Gareth’s Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales is published by Cool Tools Lab. To receive the newsletter a week early, sign up here.
Don’t forget about my Holiday Giveaway Challenge. I’m giving away a bundle of both my tips books (Vol. 1, Vol. 2) and three of my favorite everyday tools: The Williams ratcheting screwdriver, the Canary cardboard cutter, and a plastic razor blade. To be eligible, all you need to do is convince three people to sign up for my newsletter (and then send me their email addresses). If you sign up 5 (or more), you get two entries in the drawing. Contest ends Midnight, Dec. 9. Sorry, but this contest is US-only!
One of the things I love about holiday gift exchanging is getting to ask your loved ones for things you might not normally think about buying for yourself. That’s the premise behind this video on A Glimpse Inside. Honestly, I was expecting less common, everyday tools, but the stuff on here is definitely things you might not think about or know about that would make great practical gifts. A couple of things he mentions that I think fall into that special “I wouldn’t likely buy this for myself” category are the Viewtainer storage system, the GRABBO electric vacuum cup lifter, and a benchtop tape dispenser.
If you’re looking for great gift ideas for any maker on your shopping list, consider my two Amazon best-selling tips books (Volume 1, Volume 2). They are filled with tips on things like cutting, gluing, fastening, painting, finishing, electronics, soldering, 3D printing, hobby tips, and much more. The books are designed to appeal to DIYers of all skill levels and interest areas.
Isn’t it time you gave yourself (or someone else) a little Artistic License? Years ago, I created these cards and they’ve been a hit for the holidays. Perfect stocking stuffer! They are $5 each or 5 for $20 (post paid). They come in a wax-sealed white envelope. The cards are credit card sized on thick, laminated card. If interested, email me and we can arrange payment and shipment. Foreign orders will require full postage.
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Cool tools really work.
A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. We post things we like and ignore the rest. Suggestions for tools much better than what is recommended here are always wanted.
Comfortable with Uncertainty by Pema Chodron - I treat this book as a daily devotional. I’m not a religious person but the act of reading one page per day and meditating on it is powerful and scratches my spiritual itch. Pema Chodron has written many books on meditation and mindfulness. Her writing is down to earth, conversational, and never ceases to make me think deeply.
Mini Binoculars - I have two windows in my home office and I love to sit at my desk and use these mini binoculars to observe nature in my yard. You can certainly spend a lot more money on fancy binocs but these are inexpensive and do the job well.
Bowflex 552 Adjustable Dumbbells - Staying fit and strength training have become big parts of my life as I have advanced into middle age. These dumbbells are easy to use, save a ton of space over traditional dumbbell sets and are well made. I’ve had them for years, use them 4 times weekly and they just keep on going.
DIGITAL
Internet Archive - From their website, “Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more”. You can spend hours here discovering live music, old books, videos, you name it. And it’s all free. Kind of what we all wanted from the internet when it began.
Perplexity Comet Browser - This is not just a browser, it’s also an AI assistant. It can do anything that Chrome, Edge or Safari can do but can also book a trip (including finding flights, hotels, etc.), browse your emails for specific information or give you recipe ideas for tonights dinner and order the ingredients for pick up from Wal Mart, etc. Perplexity is a great AI app and the integration to web browser/Ai Assistant just seems natural. It’s very new so it will only get better from here.
INVISIBLE
A lot of people prefer the comfort of a crowd to the responsibility of independent thought. — Shane Parrish
This quote is so appropriate to todays on line world. Shane Parrish is one of the most cogent thinkers around. His Sunday newsletter, Brain Food, bills itself to be a “signal in a world full of noise”. It truly is just that. There’s not a week that goes by where I don’t gain some insight from his critical thinking. He also has several great books and a fantastic podcast.
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