Last Minute PTM Type Gift Ideas

Got some last minute shopping to do for someone in the Production Technology field? Well, I've got some gift giving suggestions that might be helpful. Even at this last second many of them ought to be available locally so you could do a Monday shopping spree and still be done before the sleigh comes to a rest on your roof. I imagine that even if these things are not available locally they can still be used for inspiration (or gift card fodder).

So a sort of top ten countdown of PTM gifts...

#10 - Flying Alarm Clock



This one will be of particular use to students in the field, but I will also admit to having a little difficulty getting myself out of bed on occasion. I've seen the "puzzle alarm" and "the sonic boom" and "clocky" but this one seems to me to have the most chance of actually working. When the alarm goes off, the propeller flies into the air and you need to replace it before you can shut the signal off (although I guess this is rapidly solved with gaff tape - but maybe not). There are several students I would recommend this to directly, but I bet people giving them gifts don't read this blog.

#9 - Getting Things Done, David Allen



So this is a sort of Bible to the desperately anal set, and I think that the GTD community might actually be a cult; but let's face it, there are worse cults a person could fall in with. If your gift give-ee never answers your emails this might be the gift for them. Lot's of good ideas about how to keep up with life without letting the keeping up overwhelm you. My boss recommends the audio-book.

If I'd actually read this book I probably would have done this post two weeks ago.

#8 - Stylish Safety Gear

There's so much cool safety gear these days. People are that much more likely to use gear that's actually fun. Pictured here are DeWalt's DPG82 Concealer Goggles which I recently got myself. They are comfortable, don't block peripheral vision, and they don't fog up - but mostly they look cool. If you don't want to do goggles you could do tinted safety glasses - I think amber is still safe for shop work - or some kind of hearing protection. There are also like a million new kinds of cool work gloves available and they all look like something from a sci-fi film - very cool.

#7 - Label Maker

Especially if you are going to go the GTD route, you are going to need a label maker. As I understand it, David Allen specifies a label maker as one of the primary tools of organization. Even without that glowing recommendation I think we can all see the use of having things cataloged in a way that makes sense, you can only remember so much for so long and it is easier to read a label than it is to unstack an entire pile of bankers boxes only to disover what you were looking for isn't there. Just remember, don't label the walkie-talkie before you drop it down the well.

#6 - Tool Bag



It's all bags now, you need a refresher? Pictured here is my personal favorite, the CLC 26 Pocket Backpack Bag. I bought this thing several years back and could not be happier. David Allen would like it too because with this bag things need to go where they need to go. It might look small, but it can hold A LOT. How much? Check here. Although this is my favorite, there are dozens of cool options out there. Overall, I think smaller and more dividers is better - but that's me, you should see Kevin's toolbox.

#5 - Shop Geek Clothes



Did you know you can buy Craftsman pants? How about DeWalt shoes? I swear it's a shop rat dream come true. I haven't sprung for the shoes yet, but I always feel like just the right kind of geek when I wear my Craftsman pants - even more special than with Carhartts or Dickies.

#4 - Forbidden Lego, Ulrik Pilegaard and Mike Dooley



There are apparently rules that the designers at Lego have to follow for models that become sets for sale. There's no glue, no altering of pieces, and no automatic advancing magazine part guns. In authoring this book, these designers were not so encumbered. A nice read for any Lego fan, which is most Technical Directors.

#3 - Feet and Inches Calculator

Quick: What's 3'-2 5/8" + 6'-4 15/16" - 1'-11 1/2"? What? I don't know either, but I can tell you I have to do that sort of thing all the time when I am working. Remembering the decimal equivalents will help, but nothing gets it done as well and as quickly as having a feet and inches calculator. It's just indispensable for adding up a row of fractions on a drawing before the guy in the shop finds the problem for you. (oh, and I think it's 7'-8 1/16" but my calculator is in the office).

#2 - Theatre Geek Tools


Really you can never go wrong with gadgets. Every stagehand in the world has a multi-tool and a flashlight. I think I have two multi-tools and at least four flashlights. MagLite is the standard for flashlights. I won't even get into a discussion over Leatherman or Gerber or SOG or Victorinox or or or. Pictured above are the Streamlight Stinger Jr. LED and the Leatherman Skeletool. I think with both of these your gift-ee will be so cool people around them will be looking for their jackets. Want to put the people around them right into the deep freeze? Well, then you'll be wanting to make someone the first on the block with one of these:



The Spyderco ByrdWrench ~ BY15P. My monitor just frosted over.

#1 - Stapler


Ok, so it probably isn't what you were thinking would be #1. I can only say that there is nothing I wish people I deal with had more often than a stapler. If I make sure to impart just one skill to people I teach in my classes, that skill might just be stapling. Shown here you have my personal favorite the PaperPro Prodigy Stapler. It has a spring driven mechanism, so no matter how much you are fastening you always press with the same force, no smashing. They make a miniature version, the Nano, that I think maybe ought to be issued to every single person at birth.

So that's it. Certainly not anything ground shattering, but hopefully some decent ideas. Now, you've probably got about 12 hours left for shopping, so hop to it. Alternately, you could just bookmark the page for next year.

Happy holidays.