Actual Black Friday!

So finally it's Black Friday. It didn't start last Monday, and it certainly didn't start at the beginning of November. Call me a curmudgeon, but I'm old school and I think Black Friday should be Black Friday and that Christmas doesn't start until after Thanksgiving. And that means the day after, not the afternoon of. Shame on retail businesses that make their employees work on Thanksgiving evening.

Soapbox again? I'll quiet down now.  :-)

Anyway, it's shopping time. Here are a few of my favorite purchases over the past few years—things which made life better, or that solved a problem or exceeded expectations. Many were originally recommended by readers and friends. Plus, a few new recommendations are mixed in. A couple of readers wrote whole lists, so I'll publish theirs separately eventually (I like "other voices"). This one's a general grab-bag, not photo-related.

Dusk-to-dawn lightbulbs. I knew there were fixtures that will sense the light levels and come on when it gets dark and turn off again at dawn, but I didn't know there are now bulbs that can be screwed into any ordinary light fixture that can do the same. I had an issue because the two lights on my barn are only switched from inside the barn—which does little good, since the primary time you want the light is when you're going out to the barn in the dark. For years I worked around the problem by keeping the front light perpetually off and the back light perpetually on. Then my friend Mike Santelli told me about dusk-to-dawn lightbulbs like these 6-watt Bluex Solray LED dusk-to-dawn lightbulbs. They come in white-light versions too, if you insist—I use yellow bulbs outside because they're kinder to the bugs and birds. The sensor is inside the bulb itself. Now the barn lights turn on automatically when it gets dark and turn off by themselves after dawn. Perfect.

WFPB living. I'm 11/12ths finished with the latest in a long line of diet experiments I started in about 2012—this go-'round, a whole year on whole-food plant-based (WFPB). I'll do a proper wrap-up this coming December 19th when my year officially ends, but I've loved eating for health and it's made big differences in my life that I'm grateful for. If you're interested in a food-for-health approach, start by watching Forks Over Knives. It opened my eyes and got me kicked off down a path that's been "tasty" in many ways.

Griddler Deluxe. So as not to be doctrinaire and give equal time to meat-eaters, let's include this Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe, which Frank Goforth calls "one of the best kitchen appliances we've ever bought." And, as Hugh and Dan pointed out in the comments, it looks like a drymount press!

A good drill. Not to be a broken record about a tool (I've recommended this before), but a drill is a tool that most homeowners have even if they're not into improvement projects. A purchase I'm happy about every single time I use it has been a good-quality cordless drill. I suffered for decades limping along with a motley of cheap, inferior corded "afterthought" drills that were weak and frustrating and had separate chucks that I was forever losing. A proper cordless drill with an easy-to-use built-in ratcheting chuck is so much easier to use and so much more effective that it's a positive relief compared to using all those drills that were barely good enough. This 3/8-inch DeWalt Xtreme 12V MAX cordless drill/driver kit is the current version of what I have. I imagine any good modern professional brushless cordless drill will serve, but even if you just use a drill for household upkeep and occasional projects, buy your last drill (or, if you're young, a drill that will last). I'm glad I did.

Monitor arm. Rob L wrote that a "surprise payoff" among his recent finds was a Vivo Vesa monitor arm. "Getting your displays up just a tad more and making them mobile makes for a tremendous difference in comfort when you're in front of them all day." (Here's a deluxe version.)

'Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door' (folk saying derived from a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson): This is something you can't buy, but I've been researching humane mouse traps and this one is ingenious. It's in the prototype stage so far. It's the "Sudden Earthquake Mousetrap" by a guy named Axel from Berlin, Germany, version 8. Take a look at the video starting at about 6:50. You just put a little peanut butter out on the end of it and when they move over the sensor, that black strip, down they go. It can be either a kill trap or a humane catch-and-release trap depending on whether you put water or shavings in the five-gallon bucket it's designed to be mounted on. (That's a pet mouse in the picture.)

Zoom-cam: Not THAT Ross Cameron from Down Under recommends the Logitech C925-e Webcam with HD video and built-in stereo microphones. "On the off chance anyone is looking for a webcam," writes Ross, "I’ll put a plug in for the Logitech C925-e. It’s not top shelf / top price, nor bottom. I wanted something decent quality for audio (there are no speakers) and video, for work meetings from my home office. It works well with Zoom. A nice touch is the little privacy shutter that slides over the front of the lens. And in Australia, I could claim it as a tax deduction (came in under our cap so no need to depreciate over time). The webcam sits neatly on top of either a laptop screen or monitor, making it easy to flick between looking at the screen and at the camera."

World's nicest freestanding kitchen trash receptacle:

Brother Scott recommended this beautifully engineered simplehuman 40 Liter / 10.6 Gallon stainless steel butterfly-lid step trash can—he likes elegantly engineered products of all sorts—and I've had mine for five years now. The dedicated bags fit perfectly and are easy to change, and the butterfly lid lets it fit most anywhere. It's gotten so I adjust my step when I walk over to it so my foot naturally lands on the step opener. The lid is soft-closing and silent. Simple to operate but not intuitive, so read the instructions, and alert helpful family members or housekeepers as to how to change the bag.

Excellent non-sacrificing surge suppressor: The Furman SS-6B-Pro and its predecessor model are beloved of gigging musicians and are widely used, I'm told. It's a surge-suppressing power strip that doesn't sacrifice itself in "extreme voltage" situations such as lightning strikes: it keeps on working after the voltage stabilizes again. Solidly made with metal casework and a beefy 15-foot cord.

Eddie Bauer Mens Superior Down Parka: I hesitate to admit this, but I will anyway: this is the third different parka I bought in succession when I was shopping for a new winter coat after 25 years with my old one. I actually bought two others and found both of them...well, inferior. The first was a very expensive North Face that couldn't even keep the wind out as well as an ordinary windbreaker—despite being almost too large to strap myself into the car when I was wearing it, the sleeves were virtually useless against cold moving air. I'd hate to be caught on the north face of anything in that! I swallowed hard and donated it to charity, all but brand new, and took the loss. This one? It's there in the name: Superior. Third time's a charm. Love this. It's as close to a warm hug as I get, it's not too bulky for the seatbelt, it's well made, and it's nice and toasty in my 5–6 (seriously, my county is right on the border) climate zone. You can remove the fur trim but not the hood. This one gets the nod from me.

Finally, do you have your Vitamix and Instant Pot yet? I've recommended each one about five times. Both are vital to the TOP World HQ kitchen laboratory, and I suspect will become even more important in the coming year, given my upcoming New Years resolution. More about that on December 19th.

I'd go on here, but you know what? I'm slowing down. Literally! It took me an embarrassingly long time to build this post. I used to be able to whack something like this out in a torrid four-hour work session. No longer. Now it takes me a day and a half. I guess it's true what they say.

Mike
(Thanks to Rob L, Dan S, hugh crawford, Mike Santelli, Frank
Goforth, Not THAT Ross Cameron, and Scott Johnston)

Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Speed: "Re: Monitor Arm, I have the dual monitor version and it is terrific. One additional benefit: Because the monitors are suspended from behind, the formerly wasted desk space under them is now un-wasted."

Gerard Geradts: "Another 10 hours of wasted time thanks to TOP. This time all the mousetraps of the world. Hilarious. I really enjoyed it all."

xf mj: "I gotta confess I can be buoyed by any TOP posts that mention a camera or lens choice I've made. I like the validation, probably more than I ought to. Who knew I could feel the same pride of ownership for my garbage can? I am a total fanboy for that little steel flip-top guy there, though I happen to own the Mark I model without the dual lid. My girlfriend hates it, though, and prefers something a little less fussy to dump the trash in. So it goes with my TOP choices!"

Comments

[gary bliss]

Mike, i am afraid that your $85 DeWalt (a good price!) is an analog drill and, really, for all but the most superficial use is noticeably inferior to brushless drills. These brushless tools have the inherent ability to deliver almost exactly the same torque to the bit irrespective of battery charge state. Analog tools lose -- as you know -- power all through their battery discharge and often induce battery swaps when only half-charge depleted.

I find DeWalt's amazon offerings bewildering and i see "bare" brushless DeWalt models for $100 but they lack the battery and charger; the cheapest all-up is $200 but that is for a somewhat larger 1/2 inch, 20v, unit (compared to 3/8, 12v, for your referenced drill.)

Virtually every tool brand offers a brushless line and they are all superior in use to analog for the reasons cited. My personal three year experience is with Lowe's Kobalt 24v brushless kit for $100 or only $15 more. I -- and a lot of others -- have been thrilled with mine and it is a model that often matches or beats DeWalt in cordless drill comparisons (of which there are many).

Brushless makes any task easier and holds promise to largely replace corded tools for most applications.

-- gary

[The one I picked says "BRUSHLESS" right on the side of the handle, and it's in the description too. Did I mess up? --Mike]

[robert e]

Speaking of smart lights, these battery-powered motion- and light-sensing night lights have been great around the house:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PB9Z1ZZ/ref=emc_b_5_t

I haven't tried this Version 2 yet but really like the original, which is still sold. Batteries last forever (18 months + in my case). There's also a plug-in version without motion sensing.

I suppose animal cohabitants might limit some applications.

[Helcio J. Tagliolatto]

"Now the barn lights turn on automatically when it gets dark and turn off by themselves after dawn. Perfect."

No, it's not perfect. I live in a very rural place, and me and my wife changed all the auto light fixtures, in order to preserve the immaculate dawn view :)

[Dan S]

Not gonna lie here...at first glance I thought the Cuisinart was a print dryer. The eye see’s what the mind wants.

[hugh crawford]

Do people still use dry mount presses?
Oh never mind (in best Emily Litella voice)

[William A Lewis]

That's Omnivore, sir ;)

[Ilkka]

There are also bulbs that have a motion sensor, so that they turn on when they detect motion. I have had one in my entrance for years already. When I come home late at night it automatically turns on, but only at night as it also has the day light sensor. A standard bulb, not a light fixture. Might not work so well outdoors with animals around and grass moving.

[Tom Burke]

We haven't bought anything this Black Friday (or last year's, or the year before's) - just don't see the point. Mostly the goods on sale seem to be leftovers and 'specially bought in' stuff. And this year, at the moment, we can't go to the shops anyway because we're in (semi-) lockdown. And finally - it's not our (English) tradition anyway! A plague on it, sez I, along with Halloween.

But I'm with you on requiring people to work on what ought to be a holiday. Once upon a time the New Year sales started in, like, January... then they crept back into the space between Christmas and the end of December; and now they start on 26th of December, Boxing Day, which in (most of) the UK is a Bank Holiday (possibly not in Scotland) (and I could tell you far more than you want to know about 'Bank Holidays': how they arose, what they are, and what they're not. Hint - they're not actually national holidays.)

At least the shops stay shut on the 25th, as far as I'm aware. Mostly. I think. Supermarkets and pharmacies may be open....

[Richard Parkin]

Rant 1. You have a funny idea of what is humane. Releasing trapped animals out into a strange environment away from their home range is not humane. That trap is basically a version of the usual ‘trapdoor’ trap used in U.K. to catch rabbits for sale and is the reverse of humane even without water, with water it would be illegal in U.K.. If you must trap & release mice use a Longworth-type trap with bedding and food and check it regularly.

The traditional spring trap if correctly set is the nearest thing to a humane trap and there are some that electrocute mice but I don’t know how good they are.

Rant 2. It’s been so annoying that all these cordless implements use different battery formats. At last there are tools that use a ‘universal’ battery across drills, lawnmowers, leaf blowers, vacuum cleaners etc! Unfortunately there are several of these ‘universal’ standards produced by the various manufacturers so we are no better off, plus ça change ... :(.

[Their "home range" is my basement and, at night, my kitchen countertop. So, sorry, but they do not get to stay in their "home range" even if that is what would be most comfortable for them. --Mike]

[Richard Parkin]

I have to confess that I actively encourage mice & voles in the garden (habitat not food) because my dogs love to hunt them when there are no squirrels around. It does mean I have to keep on top of them getting into the house ;).

[Yoshi Carroll]

We have this Tomcat live catch mouse trap. It’s very clever, cheap, and effective. I can’t say that for the other five kinds we’ve tried. We get a handful of the little critters each winter end they seem no worse for wear when we release them.

https://www.amazon.com/Tomcat-Single-Catch-Live-Mouse/dp/B012RGN4G6

`yoshi

[Mike Ferron]

Do understand as a retail employee who was in the management sector for 8
years and was in charge of Black Friday setup and execution I would work until 2am Thanksgiving eve only to return @ 5am Friday morn. Inventory eve was far worse and totally abusive. I’m a senior now and am very happy giving up the responsibilities.

[JimH]

As you contemplate gifts, I urge you to consider donations to your favorite museums. Most here in CA have been closed for almost all year and many are in dire straights.

[Soeren Egelbrecht]

Hi Mike, in the above, you wrote "Simple to operate but not intuitive, so read the instructions, and alert helpful family members or housekeepers as to how to change the bag." And you are talking about a ... trash can (!!) I work with User Experience (UX) and design, and it frustrates me, how complicated some things are to operate these days.

Donald Norman in his book "The Design of Everyday Things" explains how the complexity of operating a certain category of apparatus typically takes on a "U-shape". First, it is very complicated (think wet collodion), then it becomes easier (Kodak Roll-film) and easier (Olympus OM-2n, etc), but the it starts getting more complex again, as more features are added in an ad-hoc manner (wiz. my "Modern" OM-D, which refused to fire the flash in a recent portrait session, because it was on "silent shutter").

My favourite camera at the moment ?? The Leica M8, because it simply does what I ask it to do - every time. And it's about as simple as my M3.

Another great read on UX - also for laypersons - is Steve Krug's "Don't make me Think!"

Soeren

[Tim Smith]

On that mouse trap... I didn't check the price so maybe it's worth the electricity it uses. But the same design principle has been used for decades in hunting camps throughout the North Maine Woods. Fill a bucket halfway with water, stick a dowel through a beverage can (Budweiser is a popular choice), lay dowel/can over top of the bucket and walk away. For camps that are often untended for whole seasons, it just keeps on working without having to be reset. But hey, if you wanna plug something in, go for it.

[Jim Arthur]

I’ve never understood the catch and release approach to a mouse problem. The CDC page on rodent diseases is a little scary.

• A mouse lives 9 to 12 months
• After six weeks of living, a mouse is sexually active
• A typical mouse will have 5-6 young up to 8 different times per year
• All these new mice also become sexually in six weeks
• Mice can climb well
• Their droppings are scattered everywhere
• Mice can carry a myriad of diseases with the most common being Lymphocytic Chorio-meningitis (LCM)

[Ben Shugart]

Hey Mike...How are you and that Breville coffee grinder you purchased and reviewed several years ago getting on?

[Dori]

I can also recommend the VIVO mount, I have the one with the base:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C5H5DN0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&psc=1

More than a surge protector, I'd recommend a UPS Sine wave:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00429N19W/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Regarding the mouse trap, I found this video entertaining:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4PaGvAhV9I

I would also put your main referer link front and center for other items :)

[gary bliss]

Mike --

Oh goodness, i did not see that in the headline for the advert (but now i see that it is in the detailed description). Usually that is the first thing claimed in the advert copy.

My bad. But "yes" these are way better than analog drills for the reasons cited.

-- gary

[Fred Schumacher]

We live in the bush in northern Minnesota, so mice, mostly deer mice (paromyscus maniculatus), in the house are a regular part of life. The best trap is Jawz by J.T.Eaton company. They're $3 for a pair and are humane killers, doing the job quickly and efficiently. A mouse swimming in a bucket of water until it finally drowns is not a good way to die. Mice are the cheeseburgers of nature, food for numerous predators, and their life is short.

As for parkas, I've noticed they are most common in places with deep cold and places that are not very cold. I live in climate zone 2a, where a temperature between 40-45 degrees below zero has a 95% chance of occurring every year. Even with climate change, that still holds here. I put on long underwear, a flannel shirt, and a blaze orange windbreaker hoodie lined with fleece. That's good for 30s below zero. At 40 below, I put on a parka. At 60 below, I put on a snowmobile suit under the parka. These are air temperatures, not wind chill.

People wearing parkas in mild climates do so because they never get acclimatized to cold. I underdress early in the season to force my body to acclimatize. When it hit mid-60s above in the first week of November, I was suffering from heat and couldn't stand it. Now, we're back into single digits, and it's much more comfortable to be outside.

[Fred Schumacher]

I bought an Olympus E-M5 Mark III with 12-45 f4 lens on Black Friday from National Camera Exchange in the Twin Cities. Price was the same as the big discount houses, but I paid a little extra sales tax, which I don't mind doing. I'm hoping the phase detect auto focus will improve my birds in flight photography, especially with the like new used Leica 100-400 lens I recently picked up. I know most people would prefer the E-M1 Mark III, but I prefer the form factor of the M5, and tests show that for birds in flight, the Mark III versions of the M1 and M5 are virtually identical and better than the M1 Mark II.