Tangoes/Arduino clone/Uppercase

Recomendo: issue no. 266

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Favorite social puzzle
The simplest toys are the best. Our favorite family social puzzle is a tangram, an old classic from China made of 7 geometric pieces that you arrange to fulfill a required silhouette. With two sets you can race to finish. It is much harder than it looks, yet doable and fun for small folk. You can make a tangram from cardboard, or 3D print one yourself, but the version we grab is Tangoes, a tidy travel case with two sets of pieces, plus cards (with solutions) for all the target images. We own 3 or 4 Tangoes ($12), enough for larger groups.  — KK

A better Arduino clone
An Arduino is a small easy-to-program device that lets you add interactivity to your projects. Because Arduino is open source, you can buy inexpensive clones. My favorite is the Keyestudio Plus. An Arduino Uno is about $25, and this clone is half the price. The best thing about Keyestudio Plus is that it has a USB-C jack instead of the bulky USB-A jack found on the Uno. It has a lot of other useful features like additional pins for power and a switch to change the voltage from 5V to 3.3V. Here’s a photo of one next to an Arduino Uno. (If you want to learn how to use an Arduino, I have a class on Skillshare you can take using this link for a one-month free trial). — MF

Arts and craft analog
I’ve ceased all subscriptions to the paper version of newspapers or magazines — except one. I subscribe to Uppercase, a paper-based magazine celebrating art and crafts. Each issue is overflowing with exuberant examples of creativity from non-famous artists. Painting, textiles, ceramics, patterns, vintage, printmaking, etc. It’s a hand-made quarterly, with no ads, unabashedly analog, and basically the work of one woman, who tends to feature art that is invigorating, positive, and joyous. The periodical itself is a work of art that reflects the passion of an artisan, and I derive immense pleasure from its curated pages. — KK

How to find the right therapist
Here is some great advice on how to find the right therapist. One of the first steps is to figure out what kind of therapeutic framework you need. When I first started therapy I had anxiety that sometimes resulted in panic attacks. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy taught me how to redirect a thought so that it doesn’t create overwhelming feelings that would affect my behavior. Now, 8 years later, I have a person-centered therapist that I talk to about all aspects of my life. Each session feels like I’m catching up with my very insightful and intelligent friend who I can vent to and ask for advice. I always tell my friends that you are allowed to break up with your therapist if the fit isn’t right. I saw three therapists before I found my most recent one, who I’ve been seeing for three years now. Finding the “right therapist” feels like you’ve acquired a super power. — CD

Discover pieces of poetry across an animated land
Wayfinder is a soothing online game that involves traversing a vast landscape collecting fragments of seasonal-inspired poetry to restore balance to the natural world. The game itself is short but uses machine learning to create thousands of combinations of verses and visuals so that you have a completely new experience each time you play. It’s very lovely. — CD

Netflix secret genre cheat sheet
To find a list of all the Netflix titles in a specific genre, zero in on a movie genre using the codes listed here. Add the code to this URL: https://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/CODE. For example https://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/10398 shows you Netflix’s Japanese movies, and https://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/7687 shows you film noir titles. — MF

Gina Clarke, Malibu Seaside Chef

Cool Tools Show 292: Gina Clarke

Our guest this week is Gina Clarke of Malibu Seaside Chef, the go-to chef and catering company known as much for her celebrity clientele as her innovative menus. Based in Malibu, Gina’s clients to date include celebrities and luminaries such as U2, Justin Bieber, Seal, Kid Rock, Barbra Streisand, Josh Broliin, Joe Montana, Dak Prescot and many more. You can find Gina on Instagram @malibuseasidechef.

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Show notes:

Deraby Insulated Food Delivery Bag XXXL ($30)
The reason I love this bag is because you don’t have to be a chef. You could be a mom going to the grocery store, getting groceries for your whole family, and you can put all these groceries in one bag. I really love this product because one, it’s flat, which makes my life — so much easier when I am taking supplies to houses that could spill, like pasta sauces or different things that I’ve already made that could potentially spill and dump over. This is a square, large, huge bag that is so durable. The straps have pads on them. So they don’t hurt my neck or my shoulders, which is also wonderful. And it’s totally insulated. If I’ve gone to five different grocery stores, I can bring all my food with me from grocery store to grocery store. And I’m not worried about my food quality getting disturbed, driving to the next store because it’s insulated, it stays cold. I put my cold packs in there. So I know my fish and my meats are going to be perfect and my vegetables will be great. I also love it because it is commercial grade actually, which is also a benefit to having such a large bag. And I don’t have to have 16 bags that I take with me to the grocery.

New West Knives
These were actually a gift from my sous chef, Brian, and it was a beautiful gift. Not only are these knives gorgeous and American made, but they’re like a piece of art. So what’s really beautiful is that no one can ever steal my knife because my knife is a piece of art. It is so gorgeous. It is like you could put this knife on the wall. That’s how gorgeous it is. Not only is that knife beautiful, but it works like no other knife. And for me as a chef, it’s like a part of my knife kit. I bring in this gorgeous knife, it’s a piece of art, just like my food is a piece of art. As a chef, you constantly are leaving everything behind. I have a lot of servers and bartenders that are cleaning for me, and they never leave it behind. It is like the Rolls Royce of knives. The handles are made out of Desert Ironwood and they are beautiful & sexy.

Gourmet Sweet Botanicals (Instagram)
This is one of my favorite companies. This is who I use for every single one of my jobs. This is edible flower and micro greens and tiny vegetables. They have herbs, crystals, and petite greens. This really dresses up my food. This really dresses up my appetite. This is the perfect signature to one of your favorite cocktails. These little beautiful confetti flowers that I throw over my salads. These nasturtiums, these gorgeous leaves I put on my cheeseboards. Whether you’re a home cook or a private chef, these really step up your game with these flowers or these crystals. They ship right to your home, cold and fresh.

Lecreuset Enameled Cast Iron Skinny Grill ($137)
This is my second favorite Le Creuset pan, it’s the Enameled Cast Iron Skinny Grill. Let me tell you, I love this pan. It’s a dream pan. I have two of them. So I have the grill version of this pan and also just the flat version. I do my fish on this. When you want your fish skin to be crispy and to be beautiful, you press it down with your fingers and you set it right down on this pan and you’ll have some of the best crispiest fish skin you’ve ever had in your life. One, it’s nonstick. Two, I love to do my fish right on top of the stove first. So I put it on a high heat, get my oil really hot. And then I place my fish down when the pan is super hot on top of the stove. Then I pop this same pan into the oven. So I never have to make two cleaning jobs for myself, which is a great thing. They are dishwasher safe and easy to clean. Another amazing use is to use them over a campfire or live fire.

Pumice Brick Grill Cleaner

Massive commercial-grade pumice brick

So many things in my life come from Cool Tools! With that said, I’d like to finally contribute: Being that grilling season is upon us, I feel like I should share a breakthrough I had with regards to grill cleaning. I was at the Waffle House in my town and noticed the grill operator using this massive brick of pumice to clean the griddle surface.

When I got home I found some on Amazon and was relieved to find the very palatable price tag. Pumice is the ultimate material for scraping scraps and grease grime off of grill or griddle surfaces and generally, you find small kitchen sponge-sized pieces sold to consumers.

Enter this massive commercial-grade pumice brick. Save money, clean better, eat cleaner. There are lots of options available on amazon. I’m not sure it really matters which one you go with.

Building a Motor on a PCB

Gareth's Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales - Issue #96

In my ambitious quest to reach 4000 subscribers by my 100th issue, I need a lot of new subscribers. Can you do me a huge favor? Can you talk to just one of your fellow maker/DIY enthusiasts and get them to sign up and give the newsletter a try? If a bunch of you do this, we’ll reach that goal in no time. Thank you!

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Coming next issue: The triumphant return of the Molding and Casting Skill Set series!

Building a Motor on a PCB

Last issue, I included Kevin Kelly’s project consideration flowchart which ends with the question: “Would anyone else ever do this?” (If Yes, then don’t do it). If ever there was an electronics engineer who works by a similar credo, it’s Carl Bugeja. Folding circuits, jumping circuits, holographic LEDs, transformer robots, and more, Carl has explored them all. In this recent video, he updates his PCB-based motor project.

Camping Cooler Improvements

In this Laura Kampf video, she looks at 3 things you can do to improve a large camping cooler: Use the outside, use the lid, and add shelves. There is a meta tip here that’s applicable to any storage situation: Always consider the full volume of the available space, or as an organizationally-obsessed friend used to put it: Work the cube!

Magnetizing Your Snips to Catch Metal Offcuts

James at Stumpy Nubs has started a new series of “Weekend Workshop Tips.” This is great news for tips nerds like myself ‘cause he is a constant source of great ideas. In this first episode, among 4 woodworking tips, he shares an idea that can apply to anyone who uses snips in the shop. You have undoubtedly experienced clipping off a brad or other metal piece and had that piece fly into the ether, never to be seen again. By placing a rare earth magnet in the jaws of your snips, that’s where the offcut will go.

Making Drill and Charger Station for the Small but Mighty

Well-known YouTube maker, Izzy Swan, has a new shopmate, Maggie. Izzy is 6’2″ and has designed his shop to accommodate his long reach. Maggie is… well… NOT 6’. They will need to make changes in the shop to accommodate her. In the first such project, they create a drill holder and charging station that has a hinged shelf that pulls down to access the charging units there. In the video, Izzy and Maggie use a Grabo tool, a cool vacuum device that allows both of them to more easily move sheet goods around the shop.

Using Desoldering Annoy on Hard-to-Desolder Parts

In this Collin’s Lab Notes, Adafruit’s Collin Cunningham offers an idea for dislodging a particularly stubborn component that you can’t seem to remove using standard desoldering. Desoldering alloy can be applied and then re-heated to remove the old solder and reluctant component.

Is It Safe to Listen to Music in the Workshop?

In this Stumpy Nubs video, Jim answers the question: Is it safe to listen to music in a shop amongst power tools and other dangers? His basic answer: As in most things in life, your mileage may vary. He offers an experiment: work for an hour doing something (non-dangerous) that requires full concentration while listening to an audio book. If, at the end of that hour, you can’t remember much of what you’ve heard, you may be OK listening to music or podcasts or other things you don’t mind backgrounding. I personally can only listen to non-lyrical, ambient music in the shop if concentration is required. Anything more engaging is too distracting and feels dangerous to me. Jim also points out that you can always wear wireless headphones that have a pause button and engage that when operating a power tool.

Maker’s Muse

Watch Chinese master carpenter, Granpa Amu, cut and carve a foldable Luban stool from a single piece of wood. [Via Laughing Squid]

Shop Talk
In response to my item on chalk spray makers for hole marking, Kurt G writes:

I use the FastCap markers myself, but if a hole is too deep, or I need greater precision, I would use a transfer punch. If I was away from my shop, I would get a dowel or bamboo cocktail stick, dip it into paint, and use that as an improvised deep hole marker. I really enjoy your newsletter!

Veken French Press

Almost unbreakable French press coffee maker

I’ve owned probably six French presses. All glass, all eventually broken. I am, perhaps, not the most un-clumsy guy.

In my search for an alternative, I found the Veken 34 oz French Press. Stainless steel, insulated, and dishwasher safe. After a few days, I was smitten.

Practically, it works like any other French press, but the coffee stays far hotter for far longer. It is very well constructed and withstood an accidental knock-over on a granite counter. I have no fear of a drop from the counter to the floor. Unless I decide to get clumsy with a hammer, it will last a lifetime. It shipped with replacement screens, something I’ve never had a press last long enough to worry about. After 7 months of daily use, it has no discernible wear. I don’t suppose I will ever purchase a replacement, and with the build quality, I don’t suppose I’ll ever need to.

What’s in my bag? — Kristina Budelis

What’s in my … ? issue #115

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Kristina Budelis is a filmmaker, entrepreneur, and product manager based in LA. She is currently working as a Senior Product Manager at The New York Times, where she is focused on a new, pre-launch product for kids. She’s also a documentary filmmaker (in the past year, she’s had films premiere at Tribeca Film Festival, on NewYorker.com, and NBC Digital) and the cofounder of KitSplit. You can find Kristina on Twitter @kbudelis.

I have a bunch of different bags, ranging from highly practical (shout out to my highly ergonomic Tikbuk2 backpack) to purely aesthetic (a number of fun colorful purses, mostly vintage). But right now, my go-to when I don’t need to carry much is this small fanny pack (which I wear as a purse, not as a fanny pack) from Forever 21, which was around $20 and has really held up despite heavy use over 3+ years!

Skin Aqua Moisture Milk Sunblock ($15): I live in LA and have very pale skin, so good sunblock is a must. I’ve tried a ton of different options. My friend/ skincare guru Ben Feinberg recommended this one, and I’m totally obsessed with it. It is lighter in texture than any other sunblock I’ve tried; super powerful; and moisturizing, too. I also like the form factor—this little bottle fits in a pocket or a tiny bag. While it’s not cheap, I think it’s worth it and it lasts a while!

Green leather phone case and wallet ($20): This case is just $20, and comes in a number of different colors. It looks cute and holds my phone, a few credit cards, and some cash. I like having my wallet & phone combined so I just have to grab one thing when I walk out the door (especially because I have a smartlock, so I don’t carry keys anymore). I also like that this one covers my phone screen when it’s closed, so I can have my phone out but be a little less distracted by it since the screen is out of sight when I’m not using it.

Sunglasses ($16): As an LA resident I need to carry sunglasses everywhere. I have a few pairs, bu these are my current favorites. They look similar to the much more expensive Ray Ban sunglasses that are popular right now. But I’m prone to losing sunglasses, so I generally stick to affordable options. These are $17, flattering, stylish, and polarized. They also came with a cloth case (not pictured).

Burt’s Bees lip shimmer ($5): I love this little guy! It’s really moisturizing and feels like chapstick (in a good way), but looks flattering / more like lipgloss. It has a subtle taste/smell of peppermint, is just $5, and super easy to find (available at most drugstores, many grocery stores, etc).

What’s in my bag? — Kristina Budelis