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The endless summer
Work Your Way Around the World, $6 It’s many a graduate’s dream — pay your way as you travel around the world. I lived the dream myself when I was younger, so I know it is possible. Since then I’ve been tracking this subject faithfully, and have read through scores of books and websites offering how-to advice on the dream. They won’t hurt, but this fantastic book — now in its 14th edition! — is really the only one that will give you much help before you leave.
Most of these kind of books are a bunch of hand-waving generalities, or out of date particulars; this one is very specific and very current. It is massively researched, with tons of incoming gossip on where the easily-gotten jobs are this year, and what to do about paperwork and visas in that particular place, and how to land the job, and what you should expect, and letters from those who just did it. It’s all very helpful, practical and inspiring. But don’t get your hopes too high. There are really only two kinds of dependable quick jobs to be found “around the world”: 1) In the service industry in Europe — working at hotels, resorts, bars, camps for other tourists; and 2) teaching English in Asia. For most kids, that’ll be enough. There are hundreds of exceptions to these two, and this book will do its best to point you to them, but they are far fewer, and more dependent on chance. But even that skill — cultivating chance — is tackled with great intelligence in this meaty book, which I can’t recommend too much.
The author Susan Griffith is very prolific and at the center of a number of other related ongoing books, also recommended: Teaching English Abroad, Your Gap Year, and Summer Jobs Worldwide. – KK
How to sell your crafts
The Handmade Marketplace, $13 The giant crafts website Etsy makes it easy to list homemade stuff to a potential audience of millions. But the hard part is getting anyone to pay attention and actually buy it. That requires some basic business and online marketing skills, which are reviewed here, with the home crafter in mind. – KK
What best advice would you offer a crafter who is looking to gain national attention for their work? Invest in great product photography. Great work sells itself, so you need to do everything possible to make sure the beauty of your work comes through in a way that’s apparent to people reading about you online or in print because most people won’t see your work in person.
Are you getting some really great feedback about something in particular that you’ve made? Consider posting these compliments in the description of your item.
Keep these customer service practices in mind at all times: The customers may not always be right, but they do deserve your full attention and respect regarding the matter at hand. Apologize first. What if you didn’t do anything wrong? you may ask. Well, while that may be the case, that’s not really the point. You can, in fact, regret that your customer is upset in any regard. Simply recognizing that your buyer has a problem and has had to take the time out of a busy day to alert you to it is reason enough to apologize. Ask what will make the situation right. If what the customer wants is reasonable and you can do it, you should consider it. Taking a hit on a sale is a small price to pay when it comes to your overall reputation and the trust you are trying to build with your market.
Everyone is in sales
To Sell is Human, $16 Dan Pink argues that hard selling no longer works as it once did; what we need in this new information economy is soft selling. Soft sales are not just for sales people; everyone now is in the business of selling. Soft persuasion techniques are useful to anyone sending an email, writing a resume, doing a kickstart project, even twittering. A seller – either professional or citizen – can no longer rely on the old tactics such as “overcoming objections” and “closing an offer” but must shift to new skills such as improvisation, attunement, and service. Pink arrives at the radical idea that selling well makes us better humans, and better humans sell better. This book accomplished two things: it persuaded me that I am in sales, and it gave me some new tools for gently selling what I have to offer. – KK
Successful negotiators recommend that you should mimic the mannerisms of your negotiation partner to get a better deal. For example, when the other person rubs his/her face, you should, too. If he/she leans back or leans forward in the chair, you should, too. However, they say it is very important that you mimic subtly enough that the other person does not notice what you are doing, otherwise this technique completely backfires. Also, do not direct too much of your attention to the mimicking so you don’t lose focus on the outcome of the negotiation. Thus, you should find a happy medium of consistent but subtle mimicking that does not disrupt your focus.
After someone hears your pitch … 1. What do you want them to know? 2. What do you want them to feel? 3. What do you want them to do? If you’ve got strong answers to these three questions, the pitch will come together more easily.
One way to do better is with what I call “emotionally intelligent signage.” Most signs typically have two functions: They provide information to help people find their way or they announce rules. But emotionally intelligent signage goes deeper. It achieves those same ends by enlisting the principles of “make it personal” and “make it purposeful.” It tries to move others by expressing empathy with the person viewing the sign (that’s the personal part) or by triggering empathy in that person so she’ll understand the rationale behind the posted rule (that’s the purposeful part).
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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.
Logitech now sells a low-cost, very high quality, 3D controller called the SpaceNavigator. When I bought mine, you could get an edition for personal use that is only $59 (instead of $99 for the pro edition). This increases Sketchup productivity and fun factor by 2-3 times. If you like SketchUp you have to have this!
The SpaceNavigator is a six-axis controller that you use in conjunction with the mouse and keyboard. With it you can move around the model in three dimensions, intuitively and without changing from one mode to another (e.g. pan to rotate to zoom). You can also configure it to work in what ever fashion is easiest and most intuitive for you. With a little practice you can move through and around the model using the mouse and SpaceNavigator, never touching the keyboard. It provides a huge increase in productivity and, frankly, fun. I’m designing an addition to our house and my kids (6 & 8) have learned to fly through the model without my help. Of course you can use it with other 3D applications, like AutoCAD, Rhino and Maya.
This is one of those things that you purchase and fall in love with because it’s useful, high-quality, and inexpensive. (It works in Windows, Linux, Unix — but not Mac!)— Mike Green
I’ve been using Logitech’s Performance Mouse MX and its former model for about four years. They all have one important feature: hyper fast scrolling. Since I’m an engineer who has to deal with source code files that easily contain thousands of lines, I have to scroll an ordinary mouse hundreds of times to browse a file. With hyper fast scrolling, it only takes one single scroll as the wheel spins with minimal friction. This really reduce the stress on my fingers. It can also easily be switched back to normal scrolling behavior (by pushing down on the scroll wheel) when I’m not dealing those gigantic files. — Jordan Cherng
Similar to Jordan’s Logitech Performance Mouse MX is the Anywhere Mouse MX that I’ve been using for the past two years. Unlike the Performance model, the Anywhere model is significantly smaller, and is easily packed in the included carrying case. Despite the small size, I find it to be one of the most comfortable mice I’ve ever handled which is especially surprising as I have large hands!
Outside of size, the two mice are remarkably similar. Like its bigger brother, the Anywhere Mouse also features “hyper-scrolling” which is very useful when dealing with large documents or long web pages. The scrolling (among other features) is customizable with the included Logitech software (that works for both PC and Macs). Outside of scrolling, they both feature programmable buttons, and most importantly very accurate tracking. Logitech calls their technology Darkfield which they claim is better able to respond to irregularities on a surface (and thus respond more accurately during tracking). I’ve used mine on many shiny surfaces which normally confuse optical mice without any problems, with the biggest surprise coming when I used it on a glass countertop which is normally a no go for laser-tracking mice.
The only other significant differences between the two are that the Performance Mouse can be charged via micro-USB, and that it has a few more buttons for those who want to maximize the customizability of their mice. Both use Logitech’s unifying receiver (which we’ve reviewed in the past) and have excellent battery life. My Anywhere Mouse gets about 4-6 months of use from two rechargeable AAs.
Despite being significantly more expensive than other mice on the market, I have found that these higher end Logitech mice are worth it. They are comfortable and reliable pieces of technology that seem to disappear in use, and for that I’m incredibly grateful. — Oliver Hulland
From a relaxed standing position with your arms at your side raise your right hand while holding your elbow still until your fore arm is level with the floor. Spread you fingers apart and rotate your hand until your palm is facing down – keeping your elbow at your side. Now if you are anything like me your hand is rotated about as far as it can. In mechanical parlance, the wrist is “hard against the stops.” When you are using a conventional mouse it is in this rather tense and uncomfortable position that your hand remains. As a designer I often spend days on end at the computer modeling in 3D – left hand on the space ball and keyboard with right hand on the mouse. Over time I began experience a myriad of painful symptoms from fore arm throbbing to thumb tenderness to shoulder aches. These discomforts grew into debilitating pain to the point I wondered if I could continue in my chosen profession. And then I discovered the Evoluent Mouse – and instantly the pain and discomfort tailed away to nothing.
Repeat the previous exercise but this time place your hand in a vertical – hand shake like – position. You will find that your hand is now very relaxed residing as it does pretty close to halve way between hard right rotation and hard left. The Evoluent mouse looks like a mouse turned on its edge with the laser tracking business on the edge of the mouse. This configuration positions the hand and wrist in a basically neutral position thereby avoiding the stresses rotating the hand to a palm down position induces.
I cannot overstate how drastic an improvement this mouse is from all others. Both Microsoft and Logitech make products which rotate the hand partially toward the vertical but these are partial measures and do not afford the total neutral ergonomics provided by the Evoluent. If you are fighting soreness or pain from you mouse arm-hand – please give your body a break and give the Evoluent mouse a try. — Donald Ansley
While I’ve always spent a lot of time computing, the precise, all-day cursor movements of professional writing and designing (a recent switch) got me vexed with my previous mouse’s lack of control and an aching wrist. After borrowing a friend’s $70 trackball and enjoying the fingertip control and comfort, I set out to get tracking at the lowest possible cost and highest possible comfort. I settled on the Logitech Marble Mouse.
Shaped like a low, oval hill, this $20* mouse is a nice inverse of the natural curve of a hand. The trackball sits naturally under the index and middle fingers and moves very smoothly. The sizable left and right buttons are situated directly under your thumb and ring finger, while the two smaller buttons above them can be designated for a variety of functions like scrolling and zoom. The symmetry also makes it ambidextrous, which is great for any left/right-handed families that share a home computer.
I did try a few thumb-operated trackballs, but a slight weirdness in my right thumb joint causes some discomfort when I move it a lot. Every time I put my hand on the Marble Mouse, I’m able to keep it totally relaxed. The mouse is large enough for comfort, but still relatively small enough to take on the road. The build quality is solid, and it’s easy to clean. Best of all, my wrist no longer smarts after a long day’s editing.
Bonus: the heavy, low-friction ball makes a nice desk toy when you need a break. — George Cochrane
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.
