DMGBest Tools of 2013
There are a few tools that have become absolutely indispensable to me in the last year or so. I'm going to throw them in a list here so I can look back and remember this year.
My Bank's Website
I'm a huge fan of automated payments. I never let vendors automatically debit my bank account or credit cards any more. I send payment when I want to using my bank's web site. Most of my monthly bills are automatically payed out of every paycheck. Unlike every other tool on this list, this tool is here because it's not part of my daily life. It has reduced the number of things I need to think about.
I have the standard utility gloves and the waterproof model. (And if you're so inclined, check out the kevlar-lined gloves.)
These fit great, feel great, protect my hands, and they've lasted for ages through everything I've asked of them. (My previous gloves disintegrated after about 3-4 months.)
Benchmade Griptilian Combo Edge Drop Point Knife
I've used this almost daily around the house, and it's in my pocket when I'm doing anything remotely handy. One-handed open and close, and the serrated section of the blade is insanely useful. I'm sure I could get by with a standard box cutter, but why?
Strava is a site where I can analyze the GPS and heart rate data from my bike rides. The single best feature: segments. Strava automatically shows your performance on noteworthy portions of your ride ("segments"), and lets you compare it against your own past efforts and others' efforts.
Practical Programming for Strength Training
This book by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore has become my training bible. Using what I learned from this book, I'm training less, and getting better and better results. And I've barely set food in a weight room. R&K create a framework for physical training applicable far outside the weight training world it's rooted in. That has let me track recovery cycles, establish clear goals, and design a training program to reach them. I'm still learning, but the difference in my riding has already been striking.
This GPS unit and heart rate monitor is out of production, I think. But mine is still chugging along and taking abuse, and is absolutely essential to my biking life. The GPS functionality makes tracking times and distances distances a no-brainer, and analyzing the data makes it possible for me to track recovery cycles and performance increases (or drops) really accurately, which has turned my improv training style into something more like a guided missile.
You may have noticed a common theme in my "indispensable" tools: the really good ones aren't tools for doing, they're tools for deciding what to do. As Prof. Pausch said: doing the right thing adequately always trumps doing the wrong thing beautifully.