Massive Kindle edition, Google's generous AI offer, and my clamp rack is done
Plus, tiny cars from refrigerators, a gantry none of us will probably get, Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Mars face, and Skype permanently hangs up
I’m David Gewirtz. Welcome to this week’s Advanced Geekery newsletter. It’s been an exciting week. Let’s dive in.
My articles
Here’s a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.
This clever Kindle trick lets you download 25 books at once - but it's risky: Downloading your Kindle books one by one could take days. But this hack helped me download thousands in far less time. Here's how it works, step-by-step. For the record, this capability stopped working last week.
How to add EPUB, MOBI, and PDF files to your Kindle - no converting required: Struggling to transfer ebooks to your Kindle? Here's the step-by-step process for moving EPUB, MOBI, and PDF files to both new and old Kindle devices via both USB and Amazon's cloud.
How to easily convert EPUB files to Kindle format in minutes: Think you're stuck using only Amazon's Kindle format? Think again. Here's how to convert ebook formats, giving you more control over your digital library.
Want free ebooks? These 10 sites offer thousands of options: You can't download Kindle books as files anymore, but don't panic. Here's how to find thousands of free and cheap ebooks from alternative platforms that work on your Kindle.
Google just made AI coding assistance free for everyone - with very generous limits: With 180,000 completions per month and deep IDE integration, Gemini Code Assist could change how developers write and review code. Here's what you need to know.
This week’s project: finishing the clamp rack
I know that in the overall scheme of things, a clamp rack isn’t that exciting. But because this is the Digital-First Workshop and I wanted to use the CNC for making three racks, things literally came to a screeching halt when the CNC broke.
As you can see, the rack is done. Turns out I needed to replace the collet on the CNC, fix the wasteboard, and replace the machine ASUS provided for the CNC with an older HP one that had native USB-A ports on the laptop. The USB-C hub may have been incompatible with the CNC.
Also: The Ultimate Space-Saving CNC Cart - Motorized Lift!
Once the CNC was fixed, I ran off three holders and assembled them. Turns out that they were just big enough to hold all my trigger clamps, which was really my main goal. Those clamps had been completely blocking some of my shelves, getting in the way of the gear I need to use every day.
Now, they’re nicely hanging in the corner, out of the way. Pretty, they’re not. But functional? Oh, yeah.
Tool of the week: Tools-I-am-not-getting edition
Just take a gander at this gantry with a winch. Does that not make you feel warm all over? Look, there’s no way I need this, no way I can fit this anywhere I could use it, no idea what I would use it for, but it’s cool.
I’m not getting it. You’re probably not getting it. But we can look at it, grunt at it a little bit, and go back to our gantryless lives knowing, at least for a moment in our minds’ eyes, that we were the kinds of folks who appreciated the mere fact that there are gantries available out there at the end of a mouse click.
Oh, and to compound the wonderful lunacy, this thing is 550 pounds, ships from China, and if you have Prime, it’s free shipping.
Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
Neil deGrasse Tyson talks about recognizable structures on Mars.
This is amazing. Dude builds drivable 11/16 scale cars out of refrigerators. And they’re awesome.
Speaking of refrigerators (comment if you get the reference), here’s a mash-up of the Indiana Jones and A-Team themes. I just love it when a plan comes together.
Interesting reads
And now, some good stuff from around the Internet, well worth reading.
Remember Skype? It’s about to go to that great brand graveyard in the sky.
ZDNET’s Chris Bayer has a really excellent and informative overview of what GFCI plugs are, how they work, and why they’re important.
Send in your projects
I’d like to regularly spotlight a reader project or two here. Your project doesn’t have to be a big Kickstarter launch. If you’ve built something cool, it has some pretty pictures, and you’re proud of it, I might be able to share it here.
If you have a photogenic reader project, send an email to me at david@zatz.com with the subject “READER PROJECT,” a few pictures, and a short one-paragraph description. If you have a social media link or a link to the project, include that, too.
Both my EPs are now streaming
Available on all your favorite streaming services.
More clicky
I’ve got a lot happening all over the web. Here are links to my various stuff:
House of the Head: home for my published music
ZATZ Labs: where I host my published software projects
Feel free to dig around, visit, and say hey!
Leave some comments
Substack supports comments, so feel free to leave some. I promise to read them. Just, please, let’s keep our personal politics out of any discussion.
That should do it for this week. This newsletter is really starting to pick up subscribers. Please help it out by sharing links on all your socials.
Have a great week!