I bought this wooden utility cart for about $200 Canadian:
http://winsomewood.com/products/89933
it has helped me immensely in the kitchen in the last few months
Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2023
141–150 of 208 posts
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2023
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
I still don’t get it. My soldering iron is a hot piece of metal with a plastic handle. It works. What am I missing out on?
Getting hot has a lot of complexity, actually: How hot does it get? How can you select the temperature and how accurate is that selection? How well does it maintain the selected temperature? Simple soldering irons often don't even have temperature selection. And their predetermined temperature drops significantly when heat is transferred into the soldering pieces. I can dial the Pinecil very accurately to anywhere be…
Pretty much this. Abridged for my little knowledge: I can easily set up my favorite temperature, and I can be sure that it's constant no matter how big the part I'm soldering. As a bonus, the soldering iron cools down when I'm not using it, making accidental touches less painful. Another bonus: there's a "boost" button for very stubborn solder joints.
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2023
#143https://shokz.com/products/opencomm2 I am on conf calls and video chats for several hours per day. These are a product I would pay for until I die.
My mom got me a pair of AfterShokz (the former name of this brand) years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’m on my third pair now, and I’m pretty brutal on them. I wear them every day for long periods, and I really enjoy having headphones that don’t make me feel cut off from everyone around me, but still let me listen to podcasts that might not be kid-appropriate while I’m doing work around the house. They’ve dramatically improved for listening to music over the years, but I swap them out with dedicated IEMs for that most of the time. I also have a pair of over-ear headphones at my desk when I really need to tune out distractions.
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2023
#144A sous vide machine. It's just a fancy stick that circulates water at a precise temperature, but it makes the most delicious and tender chicken and fish that you'll ever make at home. You can start it in the morning and leave it going while you're out. Then dump the contents into a frying pan for a minute or two to sear the outside, and lunch/dinner is ready. You do need a vacuum sealer, but the total investment is l…
> You do need a vacuum sealer, No, you don't, zip-top bags with the excess air pushed out by water pressure and sealing after most of the bag is submerged work quite well.
mmm, delicious zip lock plastic cooked to perfection.
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2023
#145Muji porcelain toothbrush holder (ingenious design with natural drainage, no gunk accumulation): https://www.muji.us/products/porcelain-toothbrush-stand-d6a5 Toothpaste squeezer (I realize the juice is often not worth the squeeze, but it's fun to squeeze out the last few bits of toothpaste): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SHL6P8V Egg poacher (no loss of egg content, unlike other poaching methods): https://www.amazon.co…
I love the toothbrush holder :)
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2023
#146A set of nice flashlights. Why walk around in the dark? Some that I like: Sofirn SP36 BLF, LT1, SC21, HS10. Wurkkos TS10 (and I’ll be getting a TS11 soon.)
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2023
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
> You do need a vacuum sealer, No, you don't, zip-top bags with the excess air pushed out by water pressure and sealing after most of the bag is submerged work quite well.
mmm, delicious zip lock plastic cooked to perfection.
As opposed to the same plastic vacuum sealed and heated the same way?
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2023
#148A KVM switch with HDMI and USB, makes switching from personal and work computer so much easier
Do you know of any that support HDMI 2.1 properly for 8K 60 Hz monitors? I currently just have a USB switch and two HDMI 2.1 cables, and manually change the input on the screen each time.
I have the Aten CS1944DP, a dual screen, 4K60 DisplayPort KVM with the ability to drive 4 computers. I use two 27” 1440p144 monitors.
Cable management is a bit of mess, but it’s fantastic to be able to switch between personal, work, client and something else computers with the flick of a button (or keyboard shortcut).
I’ve not heard or seen any 8K KVM.
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2023
#149Earlier quoted context omitted.
> You do need a vacuum sealer, No, you don't, zip-top bags with the excess air pushed out by water pressure and sealing after most of the bag is submerged work quite well.
mmm, delicious zip lock plastic cooked to perfection.
You don't cook at temperatures where this is a problem.
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2023
#150A sous vide machine. It's just a fancy stick that circulates water at a precise temperature, but it makes the most delicious and tender chicken and fish that you'll ever make at home. You can start it in the morning and leave it going while you're out. Then dump the contents into a frying pan for a minute or two to sear the outside, and lunch/dinner is ready. You do need a vacuum sealer, but the total investment is l…
Been considering buying one but I am worried if plastic staying in contact with food while hot. Is this something you researched?
America's Test Kitchen looked into it and it's just not a problem at the temperatures used in sous vide.
There are no issues in terms of taste or plastic leaching or anything of the sort, though if you're really paranoid you can always use Mason jars or silicon bags.