Nice passes and saving/making hand warmers

There are times when I get a close pass from a motorist and then there are times when I get passed like this driver. I often wonder if they're being extraordinarily courteous or they think I'm transporting uranium. They'll give me lots of room and I say to myself: "Wow. The rare and elusive >4 foot pass! Nice."

Here's a screen grab of a driver nearly changing lanes to pass while I was in the O'Hara bike lane. I'm accustomed to close passes in this lane because the magical bike lane paint seems to make drivers think that they don't have to give wide berth.

More frequently, we have bad passes though. Here's another impatient, aggressive driver on Melwood nearly taking off the sideview mirrors of parked cars in order to squeeze around us on the narrow street.

Vermont plate GNA 441: a Red Sox fan and a murderous jerk

I have a love/hate relationship with chemical hand and toe warmers. I only need them for 30-45 minutes for my sub-freezing morning commutes. Do I waste money and resources on a 6-8 hour warmer for this short ride?
Marko taught me that you can re-use warmers by placing them in ziplock bags and by starving them of oxygen, temporarily deactivating them to be used at a later time.
I've been successful in using only one set for 4 cold commutes this month!

I've been reading that a crafty person can make your own hand and toe warmers with scrap cloth, a sewing machine and uncooked rice (or feed corn). Just microwave the bag of rice for a few seconds and you've got a commute's worth of warmth in your boots.

Here, a crafty blogger person shows us how to do it:
http://www.vanessachristenson.com/2011/12/v-and-co-how-to-homemade-hand-warmers.html

If I only knew someone with scrap cloth and a sewing machine....