Plainsman Leather Gloves

Fit comfortably against the hand for maximum control and dexterity

I’ve used these Plainsman Cabretta Leather Work Gloves for a few years now, since my father-in-law gave me a pair. When he first handed them to me, I thought they were too thin and flimsy and would be destroyed in no time. But that thinness is exactly what has made me continue to use these gloves. I have an increased dexterity with these gloves that you can’t get with other, more bulky, leather work gloves. They’ve held up exceptionally well. The cabretta leather stretches and molds to fit your hands, especially when slightly damp. These gloves do a great job of protecting hands from splinters, briars, and blisters.

USB TV Tuner

Watch TV on your computer

I have had this little USB TV Tuner for about a year and have ended up purchasing another for my daughter. If you are not familiar with these, it is a small USB powered TV tuner that allows you to watch over-the-air or standard cable TV on your computer. I initially purchased this to use with my laptop in the event of a power outage during severe storms. We get some pretty bad storms with tornadoes in this area and it is good to be prepared. I can simply plug this into our aerial lead and be able to watch the local weather reports without needing internet access.

Since owning this I have found other uses such as recording OTA broadcasts, SD analog inputs and anything else where you need to use a laptop as an A/V monitor. The latest use was to purchase one for my daughter to use in her dorm room. Her school offers free basic cable but she did not really want a full TV in her room. She can plug this into her laptop and watch TV or even record a show to watch later. The antenna that comes with it is pretty weak, but it has worked for my purposes. There are lots of slim OTA antennas out there such as the Leaf that would do a better job.

Klein Tools Katapult Wire Stripper

Cuts and strips 8-22 AWG wire with ease

This is the Klein Tools “Compound Action” Wire Stripper. Compound action (in this case) means that this product uses the mechanics from energy created by squeezing the handles together to pull the jacket (sometimes called “insulation”, this is rubber or plastic that protects the wire you are trying to expose). It features machined stripping holes for wires from 20 to 8 awg wire. It also features a wire cutter — this kind of “hole” style wire cutter is fantastic for getting really accurate cuts after you strip off the jacket (if you’ve accidentals pulled off more jacket than you needed), but in most cases I find myself also carrying and using a separate standard pair of wire cutters for cutting lengths of wire off of the spool. With this easy stripping action it more than triples productivity. We recently used this product to strip more than 1,800 small strips of 16 awg stranded copper wire. Two of us were able to knock it out in a fraction of the time it would’ve taken with a traditional wire stripper.

SculpWood Moldable Epoxy Putty

Use to replace rotted, cracked, or chipped away wood

I don’t believe there is another product like this: an easily-worked epoxy-based putty that can be formed to fill large areas. Think JBWeld only for wood, and big. SculpWood putty cures in 4 hours, is very lightweight when cured and can be be easily sanded or otherwise abraded into the desired finished shape.

It’s part of a family of similar products which perform related tasks. I only have experience with the putty. A carpenter turned me onto it last year and we’ve used it since to clean up rotten and broken wood all around the house. It’s not cheap, but once you start using it it becomes pretty much indispensable.

Three-Body Problem/Google Trips/Puzzles

Recomendo: issue no. 12

Followable:
Cartoonist Danny Hellman did a lot of illustrations for Boing Boing when it was a zine in the 1990s. His Instagram feed reveals his fascination with European cemetery statuary (pictured above), and his photos reveal some striking examples. — MF

Readable:
A science fiction novel I really liked is The Three-Body Problem. It is the first Chinese-written novel to win a Hugo award, and it is making waves in China and, in a new English translation, with the rest of the world. Complicated, deep, and seeped in a different view of China, it’s a masterpiece. — KK

Watchable:
I watched the new movie The Jungle Book all the way through without realizing that EVERYTHING in it, except the little boy, was a computer fabrication — a virtuality way beyond Avatar. Incredible. Hundreds of wild animals, hundred of species of plants, the rivers and jungles, were all computer generated and the whole movie “filmed” on a blue-screen stage in LA. It’s a good movie, but even better evidence of where virtual production — and all films — are headed. You can catch it now on Amazon. — KK

Travel:
Google Trips is a brand new app (for iOS and Android) that scans my Gmail for travel and dining reservations to build an itinerary and offer things to do at your destination. It’s worked like a charm so far, identifying every upcoming trip I have planned. It even created summaries for past trips. — MF

Bingeable:
Netflix just released the trailer for the new season of Black Mirror, which comes out Oct. 21. The show is dark. Every episode is a mini-adrenaline rush. It’s become my Twilight Zone fix, since I’ve exhausted all those episodes. You can watch the last two seasons (7 episodes) now. — CL

Stuff:
Pomegranate’s Charley Harper puzzles are beautiful and sturdy. Each piece is glossy and locks well with other pieces, and it’s a fun distraction for a few hours. I’ve bought two so far — Tree of Life and Exquisite Creatures. — CL

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