In the worst-worst case scenario that you experience a nuke explosion, dirty bomb, toxic chem attack or biological disaster, what should YOU do? The first ten minutes are crucial. Don't "ask your local officials" as much advice to date has suggested. Do read this short booklet prepared by RAND, and prepare. You can print it out from the free PDF file (including handy 3-fold card reminder version), or if you need to distribute many copies to employees, neighbors, etc., you can order printed copies for $15 a piece.

I highly recommend reading the full version first (also available as a series of PDFs and/or a longer book) which gives the logic behind their suggestions and scenarios. This is the best practical advice I've yet seen for personally dealing with the consequences of an actual weapon of mass destruction in your neighborhood.

--KK

Excerpt:

There is no need to determine the location of the source or direction or speed of the chemical cloud. Technical evaluations indicate that such basic sheltering can reduce chemical exposure by 75 percent or more compared to the exposure outside the shelter. These results are consistent with the outcomes of the aerosolized sarin attack by the Aum Shinrikyo group in a residential area in Matsumoto, Japan, in June 1994. In that incident, all seven people who died had their windows open. All of those individuals who had closed their windows-including many people closer to the source, those in units adjacent to buildings in which fatalities occurred, and those on the lower floors of these buildings-survived the attack (Yanagisawa, 1995).

Quick Guide
Free PDF from Rand
Click on the Quick Guide.

Full Version PDF

Individual Preparedness and Response, Quick Guide [book]
RAND
$11
Amazon

Powerisers are a real trip to use. They're like walking on the moon everywhere you go. I can run/jump faster and higher than ever before. Some of the more ambitious users are out there doing flips and the like. Once I put these on I was up walking around right away. They are a lot more intuitive than you might imagine, but some people that have tried them don't 'get it' right away and fall over. The hardest thing to do is to stand still, but if you keep walking it'll seem intuitive. You can run and take very large strides in them once you get the hang of it. You can also jump very high and long.

The units are probably as light as they can be with their composite springs and aluminum construction, but it will take a little getting used to having some weight strapped to your legs. The biggest design flaw is in the foam pad contacting near the knee. Without additional padding to avoid the point load of the round pad, you will get blisters or chafing probably after the first vigorous workout. I've found Powerisers to be stable, easy to learn, and I haven't had to do anything to 'maintain' them, although I did add padding as described to improve the design. They really are fun and I would recommend them.

-- Kevin Dahlquist

Poweriser
Adult models
$400

This is my third Barista machine. The first one I had was called the Estro Vapore, but it was almost identical to this model. The Barista unit has a two-year guarantee, and if you use it heavily it should last at least that long. Starbucks (which bought the Italian company that makes the unit) has been steadily improving the quality over the years, without changing the basic well-proven design. My last one, for example, had a brushed-metal surface on basic steel, and developed a rust problem. The current model, shown here, also available in a variety of colors, is solid stainless steel, and sturdier than its predecessors.

The Barista does two things a good cappuccino machine needs to be able to do: 1) steam milk properly, with real steam from a wand that's long enough to reach down into a steaming flask - and not some annoying "frothing" gimmick; and 2) produce strong espresso, in a dark black stream that tans to cream, from properly ground beans, and quickly. The Barista does this easily.�

Simply put, the Barista is the best espresso machine for the money on the market. You have to spend a lot more to get a better machine. Take Peets Coffee stores, for example. They sell a commercial-grade machine for about $1200, plus a Gaggia machine for $350. I've met some people who swear by the Gaggia; but for me it's too tall and too plasticy. The Barista's body is good solid metal, and it fits nicely under a counter, making it easy to move out of the way.

The supplemental Barista Grinder is a relatively new product, sold only in Starbucks stores (it's not shown on the Web site, for some dumb reason) and it's so durn handy it knocks me out. First, it's easy to pour out one mix of beans and put in another (impossible with my old grinder). Second, the grind settings are accurate and easy to adjust. Third, the ground coffee accumulates in an easily removable little container. Fourth, it's not too big. All huge plusses. It also grinds very evenly, which is a must for proper espresso extraction.

For additional opinions on Barista gear, check out the ratings at CoffeeGeek.com or Epinions and elsewhere .

Strangely, the Starbuck machines are not available via the web. You need to present your self at a local Starbucks store and pick one up there. If colors matter to you, they come in a nice variety. Call ahead because not all branches inventory them.

-- Doc Searls

Starbucks Barista Grinder
$200
Starbucks Barista Espresso Machine
$400
Starbucks

My girlfriend and I were sharing a single room in a shared apartment, so we didn't have much space. I suggested getting a loft bed, and she surprised me by liking the idea. Searching online to purchase a loft, I couldn't find any great designs, and shipping all that wood wouldn't be cheap. But I didn't really want to put the time into designing one I'd like.

When I found plans for an OP Loftbed, I instantly recognized a quality design. OP stands for "Orgy-Proof" and though we haven't tested it that way, it's a good bet the bed would have NO problems.

I took my time and built it over several weeks, but it could be done pretty quickly (a long weekend). That's with basic, though not complete beginner, tools and skills. The website estimates that for a twin-sized bed, it'll be around $100 for lumber, and $25 for fasteners if you buy it from their online partner. The queen-sized, which is what I built, cost me more like $300 to $400. The difference is that:

1) The queen-size needs 2 sheets of plywood (and I used nice $30/sheet ply).
2) The fastener deal wasn't around, so I probably spent around $60.
3) I made a desk, which needed more wood and another sheet of good ply.
4) It's all painted and the shelves/desk are all poly'd.

Joel's queen-sized loft

It's like buying a car -- the basic model is probably around $150 or so, and you can spend a lot more for the accessories. There are free plans for bookshelves, a desk, and a telephone table, all of which I've modified slightly for my queen-sized loft, and all of which are fairly ingenious in their use of space.

Overall, the loft makes the room feel much bigger. I built mine to last, either for my own use, or for resale value. It was a good investment.

--Joel M Rosenberg

OP Loftbed
$10 per plan

The late Carroll Smith built race-cars. When it comes to high-performance fasteners, he's the man. He explains how teensy little threads on a bolt can hold together several tons of speeding metal, and how they can fail. And why and how pop rivets work, or not. If you build anything that absolutely must not come apart, this is your reference.

-KK

Carroll Smith's Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook
Carroll Smith
1990, 223 pages
$22
MBI Publishing
Osceola, WI
Amazon

A monthly for the hardware hackers. Lots of electronics, robots, and small mechanical projects. Informative ads, too.
-KK

Nuts & Volts Magazine
12 issues; $25
909-371-8497
800-783-4624
Subscribe via Amazon

Back pain is ubiquitous in developed countries. Yet the honest truth is that science is uncertain as to what causes it. Theories abound, as does a lot of pseudo-therapy. There are probably multiple origins and different varieties of lower back pain. However, one theory says a large portion of back pain starts with mental tension. If you have an inkling that your back pain is linked to stress, I strongly suggest you seek out this perennially-in-print book (since 1972). My speaking agent, who deals with hundreds of stressed-out type A's and the consequential epidemic of back pain they carry with them, routinely hands out this book. It seems to be the one thing that helps them the most. It helped me. By adopting the view that lower back pain is a syndrome in large part fostered by the mind/body complex, I've been able to avoid surgery and painkillers and resume my life. Your mileage may vary, but it's worth a read.
-KK

Mind Over Back Pain
John Sarno, MD
1982, 124 pages
$10
Berkley Books
New York
Amazon

Excerpt:

The reason for this obsession with discs is that it does seem logical. There are those degenerating structures at the lower end of the spine, right where a lot of pain and spasms occur; there are lumbar and sacral nerves conveniently located so that they can be compressed by bulging or herniated discs; there is pain in the leg, proving that those nerves are compressed.
*
What these data confirm is that degenerative processes have nothing to do with most back pain. Degeneration is progressive and relentless; serial X rays as one ages document this fact. Yet back pain is far less common in the older age groups. According to the conventional diagnostic concepts, everyone over the age of sixty should have back pain.

The bar graph in Figure 9 [above] gives the age by breakdown by decade. Seventy-seven percent of the group fell between the ages of thirty and fifty-nine. Note that there are fewer patients in their sixties than in their twenties! Since the majority of back pain syndromes are attributed to degenerative processes - for example, degenerative osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease - it is strange, indeed, that there were only thirteen patients aged sixty to sixty-nine, and seven in their seventies.

Kids hurt their fingers a lot. You can make an okay bandage with Kling wrap (see Vet Wrap, above) � but if the injury is on a fingertip (a common spot) the cylinder shape you get from rolling doesn�t do as nice a job of protecting or of providing gentle pressure. You can fold over the end, but it gets bulky and inelegant for everyday activities. Tube Gauze is a quick, easy, elegant way to make a stocking cap for your finger or toe. The applicator (sold separately, but you can do without it) is a metal cage that holds the tube of the gauze open. You slide the applicator (or just the gauze) over a finger, lift it up, twist once, and then slide it back down. You can repeat several times to get the thickness of bandage you want. It gives a smooth, flat, elegant bandage � and it�s kinda fun to do. A hit with kids.
�Alan Greene, MD

Surgitube Tubular Gauze Bandage
1P-Small fingers and toes
Item #08302, 50-yds
$6
Aluminum Applicator
Item #08291
$3.50
Moore Medical

Peer-to-peer is a hot buzzword, but nonetheless, there is something there there. Peer-to-peer (P2P) technology means you can connect a lot of dumb things together � without a center � to make something smart. Most web pages are pretty dumb yet the web as a whole is ingenious. Napster and the other music sharing systems are good examples. Many observers believe peer-to-peer systems are destined to prevail throughout the net and beyond. Since these systems are very decentralized, very open, and very vague, no one knows how such networks will make money. Maybe they won�t, maybe they will just become ubiquitous. This anthology from O�Reilly has gathered the first round of hard thinking on the subject. If beta versions don�t interest you, you can skip this; it�s nerdy and technical. If, otherwise, the hard-core edge of the things to come is a siren call, you won�t get a better fix then here.
�KK

Peer-to-Peer: Harnessing the Power of Disruptive Technologies
Edited by Andy Oram
2001, 432 pages
$30
O�Reilly
Amazon

The newest of the Panasonic cordless drill drivers is a transcendent tool. It has an interchangeable head that makes it into an impact driver. At first I thought this was a silly add on, but quickly realized that impact drivers are amazing. They allow you to drive 6-inch lag bolts with one hand, and remove seized nuts easily. However with the non-impact head you canbe gentle with small wood finishing screws, orgently tightening nuts. We have both kinds of drivers in our shop but when they cost $300 each its nice for most people to get both types in one tool - this one.
--Alexander Rose

Panasonic EY6431NQKW 15.6- Volt 1/2-inch Cordless Hyperformance Drill Kit
$290
Amazon

It's in the headlines every summer: The number of homes built -- and burned -- at the wildland-urban interface is mushrooming. If you live on the interface, don't count on the fire department showing up. Safety-conscious fire departments across the country are changing their policies, and will no longer risk fire-fighter lives to protect mere property in these conflagrations. The survival of your house is utterly dependent on the steps you take to protect it.

This is a short (56page) booklet that provides a complete overview of how to make your home more survivable in a wildfire. It covers the same material as many brochures published by fire departments on the same subject, but covers the subject in just enough additional detail to make it worth the $8 price tag. Important details not covered elsewhere from the theoretical (e.g., a detailed but not overly technical assessment of different terrain types and their effect on firs burn rates) to the practical (e.g., be sure to leave a ladder leaning against your roof when you evacuate - it might encourage firefighters to stop and save your house.)

Above all, the book has a refreshing and welcome bluntness that begins right on the cover -- two house photos, one labeled 'winner' and the second labeled 'loser' In an actual wildfire situation, fire crews will be making exactly the same snap decisions as they drive down a row of houses and decide which to save and which to sacrifice, so this is a good mindset for any homeowner to adopt.

The book thoroughly covers the basics of all aspects of passive fire protection, from vegetation clearances, to construction details and even evacuation practicalities. It doesn't cover active measures such as pool fire pumps and stand-and-defend tactics. But this is just as well: such steps are at best risky and should not be undertaken without a level of planning and commitment (and perhaps sheer crazedness) that is beyond the scope of a short book

-- Paul Saffo

Will Your Home Survive?
R.D. 'Dick' Harrell and William C. Tie
$8
Deer Valley Press
800-455-1950

My intellectual friends, my arty-farty friends, hell, even my deep geek friends think I�ve gone off my nut on this one. White Dwarf is the monthly house organ for Games Workshop, Ltd., a UK company that makes fantasy and sci-fi tabletop wargames. The hobby doesn�t seem to be big in the US (tho it�s growing), but it�s huge in Europe. Next to Star Wars and Star Trek, their future universe (Warhammer 40,000) is probably the largest collaborative alternate sci-fi universe out there, with over seven games devoted to it, seven (!) different magazines, dozens of novels, comic books, coffee table art books, THOUSANDS of game components and countless fan websites. White Dwarf is a gorgeously produced full-color magazine with beautiful photographs of mind-boggling 28mm painted miniatures and futuristic landscapes. The game�s enthusiasts spend inordinate numbers of hours lavishly painting details one can barely see with the naked eye.

I�ve always been fascinated with wargames, not �cause I�m a hawk (far from it), but because I�m fascinated by systems and how they interact given fixed parameters and random modifiers. Wargames are perfect little contained systems (part fixed rules, part fixed variables controlled by dice and part real-time decision-making with the rules and rolls). Wind �em up and watch �em go! I�ve also always been fascinated by world modeling, creating believable worlds and climbing into them. This goes all the way back to creating comic books as a kid, then to playing D&D as a teen, later to computer games/ MUDS/ MOOS, etc. Warhammer 40,000 is a collaborative world model that you render in the real world, on a tabletop. I don�t just want to watch sci-fi, I wanna direct! WH40K lets me direct.

The analog nature of the hobby is a great antidote to the digital saturation of so much of the rest of my life. When guys of my dad�s generation got old, they made a space in the basement to tie their own fishing flies or to paint Mallard ducks or whatever. Taking an alternate universe from a complex sci-fi mythology, and downloading it into an analog world of miniature models, alien landscapes and futuristic architectures is perhaps how aging cyberpunks (at least this one) plan on retiring.
�Gareth Branwyn

White Dwarf magazine
$50, 12 issues
Games Workshop

The Surfer's Journal is pure surfing. For about 10 years now, Steve and Debbee Pezman have been sharing their love of the ocean and waves with other like-minded water people. A unique feature is the absence of advertising except for 2-3 pages from companies that surfers respect, like Patagopnia and Billabong. (By contrast a recent Collector's Edition of Surfing mag, in listing what it called "The 25 Most Powerful People in Surfing" had almost half its list composed of CEO's of surfboard or surf apparel companies.) The photography is stunning (a lot of credit going to photo editor Jeff Devine), the articles are in-depth, and there are a lot more longboard shots than the more typical punching-through-the-lip shortboard aerials that dominate the other surf mags. There's also a lot of wonderful stuff from the past; it's amazing that after all this time they still come up with unique shots from the 50s and 60s and sometimes earlier, when life was simpler and waves were uncrowded. The soul of surfing, 5 times a year. It's the only magazine where I've saved every copy.

-- Lloyd Kahn

The Surfer's Journal
published 6 times a year.
$56
P.O. Box 40006, San Clemente, CA 92674-8903

The strongest non-prescription numbing substance you can apply around a scrape, wound, or burn is Lidocaine. You can find 2% lotion in expensive little tubes (8 per pack) for burns called Activ BurnStuff at most drugstores. You can also get topical anesthetic pads with 2.5% Lidocaine from Chinooks. Good for bee-stings, too.

Activ Burnstuff
8 tubes
Item # F1-750-08001-01
$4.50
Activ USA

Lidocaine First Aid Lotion
Item #01041
$5
Chinook Medical Gear
800-766-1365
970-375-1241

Dan Poynter's utterly reliable self-publishing advice, The Self-Publishing Manual, has been a perennial oasis of sanity in a sea of hype for over two decades. Now in its 13th edition, it's more useful than ever. To Poynter the technologies of cheap -- if not free -- duplication are an outright opportunity, rather than a dreaded disaster. The Self-Publishing Manual is way ahead of any other source in offering smart counsel on how to exploit on-demand printing, online-download publishing, and e-distribution in the context of 2 billion free web pages. All publishing is self-publishing now. If you want to know how to publish (especially on paper), this is the man. Hello, New York?

-- KK

The Self-Publishing Manual
Dan Poynter
2002, 430 pages
$7+
Para Publishing
Santa Barbara, CA
Amazon

Follow artist David Hockney as he chases a ridiculous idea: the reason why Dutch masters, beginning with Vermeer, could paint so uncannily photographically was that they were using lenses secretly. Hockney chronicles his research step by logical step, and the seeming outrageous looks more and more reasonable. The theme is that art is governed by technology. �Yet there is a hand inside the camera,� Hockney claims. By hacking up crude lenses and optical mirrors, using color copiers, photoshoping images, and filling walls with digital prints, Hockney turns art into detective work. In the design of this book, Hockney elevates his astonishing research into a work of art itself. This is one of the best books about art ever, and one of the best books of art ever.

-- KK

Secret Knowledge
David Hockney
2001, 296 pages,
$42,Viking Studio
Available from Amazon

Excerpt:

These photographs show the process in more detail. At the top left you can see the projection on the paper as I make my initial marks, the two stages of which you can see top right. After making the measurements, I take down the paper and complete the drawing from life. The subject, who sits outside throughout, can see very little of what is going on in the room. He is not even aware that the mirror is there. I have been told by some art historians that there are written accounts of similar set-ups in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but as yet I have not located them.

Shoes of any sort. Wide, kids, vegetarian, everything. Zappos has flat out the best web shopping/catalog experience on the Web. They have awesome policies -- free shipping on most orders AND free shipping on returns up to 365 days! Click on the "sale" link, select your size, sort by price and shop until your heart's content.

--TDW

Zappos.com

Microplane began making micro-blades for woodworking use, but they diverged into making fantastic kitchen tools. Their kitchen graters will turn a little block of Parmigiano Reggiano into a huge cloud of billowy cheese wisps. Vegetables grate into little strips that almost melt in your mouth. My favorite use is with citrus zest. My lemon bars, lemon tarts and key lime pie have a much greater depth of flavor than ever before.

With most zesters, you end up with too much of the pithy white rind of the citrus fruit, but the Microplane takes off just the very thinnest layer of the outside of the fruit which contains the intense and volatile citrus oils. These are the best tools I've tried for fine grating and zesting.

--Jeff Zimmerman

[We use 'em in our kitchen, too. Get a model with a handle -- they are very SHARP. --KK ]

Microplane Grater/Zester
$11
Available from, among others, Amazon

Manufactured by Microplane

We've all suffered from carrying heavy, water-soaked towels while camping or traveling. Or from exfoliating our skin while we try to dry off using a rough pack towel. Enter Aquis towels - luxuriously soft, highly absorbent, and quick drying, woven from microfibers. I use the larger Aquis towels for camping/traveling. I keep a smaller towel on my golf bag to clean my clubs, and I even have a version of Aquis which fully dries my 35 lb. dog far better than a terry towel can.

-- Rex Ishibashi

Aquis Sport Towel
29 x 55 inches
$27
From Amazon

Manufactured by Aquis

A compact quick-drying microfiber towel folds up neatly into a tiny square and is the perfect tool to stuff into your backpack anywhere you won't be provided with clean towels -- say traveling in low-budget parts of the world, or an overnight train. This towel comes in a small tidy pouch to keep it clean. It weighs only 3.5 ounces (when dry). I got mine from Rick Steve's travel store.

--KK

Microfiber Travel Towel
20 x 40 inches
$20
Rick Steves Travel Store

Also from Amazon

"Amazing!" That's the first word my friends say when I hand them my carbon fiber kayak paddle made by Epic Paddles, a company founded by Olympic gold medalist Greg Barton. (Of course, I first make my friends hold a progression of older paddles starting with a wooden one, then moving to a standard aluminum and plastic rental type, then a nice fiberglass one by Werner, and finally to the carbon fiber by Epic Paddles so they really appreciate the dramatic reduction in weight.)

I am only a recreational paddler myself, but even I can appreciate the vast difference between the kind of standard paddle you'll usually get when you rent a kayak, and the carbon fiber paddle I've grown to love. Besides being laughably light weight, the blade itself has a lot of flotation so it pops out of the water by itself. With a feature called length-lock, you can dial your feathering angle (for example, 45 or 60 degrees) and adjust overall paddle length to your liking. A kayak instructor I know calls this the "magic wand" of paddling. I'm such a fan that I insist on taking my paddles with me when I travel to the Caribbean (in a Harmony double paddle travel bag). I'll rent kayaks, but can't downgrade to rental paddles. Like a tennis racket or golf clubs, you want your own good equipment once you get used to it.

Epic has a lot of options for paddle construction. The one I have owned for three years is the Signature Series Full Carbon and I just ordered this same construction but in a wing shape--the Mid Wing. The Full Carbon is about $100 more expensive than the hybrid but gives you the full benefit of carbon fiber technology and the best blade design. The hybrid is a compromise for a lower price. The reinforced version adds some material to the end to protect the blade from damage if you're going to be hitting rocks with it. The ultra apparently is an even more refined full carbon, probably for the competitive racer.

Bottom line: Go for Signature Series Full Carbon and you'll be a very happy paddler!

-- Steve Leveen

Epic Signature Full Carbon Length-Lock Paddles
$480
Epic Paddles

Netflix rents DVDs on an all-you-can-watch subscription basis. You can rent as many movies as you want (but no more than three at a time) by paying $20 per month. That includes free shipping coming and going, a task made easy by handy mailers. Great selection, shades of the video-on-demand world coming. It�s filmaholic heaven.
�Richard Kadrey

Netflix

An incredibly handy tool that seems utterly trivial until you have one, but finds its own uses once you do. It�s a snaky picker-upper, about two feet long, able to pick up things deep in pipes, behind furniture, in holes, cracks, and gaps. I use it all the time, mostly for rescues that simply couldn�t be achieved otherwise. Seems to last forever with occasional lubrication.

--KK

Pick Up Tool
$3
MCM

Previously available via Harborfreight
1826-4VGA, $3
805-388-3000
800-423-2567

Wealth seems to grow out of a discipline, a habit, a practice that is applied daily and harvested decades later. Not everyone wants to accumulate a pile of money; but most people would like true wealth. This guide addresses that desire. I've gone through the entire New York Times bestseller list of how-to-get-rich books, and beyond. This is the book that most matches my own experience, and what I observe of the rich around me. It's wise where there is often little wisdom, and yet practical, but not so practical it goes out of date. (For that kind of advice see Andrew Tobias's The Only Investment)

-- KK

Five Rituals of Wealth
Tod Barnhart
1995, 189 pages
$13
Harper Business
Amazon

I'm struck by any book on a dangerous subject that looks as though it escaped the inspection of lawyers.Extreme Alpinism (with the exception of the title) is the best book I have read on any outdoor subject. It's devoted largely to author Twight's theory and practice of alpinism -- his drastic gear weight reduction methods go far beyond simple ultralight camping. Twight has combined new ways of using clothing, equipment, nutrition, and training to survive impossible situations and achieve incredible feats. The sections on Twight's own failures are a rarity and probably the best part. While I'm not an alpinist myself, this book has been inspirational in all my outdoor activities.

-- Alexander Rose

Extreme Alpinism: Climbing Light, Fast, & High
Mark F. Twight
2001, 238 pages, $28
The Mountaineers
Seattle, WA
Amazon

When my wife and I got our second dog this summer, walking them became a royal pain. Neither one will crap in the dog run, so they have to be taken out twice a day. We were faced with the choice of taking them separately (taking twice the time) or taking them together and dealing with the inevitable tangles as each one sees different squirrels or wants to go at different paces.

This leash lets us walk the two dogs simultaneously with no tangles. Thanks to the riveted connectors, they can cross back and forth to their hearts' content, with no adjustment necessary on our part.

It looks like several companies make these, but I couldn't find a link for the exact kind we use. The site below promises its version can accommodate three or more dogs.

--John Endicott

Add A Dog Couplers
$7 and up
Super Leash

See Amazon for several brands of leash couplers.

The best way to get a car in Europe if you're not an EU resident, and if you need it for more than a couple of weeks, is to use the French auto industries tax-dodge "buy-sellback" scheme that supplies you with a brand spanking new car with zero kilometers for a minimum of 17 days and a maximum of 6 months. The theory is that since you are a non-European resident who will be buying a car for export, you shouldn't have to pay VAT, which is now above 20 percent on cars. Again, in theory, you have six months to export your car; if you don't, you have to pay the VAT. On the other hand, you could sell it back to the car company that sold it to you and accomplish the same thing as if it was exported, namely avoid VAT.

I've found that prices are often considerably less than those available from the international rental companies. The manufacturers make out because they get to book a sale, have a short depreciation on the cars, and then dispose of them on the used market at good prices since used cars are on a different VAT schedule. Since rental car companies have to pay full VAT on new cars, your car should cost you at least 20 percent less than if you got it from Hertz. In reality, it's more, because you aren't paying for the rental company overhead of offices, sales organizations, airline mileage tie-ins, maintenance schedules (the cars are brand new), advertising etc.

The French are the ones who run this scam, so you can't get a BMW or Mercedes or Jaguar. But you still get a new car, from the most economic to the most luxurious. Peugeot is on the verge of becoming the biggest car company in Europe, and Renault makes some of the funkiest, most critically acclaimed cars around, so the French must be doing something right -- you won't be disappointed in the quality of the cars.

You order precisely the model you want from here at least three weeks ahead of time (and sooner is better since certain models sell out, or it takes time to deliver the car to the country and location where you want to pick it up). You specify where you want to pick it up and drop it off (although you can change drop off date and location easily) -- most major European airports are covered, as well as some train stations. If the location is outside France, there's a pick up/drop off charge of about $75 bucks. After you order your car, you will be mailed or faxed paperwork, some of which looks pretty weird (you promise to sell the car back and return to your job); you sign it and send it back.

All you pay upfront is the full amount for the rental term you decide. If you want to keep the car longer, you simply contact them, tell them how long you want to extend, and pay the difference. You can keep doing this up to six months. To you it looks like a simple rental, not a sale -- in fact, it is much simpler than a car rental because there are no options, aside from where it's delivered. (You can even order two cars at the same time, if you are so inclined.)

When you arrive to pick up the car, you go to their counter and you are given the car papers, or you take a cab to a nearby offsite office, and are escorted out to your vehicle. Like any new car, it has just enough gas to get to a gas station. You sign for your car. You go.

Wherever you pick up the car, it has red, French "TT" plates -- the color indicates that the car is for "export." It comes with zero deductible insurance (better than you can get with a rental company). If you need service (but you won't since it's a brand new car), you get @$/7 roadside assistance, or you can take it to a Peugeot or Renault dealer, and they are all over Europe, even in small towns where there is no rental company office. The cars come with AC and a CD player, as well as the other amenities you'd expect from a well-spec'ed, upper-end model. You can order most with auto as well.

At the end of your lease, you have to call a day or two ahead of your drop-off to make sure that someone will meet you to receive the car. They take a look at it, you give them the keys, it's over.

Here are the URLs with complete details on the programs and the cars available:
Renault
Peugeot

The two sites for Peugeot have different pricing, maybe different cars. Auto-France appears to be the official Peugeot site, the other one is a large travel retailer who can sometimes have lower rates. Both deliver official Peugeot agreements.

One of the delivery agents suggested that you can even request the color of your car. Added bonus: minimum age is 18, no limitations on going to former East Block countries.

-- Louis Rossetto

I've had this little gray tool for years. You open the little container up and put in your little bottle of eyedrops. Snap it back shut. When you want to use the drops (for me, every morning while still in bed, half-asleep and with shaky hands) you pop the top back on a hinge--the top part being shaped like an eye-wash cup somewhat--unscrew your bottle cap and pop the top back on. Lift to your eye and squeeze the device; there are squeeze panels on either side of it. The top fits in your eye socket and keeps the dropper tip at the right distance from the eye, so you don't
a) blink
b) contaminate the tip
c) shake drops everywhere but in your eye, and
d) stab yourself in the eye with the eyedrops bottle.

Since I developed a tremor, the thing is indespensible. I don't know how I'd get on without it.

--Elle Walter

[Also perfect for kids; the black hood encourages their eyes to remain open.]

Opticare Eye Drop Dispenser
$16
Available from Westons Internet

This nifty little pocket reference was designed for EMTs to use in the field, but it also is great for anyone with basic first aid training in urban situations, or anywhere emergency services or a hospital are available within a reasonable period of time -- basically, any situation other than a wilderness environment.

Concisely covers the essentials of responding to the most common situations encountered in urban areas, such as cardiac emergencies, pediatric injuries, poisoning and childbirth. While this is no substitute for first aid/CPR training or a more comprehensive first aid guide, its concise outline style is perfect for quickly refreshing one's memory. In this sense, the Pocket Reference is actually better than a full-boat first aid book, because when an emergency strikes, minutes count and would-be rescuers are doing the victim no favors by sitting around reading long texts or fumbling through large tomes.

The Reference contains information specifically tailored to the DOT EMT/First Responder curriculum that readers unfamiliar with those courses may find a bit alien. For example, there are multiple unfamiliar acronyms, and an emphasis on patient assessment not commonly taught in more basic first courses . But taking a few minutes to read the material will remove the unfamiliarity and actually give the reader some extra skills and confidence that will pay off well in an emergency. I recommend putting a copy in all your first aid kits, both at home and in your car.

-- Paul Saffo

Pocket Reference for the EMT-B and First Responder, 2nd Edition
Bob Elling
2002, 202 pages
$23
Amazon

This is a cool tool. It is a powerful water pump you can use without electrical power; instead it uses the Bernoulli effect from water pressure in a hose. This pump saved us a few weeks ago. It rained all day and then at about 5:15 the power went out. Our sump pump in the basement had been going every two or three minutes but there were still two or three inches of water covering the cellar floor when I got home from work. I was desperate to keep the level from getting up to the furnace. Our neighbor Jan had a generator to run their sump pump, so she could offer me her PUMPS-A-LOT which they'd used to use before they got the generator.

You connect the pump to a faucet with a garden hose. Inside the unit there's a nozzle pointed at the output hose. It sucks water from below, spitting out that water together with the propelling water via the output hose. In truth, I didn't believe it would work. The makers claim you can pump 800 gallons per hour, or 6 gallons for every one gallon of water you use. But if it didn't work, I'd be filling my cellar with more water. So I tested it in a bucket of water first. It worked! Like magic. It emptied the cellar in a few minutes! Since it has no moving parts, takes up little space, it is an ideal emergency tool.

-- Michael Shook

$17
(pump only)
Available from Amazon

On average I've ordered from Amazon once a week for the last eight years or so. Not just books, but power tools, toys, kitchen stuff, the whole lot. Given the volume of my orders I think their customer service is super great; it sets the gold standard for other companies. No other merchant online or offline has provided the ease and accuracy of ordering as Amazon does. Still, in my experience there are occasionally glitches that their email-bots can't deal with, usually entailing a minor billing snafu. In these rare cases you need Amazon.com's almost-secret real-person customer service telephone number. You won't find it on their website. I once got it by calling 800 directory assistance. In any case, they make it hard to find because a call costs Amazon more, so you should jot down these numbers for those special moments when only a human will do:

1.800.201.7575 (Toll free, US and Canada)
1.206.346.2992 or 1.206.266.2992 (Outside US and Canada)
1.877.586.3230 (Canada only)
0.800.279.6620 (with UK for Amazon UK)
44.20.8636.9451 (outside of UK)

And while I am at it, here's two more hard to find numbers:
e-Bay 1.408.376.7400 and 1.800.322.9266 (Toll free US)
Pay Pal 1.888.221.1161
--KK

There is not a better introduction to the universe of homebrewing than the Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charles Papazian. It covers history, equipment, ingredients, chemistry, beer styles, and methods, while appendices cover various topics from recipe formulation to meadmaking. I've used this guide quite extensively in my first batches of home brew beer and I still consult it on occasion, especially as inspiration for experimentation. It also contains enough on advanced topics to lead in the right directions when I want to learn more.

Other introductory books to brewing are published but this one is the ideal integration of simplicity and thoroughness. Experienced brewers may find the book rather "incomplete" on advanced issues, but online resources and brewclubs are better sources of advance information than most books.

Papazian's passion for beer brewing will pique the interest of any brewer, regardless of expertise and experience. His enthusiasm has even pushed commercial brewers to experiment with new procedures and ingredients. For instance in a passing comment in the 2nd edition Papazian mentioned maple beers and now maple beers are brewed at several brewpubs.

What is perhaps most important about the book is the philosophy behind it. Papazian's recurrent admonition is to "Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew." We can't control everything in home brewing. It represents a whole perspective on beer, the universe, and everything.

--Alexandre Enkerli

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, Third Edition
Charles Papazian,
2003, 432 pages
$11
Amazon

Scandinavian bicycle tire manufacturer Nokian makes carbide-studded "ice" tires for winter riding. Their "lightly-studded" 700c model, the Hakkapeliitta, has made my bicycle commuting season here in Boston last year-round. The carbide studs will give you traction through snow and across frozen trails, iced-over gutters, and unanticipated (and very dangerous) black road ice. I've been able to bike on surfaces that I couldn't even stand on. In the worst of winter weather, it gives me great pleasure to smoothly cruise past entire fleets of cars stuck on the ice. For ultimate winter traction control, mount them on a "fixed-gear" bike with wide tire clearances, such as the Surly Steamroller.

I dream of a day, after weeks and weeks of frigid weather, when I can commute from Cambridge to Waltham on top of a frozen-over Charles River.

--John Rieffel

Icebikers, the crazy lot, swear by Nokian Tires.

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 700c tires for road bikes
$50, Peter White Cycles

Nokian Extreme 296 (296 studs!)
$90