I've been using the Windows-only Bluebeam PDF Revu professionally for two years. As a PDF reader and markup tool for construction and design professionals, or anyone who works with large format drawings, there is no equal. I have gotten our entire office of designers and estimators to switch from printed plans to using Revu with little to no coercion. Even the strongest proponents of paper, those who print their email, have decided to switch to digital plans after seeing how easy and fast Revu really is.

For the light user it provides all the tools you would have on your desk: a scale, pen, highlighter and calculator. This allows you to switch to on-screen takeoff and markup without changing your workflow, making it less scary for some folks. For the more progressive people, you can dig in to the more advanced functionality of the markups list, custom columns with formulas, filtering, scripting, even visual search where you draw a box around something (pictures, text, or both) and it will find the same image elsewhere in the document. The "eXtreme" version even lets you OCR the plans and search the text.

I have found Revu to be better than any other PDF software because of it's ease of use for beginners, advanced features for power users, and its absolute speed of rendering the page on screen. Zooming in and our, and panning in all directions are seamless and smooth with native vector based PDFs (results vary with scanned PDFs).  Bluebeam has an active user community with an online forum with multiple Bluebeam employees contributing to the forum daily.

In addition to being the best PDF tool, it's cheaper than Adobe's own Acrobat Pro. Bringing this tool to my company has saved us thousands by eliminating paper printing and shipping costs, digitizer board costs, and Acrobat costs. Bluebeam PDF Revu is hands down the best and most important piece of software on my computer

I love scissors. I use them in my kitchen, in the laundry room, at my desk, and throughout my apartment. Yet, I rarely have a pair with me while on the go. Or, at least I rarely had a pair with me until I found the KUM Pencut.

Traditional scissors are potentially hazardous items to throw in a bag (which is why I never used to carry a pair with me). They rarely come with a sheath, and without protection the likelihood of dulling the blades, or accidentally tearing a hole in your bag (or hand) is significant.

The KUM Pencut is an ingeniously designed pair of scissors that masquerades as a pen. When folded the blades are kept hidden beneath a sturdily affixed pen cap. The pen-like form gives the impression that there is nowhere for your fingers to go, but pull the plastic sliders down and two pieces of nylon fold out creating comfortable finger holds.

Outside of being cleverly designed, the scissors are very sharp, while also having full tang blades (which gives the scissors a surprising sturdiness). With the cap on, it's very easy to mistake the scissors for just another pen that I've slipped into a pen-holder in my bag; it also means that it stays in place, and is there when I need it.

The biggest downside to these scissors is the price, but given they're sturdy build and how many conversations they've started I'm confident it's worth it.

We've had such a fantastic response to the Cool Tools Library request I mentioned on Friday that we're going to turn it into a contest (previous submissions will be grandfathered in). Feel free to submit recommended books until Monday, February 13th. The authors of the two best reviews can pick a prize from the Cool Tools Prize Pool (which has been updated with some really great prizes!)

Once more for good measure:

What's the essential book for carpenters? Metalsmiths? Landscape designers? Tailors or seamstresses? What about information design? Or sous vide? Tanning or taxidermy? Home brewing? Car repair? Bicycle frame building? The list goes on and on.

Every trade and hobby has their own bible, and we want to identify and collect them all in one place so that others may benefit.

Submit your recommendation (or request) here, post it in the comments below, or feel free to email it to editor@cool-tools.org.

-- Oliver Hulland

We bought these kids sunglasses about 2 months ago (at REI), when my son was 4 months old. Before that we had about given up going out during the day, as my son would become agitated within a few minutes of going out. Now going out of the house is one of our best times.

I was a bit concerned when buying these, figuring my son would knock the glasses out of place continually. However, after a very short period he acts like the glasses aren't even there, only complaining when they are askew.

Reviewers on Amazon have complained that the strap is too big for a 4-month old. 4-months is probably near the lower limit on age for these. We needed to adjust the strap to the smallest position and use them with a hat for them to fit. But we also found that they didn't need to be very tight to stay in place.

I bought this brand because it was carried by REI, who I believe carries quality merchandise. I'm not sure if I would trust the UV protection of the cheapest model that Walmart sources at the lowest price (poor UV protection in sunglasses being worse than no protection at all).

Besides the UV protection and ability to be out in the bright sun, there is also the cool factor, which was really unexpected. Every time we go out walking, I'm amazed at the number of turned heads and comments we get about the shades. The words "cool dude" are used frequently. I'm also now aware of the parents who are out in the bright sun with sunglasses while their infant or toddler is left to squint.

Make your own. Not those tinny flea market varieties, but large striking sonorous chimes tuned in all manner of unusual styles. (Listen to samples on the book’s website or included CD). There are several dozen unusual ways to tune the chimes. All tunings are fairly mathematical, which is the core of this book, but not difficult to execute with hardware-store tubing. My son and I used this short but very explicit manual to create a large copper pipe one that emits a lovely melody in the breeze. The bigger the better. (The bigger the more wind they need, too.) This guide is a very practical way to experience the math of music and the beauty of alternative music systems.

Setting up the hanging strings at the correct spacing.

Our copper chime hanging in the cherry tree.

In the past we've highlighted an astonishing array of useful books that covered topics ranging from bioremediation to underground home building to fermentation. These books are tools because they not only help us learn but also put knowledge to use.

Help us fortify our library of useful books by submitting your favorite text for a particular subject including an explanation of why you think it's essential. We want to feature that dog-eared book that you wouldn't lend to a friend for fear you wouldn't get it back. It can be the best beginner's guide, or a slightly more advanced technical manual detailing materials or techniques. If you can, please include scans of pages that we can use to illustrate the book's content. This has been done before but never with any insight or explanation of what makes the book useful or cool.

What's the essential book for carpenters? Metalsmiths? Landscape designers? Tailors or seamstresses? What about information design? Or sous vide? Tanning or taxidermy? Home brewing? Car repair? Bicycle frame building? The list goes on and on.

Every trade and hobby has their own bible, and we want to identify and collect them all in one place so that others may benefit.

Submit your recommendation (or request) here, post it in the comments below, or feel free to email it to editor@cool-tools.org.

When you get sick and tired of reapplying those adhesive felt furniture feet to all your furniture every time they come off (go ahead, look under something; a lot of them are coming off or missing aren't they?), you can get these improved ones that I found a few years ago.

The round metal rivet hammers easily into the end of the leg with a tack hammer, and the metal part doesn't break like the kind with the single skinny nail in the center. (And the adhesive kind, as you no doubt have noticed, do not stay properly attached for very long at all.) I have never had one of these fail yet.

This vendor has them for a good price; they have a $25 minimum, which means you have to order about 80. However, you can also get them at Amazon.

In the old days (before the web) you could not read the operating manual or instructions for an appliance, device, or tool until you got it home and unpacked it. Getting the manual was considered one of the benefits of purchasing the product. In fact, you had to purchase extra copies if you lost the original, or wanted to check it out. It was often only later when you finally had the box opened that you discovered a) it did not permit the function you bought it for, or b) it was a quarter inch smaller than it looked and so didn't fit, or c) it was incompatible with the assessors set you already had, or d) it had no manual!

Those days are gone. You can find a PDF version of the manual for most products on the web if you search hard enough. It is not as easy as it should be, but the smarter manufacturers make it easy to download the specs of whatever they sell.

That leads to this new rule: get the manual first, before you buy.

For a large home remodel I had to purchase a pile of new appliances, lights, plumbing fixtures, hardware, materials, gadgets, and some tools. I instituted a "Manual First, Buy Later" policy, and it had immediate positive effects. Once I identified a possible candidate for purchase, I would google for its manual. Equally important as finding the operating instructions and basic specs, is to get hold of the installation instructions. There are few sites that aggregate manuals and specs of major lines, but often I would wind up at the manufacturer's site. There I would download the PDF and read it carefully. That's where you find out its precise dimensions, its actual power needs, its exact connections, its real compatibility. I lost count of the number of inappropriate bad purchases I avoided by studying the manual and specs first.

What baffles me are the clueless manufacturers who still don't put their installation and operating manuals online in 2012. (I'm thinking of you, LG.) The main result of this process is simply fewer surprises. Less returns, better integration.

I was heartened to see that even the professionals do this. Here is a snapshot of our plumber "at work" in the bathroom. He has his tablet opened to a installation PDF, and his phone is googling a help number for questions brought up by specs in the PDF.

Locating any particular item's installation and operating specs is still not as easy as it should be. Amazon could make it the norm to have the full spec PDF for every item they sell, or Google could try to algorithmically sort them out, or some clever aggregator could centralize them all. But for now it is worth seeking them out first, any purchase later.

-- KK

I've had an iPhone since the first model and despite trying out probably hundreds of apps I have a relatively small collection that I use every day.

One of the things I use my iPhone for every day is catching up with blogs and news through RSS. I'm a reasonably heavy Google Reader user, following 294 feeds (including BoingBoing and Cool Tools naturally). There are a host of RSS feed reader apps in the app store, and *most* of them integrate with Google Reader. I've tried most of them, seduced by the promises of new features and pretty UIs, but I always return to one of the first I tried: Byline.

The Byline Google Reader integration is straightforward, and offers all the features you would expect. These are the same features offered by many a reader:

• Syncing of read items
• Badge showing number of unread items
• Starring and sharing (with or without notes)
• Showing all items, browsing by label or by feed
• Instapaper and mobile safari integration

And so on....

The killer feature for me, and one I've not found in any other reader app, is that Byline caches (optionally and configurably) the webpage associated with an RSS entry. That means that partial RSS entries, or feeds like Daring Fireball that link to an alternative page, have the *actual content* fully stored on the device. When travelling or somewhere without mobile internet you have full access to your RSS feeds and their precious payload of information or LOLs.

Byline isn't perfect, but every time I've tried another feed reader app I've found I can't live without the offline caching and come slinking back to byline. The *biggest* flaw with Byline was the lack of a native iPad app, but since I originally wrote this review a native iPad app was released and it works very well. Byline has only improved in stability and reliability, and I'm still using it every day. Byline coped with the Google Reader changes very well. It hasn't yet got Google + integration, but hopefully that will come soon (but it isn't core functionality anyway).

I did use the old Google Reader sharing feature to post items from reader to twitter via the shared items RSS feed. Funnily enough, despite this feature being removed from the Google Reader UI it still works in byline!

A few years ago we decided to join the growing backyard chicken movement. We knew zero about chicken raising. We were interested in keeping a handful of hens for eggs, so we didn’t want info on raising flocks of them (how many eggs can you eat a day?). I read every book for backyard beginners I could find, and after studying ten of them, the one that was most helpful to us was Raising Chickens for Dummies. It did the best job of anticipating our questions for a low-rent minimal approach. For instance, we had no desire to be cleaning chicken-shit every week, and we opted for deep bedding in the coop, a tip suggested by the book.

Our first egg!

We've had chickens for two years now, and the book is still answering questions. The author runs a website, Back Yard Chickens, that has very active forums where you can ask other backyarders questions not found in his book. The site's albums of photos of homemade coops proudly posted by members is very helpful and inspirational.

If you decide to graduate to larger flocks I would point you to the previously recommended book Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, which is extremely comprehensive, but often more than a beginner needs.

Keeping our days-old chicks warm under a heat lamp.

BTW, I was initially skeptical I would be able to tell a difference with backyard eggs, but it's true. Backyard eggs do taste better; they are more...well...eggy. However, they won't be cheaper, even if you don't count your time. We kept our initial costs down by constructing a coop from scraps from a building site in the neighborhood (after asking permission). We had to buy the screening, which is double layered at the bottom (another book tip) because we have pretty serious predators around. We installed the previously reviewed automatic watering dish from the mail-order hatchery McMurray, which means that overall, the five chickens are very low maintainance.

I asked Charles Platt, former editor of Cool Tools, what he is packing these days and he replied with this list. It's not your usual selection:

I like to be fully prepared when traveling, but I hate excess weight. This has led to a computer bag containing not just a computer but as many small items as possible, packaged in such a way that they don't fall to the bottom in an undifferentiated mess.

The key to the packaging is to use a modular system based on Darice Mini Storage Boxes (available with or without compartments--I prefer those without). These parts boxes measure about 3.5" x 5.7" x 1.2". They have durable metal hinges and can be stacked edge-to-edge. My computer bag holds five of them in its main compartment. Amazon sells an assortment, or you can buy individual styles from CraftAmerica.

Inside the storage boxes I keep:

* Retractable Rosewill ethernet connector, about 1.5" x 3".

* Mini-USB to full-USB wire adapter, 6", for uploads from camera to laptop.

* Mini-mouse. I don't like trackpads.

* Spare laptop battery.

* Medications. To save space, I transfer pills into little 3" x 4" zip-lock plastic bags. I peel the prescription labels from pill bottles and stick them to the bags. (but cheaper from eBay).

* One 50mm diameter concave mirror, so that I can examine my own eye if I get a foreign object in it and there's no one else to assist. The concavity allows very close-up focusing.

* Cell phone charger.

* Camera battery charger.

* Earbuds and wire-mounted microphone with USB plug, for Skype calls via laptop. Especially useful when traveling internationally.

* Miniature 3-foot measuring tape in 1" x 1.5" enclosure.

* Plastic lightweight miniature camera tripod, folds to 1.5" x 6" x 0.6", so that I can take time exposures almost anywhere.

* SD data card reader with USB connector. Just in case image transfer from camera to computer fails.

* Miniature LED flashlight.

* Aegis Padlock 500GB external USB drive, with 256-bit hardware encryption. The nice thing about this drive is that you enter your password on a numeric keypad built into the drive. Thus, no software drivers are necessary, and you can plug it into any computer. And if you leave it behind in a motel room, your data are secure (supposedly there is no backdoor to bypass the encryption). Can you plead the 5th Amendment if an inquisitive US immigration agent wants to see what's saved on it? The last I heard, that issue is being litigated in a couple of test cases.

All these items fit inside the five storage boxes. In addition of course the bag has its own set of storage pockets containing pens, blank sheets of paper, two pairs of eyeglasses, paper printout of all addresses and phone numbers, business cards, passport, a printout of all online passwords using a simple cipher that I can decode in my head, and a pocket digital camera, currently a Canon S100. And, of course, there's a computer (Sharp MP30, no longer made unfortunately).

The bag itself is quite small: 12" x 14" x 5". Even when it's fully loaded, I find the weight tolerable.

-- Charles Platt

The sales pitch for an extended warranty is simple: pay some extra money now to extend the manufacture's 90-day warranty another 3 years to save on expensive repairs later. For most appliances an extended warranty is a rip-off. The cost of this insurance rarely pays for itself. Either the device keeps working till just after the warranty period, or the cost of the warranty extension exceeds the cost of replacing the unit. Either way, the money made by selling uneconomical extended warranties is a major source of profit for retailers. That is why they are selling it: because on average most devices don't break during this period. Therefore, the wisdom of the smart shopper: skip the extended warranty.

There are a few exceptions to this rule. At this particular moment in technology, there are 3 major devices that seem particularly repair-prone and problematic, with frequent failures within their first 3 years, and with high costs of repair. According to a study by the independent Consumer Reports (August 2011), those three are: personal computers, refrigerators and zero-turn-radius riding lawn mowers. And because of their frequent failure across brands the insurance of an extended warranty is justified in their cases.

But not all extended warranties (EW) are the same. You can purchase an EW from the manufacturer, from the retailer selling the device, from a third party, or from your credit card company. And different issuers have different selling points.

In the personal computer realm, the best deal is Apple's. As 25-year Apple fans we automatically figure in the cost of AppleCare's 3-year EW for any device we purchase from them. Sad to say, we frequently need it. Happy to say, their service is great. We take the ailing unit to a local Genius Bar, and they swap out what's broken and make it right. Over the years we'd had screens, keyboards, drives, motherboards, power supply, all repaired for no extra costs over the EW. And that is not to mention the great real-human phone support help for any kind of software related questions.

Refrigerators are a different matter. Almost everyone has one, and newer models (particular those with ice makers) can be very complex. In the past few months, we needed to purchase our first new refrigerator. Even our plumber told us that the EW was worth getting for a refrigerator. But what kind? Sears offered one plan. Home Depot another. Visa, our credit card company offered another if we used their card. Square Trade offered third-party service. With the help of Camille Cloutier, we researched all the plans to see which had the best deal using a new LG refrigerator as a test case. Her research is summed up in this table here.

The short answer is that like many other industries, when you get behind the curtain there are really only a few major players. Most retailers and card companies outsource their extended warranty programs to a few industry giants, who rebrand their service, and then outsource the actual repairs to local companies. But because there are so many brands involved in this transaction it is very hard to assign credit or blame when things don't work out. If you read the feedback in forums on refrigerator repairs most unhappy customers aren't making the distinction between the manufacturer of the appliance, or the retail seller of it, or the company selling the EW, or the actual company supplying the repair technicians who come to your house. Those are four different companies for one experience for the customer.

What I found in warranty repair is that the competency of the local service branch probably plays more of a difference in customer satisfaction than anything else, but was the least consistent. If the local agency did a poor job fixing a problem, customers would naturally blame LG, or Panasonic, or GE for crappy quality and service. It is hard to judge the service quality in an EW, but it is essentially the same as the quality of a regular warranty repair -- that is dependent on local crews -- and this is important -- who often service all the different manufacturers. The Maytag man is unusual because most of the others repair technicians are contracted out and work on all brands.

So the choice of EW providers comes down to price and plan. All the policies we examined include a "No Lemon" clause -- if three of the same repairs are made in a 12 month period and a fourth becomes necessary, they will replace the unit, and most of them share the same long list of exclusions. Of all the policies, Visa's was the shortest and least specific. Its instructions on claim processing seemed the most lengthy (to report a problem, they mail you a claims form, you get an estimate and return that claim form, once it's approve, the claim can proceed).

Most 4- to 5-year service plans cost about 20% of the purchase price. Except Home Depot; they charge a flat fee of $100 for a 4-year extended contract on refrigerators (on a large one that's only 4%). It begins when the 1-year manufacturer's warranty ends, so I went with them for our extended warranty on a new fridge. I now have 5 years of service for $100, which seems like reasonable insurance.

-- KK

Ever wish you could whip up a pot of chicken and dumplings, go on your bike ride or canoe paddle or even just hike, and have it piping hot and ready for you when you get back to the car? Ok, more likely it rained or snowed on your ride/paddle/hike and you're shivering and wish you had any hot food back at the car. This is experience speaking.

Nissan, the makers of vacuum mugs to keep your coffee warmer longer, also makes a 4-quart powerless crockpot. No plugs. No heater. It's wonderful.

Here's how it works: pull the inner pot out of the device and put it on the range at home (or the stove at camp). Insert ingredients. Heat 'em up to a boil. Put the inner-lid on, then insert the inner pot into the outer pot. Seal the outer-lid. Put the whole device in your car (or your boat, or your dogsled). Have some fun for 3-6 hours. Open the pots and dish out the steaming food.

Incredibly, the first time this device was debuted in the U.S., it was marketed towards tailgaters and, well, flopped. But I had heard about it, and even though it was unavailable on this continent, managed to have a pot shipped over from Taiwan.

Avid outdoorswoman that I am, I had other uses for this kitchen gadget then side dishes for the football stadium parking lot. One morning, I shucked into my wetsuit and paddled into Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe and back, fighting the chill May wind both ways. After landing the boat, I hopped on my mountain bike and rode the famous Flume trail from the highway up to the snow line. I saw thunderclouds across the mountains and booked down to the car, 2,000 feet below, almost making it before the rain began. I was shivery; just short of hypothermic. I was also happy that before I'd launched the bike, I had the foresight to boil elbow mac, burger, and canned tomatos in the Nissan Thermal Cooker. Hot food = life.

The crock pot has recently come back on the market, and is again being hyped as a tailgater essential. Bah. Tailgaters and church-potluckers aren't going to shell out $149 for a crockpot. People who do endurance races in the northern climates: now there's your target audience. And don't forget that this crockpot is more electricity-efficient than the normal kitchen plug-in models; it takes none once it's hot so it makes a great kitchen addition for the average treehugger.

This couple penny-pinched their salaries for several years, bought a VW Van, and drove it around the world (US, South America and Africa). They share what they have learned on one of the most helpful websites I've seen for this sort of thing. I really like their sensibility and advice. Very reasonable and very wise. They also "review" the tools and stuff they found vital in their small traveling home on this page. Click on a tool to see more.

They give good advice about shipping vehicles (very complex) and even saving up enough to make the journey. They have a book, too.

While living in a VW Van for three years, they got the idea that even this lifestyle was too complex so they get simpler for the next stage. They are now bicycling across Asia, another adventure and great idea. They are riding recycled 1980 mountain bikes. As usual they have all kinds of great tool reviews (water filters and the like).

Part of the reason their advice and website is so useful is that they have no sponsors -- a rarity for ambitious trips like this these days. It keeps them honest and useful. Check 'em out.

Sample excerpts:

Rain gear has proven to be pretty
much useless here in Southeast
Asia. To wear even the thinnest,
most breathable layer in this heat
creates a sauna-like effect. We
have taken to simply riding in the
rain... it's refreshing, really! If it
pours too hard to see, then we
pull over in a bus stop and wait
for the drizzle to return.

This is Rich preparing to cycle out of the
Bangkok railway station at 4 a.m. Notice
the reflective vest and reflective tape stuck
all over the bike. Reflective vests are
available from almost any bicycle shop. The
3M tape is the stuff used on highway guard
rails in the U.S. We purchased strips of it on
eBay for a few dollars.

We purchased our down bags at the Veterans
Thrift Store. They are a few years old and
needed a good washing but are as functional
- albeit with less status - than their adventure
store counterparts. Rich paid $10 for his and Amanda's was only
$1.65. We washed them on the delicate
cycle then ran them through the dryer on low
heat for a few cycles. If you put a running
shoe (make sure it's clean) in the dryer with
the bag it will keep the down from clumping.
We hung them on the line for two sunny days
and now they look and smell brand new - or
close enough.

TechShop (previously reviewed here) is a member-based workshop. They have one of every tool you could dream of -- laser cutters, plasma torches, computer-control sewing machines, welders, 3D printing machines, you name it -- plus piles of regular tools (drill presses, lathes, oscilloscopes, miter saws etc.), and once you are member and cleared for training, you can use them whenever you want. They have a big open tables, lots of room, and offer classes for various tool craft as well.

TechShop sells day passes, week passes, monthly passes, or yearly membership.

The big update is that they have expanded their locations from their original Silicon Valley station. They are currently in 5 US locations, with 3 more in progress, and are adding more each year.

The idea is brilliant. Why should you purchase, maintain, and upgrade expensive shop tools that you might need only once in a while? It's a whole lot better to join a co-op that buys, houses, and upkeeps the gear. You pay rent to use it -- a price that will be a lot less than the cost of purchase. The downside, of course, is that you need to travel to the TechShop, which can be inconvenient. I've found 3 types of folks using it: 1) Those who have tiny apartments and no tools, or tool space, of their own; this is their workshop. 2) Those who are working on a prototype, or a big art project, for a specific period of time; this is their lab and office. 3) Those who own a decent typical workshop but want occasional access to a laser cutter, or 3D printer; this is their luxury.

Here are some photos I took at the San Francisco location:

A cage of power tools.

Welding machines waiting to be used.

A work table with floating power cord, easily accessible from any side, but not in the way. The lockers are for members use.

A plywood bench made using tools on the premises.

Working at the laser cutter control station.

The PeaPod is a travel bed for kids. My kids have outgrown it now, but this was the best thing when they were little and we were on the road a lot.

It replaces the traditional travel crib (sometimes called a pack-and-play). We had one of those, and it was huge and heavy. When my daughter was young, I think we flew 14 times her first year of life. The first few times we checked the old travel crib. It was heavy, bulky, and difficult to deal with when we had her as well. Impossible if it was one of us traveling with her.

The PeaPod folds up and is no bigger/heavier than a large diaper bag. It will pack right in with a car seat when traveling by air. When traveling on the road or even just across town, it packs and unpacks easily. It afforded us a much more convenient and easy way to travel with kids. It's usable by one person with no hassle, and the footprint is less than a traditional travel crib. We've even taken it camping and set it up inside our tent.

The whole thing is self-contained like those hoop style sun shades. There's an elastic strap that goes across the diameter of the hoop. When you take the strap off, it pops right open like a self-opening tent because it actually is a self-opening mini tent. It's just as easy to break down. Two-to-three minutes max to put it up and break it down. You can check out this video to see what's involved.

It also comes with a sleeping bag that fits perfectly. Depending on the model, it may come with an inflatable mattress. The lower end ones don't have a mattress (the P201 does). The middle tier come with an inflatable mattress and a manual pump (which is what I use). The higher end units come with a self-inflatable mattress like a Therm-a-rest.

I'm not kidding when I say that it changed the way we travel. I'll even go so far as to say that we made several international trips with small children that made their sleeping arrangements an afterthought rather than a major concern simply because we had a peapod.

I know baby gear isn't a typical cool tool kind of post, but it is pretty cool. Overall, it's just a better solution to the issue of having a safe place for your child to sleep when you're away from home.

This is a battery operated cat door that unlocks (going inside) by reading the cat's microchip. Our cat was chipped at our shelter for around $10, but commercial vets are also able to do it for a bit more. No need to worry about lost collar keys, or magnets. Keeps out unprogrammed animals. The door also has the standard four-setting mechanical overide locking feature of: in-out, in only, out only, locked. If your cat is not chipped, you can also use an RFID collar key (not included).

We previously had a magnetically keyed cat door, but you then have the choice of using a safety collar and losing the (not cheap) key every now and then, or using a non-safety collar and risking the cat strangling itself.

Raccoons eventually defeated our magnetically keyed door. They haven't defeated this one (yet), although the mechanical parts of the latching action are similar.

There are thousands of types of materials to make things from. The first impulse for most of us is to use known materials like wood, steel, concrete, and glass. But each of those have hundreds of varieties, each with their own properties. How about metallic ceramics? And every year brand new materials are invented. How can one find out what materials are available?

One way to become familiar with the vast possibilities of materials is to visit a materials library. That's what professional designers and architectures do when embarking on a project. Maybe what they design can be made of some kind of glass? Or super strong plastic? Or bendable wood? Larger design firms have their own material collection, which they use for inspiration, research and for sharing with clients. Below is an unusually large material library at the New York City architecture firm 1100: Architect. Smaller ones can be found at most design firms.

Not everyone has the space or time to build their own. So Material Connexion is a commercial business operating in 8 major design-center cities of the world. For a subscription fee you can use their extensive material library. They add about a dozen new materials per month. A fair number of university art centers also use them to install and manager their collections.

Art, architecture and design centers in colleges and universities have begun creating material libraries that rival the depth and usefulness of book libraries. Notable collections include Harvard's Materials Collection and RISD's Material Resource Center in Providence, RI. At both you can check out a sample to study, just like a book:

To Borrow Items from the Material Resource Center Select items from the shelves and bring them to the checkout desk. Materials circulate for 7 days at a time. Please return materials promptly - an overdue fine of .20 per 5 items will be charged.

Chances are that if there is a art/design college near you, they have a material library that you could at least visit. The local art college in my neighborhood is the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. I visited their materials library, which is small, but stimulating. Here the librarian oversees the collection. I was free to browse it.

Even better, it is not hard to accumulate your own collection of materials, or even start a shared library with friends and colleagues. It is not just the pieces of stuff that is valuable, but the information about the stuff -- its specs, what it can do, or not do, where it comes from, how to get more of it.

-- KK

We installed flexible LED light strips in our kitchen for under cabinet and within cabinet lighting. These are very low energy consumption, cool to the touch, and rated to last for 50,000 hours.

The strips are about 1 cm wide and 2 mm thick. The strips come on a spool with a sticky tape side. You press the sticky side to the bottom of the cabinet (or the sides inside) and the strip gives a very diffuse effective and efficient light. They are so thin, you can't really see the light strip itself, only the glow. The strip is a circuit of LEDs in a row. They have marked segments about every 2-3 inches where you can cut them to fit. They typically run off of 12 volts; the transformer can sit i a cabinet, attic, or basement. You can also specific different color temperatures (very warm to very cool). The lights are dimmable.

We used them under our cabinets and inside of one cabinet (picture above).

There are tons of manufacturers peddling flexible LED strips now. You can purchase them in meter strips or on 5 meter reels. Here is one supplier with many products and variations: Superbrightleds.com. I have no experience in using this outfit. It is a new market so quality varies.

We used a local California-based manufacturer, Aion. Their prices are higher than many of the imports (usually from China), but they had a deliverable guarantee of 5 years. Unfortunately they don't deal retail, wholesale only through electricians, who can reliably install it.

If anyone has experience with installing DIY LED strips, please let us know.

And these nifty strips can be used for all kinds of other illumination where flexibility and thinness is desired.

-- KK

I have been a carpenter for thirty years or so. I started out as a framer on single family homes, where I used the flat carpenter's pencil. Its sturdy lead stood up to marking rough lumber but was a little tricky to sharpen. You want a flat chisel point not a conical point. This is accomplished quickly and easily with an inexpensive Keson pencil sharpener.

My framing days are long gone, thankfully. I have worked in many aspects of the field, from general carpentry to boatbuilding to cabinetmaking and am currently installing interior doors and high-end trim. Through it all I have held on to that flat pencil. It never ceased to amaze me how many employers (and I've been through a few) have told me to lose the flat pencil and get with the program and use a round pencil. To my mind, the only thing a round pencil is good for is taking a lunch order or making out the bill. The point breaks easily when marking wood and is difficult to sharpen unless you have an electric sharpener under your chopbox, which many guys do.

We just had a new light switch installed in our bathroom, the Lutron Maestro Occupancy Sensor. It is smart and cool, but it needs a user manual! Yes, a manual for a light switch!

Because of new building codes, bathroom gear needs to conserve energy by keeping electricity use to a minimum. One way of low use is via LED lights; the other is via a smart switch that has a motion detector built in, which will fade the lights after X minutes if no one moving inside. And it will turn them on when you enter. It also remembers what level the light was last when you turn it on. The downside is that you have to PROGRAM the light switch -- what levels, when, and how long it takes to go off. It comes with a dense how-to-manual. But the default settings seem fine and the device is pretty cool. Here is a shot of the instructions, which also cover the other side of the paper.

It costs about $32 from places like Amazon.

-- KK

I always used to buy epoxy locally in disposable dispensers that are supposed to dispense equal ratios of the components. The dispensers never work that well: one side always starts to move first and then to get a reasonably equal mix I have to mix up a lot more than I need.

The 3M duo-pack adhesives are sold separately from the dispenser. Because the dispenser is not disposable, it can be a decently built tool, like a caulk gun for epoxy.

The way it works is that you slip on the adhesive cartridge. The applicator has a plunger that pushes up the adhesive cartridge. Think caulk gun. The epoxy comes in double tubes like a doubled tube of caulk. When an adhesive has a different mixing ratio the tubes in the cartridge have different diameters. And there is a different plunger that fits in the tube. The supported mixing ratios are 1:1, 1:2 and 1:10 because those are the ratios of adhesives available. When you buy the system you get the first two plungers, but the 1:10 plunger is sold separately as it is used only for DP-8005 and DP-8010, I think. Just like a caulk gun you can, but you need not remove the adhesive cartridge between uses. The gun stays clean. There is no need to clean it. (Unlike a caulk gun, the adhesive doesn't leak out the back and get on the gun.)

In fact, if you're not so worried about waste there's even a further convenience: static mixing nozzles. These nozzles attach to the end of the epoxy tube and do all the mixing for you so that it really works like a caulk gun: what comes out is ready to use, completely mixed epoxy.

But even if you don't use the somewhat wasteful mixing nozzles you can still use the gun to extrude the correct ratio mix of 3M adhesive products and then hand mix. I have been able to mix up just the amount of epoxy I need when with the old system I would have mixed ten times what I needed. (No exaggeration here.)

I first got this system because I was trying to glue zinc-plated magnets to polyethylene. I tried regular epoxy. It doesn't stick well to either one of these materials. There are two adhesives that I think are of particular note in the 3M lineup.

The DP-190 (which I have only used a tiny bit) is supposed to stick to everything except the "low surface energy" plastics. I saw that it is recommended for use with the zinc-plated rare earth magnets (by the magnet sellers). The DP-8005 is designed to stick to low surface energy plastics. I got it for my application.

I also got a small mat made out of teflon because nothing is supposed to stick to that. This was great for repairs using epoxy. I repaired something and laid it on the teflon and it peeled right off after it was cured.

According to 3M, epoxy shelf life is less than a couple years, so you don't want to buy a lifetime supply at any given time. The shelf life of DP-8005 is only 6 months. The shelf life of the previously reviewed Scotch-Weld Two Part Urethane is 1 year.

What's the best cheese grater for arthritic hands?

Which PDA has the best basic functions?

What's the most realistic driving simulator?

Do you have recommendations for a product that can help me strengthen my nails?

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.

I received these gloves about six years ago from my wife, in one of those rare intersections of need and availability. It was Christmastime and I needed to shovel, so I broke these out and went to work. I never gave them a second thought, until I realized I had done a fair amount of ice chopping, opening the garage, and manipulating other things without ever removing the gloves. This is somewhat of a rarity for me since I usually cannot work in gloves. Fast-forward to spring, and I used them to protect my hands when chopping and stacking wood; working on the car; working in the garage. I *far extended* the prescribed use of these, despite the fact that they were winter gloves and waterproof. In a pinch, I've even used them when moving flaming logs in an outdoor fire pit.

A short word about the waterproofing: I tend to agree with other owners in that these aren't strictly waterproof. If I was a long-line fisherman I may not use them. However, as a north Jersey resident who works on his cars, shovels snow, and builds snowmen for the kids, I can attest to their warmth and utility in the cold and wet.

With respect to function, they fit my slightly larger hand size well, and the back strap does seal in against cold and snow. The palms and fingers are textured and I am able to pick up bolts, thread nuts, small tools and sockets, and work with wrenches rather easily. The fingertips are boxed, not tapered, but in some ways the fingertips work to my advantage in picking up things on the ground.

When they get *really* dirty, you can toss them in the wash. The construction is such that the inner glove liner is not sewn to the shell, but it is a huge pain in the posterior to re-fit the glove components back to original fit. I used a wooden spoon and patience to eventually restore it to normal comfort.

You can kill them. Eventually, I wore them down at the seams where the fingers meet the palm, and the palm itself. I hung onto them as long as I could but until recently could not find them. I hung onto the wrist strap tag so that if I ever found them online, I'd be ready. I rediscovered them on Amazon not too long ago and will be re-ordering soon. I plan to look at the normal work ones in addition to the winter ones; the capacitive thread ones look intriguing, since they have a conductive thread sewn into the fingertips and thumbs for smartphone use.

When I need to make a hot compress I put dried beans (preferably lentils) in a pillowcase and heat in the microwave for a minute or two. It's cheap, easy, doesn't smell horrible, and retains heat for quite some time. Reusable, too. If you want a pretty one, there are some nice ones available from etsy, including scented ones.

-- Courtney Ostaff

I also make hot compresses at home, but with rice in a long sock. Same method: microwave for a minute or two to enjoy around 10 minutes of heat. After several uses, the rice will eventually start to breakdown and you'll need to replace it. The heated rice does emit a very faint smell, but I actually find it to be comforting. This might be a problem, though, if you're using the heat to treat migraine pain.

I tried using a rubber hot-water pouch recently, but I found that the thick rubber walls weren't transmitting heat very well, so I went back to rice in a sock.

-- Camille Cloutier

Dear Readers,

I am making a new book of the Best of Cool Tools. (The last one I did was a small one in 2003.) This will be a large, real paper book and might be available in the fall. In the next few months I will be going through the 10-year archives of this site selecting the the outstanding evergreen tools, the best of the best, and then presenting them in one large book.

To date there are more than 3,000 Cool Tool reviews posted here, so there is a lot to choose from. Despite that abundance, in surveying the reviews I've noticed that there are large vacancies in many subject areas. There are significant crafts that we have not covered. Not much in underwater sports. Little in metal working. None in the voice arts. Music can use more reviews, Etc.

To fill in these areas I will be actively soliciting new reviews and steering the conversation to tweak, correct, or modify the material we do have. I plan to use this blog for that conversation. For the past 10 years the Cool Tool blog has reliably posted one cool tool review every weekday. We won't stop doing that. But starting in a few days I will begin posting additional items, queries, clips from AskCoolTools, pointers of cool tool related postings elsewhere, and other stuff in order to flush out new material.

In other words, I will be disrupting the very orderly blog that's been running so smoothly all these years, the blog that you presumably have come to enjoy. In addition to one highly selected, well-proven tool, highly edited by Oliver Hulland each day, the blog will also sport half-baked ideas, tips, related material, questions, dialog, requests, clarifications by me and Oliver. It will resemble the variety of material you find on other blogs.

Some readers are not going to like this. That's too bad. However it will only be temporary until I finish the book, when your regular programming will return undisturbed. Other readers are going to love it because it will be more interactive, more community minded, more dynamic. Don't get too used to it, because after the book is done your regular programming will return undisturbed.

In the meantime, I hope to make some noise and try a few editorial alternatives. After 10 years without change it's about time. Not everything tried will work. The intent of this experiment is to discover, with your help, the best cool tools for the book in the widest range of subject areas. Any reviewer appearing in the book will get a copy of the book.

Tell me what tools you love, and why: kk at kk dot org, or leave a comment here.

-- KK

I have used this particular lame (pronounced: 'lahm') for over two years and love it. As a home baker, I have tried using different knives and razor blades to slash my loaves, but nothing had all of the features which I was searching for.

It uses a standard, replaceable double-edged safety razor (the type which you can buy at any drugstore) and has a protective cover. It is made of food-grade plastic in France, and has a metal rib that can be bent into any curve which you might like (for creating little "scalloped" effects, etc.). This is the absolute best means of scoring bread.

Where can I find a simple, solidly built pocket watch?

Is there a better case for an ID I have to swipe on a daily basis?

What's the best lamp for light therapy?

Can you help me find a low-flow, high-pressure shower head?

What's the best scale that measures to 0.01 g precision?

The Origin8 CargoUnit is a great piece of "why did this take so long" common sense technology. These are handle bars that have an integrated basket which is large enough to hold a bike lock, a grocery bag, and anything else that will fit. The construction is rugged, true to Origin8's line of strong/light components.

These are superior to any number of bolt-on accessories because the basket is part of the handlebars. Aftermarket baskets bounce, come loose, and scratch up the finish of whatever they're attached to. Because the basket is one with the handlebars, there is none of that. Plus, there's no way to steal the basket as they are welded together.

Speaking of the weld, these are not toys. The gauge of the tubing and the strength of the joints are on par with pro equipment. This product is serious, and comes at a rise & width to replace bars on fixies, hybrids, or even BMX geometries.

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.

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.

Ever wanted to have friends over for a party at your house? Ever wanted to have a LOT of friends over for a party? Worried about spilled drinks staining your carpet? One solution is to cover it before the party with carpet film.

What is it? Picture a roll of Saran Wrap. Now imagine it thicker and more durable. Now imagine one side sticky. Voila! Carpet film.

I don't cover every carpet, just the most highly trafficked areas where people will be drinking and spilling: outside the bathroom where there's usually a line, up the stairs, by the entrance, in the coat room, and in the people-watching areas.

When the party's over, it pulls up easily. Best of all, all of the traffic on the carpet film will have pushed the adhesive side down into the carpet's nooks and crannies. When you pull the film, dirt will come out too. Free carpet cleaning!

Several companies make carpet film. You can get it at Home Depot, Lowes and Amazon for $10-20 per 2'x50' roll. Wider widths and longer length rolls are also available. Make sure to buy it reverse wound (with the sticky side on the outside of the roll) to make the application process easier.

What's the best device for correcting bad posture?

What's the best silver polish?

Help me find a one-handed multi-tool for my disabled father!

What's the best container for bringing salad to work?

Is there an iOS app that can help me create a constantly running log of GPS locations that I can easily export?

After three weeks of coast-to-coast holiday visits, I am finally unpacking the trusty carry-on bags that have transported two seasons of clothing options and gifts given and received. Yet again, my Tom Bihn Western Flyer has stolen the show. I got this bag a while ago when my fiance and I were searching for maximum carry-on limit luggage (mine is actually one of their mid-sized bags, not MLC) that was attractive, durable, and functional. Since then it has been a go-to weekend bag and was an indispensable component of a four month stint in Southeast Asia.

Why is the Tom Bihn Western Flyer better than my favorite suitcase, messenger bag, or backpack? This bag combines the elements of all of these into one super tidy, easy to use package. Like a suitcase, I can pack everything I need for travel. The main compartment is big enough to store days worth of clothes and a change of shoes. I packed for a ten day trip in Nepal in just this bag! The front compartment has a divider to split the compartment in two and generally keeps my toiletries, electronics (chargers, etc) and books organized and easy to reach wthout digging through my unmentionables. The front pockets are weather sealed and hold my travel pillow, headphones, keys (and all the other bits and pieces I pick up along the way). The bag has an optional handle, shoulder strap and hide-away backpack straps. Because I like the balance and comfort of a backpack, these padded straps are out all the time and keep my hands free for a coffee and/or a roller bag.

And the Tom Bihn is better than my other options because it is super durable. I don't treat my luggage lightly, and after several beatings, pushings and pullings, and weeks of over-stuffing, the bag looks as good as new. This is part due to the super tough over-sized zippers that don't complain. But all of this is just in MY experience, and is suited to my particular form of travel. Better still are the materials. My inability to destroy this bag comes from the U.S. 1050 denier Ballistic nylon (translation: destruction-retarding) exterior and the light and tough Dyeema/nylon ripstop that lines the interior.

Though I love my Western Flyer, I've been impressed with a number of their products, and can't help but mention ONE accessory that provides further function. The Packing Cube Backpack functions like a normal packing cube for both the Western Flyer and the slightly larger Tri-Star. I normally do not bother with packing cubes, but this one also has thin, light backpack straps. If I am only traveling with one big bag, this gives me the option for a lightweight day pack without taking up any space. Plus, it looks really cool.

I keep my keyboard clean and protected from spills with a Moshi keyboard cover. They're very thin, very flexible, and highly durable. In my experience the covers last for about two years.

The covers accumulate oils from your hands, but if you keep a little microfiber towel handy, that cleans off most of the oil. I wash the cover once a day or so. They're a bit hard to clean; I use foaming soap with warm water. Lather, rinse, repeat, and then let it drip dry.

The moshi covers are for MacBooks and most other Apple products (ncluding the previously reviewed Bluetooth Keyboard. I'm guessing that covers exist for PC laptops, but I don't know who makes them, or which ones are good (Note: if you have a suggestion for a good brand for covering PC keyboards let me know and I'll update the post.--OH). The thickness/flexibility of the covers is very important. One of the brands for Mac computers was very thick and felt yucky to type on. I recommend trying a cover before you buy it if you can.

This book will convince you to build your own house. The key is to make it small.  A really small house costs less, liberates time, and encourages you to spend that time making the details personal. Because everything is scaled down, the space is much more customized. The result is a home that grows out of your life.

Tiny houses are the norm for most people in the world, but have been out of fashion in the US for many decades. Recently some Americans are rediscovering the joys of very tiny homes for several reasons: hard economic times, a reaction against modern excess, and a realization that a digital world does not require a lot of space. There are now a handful of blogs and a whole shelfful of books about tiny homes. Mostly good stuff.

This new book is the best of those guides and eclipses the previously recommended The Tiny Book of Tiny Houses. Lloyd Kahn has built several of his own small homes, and has edited a number of great books celebrating owner-built shelters, including the previously reviewed Home Work. Here he focuses on tiny homes, which he defines as shelters 500 square feet or less. Some are on wheels, a few float, some are pre-fab, but most are handmade shelters placed in odd corners in cities, suburbs and the country. Their variety is stunning. This large book erupts with a cornucopia of 1,300 photos featuring 150 different tiny homes, showing you how they were built, giving resources and helpful tips of their construction, supplying design solutions and inspiration for others, but also conveying WHY they were built. Tiny though they are, they are much more than mere shelter.

What I love most about this book -- as a tool  -- is the way it explodes the possibilities of what a tiny house can be, and how every page conveys the important message that the challenge in building such a tiny structure is not the material, which is almost trivial by definition, but the immaterial. A tiny home is a matter of gumption, resourcefulness and imagination. This book, like all Lloyd Kahn's work, cultivates those virtues.

You leave the book realizing, knowing for sure, that you, yes you, can build a tiny house. And should.

For years I have worn the previously reviewed Peltor AM/FM Ear Muffs while out mowing the lawn, or when working around loud noises. I was routinely disappointed by their lousy reception, but put up with it as I couldn't find anything better for the price that still provided hearing protection. Recently, my stepson (Disclosure: This editor is his stepson.--OH) gave me a pair of the Howard Leight Sync Stereo Earmuffs to try out, and I haven't used my Peltor muffs since.

The Sync Earmuffs do not have AM/FM reception, but instead rely on a 3.5 mm auxiliary input cable like you would find in a car. They come with an appropriately sized mini-to-mini cable that I plug into my iPhone (which is where you also control the volume). Now instead of listening to poor AM/FM reception, I can listen to the BBC America app, my music library, podcasts, and, if I really wanted to, one of the many available FM/AM emulators from the App Store.

As far as hearing protection, the Sync Earmuffs have a Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) of 25, which is similar to the rating for the pair from Peltor. I have found that they provide the same amount of protection. They are also lighter, don't require batteries, and are roughly a third the cost of the Peltor pair.

The best part is that I no longer miss phone calls when I'm out on the tractor (which had been a serious problem), and am no longer startled when my wife shows up behind me screaming her head off trying to get my attention. I don't even have to take the headphones off to take the call, I simply speak into the microphone on the phone and the sound gets ported through my headphones.

My wife and I both work long hours, and getting dinner on the table can be a challenge. Often our window for doing so may be as little as 15-20 minutes from the time we walk in the door, otherwise the kids will start to get hungry and have a hard time settling down to eat. In the past year we’ve missed that window more often than I’d like, and if we have a half an hour or more of cooking ahead of us, we’ll usually end up ordering instead. In addition to being less healthy overall, this can cost us around $30-$40 per meal over the cost of what we would have paid for ingredients for dinner, even buying top quality ingredients at the farmer’s market.

At $400 the Sous Vide Supreme is pricey, but if it can prevent us from ordering out even once a week, it will literally pay for itself in four months. We used it five times in the first week.Time will tell if this is a novelty effect, but so far I’ve been overwhelmingly thrilled with the results. There’s been a lot of focus on 30-minute meals, but for a busy working parent or two, that can be an eternity. Pair the Sous Vide Supreme with a rice cooker with a timer and a microwave vegetable steamer and it becomes possible to get a completely freshly cooked dinner on the table with minimal work in less than ten minutes. Even without going to that extreme, it significantly cuts the amount of stove time required for a “regular” meal. It’s completely changed the way I look at preparing large portions of food in advance.

Sous vide cooking is actually pretty simple. You seal the food in a vacuum bag (like a Foodsaver bag) and then cook it in a precise temperature water bath at very close to the temperature you want the final product to be. When the food is done (at minimum, enough time for the middle to reach the equilibrium temperature), you take it out of the bag, sear it in a hot pan if needed (most proteins will benefit from a little browning to develop more flavor, but they really only need about 30-seconds per side in a very hot pan on the stove), and serve it right away. If you leave it in the water bath for a few extra hours, it’s no problem; the texture of some food will break down after an extended period of time, but for the most part, it’s hard to overcook things (fish and eggs are two exceptions - they’re more finicky about timing, but that still buys you a margin of an hour or two over). Because you can set the Sous Vide Supreme at 1-degree increments and it will stay at pretty much exactly that temperature, you can get exquisite results with very little effort, and if you get distracted, it’s no problem.

Sous vide cooking certainly requires some planning ahead - it’s not for quick dinners unless you start early, but you don’t have to really figure out how early to start - putting the bag in before you leave in the morning is just fine. It’s also a huge psychological boost, because when you get home, dinner’s already on the way to being cooked. When all you want to do is sit down after a long day and the kids are hungry, it really helps to have things already started.

We’ve done chicken breasts, steak, 30-hour country style pork ribs, carrots in butter - all pretty perfect. Soft boiled eggs and pork chops deserve special mention. Eggs do completely different things in sous vide, because the yolk actually cooks at a lower temperature than the white, and so it cooks first. A soft boiled egg in sous vide gets you a creamy but cooked yolk and a runny white. It’s strange, but entirely delicious. Hard boiled eggs were a little off, because cooking at a high enough temperature to set the white actually overcooks the yolk a little bit. I prefer 8-minutes in water just off the boil. Big fat scallops came out intensely creamy and tender.

The oven comes with a few recipes with common timings, but there’s little news there if you know what your target temperatures are for regular cooking; steak at 130F, pork chops at 135F, chicken at 142F, fish at 140F, etc… There is no shortage of recipes on various food blogs though some are meant for a more industrial setting. There are some extra safety considerations, but it’s mostly just common sense, and much of it doesn’t come into play in a home setting where you’re not storing the bags for long periods of time. You just have to be careful that you’re dealing with a somewhat anaerobic environment that can breed microbes that usually aren’t a problem in home kitchens. As long as you’re buying quality food, treating it with respect (understanding the rules of heating, chilling, and storage), and eating it promptly, you shouldn’t have any problems.

In short, this device is amazing, and it’s the future. For me, it fulfills every convenience promise of the microwave and the crock pot, neither of which I’ve ever been happy with from a culinary perspective. There is a small consideration of the extra waste in plastic bags, but I balance that against the amount of waste generated from takeout, which is far greater.

I can’t recommend it enough.

The previously reviewed Logitech Solar Wireless Keyboard is one of the group of wireless products from Logitech that can share a unifying receiver. The receiver, which you get with each product, is very small, projecting less than 1/2" from your usb port, and allows me to put my laptop in my case while still attached. Multiple devices can be used with just a single receiver, freeing up usb ports and giving you extra receivers in case of a failure.

Of the products that use the unifying receiver I own the previously mentioned keyboard, the M570 Wireless Trackball and the Wireless Headset h800.

I have rather severe arthritis in my left thumb at the very base where the thumb connects to the wrist and was told in 2004 that I would need joint replacement within 5 years. Eventually I switched from mice to trackballs and quit having any pain at all from the thumb (even though I also quit using the brace). The Logitech M570 is my favorite trackball of the ones I have owned. You don't have quite the control and accuracy that you do with a mouse so I do switch to a mouse for working in Photoshop and the like, but for regular tasks, I prefer the trackball.

I haven't had the Wireless Headset h800 for long but like them very well for my purposes which is using them to take advantage of voice control for my PC. I wear them for up to 4-hours at a time and find them quite comfortable, but I have not used them for listening to music so can't really evaluate that aspect.

Pairing of all three devices is instantaneous and trouble free, and I don't think that I have given up anything in exchange for the convenience of the single receiver. The keyboard and trackball are both excellent products compared to similar devices that I have owned through the years. It is harder to give such praise to the headset, in part because I have limited experience with it, but also because headset preferences vary greatly from one individual to another due to comfort issues, etc.

Logitech does offer quite a large range of products that will work with the unifying receiver which are shown on the following web page. Please note that my headset is not shown on the page, nor are any headsets, so this is apparently not an exhaustive list of compatible products.

I would also like to thank Cool Tools for making our Christmas a bit merrier since several of the gifts I gave were purchased after seeing them on the blog and they all went over very well!