Several years ago we embarked on a fateful remodel project. It was a questionable use of resources, but now we have at least one section of our house that is less likely to instantly crumble in the next earthquake. As with many job sites, we had a fascinating cast of characters, including a carpenter named Phil. He was from the UK, took great pride in his work, and he also introduced me to the Werner work platform. I don’t think I have ever seen someone so excited about a ladder-ish thingamajig as Phil, with the possible exception of the Little Giant ladder folks at various trade shows. Phil would tell me about how great this thing was, daily. The remodel ended (eventually), and Phil rode off into the sunset with his Werner Work Platform tucked under his arm. Years went by, and then I spotted a Black Friday special at Lowes. The pricing was insanely low, and I could hear Phil’s accented voice telling me I would be equally insane not to buy it. [click to continue…]
Gear
It’s not often I’m waiting for an accident to happen. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I was hoping someone would get into a car accident. I just wanted to be there when it happened. Here’s what I envisioned. . . Angelina Jolie (sans Brad) happened to be driving through my neighborhood when she lost control of her Mercedes. The car flipped and the gas tank was punctured. At this point I’m heroically sprinting for the car. Angelina is barely conscious, the vehicle is locked, and her seatbelt is jammed. A long line of gas made it’s way down the road where it is ignited by some bastard flicking his cigarette out of the window. That’s so annoying! I have just seconds to spare Angelina from a horrible, fiery death, and luckily, I have my Benchmade Triage 916 in-hand. [click to continue…]
When Home Fixated got the opportunity to try out the Franklin ProSensor 710 Professional Stud Detector, we were dually up for the task as well as a bit skeptical. As many of you probably know, stud finders can be notorious for sketchy accuracy (and that’s putting it gently for a few of the stud finders out there.) In fact, we almost bagged writing this review because the first model we received (tried out by both Marc and me) seemed to be more of the same — a colossal bomb. The folks at Franklin were confident we had ended up with a damaged sensor, sent me a second one to put to the test and… [click to continue…]
It’s spring and fly hunting season is just around the corner. Why not get in touch with your inner Buddha and start shooting some bugs! By “shooting”, we actually mean vacuuming them up with the Swiss-invented Fly-Googbye. This isn’t your ordinary flyswatter, and it’s 100 times more fun to use. For those times when you don’t want to gear up and hunt for wildlife in the great outdoors, just grab your Fly-Goodbye and starting hunting right inside your home. You might consider closing your blinds first though, or your neighbors may think you’ve finally gone completely off the deep end as they watch you stalking around windows, gun in hand. Once unwelcome flies now become an excuse to grab your gun and go hunting (just make sure it’s the Fly-Goodbye and not your 9mm). [click to continue…]
Last year there was an epic power outage that effected a good chunk of the southwestern United States. There’s nothing like an extended power outage to get you back to the basics of what you truly need when modern conveniences like electricity fail. If that power outage lasts into the night, one essential you’ll want plenty of is light. Without it, basic survival tasks like cooking or even finding food in the dark recesses of your home can become impossible. Many people rely on candles for emergency lighting. On the plus side, they never run out of batteries, they’re cheap, and as long as you have matches or lighters, they’re ready at a moment’s notice. The downside to candles is that they can very easily burn down your house. That’s a pretty big downside, and it’s also good reason to consider investing in something like the Coast LED Area Light. [click to continue…]
