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.
Safety
In the name of full disclosure, I will tell you that I’ve laid tiles only a handful of times, and only once had to use a tile saw. I have also never lost a digit while cutting ceramic tiles, although I have nearly lost the tip of my finger to a table saw and I’ve impaled my thumb with a nail gun. So I can say with some weight under my belt (or a lot of weight) that safety, especially while cutting small ceramic tiles, is paramount. And boy do you get safety with the TileSizer. [click to continue…]
AWP maker of tool belts, heavy duty suspenders, knee pads and other construction/home improvement gear has come out with what I think will lead to the next major Olympic sport. The Knee Blades are knee pads with rollers on them, I know right, shut my mouth; but that’s the simplicity and brilliance of this gear. Now they tout the Knee Blades for their ability to simplify jobs like tiling, base board installation, and trim painting. But to me that’s small picture thinking. [click to continue…]
The first really important rule to follow when it comes to safety and maintenance in your shop is to take your work as seriously as if it’s your job. Meaning, follow all the safety rules and procedures that an employer would make you do (a responsible employer). Most of those rules have a reason – usually stories of maiming, destruction, disease or death. Since you’re trying to build or fix something, not go down in history, best to follow rules of safety and come out of your shop at the end of the day with a finished project and unscathed. [click to continue…]
Liquid Fence’s information page on their snake repellent asks: “Are Snakes Terrorizing your Family, Pets, and Livestock?”. #@!$ no! Snakes are terrorizing me! My wife and pets can fend for themselves–all I have to be is faster than them. I dislike snakes. A lot. I know I am not alone in this–but seriously–what are they for? Fine. Get all PETA on me and tell me how many uses snakes have. I think they belong in two places: Hell and Zoos. Both are probably similar from the snake perspective. [click to continue…]
