password has an option that lets you sync your passwords locally, over your own WiFi network and NEVER upload anything to the cloud. I have never been comfortable with uploading all my critical passwords to the cloud and as far as I know, Sticky Password is the only one that does not require me to do so if I want to sync my devices. I have been using it for about a decade and it is fantastic. There is a free, limited version and a paid version that costs about $30/year. I bought a lifetime license. Plus, the company that makes it is all about saving manatees, and who doesn’t want to save the manatees?
4.) When I look at my iPhone, I am mildly shocked by the number of apps loaded onto it (about 70) and how few of them are really, actually useful. Besides Sticky Password, I love Mr. Number. It is a call blocker and reverse number lookup that has both an iPhone and Android version. It does a great job at blocking unwanted calls. Also, if you are unsure about a number, you can use Mr. Number to look it up. Chances are, it will come back “name unknown,” which means it is most likely a junk/spam/robocall, but every now then it helps you identify and whitelist a legit number. There is a free version, but the paid service is $25/year and is worth every penny.
5.) The National Postal Museum This one is out of left field, but it came to mind the other day when I was reading a story about the legislation just passed in Washington to rescue the United States Postal Service. The National Postal Museum is a relatively unheralded part of The Smithsonian and worth visiting if you are ever in Washington D.C. I went years ago and had NO idea how important the creation of the Postal Service was to the founding of our country and the maintenance of democracy. The Postal Service catches lots of shit from all sides, but it is an honorable if flawed part of our government and deserves to be spared at almost any cost. The Postal Museum explains why.
Hope you find one or all these useful or inspiring in some way. And if anyone owns a private jet, let’s plan a trip to the Postal Museum sometime soon. I’ll bring the coffee.