Do you love brownies? Then this tip is for you. Rather than trying to cut your brownies with a knife, use an old credit card instead. A knife will usually mess up the brownies when you drag it through the pan. With the credit card, you simply push it down into the brownies — don't drag it. Just make sure that you clean the credit card before using it.

I have a neighbor who walks her dog every night. I'm always afraid that she's going to get hit by a car because she's very hard to see. Like most neighborhoods, ours is not well lit. I'd like to make a suggestion to everybody who walks their dogs at night: Buy the Trailerblazer Walking Light from L.L. Bean. This cool little device is better than a regular flashlight. It has two lights on the front of it, one that points down at the ground and the other that points straight ahead. It also has a read taillight to let alert drivers coming up behind you. Its $30 and you can find it at www.llbean.com.

I love the fall. I also love corn mazes. If you do too you need to check out Corn Maze Directory. This Web site has a fairly complete listing of corn mazes around the country. For local mazes you can check out the ongoing section of Get Out's Family Events calendar.

I'm a fan of Great Stuff expanding foam. If you're not familiar with it, it is the expanding foam that you can use to fill gaps in your house and make it more airtight. Dow, who makes Great Stuff, has several new versions of the product available. They have a version for big gaps, a version for rock ponds and even a version for fire block. The Web site also has some great tips on how to use the products.

Tim Thompson lives in Gainesville. E-mail Tim your ideas for tips, tools or tricks.