Ok, watched it?

So, you know that part where the thief is running away with that TV? I pretty much yelled at my screen, “Haha – you just saved that woman a trip to the Salvation Army!”

Why else would anyone be storing a small tube TV in their garage if it wasn’t because they were going to trash it? Of all things in a garage (think of the tools!) – who would take a discarded small tube TV?

Hey, robber, the 80s called, they want your criminal intentions back.

With that out of the way, onto the Garage Butler.

The Garage Butler is a handy device that can help you thwart thieves (even the dumb ones) and give you a little peace of mind by working with your existing garage door system and remote. Combined with home security systems, it’s an easy and effective boost to your security, especially since many home break-ins occur through the garage. Of course, if your house isn’t directly connected to the garage, just think of how sad you’d be if someone stole your tools. Let’s not even contemplate a tragedy like that!

With the garage door butler, you can set the garage door so that it closes after three to 60 minutes of being open – perfect if you tend to forget to do this yourself before driving off. The device even has a light sensor that can allow it to close the garage automatically when it senses the dusk. Naturally, the Garage Butler includes a manual override for when you want the door open (like when you’re working in the garage with something fumey like a vinyl coater).

Garage Butler Automatic Garage Door Closer retails for $49.99 on Amazon.com.

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Garage Butler and The Worst Thief Ever

As the site is fairly new, there aren’t copious amounts of reviews – but that’s where you and I step in. If you have a tool you love, one you hate or gadgets that fall somewhere in the spectrum between hump-worthy and dump-worthy – let it be known at Tools.com!

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Tools.com: A Site For Skilled Eyes

There are a few squirrel-resistant bird feeders out there, but the Droll Yankee Flipper Bird Feeder is the only one built for human entertainment. It’s probably cruel on some level, but watching those pesky squirrels get spun around and flung (gently) off the feeder without their blessed seeds is – well – kind of hilarious.

Besides being too wide and long for a squirrel to easily climb, the bird feeder also features a base that is just for birds (particularly small ones). When something that weighs more than a small bird grabs hold of it, a battery-operated spinning motion is triggered and the squirrel is given a little ride before it has the chance to eat any of the seeds from the feeder.

A bunch of people have loaded their own videos on YouTube of the Yankee Flipper at work, but we’ve included an “official” video in this post. The clip is complete with someone doing the voices of the defeated squirrels – kind of like how Bob Saget used to do voices for animals on America’s Funniest Home Videos. Cheesy, but flying squirrels are funny. The Droll Yankee Flipper is a bird feeder and entertainment in one!

The type featured in the video is 21 inches long, has four feeding ports, holds four quarts of seeds and requires two C batteries. The Droll Yankee Flipper 2010 is available at Yardiac for $119.95 and comes with a lifetime guarantee.

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Squirrel Hilarity With The Droll Yankee Flipper Bird Feeder

That’s right – impress the people around you – your family, your friends, your coworkers, your former coworkers! Just place the Telestep in a suitcase, say the magic words, cue “The Final Countdown” and start extending the ladder slowly out of your luggage. MAGIC!

While it may not be quite appropriate for the boardroom, the Telestep does become remarkably compact for the height it can extend to. It shrinks to just 30” in height and grows to 12.5’ when fully extended (a smaller model also goes from 28” to 10.5’). Weighing in at 22 lbs., this ladder is highly portable – making it a great buy if you’re a home improvement type who’s on the go, short on space or has a lot of projects in the future.

Simply ask the ladder to tell a lie and …. Boop! It grows! Ok, so fibbing isn’t required, just a simple pulling action. The ladder’s height is up to you as you can lock it into the different settings depending on the job. And the jobs you can do with it? Pretty much anything that requires a bit of height – window washing, home inspection, cleaning gutters, fixing siding, hanging holiday lights, magic shows …

The 14 1/2 Foot Telesteps Telescoping Extension Ladder is available on Amazon for about $280 (prices vary for different sizes and styles).

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Abracadabra! The Telesteps Telescoping Ladder

A man is sitting on the couch watching TV while his wife is in the kitchen. Over the sound of football he hears her say, “Sweetheart, would you rather have chicken, beef or lamb for dinner?”

The woman pokes her head around the corner and snarls, “I was talking to the cat, you moron. You’re having whatever I damn well give you!”

The reason I tell this story is because the Matrix Cube Collection we’re talking about today was something an acquaintance of mine bought – for her cat – while she and her boyfriend were a little tight on money and storage space for themselves. Heh.

If you have the space, money and inclination to spend $919.99 on stylish boxes for your cat to climb in, be my guest. But if you’re like a normal person, the Matrix Cube Collection has better uses. They’re great for playrooms and children’s rooms for easy-access toys and books, feature walls (to show off vases and such) or for a media room (perfect shelving vinyl records – remember those?). You can also stack them however you like and possibly make a functional and attractive room divider out of them.

Each cube is made of solid wood and is 18″tall x 18″wide x 15″deep. This set includes six of these box frames as well as the trays, bins and the “X” shelf that you see in the picture.

This particular combination of the Matrix Cube Collection – 6 Piece Assortment in White is available on Organize.com for a spendy $919.99. However, the cubes and accessories can be purchased separately if you have a set budget or particular design in mind for this stylish storage option.

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Stylish Storage: Matrix Cube Collection

The second commercial is one for a drain de-clogging “snake.” The infomercial features shot after shot of people taking clumps of gunked hair out of sinks and showers. Blllllarrrrrfff. It tests my gag reflex every time.

Because they barf me out so much, I don’t want those companies to get any money, ever. The best way to do that is to promote products that prevent clogs and dry feet from happening in the first place. I have yet to find a HomeFixated-related solution to the foot thing, but I think I have one to promote the downfall of the hair clog commercial. That’s where the Kohler K-9132-CP Shower Grid Drain comes in.

This drain is resistant to clogs and buildups (yes!) because of both its perforated strainer and grid-style drain top. This particular Kohler model is built for showers with 2″ outlets. It has a hardy brass construction that is available in polished chrome or polished brass finishes. Clean looking, well-built and will prevent you from costly, annoying and GROSS build-ups from clogs. Yay!

Be a pal and pick up a Kohler K-9132-CP Shower Grid Drain, Polished Chrome for $45.37. The gross commercials must end.

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Kohler K-9132-CP Shower Grid Drain For A Good Cause

It’s like porn for interior decorators and fans of home design.

Desire to Inspire is the project of friends Kim and Jo who share their colorful finds daily. The posts range from country furniture to amazing new wallpaper to the latest in modern architecture. They’ll also occasionally post inspiration drawn from fashion and found objects.

Just don’t blame us if you check it out and find you’re still on the blog an hour later. It’ll do that to you.

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Site We Like: Desire To Inspire

- Pocket Wood
- Little Woody
- Mr. Wood
- Wood Hunt
- miWood

(If you wonder why they’re fails, enter them in Google images and turn the Safe Search feature off – at your own risk.)

Not a fail is the I.D. Wood from Double Dog Studios. Not only is the name right, so is the app. It’s a digital encyclopedia of all things hardwood, including full screen samples and detailed information for over 50 different woods.

Not only can you browse and search the selection of wood types and grains, but you also get a dandy index of their origins, woodworking properties, common uses, durability, sustainability, dimensional lumber conversions, thickness measurements, pilot hole references and nail size references. In other words, it can help you choose the right wood for your hardwood floor, cabinets, custom furniture pieces or pretty much any other woodworking project.

For $2.99 what’s not to love? You can download the I.D. Wood iPhone application via iTunes.

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This Bark has Bite, ID Wood iPhone App

The easiest way to visualize this is with the great Dr. Seuss book, The Cat In The Hat. For those of you without toddlers, I’ll provide a visual refresher of the story here: a fun-loving cat performs a home-invasion on two kids whose parents are conspicuously absent. To prove how much fun he is, the cat balances more and more beloved household goods on various parts of his body. Eventually, he’s got half the house balanced, and he’s bouncing on a ball on one foot! Sounds precarious right?!

I have been known to perform similar acts of derring-do during particularly challenging installation projects. Most rational people would use two or more people for this kind of thing. At the risk of providing a spoiler, things went well for the Cat In The Hat. . . . initially. Eventually he fell, breaking stuff and really pissing off a fish. For the conclusion of the story, you’ll need to read the book, because it’s totally unrelated to Fastcap’s Upper Hand HD product.

Usually when I’m at that “bouncing on a ball balancing stuff” point in the project, a little voice in the back of my head says “You really should have a second person for this.” I typically hear that voice right before something falls and breaks. Fastcap hopes to change that voice to “You should really use your handy Fastcap Upper Hand kit for this.” So what exactly is an Upper Hand? It’s a handy set of braces, part of Fastcap’s 3rd Hand lineup, that adjust to various heights to help you hold things like upper cabinets in place while you properly secure them.

Each set of Upper Hands features two adjustable poles, and 4 feet (one attaches to each pole bottom, and one to each pole top if desired). The whole set comes in a handy nylon carrying case, complete with individual pockets for the four feet. Setup is super fast. Rough height adjustments are done using a ball-detent system to lock the poles at their desired height. I would have liked to see these in a design where the inner pole didn’t rotate, and where there was a visual indicator for what extension lines up with the ball detent holes. It’s a minor quibble though. As long as you don’t rotate the poles when extending them, the balls will pop right into place. Fine tuning of height is carried out with a simple pump action, easy to do with one hand. Once at the proper height, the Upper Hands will help you carry on with your work sans any annoying “helpers.”

So, for all you Cat-In-The-Hat-loving rugged individuals, check out the Upper Hand HD system straight from Fastcap, at $76 for the whole kit. Or, if you’re lucky enough to be reading this in November of 2009, you can win this Upper Hand kit and several more Fastcap goodies, in the November Free Stuff Giveaway!

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Install Solo, And Get The Upper Hand From Fastcap

Take a moment to listen to it and then perhaps you’ll know why we thought of it when we went to do this review of a tool named SAL.

SAL (or Self-Adjusting Locking Pliers), like Sue, has to make up for its non-butch name in the world of home improvement tools by being tougher than the rest. We’ve all used a plier that slipped or just twisted around when we need it to bear down on the job. SAL is not the type of plier that disappoints. In fact, these Self Adjusting Locking Jaw Pliers claim to provide a 400% increase in force which is pretty darn tough.

The vice auto-locking jaws open to 1 5/8” (41mm) – which will easily get around most nuts and objects you come across in your home improvement project. The SAL features a center switch that lets you both lock and release your setting easily while the pressure dial increases the strength of the grip. The steel construction is topped off with a rust and corrosion resistant finish, ensuring the longevity of this mighty tool.

While the name might be tame, the tool isn’t. The SAL Self-Adjusting Locking Pliers is available from Whiteford Tools for $24.95.

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Nice Plier Work From A Tool Named SAL