In my workshop, I like to have the TV on for background noise, but I only put on shows that you don't really need to watch in serial order; stuff you can glance up every once in a while and still know what's going on; for example, Cops reruns, Jeopardy!, and Forensic Files.

Every day, I walk with my dog - summer, winter (it gets -20 F in Saint Paul), rain or shine. The nicer the day, of course, the longer the walk.

In my home office, I built a custom sit-stand desk to which I connected a big, kidney shaped glass top which I got for cheap at Ikea. Kidney-shaped desk tops are, I think, the most efficient of all possible desk shapes.

I think it's important to associate with positive, upbeat people.

I spend a fair amount of time just thinking about whether something is feasible or not, and if it is feasible, whether it's really worth doing.

You get energy from other people, so hang out with energetic people.

I specialize in science and history, with a special emphasis on including do-it-yourself projects in the mix. My dozen or so books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies. I'm also a contributing editor at Popular Science and at Make Magazine.