13APR2025: Competitive Between Adults
My new favorite keyboard, a weird little camera, hacking productivity, a fun party game, and more...
Happy Sunday, everyone—
This week, I’ve been enjoying Framelines’ YouTube channel and their photography magazine, thanks to Cliff’s recommendation; marveling at this hyperlapse video of Berlin shot on a Nintendo DSi; and getting amped up to don my press pass and cover the Specialty Coffee Association Expo as a coffee tech correspondent for CoffeeGeek.com later this month.
On to the good stuff!
⌨️ Nuphy Kick 75 (Amazon*) – I wrote about this keyboard when preorders opened, and mine finally arrived this week. Hooboy, am I loving it. I’m far from a keyboard expert like Andrew, but this compact, luxurious board—with its colorful, retro video-game aesthetic and touches of transparent design—is a joy. I also love that you can swap in either low-profile or standard keycaps to suit your taste. It’s my new favorite keyboard. (I say this every time I get a new keyboard.)
📹 Kyu Camera – This quirky little camcorder feels like a modern spin on early 2000s handheld Flip Video cameras. It records nine-second clips up to 27 times a day, and you transfer them to your phone by unplugging the memory module and popping it into your iPhone’s USB-C port. I’m fascinated by this high-tech/low-tech mashup. The app even lets you create folders and share moments via QR codes. It’s as if they’re intentionally resisting mainstream camera and social tech. Will it replace the wildly popular DJI Pocket 3*? Absolutely not—but it’s cool to see fresh ideas in this space.
🍅 Busy Bar – From the folks behind the Flipper Zero (which I reviewed in The Hiro Lab recently), Busy Bar is another gadget I don’t need but still kind of want. It’s a highly hackable productivity timer with a slick retro-style pixel display that shows when you’re focusing (or pretending to). It’s open-source, smart-home compatible, and can even toggle focus modes on your iPhone and Mac. Surprisingly tempting.
🎴 Coyote – At South by Southwest this year, I attended an event where Tim Ferriss made an appearance and gifted everyone an advance copy of Coyote, a card game he co-created with Elon Lee of Exploding Kittens fame. Despite some initial skepticism, I’ve played several rounds with my family and we’ve had a blast. The mechanics are simple enough for playing with young kids but offer enough depth to get competitive between adults. There’s also a fun cooperative version. It's light, silly, and great for quick family or party games.
🖼 Backdrop* – I’ve been loving this animated wallpaper app for macOS. It offers a vast library of animated desktop wallpapers—from sci-fi to serene nature scenes—and there’s an active community adding new ones all the time. You can try a curated selection for free or opt for a reasonably priced annual subscription. At the very least, it motivated me to finally clean off my desktop so I could enjoy the view.
That’s it for this week! May you be happy, healthy, and at peace.
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