A homeless man's escape and a search engine swap

Two very different personal stories dominate today: a deeply reported narrative of one man's journey from homelessness to recovery, and a tech writer's switch from Google to DuckDuckGo and Perplexity. Both are about making intentional choices that change outcomes, whether escaping addiction or escaping algorithmic clutter.

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Against the odds

The day's most substantive piece is a longform narrative of survival and recovery, a counterpoint to the usual quick takes on homelessness.

#01www.rangemedia.coJun 24

Stabbed. Frostbitten. Overdosed. Sheltered. Sober. Saved.

A Spokane man survives fentanyl overdose, frostbite, and a stabbing to escape homelessness. The narrative follows three unhoused men over three years, offering rare depth on recovery.

20 min readRead original

Better tools

Two pieces explore small personal changes that yield big improvements in daily life, from search engines to sleep masks.

#02www.zdnet.comJun 24

I replaced Google Search with DuckDuckGo and Perplexity - my results were noticeably better

Jack Wallen ditched Google Search for DuckDuckGo and Perplexity AI, finding results noticeably better. His critique: Google is drowning in AI-generated answers and SEO spam.

#03www.nytimes.comJun 24

The Best Gift I Ever Received Was This Bug-Like Silk Eye Mask

A New York Times essay turns a product review into a personal story about the quest for sleep. The Manta Silk Sleep Mask blocks all light and, for this writer, transformed rest.