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Bean-to-cup coffee with the push of a button
Let me start by saying I like coffee; strong, black coffee. Some years ago I treated myself to a proper home espresso machine. I also bought a burr grinder. I didn’t go as far as buying green beans...
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Review: Nest WiFi smoke and carbon monoxide alarm
Smart homes continue to get smarter and the Nest Protect Smoke and Carbon Monoxide (either battery or wired) is everything you would expect from the people who brought you the Nest thermostat. We have...
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How Your House Works: A Visual Guide to Understanding and Maintaining Your Home
How Your House Works is a great visual resource and introduction for anyone not acquainted with the workings of a house and is a great companion for more in-depth DIY guides. Full of detailed and...
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Plastic storage caps for wide mouth canning jars
I use white plastic one-piece screw-top lids sized to fit either regular or wide-mouth canning jars. Mine came from Lehman’s but they are often available at hardware or kitchen-ware departments, where...
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Wear these sunglasses over your prescription glasses
I wear glasses. Mine are good ones, and I have little clippy sunglass “covers” for them that are polarized and work pretty well too. But they’re sorta delicate, and really take two hands to properly...
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Hand crank your own freshly milled whole grains
I feel like I’ve discovered a sort of breakfast unified field theory. And it’s all thanks to an impulse purchase at an awesome new homesteading supply shop in our Los Angeles neighborhood, The King’s...
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Tally-Ho playing cards are great for magic tricks
As a practicing magician, playing cards are just one of the many tools in our “magical toolbox.” For the causal card player any pack of cards will most likely do. But for anyone who practices card...
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The $6 "Fantastic" ice scraper is fantastic
I bought the "Fantastic" Ice Scraper I have now in 1982 at a gas station in Wisconsin. It’s such a superior scraper that I’ve been careful to make sure it transferred from disposed-of vehicle to...
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Bifocal safety glasses
I happened upon these Bifocal safety glasses ($11) while on vacation in a hardware store (yes, I go to hardware stores while on vacation). These safety glasses provide great eye protection and the...
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An automatic smart driving assistant that streams car data to your phone
The "quantified self" personal measurement tools all seem too constricting to me, at least at this point in my life. But, as one who cringed when I needed to buy my late-model Mazda3 for a commute,...
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Hol-ee Roller - dogproof chew toy
A friend gave my dog the Hol-ee Roller ($6) in January, and my dog and I like it so much that I have since started to phase-out other dog toys. It is durable. My dog is a strong chewer, and has...
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Hands-free workbench magnification
This is a 5-inch diameter magnifying glass mounted on a swing arm, and the assembly has a vice clamp to mount itself to the edge of a table or desk. It includes a ring of light around the lens to...
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Stanley Tripod Flashlight: Portable, hands-free LED lighting
I replaced my D battery Mag-Light with this small LED light that only needs AA batteries. I get whiter light, longer life, and more intensity. Tripod lights have always been great tools (I work at...
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Sony Pocket AM/FM Radio - $13 and no service contract!
It doesn’t have stereo reception or digital tuning or even a darn clock, but my little Sony Pocket Radio has been going strong for a decade. A pair of AA batteries supplies me with months of music,...
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Zojirushi stainless steel mug: leakproof travel thermos
I bought my first Zojirushi stainless steel mug as a Christmas gift for my wife. She likes to take a lot of coffee with her to work for the day, typically filling both a travel mug and a thermos. I...
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Schrade Key Chain Pry Tool: a half-ounce multitool
I got the Schrade Key Chain Pry Tool as a birthday gift and it’s been on my keychain since. It’s about 3.25 inches long and about an inch at its widest. It has several tools including: pry tool,...
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Gadget review: Leatherman Multitool OHT
I’ve had many multitools: Leatherman, SOG, Kershaw, etc. but the Leatherman Multitool OHT ($88) by far the best. It’s a bit weighty (as most multitools are) but this one has stood true through every...
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Best sippy cups for toddlers
There’s no end to the amount you can spend on gadgetry for child-rearing, and yet I’ve been amazed at the poor design and shoddy construction that seems to dominate even the high-end of the parental...
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Bungee cords with a ring for gripping
I camp a lot and picked up six Power Pull bungee cords last year. I thought the pull ring was a good idea after having more than a few regular bungees slip from my hands while stretching. The ring...
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Cellulose fibre filler - cure for stripped screw holes in wood
For years, I was frustrated by stripped screw holes, particularly with wooden doors. To get a screw to stay in the stripped hole, I stuffed wood pieces, plastic anchors, basically anything I could find...
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iMagnet phone mount - hassle free mount for driving
You don’t want to mess with your phone much while driving, period. But because we depend on our phones for driving directions, music, calendar appointments, etc… and, oh yeah, talking on the phone,...
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Flexi Freedom retractable cord dog leash
First off, this leash is incredibly comfortable to hold. You wouldn’t think so by looking at it but I have walked, run, skied and bushwhacked with it in every season and you hardly know it’s there....
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Looney Pyramids - invent your own games
Looney Pyramids (formerly known as “Icehouse Pyramids”) are a system of plastic board game playing pieces. They come in a variety of colors (10 are commonly available) and 3 sizes and are sold in sets....
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Gerber E-Z Out Jr Knife
The Gerber E-Z Out Jr Knife ($22) has been my daily carry knife for 16 years. It is a small light weight belt clip knife with a serrated blade that lets me cut anything from paper to rope and straps....
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Snuglet - prevent accidental power cable disconnects
Millions suffer in silence as the freakin’ MagSafe magnet in Mac notebooks turns out not to be strong enough, so every time you shift on the couch it falls out. I don’t know if you have this problem,...
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Fast, accurate paper and fabric cutting with a rotary cutter
I purchased my first rotary cutter (a 28mm) in the fall of 1979. These are basically round razors on handles; they allow for precise cutting of fabric, paper, cardboard, etc. In the years since then I...
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Scanpan Professional 9.5-Inch Fry Pan
I have always hated Teflon pans even before hearing how bad it was for you. They just don’t hold up well and the alternative has always been keeping a very well seasoned cast iron pan. I have done...
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34-ounce glass tea press for loose teas and tea bags
After 5 years of pretty much exclusively using my Bodum teapot I have gotten so used to it I only notice the process when I’m not at home and have to use a different teapot. I like having a big pot of...
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The original French tumbler, made by the company that invented tempered glass
Duralex is a French manufacturer of glassware, tableware and cookware. Picardie is one of the lines of of glassware they sell, and it is actually somewhat famous on their own, for good reason. I have...
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The joy of air compressors
One of my most useful tools is invisible, infinitely recyclable, and free — well, in a sense. It’s AIR. You do need another substantial tool (compressor) to use it; but then endlessly refilling your...
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