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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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.
If you have a long-haul international flight coming up and you'll be in the back of the plane, this guide to the roomiest seats in regular economy could be useful. Noting seat pitch, width, recline ability, and roominess of the cabin, it's a list of which flights will be the most comfortable. I've been on two of them and will vouch that flying on Emirates in an Airbus 380 felt like going back in time to the 1980s, as in a far superior experience than what we're stuck with now most of the time.
Hidden Costs of Home Ownership
If your parents are asking you when you’re going to settle down and buy a house, you might want to send them this Bankrate article on how much it really costs to own a home. When you add in insurance, taxes, maintenance, and repairs, the average U.S. homeowner with an average house is paying an extra $18,118 every year on top of their hefty mortgage. (It’s much higher in states like California.) You could probably pay for a year’s worth of Airbnb monthly rentals in much of the world on that amount alone.
More People Can Stay in Thailand for 60 Days
Thailand’s visa rules change more often than I buy new shoes, but the latest tweak is a positive one all around. First of all, citizens of more countries can enter without getting a visa in advance, from 57 nations to 93. In a great change for nomads passing through, visa-free visitors can now stay in Thailand for up to 60 days, compared to the earlier limit of 30 days. Get the full story here.
Global Entry Renewal Delays
My wife applied to renew her Global Entry status back in December, paying and then getting reimbursed from a travel credit card. As of July 17, she’s still waiting for a response. Apparently that has become so normal that the agency is giving a two-year grace period: you can keep using the program (and TSA PreCheck) as long as you applied in time to renew. According to this article that has a response from the agency, 77% of applications are handled automatically and are swift, but the 23% that are randomly reviewed manually are getting stuck in a huge backlog.