Monster’s Outlets To Go power strip is the most useful many-purpose accessory I’ve ever thrown into a bag and plugged into a wall. Or a floor. It’s a light and compact four-outlet power strip with a short cord that wraps around it and plugs into one of the four outlets. It’s smaller than most remote controls and weighs remarkably little. And, while I believe it’s rated only for 110-volt outlets, I’ve used it with 220-volt ones in Europe and elsewhere.

I’m writing about it now because my last one, after many years of heavy use, finally failed. So I went to Fry’s, here in Palo Alto, assuming that, if anybody had it, they would. (It’s a legendarily huge place with lots of electronic stuff.) But they didn’t. Nor did Any of the Radio Shack stores I checked. It was at Radio Shack that I bought mine in the first place. But alas, Radio Shack seems to be mostly about cell phones and games these days. (They’ve seemed lost for many years now.)

Anyway, Monster still makes the things. Guess I’ll have to order one online. The list price is about $20, but I’ve seen it for half of that. I also see that Fry’s has a 3-outlet version for about $20 on its website. But get the four-outlet one.