I'm dating myself, but at one time, we used to fill the "How did we ever get along without ..." blank with "fax machines."

It wasn't long until faxes were replaced with e-mail, but then came the invention of spam, and now we bemoan the time wasted deleting the 98 percent of e-mails we don't want.

I suppose it used to be spent throwing away junk mail.

For some people, the all-purpose "tool" is duct tape, ala Red Green. I.e., if it moves and shouldn't, use duct tape; if it doesn't move and should, use WD-40.

I went to a groom's "tool shower" a while back where duct tape was one of the popular gifts. Sunday night, the sticky stuff even turned up as the main ingredient in a handmade gift for one of my wife's friends. It was a utility bag, actually quite attractive, featuring colorful Kool-Aid packages covered and lined with the new clear and colored types of duct tape.

Just because one's being utilitarian doesn't mean one can't be fashionable.

I, for one, wouldn't be caught dead without a cordless screwdriver. The last time I wore one out, it wasn't a half-hour before I had to rush right out and buy a new one.

Something about rechargable batteries and a geared, whirring electric motor lends an air of precision to the crudest household repair.

Before the advent of electric screwdrivers, I used a hand screwdriver with a large drive ball and racheting sound that was nearly as satisfying.

Bungee cords. Before taking up sailing a few years back, I don't suppose I had used a bungee cord more than twice in my life. Now, almost every outdoor, summer activity demands the use of these large, cloth-shrouded rubber bands ending in metal hooks. Why, without bungee cords, I might have to learn to tie knots like a real sailor.

Without bungee cords, camping would be a drag. Come to think of it, camping's still a drag ... but that's another column.

Along the same line, what did we ever do without ... zip ties? You know, those little one-way nylon straps that hold wires together? The ones that police carry large versions of to use as temporary handcuffs? Rarely is a project completed around our place without a half-dozen zip ties. It usually doesn't involve taking someone into custody.

Or pop rivets, for that matter. Check out the aluminum downspouts on the house, and you'll find pop rivets holding things together. They don't snag the leaves washing down the gutters the way the original metal screws did; neither do they work themselves loose.

Sure, they can't be removed with a screwdriver, but they're just about as easy to take out with the cordless screwdriver's big brother, the cordless drill.

A number of adhesives have gone into my "What did we ever do without" blank over the years, including epoxy, CA (super glue) and even Shoe Goo, but my current favorite is Gorilla Glue.

Actually, I use another brand of polyurethane glue for about every thing nowadays, or will at least until the bottle is empty.

Coming home Saturday, I found my new sandals had been pulled apart by the muck on the bottom of Hugh Butler Lake. Never fear, PU glue is here. With only about $2 worth of glue and $10 of labor, the $5 footgear is ready for another foray into the surf.

Hacksaw? I wouldn't think of using one. No sooner had I worn out a Dremel tool sawing off bolts than I had to run out and get a new cordless model. I probably should invest in an angle grinder instead of abusing a precision hobby-grade tool.

Torturing tools is a tendency I've been battling since my days back on the farm, when I had to learn that a wrench didn't make a good hammer. I got another reminder earlier this year, when my daily calendar of wisdom included the proverb, "Never force a piece of machinery to do what it doesn't want to do."

Come to think of it, back on the farm was where I encountered the first all-purpose tool: bailing wire.

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