Workshop tips/Living on One Dollar/Quest
Workshop tips for everyone
Our friend Gareth Branwyn has a new book out, called Tips and Tales from the Workshop. It’s loaded with very useful tips, not only for makers, but for everyone, really. The majority of the tips are new to me (like using hot glue as an electronics insulator). I know what I’m giving friends for Christmas this year. – MF
A dollar a day
A few years ago, two gringos travelled to Central America and attempted to survive for 2 months on a dollar a day — as the locals do everyday. A diary of the visitors’ struggle is available on Netflix as a pretty eye-opening documentary, Living on One Dollar. Turns out it requires great *skill* to live on this little; the attempts illuminate the lives of the world’s majority in a vivid way I’ve seen nowhere else. — KK
Create your own vision quest
Four years ago I went on a vision quest in the Inyo Mountains guided by Rites of Passage and it was transformative and one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. If you’ve ever considered going on one or want to learn more about it, I very much recommend the book I read to prepare called Quest: A Guide for Creating Your Own Vision Quest. I might not ever get the guts to go back out there again, but revisiting this book and going through it’s exercises is an enlightening journey inward. — CD
Multiple power lines
I use a squid outlet when I travel. In cheap lodging there is often barely one accessible power outlet on the wall and I have lots of things to charge, from camera batteries, to a laptop, to more than one phone. That’s just me. With a travel companion there’ll be even more items to charge. A squid splits the power to four flexible outlets. The flexibility gives more room for devices than a simple power strip. This 2-pack Squid is the cheapest, lightest, smallest one I’ve found. — KK
Gallery of inconvenient objects
If you want a good laugh check out this online gallery of uncomfortable everyday objects by Katerina Kamprani. Some are actual prototypes and others 3D visualizations – all created to annoy you. Just imagining using this chain fork is hilarious. — CD
Stiff nonstick pan turner
I got rid of all of our flimsy floppy pan turners. They were useless. Why does anyone even make them? We have two of these $9 nylon turners and use them daily for everything we cook in a pan. The nylon won’t scratch the pan, and the stainless steel handle looks nice. — MF
— Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Dawson