White Vinegar vs. Toilet Bowl Rings

This is a tip in response to the pumice scourer. I used to scrub fruitlessly at toilet bowl rings until one day I tried pouring in some white vinegar (maybe a cup or two) and leaving it overnight. Everything came off in about a minute after that. I use a standard toilet brush and find the stains/deposits come off with very little effort, sometimes after leaving the vinegar in just for 20 minutes. I got the idea from the fact that vinegar is a mild acid and that it seems to be the main ingredient of most homemade ecological cleaning recipes out there. Been doing it for a couple of years, no effect to the porcelain that I can see.

-- Jeff Lindberg

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Rubberbanded Pliers

For a small vice for doing quick fiddly work, I use a pair of pliers with an elastic band wrapped around the handles. Adjust the tension by wrapping the band round more or less times. You can use them as a clamp so both your hands are free, or you can leave gluing things to dry. I learned a variety of elastic band tricks when working as a theatre lighting tech. They're also great for temporarily attaching cables to lighting rigs by looping them around the bar and cable then looping the tail end of the band around the dowel (used a lot of electricity tape prior to being shown this). It has always seemed to me the less tools you use, the more familiar you become with them and the more uses you find for them.

-- Sam Henderson

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Plastic Bag Epoxy Mixer

When you need to get some epoxy in a very small space, or don't have room to make a mess around what your gluing, try squeezing the product into one corner of a heavy plastic bag. Mix it in the corner between your fingers. Then cut the corner of the bag to size and apply it where it's needed -- pastry bag style. First saw this tip in "Fine Homebuilding," which recommended using it to mix color pigment into calking.

-- Michael Visnick

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Plastic Stretch Wrap Packing

If you are moving yourself, you don't need boxes for most non-fragile items such as books. Just stack the books, wind some stretch wrap around them, and you're done. This is a cheap, quick option and since the wrap is transparent, you can see what you've got -- a very useful feature when you have not yet unpacked but you need to find something. I even use stretch wrap to contain and protect clothes on hangers. When you unpack, you cut off the stretch wrap, and there's virtually nothing to throw away (no empty-box disposal problem).

-- Charles Platt

We live in Cleveland and shovel lots of snow (two feet last Easter Sunday!). I didn't have a lot of pain, mostly "tired" back, but this handle definitely worked. If I you're older or have a bad back or do not want the expense of a snow blower, this thing is probably indispensable and I recommend it enthusiastically. I found the handle itself loosened up after a few snowfalls, maybe three, but it's easy to retighten. That can be kind of annoying, since we shovel on average weekly during the two peak snow months, but considering the price point, this is absolutely worth the money. And aside from being a lot better for the wallet, it's also better for the environment (air and noise) than a snowblower.

-- Glenn Mercer

I bought a BackSaver grip when I was in the midst of the arduous removal of about 2000 sq. feet of rocks from my backyard. I didn't do it all personally, but I did a lot of shoveling and after a few hours per day, I always developed some degree of back strain, which tended to get worse the next day (eventually I had to get the build-up of muscle torque massaged out of my back). In the middle of the project I found the BackSaver at Ace Hardware. If it were cheaper, I'd get one for every long-handled tool I own because it made a huge difference finishing the rock-shoveling. I was grateful again when I went on to move 15 cubic yards of compost from my front driveway to backyard. It allows you to lift the shovel without reaching down as far, and although it looks like a short difference in distance, you can really feel the difference. I recommend this to anyone who has a big job ahead of them or just fears the freak movement that causes their back to give out. I've only had to retighten the grip once, although, to be fair, I have moved it from one tool to another a few times since I've had it. One thing to know: in order to accommodate handles of various diameters, the bolts that it installs with are long enough that they stick out a bit when installed on a narrow handle. However, the manufacturer provides little rubber caps so the sticking out bolts don't catch on stuff.

-- Amanda Redmond-Neal

The classic, Compact OED is a smaller, handy version of what is the best English dictionary, bar none, the famous OED. Because it's photo-reduced, it contains the entire OED, all 20 large volumes in one convenient reference (it comes with a reading glass). Aside from saving space on your shelf, it's also significantly cheaper. It's quite large, but you could definitely fit it in a regular backpack, if you're a student or need to transport it (although it is about 10 pounds!). I've been using it for 3 years now, at least twice a week for general queries, as I enjoy discovering and using obscure words and I also often look up words and dive into etymology as part of my Wikipedia editing. For example, recently I used my OED to look up an archaic usage of the word "quaint". Apparently Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" makes use of the old meaning where "quaint" also refers to female anatomy. Who knew?!

-- Gwern Branwen

Compact Oxford English Dictionary
E. S. C. Weiner, J. A. Simpson (Editors)
1991, 2424 pages
$240
Available from Amazon

Sample page:

Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:

OneLook Reverse Dictionary

The Synonym Finder

Visual Thesaurus

I've been using them for six months and during this time, one of the little buggers maintained power in a key ring torch for the entire period. I can definitely say that a normal NiMH would not have made it that long. Some people know this, some people don't, but standard rechargeable NiMHs self-discharge, constantly losing energy (even when not in use), so people often end up with powerless cameras at weddings or powerless radios or flashlights in survival situations. I've found it's quite possible for the energy in them to have halved after a month or two, and with some older cells I have, the dive can be much faster. Although Eneloops have a quoted total charge capacity that can be smaller than the best premium NiMHs, they lose their charge at a much lower rate - the company says as little as only 15% a year -- because of their design. They're also Cadmium-free, which is supposed to better for the environment. I really feel regular NiMHs should come with a safety warning, as I'm sure people have had cells they put in emergency equipment run down. These cells make it truly practical to do away with 90% of the alkaline and lithium cells you're still using, benefiting your pocket book and the environment. There are other brands that advertise the same improvement: Varta Ready2Use, Rayovac Hybrid, Titanium Power Enduro. All of them come pre-charged and ready to use and work in the standard NiMH charger you probably already have. I went with the Sanyo Eneloops after reading a lot of positive first-hand accounts online. Just two cautions: stick with lithium cells in devices like smoke alarms which have to maintain power for years; and don't use these cells (or any type of NiMH) in devices like cordless phones that recharge on their own base station without checking the manual -- these devices are often NiCd rather than NiMH, and the charger will be incompatible.

Solar Recharger

Battery Backup

Radio Shack 15-minute Rechargeable Batteries

A product claiming "magic" is worthy of skepticism. I'd seen these sponge-like melamine pads for a while and heard how tough they are on soap scum, oven grease, and even dirty laptops. Then I finally witnessed one completely eliminate a deep, dark mark I deposited into a wall while moving. I was carrying a hefty box of All-Clad pots and pans, when one handle jutting out the top of the box caught the wall, leaving a five-inch blemish in an otherwise pristine, off-white stairwell. Hot water, soap and paper towel had absolutely no effect. Total bummer.

Then one of our movers ran to his truck and returned with a Magic Eraser. He ran the pad under cold water, squeezed it out, and rubbed one edge lightly on the spot. In less than 30 seconds the mark disappeared completely -- no discoloration or stain whatsoever. They're reusable, but fall apart with use. How much use you get depends on how long and how hard you scrub, but they're cheap enough it's not disappointing to throw away a mangled one even after a couple jobs. I've started using them around the house (bathtub, kitchen, etc.) and to remove paw prints left by our overzealous dog. However, I'm mostly thrilled with how the pad can circumvent the hassle of touch-up painting. It obviously can't put chipped off paint back on the wall, but if you rent, these can help assure your security deposit is returned in full with significantly less effort. Mr. Clean makes other types, including Extra Power, which I've yet to try. Still, for walls, I'd recommend sticking with the gentler basic Eraser.

Zojirushi's Mr. Bento Lunch Jar is a modern spin on the Japanese bento box. However, it will keep cold things cold and hot things hot. Mr. Bento features four microwaveable containers: a watertight soup container, a large main-meal container with an insulated lid, a smaller container I use for salads, and an even smaller container for snacks like cheese/grapes. All these containers stack neatly inside a stainless jar in a specified order that creates a seal, keeping the soup/main container hot or cold while the other containers remain at room temperature.

Mr. Bento also comes with a spork, so you don't have to carry extra utensils; the spork even has a cover. Mr. Bento himself fits inside a nice bag (included) that has pockets for napkins and the like, and enough extra room for another small food container should you desire a bigger meal. In my case, I typically take a small container of oatmeal to work, so I just place Mr. Bento on top and put the entire stack in the bag. A fully-packed Mr. Bento with bag and utensil weighs around 3 lbs.

As for how long things stay hot: Typically, I pack my lunch around 6:45 a.m., then don't eat until 12 noon. I never feel the need to microwave. For example, recently at 7 a.m., I microwaved a frozen burrito and cut it in half to fit in the meal container. At 11 a.m., the burrito was still hot and steam came from the container when I opened it. Zojirushi advises preheating the jar with hot or cold water for maximum temperature retention, though I've never tried that.

When you first look at Mr. Bento, you might worry you're going to walk away hungry. Your mileage may vary, but I am a whopping 240 pounds of man and sometimes I wonder if I should have purchased a smaller Bento like the Ms. and mini (I also have Zojirushi's rice cooker).

My impetus for buying a lunch box was that I discovered I was spending over $100/month going out to lunch. I wanted to save money and did not want to get bored eating-in. So far so good! I also found Mr. Bento has a cult following, including the "Mr. Bento Porn" group at Flickr (Despite the name, it's safe to look at during work). This is what really sold me on it.

Many years ago I took a meandering 5,000 mile bike ride across the US, from San Francisco to New York via Idaho and Texas. I rode back roads all the way and it was a highlight of my life. But this long bike ride would have been 100 times better if I did not have to share the road with careless drivers, overloaded pickups, and logging trucks, not to mention suicidal teens in hot rods. Wouldn't it be great if there were long-distance trails specifically for bicycles? Basically -- roads without cars?

Well, there are! A quickly emerging network of abandoned railway lines are being converted by regional governments into superb bike paths. In addition to offering very gentle grades that are ideal for bikes, many of these new trails are satisfying long. The longest rail trail is over 300 miles long, and the longest off-pavement bike trail in the country stretches 2,500 miles. On these bike roads you can cruise along for weeks without ever encountering a car, or worrying about being bumped off the white line by an oblivious motorist. These are not paved roads, but packed gravel or dirt. Many sport spectacular tunnels and bridges courtesy of the former railways. At the same time these trails pass through small towns affording local eateries and rural lodging, as well as the usual camping spots along the way. I tell you, there's nothing like arriving at the soft pillows of a B&B after a long day of pedaling.

Many of these trails did not exist as bike paths even a few years ago. More are being opened every day. There's great effort to sew short sections together into long haul bike-primary paths. Eventually you will be able to cross the country via a series of interconnected car-free roads. In the meantime, the clearinghouse for the latest additions to the bike-road network is the Rail to Trails Conservancy. But you don't have to wait to enjoy some fantastic overnight tours on roads without cars. Here are six of the longest continuous bike trails in operation right now, in ascending order of length.

John Wayne Pioneer Trail -- 113 miles

While this trail officially transects Washington state, only 113 miles of the final 200 mile trail have been developed (by 2007) and are presently open. You can get several overnights out of it. Great diversity of terrain: unshaded, dry sagebrush in east, glacial valleys and ranchlands in the west. Hard gravel. Biker/hiker camps. Best source for update info for bikers is from Jennifer's List of Bike Trails. For mile by mile descriptions of the trail try Spokane Outdoors.

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Cowboy Trail -- 195 miles

A nice leisurely 5-day trip passing through the small towns every 15 miles on the Nebraska prairie. (The trail is currently being extended to over 300 miles.) Crushed limestone, 200 wooden bridges. Food, lodging, lush grass and flat terrain in abundance. Check the official Nebraska Parks site for current info.

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Katy Trail -- 264 miles

This bike trail which mostly parallels the Missouri River is a Missouri state park unto itself. It's generally flat and very civilized. There are loads of B&Bs, wineries, and historical sites, and bike support. The path is part of Lewis and Clarke's trail. This well-love week-long trail has its own website, BikeKatyTrail, for the best info.

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Kettle Valley Rail Trail -- 280 miles

Located in lower British Columbia, the big attraction here are the stunning trestle bridges, long tunnels, and mountain scenery glimpsed from an easy grade that never exceeds 2.2%. (Many of the trestles were destroyed in a forest fire in 2003 but are being rebuilt. The photo shows a rebuilt trestle.) Ten days is a easy decent trip. Most current cycling info can be found at Cycling the KVR. Mile by mile log of the trail is at Trailness.

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GAP/C&O -- 335 miles

Running along the former towpath of the C&O canal this well-traveled path crosses the hills of Appalachia. The Greater Allegheny Passage/C&O trail is unique among bike paths because it begins and ends in a big city. Imagine it: You can ride from downtown Washington, DC to downtown Pittsburg, PA without encountering automobiles along the way! The big city endpoints make logistics a little easier, too. And of course the multi-week trip runs through tons of historical places. The official GAP site and corresponding official C&O sites are best for updates. Best biker info can be had at Bike Washington.

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Great Divide Mountain Bike Route -- 2,500 miles

Unlike the other five trails, this one is not flat. Anything but. The Great Divide Route is 2,500 miles of rough fire roads that cross summits of the Continental Divide 27 times, earning you over 200,000 feet in changed elevation. The entire trail stretches from Canada to Mexico. It will take an ordinary human 3 months to complete. But unlike any other transnational trail in North America you won't be squeezed by cars as you ride from border to border. It's a remote trail, in wilderness, with few amenities. Think of it as the Appalachian Trail for bicycles. Adventure Cycling has the best info on this dream.

If you know of any long haul bike trails greater than 200 miles that I have missed, please let me know and I'll add them to the list.

Most people know to buy acid-free photo albums for old family snapshots, but the same care goes for old garments. For years I've been relying on inexpensive, unbuffered acid-free tissue paper to ensure some dear family heirlooms will remain in tact for years to come, including a piece of beaded silk from my step-grandmother's dance costume from the '20s. Regular tissue paper is acidic and will yellow over time and damage fragile fabrics, especially silk. Unbuffered, acid-free tissue paper is completely PH neutral. If you want to spend a little more, you can also buy acid-free cardboard boxes from an archival supplier, but as long as you have a buffer of tissue between the plastic and the contents, a standard plastic storage bin is an easy and inexpensive solution. Just make sure to keep the lid slightly ajar to avoid creating a microclimate of heat and moisture. I also separate each garment with additional tissue. The textiles themselves need to be positioned as they are intended to be worn, with as few folds as possible (sharp folds will eventually turn into breaks in the fabric). If I must fold a piece, I go back and refold it every six months in order to avoid permanent creasing and tearing. I also use the acid-free tissue to pad out the inside of the garment in order to maintain its original shape. There are a few important environmental conditions that must be maintained, but this is not particularly difficult: store bins in a dark, cool place (65 degrees Fahrenheit) and maintain the relative humidity level (50% is ideal).

A cardboard box carelessly stuffed with baby clothes or a wedding dress that's left in a non-regulated environment can suffer a variety of damages: disintegration of delicate fabrics from contact to acidic surfaces (i.e. cardboard boxes); breaks in fabric due to creases, folds, and tight storage; fading from exposure to light; swelling and distortion of the fabric and the running of colors due to moisture; whereas too dry causes brittleness and breakage; and, of course, insect infestation. Moth larvae will eat just about everything: wool, feathers, fur, hair, leather, lint, dust, paper and occasionally cotton, linen, silk, and synthetic fibers. They're also attracted to blood, sweat, and other biological substances, so you MUST clean your clothing prior to storage. You can also get stiff, buffered acid-free tissue, which is specifically intended for balancing the PH of cellulosic textiles such as cotton and linen. However, unbuffered really is the way to go if you're dealing with a range of organic material, especially if it's going to be housed in one box -- it's also slightly cheaper. I took graduate classes in museum conservation, but didn't decide to properly pack away my own treasures until I assisted with the treatment of a rather large 20th century costume collection infested with moths. We rehoused literally hundreds of garments, ranging from turn of the century wedding gowns to 80's silk shirts with shoulder pads, using the same unbuffered acid-free tissue paper you can get from any archival supplier.

I've been wearing Titanium Sport frames from Maui Jim for about 5 years. I use them for driving, sports, walking, just anytime. Many people prefer more substantial sunglasses, but these are especially comfortable for wearing under my biking helmet. They weigh about 11 grams and feel minimal and I don't get as much sweat on them. There are also no hinges to break or tighten. I was rock climbing in the Dolomites when these glasses slipped off my neck (I often keep them around my neck when I don't need them). They seemed to almost float down 120M of rock. They wound up landing with only a small scratch on the lenses and I wore them for the rest of the trip. I got my first pair after a friend recommended them. I'm on my third pair -- lost one, gave one to a friend -- and I just ordered my first prescription pair (prescription is a fairly new offering). I can't wait. I happen to prefer the Wailea's, but the Titanium Sport line has two other models with slightly different shapes and two sizes. I prefer the smaller size. Maui Jim's are expensive, but worth it.

Comic books, comics, graphic novels, or whatever you call them are not a genre, they're a medium. Wolk emphasizes this from the outset of this vivid examination of the form and many of the geniuses and misfits of the American mainstream and avante-garde. Always frank, always insightful, Wolk, a former comic book store clerk, covers a lot of ground: pregnant moments, metacomics, parallel Earths, disposable Sunday strips, and, of course, how the world of comics can be "annoyingly male." The first half of the book tackles history along with an overall assessment of what comics mean and how to read them. There are great bits about what makes a "superreader" and how the form blossomed despite the economics of limited shelf space. The second half is a series of precise essays on specific artists, including Chris Ware, Alison Bechdel, Art Spiegelman, Charles Burns and Steve Ditko. Critics often disparage contemporary artists or cite a myriad of ways their work could never compare with the classics of yesteryear. Wolk doesn't pull punches, so that makes his optimism all the more appealing: he believes the next generation of cartoonists, currently coming of age with Manga, animation and those 'classics,' will soon be doing amazing work. Until that happens, this is the book to catch you up and understand much of where they'll be coming from.

-- Steven Leckart

Reading Comics
Douglas Wolk
2007, 371 pages
$16
Available from Amazon

Sample excerpts:

No matter how far back you go, though, there's always going to be something comicslike - if a bit less so with every step. There's not much to be gained from that kind of ancestor seeking, other than a kind of validation that salves nothing but insecurity. Better, perhaps, to wave vaguely at the past and say that, yes, comics have been around for a good long time, and a lot of the formal conventions associated with the medium's current state were solidified (although probably not created) in the early twentieth century. No genius gave birth to the form; it just coalesced.
*

Nostalgia, especially nostalgia for childhood, is a heavy burden for a medium to bear, and comics have been carrying it since the culture around them began to coalesce. The comics collecting market was called the 'nostalgia market' at first; The Comics Journal was renamed from The Nostalgia JournalŠ As far as thinking about what makes comics interesting, though, nostalgia is poison - no just because it makes people overvalue the stories that fueled their childhood fantasies but because it makes them misunderstand the reasons why the good stuff or even the resonant crap affected them so strongly, and what exactly might have been messed up about it, or the way it made them feel the first time around.
*

Once you've seen Steven Ditko's hands, it's hard to forget them. Not the hands of the famously private cartoonist himself - not many people have seen those. The hands he draws on his characters, though, are unmistakable: expressively gesticulating, fingers pointing in all directions, casting spells or shooting webs or passing judgment. Ditko doesn't have as big a name outside comics' inner circles as his reputation among cartoonists would suggest - there'll never be an awards ceremony named after him - and his deliberately low profile has a lot to do with it. Insisting that his work speaks for itself, he's refused to be photographed or interviewed since the early '60s, and his prickly, loopy individualism has kept fame at bay. Still, he's the ghost haunting the last forty years of American comic books. Over time, his incandescent drawing style darkened, clotted, and shriveled into something much less easy to like, but more like a product of the art-comics world to which he's never suggested he feels any kinship. If his work has a single constant theme, it's I'm Not Like Everybody Else.
*

Until the late '60s, virtually all American comic books were published by a handful of large companies, because that was the only way they could claw their way onto the limited rack space at newsstands; no matter how expressive and creative a comic book was, it also had to be broadly commercially viable or there was no sense publishing it. The fact that unsold comics were returned to the publisher meant that a not-especially-successful issue could be a financial disaster. And a print run of five thousand or ten thousand copies of a comic was unthinkable - there would have been no where to sell it. That began to change in the '60s, as the counterculture created an informal network of head shops and record stores that were prime outlets for selling 'underground comix' - mostly black-and-white, artist-driven comics that mainly showed off their countercultural credentials by being as transgressive as possibleŠ In the mid-'70s, largely as a result of the efforts of a guy named Phil Seuling, comics 'direct market' came into being. Distributors made deals with comics publishers to sell comics to specialty stores earlier than newsstands got them and for a deeper discount than newsstands got, but on a nonreturnable basis. Newsstands and drugstores, the traditional venues for comics, had no use for old issues once the new ones came out, so they'd tear the covers off comics that didn't sell and return them to distributors for credit, as with any other magazine. Comics stores, which knew their market, could order exactly as many copies of each title as they figured they could use, and whatever didn't sell before the next issue appeared could always be sold later for a bit of a markup. The direct market transformed the comics industry, although it took a few years before cartoonists figured out how to use it to their advantage.
*
People talk about 'graphic novels' instead of comics when they're trying to be deferential or trying to imply that they're being serious. There's always a bit of a wince and stammer about the term; it plays into comics culture's slightly miserable striving for 'acknowledgment' and 'respect.' It's hard to imagine what kind of cultural capital the American comics industry (and its readership) is convinced that it's due and doesn't already have. Perhaps the comics world has spent so long hating itself that it can't imagine it's not still an underdog. But demanding (or wishing for) a place at the table of high culture is an admission that you don't have one; the way you get a place at the table of high culture is to pull up a chair and say something interesting.
*

There's a certain kind of rain that falls only in comics, a thick, persistent drizzle, much heavier than normal water, that bounces off whatever it hits, dripping from fedoras, running slowly down windowpanes and reflecting the doom in bad men's hearts. It's called an 'eisenshpritz,' and it's named after the late Will Eisner, one of the preeminent stylists of twentieth-century comics, who never drew a foreboding scene that couldn't be made a little more foreboding with a nice big downpour. Eisner deserves his veneration in the comics world. He was one of the most gifted, innovative storytellers American comics have produced, and his work has had a lasting impact on the aesthetics and the economics of the medium. The comics industry's annual awards are named after Eisner; until his death in 2005, its honorees had the thrill of being handed an Eisner Award by Eisner himself. (I was one of the award's judges in 2001 an have never been starstruck as badly as I was meeting him.)

Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:

Making Comics

The 911 Report: A Graphic Adaptation

Cartoon History of the Universe III

I have mixed feelings about U-Haul and their prices, but one thing they have done that is priceless is create and maintain a surprisingly helpful Box Exchange forum. It's a standard web forum divided into geographical areas so people can request free used boxes or make theirs available for free or cheap. We just saved ourselves $250. After responding to two posts, we had something lined up in no time. We drove into the city (Manhattan) the next day from where we live in Jersey City and picked up a bunch of boxes in various sizes that were practically brand new -- all for free. I basically ignored the "buy" forum as the "free" one was successful in under 24 hrs. We first tried Craigslist, but found that most people in our area at the time wanted money for boxes. From our experience, people on the U-Haul forum seemed willing to go a little out of their way to get rid of their boxes. Most of the posts are definitely from individuals, but interestingly, there were a couple of business disposing of boxes (we got ours from an electronics importer in Chinatown). We have not yet completed our big move to Wisconsin, but will be giving away our boxes the same way when we do.

I have used Moleskine journals for years, but more often than not, by the time I've filled a journal, the spine is torn and in tatters. And because I write the journal number and date on the spine before putting my filled journals on my library shelf, this is a problem. The obvious solution is a nice leather slip-on cover, but I couldn't find one that met my specs. In particular, I wanted a cover that wouldn't interfere with use of the signature Moleskine elastic band or rear ticket pocket. And above all, it had to be sturdy and elegant, just like my otherwise-stout Moleskine. So I turned to Steve Derricott at Gfeller Casemakers, who made me a custom cover that works great, and now Gfeller is offering a slip-on cover that meets my high specs and more (note: I have NO financial interest in any of this, of course). The cover is made with the attention to detail that has made Gfeller a legend among geologists and field scientists for their extraordinary leather field cases. It is hand-cut and sewn with waxed Egyptian cotton thread, which is tap-set so that it will never, ever break. Steve makes the covers in English Kip leather, the same leather used in his field cases. Kip is a pale tan when new, but over time, exposure to light and the oils from your hand will cause it to darken. The process starts almost immediately, but continues over many years, all the while the cover gets darker and richer in tone, until in a decade or so, it will be a deep rich, mahogany. Because it has no dyed surface, the Kip cover will wear better than, say, a black dyed cover. Scratches and bumps will soften into the overall patina of the cover, adding to its character and giving it a wonderful feel like a fine old saddle -- or of course one of Gfeller's field cases after years of use in the field. (He does offer other leathers as an option, but I recommend sticking with Kip). Steve is stamping a serial number in each cover beneath the Gfeller cartouche, a reminder that one is not merely buying a journal cover but also an heirloom in the making.

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 you love -- please let us know. Until then, here's some intriguing stuff -- Steven Leckart

Sports Climbers
Available from Sport Climbers
Rugged-looking ankle spikes for climbing trees.

(thanks Roger!)

Note:

Tree climbing spikes injure and damage the tree. They make the tree more susceptible to disease as well. Spikes are only used during a tree removal ( i.e. cutting the tree down piece by piece). Obviously these are intended for sportsmen, who usually have great respect for the animals they hunt and the habitat in which those animals live. I would hate for someone to think this is an acceptable practice of gaining entry into a living tree. For more information on non-invasive tree climbing techniques and equipment, visit Tree Climbers International and New Tribe. For context, I used to work as a forestry technician, and I continue to be a recreational tree climber with an interest in arborculture.

-- Sam Johnson

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Custom Dodge Sprinters
Available from Sportsmobile
Luxurious camper vans pimped out per your design.

(thanks Paul!)

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Painter's Pyramid
Available from K&M of Virginia

These little stabilizers supposedly allow you to paint top, sides, and edges in one round.

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Optical Finger Mouse
Available from Logisys
A mouse that straps to your finger for cramped, less-than-flat mousing.

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Garlic Press/Pitter
Available from eBay UK
Preps garlic and olives/cherries. I've seen a few on eBay and other online stores in the UK, but have yet to find one superior brand that's widely available.

(thanks Aryeh!)

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BackSaver Grip
Available from Lee Valley
A shovel/broom/rake handle intended to reduce back strain.

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Mobile-Shop
Available from Mobile-Shop
A portable cart-load of tools for on-the-go fixin'.

Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:

Some Turtles Have Nice Shells

Rosle Garlic Press

MS Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse

The Combi-Bolt is a traditional sliding bolt, but it has a 4-dial, 10,000 number possible combination lock for keyless security. I used to have a Hasp and padlock on my backyard shed and had to cut the padlock off more than once because one of my kids lost the key. I've now had this lock on my shed for over a year and I love it. I keep my garden tools, the dog toys, basketballs and even a spare house key in my shed, and I no longer have to worry about my kids losing yet another key or myself having to destroy another padlock! Everyone has access when they need it and if for some reason I want to change the combination, it's easy to do. It's constructed of solid metal and has held up well over our snowy, rainy, windy winter and works just as well as it did the day I installed it. It also came with "one way" screws so that once it's installed, you'd have a tough time getting them out (luckily I positioned it correctly the first time). You can even use this lock as a child safety device to keep the kids out of the cupboards in your home or workshop.

This is one of the "games" that will likely get me to finally shell out for Nintendo's DS Lite. The three weeks I spent indulging in a preview copy on a borrowed DS were rather satisfying. As with Electroplankton, you touch a stylus to the screen to create sounds, except in this case you're playing an actual, well, virtual instrument: six-string guitar. You change chords with the D-pad. The stylus can be strummed soft or hard, fast or slow. And the responsiveness was impressive, especially considering you're playing a pocket-sized system. There are note-by-note, karaoke-like instructions for a range of contemporary and classic rock and pop songs. Personally, I enjoyed simply tinkering with chord changes and all the effects.

If you're a musician, this could be a fun, albeit potentially-productive, way to pass a long flight. If you're not a musician, this is a solid way to learn chords and songs by doing, but without investing in an object that will take up space or make too much noise. With Jam Sessions, you can put on headphones and rock out whenever, wherever. Some say gaming -- and the web, too -- causes a disconnect between you and the "real world." That said, playing Jam Sessions inspired me to dig out my retired, old steel string to try out some of the digital ditties I composed while riding public transit.

Unfortunately for my waist, I love ice cream. For a long time, I accepted the fact I either had to strengthen my wrist muscles, leave out the ice cream to soften up, or run the frozen tub or spoon under hot water before digging in (which dilutes the ice cream if you forget to dry it off beforehand). Not anymore.

The trick to this scoop is a heat-conductive fluid sealed inside the handle and business end. The heat from your hand warms the fluid, which lets you scoop easier and quicker. I find it can scoop ice cream from ice cream tubs that are hard as a rock, like a spoon through a tub of margarine.

This Zeroll scoop is not dishwasher safe, and must be hand-washed in warm or luke warm water (the fluid in the handle can't take any hotter). It comes in different sizes from two to four ounces, in either a silver aluminum or Anodized Teflon finish. I opted for the two-ounce aluminum scooper because I've heard the Teflon finish wears off over time.

It's worth mentioning that I learned of the Zeroll from a cooking magazine. They tested various scoopers to settle on one that makes the "perfect, round scoop." The Zeroll won.

Tape Op is the only music geek magazine worth buying -- and it's free. Widely eclectic and ever encouraging, the main premise seems to be "Try, and trust your ears." Pro, semi-pro, and DIY info sits comfortably side-by-side. Pros read it, hobbyists read it, some kids read it, all get something from it. Tape Op will give step-by step demos of, for instance, modding a certain low-cost microphone to get more bang for the buck written by a guy who sell his own mics for thousands. Or they talk to a guy with a barn full of home-made analog synths or someone who makes music out of sounds from antique recordings. The mag offers information in all kinds of directions, but it only wants you to do your own thing with it, what ever that is. Tape Op's philosophy: use your ears and twist some knobs, learn all you can, then forget about it. Standards are explained, history is explored first-person, but rules might be thrown out the window. An undercurrent regarding how unrealistic and difficult it is to run a studio coexists with inspiring tales about the pleasure and pride that comes from recording music. The contributors work hard in their own studios and know what they're talking about. A large community of recordists supports contributing articles and a lively online Q and A page (later edited and published). Recent profiles have run the gamut from legendary producers/engineers to seriously indie/outsider recordists; all have a jones for doing what they do their own way.

A recent, typical issue reviewed a mic you can buy for a steal on eBay for $40 and a mic that streets for $7,000. They don't waste time writing slagging reviews; they review only what might be useful to someone on some level. On one hand, you can learn a lot by reading about something you may never be able to afford. On the other, you see that despite how amazing, desirable and beautiful that thing is -- and this where most music mags stop -- you don't really need it. It might be a great tool for someone, but you don't have to need it. Record reviews, written in the same "we like this" spirit, lean indie and outside, but might go anywhere. I always read about something I don't know, but wouldn't mind hearing. It's independently published and paid for by ads from all kinds of audio-related concerns, but beholden to no one, so it's neither slick nor slimy. Other recording magazines often seem to be trolling for sales or hyping an image. Their editorial decisions are suspect, noising on about last year's retreads, repeating a press release, offering the same tutorials you could find in another magazine -- or the library(!). The 'net offers a lot of basic DIY sites you can learn from, but will they print an interview with Rupert Neve, as issue by issue, you learn about the products that riff on his designs? How about talking to Rudy Van Gelder (who recorded all the classic Blue Note jazz) about taping John Coltrane in the living room of his parent's house in New Jersey?

I've been subscribing since 1997-8 when a producer I met turned me onto it. There is absolutely nothing out there like it. Nowadays my job is production manager/soundcheck and rehearsal substitute/backline tech for a three-time Grammy winning artist. I work with and have hired top-notch audio pros and I learn a great deal from them. Tape Op has often given me insight that keeps me apace in our discussions and what I learn from them takes me deeper into the magazine. However, Tape Op also has allowed me to nourish a side-line in sound designing/composing for theatre when I am off the road. When no one's paying me and I'm home with the kids asleep, I record my music or occasionally, friends. That is where the knife really gets sharpened and what I have taken in from Tape Op gets put to the test.

I've been using this cleverly-designed scoop for more than four months and found it really cuts down on the amount of effort and time I have to put into one of my least favorite parts of the day. The tines are long (7 inches) and the slots are wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, so the clean litter passes through quickly and any lumps stay in the scoop. I don't have to make as many passes through the box (three quick passes does the job), and I don't have to shake the scoop to strain out the clean litter. Their web site looks awful, but the scoop is terrific. I will never switch back to those smaller, nasty old scoops I used to use.

I am in the middle of upgrading the Movable Type software beneath this blog, as well as re-designing aspects of Cool Tools and my other blogs. If you notice little holes and bugs, it's us not you. Please be patient, although I'd appreciate a note if you detect something out of kilter.

I tend to be rough on buttons (or maybe I'm just gaining weight). I started using Kevlar thread to sew fire toys and found it is very strong. I now use Kevlar thread for all my sewing. On buttons, I don't need to use as much thread to secure them and the thread is tougher than the fabric I sew into. By weight, Kevlar is five times stronger than steel wire and is used in bulletproof vests. Do NOT try to break it by hand -- you'll just hurt yourself. The very thin thread works well with beads -- it's very abrasion resistant -- and there are thicker varieties that I use for sewing leather.

Keeping tabs on the art world is tough and time-consuming. Being a collector is tougher, and downright expensive. This site does all the work for you and allows you to amass your own hip, limited edition prints for cheap. Sign up for the newsletter and once a week you'll receive a heads up about the artist whose work will be available later that day for $20 a pop. They usually make only 100-200 prints and it's first come, first serve. The first piece I bought on a lark sold out in less than 15 minutes! I discovered the site nine months ago when a friend gave me a gift certificate. Although I've already spent my gifted wad, I still check the newsletter religiously, almost obsessively. Stumbling on amazing art(ists) is wonderful. Decorating our home with little, unique prints is very satisfying. Part of every purchase is donated to a charity chosen by the artist, too.

I took a SteriPEN to Africa for 3 months this summer and the verdict is in: it's the best water purifier you can carry without a tractor-trailer. It's basically a UV ray flashlight you submerge into your glass. The water stays cool and it doesn't change the water, except to kill all the living things in it, viruses included. It is expensive, but pays for itself quickly, as you don't have to buy bottled water. On my trip, often when I asked a waiter for a glass of tap water, my request would elicit a smile or a laugh. In some cases, they simply would not bring me a glass of water. Most of the time, though, I convinced them -- and then, to their amazement, I would take out the SteriPEN, push a button, and stir the water with the glowing purple UV light that always brought stares from other diners. After less than 60 seconds, I would take out the SteriPEN and drink the water, occasionally hearing gasps from other tables. Then I'd mention that UV light is how certain towns and companies now sterilize water.

In the 3 months I used it while abroad, I never got sick and the recommended CR123 batteries lasted all summer. Of course, it doesn't make Uganda's water taste any better, and often buying a plastic bottle and tossing it in the car is more convenient, but the SteriPEN will save you if you need it and it will save you money if you use it. For backpacking, it's what we call a disruptive technology -- no other water purifier comes close. I haven't tried the MIOX, but it seems like a hassle in comparison. You have to make a kind of concentrate that you pour into your water and you need salts for it. I would bet on the SteriPEN because you treat the water 100 percent, there are NO consumables, and there aren't any follow-up steps, which you might screw up. I have tried pills and filters in the past, but I think the SteriPEN is the best solution in all circumstances. I would take one on an extended wilderness trek with no hesitation. It will become a permanent travel companion.

I bought the lightweight Traveler version (picture above), and my only complaint is that the silver coating disintegrated after a while somehow. It works fine, but now it looks more like a Star Trek prop than it did when I bought it. Since the Traveler and Adventurer models are the same product, just different colors, I would recommend the Adventurer. Quick aside: SteriPEN's solar charger is way too heavy at this point.