I suppose this is a meta-recommendation: the tool is the Cool Tools podcast, featuring Mark Frauenfelder and Kevin Kelly.
If you’re into or interested in one or more of…
- Technology and internet stuff
- DIY and craftiness
- Electronics / makerism
- Gardening
- Books, publishing and design
- Conversations with interesting people
- Tools!
… then you are likely to enjoy this podcast. It’s shortish and fairly light – I was going to guess 25 minutes an episode but I see that they are more often 35-40 mins – and there’s almost always something worth looking up and learning more about, and often something worth adding to your toolbox.
Important discoveries from the show include (non-affiliate Amazon and other links for ease of reference):
- Sugru moldable glue
- Needle-nose markers
- The Whippet newsletter
- Moleskine XXL squared notebooks (different from Moleskin journals and much cheaper)
- The inimitable Scrivener
- Om Malik’s amazing TWSBI fountain pen (well, I like the idea of them) and MUJI socks (highly recommended by Sharky)…
These seems like a good place to finish – with a close-up slow-mo of Om’s socks as proof of concept:
My other favorite tool is the Muji Organic Cotton Mix-Pile Sneaker-In Socks. These are sneaker socks made for wearing with sneakers, and I have tried many different versions of these socks which come up to your ankles. They are basically made for people who wear sneakers, however, I like to wear proper Italian made leather shoes but I don’t like wearing long socks. I want to show some of my ankle and I feel like I’m a little bit Italian — not really, but I just like the way they look and I just love the quality of Muji. I would say I have washed these socks about 50 times and they still are exactly the same the day I bought them. For a $5 pair of socks, I have never met any product that good which is like it’s 50 washes, even the best socks lose shape, they lose the shine, they become dull, they stretch. But these are just perfect, the elastic is great, the fabric has softened a little bit but there are still no holes in those socks. I just wonder how they have done it? There must be some magic there.
Om Malik on Cool Tools #167