When I was about ten years old, I found a super cool button on the street. On it was a picture of a smiling balloon surrounded by hearts. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me, but not much back then did anyway (it was the late ’80s). Despite this, I decided to pin it on my jean jacket and wear it around town. It wasn’t until about five days later – days in which I had gone to school, grocery shopping and to the mall, and attended a friend’s piano recital – that my mom finally noticed what was adorning my jacket. And just like that, my button of the friendly balloon – which turned out to actually be a smiling condom with the caption “No Glove, No Love!” beneath it – was yanked from my jacket and whisked out of my life forever. [click to continue…]
Safety
I was an early adopter when it came to LED flashlight technology. Like most early adopters, I also experienced some of the inadequacies of the first few rounds of products. I still have a LED pen light I bought eons ago that was just slightly brighter than a match. Even the cool and versatile Joby GorillaTorch we reviewed left a bit to be desired with a CREE LED that was blindingly bright at the center of the beam, but much dimmer around the perimeter. When Coast sent us their HP7 LED flashlight and their HL7 Headlamp I expected to see similar limitations. While LED has huge advantages in terms of efficiency and durability, beam and light quality just wasn’t an area I’ve been impressed with. [click to continue…]
As some of you may know, I am the blessed father of two, a toddler and a baby girl. With the joys of dirty diapers and repeated episodes of “Veggie Tales” come other serious issues, though. You know - things like: wandering into the roads, drinking the bleach, eating batteries, and repeated episodes of “Sponge Bob,” just to name a few. To be honest, I can’t even begin to count how many crayons have been ingested thus far, leading to a cornucopia of colored baby poo. So there should be no need for an explanation regarding the importance of electrical socket safety. Of course, if I didn’t begin to explain it in some fashion, I’d be left with a couple of pictures and a short story about my son peeing in my running shoes before he made it to the potty… yeah, that really happened. With that, I give you Socket Lockits.
I have on several occasions stepped on nails, as most anybody at a job site might do. And even though I have ‘Hobbit’ feet, I have more than once found myself nailed to a loose board. I must say, roofing nails are not all that painful, akin to a pebble in the shoe. But a large 16 penny nail straight into the arch of your foot will make you think of word combinations that you never thought were possible. Nails pose a real safety hazard for the ol’ feet. [click to continue…]
As happy as the holidays can be, they can be stressful too. Figuring out what to buy family members, battling the mall crowds, hosting in-laws, making grand meals … phew! I’m just wiped out listing those things! With all the extra activity going on in your home during the holidays, it’s little wonder that accidents happen. That doesn’t add to the stress at all, now does it? At least we can laugh at ourselves, and the good people at This Old House have compiled some of those holiday horror stories for us to chuckle at and hopefully learn from. [click to continue…]
