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New Electronics Series from Becky Stern
My old Make: colleague, Becky Stern, has a new video series that she’s doing for the electronics component company, Digi-Key. Becky has always done an impressive job of explaining what can be intimidating technical information in an entertaining and digestible way. If this first installment, an introduction to LEDs, is any indication, this series looks to deliver more of her welcome brand of accessible tech education.
How to Get Clearer and Stronger Transparent FDM Prints
In this CNC Kitchen video, Stefan shows the special settings you can use to create superior-looking clear prints using an FDM (Fused deposition modeling)printer and clear filament. He also looks at how these parameters make your parts super strong.
Making Your Own Vinyl Stickers
If you’ve been attracted to the idea of creating your own custom vinyl stickers, this video shows you how. All you basically need is a crafting vinyl cutter (a few hundred dollars) and some sheets or rolls of vinyl material.
CA Glue Accelerator from Baking Soda and Water
One of the best takeaways from this Bill Making Stuff video (where he celebrates his 50th episode) is his tip for creating your own accelerator for CA glue. As you likely know, there are commercial accelerators, but they smell funny, have nasty stuff in them, and are combustible. You’re even supposed to wear eye protection when using them, though nobody does. You may also know about using baking soda as an accelerator. It works great, but it leaves a dusty powder on everything that you have to clean off. Bill mixes his baking soda with water in a spray bottle and has found that it works great and creates less mess. I will definitely be trying this.
How a Gas Pump Knows When to Turn Itself Off
If you’ve ever wondered how a gas pump nozzle knows when to shut off when your tank is full, this video reveals the clever design. Venturi tubes, Bernoulli principle, negative pressure — it turns out the design is far more complicated that you might expect. I always assumed it was some sort of an electronic sensor, but it’s purely mechanical.
“I was surprised to see a recommendation for the OXO sink strainer. I love OXO products, but that strainer is a disappointment to me. I do like the inversion feature, but stuff still gets stuck in and around the holes. The silicone gets slimy. I have black slime after a week in my kitchen drain, probably from teensy bits of lettuce and herbs and salad dressing. UGH. (Cleaning out the bowl with a paper towel before washing it seems to help.) I don’t know that a standard issue strainer would make me any happier (though I’d love to quit using so many paper towels). I’m glad yours pleases you; my experience is just different.”
This is a great example of that adage made popular by early hacker culture: “Your mileage may vary” (YMMV). When I posted my review of the strainer on Boing Boing, the first few responses were similar to Candy’s and I got nervous, thinking I had prematurely decided a tool was a winner without giving it an honest testing myself. But then the positive reviews came and they were the overwhelming sentiment. And on Amazon, it has 17.5K reviews at 4.7 stars. After a month, we are more than happy with ours, but, as in all things, YMMV. Thanks for sharing your experience, Candy!
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A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. We post things we like and ignore the rest. Suggestions for tools much better than what is recommended here are always wanted.
Penzy’s Spices are one of my go-to gifts. I love encouraging my people to feel more comfortable in the kitchen, and these are an easy way to uplift even simple foods. Sunny Paris and Fines Herbes are my to-go (salt-free!) choices for eggs, and the Vietnamese Cinnamon blows grocery store options out of the water.
I bought this wave studyfrom an artist named Jean Wichea, whose work I found at a gallery in Maine. It looks eerily similar to my favorite cliffside spot, and I find myself staring at it a few times a day, since it pulls me out of my anxieties and helps me reset.
I’ve been slowly replacing all of my lower-quality pots and pans over the last couple of years, and I saved up for this braiser after seeing someone else cook with one and instantly coveting it. Although I probably could have gotten away with a similar, cheaper model with a glass lid, I don’t have any regrets. It cooks really evenly, and the bright yellow makes a big, happy focal point in the middle of the kitchen.
DIGITAL
Dungeon Scrawl is an awesome tool for building fantasy maps, perfect for D&D and other tabletop RPGs. You don’t even need to make an account to use it (unless you decide you want the premium features). Design a Dungeon next time you get bored in a Zoom meeting!
Hanif Abdurraqib is one of my favorite authors and poets, and overlaps just enough of my friend group and special interests that I sometimes find myself thinking, “oh yeah, we’d be pals” before feeling creeped out at myself for skirting a parasocial hypothetical. His posts are always interesting, whether deep-diving into a song or album, basketball lore, or life in general. They’re a welcome addition to an increasingly fraught social landscape.
INVISIBLE
“Now will never come again.”
One of my best friends recently shared this quote with me (shoutout to the nerds that know the source), and it’s influenced my decision-making dozens of times since. Sometimes, we need a reminder of the obvious.
