Yesterday afternoon the power went out here in our nook of San Diego. Just as I started to investigate what the cause was, my wife called me from her work about 20 miles north of here. It turned out her power was out too. It quickly became apparent that a massive power outage had occurred effecting millions of people in the Southwest. What followed was a multi-hour grid-locked traffic jam as people struggled to get home while all traffic signals were out. My wife’s 30 minute commute to pick-up our daughter and head home turned into a four hour saga. Props to AT&T for being one of the few cell services still functioning. Props to Milwaukee’s 12v Power Port for keeping my only connection to the outside world alive. [click to continue…]
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This week, I was happy to be invited back to Milwaukee’s New Product Symposium at their HQ in Bangalore, India. Actually, their HQ is where you might expect, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I Just returned from the media event and my head is still spinning with red tools. This was my second year visiting Milwaukee’s HQ, and doing so is always a great time. Milwaukee is a fantastic host (case in point – they wheeled out heated, moist towelettes at the end of the day. . . seriously!) No massages were offered after a long day, although I’m pretty sure they would have set it up in a heartbeat if we asked. Aside from learning about the latest happenings at Milwaukee Tool, the event is also a great opportunity to meet and catch-up with fellow media personalities. It also provides a unique opportunity to interact with the Milwaukee team. I enjoyed talking with product managers, which also afforded me the opportunity to make my usual hard-sell on a black version of the M12 heated jacket. No luck on that front, but at least one media person called me a city-slicker when I mentioned it. [click to continue…]
Back almost a year ago we provided a hands-on Dremel 8200 Cordless Rotary Tool review. Spoiler alert – we liked it. We’ve alway liked Dremel rotary tools for that small but still vital niche of projects that would take ten years with hand tools and 1 minute with a rotary tool. While there are other rotary tools out there, the Dremel is to rotary tools what Kleenex is to tissues. So who’s coming out slugging at the Dremel cordless rotary? That’s right, Milwaukee Tools! [click to continue…]
Alright, we know summer may not be the best time to review a heated jacket, but stay with us! We have breaking news on a new Milwaukee M12 Heated Jacket color option later in this review. Now back to our seasonally poorly timed review: It was early May in San Diego. Things were typical. Sunny skies, low 70′s, a light ocean breeze out of the Northwest. But then, something unthinkable happened. A brutal cold spell set in. The temperature dropped as low 67 degrees. People freaked. “It’s freezing”, “I might lose my fingers to frostbite”, “What are the first symptoms of hypothermia again?” and “brrrrrrrr” were just a few of the distressed comments you could hear from people on the street. This brutal unseasonal weather was the perfect testing ground for the Milwaukee M12 Heated Jacket. My biggest concern: heat stroke. Little did I know, heatstroke was the least of my worries, I would soon have chicks and dudes literally attacking me for the jacket. [click to continue…]
Ah yes, the lavish, opulent, some might say decadent lifestyle of a home improvement / tool blogger! I just returned from a couple days in Milwaukee after someone apparently bribed convinced Milwaukee that HomeFixated is some sort of vaguely legitimate media source. I flew in to Milwaukee late Tuesday night and was surprised to find a stretch limo waiting for me. I somewhat eagerly leaned in when the driver opened the rear door. Naturally, I expected to find a hot tub, frolicking women in bikinis, and dozens of bottles of Cristal. [click to continue…]
