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The Best Telescopes for Beginners

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Few things are as awe-inspiring as being under a clear night sky, looking up, and gazing at a seemingly infinite array of stars overhead. So we rounded up 17 telescopes, and after years of star parties, we think the Celestron NexStar 5SE is the best telescope for a curious amateur. It gathers enough light for you to view the best features of the solar system, and it provides enough power for you to begin exploring deep-sky objects. In addition, this model has an electronic GPS database preloaded with almost 40,000 celestial objects, so after you calibrate the scope, it can scan the skies for you. from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/MYnrwUg via IFTTT

Confused About When to Disinfect or Sanitize at Home? Here’s a Cheat Sheet.

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If thoughts of germs crawling and slithering around your home keep you up at night, there’s good news: You probably don’t have to kill them as often as you might think. While it’s true that microorganisms surround you every second of the day, simple cleaning and handwashing are the best ways to keep your home healthy. But on some occasions, such as when a member of your household gets sick, removing and killing harmful pathogens is necessary to protect your health and that of your family. With the terms “cleaning,” “disinfecting,” “sanitizing,” and “sterilizing” often being used interchangeably, it can be confusing to know what to do — especially because these terms each mean different things. Below, we break down the differences, so you can keep your household healthy with confidence. from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/BcQjIuV via IFTTT

The Best Blankets

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I spend a lot of time thinking about blankets. I think about what makes a blanket a blanket and the right way to layer one on a bed. I also ponder the differences between bed blankets and quilts, coverlets, or bedspreads (I write about those too). For this guide alone, I’ve spent a total of about 700 hours researching, testing, and sleeping under various blankets for this guide alone. It doesn’t really matter how you use a bed blanket. It could be layered under a comforter (for cold-night burrowing), living its best life out in the open as a top layer, or tossed on a chair until you’re ready to do a little bed rotting with a fat book or a bingeable show. All that truly matters is that it’s cozy. And in this Kingdom of Bed Blankets (as opposed to the lovely and more stylish Province of Throws ), it helps if it’s big . A blanket should be big enough to cover a bed, sure. But if you just want a huge, comfy blanket to hide under when the world is scary (like I do), come with me to mee...

The Best Tech Gear to Help Aging in Place

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Change is hard, and many people resent it, but the notion of moving away from home is especially fraught, emotionally and financially. That may help explain the trend of older adults choosing to age in place at home, rather than in a retirement community or assisted-living facility. In a 2024 AARP report, 75% of surveyed Americans ages 50 and older said they planned to ride out the golden years at home. Aging in place has obvious appeal, but it also may pose substantial challenges. Fortunately, staying put through old age can be made easier thanks in part to a wide range of technological advances. Internet-connected DIY devices, such as smart window shades, light bulbs, security cameras, pill dispensers, and smoke alarms, provide a reliable buffer against unknown complications. And some tech devices are powerful problem-solvers that can counterbalance the inevitable reduction in capability as a person ages. They can also enhance convenience and comfort while boosting safety and peac...

Hasselblad’s New Camera Is a Dream That Only a Few Will Get to Experience

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For a long time, full-frame digital cameras were the holy grail for hobbyist photographers. Medium format? That was the domain of professionals, with everyone else effectively locked out by outrageous cost and bulk. But times have changed. Full-frame is now mainstream, and medium format is the new aspirational format — a format democratized, to a degree, by Fujifilm’s relatively affordable and portable GFX line of large-sensor cameras. But there’s always a higher plane to aspire to, and that’s where cameras like the Hasselblad X2D II 100C come in. While it shares a similar sensor with current GFX cameras, the X2D II seems to aspire to be something different, more purposeful. It strips away everything extraneous, focusing solely on the highest still image quality possible with its format. from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/XThvnJ8 via IFTTT

The Best USB Car Charger

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A good USB car charger can charge your phone and other devices faster than the port built into your car. After testing more than 70 models, we’ve determined that the best car charger is the dual-port Nekteck PD 45W Type-C Car Charger . You can fast-charge phones , tablets , and laptops on its USB-C port and simultaneously charge a second phone on its USB-A port. No other charger offers as much power for a better price. from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/F4ag8Go via IFTTT

How Skating Legend Tara Lipinski Makes Her Olympic Hotel Room Feel Like Home

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Tara Lipinski has spent most of her life on the road. She was a world-class figure skater in her teens, winning gold at the Nagano Olympics in 1998. After her retirement from competition, she began her next career as a beloved commentator, and she has been analyzing Olympic figure skating performances for NBC with her bestie Johnny Weir since 2018. She is also currently a fan favorite on the reality show The Traitors , which filmed for about four weeks in Scotland. Years of living out of suitcases have made the skater an expert at turning a temporary stay into a space that feels like home. This skill comes in handy now as she settles into a monthlong stretch in Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games with her 2-year-old daughter Georgie in tow. For Lipinski, the key to making any hotel room feel like home is packing all the essentials — even if that means overpacking . from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/2mO0M1Z via IFTTT