What you consider *superior* products

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imoldernu said:
Love the memories of the Duncan YoYo...

...

Now, one small point here... The Duncan motto was "It's a Duncan"... Most of my friends could only hope, some day to own a Duncan. I think they were a whole Dollar, and who could afford a dollar?... The "Duncan" was like the Red Ryder BB gun in "A Christmas Story"... The Duncan was polished wood, smooth, and... IT COULD SLEEP. Gordon Annon had one, and lorded it over us poorer kids. We had the W.T. Grant special for $.25... it was rough wood, and the string was fixed, so it could not sleep. (sigh)

...
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Ahhh, you filled in some missing blanks for me.

So more recently, my son got into yo-yo's in his early teens. I don't recall that he ever got very good at it, but he like collecting them, and relatives were pleased because it was an easy casual birthday/holiday gift to add a few yo-you's to his collection - he had a little suitcase for them that doubled as a display case.

When you mentioned "It's a Duncan", I recall that (barely), but what else was there? I don't recall a "W.T. Grant special". Duncan must have taken over by the late 50's?

And the whole 'sleep' thing - that might have been one of my early "how does that work" type questions. So the string was loose on a smooth shaft so it just spun when it hit the bottom. But if you wound the loop of string to just the right tightness (and it was a loop of string, the other yo-o's were a single string), a tug would cause it to grip enough to catch and it would then climb back. Clever stuff!

I wonder what the total damage has been over the years to windows, vases, TV screens, mirrors, etc from those Duncan's? At least they were too big to 'put your eye out'! ;)


-ERD50
 
ERD50 said:
I wonder what the total damage has been over the years to windows, vases, TV screens, mirrors, etc from those Duncan's? At least they were too big to 'put your eye out'! ;)


-ERD50
Click to expand...

Funny you mention that. I never did, but one of my friends did break a window in the house. And he forever after heard:

FireBug said:
"TAKE THAT $%$@#% THING OUTSIDE!
Click to expand...
 
Milwaukee power tools---durable
Porter Cable power tools---refined accuracy
LG ductless heat pump----super efficient and comfortable
Micheline Xice 3 snow tires--Gives confidence driving on ice/snow
Mercruiser Bravo 3 Drive--amazing holding power in the water
Hobie kayak with Mirage drive--innovative thinking
Lazyboy recliners--aaaahhhh
Cummins Diesel in a dodge truck--will outlive me
2014 Ford Escape----wow, average car technology has advanced!
IPad----Thank you apple
Swifter----made cleaning smooth floors a snap
Tilex daily tub spray-- we never have to wash the tub/shower
Kubota BX series tractor-a mighty mo that never gives up

Propane anything sucks---price out of control
Tankless water heater sucks--cold slugs and longer than normal to heat up
2004 honda accord---frickn lemons
Sleep number bed---eh, dont waste your money
 
tmm99 said:
Wild salmon patties by Trident

I saw this at Costco, and I looked up the ratings and couldn't believe how much people like them, so I bought them, and WOW. I LOVED THEM!!

Costco - Trident Seafoods® Wild Alaskan Salmon Burgers customer reviews - product reviews - read top consumer ratings

Best salmon burgers I've eaten by a HUGE margin. And the price at Costo on this is unbeatable.
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They had these on sample at my Costco on Thursday. Tasty, but we are spoiled by the in-store made salmon burgers at our HEB - chopped salmon with jalapeño, onion, cheese, and I'm not sure what else but they are yummy.
 
I am always happy with my purchases at Costco. I have been shopping there for 20 years and never had to return anything.
 
I had 2 different electronic meat thermometers. I bought them for around $20-25 each at places like Walmart. After having them for a while, I noticed that when I used them to check my steaks, one tended to result in overdone meat, while the other was the reverse. So, one day I checked them side-by-side in a pot of water being heated, along with an engineering thermometer using a standard thermocouple. The result: the 2 el-cheapo thermometers differed by at least 5F at the range of 120F-140F (one high, one low relative to the engineering thermocouple), and both were badly off at higher temperatures like 160F.

Recently, a visiting friend touted about his thermometer that he said was worth every penny, and it cost quite a few pennies. It's the "Thermapen". At $99, it was a bit rich for me and I would not think of spending that much. It came as a surprise to me to receive it as a gift from my friend a few days later.

The pointed tip of this thermometer penetrates the meat easily, and its small thermal mass means very fast temperature taking: a mere 2 seconds to reach equilibrium with the meat temperature. It's also calibrated to less than 1F error from the range of -58F to 400F; it's got to be for that price!

I used it to grill some meat last weekend, and darn, the thing was so nice to use. If you are a serious cook, it's highly recommended. For years, I did not know what I was missing. Here's how fast it is: when I poke the meat, the temperature reading jumps up as the probe tip contacts the outside layer of the meat, then drops down as it penetrates deeper.
 
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NW-Bound said:
...
Recently, a visiting friend touted about his thermometer that he said was worth every penny, and it cost quite a few pennies. It's the "Thermapen". At $99, it was a bit rich for me and I would not think of spending that much. It came as a surprise to me to receive it as a gift from my friend a few days later.

The pointed tip of this thermometer penetrates the meat easily, and its small thermal mass means very fast temperature taking: a mere 2 seconds to reach equilibrium with the meat temperature. ...
Click to expand...

Yes, the Thermapen has quite a following in the beer home-brewing community. Mostly used to hit mash temperatures, in the range of ~ 140F to ~ 158F and fastidious brewers may want to be within ~ 1F of target for repeat-ability.

BTW, I can't recall if I read this, or just mentally reverse-engineered this, but I think the reason it is so fast, is that they know the time-constant of the design, and do some predicting. Let's say the TC is one second, so if the temperature changed X in one second, they display Tinit+1/((0.632)*Tdelta). And then recalculate as it settles. They probable undershoot a bit so you don't see the reading fluctuate high and low, but appears to quickly approach the final temperature.

-ERD50
 
Yes, they can put in a "lead" in software to compensate for the "lag" in hardware, meaning the probe tip. Still, the tiny tip gives it a huge advantage.

I still do not know how other makers can't find a way to beat its price of $99. With today's electronics being so cheap, what's the reason for its relatively high price? For comparison, a 2TB hard disk can be bought for $80, and that requires precise and fine-tuned mechanical parts and sophisticated electronics.


PS. Amazon now shows this at $199! Crazy!

PPS. The above might be an error on Amazon's part. By the way, Thermoworks, the maker of the above, also has other thermometers at more reasonable prices of $29 and $19. I think I will get one of the latter for the 2nd home. They are a bit slower (5 sec vs. 2 sec), and calibrated within a smaller range - top temp of 212F instead of 400F but that's more than enough for meat temperature.
 
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NW-Bound said:
Yes, they can put in a "lead" in software to compensate for the "lag" in hardware, meaning the probe tip. Still, the tiny tip gives it a huge advantage.

I still do not know how other makers can't find a way to beat its price of $99. With today's electronics being so cheap, what's the reason for its relatively high price? For comparison, a 2TB hard disk can be bought for $80, and that requires precise and fine-tuned mechanical parts and sophisticated electronics.


PS. Amazon now shows this at $199! Crazy!

PPS. The above might be an error on Amazon's part. By the way, Thermoworks, the maker of the above, also has other thermometers at more reasonable prices of $29 and $19. I think I will get one of the latter for the 2nd home. They are a bit slower (5 sec vs. 2 sec), and calibrated within a smaller range - top temp of 212F instead of 400F but that's more than enough for meat temperature.
Click to expand...

Agreed, it's hard to understand the price delta. I've got a $15 one that works well, (this one) but no stated accuracy. But as you say, accuracy is cheap these days.

-ERD50
 
By the way, here's another advantage of the skinny probe tip of the Thermaworks thermometers, the expensive Thermapen as well as the $19 one. I poked the steak several times and in different spots, and at no time did the juice ooze out of the meat as happened with my older thermometer. And I could poke the meat without having to hold it steady with the tongs, like I had to do with the gargantuan probe of my earlier inaccurate meter, which dug holes in the steak.
 
While the fast sensing of Thermaworks meat thermometer sounds good, what advantage does that have over a thermometer with a wired probe that I can just leave in the meat on the grill or in the oven and have an alarm alert me when it is approaching the desired temperature?
 
Bricor showerhead. It uses 1.5 gpm, but it is an aerated showerhead that uses water pressure to pull air into the stream to create a turbulent flow that feels much more generous. Like all aerated heads it is noisy, but to me its particular noise sounds like heavy rain in a deciduous forest and is very relaxing. They have to be purchased from the Bricor website.

Addi Turbo circular knitting needles. If you knit, you know.

Induction cooktops. They have the touch of gas, but are easier to clean than either gas or radiant electric plus they are substantially more energy efficient.

Cree/Ecosmart LED bulbs.
 
AllDone said:
Bricor showerhead. It uses 1.5 gpm, but it is an aerated showerhead that uses water pressure to pull air into the stream to create a turbulent flow that feels much more generous. Like all aerated heads it is noisy, but to me its particular noise sounds like heavy rain in a deciduous forest and is very relaxing. They have to be purchased from the Bricor website.

Addi Turbo circular knitting needles. If you knit, you know.

Induction cooktops. They have the touch of gas, but are easier to clean than either gas or radiant electric plus they are substantially more energy efficient.

Cree/Ecosmart LED bulbs.
Click to expand...

Which model shower head are you referring to?

Thanks
 
I had a wireless meat thermometer that would say things like "Your food is almost ready!" The concept was great, but it was flaky, and didn't always work. I also didn't trust the temperature.

So I got one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EHNH3JC/ref=pe_385040_30332190_TE_3p_M3T1_ST1_dp_1

It's not wireless, and it just beeps when the temperature is reached, but it's worked great so far.
 
TromboneAl said:
I had a wireless meat thermometer that would say things like "Your food is almost ready!" The concept was great, but it was flaky, and didn't always work. I also didn't trust the temperature.

So I got one of these:

Amazon.com: ChefAlarm (Black): Kitchen & Dining

It's not wireless, and it just beeps when the temperature is reached, but it's worked great so far.
Click to expand...

Yes, i've had one of those for years. I use it on the barbecue. My new oven (Electrolux) has a built-in probe that also works really well. It even has a "Perfect Turkey" setting which actually makes a perfect turkey.
 
pb4uski said:
While the fast sensing of Thermaworks meat thermometer sounds good, what advantage does that have over a thermometer with a wired probe that I can just leave in the meat on the grill or in the oven and have an alarm alert me when it is approaching the desired temperature?
Click to expand...

Both of my inaccurate thermometers are of the type you described, meaning they have a remote sensing probe that can stay with the roast in the oven while the display unit is outside of the oven. One of mine is even a wireless one, so that I can monitor the temperature from inside the home whenever I use a small oven in the patio to avoid heating up the home in the winter. I still continue to use the above thermometers, knowing now to compensate for their inaccuracies with the Thermapen.

The real advantage of the Thermapen small tip and its fast reaction time is for final check of the roast, or for checking temperature of pan-fried meat or a fish fillet. Last weekend, I used it when grilling shish kabobs to check the temperature of several cubes of steak and chicken. It was great.

By the way, I lost a wired probe once by leaving it in the grill with a steak. The extreme local heat melted the insulation of the wire at one spot and shorted it out.

TromboneAl said:
I had a wireless meat thermometer that would say things like "Your food is almost ready!" The concept was great, but it was flaky, and didn't always work. I also didn't trust the temperature.

So I got one of these:

Amazon.com: ChefAlarm (Black): Kitchen & Dining

It's not wireless, and it just beeps when the temperature is reached, but it's worked great so far.
Click to expand...

This unit price is not too bad, and it being from Thermoworks, I expect it to be more accurate than the no-name generic brand that I bought for not a whole lot less.
 
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I've never had an instant read that was fast enough for me. But here's what I do: put it in a glass of hot water first. Starting from 130 degrees is faster than from 70.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app
 
Fitbit. When I lost my Zip's battery cover (needed for it to work), I emailed customer service and they sent a complimentary replacement Zip (did not even charge for postage).
 
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