KW Baker posted a photo:

www.quartercircle.net
Quarter-Circle Circle Ranch The Quarter-Circle Circle Ranch is a great getaway from the rush, crowds and technology of your daily life. We are off the grid, 10 miles off the pavement, 45 miles from the town of Gunnison Colorado, high in the Rocky Mountains and away from the tourist hype.

Once a week we’ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, but the possibilities they inspire are new. Sign up here to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.

Hitchhiking encouragement

Digihitch

This a website promoting hitchhiking. You didn’t used to need a website to hitchhike, only a thumb and pulse. I’ve spent a lot of time standing by the side of the road with my thumb out, and it led to some of the best days of my life. Times are different now.

What this site offers is mostly encouragement. Stories of other hitchhikers having a blast, reassurances that hitching is safe and legal, and suggestions about where in the world the natives are friendly to hitchers.

If you’ll hitch, I’ll pick you up. — KK

• Isn’t hitchhiking illegal in many areas? The short answer is: no.
• Hitchhiking is not as popular in North America as it was 30 years ago, but it is still legal if one follows the laws of each state. Also, hitchhiking is still a viable mode of transportation in many other areas around the world, including Europe, parts of Asia, Africa, Australia, etc.
• The most common law related to hitchhiking in the United States has been established in the Uniform Vehicle Code (UVC). It states:No person shall stand in a roadway for the purpose of soliciting a ride.What many people fail to realize is that a roadway is defined (in the same UVC) as:That portion of a highway improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the sidewalk, berm or shoulder even though such sidewalk, berm or shoulder is used by persons riding bicycles or other human powered vehicles.As you can see, the law only states that hitchhikers cannot stand in a driving lane (good idea, huh?), but they can stand on the shoulder or sidewalk of a road. A further code mentions that US States have the right to restrict pedestrians (i.e. hitchhikers) from entering certain highways (interstate routes, for example), but must post a sign if this is the case. What it all boils down to is this. Hitchhiking is not only possible in the US, but also legal. Many US States have adapted the above code to their own liking, though keeping a similar wording. You can research more about current hitchhiking-related laws in the digihitch USA section.
• I held up a sign in Japanese: “Kaze o fuku mama, ki no mukoo mama,” loosely translated to mean: “Wherever the wind blows, so too will my feelings take me.” A folk singer I met thought it would be funny if I tried hitchhiking displaying this old song lyric. It was funny. So funny, in fact, people stopped their cars to take pictures of me, and then drove away.
• I had been stuck at an entrance ramp for hours [in Belgium]. I was joined by a six foot five fellow hitchhiker carrying what looked like a body bag. A car stopped for us, and the woman inside hit the button to lower the passenger side window. She peered out of the opening at us. “Are you dangerous?” I shrugged my shoulders and said “Not me,” turning to my fellow hitchhiker, “Are you?” “No.” She let us into the car. She was a child psychologist, specializing in abnormal psychology, claiming she could tell by our body language during the response that we were, indeed safe.
• During the past fifteen years I’ve hitchhiked through over a dozen countries, spending months at a time begging rides. Everyone from grandmothers to soccer hooligans have stopped for me. Rebels pick me up to bond with a fellow outlier of the system, while law and order types give rides to keep me from harm, or to make sure I cause none. I’ve been treated to steak dinners, been given free lodging, plenty of free advice and even some cash. I’ve slept in driver’s mansions, in rest stops, and in road side culverts. I’ve traveled at 150mph with an executive in a new Mercedes across the German autobahn, and I’ve limped through the hills of central Japan in a sputtering Toyota van with a Japanese rhythm and blues band.

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Best gateway to hostels

Hostelz

Hostels range in price but they are usually the cheapest lodging option in most cities. You can often find a bed in mega-cities for less than $20. A hostel has very little to do with youth, although there is still a network of official youth hostels, which anyone of any age can use. A hostel is simply a hotel where you sleep in a shared bedroom, or a dorm, instead of a private room. Shared facilities mean cheap digs. (The exception is South and Southeast Asia where private rooms are as cheap as hostels). Hostels also often have a shared kitchen which residents can use. This means hostels are very social places with lots of interaction between travelers.

Cool Tools previously reviewed the hostel booking site Hostels.com, but that site has fallen a bit behind the times after a change in ownership. Much better these days, with thousands of more hostels in their database, and a lot more friendly mojo, is Hostelz. It is the most complete and useable portal for global hostelling.

Started by a backpacker, the web site Hostelz list some 22,000 hostels and guest houses around the world. They encourage independent reviews by users and don’t censor negative reviews. In addition, they hire backpackers $7 to officially review hostels for the site. Hostelz graciously provides you with the complete contact and location information of each hostel so you can book a room yourself. But Hostelz also provides the option to book a room through them at the same price. Since they do not charge hostels to be listed, this booking option provides their only income, which so far is enough to keep the site going.

Hostels are a great, often overlooked resource, and Hostelz is your best bet for finding one. — KK

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Cheapest homestays

Couchsurfing * Airbnb

I travel a lot. I hope to never book a hotel room again. I stay in people’s homes, arranged either by couchsurfing or Airbnb.

While I was traveling through Europe as a student I got tired of staying with other American travelers in hostels. I was looking for a more authentic and local experience so I began to stay in homes through Couchsurf.com. Over the years I’ve stayed in about 25 homes. Once you sign up you can search for locations and hosts with similar philosophy, interests, and traveling tendencies. There is no payment for sleeping on whatever couch/bed/futon is provided. To show my gratitude I make it a rule to cook a meal for my hosts. I’ve also reciprocated the generosity by hosting couchsurfers in my homes. CS runs on trust, interests and positive reviews. Since there is no payment, the main reason to join is to meet like-minded people who have stories and camaraderie to share. As long as you have a detailed profile, you will attract and find people with similar interests. Being a female traveler has never been an issue since I normally travel with a friend, or I choose to stay with primarily female hosts. I have met some of my best travel companions and friends through CS. You can find couchsurfing all over the world now.

Now that I am working I can also use Airbnb. Airbnb offers an elegant interface and large database of ordinary to extraordinary places to stay all around the world, at a reasonable price. The service they offer is the curation of unique places, as well as increased security. Part of why some people will stay in an Airbnb and not a couch on CS is because Airbnb treats security as its primary financial and legal liability. Airbnb offers a 24-hour hotline, secure payment platform, identity verification, verified photographers and profile reviews. They also show whether you have mutual friends with the host, which makes me more inclined to stay with them. I’ve discovered some unbelievably beautiful and unique places that I otherwise would never have had access to at a price lower than a conventional hotel, almost by two or three fold ($50 vs. $100-150).

Both CouchSurfing and Airbnb offer “local experiences” and a more affordable way to travel. However, CS requires more of a commitment to engage with your host (share stories, eat a meal together) in exchange for free board vs. Airbnb, which requires payment yet is more luxurious and less personal. Think of it as the difference between getting a ride in a taxi (Airbnb), vs. from a rideshare (Couchsurf). In the cab you sit in the back and you don’t need to talk to the driver if you don’t want to, while the rideshare is more intimate so you sit up front and chat.

When deciding which service I want to use, I always ask myself: Do I want surprise or security? CS always surprises me with interesting people and stories, while Airbnb offers local luxury at an affordable price. — Ting Kelly

Gar’s Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales is published by Cool Tools Lab. To receive the newsletter a week early, sign up here.

– Send me a tip or tool recommendation.

–Tell me a shop tale.

-Buy my books (Tips and Tales from the Workshop Vol. 1, Vol. 2).

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Adding Foot Switches to Your Shop Tools

Several years ago, I got a jeweler’s flex-shaft rotary tool. It came with a foot switch and I instantly fell in love with it. Once you power a shop tool with a foot switch, you won’t want to use anything else. In this video, Adam Savage installs a foot switch upgrade to his mini tabletop bandsaw. The switch is especially nice and addresses a problem I have with my rotary tool swutch. If I leave it plugged in, I can inadvertently step on the switch which sits off to the side of my main workbench. This switch has a toe-kick safety cover that prevents it from being engaged by accident. Adam doesn’t identify which foot switch he’s using, but it looks like a Linemaster. These are not cheap (at over $200 each), but he says you can often find them new or used on eBay for as much as half that price.

Building an Elevator for Your Shop

Like many makers, Wesley Treat has a loft in his shop. Such a space is great for storing materials, supplies, and equipment you rarely use, but getting stuff up and down from the space (usually via stairs or ladders) can be difficult, if not dangerous. Wesley solved this problem by building an electric-powered mini-elevator. I bet everybody with a shop loft is going to want one too after seeing this video.

Making a One-Handed Access Tool Wall

There are dozens of videos on building tool walls from lumber scraps, similar to this one. But Rex has some good ideas here that should be noted. For instance, all of his tool access is designed to be one-handed and most of the tools pull straight out rather than up and out. This way, you don’t take up valuable space on the wall.

Reading “Tools”

One of my all-time favorite DIY books is Tools and How to Use Them by Albert Jackson and David Day. I had a copy for years but donated it, along with a bunch of other maker/DIY books, to an artists maker/studio space when I moved to the west coast in 2021. After seeing it on a Digi-Key tweet a few weeks ago (where my tips book was also mention!), I realized how much I missed it. I ordered a used copy on Amazon for a whopping $2.98. I’ve decided to read it cover to cover to give myself a thorough education in common and not-so-common hand tools. Every few weeks, I will post an except here that I find particularly interesting, unusual, or informative. This week’s entry is the screw pitch gauge.

Things to Do with Sawdust

Woodworking creates sawdust. Lots of woodworking creates A LOT of sawdust. This waste material can be reused in a myriad of ways. Here are just some of them. If you have another use for sawdust, please share.

1. Use it as a mulch in your garden: Sawdust can help retain moisture and prevent weed growth.
2. Mix it with soil for composting: Sawdust can be used as a carbon source in composting, and it will break down slowly over time. Note: Sawdust can affect the pH levels of soil or compost. It’s important to monitor pH levels when using sawdust in these applications. When using it for composting, it should be mixed with other organic materials to ensure a proper balance of carbon and nitrogen.
3. Create pathways in your garden: Sawdust can be used to create natural-looking pathway in your garden and help prevent muddy paths.
4. Use it as a bedding material for animals: Sawdust can be used as a bedding for animals like chickens, rabbits, and goats.
5. Use it as kindling for fires: Sawdust is highly flammable and can be used as kindling for fires.
6. Mix it with wax to make fire starters: Sawdust can be mixed with wax to make fire starters that are easy to light.
7. Use it to absorb spills: Sawdust can be used to absorb spills of oil, paint, or other liquids.
8. Use it as a filler material in construction: Sawdust can be mixed with other materials like cement, clay, epoxy to create lightweight, durable building materials.
9. Use it as a traction aid: Sawdust can be spread on slippery surfaces like icy sidewalks or driveways to provide traction.
10. Mix it with birdseed: Sawdust can be mixed with birdseed to make it go further and provide a more natural habitat for birds.
11. Use it as a cat litter alternative: Sawdust can be used as an alternative to commercial kitty litter, as it is highly absorbent and can be composted.
12. As a mushroom substrate: Sawdust can be used for growing mushrooms.
13. Make wood filler: Sawdust can be mixed with glue or epoxy to create a wood filler for filling in gaps or holes in wooden surfaces.

Caution: If the wood that the sawdust came from was treated with pesticides or chemicals, it could be harmful to use for things like animal bedding and garden mulch. It’s important to know the type of wood, how it’s been treated, and whether it is safe to use. Engineered woods like plywood, MDF, and particle board should be avoided for many of the above uses involving plants, animals, and composting.

Maker’s Muse: Grandpa Amu

If you haven’t seen Grampa Amu’s channel, subscribe now. I get inspired every time I see a new video. In this episode, Grampa Amu is given an old, cherished cooking pot that’s been used for so many years, a hole has been burned clean through the bottom. Using only the simplest of hand tools, he replaces the entire bottom of the pot with a metal pan. He manages to hammer the two items together with what at least looks like a leak-proof seal — no soldering! It would’ve been helpful to see the pot in-use, and full of liquid to show that it doesn’t leak.

Shop Talk

Last month, after I posted a video about Turning a Drill Press Into a Disc Sander, reader Chips ‘n Bits had a question.

“I have a question about the drill press as a disc sander. Would the friction and rotation of the disc put any lateral force on the quill? I ran into this issue (and gave a Makita drill driver about 1/8″ of runout) by mixing something too-viscous with a mixing paddle. Drill presses are made of sturdier stuff, but they’re not designed for lateral forces like routers/shapers. Hence: my question.”

Has anyone used a sanding disk on their press like this who wants to answer the question?

It can be easy to take the ground beneath you for granted. Once you decide to call a place home, you get accustomed to its geography, remembering exactly where that uneven spot in the walkway is or stepping over that one big rock without looking down. Often, that level of knowledge is enough to move forward with your days. But sometimes, you need to dig deeper.

Maybe you want to till the earth to start a garden. Or, you might have concerns about toxins in the sandbox where your children play. Whatever the reason, if you’re questioning the state of your soil, your first step is to put it to the test — a task we believe is best left to the experts.

DIY soil-test kits that ask you to collect and assess findings at home are messy and difficult to interpret, and they do not offer the level of accuracy we found when we outsourced our testing. Labs offer more exact and controlled analysis, and in some cases, you can connect directly with scientists who can contextualize your results.

For a basic assessment of nutrients in your soil, we recommend looking up the extension office in your area.

$4 Trillion In US Wealth Is Stashed Overseas, Much Of It In Tax Havens A handful of extremely wealthy US taxpayers holds trillions of dollars in foreign accounts, much of it in tax havens and through partnerships, according to a new study based on data reported to the IRS by foreign financial ins...

Sweet potato fries are the tip of the iceberg for these beneficial tubers.

The post 10 benefits of sweet potatoes that prove you should eat more of them appeared first on The Manual.

THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE MARCH 25, 2023, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE.

How far would you go for a special meal?

Here at Gastro Obscura, we’d go pretty far. In fact, we have a whole list of restaurants that require an adventure to reach: crossing a tidal flat at low tide, for example, or lacing up your hiking boots to trek up a mountain.

Some of these remote restaurants are a glitzy experience, where their existence depends on cash-flush diners hungry not so much for food, but for an experience like no other. Take the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, for example. Getting there requires taking a seaplane or speedboat to an island in the Maldives, then walking down a jetty and descending into a tunnel that leads to a restaurant 16 feet below sea level. Diners are rewarded with fancy seafood and a view of the surrounding coral reef.

Tan Hill Inn, on the other hand, is 1,732 feet above sea level. Britain’s “highest” pub was constructed 400 years ago, to serve a coal-mining community that no longer exists. But it stays busy as a stop for cyclists and hikers eager for sandwiches or a Sunday roast after exploring the Yorkshire Dales.

Some of these places don’t offer food, but more simple refreshments. The bar at Vernadsky Research Base may not have dishes, but it does offer visitors to the South Pole vodka distilled on-site. My own bucket list includes a future trip to Huashan Mountain, where a perilous pilgrimage to the top of one of China’s most sacred peaks leads to a cup of tea at a Taoist temple.

I’m not the only one fascinated by these distant places to dine. I recently chatted with Kristen Kish—Top Chef winner, Iron Chef co-host, and the chef at Arlo Grey in Austin—about her new show, which premiered this week on the National Geographic channel. Restaurants at the End of the World lives up to its name, with Kish criss-crossing the earth to visit everywhere from a restaurant in Panama’s cloud forest to an Arctic eatery located on a Norwegian archipelago.

Watching Kish gamely help restaurateurs prepare haute cuisine in harsh conditions and for diners that arrive in everything from heels to hiking boots, made me wonder what unique challenges and benefits there are to setting up shop in the wilderness.

As it turns out, many chefs are compelled by their sense of adventure to undertake this unique challenge, just as much as diners are thrilled by the opportunity to sample fine dining after exploring glaciers and forests.

The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Q&A With Kristen Kish

During filming, which was the hardest restaurant to visit?

Isfjord Radio in Svalbard. It was, gosh, three flights, a couple of small [car] rides, and then a boat, and then another boat. It was by far, even just on the map, the most remote place that we went to.

What do you think makes chefs set up restaurants in such far-flung locations? You're not exactly going to get a lot of walk-ins.

The beauty of all the places that we went to was that none of them felt like a “traditional” restaurant. Each person either told me—or I gathered from hearing their story—that it was done for specific reasons that were very personal to them.

Whether it was to provide a life that they felt was better for their family, or [chefs] that had gone through a personal roadblock and refocused their attention on what they wanted. And some of them were just, quite frankly, looking for this thing that was far out there, right? To feel the adventure.

Did you see a similarity between all the chefs that you met?

I envied their characteristic trait of relinquishing control over everything. Because you're working with an environment that you have no control over. They all have this sense of “what will be will be, and everything will be okay.”

What kind of eaters and travelers seek out these restaurants?

People that are just looking for something different and new. Like, no matter how many restaurants we go to with different kinds of food, it's a restaurant, right? We go in, we order off a menu, we sit there, multiple courses are brought, and you pay the check and you go. This really is a journey that starts long before you even get to the restaurant.

Some probably are looking for adventure, and then food is just a nice perk, and some people are going specifically for the food. When I was with [chef Rogier Jansen] at Isfjord Radio, I was like, these guests are the dream guests. They were just, “Whatever, let's just try it. And if we don't like it, that's also okay.”

So it was really nice to not only be surrounded by these people who are incredibly passionate about what they do in their restaurant, but also these diners that are game for everything.

Do you think you'll ever set up shop at the end of the world and cook?

It's really hard to not be infected by that enthusiasm and want that for yourself, and see the charm and the appeal of why they're doing what they're doing. As much as I would like to think that I could do it, I don't know if it's for me. [But] I will happily visit any of the restaurants at the end of the world.

Former President Donald Trump could run for the White House — even if he is convicted and sent to prison.

7 Skewer Recipes To Take Your Barbecue To The Next Level  Slurrp

Gar’s Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales is published by Cool Tools Lab. To receive the newsletter a week early, sign up here.

– Send me a tip or tool recommendation.

–Tell me a shop tale.

-Buy my books (Tips and Tales from the Workshop Vol. 1, Vol. 2).

–Advertise your product, service, newsletter, app, book, tool, or anything you’d like to share with GT&T readers.

Putting Together the Lightest Possible EDC Toolkit

Todd Parker challenged himself to put together a robust everyday carry (EDC) toolkit that was as compact and lightweight as possible. He wanted everything from a pen and flashlight to a knife, pliers, and scissors, to a ratcheting driver and bits. What he ended up with is a very smartly curated set of 7 tools and 14 driver bits. The whole thing only weighs 5-1/4 ounces. And, believe it or not, it all fits inside of a wallet, along with money and his credit cards. Here are the tools he ended up including. For a few of them, he had to buy a larger multitool to get a few tools he wanted for his EDC:

Victorinox small officer’s knife, Topeak Lite DX rachet kit, Leatherman Bit Kit, Knipex Cobra mini pliers, OHTO micro pen, Olight i1R 2 EOS flashlight, Victorinox SwissCard (for scissors and tweezers), Modern Carry Minimal Card Holder.

Testing 12 Brands of Work Boots

In this episode of Project Farm, Todd trains his testing instruments on work boots. The brands he tested were Red Wing, Redback, Steel Blue, Carolina, Rockport, Reebok, Herman Survivors, Larnmern, Dunlop, Black Hammer, Ad Tec, and Brahma. Prices of the boots ranged from $24 to $275. The boots were tested for dry traction, traction on oil, toe impact resistance, toe crush resistance, sole puncture resistance, leather puncture resistance, high voltage electrical hazard, and boot sole resistance to damage from hot surfaces. Bottom line? The most expensive boot, the Red Wing ($275), was best in show. But the Reeboks, at $111, came in second, and the Black Hammer, at only $40, performed surprisingly well. The shocker for me was the Carolina boot ($130), a darling among the maker community. It did not fare well on the subjective comfort rating and on wet and dry traction and puncture resistance, all important functions of a work boot.

Are You Doing Your Sandpaper Wrong?

On this Stumpy Nubs video, James talks about sandpaper and when you should change it on a palm, disc, or belt sander. As he points out, far too often, in a misguided attempt to save money (what amounts to no more than $1.25 for a good sanding disc), we go too long before changing discs. Working with an exhausted disc takes up more of your time, can mess up your finish, and can even tax your tool. He offers tips on knowing when your disc is ready for a change. He also talks about cleaning your discs to get more life out of them and storing them in an airtight container to reduce humidity damage. If your discs are bent, your belts twisted, they’ve succumbed to humid conditions. He highly recommends 3M Xtract Cubitron II discs (top-quality discs that are only .84 each).

Setting Up a Basic Home Machine Shop

Chris at Clickspring has been doing a series of videos on the tools he uses. In this installment, he looks at the basic tools needed to start a home machine shop. He offers lots of good advice, like acquiring the minimal amount of machining tools and accessories that you need to get started. Then, you can add the additional tools you need as you take on new projects that require additional tools. In other words, after the initial, basic shop set-up, let the projects direct your purchases as you expand your interests and capabilities.

Smoothing Seams in 3D Prints with a Soldering Iron

Have you ever thought of using a soldering iron to close up small gaps in your multi-part 3D prints? In this Uncle Jessie video, he uses a $16 temp-controlled soldering iron to smooth large gaps in a multi-part print. He also uses bits of scrap print-plastic to fill in the wider areas of the gap before smoothing over with the iron.

Reminding Yourself of Gifted Tools

When I was a kid building scale models and hobby rockets, I always drooled over the X-Acto Knife Set, the one in a smart little wooden case, that was advertised in all of the hobby magazines I read (and displayed in a showcase at Bob’s Hobby Shop on Cary St. in Richmond, VA). But I never bought or was gifted one — until a few years ago when my mutant offspring, Blake, thoughtfully gifted me a set for Christmas. Or was it my wife? Crap, I don’t remember! I’m pretty certain it was Blake.

One of the things I love about getting tools as gifts or hand-me-downs is the associations with the giver that comes with them. Every time you use the tool, it’s like you have a little visit with the giver. Last night, as I used a knife from the X-Acto set, I had the same internal conversation with myself I have every time: Who gave me this? I decided that, from now on, whenever I’m gifted a tool, I’m going to note somewhere on it (or in my workshop notebook) who gave it to me. Thanks, Blake! (I think.)

Mistakes Were Made

Reader Jim McLaughlin pointed out that the link for the Milwaukee Milwaukee M18 FUEL 21 actually pointed to the 18g brad nailer, not the framing nailer. This was immediately fixed on the web version, but obviously not fixable in the email newsletter. I apologize for the confusion and thank Jim for the catch.

The Clive Sutton VIP Class taxi incorporates coachbuilt features from Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and Mercedes-Maybach.

The annual ranking of tourist attractions shows European attractions dominate but also that people are willing to travel far and wide in search of vacation-based wonders.

Whether you're commuting to the office or planning a cross-country journey, here are the best riding jackets out there.

Most Americans have Australia on their bucket list, but they are more familiar with names like Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru. What they may not know—because it’s considered Australia’s best-kept secret—is the Kimberley region.

Some of the most successful people in the world will tell you not to underestimate personality when it comes to landing a job.

Volkswagen is reviving an American icon, using different propulsion.

Caste is an ancient system of social hierarchy based on one’s birth that is tied to concepts of purity and social status. Its history, evolution and current state are complicated.

A move to outlaw caste-based discrimination in Seattle has thrust this complex — and often misunderstood — system into the spotlight. If the Seattle City Council votes Tuesday to approve an ordinance that will include caste in its anti-discrimination laws, Seattle will become the first city in the United States to outlaw such discrimination.

While the definition of caste has evolved over the centuries, under both Muslim and British rule, the suffering of those at the bottom of the caste pyramid – known as Dalits, which in Sanskrit means "broken" — has continued.

SEATTLE BECOMES FIRST US CITY TO BAN DISCRIMINATION BASED ON CASTE

The word "caste" has its origins in Latin (castus), which means chaste or pure. Caste made its way into the Indian lexicon with the arrival of the Portuguese in the 1700s who first used the word "casta" with reference to the social hierarchy in the Indian subcontinent.

How Did the Caste System Originate?

References to a societal hierarchy can be found in the millennia-old Rig Veda where a hymn describes the origin of all life from the Purusha or "supreme being." A verse states that the four categories (varnas) of Hindu society came from this infinite being. The Brahmins (priest class) appeared from the being’s head, the Kshatriyas (warriors) from his arms, the Vaishyas (business class) from his thighs and the Shudras (laborers) from his feet. The hymn does not go into details about these categories or which is superior or inferior.

The varna system initially served to classify individuals on the basis of their attributes and aptitude. However, with time, it evolved into the caste system where a person’s occupation and status in society became determined by birth. Those who were outside the system became known as the outcasts or untouchables, and later as the Dalits.

The term "jati" appears in almost all Indian languages and is closest to the word "caste" because it is related to the idea of lineage. There are more than 3,000 jatis in India. Each region in India has its own ranking of jatis. However, in every region, the Dalits are at the bottom of the hierarchy and over the centuries, have faced discrimination. Members of the Dalit community have also historically performed tasks such as manual scavenging, the dangerous and inhumane practice of removing human waste by hand from sewers. The practice continues in many parts of the country even though the Indian government banned it in 2013.

Jati also occupies a significant role within the arranged marriage system where parents look for partners for their children within their caste. This is common in diaspora communities where online matrimonial sites can be filtered by caste.

Is Caste Exclusive to India or Hinduism?

While the concepts of varna and jati are referenced in Hindu texts such as the Manu Smriti and the Bhagvad Gita, caste divisions are not exclusive to India or Hinduism. Caste can be found in other countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and in the diaspora worldwide, and in faith communities including Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Muslims and Sikhs. Dalits who have converted to Buddhism, Christianity, Islam or Sikhism still report experiencing segregation and exclusion from places of worship and burial or cremation sites across the region.

COURT: INDIAN CANDIDATES CAN'T USE FAITH, CASTE TO GET VOTES

Is Caste a British Construct?

Under British rule, the caste system, which had previously been more fluid, was made more rigid with use of the census, which classified the entire nation into categories and schedules, said Ananya Chakravarti, associate professor of history at Georgetown University who focuses on South Asia and Latin America.

"While the British by no means invented caste, they did play a part in fixing these caste identities in perpetuity," she said. "As an institution, caste has had a very long life, way before Europeans showed up."

The British also introduced elements of affirmative action in India, which has provided marginalized groups with representation in education, employment, government programs, scholarships and politics. Based on constitutional provisions, central and state governments are allowed to set "reserved quotas or seats" in colleges, workplaces and government agencies for disadvantaged groups such as Dalits. The system of reservations has been the source of animosity between castes, with upper-caste Indians claiming that such programs and policies are antithetical to a merit-based system.

Are Race and Caste the Same?

Chakravarti cautions against equating race and caste, particularly in the U.S. where both are present. She gives the example of BAPS, a prominent Hindu sect, which is facing a lawsuit in New Jersey accusing the organization of forcing hundreds of low-caste workers to labor at temple sites across the U.S. under dangerous conditions for as little as $450 a month.

"In this case, all those involved in the case are the same race," Chakravarti said. "So race does not adequately cover the question of caste."

Cornel West, professor of philosophy at Union Theological Seminary and scholar of African American studies, says he feels kinship with Dalit activists, calling casteism and racism "institutionalized forms of hatred."

"We have no other alternative but to fight both morally, intellectually and politically," he said.

I first realized I had an unhealthy attachment to my phone the day I stood in the middle of Big Bend National Park, surrounded by some of the most unique and breathtaking scenery the US has to offer but not looking at any of it.

Instead, my eyes were glued to the screen in my hand as I desperately tried to find cell service in an area I knew was completely off-grid.

Frustration welled in my chest as I kept trying to connect, one futile attempt after another, with no luck. I needed service, but not because I was attempting to call for help or consult a trail map I’d downloaded beforehand. I was trying to post a story on Instagram.

If you’re lucky, the money you spend on a Bluetooth tracker will be wasted. These tags are helpful only when you need to find your stuff — if you never lose things, they’re just ornamental. But if you’re weary of scrambling to locate your keys and dismantling the couch to find the remote, a Bluetooth tracker can be a lifesaver.

iPhone users should choose Apple’s AirTag (2nd generation), which employs a huge network of Apple devices to passively search for lost goods and enable precision finding features, making it more likely that you’ll recover what you’ve misplaced. If you use an Android phone, go with the Moto Tag, which has the longest detection range of any tracker we’ve tested and works on Google’s Find Hub network.

One thing that’s reliably constant in life is change. And for millions of Americans each year, that change is geographic.

Whether you’re moving across the street or across the country, from a tiny apartment or a sprawling house, relocating can be stressful and all-consuming (to say the least). But with the right planning and tools, it doesn’t have to be.

If you start your computer and cringe at the maze of identical folders covering your desktop, it might be time to organize your files. Here’s how to clean up your desktop and keep it that way.

We chose the best lockbox after spending hours on research, interviews, and tryouts, as well as shadowing professional locksmiths as they mimicked burglar break-ins. For this update, we scoured the field for new entries that could meet our standards—and we found none. Our original pick, the Kidde AccessPoint KeySafe, remains the best lockbox available, hands down.

Its unique features include a sturdy, quarter-inch-thick zinc alloy exterior, a door with an unusually tight fit to the box, and unique sloping sides that deflect prying and striking tools. The roomy, robust wall-mounted design is also more secure than the shackle-style mounts you see on other models. No competitor has come up with—or even tried to come up with—a better mix of security features and value.

Based on a Le Mans-winning prototype, this 1-of-27 Jaguar XJR-15 goes to auction this Spring.

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Motorola is bringing two-way satellite messaging to more iOS and Android devices with the Defy Link.

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Rimowa puts an icon back in the cockpit with the return of its 1950s-inspired case.

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A selection of three artisan-crafted and grass-fed sausage links.

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Adding hidden storage to the Amarok or Hilux, these drawers use the original taillights for safety.

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Gar’s Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales is published by Cool Tools Lab. To receive the newsletter a week early, sign up here.

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• Buy my books (Tips and Tales from the Workshop Vol. 1, Vol. 2).
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In Search of the Best Battery-Powered Nailer

Todd at Project Farm did a series of tests to try and determine the best battery-powered framing nailer on the market. The brands he tested were from Milwaukee, Paslode, DeWalt, Ridgid, Craftsman, and Metabo HPT. The nailers were compared for weight, noise, closeness to object for 90 degree nail drive, nailer speed (seconds to drive 25 nails), performance on composite material (depth of nail), and framing nailer tip grip. And the envelope please… the best nailer in the lot was the Milwaukee M18 FUEL nailer, currently available for $289 (w/o battery) on Amazon.

Creating a Simple Shop Vac Manifold to Triple Dust Collection Locations

In this Stumpy Nubs video, James shows how, in about an hour, using some scraps of wood, you can create a manifold for your shop vac that splits the vacuum input hose to service three different workshop machines.

Toys! Cheap Wireless Headphones

When Monoprice contacted me to see if I wanted to review their Bluetooth Headphones with Active Noise Cancelling, I said sure. I was already perfectly happy with my wireless ($120) Sony phones I’d had for the years, but I thought I’d give these a try. Sony phones? What Sony phones? Ever since I put these on, they’ve been my go-to headphones. I love the fit, the multi-day battery life, and the fact that they stay paired with my computer. With the Sony’s, I was having to charge them too often and frequently had to re-pair them (an annoyance I hate). For sound quality, honestly, the Sony phones are markedly better, but I mainly watch YouTube maker videos all day, so the sound is perfectly adequate for that. The noise cancelling is so-so, only cancelling out low, droning background noise — about what you might expect in low-priced wireless phones. At under $50, this is a very decent and reliable addition to my daily toolset.

Tips Busters: Creating Solar Panels from Old CDs? BUSTED!

Spoiler alert: Of course not!

You may seen videos go viral, with tens of millions of views, that apparently show people creating photovoltaic solar arrays by simply wiring copper coils around grids of old compact discs (or even just adhering aluminum foil strips across them). Hey, they look all shiny metallic and solar-y, so they should be able to generate power, right? Wrong! As Robert Murray-Smith points out, this is all obvious nonsense, and he explains why. For starters, CDs are covered with a layer of lacquer, so all you’re doing is winding wires or attaching aluminum foil onto plastic. And that’s just silly.

Understanding Code Libraries in Arduino Programming

As Becky Stern says in the introduction to her latest With Becky Stern video for Digi-Key: “One of the Arduino community’s superpowers is code libraries, bundles of specialized programming that allow you to leverage complex computing tools using simple commands.” You can use these add-on libraries in your Arduino code to do things like control strips of LEDs, read sensors, and create sounds. There are thousands of user-created libraries out there on the innernets. In this video, Becky explains more about ‘Duino libraries, shows how to install them, and demonstrates some of the things they can do with them, in this case, using a strip of NeoPixel LEDs as an example.

Shop Talk

Reader (and artist) Annie Loel Barr responding to my last newsletter’s inclusion of a video on different glues to use for paper art:

”Good stuff as usual, Gareth. I really enjoy your newsletters. I have to say, though, I was disappointed in the video about adhesives; he said nothing about the archival qualities of any of the adhesives, which, if you are an artist planning for your work to hang around for a while, is pretty important. He also didn’t mention how rubber cement eats into the paper, yellows it, and doesn’t stick for very long. It’s a temporary glue mainly for paste up projects. You can get archival PVA glues and archival glue sticks and I think they’re worthy of mention. He also doesn’t cover bookbinder glue like Yes!, or the wonderful archival adhesive, heavy gel Medium. Or epoxy. I just think he left out a lot and it might be good to have another video that is a little more inclusive…?”

Annie basically caught me being lazy. I watched the glue video, liked a few info-bits in it, but ultimately knew it was weak — a 101 for beginners, at best. But I wanted to have enough content to send the issue, and because I thought it might have use to some, I included it. In the future, I’ll try to stick with my gut and not include things that I don’t feel meet the standards I’m trying to maintain here. From now on, if a newsletter is short an entry or two, I’ll just send it anyway. Real stuff, no fluff.

An exceedingly rare gold Omega Speedmaster awarded to astronaut Scott Carpenter is now up for sale.

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Built for the iconic film, this "Fauxarri" was featuring in the driving scene of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

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