A couple months ago, before I finally bit the bullet and purchased a quality desk chair similar to this one, I found this terrific back brace. It fits around your waist and a padded strap loops around each knee (clipping together at mid-thigh). The tighter you cinch the adjustable straps, the greater the pressure applied to your lower back. You still have plenty of forward movement, and the way it supports the lower spine is wonderful.

It's a little pricey, but pays off immediately. For the past two years, I sat on a dingy secondhand chair at a low, makeshift desk (home office = a walk-in closet). The result? Regular slouching and hunching and frequent backaches, pains and stiffness, especially in the morning. The first day I strapped this thing on, I felt the difference -- and I still use it whenever I head to the library or travel and I know I'm going to have a marathon desk session in less than stellar conditions.

There are a variety of models. Mine is an all-black "S'portBacker," which was the cheapest one available at the time. I really enjoy how it folds and zips together into a convenient package (8 1/2" x 6" x 1").

-- Steven Leckart

Nada Chair S'portBacker
$41
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Nada-Concepts, Inc.

[See the previously-reviewed Slouch!Buster --sl]

The first time I saw one of these finely crafted grills was on a ranch I visited back in the late '70s. They've changed very little over time: the one I have now that is a few years old is essentially the same as the first one I saw almost 30 years ago. Being cast iron, it absorbs and retains heat, radiating it evenly, so the whole stove is part of the heat source -- not just the coals.

It's cast iron instead of stamped tin or steel, so it's heavy, but substantially built. And it's a hibachi, not a lidded grill, so it's not a smoker. It is small enough to put in the trunk or chuck box and take camping, or to use on the patio (about 20" x 10" x 9" and the legs lift the bottom about 4 inches off the ground). But what I like best is it fits in the fireplace, so you can grill in wet or cold weather indoors.

It is lower in profile than most charcoal grills, but about twice as big as most hibachis. If you are cooking for 8 or more people, obviously it will stretch its capabilities, but for the two of us or when we have a couple of friends over for kabobs, it can't be beat. It is just about perfect for a couple or small family.

The grate you place the food on is not welded wire -- it is cast iron like the rest, so the cross pieces are as wide as the slots in between. They hold food well, hold heat well, and when you sear your food, you can see the wide dark sears on the food. The grate is also strong enough to hold pots, pans, coffee pots, etc., -- thus, it can function as a small stove.

There is a door that opens down on the front to add coals or help the dampers to adjust the heat. The damper doors adjust by sliding side to side so you can adjust the draft perfectly. The grill disassembles for cleaning. It's only four parts: the base with the front door, pin-hinged at the bottom, the top grate, the bottom grate, and the sliding damper.

Again, the lower grate the coals rest on is cast iron, so it won't burn out or warp over time. The whole grill is really well made. I burned out several imported hibachis before getting this grill. It should last a lifetime.

-- Rick Shannon

Lodge Hibachi Cast Iron Grill
$90
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Lodge Manufacturing Company

Whether you're looking to convert your road bike into a fixed gear or want to learn how a derailer functions, this site has all the info you could ever want -- a giant glossary, bits of cycling history and plenty of specific instructions and photos.

I started doing home adjustments to my BMX when I was eight years old. Always got hand-me-downs because I couldn't afford the best parts, and sending my bike to a shop would have been more expensive than the parts. These days I am always working on a bike -- either getting new bikes or always on the search to complete a vintage group of components.

Even with my experience, I've been using Sheldon's site religiously for the last year and half, basically every week. When I purchased my first Italian frame last year, I needed the correct measurement for the bottom bracket, but had no idea where to find a figure I could trust. My friend recommended Sheldon's site. Since then, his site has helped me purchase, repair and build two road bikes (my Gios Torino and a Tom Ritchey built Palo Alto). And I just picked up a Tommasini that will also need a complete overhaul (I am currently on a vintage Italian kick). When I first saw some Gios Torinos on Craigslist, I went to the site to get the lowdown for purchasing. I needed to know what the value is or isn't, if the bike is rare or not and what to look for, and also signs of a knock off.

I've seen, in the process, just how precise Sheldon's attention to detail is. I had no idea that there was English and Italian threading. I learned that Italian is 36 mm X 24 tpi and English is 1.370" X 24 tpi. Sheldon has a chart that gives you the measurements for every BB out there, anything from French to Swiss. And I totally didn't listen to his tip on Italian threaded bottom brackets and paid the price. He notes how Italian BB's tend to work their way out while riding. I experienced that on my commute home from work one day and ended up eating it right in front of a huge crowd. I wound up pulling out my crank and rethreading it with a tiny bit of lock tight, just as he recommends. Since then, no troubles whatsoever.

Even if you have no interest in working on your bike or going deeper than the basics of maintenance, this site can really boost your understanding of how a bike works (it has in my case) and even how to ride. There are great tips for beginners, including articles like "Everything You Wanted To Know About Shifting Your Bicycle's Gears, But Were Afraid To Ask."

-- Benjamin Gaffney

Sheldon Brown's Online Cycling Encyclopedia
Free
Available from Sheldon Brown

[Interesting side note: Sheldon Brown (RIP) wrote a monthly column on maintenance and repairs for Bicycling Magazine in the late '70s and '80s; a number of them have been reprinted on his site -- sl]

I am completely deaf in one ear, and can sleep for hours through a normal alarm clock if my good ear is in the pillow. This clock has a small 5" disc attachment that slips under your pillow between the bottom sheet and the mattress and vibrates you awake (I think some people put it between the mattress and the box spring if they find the vibration too intense). The sheet holds the disc pretty securely -- I've never noticed the disc moving around at all. I suppose if you sleep with a really thin pillow you might feel the disc, but I don't feel it with a normal pillow. You could probably also put the disc at the foot of the bed if need be.

You can't change the nature of the vibrations, though there is a setting for a variable pitch/loudness tone alarm (you can use the tone and the vibration together or separately). I've never used the tone setting. The vibrations are enough that I instantly wake up when it goes off (at least enough to hit the snooze button!), although my husband says it doesn't wake him up. But I also don't let it go on and on for 10 minutes, and my husband is a deep sleeper.

For those of us who are hard of hearing, this alarm clock actually works. As I said, I can't fully trust any sound-based alarm, and I was looking for something that would reliably wake me up, but let my husband and kids continue sleeping as needed. This works beautifully.

The model I have is the SBD375ss, which has a dual alarm. They also make a few models without the dual alarm that are about $10 cheaper. I find the dual alarm very useful because I have two different wake up times (5am or 6:30am) depending on the day of the week. And, honestly, resetting the time day-to-day can be a pain because there's no reverse feature for setting time with the clock. If it's set for 6:30am and I need to get up at 5am the next day, I'd have to fast-forward through 22.5 hours to get there. For me, the dual alarm solves that problem. I also recently purchased the travel/portable version of this clock, but haven't used it yet.

-- Katie Bonner

Sonic Boom Dual Alarm Clock
$47
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Sonic Alert, Inc.

"Cool Tools Untried" look cool, but -- buyer beware -- may seem cooler than they actually are. Neither I nor any of our reviewers have actually used the items below, so we can't endorse them or speak from experience. If you have used any of them and can report (positively or negatively) -- or if you have a similar item that's even cooler -- please let us know. Until then, here's some intriguing stuff... -- Steven Leckart

Self-Generating Luminescent Bike Pedals
Available from Pedalite

Stay visible and safe with LEDs that charge as you pedal.

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Breathing Apparatus for Avalanches
Available from Avalung

This is a very un-seasonal product, but it's too cool (pun intended) to wait. In the event you get trapped in an avalanche, breathing and exhaling from this strap-on contraption helps avert creating a potentially-threatening air pocket of CO2. It pulls O2 from below chest level and dumps your exhales at waist level. The apparatus also comes integrated into a backpack. File under: tools you hope you never have to test.

(thanks Carl!)

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Pet Tooth Brush
Available from Jorvet

This one's seemingly banal, but considering how hard it is to get anything (but food) into a dog's mouth, I find it promising. Brushing two sides at once = get in, get out.

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Measure Via Photos
Available from iPhotoMEASURE

Software that allows you to take measurements virtually from photos. Too good to be true?

(thanks Marnie!)

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Emergency Water Purification System(s)
Available from HeroWater

This company offers a couple kits/filters that use reverse osmosis to transform dirty water into a clean beverage that tastes like a sports drink. The LifePack ($40) produces 1 liter in six hours. The X-Pack ($60) -- used by the military to drink floodwaters in post-Katrina New Orleans -- produces 1 liter in four hours. There's also a desalination kit called the "SeaPack" ($100).

(thanks Michael!)

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Industrial and/or Vending Bikes
Available from Worksman Cycles

Looking to start a mobile business? Try a trailer/cart/kiosk from this company founded in 1898.

(thanks Kayleen!)

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Blow Poke
Available from Amazon

We received a great review for a fancy, old-fashioned brass stoker-blower that can help you "keep a fire alive for hours." This version is a third of the price and looks like it will do the job, but what do I know? I don't even have a fireplace.

(thanks Penelope!)

NeverScrub, formerly the Puricle 110, automatically dispenses a bleach-type cleaning agent into the overflow tube of a toilet at the conclusion of a flush. It is far more efficient and effective than the old "hockey puck" style of toilet bowl cleaner. It prevents all sorts of stains, mineral deposits, etc., and leaves the toilet bowl crystal clear (refills last about four months, depending on usage rate). It installs without tools in about 90 seconds (or 30 seconds if you've done it before). You just clip the unit to the inside of the tank and swap out the hose that feeds into the overflow tube for the hose attached to the unit.

The typical "hockey puck" cleaner dispenses a variable amount of cleaner (depending on how long it's been steeping) mostly into the bottom of the bowl, during the emptying phase of the flush cycle, which is wasteful and ineffective. This system releases the right amount of cleaning agent at the right place and time -- i.e. it dispenses a consistent, "measured dose" under the rim, during the refill phase (mostly), so it remains in and on the bowl, including above the waterline. It's amazing no inventor took advantage of this approach decades ago.

(The percentages that follow are guesstimates). When a toilet is flushed, water enters the bowl from two sources: the tank (about 80%) and water fed into the overflow tube through a small hose (about 20%). Once the tank has emptied, the tank's outlet valve closes and water flows into the bowl only from the refill tube (via the overflow pipe), slowly refilling it.

Consequently, less than 20% of the water that was in the tank remains in the bowl after a flush, so 80% of any hockey-puck cleaning agent absorbed by the tank-water is wasted. But over 80% of the water that enters the bowl through the refill tube remains in the bowl, so only a little of the cleaning agent dispensed in this manner "goes down the drain." Also, with the NeverScrub, the cleaning agent remains on the bowl's surface above the water line, because the last water to enter the bowl is treated water. With a hockey-puck cleaner, the last water to enter the bowl is untreated water from the refill tube, which rinses away the cleaning agent that entered under the rim during the initial phase of the flush.

Finally, with the NeverScrub, there is also a beneficial social side effect that is even more important than cleanliness: it can greatly reduce water consumption. I've found that toilets needn't be flushed after doing "number 1" because the product's cleaning agent bleaches and deodorizes it. (When this stops happening, add a refill cartridge.)

The agent is a deodorized form of bleach that employs bromine as well as chlorine: 1, 3-Dichoro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin. According to the company, the refills have an unlimited shelf life and the cleaning agent "breaks down and is harmless to septic systems and environment." Additionally, they claim that "Bowl water [is] not harmful to children or pets." They thoughtfully add, "However, it is not recommended that pets regularly drink water from the toilet."

A few things you should know: It's best to get the surface clean and smooth before installing the unit. I suggest scrubbing the bowl clean with a Pumie stick. You should also be aware that there was a badly mixed batch of refills shipped out a year ago. I bought them, and when I put in the first one, the product stopped working. I contacted the manufacturer and was told that the cartridges had been reformulated to correct this flaw. I exchanged the ineffective batch and the new ones are working perfectly. Third, "Never" Scrub isn't 100% accurate; "Very Rarely" is more like it. Lastly, if you order from the manufacturer the shipping cost for the gadget (it comes with a cartridge included) is $7.61 (to Seattle). That's 69% of the cost of the item itself, which seems excessive. I recommend diluting the shipping cost by placing a larger order. For instance, if ordering six refill cartridges at the same time as the basic unit, the postal charge sinks to only 25% ($9.42) of the cost of the goods.

-- Roger Knights

NeverScrub Toilet System
$12
Available from Amazon

UPDATE: The manufacturer is selling the product and one refill for "free" if you pay the $4.95 shipping.

Also advertised as the "Kaboom" NeverScrub

This book will make you look at every store-bought item you own or debate owning with a curious skepticism that -- after reading the book -- won't seem too unwarranted. It was published two years ago (a cheap paperback came out in the fall), but if you've yet to explore the fascinating, potentially paranoia-inducing, world of RFID and you want the cautionary, consumer-advocate perspective about the Radio Frequency Identification tracking being proposed -- and used! -- by certain companies (for instance, Gillette, Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart), I highly recommend this one. I've been meaning to read it for a while and so some of the stories were familiar (i.e. the nightclub in Spain that chips its members), but there were plenty of bits that were new and interesting to me (i.e. all the patents IBM has applied for, including one for an RFID-enabled closet). Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre take a pretty sensationalist tone -- "Big Brother" is mentioned a number of times -- but the scope of the research is impressive (lots of endnotes) and their insight into how this tech could be abused is thought provoking.

-- Steven Leckart

Spy Chips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Purchase and Watch Your Every Move
Katherine Albrecht & Liz McIntyre
2006 (paperback), 304 pages
$11
Available from Amazon

Sample Excerpts:

While it may occasionally occur to workers that their [employee ID and access] badges can squeal on their movements, there's one place they probably don't expect to find an RFID reader: the bathroom. But a company called Woodward Laboratories has found a way to embed a tag reader into a product they call the "iHygiene Perfect Pump." It's a liquid soap dispenser that doubles as an employee badge reader and monitoring device. To unsuspecting employees, the device appears to be a perfectly normal soap dispenser. But hidden within its sleek plastic exterior is an electronic spy that captures the ID badge number of the person standing at the sink...The handwashing surveillance system requires employees to wear RFID-enabled badges, but soon employees' actual uniforms could report on them instead. The nation's top two uniform rental companies, CIntas (which clothes workers at Starbucks, Disney, Sears, and Wal-Mart) and Ameripride (with clients like Ooutback Steakhouse, 3M, and Cherolet) have quietly begun slipping spychips into employee uniforms to keep track of washing and rental logistics. The tags come encased in sealed plastic disks that can withstand years of commercial laundering, yet still beam out their unique ID numbers whenever they come within range of a reader device.

After minor successes chipping nightclub revelers [in Spain via Applied Digital], the RFID industry turned its marketing efforts to an even more acquiescent crowd: the dead. They were on hand with microchips to implant into the corpses of the victims after the devastating Southeast Asia tsunami, and they're ready to help should research organizations like the University of California decide to embed RFID chips into cadavers and associated body parts. The school is considering microchips as one possible way to stop the illicit trafficking of human remains donated to their school in the wake of lawsuits by donor families.

Ceilings are notoriously tough to paint evenly - it's difficult to get every last little bit covered and easy to miss spots because you can only see it when the light catches it just right. This paint insures you get it right the first time: it goes on pink, but dries white. As long as the ceiling's solid pink when you're done, you know you've done a great job!

We had an old, dirty ceiling, which my wife attempted to paint using a mini-roller. It didn't look right, and I figured it was messed up anyway, so I tried to touch it up and even out the texture. I was left with a ceiling that was technically white, but looked like military camouflage when morning light would hit it at an angle. So, with numerous assurances from the Home Depot paint guy, I bought a gallon of Glidden's paint for our 180 square foot ceiling.

Though my dining room ceiling initially looked like it was soaked in Pepto-Bismol, it dried a glorious, flat, even white overnight. It goes on like any paint (I was using a very deep-nap roller, as I had to go over that heavy texture) and it covers nice, just like regular latex paint. The most difficult aspect of using this paint is overcoming the feeling in the back of your mind that the folks at the Glidden factory have duped you into painting your home pink.

-- Doug Barnard

Glidden Ceiling Paint
$32
(1.85 gallon "Quick Roll" container)
Available from Amazon

Also $80
(four 1-gallon cans)*
Available from Aubuchon Hardware

Manufactured by ICI Paints

[*If you would like to purchase one 1-gallon can for $16.99, it appears you must go into Home Depot in person. Also, I contacted Glidden to find out how the paint's "EZ Track™ Technology" works. Here's their response: "It is a temporary dye. Unfortunately, we are not allowed legally to discuss specific technology." Many readers suggested the color-changing "magic" may be due to a similar mechanism as these disappearing colored bubbles. - sl]

I travel a lot, including abroad. With the kwikSynCh, I use one cable to charge all my various toys (US cellphone, GSM cellphone, Bluetooth headset, iPod etc.) from my laptop's USB port. Typically each device needs its own power supply, but with the kwikSynCh, I only carry one power supply (for the laptop).

You purchase "mTips" (i.e. connectors) to suit your particular devices. I am particularly impressed by the mTip for my 4-year-old 6310i Nokia GSM phone that includes an in-line small adapter (i.e. "booster") to generate 6V from the 5V the USB port actually puts out.

Yes, only 2 devices can be charged at once with the kwickSynch, but I also have a 120V-to-USB adapter (and the mTips work with any USB source), so I can do three at once. In a pinch, I connect the fastest-charging device (or least drained) as soon as I get to the hotel at night and switch last minute before I go to sleep. Even if I don't end up with all items fully charged, I'm still usually OK until my next meeting -- and I find that the colorful cable hanging off my USB port also makes a great conversation starter.

-- Michael Orr

kwikSynCh
$15
Available from and manufactured by Malleable Devices Inc.

mTips
$7
Also from Malleable Devices Inc.

Most pesticides I've used are full of chemicals that are toxic to people and pets, but this spray doesn't have anything like that. The active ingredient is natural mint extract, which is a neuro-toxin to insects. It works just as well or better than any spray I've tried, and smells very minty. I've been fighting roaches this spring, mainly in the kitchen, and my dog has become pregnant. I have never been a fan of the toxic chemicals in most roach sprays, so when I found this at the hardware store I decided to give it a try (it was also less expensive than the more toxic stuff I'd been using). I sprayed the baseboards and everything in my kitchen, and I found that not only does it kill on contact, the roaches seem to avoid it like the plague for about a month. I have also used it to spray and kill spiders, and it was just as effective. The minty smell is nice in small doses, but when I do my entire kitchen the whole house kind of smells like toothpaste, which opening a door or window helps.

-- Jessica Boydston

Victor Poison-Free Ant & Roach Spray
$5
Available from Planet Natural

Also $12 (for 2 bottles) from Amazon

Manufactured by Woodstream Corporation

[There is also a Poison-Free Wasp & Hornet Killer by Victor, which has been recommended by the HortIdeas newsletter - sl]

These heavy-duty protective gloves are used in the restaurant industry for defense against knife and mandolin cuts and for handling trash, which often has glass and fish bones that stick through garbage bags. I read about them in a cooking magazine, and bought one after cutting myself on a mandolin. I now go in for a couple extra slices on the mandolin. I would stop sooner if I didn't have one on, and the glove has hit the blade of the mandolin often, and my hand's always safe. I hit myself once with a cleaver -- fortunately not too hard. I was black-and-blue, but not cut. I've had my glove for about three years and use it four to five times a month.

They are made of Spectra and Kevlar and, apparently, stainless steel that must be woven in, because if there is stainless steel you can't see or feel it. It just seems like Kevlar to me. I have washed mine and have not noticed any deterioration, but it feels a little stiffer and looks a little dingy at first.

They are still certainly flexible enough to carve with. It allows enough movement/dexterity for me. None of what I do (slicing vegetables on a mandolin, using a cleaver or dealing with broken glass) demands a great deal of dexterity, but I'd say wearing these gloves is about the same as wearing winter Thinsulate gloves. And The weave is much tighter than with an expensive chain mail glove, so I think it could actually be more protective in terms of guarding against knife pokes.

-- Steve Golden

$17 (one glove)
(sizes xs - xl)
Available from Magid Glove and Safety

Manufactured by Wells Lamont Industry Group

A ruler isn't something you normally think of as evolving, but that's just what Incra did with their precision line of rulers. Incra's simple solution makes precision layout literally child's play. The rulers are not only laser etched, they use a laser to cut precision holes and slots all the way through the ruler. Put the point of a sharp pencil (mechanical pencils work well, too) in the right slot or hole, and voila! Instant precision layout (unless you're a machinist). I have the T-Rule, which I like because it also gives you a perfect right angle to work with. The T-Rule has precision slots cut in 16th and 32nd increments, and precision holes drilled every 64th of an inch.

The only downside is that Incra rulers are much thinner than ordinary rulers. Like any precision instrument, you can't drop them or knock them around like a $4 ruler from a department store. That said, I've had my T-Rule for over 10 years, and it is still in perfect condition. It has its own place on a corner of my bench where it is fully supported when not in use. It's the only ruler I have in my workshop, and I rarely work in my shop without using it at least once.

-- Sam Mapadatha

$15 - 35
(depending on size: 3",6",12")
Available from Rockler

Also $17 from Amazon (6" T-Rule)

Manufactured by Taylor Design Group, Inc.

The Sony Reader is a portable, unobtrusive paperback-sized handheld device for reading eBooks. I've carried it on several plane trips and car trips and have found it be quite convenient and functional. In fact, I generally have it with me all the time, so I'm never without a book (or 40). Having it has encouraged me to read the types of books I might not consider otherwise due to space constraints around my home or simply not wishing to carry around a physical book that could potentially get damaged during transport. The books I usually read tend to be technical or reference books, but I've particularly enjoyed reading some classics and contemporary fiction on the Reader.

The three things I think distinguish it from a PDA used as reader or a laptop are the battery life, the fact that its E Ink technology works just as well in bright sunlight as it does indoors, and the book-like form factor.

Battery life: Sony advertises that you can get "7500 page turns" off one charge, and "turning a page" is the only operation that consumes battery life. This is a bit misleading in that a "Sony Reader page" is much smaller than a paperback book page (example: Anna Karenina is 860 pages in paperback but 2100 pages on the Reader). However, battery life is one thing I look for in a handheld device and I'm very happy with it on this one. I recently took the Reader on a 9-day vacation and read for multiple hours a day, and the battery wasn't even half drained. When I've used color PDAs (or anything with a color screen) I've generally been much less thrilled with the battery life. The Reader also doesn't need a fancy processor to drain batteries further, since it only does essentially one thing.

Works in sunny environments: This is really important for me if I want to take it on vacation or read outside. It's amazing how well the device works in very bright sunlight -- I'd say it's better than a regular book because not only is it highly readable, it doesn't have the glare of paper. I've used it as a passenger on very sunny road trips where it was pretty much the only thing I was able to look at, and it worked great.

Form factor: It's like a small, thin book and is easy to hold and carry like a book. Again, it's actually more convenient than a regular book, because you don't have to use both hands to turn the page (it's also quieter). The controls are well-designed for reading sequentially and I haven't found any problem with losing my place in a book. The nice-looking cover that comes with it also opens like a book. (I've found no need to purchase the accessory leather cover. The provided cover I got still looks great even after I've had it banging around in my bag for several months, touched it with greasy hands, etc.)

I haven't tried the iLiad (the other E Ink device for the U.S. market), but based on what I've read about it, I still prefer the Reader. The iLiad is twice as expensive and its official specs for battery life (12 hours) seem to be much less than what I've experienced with the Reader. It's also a bit bigger than the Reader (8.5"x6.1"x0.63" vs. 6.9"x4.9"x0.5"). I'm not sure how much that would bother me, but I really do like the size of the Reader.

The one feature the iLiad has which the Reader doesn't is that you can apparently take notes and annotate text on the iLiad. I think this is a pretty cool feature - now if only they'd bring down the price and improve the battery life, I could imagine getting one myself. The Reader is very geared toward reading, and only reading. The only "writable" thing you can do on it is mark pages as bookmarks and clear your history (it automatically records your most-recently-read 100 pages in each book).

I've purchased most of my books from the Sony Connect store ("BBeB" format), but the device also takes PDF, TXT and RTF formats (if you have Word, the Connect software will convert Word documents to RTF). The screen size is quite small, so PDFs work best if sized specially for the Reader. (Some instructions for doing so are published here). Manybooks.net and Feedbooks.com are two sources of free eBooks, and both sites provide custom sizing of PDFs for the Reader. TXT files display very well, in an easy-to-read default font. The displayed text size can be adjusted for all formats. The Reader also will play music files (MP3, AAC) -- which I haven't made much use of as I already have an MP3 player -- and it will display images (JPEG, GIF, PNG), which look pretty good considering they're in black and white. (I've uploaded maps and photos to my Reader.)

The device comes with 92MB of built-in storage, expandable with either an SD card or a Memory Stick. I haven't used any expansion cards since most books are only around 500K to 1.5MB. The cable for connecting the device to the computer is a standard USB cable that works with other devices I have (camera, MP3 player).

A few caveats:

*The Sony Reader eBook format is, of course, proprietary, and the device doesn't support any other proprietary formats (e.g. those from Palm Digital Media). This is mitigated somewhat by the fact that you can use your own PDFs, but it's something to keep in mind if you already have a collection of DRM-protected eBooks from somewhere else.

*The screen "flashes black" every time you turn the page. I have never found this bothersome at all, but it's a weird behavior (apparently an artifact of the E Ink) that you may wish to look at in person before making the purchase.

*It's not particularly good for reference books, as the device currently doesn't have a search function. (However, you can search content you've imported or purchased via the Connect software for the PC.)

*The Connect software is currently not available for the Mac. It is possible to put content directly on an SD card and put it in the Reader, but I've always used the software (which I find quite easy to use), and since I don't have access to a Mac I haven't figured out if there's also some way to get purchased eBooks on the Reader directly.

*The screen does not have a backlight, so if you want to read in the dark you have to use a booklight or some other form of external light. I've used a headlamp in a "reading emergency," which worked great.

One more thing: if you get hooked, people can give you gift certificates for the Sony Connect site via Borders (note: they're not the same as a normal Borders gift cards, and for some reason you have to go into a physical store to order them).

-- Maria Blees

Sony Portable Reader
$225
Available from Amazon

The Podee Hands-Free bottle feeder is basically a small tube that attaches to a regular bottle to make feeding a lot easier. It is a dream because the baby doesn't have to hold the heavy bottle and you don't have to lay them down and prop the bottle up. You can set the bottle next to the baby and put the nipple in their mouth like you would a pacifier and they do what comes naturally. Viola! Granted there is no substitute for holding a baby during a feeding, but that is not practical when driving down the road. This bottle saved me from having to go down the road in the passenger seat with my butt in the front window while I turned around to feed the baby in the backseat. I purchased mine at Toys 'R Us in Madison, WI in 1993, and it is still my favorite all-time gadget. Why didn't we think of this decades ago?

-- Becky Thompson

Podee Hands-Free Bottle
$10
(includes bottle)
Available from Babies"R"Us

Manufactured by Podee International

This gorgeous, stainless steel spinning extractor, made in Italy for Mann Lake, sits in a privileged part of our living room and sometimes serves as a coffee table. But come extraction time, I not only use this beauty in my yard, I share it with my beekeeping friends. It's about the size of a medium garbage can, so it's easy to load into the car. It fits three frames at a time -- the perfect amount for backyard beekeepers who often need to extract only 9 frames at once.

There's no plug, no motor, just human arm power.

Inside is a metal carriage or rack you slide your frames into. Each side of the frame has honeycomb, so you need to flip the frames to get the honey out of both sides. But most backyard beekeepers are curious and want to check out the progress of the extraction process, anyhow. Watching the honey splatter on the inside edges of the extractor is very satisfying.

It's also very satisfying to hold up the frame to the light and see that the honey has been sucked out of the comb and is now dripping down the inside of the extractor. And therein lies the beauty of this hand-crank model: the spigot. The honey flows down the sides of the extractor and coalesces in a pool. One only has to turn the spigot and out drips your liquid gold. I never filter or heat my honey so we just hold jars under the spigot. Viola!

Clean up is simple -- just put the extractor near the beehive. The bees will lick up the remaining honey. And before I put it back in the living room, I like to pour a few buckets of hot soapy water just to make sure.

Mann Lake makes a few extractors, including a cheaper 3-frame model. However, cheaper models have the crank on top instead of on the side, which makes it more difficult to spin (can you say instant tennis elbow?). I've also heard it's harder to get the spinner moving fast enough to splatter the honey. With this extractor (the HH-190), the crank is on the side, which is more ergonomically friendly. The next model up is motorized, which I think you need only if you're a commercial size beekeeper or elderly.

Beekeeping involves buying a lot of equipment (an urban farmer, I have been beekeeping since 1999 and bought this extractor two years ago). Paradoxically, while we're in it for the long haul and strive to buy quality, long-lasting equipment, we also pride ourselves on being thrifty, and some of us border on the edge of being Luddites. For example, in order to extract the bee's hard-earned honey, a beekeeper must remove the frames of honeycomb, slice off the capped honey and then somehow extract the sticky ambrosia. I'm proud to say I've never used one of those electric, plug-in hot knives for uncapping the comb. I use a pot of boiling water and a good kitchen knife, and simply dunk the knife in the water for a time, wipe it off and then slice. No cord, no expense.

I feel the same way about my extractor.
It's a nice synthesis of human and machine. Before I got this extractor I used to try to use a bowl, some pans and gravity. This is impossible in a place like California with all these ants! And it just takes forever to let the honey drip out. This machine allows us to speed up the extraction process, but not too much.

-- Novella Carpenter
Hand Crank Honey Extractor
$320
Available from Mann Lake, LTD

No stranger to big questions is complexity theorist James Gardner. In this ambitious book, which is something of a reprise of his seminal first book, Biocosm, he takes to task just about every quandary left in the cosmos (there's a lot of them), particularly that most important of mysteries: Why is our seemingly barren universe so conducive to biological life? The result is something of a primer on the rapidly changing future, sown from the fertile mind of a scientific generalist. Gardner encourages us to climb under Sputnik's wing and look at the Earth from a decidedly more galactic perspective, pummeling us with cogent, and barely conceivable, ideas about the role of artificial intelligence in human evolution, superstrings, robotics and the potential impact of extraterrestrial contact on our metaphysics.

Having laid out the outrageous fecundity of human potential, Gardner unveils his own "Selfish Biocosm" theory, a sort of utopian trans-humanism. Gardner sees our planet -- our galaxy, even -- as part and parcel of a vast transterrestrial community of intelligence. He posits, quite powerfully, that the seemingly unlikely biological evolution of our planet is not the result of chance and evolution, but of a cosmic reproductive cycle, a "coming alive" of the Universe.

Even though they teeter at the edge of science fiction, Gardner's ideas are compelling, and, ultimately, place us at center stage of an inspiring, still-unfolding cosmic saga.

It is works like this which provide us with a rare combination: a commitment to "truth," and, usually, a view of humanity as being part of a larger, more complex system -- which is very empowering. After all, when you're thinking about Big Questions, like whether or not the Universe is shrinking, the petty trials of everyday life are much simpler to overcome.

-- Claire L. Evans

The Intelligent Universe: AI, ET, and the Emerging Mind of the Cosmos
James Gardner
2007, 269 pages
$18
Available from Amazon

DISCLOSURE: As it turns out, I attended grade school with Jim Gardner's son.
I didn't make the connection until I interviewed him a couple weeks ago. -- Claire L. Evans

Sample Excerpts:
If the Selfish Biocosm hypothesis is correct, it means that we are not only the spawn of stardust, but the architects of star-laden universes yet to come. It means that physics and chemistry eerily adumbrate the details of biology in a very specific way and that the emergence of life and intelligence is a predictable climax to the impressive but lifeless symphony of inanimate nature. It means that, against all odds, the impersonal laws of nature have somehow - amazingly and miraculously -- engineered their own comprehension. And, strangest of all, they have done so by catalyzing the evolution of a conscious primate on one obscure planet who dares to dream of uncovering the ultimate secrets of the entire universe.

There is at least a plausible hope that extraterrestrial civilizations and our own terrestrial civilization will eventually evolve toward a roughly equivalent state of intellectual competence, and that the forces of cultural evolution will someday, if only in the far distant future, converge in a manner that will make genuine interstellar communication possible, even among species that began the long trek toward sentience at very different starting points in time and space. If it eventually occurs, this moment of convergence might conceivably prove to be the opening motif in a cosmic concert of cultures -- the sounding of a deep chord heralding the birth of a cosmic community.

This grooming rake is excellent for removing dead undercoat from dogs. It's basically a series of curved metal "fingers" with blades on the inside. The fingers gather the hair as you pull the rake through the dog's fur. The blades allow it to cut through matted hair and they're rounded to keep the dog from being cut. This model has 18 fingers or teeth, making it especially good for larger breeds.

My wife discovered it at a local grooming shop. They used the brush on our dog for six months before we finally decided to purchase one. We have a 110 lb Golden Retriever and our floors are usually covered in a generous layer of dog hair. We've tried other grooming brushes, but this rake easily removed 10 times as much hair.

Bonus: it's fun to use and the dog seems to enjoy it, although he's not picky about which brush we use.

-- Eric Weary

Oster Grooming Rake
$24
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Oster Professional Products

[There are cheaper grooming rakes and "slicker brushes" that work well from what I've read, but they're often made of plastic. I spoke with the groomer at a pet shop near me, and she said this metal rake is the way to go if longevity is a priority. -- sl]

I've used these solar LED lights for reading at night for over a year. There are three models and I have one of each -- the Heavy Duty Compact model, the Compact model and the Mini, which I attach with Velcro to my backpack and then to my bike helmet when I need it for night riding. On full brightness, the Mini lasts 12 hours (recharge time is advertised as 7 hours).The Heavy Duty charges completely in 10 hours and, at full brightness, gives 12+ hours of light, while the Compact charges completely in 6 hours and, at full brightness, gives 12+ hours of light.

I've never run the lights until battery drain so I can't speak to recharge from zero. I use them for reading at night so that is usually only an hour or two a night and they are always connected to the solar panels in my south facing window.

I took all three lights on vacation to Jamaica last December, and used each of them except for the Mini (no biking). After the trip, I gave two sets of friends the extra lights I'd bought. Both couples like these lights, too.

They also offer a variety of connectors, which work with all models of the lights, that allow you to charge your phone, camera, computer, etc. I bought all to test for compatibility and found it to be a very good system (although at $20 a pop the connectors are a little pricey). It's worth noting, I use them only for demo purposes. I haven't tried to run my computer, for instance, on the Compact model.

I settled on this brand because they were the first I'd seen with a natural form factor. They looked sleek and useful and have turned out to be all that I expected. The only quibble I have is that there's a light sensor that will not allow the lamps to go on in the daytime. I'd prefer a switch so that I can decide when to turn them on or off without being overridden by the sensor. Still haven't seen anything that is comparable on the market.

Gotta tell ya, it makes me feel good to use these things. Finally, after all these years, this renter has one room that is solar powered. They made me an honest solar advocate, somebody who not only talks the talk but walks the walk as well.

-- George Mokray

Newlite Portable, Solar LED Lights
$29-75 (depending on model)
Available from Kansas Windpower

Manufactured by Newlite

We like natural peanut butter, but hate the initial stirring mess. The minute you put a spatula in, the oil overflows and is everywhere. This stirrer seals the jar, and with a few quick turns the peanut butter is completely mixed and there is zero mess. Easy to use: you put the lid on, insert the stirrer and turn the knob. The gasket on the hole where you put the stirrer even cleans it off when you are done! My husband actually sneaks in a new jar of peanut butter so that he can mix it up before I get to.

-- Sessalee Hensley

Peanut Butter Mixer
$9
Available from Lehman's

Or $10 from Amazon

Manufactured by Witmer Prodcuts, Inc.

I started roasting coffee beans at home a few months ago and the results have far exceeded my expectations. Freshly roasted coffee tastes great; the basic process is very simple; and with the Fresh Roast Plus, it's easy to get great, very satisfying results right from the very first batch. The FRP is basically a blow-drier in a can controlled by a simple analog timer dial. Hot air blows up into the glass basket that holds the beans -- heating and agitating them -- and then carries the chaff up through a trap before exiting the top. In five or six minutes, it roasts enough coffee to get me going for two mornings.

The heat gun/dog bowl method, which requires a tool that is essentially a hair dryer, in combination with a blend might provide more bang for the buck (if the goal is nothing more than a good cup of coffee), but this cheap roaster is a good tool for learning about roasting. The FRP allows me to hear, smell and see the beans during the roasting process, and the simple timer control permits ending the roast manually at any given moment. Still, this not a "set and forget" process. The roaster's timer is more about preventing fires than ensuring any particular result. It seems to me it was designed assuming that the user would monitor the roasting process and choose to stop at any given moment, but the house wouldn't burn down if the machine were neglected and the max time ran out.

Note: one part cracked about six weeks after I got it. However, the manufacturer sent me a replacement at no charge after a quick phone call. For longevity, I've learned, it's important to let the roaster cool between uses. This, coupled with the roaster's small batch size, might limit the roaster to one or two-drinker households.

I bought mine from Sweet Maria's along with an 8-variety assortment of single-origin beans (plus a pound of SM's French Roast blend), which meant I could plug and play. Fooling around with different roasts of single-origin coffees is great fun. Run a lighter roast and a darker roast of the same bean, taste them apart, then combine them in various proportions. Here the small-batch capacity of the FRP is not a liability, and every roast turns out a bit different even when you're trying to duplicate a previous roast. The FRP runs really quick as roasters go, and 15 seconds (or increasing/decreasing the amount of beans) can make a huge difference in the result.

That said, I'm still very new to this. When I started, I was getting great results with everything but the blend (first try was sour, second tasted burnt). I sent an email to Sweet Maria's, got a reply right away, and sorted it out. I really recommend purchasing beans from them. They sell coffee beans from all the major growing regions; many of their offerings originate from individual farms the proprietor has visited; and If you take advantage of their very deep website and buy a variety of beans, you can learns a lot about coffee such as where and how it's grown, how it's processed, and how it's bought and sold. As time goes by, I expect one can learn to appreciate "vintages" and how the coffee from a particular farm varies from year to year. Thanks to the variety of cultivars, climates and processing methods and the hundreds of flavor-influencing compounds present in each bean, not to mention the various ways of preparing coffee, it's quite a complex beverage. Roasting my own beans with the FRP adds another level to that complexity, as does knowing sometimes quite specifically about where, when and by whom they were grown. And I think there will always be more to learn.

I'd been thinking about roasting my own for some time and finally decided to start roasting when my local roaster raised the price of a pound of French Roast from $11.50 to $13.50. Most of the green beans I've bought were five to six dollars a pound. I think a pound of green beans yields about 14 oz of roasted coffee. Since switching to the Fresh Roast Plus, my electric bill has gone up three or four dollars a month (I'm roasting about six pounds per month, but had been buying three), but I think the roaster will pay for itself in less than a year. Bottom line: low initial investment, great early results, limitless potential for learning and surprises.

-- Alan Murdock

French Roast Plus Coffee Roaster
$74
$84 (includes 4lbs. of 8 coffee samples)
Available from Sweet Maria's

Or $80 from Amazon (roaster only)

Manufactured by Fresh Beans, Inc.

The Sock Pro is a little rubber disc perforated in the center to allow the toes of a pair of socks to be slipped through its center. The perforations hold the socks together through laundry and drying, and they keep socks paired in the dresser drawer. I've been using these thingies about a year and half and they really save me time and annoyance at the laundromat. For those with families, you can buy them in different colors and assign one color to each family member. It takes some effort to drag heavier socks through the hoops, but I have been able to use them with Thor-Lo maximum padding running socks and they work fine.

-- Rhea Jacobs

$5
(20 discs in one color)
Available from and Manufactured by SOCKPro, Inc.

This documentary is a wonderful testament to what can happen when bright folks from different disciplines get together to make stuff. In 1966, 30 engineers from Bell Labs collaborated with a number of modern artists in New York to create a series of pieces/experiments. Open Score by Robert Rauschenberg, the first release in a 10-part DVD series on these pieces, captures what is essentially a high-tech indoor tennis match. Two players rallied with racquets wired with FM transmitters that amplified each stroke. As the lights in the room dimmed, the whole event coalesced into a participatory, multi-media "happening." Since engineers reappropriated infrared lenses -- primarily a military tool back then -- the artists were able to film and project shots of the crowd.

A combo of 16mm performance footage and more recent interviews, the documentary is short (35 min.) but totally inspirational. These days we're used to SRL shows and Maker Faires and the melding of science and art. We've come along way since C.P. Snow suggested the dangers of intellectual isolationism. Watching the old footage and listening to the collaborators reflect on the evening really emphasizes the beauty and importance of such cross-pollination(s).

You may feel inclined to tinker. You'll likely feel a renewed appreciation for collaboration. More than anything, you'll be reminded not to pigeonhole. Tom Robbins said it best: "There are two kinds of people in this world: those who believe there are two kinds of people in this world, and those who are smart enough to know better."

Just ask engineer Larry Heilos: "I got a deeper appreciation for the artist, per say. I began to realize that, hey, while they were doing things that were different, they were really just people like the rest of us, with some tremendous imagination and with some forethought as to what they could work with and what was available to them. Very stimulating."

-- Steven Leckart

9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering
Part I: Open Score by Robert Rauschenberg
DVD
$22
Available from Amazon

Released by Microcinema International

[Netflix doesn't carry it (yet), but there's a preview here. There's also a book on this subject, which I have not read - sl]

This wonderful dual alarm clock is the best one we have found in 40 years. The display and control layout make it very easy to use and difficult to make a mistake. On the front display you see clearly, unambiguously, the status of everything: both alarms and the current time. The layout of the buttons really reduces the likelihood of hitting the wrong button. We frequently adjust our wakeup times and with other dual alarm clocks we made mistakes. With this clock, the controls for Alarm A and Alarm B are on opposite sides, so it's very clear and obvious to set. Also, because the LCD display allows you to see the current time and both Alarm A and B all at the same time, you don't have to press any buttons to see when you're wake up is set for.

In the old days we experienced things like pressing the wrong buttons in the dark, adjusting the radio off-station when we meant to adjust the volume, setting the time of day instead of the time of alarm, setting a time to PM when we meant AM, setting the alarm time but failing to turn the alarm on, one of us would get up ahead of our alarm time and turn off the wrong person's alarm, a power failure erasing all settings and we had to remember how to deal with a complex device, a power failure while sleeping and we failed to rise on time as no alarm sounded, etc.

With this clock, you don't have to decode -- or learn to decode -- what or how the clock is set. With a lot of clocks you simply get a bunch of different LEDs, such as green for AM and off for PM, green 'on' for radio ('off' for no radio). With this clock, the buttons are located and sized to eliminate, or at least reduce, confusion. The current time is displayed large enough to see it from across the room (we place the clock across the room to force a certain level of wakefulness). There's a lithium stand-by battery that preserves time of day and alarm settings just in case of a power outage. It also has sleep, snooze and nap functions, as well as two alarm setup modes: workweek and weekend.

The clock isn't as high end as some models by Boston Acoustics, and there are aspects that could be improved, like the buzzer/beeper. Since we keep ours across the room, we felt the buzzer/beeper was not loud enough. Still the volume of the radio and preset tunes is fine, so we use those. Also, the Time Zone, Daylight Savings mode and Time of Day buttons are located along the back edge on the top of the clock in a recessed well, so they do not protrude. Two of the functions are doubly protected, as you have to press one button then another to adjust time or time zone. However, Daylight savings mode just takes a single hit and that moves time by one hour forward or back. Nevertheless, there is a little Daylight icon on the front display to help you notice if there's a mistaken change.

Overall, if you're looking for a simple clock radio, it's really great. I was shopping for a teenager coming of age. At $29.99 this alarm clock was more expensive than I planned (and I don't often deviate from plan), but it has one feature that I found exciting: the display that lets you see everything. When I got home my wife was critical of the amount spent. Two weeks later, she sent me out for another one for our room. A week or two after that, I noticed the same device at Costco for $19.99. Upon telling my spouse, she put it on our list for purchase "just in case ours breaks someday and this is no longer available." So we now have a new alarm clock in a box in our basement. It is THAT good.

-- Jim of MN

Sony Dual Alarm Clock Radio
$25
Available from and Manufactured by Sony

Or $33 from Amazon