Tools to Live By - Pick Your Four!

Susie gets handsy with Kevin Killian, Mark Frauenfelder, and the inventions that make life work

Someone just walked up to me the other day and said, “I heard you on the Cool Tools show!” — What a compliment. It was a showbiz highlight of my life.

The premise of the show is one question: Name four tools that mean a great deal to you. Anything! How would you answer that, eh?

I never thought of myself as handy or adept with tools. I’m the sort of person who’s always scratching my head and bitching, “Where’s the ON button?” when handed a machine I don’t understand. I’ve gotten blisters holding hand tools the wrong way, or almost poked my eye out.

I got tool therapy at last.

In conversation with Mark and Kevin, the inventors of the “Cool Tools,” (see the blog and the book) — I realize I do belong in the Tool Lovers Club after all.

I have my own version of getting things done, with inventions I depend upon. Thinking about the tools I love is a special kind of memoir, and I cherish these two for letting me linger in their influence.

I met Cool Tools host Mark Frauenfelder through BoingBoin…