Student Tutoring Application Form - University Of Reading: Fill & Download for Free

Opportunities you ask ?The answer is IMMENSE.! btw it’s gonna be very long answer so seat tight and start your reading engines.With most of the combat positions being overwhelmingly male, women for a long part of the history were missing from the armed forces around the globe. There have been multitude of reasons mentioned for the lack of a decent ratio – women being physically weaker, psychologically more emotional or tactically less strategic but there have been no scientific proofs for any of that.There are enough records of women leading large battles and showing the world that they have got it in them to be a ferocious leader and fight shoulder-to-shoulder with other men and women in times of need. The list is quite long – be it Queen Boudica who led the Britons against Rome, or Joan of Arc who led French forces in the battle against Britain and is now considered as a symbol of French nationalism, or our very own Jhansi ki Rani Lakshmi Bai who led Indian forces in the rebellion of 1857 against Britishers along with Jhalkari Bai and became a symbol of pride. The ballad “Khoob ladi mardaani, vo to Jhansi waali rani thi“, written on Lakshmi Bai, however, still throws a light on the patriarchal dominance in our society, where even to praise a woman for her bravery, we require a comparison to a man or say that they were brave like men.Fast forwarding to modern times, Indian women have been showing their prowess in combat roles since the time they were allowed to be inducted. There have been some marvelous, inspiring role-models who have proved that nothing is beyond their reach and sky is no limit.Indian NavyWomen were inducted only in the Armed Forces Medical Service till the year 1992. From July 1992, the Navy started inducting women as Short Service Commissioned Officers in select branches of the Navy. Presently the women are inducted into the following branches/cadres/specialisations of the Navy as Officers:-ATCObserverLawLogisticsEducationNaval ArchitecturePilot (Maritime Reconnaissance Stream only)Naval Armament InspectorateThe government has also given approval for Permanent Commission (PC) in Education Branch, Law and Naval Architecture on completion of SSC tenure depending on merit and vacancy.Indian ArmyInduction of women into the officer cadre, and the onerous task of training them was undertaken by the Officers Training Academy. So far, more than 1200 Lady Cadets have already been commissioned into the various Arms and Services of the Indian Army. You should be graduate to apply.Revised Terms and Conditions of Service of SSCOs (Men and Women both Technical and Non-Technical)Prominent features of the revised policy are :Extension of TenureTenure of Short Service Commission. Short Service Commission (SSC), in the Regular Army will be granted for 14 years i.e. for an initial period of 10 years, extendable by 4 years.Duration of Training 49 weeks.Substantive Promotion: SSCOs will be eligible for substantive promotionTo the rank of Capt - on completion of 2 years reckonable commissioned service.To the rank of Maj - on completion of 6 years reckonable commissioned service.To the rank of Lt Col - on completion of 13 years reckonable commissioned service.Entry Schemes for Women in Indian ArmyIndian Air ForceFlying BranchSSC (SHORT SERVICE COMMISSION ) ENTRY( FOR MEN AND WOMEN)You can apply through AFCAT for Short Service Commission (SSC) in the Flying Branch.Short Service Commission in Flying branch is for 14 years with no further extension.Eligibility criteria:Age - 20 to 24 years (at the time of commencement of course).Upper age limit for Candidates holding valid and current Commercial Pilot Licence issued by DGCA (India) is relaxed up to 26 years(at the time of commencement of course).Nationality - IndianMarital Status – SingleGender - Men and Women.Educational QualificationsGraduates (Three Year Course) in any discipline from a recognised University who have attained minimum 60% marks or equivalent and have Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level OR BE / B Tech (Four Year Course) from a recognised university with minimum 60% marks or equivalent.Final Year students are also eligible to apply, provided they do not have any backlog at the time of SSB Testing and produce Degree certificate issued by the University as per the date stipulated in the advertisement.Advertisement Schedule: Advertisements for AFCAT are released by the IAF in the months of June and December.Ground Duty Branches (For Graduates and Postgraduates)Managing human and material resources, the Ground Duty Branch is the mechanism that steers the Indian Air Force.General Eligibility Criteria for Ground Duty BranchesAge - 20 to 26 Years for Graduates and Post Graduates (at the time of commencement of course).Marital Status - Candidates below the age of 25 years must be Unmarried.Nationality - IndianGender - Both men and women.As a Graduate/ Post Graduate you can join as an officer in any of the following Ground Duty BranchesADMINISTRATION BRANCHPermanent Commission (for Men) / Short Service Commission (for Men & Women)Responsible for the efficient management of both human and material resources. Some of the officers of the Administration Branch are selected and trained to carry out the following duties also:Air Traffic Controller – Involves maintaining an orderly flow of traffic and airspace management.Fighter Controller – Involves close contact and supervision between the air and radar for effective airspace management.Educational QualificationsGraduation degree (minimum three year degree course) in any discipline from a recognised university with a minimum 60% marks or equivalent.ACCOUNTS BRANCHPermanent Commission (for Men) / Short Service Commission (for Men & Women)Responsible for efficient financial management of funds.You will also act as internal auditor to ensure a zero-defect audit from outside agencies.Educational QualificationsB. Com. degree (minimum three year degree course) from a recognised university with a minimum 60% marks or equivalent.LOGISTICS BRANCHPermanent Commission (for Men) / Short Service Commission (for Men & Women)Responsible for materials management of all Air Force resources. You would ensure efficient supervision of inventories, and involve in procurement processes of various ranges of equipment.Educational QualificationsGraduate degree (minimum three year degree course) from a recognised university in any discipline with a minimum 60% marks or equivalent.EDUCATION BRANCHPermanent Commission (for Men) / Short Service Commission (for Men & Women)Educational QualificationsMA/M Sc degree in English / Physics / Mathematics / Chemistry / Statistics / International Relations / International Studies / Defence Studies / Psychology / Computer Science / IT / Management / MBA / MCA / Mass Communication / Journalism / Public Relations with minimum 50 % marks in aggregate in all papers put together in Post-Graduation (minimum two years programme) and 60% marks in Graduation (both recognised by UGC / Competent Accreditation Authority).METEOROLOGY BRANCHPermanent Commission (for Men) / Short Service Commission (for Men & Women)As a Meteorology Branch Officer you would be involved handling the latest satellite imagery and state-of-the-art monitoring equipment, you would render specific advice to the operators on all aspects of weather.Educational QualificationsPost Graduation Degree in any science stream / Mathematics / Statistics / Geography / Computer Applications / Environmental Science / Applied Physics / Oceanography / Agricultural Meteorology / Ecology & Environment / Geo-physics / Environmental Biology. All candidates should have scored a minimum 50% marks in aggregate in all papers of Post Graduation put together and should have studied Maths & Physics in Graduation with minimum of 55% marks in both subjects.Aeronautical Engineering BranchAs an officer in the Ground Duty (Technical) Branch, you propel and manage your team to ensure that the Indian Air Force remains airworthy. You would be incharge of some of the most sophisticated equipment in the world by joining one of the sub branches based on your qualification.General Eligibility for Aeronautical Engineering Branch are (applicable for men and women):Age - 20 to 26 years (at the time of commencement of course)Nationality - IndianMarital Status - Candidates below the age of 25 years should be unmarriedAERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING COURSEAfter completion of Engineering degree or while in your final year/semester of EngineeringFor both Men and Women. Permanent Commission (for men) / Short Service Commission (For men and women)Marks - Must have scored a minimum of 60% marks in any one of the qualifications listed.Final year students are eligible to apply provided they do not have any present backlog at the time of SSB testing and they produce provisional/ original degree issued by the University as per the date stipulated in the advertisement.Advertisement Schedule - Advertisements for AFCAT are released by the IAF in the months of June and December.Educational Qualification for Aeronautical Engineering Branch – Depending upon your stream of Engineering and subjects studied, you could join one of the sub branches of the Ground Duty (Technical) branch. Check the educational qualification required for the sub branches.AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING ELECTRONICSAERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING MECHANICALBelow are some of these women in Indian Defence Forces whose stories will definitely inspire you:1. Lt. General Punita AroraLt. General Punita Arora was the first woman in the Indian armed forces to be promoted to a three-star rank, a highly coveted position for anyone in the armed forces. She donned the position of Lieutenant General of Indian Armed Forces as well as the Vice Admiral of Indian Navy. She joined the armed forces via Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), one of the most prestigious medical institutions in the country, and the entry into the armed forces’ medical field. She stood out not just as a topper of her batch at AFMC, but also received a Sena Medal for pioneering invitro-fertilisation and assisted reproductive techniques for infertile and childless couples in military hospitals. Apart from the Sena Medal, she has also been awarded Vishisht Seva Medal, Param Vishisht Seva Medal, totaling up to 15 medals and awards for her contribution across. Let alone women, there are hardly a handful of men who have such impressive credits to their name.2. Air Marshal Padmavathy BandopadhyayFollowing Lt. General Punita Arora, Air Marshal Padmavathy Bandopadhyay became the second woman in the Indian Armed Forces to be promoted to a three-star rank and the first woman Air Marshal of the Indian Force, the third highest rank in the Indian Air Force. For her invaluable contribution during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, she was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM), an award that is given to recognize distinguished service of an exceptional order to all ranks of the Indian armed forces. She is also the first woman to have conducted scientific research at the North Pole, where she joined an Indo-Russian physiology experiment to study the ease of acclimatization of people from tropical Indian climates to extreme cold conditions. To add to a long list of honors and awards, she also became the first Indian woman office to have completed the Defence Service Staff College course. She is an aviation medicine specialist and a member of the Indian Society of Aerospace Medicines, International Medical Society and New York Academy of Sciences. Her list of accomplishments is quite long, with a total of 23 research projects and 27 publications to her credit. To top it all, she is the first Lady Honorary Surgeon to the President of India. Now, if that’s not impressive and inspirational, We can’t imagine what will!3. Shanti TiggaShanti Tigga was in no way an ordinary woman! An epitome of perseverance and excellence, she outperformed all her male contemporaries to become India’s first woman jawan at the age of 35, a position that wasn’t deemed fit for women. She broke all sorts of barriers and stereotypes that existed around women in our country. Former Indian president, Ms. Pratibha Patil honored her for her extraordinary achievements. She had achieved a feat that was considered impossible for women. Although she met an unfortunate death, her contribution to the armed forces inspired the women all across the nation and gave them the confidence of taking any challenge head-on.4. Flying Officer Gunjan SaxenaThis is the name that people who think women aren’t made for combat zones should look up for. During the Indo-Pakistan Kargil war of 1999, Gunjan Saxena flew her Cheetah helicopter right through the extremely hostile terrains of Kargil to retrieve injured soldiers, proving her mettle in Operation Vijay. She became the first ever woman pilot of Indian Air Force to fly in a combat zone. She also proved that age is no barrier when you are passionate about your dreams, being just 24 years old with 3 years experience in the Indian Air Force. She was, in fact, from the first ever women trainee pilots batch of Indian Air Force. She truly redefined empowerment, breaking into the male bastion and setting an example for millions of Indians.5. Squadron Leader Veena SaharanFlying the Russian-built IL-76 or Gajraj, as it is called in India, is no easy feat for anyone. After all, it’s the heaviest and mightiest aircraft of Indian Air Force. But for Squadron Leader Veena Saharan, it wasn’t an impossible task. After having flown a Dornier and an AN-32 aircraft in Siachen, she became the first and only woman pilot in Indian Air Force to have flown the mighty IL-76. She truly does justice to the badge that she sports on her arms now that reads “mighty jets” and to her squadron with its motto of “Ishtam Yatnen Sadyet” which translates to “Achieve Goals through Perseverance”.6. Flight Lt. Nivedita ChoudharyAsk someone who has climbed the Everest about the conditions up there, and they would swear by the life-threating moments that anyone who attempts the climb faces. With some of the harshest conditions, Mt. Everest is conquered by a mighty few. And amongst the names of those outstanding few is the name of Flight Lieutenant Nivedita Choudhary. Her name will be etched in history as the first woman from the Indian Air Force to summit the Mt. Everest, a rare achievement in itself. She was the youngest in the team of 17. Alongside that, she is the first and only Indian Air Force officer to have scaled India’s highest climbing peak – Mt. Kamet. Her story is awe-inspiring and still gives chills when you read about her memoire of Everest expedition.7. Bhawana KanthNow who doesn’t know about this woman from the famous trio of 2016! The Trio of Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh has become such a huge inspiration for every girl and woman throughout the nation. Being commissioned as one of the India’s first women fighter pilots, Bhawana has broken the ultimate glass ceiling in Indian Air Force that women have been facing since ages. So far, women have been restricted only to helicopter and transport aircraft units in Indian Air Force. Her induction with the other two amazing ladies into the fighter aircraft units has certainly become a significant milestone for Indian Armed Forces. Bhawana has dreamt of becoming a pilot in the Indian Air Force since here childhood and with her academic brilliance and unfathomable passion, it was no distant dream.8. Avani ChaturvediThe second name from the famous trio mentioned above is that of Avani Chaturvedi. She, along with the other two, has already been commissioned into the Indian Air Force as Officer, and is now undergoing a rigorous advanced training to prepare for her maiden flight for one of the fighter aircrafts in the Indian Air Force arsenal. With Kalpana Chawla, the Indian astronaut who made the entire nation proud, as her role model and a dream of flying like a free bird, Avani has grown up playing with choppers and air planes and she always dreamt of flying one herself. She is now on her way of becoming one of India’s first fighter pilots and being part of future combat missions.9. Mohana SinghLast, but not the least, is Mohana Singh who is paving her way onto becoming one of India’s first fighter pilots. She got commissioned as officer in Indian Air Force this year, along with Bhawana Kanth and Avani Chaturvedi and is now undergoing training for fighter aircrafts. Truly living by Indian Air Force’s motto, “Nabha Sparsham Deeptam“, which translates to “Touch the sky with glory”, she is indeed inspiring millions of Indians with her zeal to reach the sky and ushering in a new era of women independence, breaking the glass ceiling that has existed from the beginning of time.Interview Process after ApplicationBeing a Female Candidate makes no differences, You are a Candidate in the eye of Selection Board and Indian Armed Forces, and you will be treated as such, All the process is same as that of Male Candidates and So is the Preparation for the SSB.One can surely understand your concern, as the society has its own way to keep reminding girls about their gender. But, even the thought of joining armed forces, you have broken down those social stereotypes, and you need to keep breaking it. Be the person you want to be, and let you accomplishments define you and not gender.You need to first get yourself prepared till the end, so that you clear every round in One go.I believe even before setting in for above tasks and planning for them, invest good amount of time in yourself. Without Knowing yourself, one can never get through SSB, and that’s how each task is designed to get qualities out of your personality.Self Introspection of your qualities is very crucial. Knowing ones’ Strength and Weakness are the building blocks to success.Coming To Various Stages of Interviews, you can scroll down to the part which says SSB SELECTION PROCESS, if you are interested knowing more about how to Self Introspect, you can read further, otherwise i would suggest, you can stop your reading here.Now, as you have chosen to read further, well first of all congrats because You have PATIENCE my friend. Even before keeping any points in my mind for SSB, my friend you need look into you,i.e. Self Introspection is crucial aspect of SSB, and indeed Life. Unless and Until you don’t know about you Strengths and much more important your weaknesses, it will make things a lot tricky.SSB as a whole is rather very easy testing process, and why not it was designed to be like that, so that your real self can come out, its us who make tough for us by trying the shortcuts, and this step is taken when someone is to much crazy about achieving something, well both this things don’t go well with SSB.I will what i did, for a start for self introspection, you can have your own way for it, I took a A4 sheet and started with my Strengths, an you know what i got a hell lot of strengths on the paper, but then came climax, When i started jotting down my weaknesses, i could only make 4–5 points max,if you see this in normal scenario its good that i have less weaknesses and even anyone would see it that way,and i am no different, but i took a random thought process, i thought why is it that i have so less weaknesses but then too i am not able to hit the target, answer was obvious, i was not looking in for weaknesses deeply, what my mind did while writing down weaknesses was it started categorizing them common, small or negligible weaknesses, whereas same didn’t happened in case of Strengths, there i had it, I broke down classification, and started finding weaknesses of mine, and believe and made me realize that there were many incidents which overlooked instead of learning from those mistakes.Sorry, for long explanation , but i guess you must have got my point, but don’t just stop at Strengths and Weaknesses, think of what you daily, your hobbies, you sporting activities, this will help you to confidently answer question about yourself, and believe me or not, when you don’t know yourself completely its this Questions On you which take you down.So, when you are out there in SSB, you need to make sure of this things in broader aspects,BE YOURSELF - let others response may sound how much interesting and thrilling, its your response and reaction that matters at that moment, from my experience i thing which i observed, SSB majorly focuses on how you do itordeal with a certain situation. Even if you give an interesting and impressive answers, which you have mugged up, it wont do any good, and in fact do a lot bad, Instead, you can give your answers, and think before answering so that when stressed upon, you can confidently support your point.PRESENCE OF MIND - Its very crucial, a lot go down just because they neglect this aspect. Presence Of Mind not brings in “A” Game of yours, it broadens your horizon of thinking, instead of getting excited and running just for the sake of running without any direction. This Aspect brings in Patience in you, and its no secret staying calm in stressful situation is key to go through it.BE POSITIVE & OPTIMISTIC - Putting you under stress is what SSB does to take your real out, so many times things don’t go the best way you would have hoped for, now at this point you need to have a optimistic view, analyse your mistake and move on, instead of crying and getting worried over it, as doing this just starts a chain reaction which will destroy all your tests.All the above mentioned three points together power up your CONFIDENCE, and it goes in your favor in a big way.SSB SELECTION PROCESSThe aim of five day testing is to assess personality of candidates by three pronged approach – Manasa, Vacha & Karmna, Translating into your thoughts, speech and deed/actions. These three approaches are termed as techniques and they are assessed by Psychologist, Interviewing Officer and Group testing Officer independently. The summation of three approaches in conference gives inputs for identifying a potential and a trainable Armed Forces leader.TESTING SCHEDULE AT SSBThe selection process is spread over five days testing schedule and is conducted in two stages. Stages I is conducted on the first day and the candidates having some chance of getting selected are retained for Stage II based on the performance of candidates in written test and Picture Perception and Discussion Test (PP & DT) conducted on Day 1. The brief program for five days is given below and the same is elaborated in subsequent sections.STAGE -1DAY 1 - Written Test, PP & DTSTAGE – IIDAY 2- Psych Test ; InterviewDAY 3- GTO 1 Day; InterviewDAY 4- GTO 2 Day; InterviewDAY 5- ConferenceREPORTING DAYRECEPTIONYour day of reporting starts with the reception as per the details given in call letter/ SMS sent to you, a reception is organised for all candidates at the railway station. You have to report to the Movement Control Office (MCO) at the time and date given in call letter/SMS. Here a representative of the SSB manning the reception will receive you and direct you to a bus that will take you to SSB.Candidates arriving late or by road/air should proceed directly on their own and report to the SSB. On your arrival at the SSB, you will be given sufficient time to settle down.OPENING ADDRESSThe first organised event at the SSB is the opening address. The duty officer gives and introductory talk, explains matters of administration arrangements, the DOs and Don'ts at the SSB and the routine at SSB in the brief for the next five days. Listen carefully to what he says.DOCUMENTATIONAfter the opening address Documentation check is the next event. You are required to produce your original certificates for verification and fill up certain forms like the TA form on the reporting day itself. You will also be allotted chest numbers for your Stage I testing.DAY 1 – STAGE 1OIR TESTMorning of the Day 1 begins with the Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) Test. The test would start early, so ensure that you have a good night sleep and wake up in time to be ready for the tests. The tests themselves include verbal and non-verbal tests which require simple and analytical reasoning.PPDTThe second test of Day 1 is Picture Perception and Discussion Test (PP&DT). During this test a picture is flashed on screen for 30 seconds and candidates have to broadly note down certain basic parameters i.e. No of characters, their age, sex, mood and thereafter write a story relating to the situation in the picture. A story that could cover, what according to the candidate’s perception led to the situation in the picture, its present and future development? The time allotted for the story to be written down is 4 minutes.GROUP DISCUSSIONIn this test the picture and your stories would be discussed in a group. For this phase the batch is divided in small groups. The strength of a group is around fifteen candidates. To start the Group Discussion, each candidate would be required to narrate his perception and individual written story. Subsequently, candidates will discuss among themselves and achieve a common consensus about the characters and the theme of the story.RESULT OF STAGE 1Once all candidates have undergone this stage the results of Stage I are declared. Successful candidates are retained for Stage II testing and the balance are asked to leave after a short brief on general shortcomings. The candidates are provided with lunch and transport to go to the railway station. Candidates will also be paid the entitled Travelling Allowance for AC 3 tier class. This travelling allowance is paid to candidates appearing for the first time in SSB on production of the original tickets.STAGE 2The candidates retained for further testing in Stage 2 will be divided into groups of eight to ten candidates. Each candidate will be allotted a new chest number. It is important to remember that you are not competing with other candidates, all of you will be assessed against the common standard of suitability and it is possible that everyone in the group is selected or rejected. You will require to fill up Personal Information Questionnaire (PIQ) with correct and exact details about your life. In case of a large batch some of you may find yourself facing Interviewing Officer in the evening of same day.DAY - 2PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTThe second day sees the testing in the earnest and begins with the onset of Psychological Assessment. The candidates are taken through a series of situations projected as words, pictures and narrated situations. The reaction timings are stringent to bring in natural and subconscious behavioral pattern of individual. As the Psych tests takes time and one has to be fresh and natural, the tests are started early in the morning. Before the tests are administered you will be briefed by the Psychologist about the various tests you have to undergo, also before you undergo actual tests you will be familiarises with the example tests of each type. Psych test are administered on candidates to access the psychological profile acceptable for candidates of particular age group.THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TESTThe first test among the battery of Psych tests is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). In this test a total of 12 pictures including a blank picture will be shown for 30 seconds each, one after the other. Candidates are asked to write story around the picture shown, covering issues like what led to the situation, what is going on and what would be the outcome of the situation perceived in the picture. The picture is selected in a manner to allow your creative mind to evolve a number of stories.No story is correct or wrong, what matters is it must be a story triggered in your mind by the picture. Remember that the picture is shown only for 30 seconds and then you are asked to write about the picture within four minutes. In the blank picture, you have to imagine a picture of your own choice and write a story around that. Since the timings are stringent you are advised to write the story that occurs to you first on seeing the picture, that way your response will be natural and you will be able to write the entire story within the limited time available to you.WORD ASSOCIATION TESTThe next psych test is the Word Association Test (WAT). In this test a total of 60 words are shown to the candidates. Each word is flashed on the screen for 15 seconds. The candidate is required to write down the first thought or idea that comes to his mind on seeing the word in the space provided in the 15 seconds before the next word is flashed.SITUATION REACTION TESTThe third psych test is the Situation Reaction Test (SRT). This test consists of 60 routine life situations regarding day to day activities. The situations are printed in the booklet and candidate is asked to write his reaction by completing the sentences as to how he would feel, think and act in these situations. A total of 30 minutes are given to candidates to write down reactions to all the sixty situations in the booklet.SELF DESCRIPTION TESTThe last in the battery of Psych tests is the Self Description Test (SD). Each candidate is given 15 minute and is asked to write 5 separate paragraphs on the opinion of his parents or guardian, friends, teachers or superiors, self opinion and qualities the candidate would like to develop/ inculcate in himself.Following is the way how you will mostly probably sited for Psych Test.DOS & DON‘TS PSYCH TESTDOsListen and adhere to the instructions properly.Clarify all your doubts before the commencement of each test.Be as imaginative and spontaneous as possible.Give your first reaction to picture/word shown to you, don’t think twice as there is no right or wrong answer to the situation, everyone is like to respond in his own unique way.Be realistic and logical in your responses and keep track of time.Don'tsDo not use coached/ tutored ideas while responding to psychological test battery.Do not create mental sets about pictures during run up to the SSB as it may restrict your spontaneity and imagination.INTERVIEWOn completion of Psych tests and subsequent refreshment break, some of the candidates have to appear before the Interviewing Officer for Personal Interview. The interviews will continue in the afternoon and evenings of Day 2, 3 and 4. You will be interviewed only once and will be informed well in advance about the time and place.The atmosphere throughout the interview is relaxed and informal. The questions are generally based on your every day experiences and relating to your work, education, family and spare time activities, hobbies and interests. Each candidate is interviewed for a duration ranging from 45 minutes to an hour. The Interviewing Officer will discuss by way of questions and answers the opportunities you had in your life and utilisation you made of them. The Interviewing Officer is fairly senior and experienced in the armed Forces while he interacts with you, he assesses whether you have the essential qualities to be trained to become an officer in the armed Forces. What you have done till date with regard to your academics, your achievements and extra curricular activities, your interest in life, interaction with your parents, friends and society at large. Candidates’ general awareness, physical and mental fortitude, form important facets to assist him in his assessment. No one is perfect and the Interviewing Officer understands and gives more than adequate benefits for the shortcomings or mistakes which you may have committed thus do not try and hide anything. The tendency of lying and making false pretences is easily found and is viewed negatively.DOS & DON'TS – INTERVIEWLook smart, cheerful and enthusiastic.Be audible but not too loud and appear keen to speak and respond to questions.Sit straight and comfortably, do not fidget, do not keep moving your hands and legs as it may distract the interviewer from your responses.If you have not understood anything politely ask for clarification or to repeat the question.You are expected to be aware so as to touch upon current events if asked.DAY 3 - GROUP TESTINGThe third day is full of exciting physical activity in the Group Testing Grounds. The candidates will be briefed by the Group Testing Officer in the morning about all out door activities. The primary concern here is to see how you will face the obstacles and the tasks allotted to you and your attitude towards other members of the group both while working with them and while directing them. Group tests do not require specialised individual skills on your part, logical thinking, coordinated team efforts, work ability to receive and give suggestion is what is looked at by assessors. You will be provided with Sketch Board, Ladders, Ropes, Planks and other such things as your tools to help you in the assigned task. You are given few minutes to form plan and thereafter execute the task within the given timeframe. The battery of GTO tests consists of nine tests/ tasks.GROUP DISCUSSIONThe first task of GTO battery of test begins with Group Discussions on a debatable topic, which is usually given on a current event/social issues. In the first group discussion the group is allowed to select one of the two topics offered.In the second group discussion the topic is of the GTO’s choice. Each discussion will last for approximately 20 to 30 minutes. Each candidate is expected to participate in the discussions. Remember that the discussions involve the exchange of ideas and thoughts. It is not a traffic of words.GROUP PLANNING EXERCISEThe Group planning Exercise is the second test of the GTO test series. In this test a story on a model with a few problems is narrated. What you are required to do is to identify the problems and evolve the practical solution within the given time. You are expected to write down your own individual solution on the paper provided to you. A candidate while giving solution should think logically, write and draw neatly and also examine alternate solutions of the problem. Thereafter your group collective solution will be discussed by the group and you are expected to participate in evolving the group plan acceptable to everyone. One of you may then be asked to explain the acceptable group plan.PROGRESSIVE GROUP TASKProgressive Group Task is the next GTO test. Four obstacles are required to be collectively negotiated by your group along with a heavy load. Certain helping materials in the form of Rope, Planks etc are provided for the task to be completed within 40 minutes. Ground rules will be explained to the candidates in detail before the commencement of the tests. Make sure you and your group adheres to the rules strictly. Also remember that all of you and the load need to negotiate the obstacle together to move on during this test.GROUP OBSTACLE RACEUnlike other tasks here the entire group competes with other groups of your batch over a set of six obstacles. Each group has to carry a roll of tent/ stuffed gunny bags in the shape of snake from the start point to finish point. Therefore the task is commonly referred as Snake Race. The rules of the race will be explained to you, the winner is the group that cover all the obstacles against the challenge posed by opponents. Not to forget to include time, obstacles and load within the framework of rules of the race. After the race there is a short 20 minutes break for rest and refreshments.HALF GROUP TASK (HGT)After the break you will participate in the Half Group Task. This task is similar to the PGT except that it is conducted over one obstacle with smaller group.LECTURETTEOn completion of HGT the GTO will conduct the task called lecturette. Each member of your group will deliver a three minutes informal talk on a topic selected by candidate from the set of topics offered separately to each candidate.Approximately three minutes are given to the candidate to prepare the talk and thereafter speak for three minutes in front of group on the subject chosen by the candidate.DAY 4 - GROUP TESTINGThe balance of the Group Tests are conducted on fourth day. The test begins early in the morning with Individual Obstacle (IO) course.INDIVIDUAL OBSTACLESIn the individual Obstacle there are ten obstacles designed to test candidates individual ability in negotiating them, you are given three min to negotiate as many obstacle as possible on your own. If the course is completed within the time limit, you may repeat the obstacle of your choice. You will be given short break after all members of the group have completed their individual obstacle course.COMMAND TASKThe next task in line is the Command Task, each member of your group will be put in command of the group in turn, the objective being completion of the specified task as commander of a group. You will be first briefed by the GTO regarding the task and thereafter you will explain the task to your group as commander and give instructions to them and also monitor the completion of the task personally.FINAL GROUP TASKAs the name suggest the last GTO test is the final group task, here once again the entire group gets together to complete an assigned task within the stipulated time frame.DOS & DON'TS for GTO TESTDOsPerceive the problems posed correctly and assimilate all details.Have adequate awareness about general/ current affairs.Be quick enough to think and write solutions.Solutions should be logical and realistic.Be spontaneous and forthright in expressing yourself, participate actively.In outdoor task, be energetic, participate and contribute to the group activities.Understand the requirement of the task, plan and try to evolve/suggest workable ideas.Keep the group aim in mind.Be confident and develop perseverance in pursuing the aim/goal.Be effective in communicationDon’tDon’t limit yourself to one type of media-explore various types of media to acquire knowledge/awareness about topics of general interest.Don’t try to put pre-conceived knowledge / ideas, utilize them to generate own ideas.Don’t sit/stand back and wait for opportunity to come your way – grab the opportunity.Don’t shut out others’ ideas.DAY 5 – CONFERENCE DAYCLOSING ADDRESSThe last or the 5th day is spent in the conference. In the continuation of the process of selection, the day begins with the closing address. Closing Address is generally given by Dy President of the board before the Board Conference. During the address officer will highlight the merits of selection system, explain the qualities that we in the Armed Forces are looking for in your personality and provide clarification to any doubts or question that may arise in your mind. This is also interactive forum for you to put forward any problem complaint or any suggestion that you may have experienced during your stay at SSB.BOARD CONFERENCEThe Board Conference is the final event of the five day testing process, during the board conference which is chaired by president, Dy president and all the assessors that is the GTOs, Psychologists and Interviewing Officers, who have assessed you will be in attendance. Each candidate is discussed in detail by the three assessors, who have examined his demonstrated performance through the specific technique independently to arrive at consensus on acceptability of each candidate. Detailed process of validation and counter validation is undertaken to arrive at final decision about the candidate. Candidates will be asked to appear individually before the board. You will be asked some question during the conference. Your answers during the conference are also important. The board makes final recommendation about the suitability of the candidate as well as final marks to be awarded to each candidate.DECLARATION OF RESULTAfter all the candidates have appeared before the board and the result has been compiled, the Technical Officer of the board will announce the result. The candidates who fail to make the grade are seen off at the railway station. All those who are recommended by the board will stay on for the medical examination which may take one week.MEDICAL EXAMINATIONRecommended candidates appear before the medical board for carrying out their medical board after the SSB results. It takes 4 to 5 working days for the concerned Military Hospital to complete the medical board and after that the candidates are dispersed. NDA candidates are examined both for Army and Navy unless otherwise instructed and endorsement of fitness status will be made accordingly. President of the medical board will guide the candidates for Appeal/Review Medical Board procedures. Candidates may seek the advice of President Special Medical Board for review/appeal in case they have been declared unfit.Few Tips from my personnel experienceBE YOURSELF and I mean it, not just for the sake of saying. Trust you actions and Thoughts.Little Self Introspection such as your strengths & weaknesses will give you more clarity about your personality.If you don’t do physical exercise much, start jogging, it will help you to keep up your breath during GTO.Smiling brings positive thoughts. Make a habit to converse with others with smile on your face, but of-course don’t do it for serious moments otherwise i am not responsible for Slap…!!!!!!Don’t over do thingsStick to truth & facts, and they will be happy, go otherwise, and you will be sunken boat.Source :-Women In The NavyCareer Air ForceJoin Indian Army.All The Best.Thank You.!

Fair warning, this is going to be a big (10 pages) info dump. Just skim the pictures and read the description paragraph if it sounds interesting. Links are included for those who want to know more.The toolboxThe best multimeter ever – MooshimeterMost multimeters are the size of wallet or a book, and can only display information in a string of digits. You must be within a foot or two of what you want to measure, have three hands, and the meter can’t save the information it displays any better than binoculars can.The Mooshimeter changes all that. It’s a bit smaller than a normal meter, runs for six months on two AA batteries and connects wirelessly to your cell phone. This means you can tuck it under the hood of your car and monitor that finicky electrical hiccup while driving down the highway at eighty miles per hour. It also records up to six months of data, so you could record voltage and current (yes, both at once) on a given circuit breaker to compare spring vs summer AC usage at home. The auto ranging display also makes diagnostics much simpler by showing complicated information in a simple graphical format. Take a look at the link above to see all the details.-Armored heat seeing cellphone – Cat S60-This phone is does everything you expect a good Android phone to do, and so much more. If the Nexus series phones were a team of trendy sedans, the S60 would be a mad max armored truck. It can survive a six foot drop onto concrete and a one hour swim in the 16ft deep end of the pool.This thing can literally see in the dark; not night vision or by amplified star light, no, it see’s the heat emitted by everything around it. Animals in the dark, overheated machinery in a factory, hot water pipes hidden behind a wall, they literally glow in the S60s thermal camera. If you work with your hands it doesn’t take long to find uses for this technology. Handyman? See drafts and missing insulation through walls, trace water pipes, check for overheated circuits in a breaker box and find out where that infernal drip of cold water is coming from. Police officer? See which cars have been driven recently by their glow and track suspects in total darkness by body heat and the hand prints they leave whenever they touch something. Parent? Find your daughters pet when they get lost in the woods or hide in the crawlspace. Take your sons temperature when he’s sick or help him get the oven temperature right to bake cookies.Steel wire banding tool strong enough to clamp a hydraulic hose on – Clamp tightClamp tight is like having hundreds of high quality stainless steel hose clamps, zip ties, and fasteners of every time, yet still it still fits in your toolbox. This thing was developed for use on ocean sailing boats as there tend to be very few hardware stores floating out at sea, and boats break down like everything else. To use it, you wrap the wire around the piece to be secured, then around the tool. Turning the bolt pulls the slack out of the wire then rotating the tool locks the wire down like a giant copy of the wire tie that holds a bread bag closed.It does have one obvious weaknesses – you have to have enough clearance to rotate the tool, so some automotive repairs are out of the question because there just isn’t enough room. Overall though, it would be tough to find a more compact and lighter way to repair so many different breakdowns.Nice self-contained butane soldering iron the size of a highlighter – WellerI can’t vouch for this one personally, but a small reliable iron that heats up in seconds and can be used on no notice anywhere it’s needed is a huge help. How often have you needed an iron, but not had a ready plug and stand for it where you were working under the dashboard of the car?1000 lumen rechargeable flashlight by NitecoreGrowing up, ‘flashlight’ was a word that meant ‘that big heavy plastic thing we keep in the kitchen drawer that glows a dim yellow and always has dead batteries when we need it’. No more. Nitecore makes a variety of good lights, but this is the one I keep clipped to the lip of my pocket. Because I work with my hands, I like to be able to see what I’m working on, and very few things break down in the middle of a well lit work bench in the garage. When something needs attention, it always seems to be at night, up underneath a dashboard, deep in a computer cabinet, or some similar difficult to see location. Since I got this light I’ve never had trouble seeing what I’m doing. It has the usual high/medium/low settings with some flashing options for emergency use, and when I need everything it can do, 1000 lumens is as bright as two car headlights. The battery usually goes a month or two between charges, and any 18650 charger can recharge it in a few hours.$300 CNC Laser cutter/etcher toolThese $300 laser cutters have become avalible recently on Ebay, and they offer remarkable utility at a very reasonable price. Various reviews are available; the user interface takes some getting used to, and the mirrors often need alignment after being shipped in from overseas, but after that the cutter will cut and etch words, pictures and just about anything else onto an area the size of printer paper (about 8 by 12 inches). The cutter can be used to make puzzles, pet tags, precision cut wood and plastic, etch metal and glass, etc. A very helpful maker tool.Paper thin microscope lens that sticks to your cell phone - BlipsThe link says it all – this thin slip of plastic the size of a post-it note will turn your cell phone camera into a microscope. Useful for outdoor adventurers, detectives, teachers and anyone else interested in the world around them.$6.50 tiny pocket telescope you can carry everywhere - DXThis inexpensive tool weighs next to nothing and is tiny enough to fit in anywhere. Good for tracing wiring in a high ceiling, aircraft or bird watching, hiking, playing spy with the kids, etc.Pipe style building materials that use electrical conduit at $3.50 per 10ft section – Maker PipeThere are many build systems that can be used to build anything, but most of them like 80/20 cost a fortune (think $15 per ft!). Maker pipe uses simple, inexpensive clamps plus cheap 3/4inch electrical conduit to build nearly anything you could imagine. If you need to build anything from carts to furniture to equipment, give this one a look.Must have Chemical identification – WISER web site and WISER appdownloadWISER is a chemical identification book long carried by firefighters who need to quickly find out: “what’s in that burning tanker truck, and what will it do to us?” The book used to cost less than $20, but today the entire program is available for free download as the WISER app. If you ever find yourself facing a mystery chemical spill, do you want to be one of the clueless people wondering what to do, or do you want to be the person who looks up the chemical in the first thirty seconds and tells everyone what it is and what you have to do next? The app is free and will happily wait on your cell phone until you need it; don’t be clueless, be WISER.Industrial and special purpose toolsLaser paint scraper and cleaning tool – P Laser and in action videoAn interesting scraping process similar to sand blasting, CO2 blasting and bead blasting. I can’t vouch for this product, but I’ve never seen anything else like it either (as of 2016).On site, eco-friendly cleaning and sanitizing liquids from saltwater –Pathosans - videoIf you use cleaning chemicals in any significant quantity, you need to watch this video and check out this system. Just as your water softener uses salt to remove minerals from your drinking water, this system uses bulk salt and tap water to produce huge quantities of cleaning chemicals and sanitizing liquid on site.The process is simple but clever: electrical current is used to split the salt apart in salt water. Salt (sodium chloride) in water is split and filtered to become sodium water (Patho clean) and chloride water (Patho sans). Patho clean is good for scrubbing carpets, washing surfaces, etc while Patho sans kills germs wherever it goes. Agricultural companies use Pathosans units to sterilize live animal contact surfaces and hotel chains use it to produce cheap and effective cleaning products. The cost of the cleaner and sanitizer is around five cents per gallon. The machine itself commands a high price, but if your business buys its cleaner/sterilizer in 55 gallon drums, this system stands a good chance of saving you a lot of money.Industrial forklift crash prevention – sees around blind corners and runs on batteries – Collision SentryThis handy gadget runs on D batteries and uses magnets to stick to metal racking at blind 90 degree corners. When someone approaches from one side nothing happens, but when someone approaches from both sides simultaneously the device lights up a flashing warning to prevent a collision.Interesting ring knife for people who open a lot of packages – Handy Safety KnifeThis product is intended for people who use hand knives to open a lot of packages. It is inexpensive, disposable, and always to hand. There are plenty of places these would be unsuitable (any workplace with powered conveyors or equipment comes to mind), but the idea is so unique it deserves to be included for the one person who has the problem this tool answers.Two way radios for $15 instead of $300 –It turns out that two way radios have gotten a lot cheaper over the years, but just as a teenager can charge grandma money to fix her computer, so the contractors that most companies get their radios from are not in a hurry to tell everyone how easy the job has become. BaoFeng radios cost between $15 and $30, and do everything you expect from a walkie-talkie, but unlike what you’re probably using now, BaoFeng uses better equipment and lithium ion batteries standard. This translates into much longer run times and better performance. The simple $15 radio and more complicated $30 radio can be found here, along with the cable used to program them. This link here discusses how to do it.Rust prevention in existing concrete structures courtesy of NASANASA has a lot of concrete structures near the coast, and saltwater corrosion is a problem for them. So they figured out a way to rust proof metal after it had been encased in concrete for years. If you have any concrete structure that’s showing its age, take a look at this link.TravelA handy power strip for world travel – Power donutA power strip that is tiny, travels easily, and adapts to different electrical systems around the world.Medical toolsA skin magnifier to diagnose skin cancer - HUDA handy tool that uses your cell phone camera to take pictures of worrying moles. The results can be texted to a dermatologist for evaluation and a diagnosis remotely.Emergency blood stopping powder, a must have for first aid kits - Celoxand how to useThis product is used to keep someone alive long enough for the ambulance to arrive in the event of severe bleeding. It forms a jell to stop blood flow at the injury and comes as powder packages, bandages, or a syringe full of the powder for gunshot wounds. Pioneered in the US military, this is one of several good haemostatic products that are must haves for any serious first aid kit. If you own a gun or a knife, does it really make sense to be totally unprepared for the results of gun and knife wounds?Emergency blood stopping pack – a second choice after Celox - QuikClotand how to useQuickClot stops severe bleeding by absorbing the water out of blood, thus causing the clotting agents to become super concentrated at the injury site and stop the bleeding faster. As with Celox above, this will help keep someone alive long enough for the paramedics to arrive and save them.Liquid band aid – a cheap, generic must have for first aid kits – example linkThis is a generic product for minor to moderate injuries that sterilizes a cut and protects the injury site like a band aid. Good for use on tight locations that flex where band aids wouldn’t work. Because of its utility and tiny size it’s a good addition to any first aid kit.Betadine – inexpensive sanitizing solution for cuts used by EMT’s - LinkIn the old days parents used to use iodine or alcohol to clean and sterilize small cuts and scrapes (hydrogen peroxide will bubble dirt out of a wound, but it does not sterilize). Today we all have access to the same inexpensive product nurses and surgeons use; Betadine. It cleans and sterilizes wounds with much less burning than the old options, and most of us are familiar with it already as the brown skin staining wipe that doctors use before drawing blood.Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or TMS – a new treatment for depression, OCD, and Autism – Related techTMS is a revolutionary new tool that uses very strong magnetic fields to induce current flows near the surface of the brain. It’s essentially a big capacitor bank and a hand held coil employed for ten to twenty minute sessions to treat Depression and other mental conditions. Its painless, has virtually no side effects and is FDA cleared for a few conditions, but it’s in its infancy as a treatment. Promising studies have shown its potential to improve OCD, Autism and several other conditions.Ultrasound for your cell phone – production pending - ClariusFor those trained to use it, Clarius is a new handheld ultrasound probe that allows diagnostic procedures to be done anywhere you have a cell phone. Production is slated to being in 2017.Athletic personal cooling gadget used by NFL and the military – pending shipping - RTXThe RTX is intended for use by athletes or those working in very hot conditions; it’s essentially a plastic box filled with ice water you stick your hand into. What makes it effective is the small vacuum pump that puts a gentle suction on the hand, thus preventing the body from shutting off the supply of warm blood from the body’s core. This technology was pioneered by DARA and is now widely used on the NFL sidelines, but the huge price tag has thus far kept it out of the reach. The much cheaper RTX system expects to ship in 2017.Third world travel, missionary and prepper technologyClean burning hyper efficient cook stove – see videoThe Aprovecho Research center designs and sells extremely efficient cook stoves for camping and long term use in the third world. These stoves have a core made from lightweight clay that reflects heat back into the fire box, allowing a few sticks and twigs to burn hot and clean with no smoke. The top of the stove is built to channel the hot gasses onto the cooking pot for maximum heat transfer with minimal fuel. To first world campers this translates into a neat (if heavy) stove that can burn almost any handy material to boil water and cook. For church groups and other organizations working in the third world these stoves are a way to drastically reduce expenditures of time and money on fuel for cooking – see video. For large orders, the stoves can be shipped in by cargo canister at prices as low as $5 a stove for the bare clay core that actually makes the unit work. Anyone that has to think about where their cooking fuel comes from could benefit from this technology.A light that runs on gravity like a grandfather clock – Gravity lightGravity light is a small generator that uses a sack full or rocks to produce electricity for simple indoor lighting. Just like a grandfather clock, as the weights descend their energy turns the mechanism, in this case turning a generator to drive the lights. While campers can use this product, it is intended for the third world where indoor lighting after dark means kids can learn to read and go to school. Anyone living without electricity could benefit from this product.One way to internet everywhere – Outernet – See videoOuternet is the best of the internet, broadcast one way only to earth from a satellite. The ‘Lighthouse’ model mounts to a standard direct TV dish and downloads many MB of data per day, while the ‘Lantern’ is a portable solar powered device that can travel anywhere and downloads at a slower rate. Both access the same information such as educational materials for students, warnings about local emergencies, weather forecasts, censorship free news, etc. Outernet devices slowly download this information and then allow users to log in and browse what is stored locally. The downside is that the data flow is one way only, but the upside is the system works as an end run around missing power and data infrastructure as well as censorship rules.Clean drinking water from any source - LifestrawAccess to safe drinking water is essential to health, and many of the worst diseases spread via contaminated water. The lifestraw family of products is invaluable to hikers and those working in the third world because it allows anyone to turn dirty water into clean safe water. The absence of safe water doesn’t just kill and sicken people, it drags down their finances, ensuring that those in crushing poverty stay there caring for the sick rather than using that time and money to send children to school.Freshwater from saltwater – the water cone.A simple plastic cone that makes 1.5Lts of freshwater from saltwater.Water transportation from river to home – Water wheelIn some areas of the world, even getting water to the home for cooking and bathing is a major job that pulls time away from education and other productive tasks. The water wheel cuts that time in half and improves quality of life.Kitchen ToolsPortable drink carbonator – Bubble CapA hand held drink carbonator that accepts standard CO2 bottles and standard soda bottles unlike the SodaStream.Parents corner$100 Life saving product to prevent SIDS in infants - Snuza Hero -If you or someone you know has a child under a year old, this is the most important thing on this page. The Snuza Hero clips onto an infant’s diaper to monitor motion and breathing. If no movement or breathing is detected for 15 seconds the device vibrates to wake the baby, but if nothing is detected by 20 seconds it sets of a loud alarm.When SIDS kills a baby, all too often it happens in the middle of the night when both parents are asleep and it’s completely silent. Without some kind of alarm it’s almost impossible to intervene in time, so this can be the most important $100 spent on your baby. It saved our daughters life, and a quick read through the product reviews shows many more parents with similar saves.Free math and school tutoring - Khan academy - promo videoKhan Academy helps anyone at any level learn about math, science, and a variety of other school subjects using recorded lectures by skilled professors combined with interactive tests and automated tutoring. It’s hard to oversell this site; everything is free to use, nearly all subjects are covered, you can log in as a student, parent or teacher to monitor progress, and the site even has test prep for all the major tests like SAT and MCAT. The math section that started the site is particularly clever – when a student first logs in they take a ten question test that helps the program figure out their skill level, and then it suggests new math topics and tracks progress while periodically refreshing old topics as well. If you know anyone in school as a student, parent or teacher, tell them about this program. Odds are good they’ll thank you for it.The drug talk – “Licit and Illicit Drugs by consumer reports”The do’s and don’ts of drugs are usually right up there with the ‘sex talk’ when it comes to uncomfortable conversations parents really need to get right, but often put off or miss altogether. Fortunately, consumer reports wrote an excellent book on the topic which is available for free online. The organization has a well earned reputation for impartiality, and it shows as the book talks about what each drug does, how it was discovered, and how it got to be legal or illegal. Having the facts makes smart choices possible, and this free resource is a must read for anyone over ten.$1.25 calculator wrist watch loved by grade school kids – LinkKids 5th grade and younger find these to be the height of fashion and prestige. If you want to reward a child with an inexpensive gift that will help them academically, search Google for ‘calculator watch’ and order a few.How to get started in life and live well on less - Poorcraft.Unless you’re lucky enough to start life as a millionaire, most of us have to start out on very small incomes working long hours at unpleasant jobs. There are scams and businesses beyond count built to take advantage of the young and un-educated. If you or someone you know earns less than $50,000 a year, spend $5 and get this book. It’s a comic book format packed to the brim with useful tricks and tips delivered in an easy to read humor format.Kerbal Space Program - LinkThis game is a great way to build STEM interest in children and adults as you run a space agency for the ‘Kerbals’ and try to land on the moon or go to mars. All technology in the game also exists in the real world, rockets can be built from parts like Lego bricks and all the physics are as close to real as they can make them.Google Sky, Moon and Mars + the 100,000 stars project and the scale of our solar system.Bit of an astronomy dump here, but if you want to learn about our universe or teach your children, these are excellent resources. Google Sky, Moon and Mars let you explore these places in the same way Google earth explores the globe. The 100,000 stars project is an accurate, searchable 3D model of the nearest 100,000 stars to the earth, and the ‘scale of the solar system’ video shows how small we are by building a huge model in the desert.FanFiction.netThis is a good way to encourage reading and incentivize writing practice. For any book, movie or TV show, there are fans who write stories about the canon, such as ‘what if she did this?’ or ‘what if this happened this way?’. These works of ‘fan fiction’ can read just like the original work, or can be very different with only characters from the original work. Everyone enjoys some kind of media, and FanFiction is a good way to get them reading about something they already like. In many cases, the instant availability of interesting reading material on any internet capable device boosts reading skills and sets up a situation where writing is undertaken enthusiastically and for fun. We’ve all seen people type out angry rants when ‘someone is wrong on the internet’. Fan fiction sets up situations where the reader will find a story about characters they’re very invested in and say ‘This story is awful! I could write a better story that this!’. And they do. And the posted story gets comments about what the bran-new author needs to work on. And so they write some more to show them, show them all.After several months the same student who had to be forced to write a three page paper will be feverishly banging out ten page chapters twice a month to keep their fans happy.Chemistry article referencing the periodic table and nuclear tableHow different engines workAnyone teaching STEM classes or with an interest in engines may find these animated diagrams useful. They’re not the most detailed, but they cover many different basic types of engines. This link shows the standard four cylinder auto engine in more detail.Scan expensive text books or digitize your library – CZUR scannerCZUR is a $300 machine that connects to any computer and scans books into e-books. Scanners that automatically turn the pages cost more than a luxury car, so this unit is an inexpensive way to digitize pricey school textbooks, unusual books from your library, or just anything you want to read but don’t feel like lugging around in paperback. Speed is about one photo (which covers two pages of the open book) per two seconds, so a 300 page book will take about eight to ten minutes to scan. If your college still uses paper text books, consider spending the $300 once on the scanner, instead of two or three times a year at the bookstore.Bizarre wheels for projects, forklifts and robots – Mecanum WheelMecanum Wheels are wheels that allow a vehicle to slide sideways by counter-rotating its wheels. They’re used on forklifts that work in narrow aisles, and in other specialty applications. Anyone building a wheeled robot for a competition should be aware of these because of the performance edge they provide.Fun projectsThe Long Now foundation building a clock that will run for 10,000 years.The long now is a society dedicated to long term thinking, which involves several projects including a four story tall stainless steel clock that will run for 10,000 years, a project to record all human languages, and another to record old computer operating systems for backwards compatibility.Hundred year time capsule for a dollarA simple article on how to build a time capsule from a wine bottle that will last for one hundred years or more. This is a quick afternoon project that lets anyone from grade school kids to adults send a message to people decades or centuries in the future.Free satellite TV for $250 of equipmentIt turns out that free to air satellite TV is still around, and $250 worth of equipment will get you everything you need to watch it. This is a Ku band system (think direct TV sized) and mounts anywhere with a clear view of the southern sky. The programs are a mishmash of low budget shows and international content, but there are hundreds of channels, and they work anywhere you can see the sky. This package is understandably popular with members of the armed forces who want access to their own TV programming while stationed abroad.They also sell the old huge C band dish systems (8 ft across and larger) that still pick up content as well as direct downlink video received by news trucks. Programming varies wildly, but there are some reliable shows – Nebraska for example broadcasts their PBS stations down on C band.Telecom – how antennas work + satellite coverage map + how bandwidth works + KU vs C band pro conJumping shoes that give 6 ft of air – Kangaroo shoesKnow as ‘acro stilts’, ‘power striders’ or ‘kangaroo shoes’, these toys allow for ridiculous jumps and let anyone run faster than the world’s fastest sprinter. They use a composite spring very much like the flexible part of a compound bow and arrow to greatly increase the efficiency of running and jumping, and like skate boarders, are popular for the tricks skilled users do with them.Software defined radio – see and hear everything on every channel with thisthumb stickWe all know AM and FM radio from cars, and some know more types of radio like citizens band, ham radio, etc, but until recently, receiving on more than one channel required many different radios. Not anymore. Software defined radio uses a computer to translate the signal, and this model costs $25, is the size of thumb drive, yet can receive anything from 500 Kh up to 1.7 Gh. In automotive terms, this would be like a car that could fly, drive, float on the water, dive under the water, rocket into space, yet it fit in your back pocket and cost $25. If you’ve ever thought about dabbling with radio, it’s never been cheaper or easier than this.A bee hive that dispenses honey through a tap – no mess, simple and easy.Not something I ever thought about before seeing this, but smoking out bees and opening up a hive of angry stinging insects isn’t the easiest way to get honey, especially considering the resulting comb still has to be scraped and filtered. These guys figured out how to get bees to fill an artificial honeycomb with honey, and it can literally be emptied with a tap.Learn to knit… steel rings into medieval body armor – ringlord.comAnyone into the SCA may find this old news, but some people still make armor and jewelry out of steel rings called chainmail. This site sells everything necessary to weave just about anything you want to make.Incredibly powerful magnets designed for particle accelerators – United NuclearFor all your incredibly powerful magnet needs. These magnets were intended for use in physics labs, and while prices range from $80 to $200, they are strong enough to amputate an arm if careful handling is not used.Magnetic wedding rings for magicians $25. Or use for cashiers to wipe credit cards – Super magnet manThese magnetic rings look and feel like normal jewelry, but can be used in magic acts, or by cashiers to dish out vigilantly justice to abusive customers. While there are many potential applications, take care not to touch your wallet while wearing one.Multitool business card – about $1 per card to be remembered by clients/employers – Card + Label (Avery 5317)Business cards tend to lead short lives, but they don’t have to. The listed multitools are the size of business cards, yet they can perform a variety of useful functions, and with the addition of the linked label, they can become business cards. If you think it’s worth one dollar to have a client keep your card in their wallet for the next five years, consider some of these.Ultimate privacy monitor – no one can see your computer screen but you! –Hack how toThis clever hack is useful for those who need a privacy monitor. Essentially, all monitors have a thin skin of polarizing plastic in the display to produce a useable image. If you take the monitor apart, peel off this layer and apply it to a set of glasses, only the person wearing the glasses can see the screen – everyone else just sees a blank white light.Home, construction and architectureBuy a $2000 cargo/shipping container for an indestructible backyard shed -LinkCargo canisters are ugly but very durable and less expensive than most methods of construction. Suitable for backyard sheds, or even as the basis for tiny homes and larger structures, it can be useful to know this is an option.Color changing heat sensitive tile for showers – Moving colorMost of us have seen that black plastic that changes color like a mood ring when held in a warm hand. It turns out someone made them into bathroom tiles that change from black to a rainbow of vibrant colors when the hot water comes on.In floor heating tubes for very cheap winter solar heating (no solar cells needed)If you ever build your own home, remember this trick. Home heating is usually done with forced air through ducts, but this requires a very small area to be very hot (the firebox of the furnace). We all know burning gas and oil gets expensive, but most of the time it’s our only option; solar concentrators can heat water to 150 degrees F, or even 180, but they can’t approach the high temperatures needed for a forced air furnace firebox. However, if you cast plastic water tubing into the floor of the building when its being built, now you have a very larger area that only needs to be warm in order to heat the whole house. A solar hot water panel made up of black copper pipe encased in vacuum tubes can be hooked directly to the system to heat your entire house for free even in the dead of winter.Hunting, ballistics and security relatedZ-Modo home camera systemTrying to secure a home or business is never easy; almost by definition anything that gets broken/stolen happens when you aren’t looking. An eight camera system with DVR is a good fix for this, and Z-Modo makes many fine systems for around $200 to $300. Have you ever heard of a break-in that cost less than $300?Normally when you find out about a break in it’s far too late to intervene, and in most jurisdictions the police need three to six months to get the results back on a fingerprint search, and that’s assuming there are prints to find and the person leaving them already has a record with prints to search for. If someone gave you an assignment at your job would you still remember three months later?By contrast, an eight camera system deters some break ins, and if a break in does occur, it preserves video of everything that is taken, and everyone involved. The police normally have a pretty good feel for who is causing problems in a neighborhood, but can’t do much about it without clear evidence. With a camera system you can run the video back while you wait for the police to arrive, and then play them the video with everyone’s faces. Quite often the result is “Hey, I know that guy! Wait here while we go pay him a visit.” In this way a camera system can permanently remove bad actors from a neighborhood and help everyone sleep better.The slingshot channel. Yes, this is a thing.If you want to see things hit by overpowered homemade slingshots built by an engineer/body builder and his wife, take a look.How to build a potato cannon for fun and ballistics demonstrations – spud gun & Pumpkin chuckingFor everyone who ever wondered how to build an air cannon to throw potatoes, here is an expert. See also Pumpkin chucking for similar designs.Pocket sized slingshot $20– Pocket shotA remarkably tiny slingshot that still throws for distance.Super compact Taser $300 - PulseA recent shooting taser that is a nice mix of small size and functionality.Cheap disposable pepper cannon $40– Pepper blaster - test videoA tiny but highly effective way to deliver capsaicin to the face as cheaply as possible. While not a firearm, the device uses percussion caps to propel the pepper sludge, meaning it works at any temperature, in the rain in the wind, and doesn’t need to be charged up like a battery or a pressure can.Blackpowder derringer $180– yes they still make themAn interesting tiny firearm that loads just as it did in the 1850s.World’s smallest full power bow $900– Liberty Bow - test videoThis manufacture figured out that compound bows no longer need the heavy aluminum bar between the spring arms, so they removed it to create a bow with a 70lb draw weight that fits easily in a backpack. Pricy, but interesting.Computer toolsRun a ‘who is’ search to find out who owns a website –eg, slanted news vs propagandaThere are many sites on the web that purport to say something, but are owned by someone who has every reason to lie. A ‘who is’ search is a way to quickly find out who owns the website you’re reading. For example, if a web page claims solar panels cause cancer, a ‘who is’ search might reveal it to be owned by British Petroleum.Find old versions of software to roll back bad updates – Old versionSometimes it’s handy to be able to undo a bad software update, or re-install a program for the distant past; Old version allows you to do just that, simply and easily.Google Earth and Google Maps to navigate and explore our worldThese are known to almost everyone, but on the off chance someone hasn’t heard of Google maps, or its portable 3D parent Google Earth, take a look. Navigation and exploration has never been simpler.Aircraft and pilotsYes, you can fly small planes if you want toAircraft are not solely the domain of the rich and famous. You can buy or build an aircraft for the price of a luxury car, and with a small propeller driven plane, your time is suddenly much more valuable.Draw a circle on a map with your home at the center and a radius of 8 hours driving. That’s about what most of us can do in a weekend; anything outside that circle is out of reach, or requires careful advanced planning. With an aircraft, that circle suddenly grows to 1000 or 2000 miles. Someone living in DC can hop into their plane after 5PM on a Friday and be relaxing on the beach in Florida before the sun sets.Cars and automotiveThe best motorcycle helmet ever – Scully AR-1For those who ride, this is the dream helmet: continuous rear view camera, heads up display with GPS, turn by turn directions, integrated calls and music, you get the idea.Automotive DashCam by ‘Boomyours” for $60This strangely named camera of Russian manufacture is an indispensable tool for any car. When paired with a $5 micro SD card and adapter (not included, must be purchased separately or it won’t run), the camera suction cups to the windshield like a GPS and records everything happening inside the car and visible through the front window. It starts up as soon as the car starts, records about a month of driving, and automatically overwrites the oldest videos so no action is required by the user, just plug it in and forget it.If you are hit by another driver, now you have video of the other person’s mistake and no amount of lawyers can change who is at fault. “It was my fault because I was on my phone? No, actually, the video clearly shows you hit me and I was not on my phone. That, and the GPS and G-force data shows where, when and how hard you hit my car.”In addition to crash uses, the camera also records what happens during a traffic stop, and many users find the police are more polite when they are being recorded. If not, well, you now have video of exactly what happened and YouTube is free. Finally, the micro-SD to SD card adaptor allows you to quickly pull the card after a hit and run, put the video onto the responding officer’s laptop, and show them exactly what happened within minutes of the accident, resulting in an APB and a much higher chance of catching the hit and run driver.BlueTooth OBD2 car diagnostic scanner for $7This tool links to your Smartphone using the Torque app and allows you to read and reset trouble codes and check engine lights. It’s a cheap but invaluable tool, and great to have in any glove box.Convert your car to run on French fry grease – Golden FuelsFor those interested in free fuel, Golden Fuels sells all the equipment needed to run your diesel truck on waste vegetable oil. The process is simple enough, mainly centered around filtering, and if you find yourself driving many miles in a diesel truck, using McDonalds as a fuel stop can be quite appealing.

UPDATE: This is a long answer, and it’s been collapsed once for lack of attribution. There is no way to attribute the findings contained herein, as they are all my own. What you see here is my personal list of interesting inventions and technologies. Some of them I found through my work, others I found in the technology and new-gadget press over the years. Some, in fact, my wife bought for me. All of these are items I have either personally tried, had experience with or read about on the same pages I link to for each item, and I receive no compensation, perks or attention for having compiled them. As Malcolm Gladwell described in his book ‘The Tipping Point,’ there is a type of person, whom Gladwell calls a ‘maven,’ who collects information and from whom others get said information. I have been informed that I fit this description. This is not an inappropriate attempt at viral advertising, nor is it unattributed research. This is just a Gladwellian maven, industrial engineer and safety manager doing what we do, and my only hope in posting it was that other people, who are or may later face problems these technologies have helped me solve over the years, may also be helped by them. I earn nothing but perhaps an upvote for this, that and the satisfaction that my amusing little gadget-list may help, or at least amuse, my fellow humans.After all, I’m an engineer. Collecting gadgets is one of our favorite activities.The ToolboxThe best multimeter ever – MooshimeterMost multimeters are the size of wallet or a book, and can only display information in a string of digits. You must be within a foot or two of what you want to measure, have three hands, and the meter can’t save the information it displays any better than binoculars can.The Mooshimeter changes all that. It’s a bit smaller than a normal meter, runs for six months on two AA batteries and connects wirelessly to your cell phone. This means you can tuck it under the hood of your car and monitor that finicky electrical hiccup while driving down the highway at eighty miles per hour. It also records up to six months of data, so you could record voltage and current (yes, both at once) on a given circuit breaker to compare spring vs summer AC usage at home. The auto ranging display also makes diagnostics much simpler by showing complicated information in a simple graphical format. Take a look at the link above to see all the details.Armored heat seeing cellphone – Cat S60-This phone is does everything you expect a good Android phone to do, and so much more. If the Nexus series phones were a team of trendy sedans, the S60 would be a mad max armored truck. It can survive a six foot drop onto concrete and a one hour swim in the 16ft deep end of the pool.This thing can literally see in the dark; not night vision or by amplified star light, no, it see’s the heat emitted by everything around it. Animals in the dark, overheated machinery in a factory, hot water pipes hidden behind a wall, they literally glow in the S60s thermal camera. If you work with your hands it doesn’t take long to find uses for this technology. Handyman? See drafts and missing insulation through walls, trace water pipes, check for overheated circuits in a breaker box and find out where that infernal drip of cold water is coming from. Police officer? See which cars have been driven recently by their glow and track suspects in total darkness by body heat and the hand prints they leave whenever they touch something. Parent? Find your daughters pet when they get lost in the woods or hide in the crawlspace. Take your sons temperature when he’s sick or help him get the oven temperature right to bake cookies.Radiation detecting wrist watch $250This is a Russian made watch called the Polimaster PM1208 with a built in geiger counter that warns you when you’re exposed to nuclear radiation. The alarm option keeps the watch silent until there is something dangerous to report, and it also has a counter mode that chirps with every detection. It’s sold with different cases ranging from $200 to $550. A good gadget to wear if you work around radiation or are worried about otherwise undetectable and deadly radiation.Steel wire banding tool strong enough to clamp a hydraulic hose on – Clamp tightClamp tight is like having hundreds of high quality stainless steel hose clamps, zip ties, and fasteners of every time, yet still it still fits in your toolbox. This thing was developed for use on ocean sailing boats as there tend to be very few hardware stores floating out at sea, and boats break down like everything else. To use it, you wrap the wire around the piece to be secured, then around the tool. Turning the bolt pulls the slack out of the wire then rotating the tool locks the wire down like a giant copy of the wire tie that holds a bread bag closed.It does have one obvious weaknesses – you have to have enough clearance to rotate the tool, so some automotive repairs are out of the question because there just isn’t enough room. Overall though, it would be tough to find a more compact and lighter way to repair so many different breakdowns.Nice self-contained butane soldering iron the size of a highlighter – Weller $50I can’t vouch for this one personally, but a small reliable iron that heats up in seconds and can be used on no notice anywhere it’s needed is a huge help. How often have you needed an iron, but not had a ready plug and stand for it where you were working under the dashboard of the car?1000 lumen rechargeable flashlight by Nitecore $55Growing up, ‘flashlight’ was a word that meant ‘that big heavy plastic thing we keep in the kitchen drawer that glows a dim yellow and always has dead batteries when we need it’. No more. Nitecore makes a variety of good lights, but this is the one I keep clipped to the lip of my pocket. Because I work with my hands, I like to be able to see what I’m working on, and very few things break down in the middle of a well lit work bench in the garage. When something needs attention, it always seems to be at night, up underneath a dashboard, deep in a computer cabinet, or some similar difficult to see location. Since I got this light I’ve never had trouble seeing what I’m doing. It has the usual high/medium/low settings with some flashing options for emergency use, and when I need everything it can do, 1000 lumens is as bright as two car headlights. The battery usually goes a month or two between charges, and any 18650 charger can recharge it in a few hours.$300 CNC Laser cutter/etcher toolThese $300 laser cutters have become available recently on Ebay, and they offer remarkable utility at a very reasonable price. Various reviews are available; the user interface takes some getting used to, and the mirrors often need alignment after being shipped in from overseas, but after that the cutter will cut and etch words, pictures and just about anything else onto an area the size of printer paper (about 8 by 12 inches). The cutter can be used to make puzzles, pet tags, precision cut wood and plastic, etch metal and glass, etc. A very helpful maker tool.Paper thin microscope lens that sticks to your cell phone - BlipsThe link says it all – this thin slip of plastic the size of a post-it note will turn your cell phone camera into a microscope. Useful for outdoor adventurers, detectives, teachers and anyone else interested in the world around them.$6.50 tiny pocket telescope you can carry everywhere - DXThis inexpensive tool weighs next to nothing and is tiny enough to fit in anywhere. Good for tracing wiring in a high ceiling, aircraft or bird watching, hiking, playing spy with the kids, etc.Pipe style building materials that use electrical conduit at $3.50 per 10ft section – Maker PipeThere are many build systems that can be used to build anything, but most of them like 80/20 cost a fortune (think $15 per ft!). Maker pipe uses simple, inexpensive clamps plus cheap 3/4inch electrical conduit to build nearly anything you could imagine. If you need to build anything from carts to furniture to equipment, give this one a look.Must have Chemical identification – WISER web site and WISER app downloadWISER is a chemical identification book long carried by firefighters who need to quickly find out: “what’s in that burning tanker truck, and what will it do to us?” The book used to cost less than $20, but today the entire program is available for free download as the WISER app. If you ever find yourself facing a mystery chemical spill, do you want to be one of the clueless people wondering what to do, or do you want to be the person who looks up the chemical in the first thirty seconds and tells everyone what it is and what you have to do next? The app is free and will happily wait on your cell phone until you need it; don’t be clueless, be WISER.Industrial and special purpose toolsLaser paint scraper and cleaning tool – P Laser and in action videoAn interesting scraping process similar to sand blasting, CO2 blasting and bead blasting. I can’t vouch for this product, but I’ve never seen anything else like it either (as of 2016).MAD speakers for extreme distance, volume and clarityPlanar speakers like the ones above are very different from standard paper cone speakers. If normal cone speakers are like light bulbs spreading out in all directions, planar speakers are like lasers. Where cone speakers fade out over distance and interfere with each other, planar speakers can be heard at ridiculous distances, and over other noises. Probably their neatest trick is that in a noisy 90 dB environment, this speaker can clearly be heard an understood even at 80 dB.On site, eco-friendly cleaning and sanitizing liquids from saltwater – Pathosans - video-If you use cleaning chemicals in any significant quantity, you need to watch this video and check out this system. Just as your water softener uses salt to remove minerals from your drinking water, this system uses bulk salt and tap water to produce huge quantities of cleaning chemicals and sanitizing liquid on site.The process is simple but clever: electrical current is used to split the salt apart in salt water. Salt (sodium chloride) in water is split and filtered to become sodium water (Patho clean) and chloride water (Patho sans). Patho clean is good for scrubbing carpets, washing surfaces, etc while Patho sans kills germs wherever it goes. Agricultural companies use Pathosans units to sterilize live animal contact surfaces and hotel chains use it to produce cheap and effective cleaning products. The cost of the cleaner and sanitizer is around five cents per gallon. The machine itself commands a high price, but if your business buys its cleaner/sterilizer in 55 gallon drums, this system stands a good chance of saving you a lot of money.Wave glider, an ocean drone that can cross oceans and is powered by wave actionThese inventors figured out that while waves make the surface of the water go up and down, they have zero effect on the deeper water. The torpedo shaped bottom has fins that ratchet it forward every time it’s hauled up and down by the surface drone bobbing on the waves above. They work in very small waves and category 5 hurricanes equally well and so can be used to take readings, monitor for science/defense, or conceivably to transport illicit cargo from one continent to another.Industrial forklift crash prevention – sees around blind corners and runs on batteries – Collision SentryThis handy gadget runs on D batteries and uses magnets to stick to metal racking at blind 90 degree corners. When someone approaches from one side nothing happens, but when someone approaches from both sides simultaneously the device lights up a flashing warning to prevent a collision.Interesting ring knife for people who open a lot of packages – Handy Safety KnifeThis product is intended for people who use hand knives to open a lot of packages. It is inexpensive, disposable, and always to hand. There are plenty of places these would be unsuitable (any workplace with powered conveyors or equipment comes to mind), but the idea is so unique it deserves to be included for the one person who has the problem this tool answers.Two way radios for $15 instead of $300 –It turns out that two way radios have gotten a lot cheaper over the years, but just as a teenager can charge grandma money to fix her computer, so the contractors that most companies get their radios from are not in a hurry to tell everyone how easy the job has become. BaoFeng radios cost between $15 and $30, and do everything you expect from a walkie-talkie, but unlike what you’re probably using now, BaoFeng uses better equipment and lithium ion batteries standard. This translates into much longer run times and better performance. The simple $15 radio and more complicated $30radio can be found here, along with the cable used to program them. This link here discusses how to do it.Rust prevention in existing concrete structures courtesy of NASANASA has a lot of concrete structures near the coast, and saltwater corrosion is a problem for them. So they figured out a way to rust proof metal after it had been encased in concrete for years. If you have any concrete structure that’s showingits age, take a look at this link.The Bad AXX – an improved ax for fire fighters - $250 to $300This is a Swiss army knife for firefighting: it’s a step up to high windows, it’s a repelling anchor point to get you off the roof when it’s on fire and collapsing, its wrench to shut off gas lines and open fire hydrants, it holds you’re forced entry tool, and the head cuts without ever getting stuck. It’s real and in production – check out the video.TravelA handy power strip for world travel – Power donutA power strip that is tiny, travels easily, and adapts to different electrical systems around the world.Medical toolsEmergency blood stopping powder, a must have for first aid kits - Celox and how to useThis product is used to keep someone alive long enough for the ambulance to arrive in the event of severe bleeding. It forms a jell to stop blood flow at the injury and comes as powder packages, bandages, or a syringe full of the powder for gunshot wounds. Pioneered in the US military, this is one of several good haemostatic products that are must haves for any serious first aid kit. If you own a gun or a knife, does it really make sense to be totally unprepared for the results of gun and knife wounds?Emergency blood stopping pack – a second choice after Celox - QuikClot and how to useQuickClot stops severe bleeding by absorbing the water out of blood, thus causing the clotting agents to become super concentrated at the injury site and stop the bleeding faster. As with Celox above, this will help keep someone alive long enough for the paramedics to arrive and save them.Liquid band aid – a cheap, generic must have for first aid kits – example linkThis is a generic product for minor to moderate injuries that sterilizes a cut and protects the injury site like a band aid. Good for use on tight locations that flex where band aids wouldn’t work. Because of its utility and tiny size it’s a good addition to any first aid kit.Betadine – inexpensive sanitizing solution for cuts used by EMT’s - LinkIn the old days parents used to use iodine or alcohol to clean and sterilize small cuts and scrapes (hydrogen peroxide will bubble dirt out of a wound, but it does not sterilize). Today we all have access to the same inexpensive product nurses and surgeons use; Betadine. It cleans and sterilizes wounds with much less burning than the old options, and most of us are familiar with it already as the brown skin staining wipe that doctors use before drawing blood.Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or TMS – a new treatment for depression, OCD, and Autism – Related techTMS is a revolutionary new tool that uses very strong magnetic fields to induce current flows near the surface of the brain. It’s essentially a big capacitor bank and a hand held coil employed for ten to twenty minute sessions to treat Depression and other mental conditions. Its painless, has virtually no side effects and is FDA cleared for a few conditions, but it’s in its infancy as a treatment. Promising studies have shown its potential to improve OCD, Autism and several other conditions.Ultrasound for your cell phone – production pending - ClariusFor those trained to use it, Clarius is a new handheld ultrasound probe that allows diagnostic procedures to be done anywhere you have a cell phone. Production is slated to being in 2018.Tech off the gridClean burning hyper efficient cook stove – see videoThe Aprovecho Research center designs and sells extremely efficient cook stoves for camping and long term use in the third world. These stoves have a core made from lightweight clay that reflects heat back into the fire box, allowing a few sticks and twigs to burn hot and clean with no smoke. The top of the stove is built to channel the hot gasses onto the cooking pot for maximum heat transfer with minimal fuel. To first world campers this translates into a neat (if heavy) stove that can burn almost any handy material to boil water and cook. For church groups and other organizations working in the third world these stoves are a way to drastically reduce expenditures of time and money on fuel for cooking – see video. For large orders, the stoves can be shipped in by cargo canister at prices as low as $5 a stove for the bare clay core that actually makes the unit work. Anyone that has to think about where their cooking fuel comes from could benefit from this technology.A light that runs on gravity like a grandfather clock – Gravity lightGravity light is a small generator that uses a sack full or rocks to produce electricity for simple indoor lighting. Just like a grandfather clock, as the weights descend their energy turns the mechanism, in this case turning a generator to drive the lights. While campers can use this product, it is intended for the third world where indoor lighting after dark means kids can learn to read and go to school. Anyone living without electricity could benefit from this product.One way to internet everywhere – Outernet – See videoOuternet is the best of the internet, broadcast one way only to earth from a satellite. The ‘Lighthouse’ model mounts to a standard direct TV dish and downloads many MB of data per day, while the ‘Lantern’ is a portable solar powered device that can travel anywhere and downloads at a slower rate. Both access the same information such as educational materials for students, warnings about local emergencies, weather forecasts, censorship free news, etc. Outernet devices slowly download this information and then allow users to log in and browse what is stored locally. The downside is that the data flow is one way only, but the upside is the system works as an end run around missing power and data infrastructure as well as censorship rules.Clean drinking water from any source - LifestrawAccess to safe drinking water is essential to health, and many of the worst diseases spread via contaminated water. The lifestraw family of products is invaluable to hikers and those working in the third world because it allows anyone to turn dirty water into clean safe water. The absence of safe water doesn’t just kill and sicken people, it drags down their finances, ensuring that those in crushing poverty stay there caring for the sick rather than using that time and money to send children to school.Freshwater from saltwater – the water cone.A simple plastic cone that makes 1.5Lts of freshwater from saltwater.Water transportation from river to home – Water wheelIn some areas of the world, even getting water to the home for cooking and bathing is a major job that pulls time away from education and other productive tasks. The water wheel cuts that time in half and improves quality of life.Fold-a-scopeThe one dollar paper microscope that fits in your pocket and is good enough for lab tests.The PaperfugeA centrifuge that works anywhere without power and achieves 125,000 RPMs. Under development for malaria testing. Development documents on how to build one.Kitchen ToolsPortable drink carbonator – Bubble CapA hand held drink carbonator that accepts standard CO2 bottles and standard soda bottles unlike the SodaStream.Parents corner$100 Life saving product to prevent SIDS in infants - Snuza Hero -If you or someone you know has a child under a year old, this is the most important thing on this page. The Snuza Hero clips onto an infant’s diaper to monitor motion and breathing. If no movement or breathing is detected for 15 seconds the device vibrates to wake the baby, but if nothing is detected by 20 seconds it sets of a loud alarm.When SIDS kills a baby, all too often it happens in the middle of the night when both parents are asleep and it’s completely silent. Without some kind of alarm it’s almost impossible to intervene in time, so this can be the most important $100 spent on your baby. It saved our daughter’s life, and a quick read through the product reviews shows many more parents with similar saves.Kingii flotation wrist band $90After losing a relative to drowning, this engineer designed a wrist band that uses common CO2 cylinders to inflate an air bag for emergency flotation. Unlike a bulky life vest, this thing can be worn easily in or around water, and if used in an emergency it can be easily repacked and reloaded after saving a life. It’s suitable for kids and adults, and easy insurance when working around treacherous bodies of water. Roughly 372,000 people drown every year, and $90 seems a small price to protect those you care about.Wetsuits for kids $35Most kids love the water, but little little kids inevitably end up shivering and cold even at indoor pools that are comfortable for adults. The problem is that children have lots of surface area to lose heat through, but very little volume, meaning they get cold very quickly and can’t swim as long as they’d like. A wetsuit like this one fixes that problem and drastically reduces the area needing sunscreen as well. If you’d like to guarantee your child sleeps soundly through the night, consider one of these to turn a one hour trip into a real afternoon outing.Free math and school tutoring - Khan academy - promo videoKhan Academy helps anyone at any level learn about math, science, and a variety of other school subjects using recorded lectures by skilled professors combined with interactive tests and automated tutoring. It’s hard to oversell this site; everything is free to use, nearly all subjects are covered, you can log in as a student, parent or teacher to monitor progress, and the site even has test prep for all the major tests like SAT and MCAT. The math section that started the site is particularly clever – when a student first logs in they take a ten question test that helps the program figure out their skill level, and then it suggests new math topics and tracks progress while periodically refreshing old topics as well. If you know anyone in school as a student, parent or teacher, tell them about this program. Odds are good they’ll thank you for it.The drug talk – “Licit and Illicit Drugs by consumer reports”The do’s and don’ts of drugs are usually right up there with the ‘sex talk’ when it comes to uncomfortable conversations parents really need to get right, but often put off or miss altogether. Fortunately, consumer reports wrote an excellent book on the topic which is available for free online. The organization has a well earned reputation for impartiality, and it shows as the book talks about what each drug does, how it was discovered, and how it got to be legal or illegal. Having the facts makes smart choices possible, and this free resource is a must read for anyone over ten.$1.25 calculator wrist watch loved by grade school kids – LinkKids 5th grade and younger find these to be the height of fashion and prestige. If you want to reward a child with an inexpensive gift that will help them academically, search Google for ‘calculator watch’ and order a few.How to get started in life and live well on less - Poorcraft.Unless you’re lucky enough to start life as a millionaire, most of us have to start out on very small incomes working long hours at unpleasant jobs. There are scams and businesses beyond count built to take advantage of the young and un-educated. If you or someone you know earns less than $50,000 a year, spend $5 and get this book. It’s an easy-to-read graphic novel packed to the brim with useful tricks and tips, plus plenty of humor to keep things interesting.(Cartoon thanks to xkcd)Kerbal Space Program - LinkThis game is a great way to build STEM interest in children and adults as you run a space agency for the ‘Kerbals’ and try to land on the moon or go to mars. All technology in the game also exists in the real world, rockets can be built from parts like Lego bricks and all the physics are as close to real as they can make them.Google Sky, Moon and Mars + Stuff in space, Impact earth, lightyearFM, the 100,000 stars project and the scale of our solar system.Bit of an astronomy dump here, but if you want to learn about our universe or teach your children, these are excellent resources. Google Sky, Moon and Mars let you explore these places in the same way Google earth explores the globe. Stuff in space maps satellites around the world, impact earth simulates asteroid impacts and Lightyear FM travels 100 light years out from earth playing the songs that could be heard at that distance. The 100,000 stars project is an accurate, searchable 3D model of the nearest 100,000 stars to the earth, and the ‘scale of the solar system’ video shows how small we are by building a huge model in the desert.FanFiction.net and Archive of our own (AO3)This is a good way to encourage reading and incentivize writing practice. For any book, movie or TV show, there are fans who write stories about the canon, such as ‘what if she did this?’ or ‘what if this happened this way?’. These works of ‘fan fiction’ can read just like the original work, or can be very different with only characters from the original work. Everyone enjoys some kind of media, and FanFiction is a good way to get them reading about something they already like. In many cases, the instant availability of interesting reading material on any internet capable device boosts reading skills and sets up a situation where writing is undertaken enthusiastically and for fun. We’ve all seen people type out angry rants when ‘someone is wrong on the internet’. Fan fiction sets up situations where the reader will find a story about characters they’re very invested in and say ‘This story is awful! I could write a better story that this!’. And they do. And the posted story gets comments about what the bran-new author needs to work on. And so they write some more to show them, show them all.After several months the same student who had to be forced to write a three page paper will be feverishly banging out ten page chapters twice a month to keep their fans happy.NSF testThe National Science Foundation periodically surveys the public to see what they know about science, and the results usually aren’t pretty. The link above is to the ten question NSF test and a series of answers, essentially a canned lesson plan for anyone running a science class at any grade level. The printed test fits on a single sheet of paper and can be used to quickly find out how much your students know and catch up those who have holes in their understanding.+Chemistry article referencing the periodic table and nuclear tableHow different engines workAnyone teaching STEM classes or with an interest in engines may find these animated diagrams useful. They’re not the most detailed, but they cover many different basic types of engines. This link shows the standard four cylinder auto engine in more detail. And this link shows more of the peripheral systems like cooling. Mechanical link.Scan expensive text books or digitize your library – CZUR scannerCZUR is a $300 machine that connects to any computer and scans books into e-books. Scanners that automatically turn the pages cost more than a luxury car, so this unit is an inexpensive way to digitize pricey school textbooks, unusual books from your library, or just anything you want to read but don’t feel like lugging around in paperback. Speed is about one photo (which covers two pages of the open book) per two seconds, so a 300 page book will take about eight to ten minutes to scan. If your college still uses paper text books, consider spending the $300 once on the scanner, instead of two or three times a year at the bookstore.Bizarre wheels for projects, forklifts and robots – Mecanum WheelMecanum Wheels are wheels that allow a vehicle to slide sideways by counter-rotating its wheels. They’re used on forklifts that work in narrow aisles, and in other specialty applications. Anyone building a wheeled robot for a competition should be aware of these because of the performance edge they provide.Fun projectsThe Long Now foundation building a clock that will run for 10,000 years.The long now is a society dedicated to long term thinking, which involves several projects including a four story tall stainless steel clock that will run for 10,000 years, a project to record all human languages, and another to record old computer operating systems for backwards compatibility.Hundred year time capsule for a dollarA simple article on how to build a time capsule from a wine bottle that will last for one hundred years or more. This is a quick afternoon project that lets anyone from grade school kids to adults send a message to people decades or centuries in the future.Free satellite TV for $250 of equipmentIt turns out that free to air satellite TV is still around, and $250 worth of equipment will get you everything you need to watch it. This is a Ku band system (think direct TV sized) and mounts anywhere with a clear view of the southern sky. The programs are a mishmash of low budget shows and international content, but there are hundreds of channels, and they work anywhere you can see the sky. This package is understandably popular with members of the armed forces who want access to their own TV programming while stationed abroad.They also sell the old huge C band dish systems (8 ft across and larger) that still pick up content as well as direct downlink video received by news trucks. Programming varies wildly, but there are some reliable shows – Nebraska, for example, broadcasts their PBS stations down on C band.Telecom – how antennas work + satellite coverage map + how bandwidth works+ KU vs C band pro con +Jumping shoes that give 6 ft of air – Kangaroo shoesKnow as ‘acro stilts’, ‘power striders’ or ‘kangaroo shoes’, these toys allow for ridiculous jumps and let anyone run faster than the world’s fastest sprinter. They use a composite spring very much like the flexible part of a compound bow and arrow to greatly increase the efficiency of running and jumping, and like skate boarders, are popular for the tricks skilled users do with them.Kniterate – a $5000 automatic knitting machine / cloth printerFor those who do serious amounts of knitting or want to design their own clothes, this home machine allows you to program and create whatever you want from common yarn.Seaboard – a $2000 to $9000 keyboard with silicone keys that let you bend musical notes while you play.Software defined radio – see and hear everything on every channel with this thumb stickWe all know AM and FM radio from cars, and some know more types of radio like citizens band, ham radio, etc, but until recently, receiving on more than one channel required many different radios. Not anymore. Software defined radio uses a computer to translate the signal, and this model costs $25, is the size of thumb drive, yet can receive anything from 500 Kh up to 1.7 Gh. In automotive terms, this would be like a car that could fly, drive, float on the water, dive under the water, rocket into space, yet it fit in your back pocket and cost $25. If you’ve ever thought about dabbling with radio, it’s never been cheaper or easier than this.A bee hive that dispenses honey through a tap – no mess, simple and easy.Not something I ever thought about before seeing this, but smoking out bees and opening up a hive of angry stinging insects isn’t the easiest way to get honey, especially considering the resulting comb still has to be scraped and filtered. These guys figured out how to get bees to fill an artificial honeycomb with honey, and it can literally be emptied with a tap.Learn to knit… steel rings into medieval body armor – ringlord.comAnyone into the SCA may find this old news, but some people still make armor and jewelry out of steel rings called chainmail. This site sells everything necessary to weave just about anything you want to make.Incredibly powerful magnets designed for particle accelerators – United NuclearFor all your incredibly powerful magnet needs. These magnets were intended for use in physics labs, and while prices range from $80 to $200, they are strong enough to amputate an arm if careful handling is not used.Magnetic wedding rings for magicians – Super magnet manThese magnetic rings look and feel like normal jewelry, but can be used in magic acts. I have been informed that it is theoretically possible for a cashier to use one to demagnetize a particularly abusive or obnoxious customer’s debit card, though I don’t know of anyone who has. While there are many potential applications, take care not to touch your wallet while wearing one.Multitool business card – about $1 per card to be remembered by clients/employers – Card + Label (Avery 5317)Business cards tend to lead short lives, but they don’t have to. The listed multitools are the size of business cards, yet they can perform a variety of useful functions, and with the addition of the linked label, they can easily become unusual, useful business cards. If you think it’s worth one dollar to have a client keep your card in their wallet for the next five years, consider some of these. (My then-fiancee made my first batch for me as a college graduation present. Not only have they proved impressive for networking and business purposes, but my wife still designs all my business stationery.)Gallium – the inexpensive liquid metal that turns aluminum to mush.This one is largely self-explanatory – got something aluminum you don’t want in one piece anymore? Try Gallium!Ultimate privacy monitor – no one can see your computer screen but you! – Hack how toThis clever hack is useful for those who need a privacy monitor. Essentially, all monitors have a thin skin of polarizing plastic in the display to produce a useable image. If you take the monitor apart, peel off this layer and apply it to a set of glasses, only the person wearing the glasses can see the screen – everyone else just sees a blank white light.Millennium-Disk or M-Disk $5 a disk, $50 for the burner driveAn M disk is a CD, DVD, or Blue ray disk made from a stone like material that will read in any conventional drive but retains its data for 1000 years. Most disk media becomes unreadable after a few years of storage, and the same holds true for magnetic hard drives and solid state drives like thumb sticks. Up till recently there wasn’t any way to preserve digital material short of constantly transferring it from one machine to another. Now it’s possible to send video and photos into the future through time capsules, well wishes with our lost loved ones through coffins, or just archive important documents for years to come. What do you want the world to remember when you’re gone?Home, construction and architectureBuy a $2000 cargo/shipping container for an indestructible backyard shed - LinkCargo canisters are ugly but very durable and less expensive than most methods of construction. Suitable for backyard sheds, or even as the basis for tiny homes and larger structures, it can be useful to know this is an option.Color changing heat sensitive tile for showers – Moving colorMost of us have seen that black plastic that changes color like a mood ring when held in a warm hand. It turns out someone made them into bathroom tiles that change from black to a rainbow of vibrant colors when the hot water comes on.In floor heating tubes for very cheap winter solar heating (no solar cells needed)If you ever build your own home, remember this trick. Home heating is usually done with forced air through ducts, but this requires a very small area to be very hot (the firebox of the furnace). We all know burning gas and oil gets expensive, but most of the time it’s our only option; solar concentrators can heat water to 150 degrees F, or even 180, but they can’t approach the high temperatures needed for a forced air furnace firebox. However, if you cast plastic water tubing into the floor of the building when its being built, now you have a very larger area that only needs to be warm in order to heat the whole house. A solar hot water panel made up of black copper pipe encased in vacuum tubes can be hooked directly to the system to heat your entire house for free even in the dead of winter.ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) are lego blocks for building concrete homes (watch a one day build)For anyone building a new home, ICF blocks are a great way to increase build speed, lower cost, improve insulations and finish with a much stronger structure than a wood only build would provide. To quote some statistics, a home build with ICF blocks can save 70% on energy bills, lower insurances costs by 10%, has 75% less outside air infiltration, is 10 times stronger and 3 times quieter than a wood home, comes with a 4 hour fire rating is literally bullet proof! Floor example. Roof example.Hunting, ballistics and security relatedZ-Modo home camera systemTrying to secure a home or business is never easy; almost by definition anything that gets broken/stolen happens when you aren’t looking. An eight camera system with DVR is a good fix for this, and Z-Modo makes many fine systems for around $200 to $300. Have you ever heard of a break-in that cost less than $300?Normally when you find out about a break in it’s far too late to intervene, and in most jurisdictions the police need three to six months to get the results back on a fingerprint search, and that’s assuming there are prints to find and the person leaving them already has a record with prints to search for. If someone gave you an assignment at your job would you still remember three months later?By contrast, an eight camera system deters some break ins, and if a break in does occur, it preserves video of everything that is taken, and everyone involved. The police normally have a pretty good feel for who is causing problems in a neighborhood, but can’t do much about it without clear evidence. With a camera system you can run the video back while you wait for the police to arrive, and then play them the video with everyone’s faces. Quite often the result is “Hey, I know that guy! Wait here while we go pay him a visit.” In this way a camera system can permanently remove bad actors from a neighborhood and help everyone sleep better.Krav MagaThis is an unarmed combat system developed by what became the Israeli army to deal with NAZIs in the 1930s. This is not a ‘martial art’ full of training dances and karate chops against empty air, it’s a way to take down an attacker trying to kill/rape you. It was built to defend an oppressed minority from F-ing NAZIs and it works, so it’s ideal for children, women, and many others.The slingshot channel. Yes, this is a thing.If you want to see things hit by overpowered homemade slingshots built by an engineer/body builder and his wife, take a look.How to build a potato cannon for fun and ballistics demonstrations – spud gun & Pumpkin chuckingFor everyone who ever wondered how to build an air cannon to throw potatoes, here is an expert. See also Pumpkin chucking for similar designs.Pocket sized slingshot $20– Pocket shotA remarkably tiny slingshot that still throws for distance.Super compact Taser $300- PulseA recent shooting taser that is a nice mix of small size and functionality.Cheap disposable pepper cannon $40– Pepper blaster - test videoA tiny but highly effective way to deliver capsaicin to the face as cheaply as possible. While not a firearm, the device uses percussion caps to propel the pepper sludge, meaning it works at any temperature, in the rain in the wind, and doesn’t need to be charged up like a battery or a pressure can.Blackpowder derringer $180– yes they still make themAn interesting tiny firearm that loads just as it did in the 1850s.World’s smallest full power bow $900– Liberty Bow - test videoThis manufacture figured out that compound bows no longer need the heavy aluminum bar between the spring arms, so they removed it to create a bow with a 70lb draw weight that fits easily in a backpack. Pricy, but interesting.Computer toolsRun a ‘who is’ search to find out who owns a website –eg, slanted news vs propagandaThere are many sites on the web that purport to say something, but are owned by someone who has every reason to lie. A ‘who is’ search is a way to quickly find out who owns the website you’re reading. For example, if a web page claims solar panels cause cancer, a ‘who is’ search might reveal it to be owned by British Petroleum.Find old versions of software to roll back bad updates – Old versionSometimes it’s handy to be able to undo a bad software update, or re-install a program for the distant past; Old version allows you to do just that, simply and easily.Google Earth and Google Maps to navigate and explore our worldThese are known to almost everyone, but on the off chance someone hasn’t heard of Google maps, or its portable 3D parent Google Earth, take a look. Navigation and exploration has never been simpler.Aircraft and pilotsYes, you can fly small planes if you want toAircraft are not solely the domain of the rich and famous. You can buy or build an aircraft for the price of a luxury car, and with a small propeller driven plane, your time is suddenly much more valuable.Draw a circle on a map with your home at the center and a radius of 8 hours driving. That’s about what most of us can do in a weekend; anything outside that circle is out of reach, or requires careful advanced planning. With an aircraft, that circle suddenly grows to 1000 or 2000 miles. Someone living in DC can hop into their plane after 5PM on a Friday and be relaxing on the beach in Florida before the sun sets.Cars and automotiveTesla model S, X and 3 – The best car ever (as rated by consumer reports).By now most people have heard of Tesla motors and their three production cars, but if you’re one of today’s lucky 10,000 then read on. Tesla makes two $50,000 cars – a sedan and an SUV and one $35,000 sedan and they are the safest cars on earth as rated by multiple agencies. And they’re the fastest production cars in existence. And they’re all electric, silent and have a +200 mile range. And they come with autodrive standard, meaning the day self driving cars are legalized in your state, you already own one. Consumer reports has been rating cars for more than fifty years, and not only did the Tesla score higher than any other car or truck ever, they rated it the best car ever. Stories about it abound, like the time an insurance company tried to test the rollover strength of the roof and the car broke their hydraulic car crusher.Automotive DashCam by ‘Boomyours” for $60This strangely named camera of Russian manufacture is an indispensable tool for any car. When paired with a $5 micro SD card and adapter (not included, must be purchased separately or it won’t run), the camera suction cups to the windshield like a GPS and records everything happening inside the car and visible through the front window. It starts up as soon as the car starts, records about a month of driving, and automatically overwrites the oldest videos so no action is required by the user, just plug it in and forget it.If you are hit by another driver, now you have video of the other person’s mistake and no amount of lawyers can change who is at fault. “It was my fault because I was on my phone? No, actually, the video clearly shows you hit me and I was not on my phone. That, and the GPS and G-force data shows where, when and how hard you hit my car.”In addition to crash uses, the camera also records what happens during a traffic stop, and many users find the police are more polite when they are being recorded. If not, well, you now have video of exactly what happened and YouTube is free. Finally, the micro-SD to SD card adaptor allows you to quickly pull the card after a hit and run, put the video onto the responding officer’s laptop, and show them exactly what happened within minutes of the accident, resulting in an APB and a much higher chance of catching the hit and run driver.RainX to improve visibility in wet/snowy conditions - $3 bottle lasts for many yearsMost people already know about RainX, but if you are one of today’s lucky 10,000 to whom this is news, then read on. Being able to see while driving is pretty important, and RainX makes the task much easier, especially in hard rain or snow. Basically it’s a wax you rub onto your windshield in two minutes using a paper napkin or whatever you have handy in the car. Just as water beads up and runs off a waxed car, the same thing works on glass. The bottle above doesn’t leak like the spray bottles do, and can be tucked into the door compartment and re-applied every three months or so. One $3 bottle will often outlast the car it’s kept in, and it’s a cheap way to reduce the risk of a road accident.BlueTooth OBD2 car diagnostic scanner for $7This tool links to your Smartphone using the Torque app and allows you to read and reset trouble codes and check engine lights. It’s a cheap but invaluable tool, and great to have in any glove box.Convert your car to run on French fry grease – Golden FuelsFor those interested in free fuel, Golden Fuels sells all the equipment needed to run your diesel truck on waste vegetable oil. The process is simple enough, mainly centered around filtering, and if you find yourself driving many miles in a diesel truck, using McDonalds as a fuel stop can be quite appealing.Thank you for reading, I hope you found something interesting : )