I always have a ton of projects in mind. On my ToodleDo list, I divide projects into those I'm actively working on, those I'm not doing but believe I will do, and those that sound good, but who knows if I'll ever get to them.

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.

There are interesting scientific and historical connections between these things that I just love.

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

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.

My home office and workshop are on an overlook on the only deep river gorge on the entire length of the Mississippi River.

I'm a writer and I also do a lot of professional speaking on risk taking and creativity as well.