My very, very small set screws
Each one is only 1/8-inch long. I use a very small hex wrench (allen wrench) to screw them into the very small holes I drilled into my ink cartridges. What did I use before these screws to keep the ink sealed in? A glue gun. Too much glue and I had to sand down the dried glue, too little glue and I could have a leaky cartridge. Now, lickity-split, my cartridges are refilled securely (airtight) — and it’s great to see my printer behaving more normally. It’s amazing to me that something so small, and something that I can control, can do such a big job. It’s seems like I’m in control of microsurgery and I’m keeping a patient’s heart from leaking. Wow!
My razor sharp Exacto knife
I use it mostly to cut out (knife out) very small portions of blank space on the pictures I use for my pop-ups. A scissor is too unwieldy for the job, so the knife fills the bill and allows my cut-outs to appear more realistic as the background shows through all the very small knifed-out places.
My small plastic bags
In one of my 100 or so labeled plastic shoe boxes there are three small boxes of plastic bags: 2×3 inches, 3×5 inches and 4×6 inches. There are 175 ziploc-type bags in each small box. It is amazing how many small parts I have labeled, saved and FOUND because they were organized in these bags. A use for the smallest bags: aspirin and Tums.
My super sticky pads of paper
Prior to super sticky there was just plain old sticky — which didn’t stick for long. My Mac computer is often decorated with these 3×3 inch notes, which are discarded as soon as the thing needing a reminder is accomplished. Rarely is my Mac “noteless.” One sheet lists the things I would like to accomplish tomorrow. Another sheet reminds me to make a Batman pop-up card for my grandson. Another sheet reminds me to use my monthly discount for a movie on demand. And another sheet states my Airport Express (wireless router) serial number so I don’t have to unplug my router and drag it to my magnifying lamp to read to the agent from AppleCare tomorrow — as I did yesterday.
My air-can spray
When I pull the trigger I can dislodge the gremlins in my keyboard that keep my “d” from typing. I can also dislodge the wire-entwined dust that is hard to reach under my desk. I hate big blower machines that gardeners use, but I love my little blower can.
Mr. Ebsen may be contacted at robertebsen@hotmail.com
