This is the best household LED bulb at the moment. It runs on only 10-watts, gives off the light of a 60-watt tungsten, delivers a soft white light, with the even distribution of the old bulbs. It’s dimmable. And it is promised to last 22-years.  I can confirm all these claims except the last (too early to tell). It is exactly the same shape and size of a 60-watt tungsten bulb, which many other LEDs are not. This makes it easy to swap out. Also, this one is brighter than most other LED replacements that I’ve used, including the previously reviewed Lemnis 40-watt LED bulb. It is more energy efficient than other 60-watt LED equivalents. Believe it or not, at $40 it is among the cheaper hi-powered LED bulbs — although the price is still too high for me to swap all my household bulbs (most of which are compact fluorescents).

Beside the price, two minor caveats. The bulb is heavy. It seems to be made of solid ceramic. It may not work in a counter-balanced fixture like an extended arm lamp. And if the bulb is exposed it shows bright yellow-orange markings when off, which may (or may not) be distracting design-wise.

Compared to tungsten bulbs, this is crazily expensive at $40. But it’s a steal if it lasts 22 years. (By Philips’ calculation you’ll save $137 in the end.) Compared to other LED lightbulb replacements, this one is brighter, more efficient, better color light, smaller, easier to swap, and more affordable. It won the US Department of Energy L-Prize for bulbs, hence its name. In short, the Philips L-Prize bulb is the best bulb if you want to start replacing those 60-watts or higher that you use a lot.

[Make sure to check with your local utility company as they often feature rebates on LED bulbs. Home Depot is known for selling this bulb cheaper in-store than they do online for this reason.--OH]

These are basically giant Ziploc bags. They come in three or four sizes, from about 15″ square to large enough to fit a king-sized pillow. There’s a handy little cut out handle in the top to make carrying them easier. They’re clear, so you can see what’s inside.  They seal airtight, so they can prevent or slow many kinds of aging. They’re waterproof, as long as you don’t puncture them. They protect stuff from dirt and bugs. Overall, they’re just really useful.

I keep several sizes of them in my linen closet and garden shed, where they store things like bird netting, and linens. They’re handy for keeping sets of things together, and with reasonable care, they’re reusable, though once in a while the zip closure separates from the plastic. A box of 4 of them costs about $7 bucks.

[Note: These giant Ziplocs were first reviewed back in 2007, and we felt it high time to update the review!--OH]

I bought a Wind Scorpion wind turbine to augment the solar panels in the off-grid power system I use for my cottage. At the northern latitudes where I live the solar panels get covered with snow for most of the winter. This meant that there was always the danger that the batteries would get run down and freeze, which would ruin them. A wind turbine looked like a good option and Thermodyne Systems had what looked like the best bang for the buck.

I installed it last year, and so far it has run without any problems. I was concerned that it would be noisy, but the noise at full speed is equivalent to an electric induction motor running, which is okay. It’s cool to look up and see it spinning away generating electricity.

The turbine itself costs around $500 shipped, but you also need a tower and wiring. I used an old TV antenna tower and a length of pipe. The tower was free and the material and shipping brought the total cost to about $750. This is for the add-on to an existing solar system. If you are starting from scratch, the solar panels, charge controller, batteries and inverter for a small system will set you back a minimum of $1,800. That and your free labor is the cost of not having an electric bill in your mailbox every month.

The result looks a bit jury rigged, which I take a perverse pride in. You need to a have knowledge of electrical and construction technology together with tools and skills to do it yourself. Raising a 40′ tower requires planning and a bit of overarching self-confidence. A similar system I looked at that was put together by a professional contractor reportedly cost over $15,000. I am on the lookout for more tower sections so I can raise the turbine up another 20 feet to catch more wind. The challenges never stop.

Thermodyne operates through their website and pride themselves on being paperless. Email inquiries were promptly answered and the order was shipped the next day.

There are competing wind turbines, but I haven’t had any experience with them. They look more finished, but the advertised prices are about double for a machine with equivalent output.

I carefully laid plastic on my bedroom carpet before painting my closet. But somehow my painting tool began to fall, and as I grabbed for it I dumped the latex paint on the carpet beyond the plastic-protected area. I used wet rags to soak up what I could, but this left a 12″ sticky latex stain on the rug plus numerous spatters. I put an old wet towel on it overnight. The next day I used successive applications of Gloves Off Stain and Paint Remover following each with a rag. By repeated applications, I was able to remove all visible paint.

Gloves Off is a newish brand of stain remover that uses plant-based ethoxylated alcohol as a surfactant to loosen stains and make them easier to clean. It’s marketed as being a greener alternative to bleach and ammonia based cleaning agents.

Today, I spied a dried exterior latex stain on metal so I sprayed it with Gloves Off, and in a minute, literally peeled off the paint. So far I’ve been delighted with this product!

[As with any chemical product it's best to have the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) just in case.--OH]

A “boring machine” (har-har) is an old hand tool for drilling up to 2″ diameter holes in timbers, typically for timber frame construction. These boring machines (in this case, the Millers Falls model) are no longer manufactured, and haven’t been for at least 70 years. They are quite rare, and as you can imagine, priceless. There are few non-electric tools capable of boring holes in wood in this way. They are truly an antique, blast from the past kind of tool. They are highly prized by timber framers who use hand tools. I have, very luckily, found one on craigslist that I now use. I’ve used it for a year.

Why is the Millers Falls boring machine superior? It runs on human power, of course, and is built like a tank. It’s no surprise these 70+ year old tools are still around. This is the tool that can be passed on for generations. (And should be, because they’ll never be manufactured again!) If you strive to live without electricity, there really is no other option.

[Though this tool is no longer manufactured and is now hard to find, I felt that it still fulfilled the Cool Tools requirements. This explains, in part, why this review is being published on a Saturday as an addition (not a substitute) to our regular content. If you know of other tools that are no longer produced but are still useful, we'd love to hear about them, too! --OH]

This tool is a system for eliminating squeaky floors. There are several versions available; I used the Squeeeek-No-More for carpeted floors.

Essentially, the kit inclues the following: a tool for finding joists under the floor; a tripod depth stop and square-drive driver bit for the drill; and square-drive screws which are grooved at the top of the threads.

First, you locate the joist by chucking the joist finder, which is a long screw threaded only on the end and has a hex end for the drill/driver. Pick a place and go for it. If you are over a joist, once the screw is down a couple inches, when you back it out it will push itself out. If you’re not over a joist, it spins freely. It’s pretty easy to tell even when the screw goes in if you are on a joist.

Then you set the tripod stand over the joist and drive a screw through the center into the floor. The screw goes through the carpet, through the sub-floor, and into the joist. Once a few screws are in place, you can use the side of the tripod to rock the screws back and forth to break it off where grooved. The screws’ depth is set by the tripod so that they break off slightly below the surface of the sub-floor.

After a little brushing with your hand, the carpet reveals no evidence of the screws.

After seeing an add in the back of a magazine, I bought a set. When I saw it, I did not expect the system to work, since I was expecting a dual-pitch screw that would pull the subfloor to the joist. The screws are just like wood screws with a groove. We had a large area about 1′ x 3′ in our bedroom that squeaked a lot. You could feel the give in the floor.

I put about 15 screws into the area, about every 4″ in three different joists. Now it is almost completely silent. This was only a few days ago, so I’m not sure of how long it will last, but so far so good.

The Belkin Mini Surge Protector Dual USB charger is a neat little gadget that provides three regular outlets and two powered USB ports, all while protecting anything attached from potential surges. It is extremely useful when traveling as it allows me to reduce the number of adapters I need to carry with me, while also ensuring there are outlets necessary for laptop, camera, etc. I also use them in several rooms in my house where I frequently find myself charging devices. I keep accumulating more electronic devices and these little and inexpensive accessories make managing them and their cords much simpler.