I bought a quiet air compressor and it is a game changer! You can have a conservation while it is running. Quiet air compressors are literally orders of magnitude less sound energy than conventional compressors. I have a Kobalt Quiet Tech compressor , but there are many others available from a variety of vendors. I purchased a Harbor Freight quiet compressor for my father who builds bird houses, among other arts and crafts. He uses it regularly and it has really cut down on h

I really like the Kershaw Chill as an every day carry (EDC) pocket knife. This knife is very thin and fits easily into just about any pocket. In fact, this knife seems to find its way into my pocket more than my others. One-handed opening ("flipper") with a 3.1" blade. Very sharp with a useful "pointy" tip. I removed the pocket clip because I never use it. This was a Festivus gift from my good friend Ed . Amazon Affiliate Link  (I get a small commission at no cost to you).

Quiet shop vacuums exist and they are much quieter than traditional shop vacs. This one was literally orders of magnitude quieter than what we were using. We bought a DeWalt Stealthsonic for our noise research. It was 20+ decibels quieter than the standard shop vacuum we were using. Here is the model we bought: DeWalt 9-Gallon Stealthsonic . It is advertised as 50% quieter. However, 20 decibels represents 75% quieter (in terms of how it "sounds"), but in terms of acoustical

I have used bone conduction headphones for many years and they are great for certain use cases. Because they do not block your ear canal, like tradtional headphones or ear buds, they allow you to hear your immediate surroundings. This make them good for working out in the gym (not tripping on people near you) or for running or working outside. Shokz (formerly AfterShokz) are good deal for the price (I have had multiple pairs and used them virtually continuously and in some h

For listing to audio books, podcasts, and music I use the AirPods Pro 2 . The sound quality is really nice and they have a lot of features including: a hearing evaluation and hearing aid feature, transparency mode (you can leave them in and hearing surroundings normally), and noise cancellation (really nice on planes!). The battery life good and they recharge quickly. The case itself is a battery which facilitates a quick recharge even when power is not available. The AirPo

I've owned one of these AirZound air horns for about 30 years (I've replaced it once in that time frame -- I've had the current one for over 15 years. You pump up the reservoir (about the size of a small water bottle) with an ordinary bicycle pump and it is good for a lot of horn blasts (>120 decibels). As a daily bicycle commuter, I cannot recommend this horn enough! This horn is VERY loud and gets the attention of drivers, particularly those that do not normally "see" bicy

Replace your non-functional fidget device with a useful tool. As a member of the ADHD Club, I rely on colored pens and a variety of multitools (aka fidget tools) to improve concentration in meetings. Engaging in a simple task (e.g., coloring in squares or manipulating an interesting object) can actually improve focus and attention. I have a variety of multi-tools that I bring to meetings. Some of my favorites include: the Gerber Dime, the Leatherman Micra, the SOG PowerPint,

Call me lazy, but I have started using liners for our air fryer and it saves a lot of time on clean up! Amazon Affiliate Link (I get a small commission at no cost to you).

This is my go to microphone for Zoom and recording lectures in my office. I bought one during Covid and it took a beating (traveling to/from the office). I recently purchased another one (much cheaper than during the pandemic!). I would say that the power/connection cord could be "beefed up" a bit. Amazon Affiliate Link  (I get a small commission at no cost to you)

I have had these bluetooth hearing protectors for several years and they are awesome. The battery life is crazy long (40+ hours). The...