Power Gear

Tools for Possibilities: issue no. 182

Simultaneously power up multiple tools

Craftsman Auto Switch

Like most people I don’t have a dedicated workshop, meaning my power tools share the garage with lots of things that aren’t happy about sawdust wafting over them like the morning dew. The solution is a Shopvac, but it can be a real hassle remembering to turn it on/off as I turn on/off my table saw, hand sander, Ridgid Oscillating Belt & Spindle Sander, etc. I’ve been woodworking at home for perhaps 18 years, and the best solution I’ve found is one of these little outlet boxes, which powers up multiple tools automatically.

You simply plug your main tool into the top outlets, then plug your vacuum or work light into one of the other two accessory outlets. Whenever you turn your tool on, it will automatically turn the other outlets on. When you turn your tool off, it waits a few seconds before turning the accessory outlets off, which is useful for clearing the line of dust, etc. I have two in my shop — one for each Shop-Vac so I never have to reconnect power cords or vacuum hoses!

I’ve been using these switches for four years. They definitely save time. On a given woodworking project, I generally turn machines on and off every few minutes and move from machine to machine. Without this switch, you would spend an extra 3 seconds and 2 steps turning it on and another 3 seconds and 2 steps turning it off. Doesn’t sound like much, but in reality those seconds and steps really start to add up, so you’d just end up leaving the vacuum on or using some other less effective dust collection (for example, an on-tool dust collection bag).

I had a discussion with someone about 9 or 10 years ago about how you could build one – and I actually found schematics for a load sensing relay that you could make one with. But for $20, this switch certainly beats trying to round up the components and DIY. — Yitah Wu

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Electrical usage meter

Kill-A-Watt

My electric bills are killing me, and now I can finally figure out exactly why.

The Kill-A-Watt plugs into a wall outlet and will measure the actual electricity usage of any appliance. I’ve been wanting one of these things for years, to the point of seriously considering manufacturing one myself. I’m glad someone has finally done it for me. It looks like my computer costs me something like $216 a year to run. Trouble is, I have five of them. Something’s gotta go.

Street price for this device is about $30. I should save that much in the first month. — Curt Nelson

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Outlet w/individually-powered switches

Ultra Surge Protector

In the old days, I plugged all my computer equipment into a power commander, a large pizza-box device that sat underneath my monitor. It had have many outlets with individual power switches and a master switch on the front, allowing me to regulate which devices were draining power. I haven’t been able to find those power commanders anymore, but after more searching than I expected, I finally found this surge protector that has per-outlet power switches. For the last year, I’ve used two of them as cheap insurance for power regulation in my RV.

Power in an RV can be at a premium, especially if it’s coming from a generator or inverter (batteries/solar). A lot of the equipment in my RV is rarely used nowadays, but drains power if plugged in (vampire appliances!). Disconnecting specific devices is an easy solution — flipping a switch for each outlet is even easier.

I use one for the TV, DVD player, satellite, etc., and one for my computer, monitor, phone charger, external hard drive, etc. I’m now able to turn my computer on and off with the master switch, and turn rarely-used devices on and off only if needed (TV/DVD especially).

I’ve yet to analyze the electric bill — I’d need the previously-reviewed Kill-A-Watt (coincidentally on order) to know exactly how much power I’m saving. But this definitely helps me prevent using more than I expect. A great device for a cabin, RV or anywhere power use might be at a premium. — Mike Polo

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Wall wart solution

Yellow-Jacket 5 Outlet Adapter

This indoor/outdoor 5-outlet adapter is the best I’ve found for dealing with multiple wall-warts. The outlets are spaced just far enough apart to allow virtually any size wall wart to fit, and you can chain together the adapters (each outlet has five outlets, so every additional one in the chain gives you four more outlets). It’s cheaper than specialty adapters like the PowerSquid, and it’s inherently more organized. If you chain a couple PowerSquids together, you’ve got a mess of extra cords on account of that model’s ‘tentacle’ design. If you daisy chain two Yellow-Jackets together, you’ve got a tidier package.

The Yellow-Jackets also feature cable restraints or ‘cord locks’ you can run the cables through. Personally, I cut them off to make the outlets more compact, but if you had five people working outside — each using a power tool and each pulling the adapter in a different direction — these restraints make it so that you’d have to pull a lot harder to cause an accidental unplugging. — Stephen Malinowski

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Better than a power strip

PowerSquid

Lets you connect multiple devices, even with big power converters, to a single outlet. — Zimran Ahmed

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Easy 120 to 220 volt converter

Quick 220

When I moved into my apartment I found it had a through-the-wall air conditioner sleeve. I ignored it and installed my window air conditioner. When that old AC died about 3 years ago, I was told by the co-op board that the rules had changed and I had to use the sleeve. I guess I should pay more attention to coop board announcements. My problem was that next to the sleeve was a 110V outlet but every AC that fit the sleeve required 220V.

After being quoted over $1000 to run 220V to the sleeve I was desperate to find another solution. Luckily, I found the Quick 220 Power Converter. All it took was the 110V outlet near the sleeve and an extension cord from another 110V outlet on a different circuit. Instantly, I had two 220V outlets. And at $160.00 I was very happy with the price. They also throw in an outlet tester because both 110V outlets must be wired correctly (not something you can assume in an old apartment) for the Quick 220 to work. — Donnie B

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Once a week we’ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, and the links to them may or may not work. We present these vintage recommendations as is because the possibilities they inspire are new. Sign up here to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.

03/23/26

Flighty / 23 learnings on community / Keep the Meter Running

Recomendo - issue #506

Best flight-tracking app

On a recent flight from LA to Portland, I used Flighty on my iPhone and was impressed by how much it knew about my trip. It let me know we’d be landing 30 minutes ahead of schedule, and even on the plane’s free texting-only Wi-Fi, it kept updating my flight status and showed me where my plane was on a map. You can share your trip with family so they get automatic landing alerts. The app is beautifully designed, and the “Where’s My Plane?” feature tracks your inbound aircraft up to 25 hours early, so you can see trouble coming. It also warns you about tight connections and tracks your lifetime flying stats on a nice passport-style map. Free for basics; Pro ($59/year or $299 lifetime) adds push alerts, weather radar, and calendar sync. iOS/Mac/Apple Watch only. — MF

23 learnings on building community

I am so grateful when someone who is truly adept in their field shares their learnings, and Patricia Mou’s essay is a decade’s worth of wisdom in community building and holding space. My own personal journey with community has been about repairing what went wrong in the church structures I grew up in, so I feel very lucky now to be a facilitator and spaceholder within a few small webs of community, both online and in person. This essay reaffirms that, when it’s done well, community can be both life-changing and world-changing. The learnings that resonate most for me are: You will become everyone’s mother and father whether you want to or not. / You cannot ask for transcendence from a nervous system that hasn’t yet landed. / Light structure is what makes deep emergence possible. / What your community doesn’t talk about shapes it as much as what it does. — CD

Uplifting social follow

A really great TikTok and Instagram follow is Keep the Meter Running. A guy waves down a taxi in New York City, jumps in and says “take me to your favorite place and keep the meter running.” The cabbie is then interviewed on their way to their favorite place, usually a very local ethnic restaurant. Without fail, each cabbie turns out to have a remarkable life story, summoned forth by the sensitive probing of the back seat passenger, comedian Kareem Rahma. This is the real America! A longer previous version of this routine ran on TV a few years ago, but at only a few minutes long, this show is brilliant. — KK

OXO Good Grips angled measuring cup

The markings on our Pyrex 2-cup measuring cup wore off after years of use, so I replaced it with the OXO Good Grips Angled Measuring Cup, made of non-BPA plastic. The clever part is the slanted surface inside the cup with measurement lines you can read by looking straight down — no more crouching to check at eye level. It’s lightweight and has a soft non-slip handle. Also available in 1-cup and 4-cup sizes. — MF

In Every Language

In Every Language is a Wikipedia search engine that lets you see how different regions of the world depict the same thing. It’s very cool to search a word and notice the subtle ways different cultures and collective psyches encode the same idea differently across languages. — CD

Best quick-release phone holder

Since my phone is now my camera, I needed an easy way to attach it to a tripod. The solution is this metal adapter that holds the phone with a circle of magnets. The Mosenvka Portable Phone Grip ($29) then screws into the tripod head. But once I had it, I started using this same rig to hold my phone on my desk for FaceTime and video sessions, at the perfect angle. Its base also has a second heavy-duty magnet so the whole thing can stick anywhere there is metal, useful for filming. The holder rotates in any direction at any angle with just the right balance of ease and stiffness, to keep the phone rock steady. The whole thing is machined metal instead of plastic, so it is very rigid and stable. If your phone supports it, a magnetic ring is by far the best quick-release hold system. — KK

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03/22/26

Book Freak #201: Indistractable

How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life

Get Indistractable

From the author of Hooked, Indistractable reveals that the real enemy of focus isn’t technology — it’s our inability to deal with discomfort. Nir Eyal offers a research-backed four-step model for becoming “indistractable” and reclaiming control over your attention and your life.

Core Principles

Distraction Is an Escape from Discomfort

Most people blame their phones for their distraction, but the root cause is internal. The drive to relieve discomfort is the root cause of all our behavior — including distraction. Boredom, loneliness, fatigue, uncertainty, and anxiety are the internal triggers that push us toward escape. Until you understand why you’re reaching for the distraction, you’ll keep finding new ones.

Traction vs. Distraction

Both words end in “action” — one pulls you toward your goals, the other pulls you away. Traction is any action that moves you toward what you really want. Distraction is any action that moves you away from it. The difference isn’t the activity itself but whether it aligns with your values and intentions. Scrolling social media can be traction if it’s what you planned to do; working on a project can be distraction if you’re using it to avoid something more important.

Master Internal Triggers

Being indistractable means learning to cope with discomfort rather than escaping it. When you feel the urge to distract yourself, pause and identify the internal trigger: What are you feeling? What discomfort are you trying to escape? Simply naming the sensation and surfing the urge — allowing it to crest and pass — builds your ability to stay focused when it matters.

Make Time for Traction

You can’t call something a distraction unless you know what it’s distracting you from. Being indistractable requires turning your values into time — literally scheduling what matters on your calendar. If you don’t plan your day, someone else will. The goal isn’t to finish everything you planned but to do what you said you would do when you said you would do it.

Try It Now

1. The next time you feel the urge to check your phone or switch tabs, pause. Ask yourself: “What discomfort am I trying to escape right now?” Name the feeling before deciding what to do.
2. Look at tomorrow’s calendar. Is there time blocked for your most important priorities, or just meetings and obligations? Schedule at least one block of “traction time.”
3. Identify one external trigger you can eliminate today — a notification, an app on your home screen, or an open browser tab that constantly tempts you.
4. Notice when you use busyness as distraction. Ask: “Am I doing this because it matters, or because it feels productive while avoiding something harder?”
5. Try the ten-minute rule: When tempted by distraction, tell yourself you can give in — in ten minutes. Often the urge will pass.

Quote

“Being indistractable means striving to do what you say you will do.”

03/20/26

Earbud Straps/Companion Flights Perk/Extra Airport Time

Nomadico issue #198

Earbud Loss Insurance

I’ve talked before about all the lonely single earbuds that end up on airplane seats and floors, so I like this solution my tour participant Ryan told me about: a simple earbud strap that goes around your neck. Most come in a multipack like this for Airpods or others with a stem, but you can find ones with a larger circle for the Bose earbuds or others that have a similar no-stem shape. At $9 or less, this is a small solution for a large problem. Just pop the buds into the stretchy silicone holders at the end and then the two are connected, now far less likely to go missing if one drops out when you fall asleep or are on the move in a crowd.

Southwest Companion Pass Offer

Southwest has killed off nearly every aspect of flying with them that made them special, but they still offer the companion pass where a guest can fly for free (except for taxes). It normally takes a lot of flight spending to score it, but they’re temporarily offering a free one to anyone who gets their Chase credit card. The benefit is good through the end of February, 2027. You also claw back one free checked bag plus seat selection if you have their card. They offer three tiers of benefits and sign-up bonuses depending on how much you spend on the annual fee, from $99 to $249. See the details here.

Early Airport Arrival, Longer Layovers

As you’ve probably heard, we’re going through yet another government shutdown in the USA, wreaking havoc at the airports, so allow extra time at every stage if you must fly in the states, especially if you have a connecting flight. This is not a good time to book a tight connection, especially one that involves going through security again, as arriving international flights do. Global Entry is suspended (even though it’s almost 100% automated now) and security lines are getting longer thanks to TSA personnel shortages. Bring a good book and a patient attitude…

Jasna Skiing Prices in Slovakia

I’ve talked before about how much cheaper it is to ski in Europe than it is in the USA or Canada. I took a group to Slovakia at the end of February and here are a few sample prices from the country’s biggest resort area: one-day lift ticket for 50 kilometers of long runs is €71, a slopeside pint of (good) pilsner beer is €3.20, sit-down restaurant meals were €9 to €18, premium ski rentals were €28 per day for a full package including night storage, and a local electric train linking towns in the region is €7 for 24 hours. I’m not sure where we’ll go in 2027, but get on the notification list here.

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A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

03/19/26

What’s in my NOW? — Quentin Sinig

issue #246

I’m a GTM leader (think: the generalist guy startups hire to figure out how to make their first million in revenue) and a techie who’s always been more in love with product than selling. Also a loving dad and a lifelong gamer. Possibly the last unapologetic optimist French person. — Quentin Sinig

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PHYSICAL

• reMarkable Paper: I always need to write things down, to clear my head and capture ideas. My phone was already overflowing with notes, but this (fairly expensive) toy helped me turn that chaos into something tidy. Bonus: they even have a refurbished section.
• Computer Engineering for Babies: it’s the very first gift I gave my newborn daughter. Because yes, I care a lot about nurturing a young girl’s engineering mindset. And okay, I’ll admit it: I’m a total nerd and I love the idea of sharing that passion with her.
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: simply the best video game I’ve ever played (no French bias tbh). I’m so obsessed that I’d go to a concert just to hear its soundtrack, which took two years to compose. It’s also the only game I’ve finished completely and then replayed in New Game+ mode.

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DIGITAL

• My new project Looties. It’s the marketplace dedicated to merch from the tech ecosystem. It enables developers to buy and resell pieces from conferences and events, in a space where tech culture is collected, passed on, and kept in circulation.
• The talk from Steve Winslow at PyTorch Conf 25: Genuinely, this was the only talk I managed to attend and somehow the most refreshing one I’ve been to in a long time. Clear, well-vulgarized, short, and actually useful. It introduced something genuinely new (a new OSS license for AI models) instead of recycling the usual noise.

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INVISIBLE

Being authentic is about being honest, not impressive — favoring truth over optics, and refusing to say what I can’t defend with facts.

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03/18/26

Creeping Death from Neptune / The Book of Gossage

Issue No. 109

CREEPING DEATH FROM NEPTUNE – AN ILLUSTRATED BIO OF ONE THE MOST PECULIAR GOLDEN AGE COMIC BOOK ARTISTS

Creeping Death from Neptune: The Life And Comics Of Basil Wolverton Vol. 1
by Basil Wolverton (author) and Greg Sadowski (editor)
Fantagraphics
2012, 304 pages, 8.4 x 1.2 x 10.8 inches

Buy on Amazon

Cartoonist Basil Wolverton (1909-1978) is best known for his drawings of monstrously ugly people that ran in early issues of MAD, back when it was a comic book. But before that, Wolverton wrote and illustrated bizarre and compelling science fiction comic book stories that pitted square-jawed, steely eyed spacemen with hideous aliens and evil geniuses.

Creeping Death from Neptune contains a wealth of early Wolverton comics, including work he did as a teenager, sketches, unpublished art, and rejection letters he received from publishers and animation studios. Edited by Greg Sadowski, this book is a labor of love and a treasure for anyone interested in the history of comic books. – Mark Frauenfelder

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THE BOOK OF GOSSAGE – IF YOU WANT TO WORK IN ADVERTISING, YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK

The Book of Gossage
by Howard Luck Gossage and Jeff Goodby
Copy Workshop
2006, 308 pages, 8 x 10 x 1 inches (softcover)

Buy on Amazon

Just down the street from San Francisco’s North Beach strip clubs and Beat Museum, I had the privilege of interning for an ad agency located in one of the city’s original firehouses. When I started, I had no idea that the building once belonged to Howard Luck Gossage, an advertising legend. After taking a spin down the firepole I was given a copy of The Book of Gossage and told that if I wanted to work in advertising I needed to read this book. It opened my eyes to how amazing advertising can be, and introduced me to an icon that too few people know about.

The book is dense, as it’s part textbook, part history lesson, and is filled with some incredibly witty and thought-provoking ads. The book collects a bulk of Gossage’s writings where he tackles the big issue: Is Advertising Worth Saving? He also covers topics like: How To Be Creative, The Shape of an Idea, and Our Fictitious Freedom Of The Press.

His ads filled tires with pink air, started the international paper airplane competition, and prevented the Grand Canyon from being flooded. While his creative insights alone would be worth the price of this book, there is also a lot of historic context that’s provided by colleagues, and people who were influenced by his work. Hearing about his charm and love of parties makes you understand why people like Tom Wolfe, John Steinbeck, and Stan Freberg would just hang out at his agency.

As Gossage said himself, “Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them, and sometimes it’s an ad.” If you’re curious about advertising, pursuing a creative career, or just want to learn about a very interesting man, then this book will interest you. – JP LeRoux

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Books That Belong On Paper first appeared on the web as Wink Books and was edited by Carla Sinclair. Sign up here to get the issues a week early in your inbox.

03/17/26

What’s in my NOW? — Quentin Sinig