Jon Sienkiewicz

If you grew up in America, your idea of an electrical wall outlet is a flat rectangle with two receptacles where one can plug in the cord from a lamp, toaster or other 110-volt gizmo. Here are five products that may change that mental image forever.

These projects are affordable or FREE and will keep you occupied for days – weeks, even. They require no special skills and comply with social distancing safety and common sense. Think of them as sort of blind dates. You may want to spend an afternoon with them, or maybe a few months, or perhaps even the rest of your life.

If you’re stumped picking out a holiday gift for the photographers in your life, you’ve come to the right place. They say one should only give gifts that they’d like to have themselves—and that’s a good compass. So buy two and keep one, no one will know. And your budget won’t explode either, because these gifts cost less than 30 bucks each.

There’s something here for everyone this week. We look at a retro tripod from a famous filter maker, a messenger bag from a famous tripod maker, a lens case from my favorite photo backpack maker and a new circular polarizing filter from a not-so-famous accessory maker—plus a knockout protective case for your MacBook.