Compared with my previous visit to Japan 12 years ago, the most noticeable change I find today is in the bathroom. The "Incredible Squirting Toilet" has achieved almost total market penetration, and not just in middle-income homes. It even appears in fast-food restaurants and in public facilities in railroad stations.

As you lower yourself to the thermostatically warmed seat, a concealed motor whirs briefly, providing your first clue that you are about to encounter a piece of highly sophisticated technology. The toilet then remains silent and passive until you reach the point where you would normally apply paper. Instead, you hit the spray button. A hidden tube extends itself beneath you, and with the precision of a heat-seeking missile, it directs a spray of warm water that simultaneously tickles, stimulates, and cleans the place that needs it most. While its aim is meticulous, you can adjust its penetration by gently flexing your sphincter muscle. The experience is so unexpectedly and uniquely pleasurable, I found myself tempted to visit the toilet repeatedly just for recreational purposes.

Paper is needed only to mop up the water when the spray jet has done its work, but such is the effectiveness of the washing action, you will find no visible trace of fecal matter on the sheets of tissue, and can don your underwear in the happy knowledge that you have been cleaned by the same impeccable Japanese engineering that brought the world Honda motorcycles, 170-mile-an-hour trains, and robotic talking dogs.

Higher-end versions of the squirting toilet eliminate the need for paper entirely, by allowing the option of warm-air drying. They also provide adjustment of the water-cleaning jet, including a pulsatile flow which I found especially pleasurable. And for those in Western countries who are sufficiently uninhibited to allow themselves the pleasures of using this rectal equivalent of a water-pic, I have good news: The squirting toilet is available as an imported item and can be retrofitted to older bathroom equipment (you simply swap out the seat). Toto, the primary Japanese manufacturer, offers the most basic model under the name Washlet C100, and if you browse online you can find it for around US$500. This has only the most basic features; you can pay more for more advanced models, including one that welcomes you by raising its lid when it sees you approaching.

A note for female readers: The squirting toilet has a second tube which can be deployed by women who wish to cleanse their labial areas, but for anatomical reasons I was unable to test this personally.

-- Charles Platt

$750
(model: S300)
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Washlet

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Toilet Lid Sink

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I got this great tip from marketing innovator Seth Godin. I think its a good one for anyone putting on a conference or large meeting. Like Seth, I attend many conferences and the time and manner in which the organizers are thanked is not effective or efficient. Seth has a small improvement I plan to adopt:

Approximately 5% of the official welcome speech consists of a litany of thanks. The list is impossible to remember, said too fast and dull. Not only is this a total waste of time for most attendees, it doesn't even satisfy the core objective, which is thanking and rewarding the folks who helped. And it certainly doesn't encourage others to look forward to helping out.



The solution is pretty simple, thanks to Powerpoint and digital cameras.

Prepare for the talk by taking pictures of each person. If they're shy, you can even do photographs in groups of two or three. Good photos, clever photos, funny photos... photos that are interesting are best.

Then, create a new presentation. Put each photo on its own slide, preferably with a well designed ID below it (it should be on a black box, with a nice sans serif font reversed out. Like you see on cable TV news.)

String one after the other. Build a dissolve transition between each one. Program it to put up a new slide every two seconds--don't go too slow!--and to loop the presentation.

Ten minutes before you're due to start, while everyone is finding their seats, run the presentation. It'll cycle 5 or 10 times before you start speaking. When you get up, start your presentation and just dive into the meaty stuff.

Every single person you feature will be famous! "Hey, I saw you in that loop!"

And you won't have wasted your valuable presentation time.

-- from Seth's Blog by Seth Godin

Real movies the instant you want them have been expected for ... well... at least 100 years. You think of a movie, then you can watch it. This trick has been tried scores of times over the past decades, but never seemed to work. Clunky boxes. Expensive contracts. No choices. Weird constraints. Lousy pictures. But now, finally, the trick works.

The Roku box from Netflix allows you to watch movies on your TV whenever you want to, for no extra charge, in DVD quality. It is a tiny thing that sets up in a few minutes. If you have wi-fi in your household it will link up to that so you can put the box near your TV. For achieving such a complex task it has a remarkably simple interface and no-fuss approach, very similar to an iPod. We were watching a movie within ten minutes of opening the shipping box.

You use a small clicker to control your Netflix queue on your TV. Movies are streamed (no waiting beyond a few seconds at the start) in unexpected big-screen TV quality. I don't know how they do it. It is miles better than the streaming on those little YouTube boxes. There is no noticeable stutter, blobs, lags, or hiccups. But it ain't hi-def, either.

The service is a joy to use. You manage your queue -- adding and re-ording flicks -- on your computer, and the Roku box automatically syncs up. Back at the TV you click through the instant choices, pick one, and in a few seconds the movie starts. You can pause, change movies, and resume the first where you left off.

Here's the kicker: you can watch as many movies (no ads) as you care to. There is no extra charge beyond the basic Netflix monthly (and you can still get them mailed to you as DVDs if you prefer). Ten movies a month or a hundred. Anytime. This thing is dangerous.

Here's the only caveat: so far only about 10% of the total Netflix catalog is available for instant download. But that total is naturally swelling by the day.

The Roku box is cheap at $100. You can watch all the instant Netflix movies for free without it, if you want to hook your PC up to a large screen, or watch on your monitor. Since the Roku is so small and wireless we can move it to our projector and stream movies to the big wall.

It's a nicely done cool tool.

-- KK

Roku
$100
Available from Roku

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SmartFlix

True Films 2.0

Roku SoundBridge

My wife and I had some property, but not enough money to build a house without going into debt. We enjoyed staying in a cave B&B in France and love the Troglodyte dwellings in Trôo, France. After consulting several books, including one by Rob Roy, this book just made the most sense. The methods are so low tech, a bum could make himself a mansion. Other books get into engineering with concrete, steel, rebar, etc., which cost a fortune and don't necessarily function any better and, in some cases, maybe not as well. With this book and the videos, which are a must if you get serious, you really can build a home for the cost of a roll of plastic and a few other items, provided you do the labor by hand and scrounge materials.

Mike explains succinctly what took him years to figure out and you may might never discover otherwise: how to get in light from all four sides, how to protect untreated wood, how to connect the log post and beams together with pins made of low cost rebar, how to evenly compact the earth backfill by hand as to allow nature to finish the job (the backfill also functions as earthquake bracing keeping you tight under the surface rather than hinging at the point where the building meets the ground, a method similar to what Frank Lloyd did to prevent quake damage in Japan). Mike shows how to make a foyer or a gable to keep water flowing around the door opening rather than across it. Skylights are notorious for leaking, even on a conventional house. So Mike invented the "sun scoop," a method I used that allows natural light to shoot right through the full length of the underground complex at different times of the day and year depending on your design and desires. He also shows how to make clerestory windows to let light into the high side of the house through an uphill patio or a wraparound.

I was a bit skeptical at first. How could all of this work and be so cheap? This type of dwelling is not for everyone, but if you do it right it really does provide great shelter. There are engineering tables in the back of the book providing rule of thumb guides and safety information. It won't get you something that will pass a code inspection, but I'm of the opinion codes and building regulations are written in part to provide sales for corporations and taxes for the government. A friend of ours designed a small underground house. She wanted to go with engineers and permits. Last estimate: $1.5 million dollars. And she has yet to get it approved. Sadly, she will never build her dream. This book even has a chapter of strategies for getting around that. Keep in mind, too, this book is not a house plan. You learn how to build nearly any design you want. Just put the safe framing building blocks together in a design that suits you, keeping the important rules and directions in mind. After the basic structural requirements are met, the only limit is your imagination...

We started our house in 2002 and had a very crude shelter within a couple months. I framed in about 2,000 square feet, made about a thousand or so fairly comfortable, and continue to expand into it as we need it. We have a studio apartment area, a master bedroom and two bathrooms, as well as a porch area with a conversation pit, uphill patio, green house and shop. We have added a large garden to raise much of our own food, a carport, wood shed and two-story rammed earth, rock and salvaged boat dock and bridge timber garage. With natural earth temps around 50 at night, only a small fire in the wood stove is required to keep things warm. The roof is a garden. It feeds and shelters us and provides a park-like setting with flowers all around. There is no exterior painting required. Nothing to become an eyesore as the paint chips and deteriorates and the shingles rot off. Sure it takes maintenance and there are issues to deal with but if you build it, you will be intimate enough with it to know what to do.

My home is growing. It's alive. It changes with time and will be here as long as we want it. Or if we leave and no one cares for it, it will someday revert back to the earth from which it came, to be just another one of natures reclaimed gardens.

-- Glenn Kangiser

The $50 and Up Underground House Book
Mike Oehler
1981, 116 pages,
$20
Available from Amazon

More info and videos available from UnderGroundHousing

Sample Excerpts:

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Strollers these days are huge, mammoth contraptions. Sure they fold up nicely, but you still have to find a place to put them. Once we got this hook, rather than just parking our stroller in the kitchen or dining room, we created a set, out-of-the-way place to store it. And since it's off the floor, that gives us more space to fill up with more baby stuff. The hook is strong (we have a Quinny Buzz stroller, which weighs abouts 15 lbs.). It doesn't require drilling or mounting into anything, since it hangs over the top a door. It comes down far enough that never have to lift the stroller very high to hang it up (I'm about 5'5"). The sides pivot, too, allowing you to adjust the width to fit a variety of strollers. It looks nice to boot -- modern, sleek and not babyish, though the white ends soften it up a bit. Doesn't look like an industrial garage hook, although you could probably use it as one. Plus, when we no longer need a stroller, we have a coat hook that can be easily relocated.

-- Amanda Hughes-Watkins

StrollAway
$40
Available from MetroTOTS

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This bivvy sack that doubles as a parka was developed as a Swedish Air Force survival kit item. When you put it on, it looks like a hooded nightshirt. During the day, you roll up the drawstring hem and wear it as an anorak. At night, there's enough room inside for your sleeping bag and it can also act as a small, emergency tent (the cuffs are elastic drawstring, too). A bit pricey, but worth it. Mine kept me dry and fairly comfy when I spent some time last winter camping out in Oregon in the cold, blowing rain (temp.: 40s). It's great for pier fishing and crabbing in the rain, too. Folded up, it's about half the size of a loaf of bread and weighs about a pound. There's no lining; it's just a generic shell (I also wore mine in conjunction with a mummy bag). It breathes pretty well, though, and seems pretty resistant to tears and punctures.

-- Randall Robinson

$175
(red or green)
Available from Backcountry Gear

Manufactured by Hilleberg

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I was turned onto the aptly-named Yamuna Body Rolling Footsavers about five years ago and haven't looked back. Like a hard racquetball that has been sliced in half, the Footsavers are designed to help realign the bones, muscles and tendons in your feet. You stand on them and work your feet, positioning each foot down the inside line, outside line and mid-line. It's a simple routine that's explained on the instructional DVD it comes with. If you have any foot discomfort, the kind you get from imperfect shoes or simply being on your feel all day, these really can make a difference. At first, it will be painful. You will likely have to not put all your weight onto the Savers, and probably need to do it next to a wall for balance. But the moment you step off the saver, your feet enter a whole new world. I always take these when I travel, as they are quite small. They have saved me after days of walking all around Manhattan and after ultimate frisbee and any bike ride. I find they're also great after or before any normal day as well. What I appreciate about Footsaving is that you can do it while you drink your morning coffee or while you watch a little TV. Makes it difficult to use the "too busy" excuse. The routine is quick and the relief to my feet has been monumental. I'm sure there is an acupressure effect of some kind with these, though I don't know exactly how/why it works. I just know they've been well worth the initial discomfort and adjustment.

-- Aaron Pastor

Yamuna Body Rolling Foot Savers
$41
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Yamuna Zake

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Presented in the form of manga (a comic book for grownups), this is the most succinct course in career counseling I've ever seen. Not what career you should pursue, but *how* you should pursue it. You can read this masterpiece in an hour, but it will take a lifetime to work out the details of those six lessons. This compact sermon will make the most difference to those just starting out in the workplace. The six quick lessons [with my comments in brackets] are:

1. There is no plan. [The economy changes too fast for your career to have a plan]
2. Think strengths, not weaknesses. [Find your advantages]
3. It's not about you. [Serving others serves you best]
4. Persistence trumps talent. [Keep showing up]
5. Make excellent mistakes. [Take risks, but fail forward]
6. Leave an imprint. [Do something that matters]

Each point is given consequential flesh in this engaging story. In my experience these six lessons highlight the skills needed at work better than, say, the bestseller Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. And it is far more fun to read. I've bought copies of Bunko for each of my kids and for a few adult friends currently struggling with their path. I'll probably re-read it myself in a year.

-- KK

The T5 is as reliable as a good, old-fashioned "wiggy" voltage tester, but adds the functionality of a digital multimeter (DMM) and an AMP meter combined. I've found the T5 to be a bit more robust than the average DMM and very reliable for a device in this price range. More importantly, it has a "fork" or "OpenJaw" that can be extended over a current-carrying cable so that it acts like an AMP-clamp, except you don't have to maneuver or close the jaws, making it quicker and easier to use. The fork is also a lot less intrusive and requires less space than the old open-and-clamp design. Perfect for a cramped motor panel or junction box. For most functioning/troubleshooting, it's helpful to know first if there is voltage and then if there is current (the garden hose comparison: do I have water pressure? is water flowing?). And, for service work for instance, it's great to be able to check both voltage and amperage of a motor running with one very lightweight, ergonomic tool.

I have been using a range of Flukes for well over 20 years -- everything from a multimeter to a scope meter and other devices. However, this relatively small unit remains my go-to instrument. It is the first one I grab both at home as well as on my job (I oversee the installation of packaging lines nationwide and, at times, do trouble shooting on pieces of automated equipment). There are two version of the T5, the 1000 and 600 models. The main difference between the T5-1000 and the T5-600 is their maximum voltage ratings, 1000 and 600 VAC respectively. To me, the relatively small price difference between the 600 and 1000 was worth it, but for general work around the house, the 600 should be perfect.

-- Ad Verkuylen

Fluke Voltage, Continuity & Current Tester
$78
(T5- 600)
Available from Amazon

$115
(T5-1000)
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Fluke

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The last time I got glasses, I let the salesman talk me into the UV/Anti-Glare coating, which I'd never had before. After time, the coating began to develop tiny, really fine scratches, which kept building and building. They got so bad, I was going to get new glasses -- until a friend recommended Armour Etch, a glass etching cream you can get at art/craft stores like Michael's or Dick Blick. The way it removed the coating, leaving me with a perfectly unscratched lens, was phenomenal!! I do experience a little more glare without the coating, but I can live with that -- having the scratches was driving me nuts! Instead of having to spend $100+ on new lenses, I got away with spending a little over $10!

A word of caution: this acid (hydrofluoric) solution is for glass etching, so you CANNOT use Armour Etch on glass lenses; otherwise, you will literally etch and ruin your lenses. You must be certain you have plastic lenses. It should be safe on most polycarbonate lenses (it left mine completely unscathed). However, I'd only try this when you have nothing to lose. Always do a small test first, too. After applying the cream to a tiny spot, I went ahead and did the whole lens, coating each side for 1-2 minutes, rinsing and then repeating. While I wore standard latex gloves and did this in a well-vented area, Armour Etch is designed for crafters, so it doesn't require a fume hood or anything. Afterwards, I rinsed the glasses for a few minutes under hot tap water, applied soap and water, and finally used a lens cloth. I was taking a big risk since I'd never done glass etching before and I wasn't certain it would work. But it did, and I got a "like new" pair of glasses for just a few bucks!

-- David Gulbransen

Armour Etch
$10
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Armour Products

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The VibraSpin fuses together two concepts that are very popular in fishing: the standard spinning lure, which uses a rotating blade to create a visible flash in the water, and the newer principle of using a flat blade that pushes the water as it is pulled forward. Fish, more specifically predators such as bass, muskie, pikes and walleye hunt by not only sight, but all their senses. Sight hunting is covered by the flash of the spinning willow blade as well as the back and forth of the "vibrashock" blade and the various colors available. Sounds and actual vibration are added by the spinning blade, and even more so by the swim blade. The flat blade imparts a thumping or vibration on the lure that has to be felt to be believed. Since I started using a prototype of these last spring, I have caught more fish than I used to with the standard spinning lure.

-- Doug Mainor

VibraSpin Fishing Lure
$7
(various colors)
Available from the manufacturer, KaRu Lures

[Click here and scroll down to see a video of the lure underwater -- sl]

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I have found that anti-puncture strips are often not wide enough to stop thorns from piercing bike tubes, as the strips are only useful in the middle of the tire. I started using Slime, a green liquid sealant, after talking to a bike-borne cop who had very good results. I now use the stuff in my mountain bike and wheelbarrow tires. Actually, I bought pre-Slimed bike tubes when I got new tires recently. No flats at all for six years, despite rough use. I will confess to having to pump up a few times, though. If the bike is left parked in one position in, say, the winter season, the Slime may run down to the bottom of the tire, thus unsealing some of the sealed holes. As such, you will have to pump the tires and ride a while to reseal everything after a month of non-use. In cold weather, Slime puddled at the bottom of a tire while parked will cause a markedly unbalanced tire for the first few miles. This is most noticeable on dual suspension mountain bikes like mine, but it doesn't seem to affect the operation of the bike.

The last time I changed bike tubes,I found 29 thorn holes Slime had sealed! Slime works in both tubed and tubeless tires, but with a few more caveats: it adds weight to the wheels, which is a disadvantage in racing. For normal road or trail use, you won't notice. Also, Schrader valves are what to use with Slime, as the skinny Presta ones clog too easily. Tubeless tires, which are already heavier, also require special rims or rim treatments to prevent leaks through the spoke holes. I'd appreciate lighter wheels and tires, but my present tubed setup is fine for my use. Tubeless tires are much better than tubed tires at resisting "snakebite" (tire damage from striking a sharp-edged bump or hole at high speeds). However, tubeless tires obviously can be punctured by thorns, etc. -- Slime will dutifully seal such. I have heard Slime itself will not patch "snake-bite" damage, as it is too far up the sidewalls for Slime to be thick enough to work. As I do not race (especially downhill) at 74 years old, tubeless tires do not tempt me. Slime does not last forever either. After a few years, it isn't as runny, and may not seal a thorn hole in time to prevent needing to pump.

Some people say a Slimed tire cannot be patched by the usual means. Don't believe 'em. You just have to wipe off the Slime from the area before patching it in the usual way. They offer incarnations of Slime for cars and motorcycles, too. Personally, I would not use Slime in automobile tires, as the high temperatures and odd balance changes might prove obnoxious. It'd be expensive to find out I was wrong. Bottom line: if you cycle where there are thorns (we call them"goat-heads" or "concho burrs"), Slime will greatly reduce flats. I have had only one flat in the last 10,000 miles -- from running over a broken bottle bottom. Slime couldn't seal the 1.5- inch slit. Neither could my patch kit.

-- J. Baldwin

Tire Slime
$17
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Accessories Marketing Inc.

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This is my library. I guess you would have to say all the rest of these books are books that did not change my life, although they tried.

Books still have the power to change lives. Which ones have changed yours?

I don't mean merely great books, or memorable ones, or favorite ones. I mean books that altered your behavior, changed your mind, redirected the course of your life. Books as levers.

Here's my list, in the order they entered my life. (I'm not the only one affected by these books because each of these titles has a Wikipedia entry, linked here, if you'd like to know more.)

Childhood's End -- For a kid growing up without TV in the boring enclaves of suburbia in the 50s and early 60s, science fiction opened up my universe. I devoured any and all science fiction our public library contained. Arthur C. Clarke's stories in particular birthed a life-long interest in science, and a deep respect for the power of imagination. This story of a singularity always stuck with me as something to prepare for. (Available from Amazon)

Whole Earth Catalog -- When I was 17 this big catalog of choices gave me permission to have my own ideas, make my own tools, follow my two loves of art and science unabashedly, and invent my own life. Decades later, I worked at the Catalog in my first real job. Cool Tools is just the electronic version of this book. (Available from Amazon)

The Fountainhead -- I got sucked into reading this over-the-top manifesto of self-reliance during finals of my first year of college. By the end of the book I decided to drop out of school. I never returned. It was the best decision of my life. (Available from Amazon)

Leaves of Grass -- While reading this classic poetic ode to America and possibilities ("I am multitude!") my gasket blew and I became seized with an unstoppable urge to travel. I set the book down and bought a ticket to Asia. I roamed there off and on for 8 years. It was my university. (Available from Amazon)

My Experiments with Truth -- This autobiography of Gandhi curiously led me to Jesus. Gandhi's stance of radical honesty prompted me to attempt the same. I was surprised it took a tough Hindu to make me a tender Christian. (Available from Amazon)

The Bible -- Reading this all the way through, beginning to end, shattered all expectations I had of such a foundational text. It was weirder, stranger, more disturbing and more powerful than I was lead to believe. I've read through several times more and it never fails to disturb me. (Available from Amazon)

Godel, Escher, Bach -- I was amazed and impressed by the brilliance of GEB when I first read it, but it didn't change my life. However over the years I kept finding myself returning to its insights, and each time I would arrive at them at a deeper level. Now I find them my own thoughts, and I realize I now see the world through a similar lens. (Available from Amazon)

The Ultimate Resource -- Another book whose influence took time to establish. Simon's clarifying insight -- that mind and intelligence can overcome any physical limitations, and is therefore the only scarce resource -- has become a big idea that colors much of what I look at. (Available from Amazon)

Finite and Infinite Games -- This small, short book provided me a vocabulary to think about the meaning of life -- not just my life, but all life! It gave me a mathematical framework for my own spirituality. As it says, the game is to prolong the game, to rope all beings into playing infinite vs finite (win-loose) games, and to realize that there is only one infinite game. (Available from Amazon)

What's your list of Books That Changed Your Life? It has to be more than a list. A book cannot be said to change your life unless it can be annotated with the tangible consequences you made as a result of reading it.

Here are a few qualifying lists by others I have encountered in my clickage.

Peter Turney, AI researcher (Peter's list prompted this posting.)
Tim O'Reilly, Publisher
Steven Leckart, Editor
Mark Reid, AI researcher
Trent Hamm, financial blogger
Eric Rawlins, data architect
Larry Winget, motivational speaker
Mark Verber, software architect
Duane Johnson, software architect
Lucas Doran, road burn chaser
Ryan Holiday, blogger

I get a lot from reading these love letters to books. Why doesn't everyone do a list like this?

Send me links (kk at kk dot org) -- of yours or others you respect -- and I'll add them to the list if appropriate.

-- KK

A Leatherman is one of those tools you will use if you have it with you; and with the thinner, lighter Skeletool, you will always have it with you. I carried the Wave for years. In fact, I've carried many of the Leatherman's since the original. Each new model was always bigger and heavier than the previous, especially my most recent, the Charge Ti. Since I wear business casual clothes most days, a belt-mounted case wasn't an option. I always keep mine in my pocket. The Skeletool is small enough for your pocket, but retains the best features of the Wave and Charge Ti: externally-accessible blade for one-handed operation, built-in interchangeable bit driver with spare bit holder, and of course, the pliers. But it's lighter and slimmer. Its reduced size is the result of eliminating what many people find to be the marginally-useful tools (second blade, saw, file). It also has a convenient carabiner/bottle opener! I now keep my Wave in my car, and my Charge Ti stays in my computer bag (just in case!). For the last six months, I've kept the Skeletool in my pocket for daily use: opening boxes/envelopes/packaging, removing splinters from kids fingers, cutting everything from rope to stray threads on my wife's clothes. Having multiple screwdrivers comes in handy when opening the case on a computer -- the pliers are great for reaching in a tight spot to grab something. They also sell a more expensive CX model of Skeletool. According to the specs, the CX adds carbon fiber, but the weight doesn't change. Since it's not lighter, I'm less inclined to try to justify the additional money.

-- Todd Seaborn

(also recommended by Cormac Eubanks)

Leatherman Skeletool
$50 from Amazon

Manufactured by Leatherman Tool Group, Inc.

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As a year-round bike commuter, I rely on the previously-untried Glo Gloves, which work as advertised -- great! -- for adding reflective spots. They are a one-size-fits-all, fingerless stretchy nylon glove with reflective patches sewn on. During a winter of bike commuting, with my schedule, that means two hours of riding in the dark each day. When I stick out my arm to signal a turn, the gloves give a strong visual cue to drivers about my intent. I can even twist my hand from vertical to horizontal to make the reflective patches blink in a turn signal pattern. They're intended to be worn over your regular gloves. I've worn them over leather work gloves, fingerless cycling gloves, full finger cycling gloves, Smartwool lightweight wool "liners", and just my bare hands. They're very thin and don't interfere with touch sensation. I have both the original and sport gloves. All models are designed to stretch and fit over your gloves of choice. I consider them as essential as lights and reflective ankle bands for riding at night.

-- Michael Rasmussen

As a bike commuter, I use these gloves to signal to indicate my intentions at intersections, even to wave traffic through. I have the sports version, which I stretch over regular bike gloves. I've found they can even stretch over ski gloves up to about size M or L, depending on the ski glove. After three years of use on hundreds of rides, the stitching on one of the reflective patches has come a little loose, but otherwise they've worn well. The main difference between the regular and sports versions is a patch of abrasion resistant fabric on the palm.

-- Jun Nogami

Glo Glove
$18 - regular
$22 - sport
Available from Wingman, Inc.

Manufactured by Glo Concepts

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SealSkinz Gloves

Hypnobirthing is a technique that requires meditation, practice, and a quiet atmosphere during labor and delivery. No drugs are used and if done correctly, women who use the technique are said to experience little pain. Overall, it promotes transcending pain so a woman can experience birthing as other animals do. If you think about a cat, a deer, or any other mammal, during birth you would notice how quiet and calm they are. Our bodies are designed for this process, and hypnobirthing methods, including visualization, meditation, exercises and positions like the "Polar Bear" and "Leaping Frog," empower a woman with this reminder. As soon as I became pregnant, I looked into every method I heard about from Lamaze to The Bradly Method to waterbirth to hypnobirth to natural birth. I met with a doula, had three midwives, watched any video on childbirth I could find, and researched online about L&D (labor and delivery). When the day finally came, I used certain hypnobirthing methods with great success.

My partner and I used the "birthing companion reading" (except we wrote our own script). Basically, we wrote things for each other and read them to each other before labor. Then during labor, my partner would whisper in my ear, "remember when..." and I envisioned myself out of my body: relaxed and calm. We used this in the last few hours of labor, especially. During labor, I meditated during each contraction when they came. I envisioned my cervix and whole body opening up, and I surrendered to this process. I also visualized myself at the ocean (Point Arena to be specific). It worked. I felt no pain at times. With the physical exercises, I used them all (25 hours is a long time!). My favorite position was the Toilet Sitting. I was on that toilet for over an hour. It was amazing how comfortable it was, and I actually fell asleep between a few contractions. All of the squatting exercises were great, too. The Leaping Frog is a version of a squat, as was the Supported Squat. When a contraction came on it was important for me to let gravity and breathing help me open up. Anything that required getting low to the ground and relaxing my muscles worked for me. I didn't like any of the reclining positions. It wasn't comfortable for me, personally.

I'm not sure how hypnobirthing is exactly different from basic meditation techniques, because I never practiced meditation before I was pregnant. I've taken a lot of yoga and it's always worked for me for relaxation, but meditation was something I was always wary of. I have a hard time quieting my mind, which is why I was so interested in hypnobirthing. I never took any hypnobirthing classes. I only read this book and practiced what I liked from it. Since it took me 25 hours to finally deliver our newly-born son, as the day progressed, I found myself using everything I learned from childbirthing classes, birth partner yoga, and prenatal yoga classes (eventually, I found I needed to make a lot of low, primal birth sounds!). If we have a second child, though, I will be more diligent about practicing this method in particular. The book itself was easy to read, provided interesting theories, and replaced my fears with strength. The book was also really my first step towards feeling empowered and excited about going through labor without drugs.

-- Amanda Meyer

HypnoBirthing
Marie Mongan
2005, 326 pages
$14
Available from Amazon

More info available at HypnoBirthing.com

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This very portable, lightweight knife sharpener is easy to use and gets the job done quickly. I found it at a kitchen store in Arizona and have been using it for about a year on all types of blades: kitchen, Toolman, hunting, serrated. I've used several sharpeners over the years. The problem with most manual systems is they require getting the blade at a precise angle, and I just can never get it right. This is by far the easiest sharpener I've used, and it works. Just put the knife in the diamond-coated tines, give it 5-10 pulls, and it'll be sharpened. No fussing with exact angles. Other sharpeners I've tried that are easy to use don't seem to put as good an edge on. This one works. Your hands stay well-protected from the blade during use. Plus, the sharpener folds up neatly and easily fits in a backpack.

-- Bob Morris

Furi Ozitech Diamond Fingers Sharpener
$26
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Ozitech

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For sheer bang-for-the-buck, these cord management cards are tough to beat. They're cheap polyethylene sheets you either stick or screw to the edge of your desk and then snap the cables coming from your computer and peripherals into the recesses. I was tired of picking my iPod connector off the floor when it would fall off my desktop. With this, the ends of the cables are kept at the ready on your desk, which is especially great for stuff you are regularly plugging and unplugging. You can also use it to neatly route other cables coming from the back of a PC tower, like speaker and ethernet, which really helps cut down cable clutter. I've had one card stuck to the underside of my desk for about a year for two iPods (video and shuffle), a digital camera cable, and a charger for my Bluetooth headset (I find it is less visually obtrusive underneath my desk). The double stick tape they use is very sticky. I have a lacquered wood desk. It sticks great. I've never tried to pull it off, but I imagine it would be tough. I imagine if you had a smooth metal desk these would stick even better. Of course, if you were trying to stick them to a rough surface like a unfinished wood, you'd probably want to use screws. I didn't consider trying to make my own. No reason to: I got a four-pack of the Keep-a-Cable 5-wire holders at Frys for about five bucks. I gave the extras to a few friends. They love them.

-- Cormac Eubanks

Keep-A-Cable
$6 - 4-pack + shipping
$8 - 25-pack + shipping
Available from Ideal Ideas

Or $6 for a 3-pack from Amazon

Also $17.50 for 4-foot+ strips from the manufacturer

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I discovered canvas "tramp" shoes while a friend was attending clown school. They're light, comfortable, easy to take on/off (the tongue/heel are elastic), and wonderful for travel, especially on longer airline flights. The entire sole is a thin, very flexible rubber that's great for slippery surfaces (and turbulence), and fine for in-flight restroom-stepping. Since they can be rolled up, the shoes are rather pack-friendly. In addition to the previously-reviewed Lights Out Sleep Mask and a pair of Smartwool socks, these are at the top of my carry-on list for upcoming flights to Japan and Buenos Aires. They're available in other colors. I went with white. They look just like the anti-gravity booties worn by the Orion III flight attendants in 2001: A Space Odyssey!

-- Steven Leckart

$19
(model: 809)
Available from CartwheeFactory.com

Previously available from Amazon

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The Blender Bottle is a shaker bottle with a free-floating surgical stainless steel wire ball inside. A total boon for anyone who mixes formulas, shakes, mixes or other powdered drinks. Not unlike a kitchen whisk, the ball moves freely within your drink, breaking up clumps and further mixing the mix as you shake it for a smooth, totally grit- and clump-free serving. I use protein powder and creatine . Previously I had normal shaker bottles that always, regardless of how much shaking I did, left clumps of mix, especially at the bottom of the shaker. I even once spent about 20 bucks on a shaker bottle with a battery-powered mixing wand built into the lid, but the device really didn't mix any better than a normal bottle, kept falling apart inside my gym bag, ate batteries, and had to be hand-washed since you couldn't run the mixing attachment through the dishwasher. I've been using the Blender Bottle for about four months now after seeing an ad for it in a fitness magazine. The whisking ball is really ingenious, but this is also the first bottle I have ever owned that I can shake without holding onto the lid at the same time. The spout is that secure. I've only used the Blender Bottle for cold protein powders and other sports nutrition products, but the web site lists other uses such as pancake batter, salad dressings, eggs, and gravy.

-- Joe Bentley

Blender Bottle
$7
(20 oz.)
Available from Amazon

$8
(28 oz.)
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Sundesa

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Last year I took a cross-country road trip with my 10-year-old daughter, and we were greatly entertained by the free public domain audio books available from LibriVox, an online forum which connects readers (as in those who voice the text) to books, then makes the resulting audio files freely available to all. The library is strictly public domain material, but is very extensive. Most of the books we listened to were read by just one person ("going solo"), but readers can volunteer for individual chapters of books in progress. We listened to The Prince and the Pauper, The Mysterious Island, The Wind in the Willows, Five Children and It, and several selected poems and short stories. (Kudos to Timothy Smith for The Mysterious Island -- a tour de force!). Online coordinators organize the readings, which are generally excellent. Some readers provide wonderful voices for each character; some simply read the text. The books are available for download from the website, or can be downloaded via iTunes, which we did and then listened to from the iPod in the car (note: using iTunes, the files are stored as separate podcasts with a separate podcast per chapter; when you download the .mp3 file from the LibriVox website, it is listed not in audiobooks nor podcasts, but as a LibriVox 'song'). This really is a wonderful public service. It's not as easy to be a good reader as you may think! If you want to contribute, the website includes a FAQ on how to record and prepare the audio file for submission, including links to free recording software and instructions on adding ID3 tags for the iPod. My daughter is enchanted with the concept, and has since volunteered to read chapters of Raggedy Ann Stories.

-- Paul Goessling

LibriVox

Newbie Guide to Recording

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Problem: 50 feet of reinforced concrete curb where we wanted to build our community workshop. Plan A: Rented two pneumatic jack hammers. After a long afternoon, we had made progress, but only broken up about 10 feet. Plan B: My co-housing neighbor came across the previously-untried Dexpan. A non-explosive demolition agent, Dexpan is a mortar-like powder you mix with water and apply to rock, concrete and even reinforced concrete in order to break the material apart. As it dries, the powder expands a slight bit, but with a tremendous force. It's easy to use. We followed the guidelines for the most part. With a 1.5" carbide bit in a hammer drill, we made a series of strategically-placed holes holes on 12-16" centers, mixed up the mortar, and poured. It takes 24 hours or longer for maximum effect. As I recall, some holes didn't crack at first, but did after I added additional water and gave it more time. We did end up using a 20-pound sledge hammer and a 5-foot long solid steel pry bar when necessary to open up cracks so we could use an angle grinder to cut the rebar. The pry bar also was crucial in moving the chunks, which tended to be very heavy. Nevertheless, the Dexpan was responsible for breaking up the concrete into reasonably-sized pieces. The rebar had to be cut and required a lot of prying, but there's no way we could have broken all this up using a sledge hammer in any reasonable amount of time. There are other non-explosive demolition agents out there, but my recollection is that Dexpan was by far the easiest to buy in small quantities. They say their 44-pound box will cover 34-36 linear feet.You must order one of three mixes depending on the temperature you will use it at. As I recall, it was probably the low 60's on average when we used it so we got the middle mixture. If we had to do it over again, we'd probably price out having a professional remove the curb -- it really was a lot more work than we thought. But if you're going to do it yourself, this makes it a lot easier than just relying on a jackhammer.

--Dale Grover

Dexpan
$100
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Archer Company USA

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Sticker Shield is a static adhesion sheet that surrounds a decal or sticker, making it easily removable and transferable from one surface to another. I've always had a problem with parking stickers. External stickers are easily scraped off during Chicago winters. Internal stickers are weatherproof, but can only be removed destructively from your windshield. Unlike the previously-reviewed Un-Du and Grip Solvent, which can ostensibly remove decals easily, Sticker Shield allows you to avoid the hassle altogether and preserves the sticker for re-use. The sheets are 4x6-inches, so if you're using smaller decals, you just cut down the sheet and save the other half for another sticker. Often my partner and I switch cars, so now it's much easier to swap stickers with each other before going to work. Or say a child has an awesome sticker he or she wants to put somewhere, but on a "permanent" basis. Whenever the time comes time to remove it, there'll be no need to resort to solvents or scraping.

-- Joel Grossman

These are SENSATIONAL. The plastic holds up perfectly for years and it is impossible to see you've made your "permanent" sticker a temporary and easily movable item. I've been using Sticker Shields (it used to be named something else) for at least ten years: one for my auto registration sticker and one for my state inspection sticker, both on my front windshield. My daughter also uses one for her apartment parking sticker, and gives it to friends when she's not around town. She did that in college, too, so her pals could park on campus when she was off. It's really fun to use, sort of like magic.

-- Joseph Stirt

Sticker Shield
$5
(1 set of two 4x6-inch sheets)
Available from the manufacturer, Lemeer Design

Or $223 for 50 sets from Amazon

[Click here for a video demonstration -- sl]

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