One I didn’t see mentioned yet: a rice cooker.
Put in rice, add water, push start button, and you get perfect rice every time. I’m usually against single-purpose kitchen tools but a rice cooker is soo worth it.
Really only if you eat a lot of rice. For once a year or so, a pot on the stove works just fine. The actual benefit I’ve see for ricecookers is how well they can hold the rice for hours ready to go, but that’s more of a commercial benefit I think.
[…] but that’s more of a commercial benefit I think
For me, this is the primary benefit of a rice cooker. Having warm, cheap, filling food on demand at any time is fantastic. I am so lazy and my little rice buddies are always ready to go when I can’t be bothered.
“Rice is great if you’re really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something”
I eat a lot of ice and I still just make it in a pot.
I like to imagine you huddled over an ice field, stirring water in a pot until it turns to the perfect slushy consistency for your fresh homemade ice.
Shit this comment made me so thirsty good lord I need some water
Artesan ice. $17.99/litre
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I need this recipe ASAP.
Get a box of brownie mix
Mix according to the instructions
Put in rice cooker
Start cooker
Brownies are done when cooker cycle finishes. Test with toothpick, run longer if not fully baked.
OK that sounds so simple. Going to try this. Thanks!
I would like to know more about this.
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A rice cooker can serve as a cheaper instapot tho. I can steam rice and veggies without having to babysit a pot.
I also have kitchen anxiety, and in a roommate situation can keep a rice cooker in my room.
Living in Japan, this almost didn’t register to me. I have literally never met anybody that didn’t have one. When you move out, you use your family’s old one until you can buy a newer one.
Everyone should have one, absolutely.
When I did a homestay in Japan, my host dad was shocked my family didn’t have one. I do now though!
I know this will be a popular response, but I don’t get it.
I just use a pot and the rice is always perfect? Not hard at all? Am I just good?
I used to do that for years, but rice cookers really do some magic to get perfectly fluffy rice. I thought my technique was good, until I tried rice from a rice cooker.
Meanwhile, I’ve been disappointed by rice cooker rice and make it better the old fashioned way. :shrug:
You should look into Zojirushi. They make the best rice cookers
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I recently got an instant pot and gave my rice cooker back to my parents, the tough part was figuring out how to make it not stick of you don’t have a nonstick liner. Letting it naturally release pressure with the keep warm off seems to do the trick for mine, I’m guessing quick release releases too much moisture, and the keep warm doesn’t help either. With that I get good rice every time with no sticking.
I have the same pot and it defaults to low but every recipe I find says use high so that’s what I’ve beeping doing. Now I kinda Wana try low.
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Mine always seems turn turn out fine on high 6min with 10min natural release but now you have me wondering if I just haven’t had good rice haha. How long do you do it on low?
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Hmm, okay, I’ll bite. What’s the secret with low pressure for long grain rice like basmati? I’ve been using 1:1 ratio rice:water for 6 minutes on high with a 10 minute natural release.
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Interesting. How many minutes on low, and quick release or natural?
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We sold our rice cooker on eBay after finding out the microwave rice cooker addon for 10€ is just as good, if not faster.
Lol TIL people are buying used rice cookers on eBay
So what?
It’s great for quinoa, farro and couscous too. Love our tiger rice cooker, it’s a work horse!
So much this. I’m usually responsible for cooking for the week, and prepping rice was so much of a hassle in the middle of cooking everything else that most of the time I didn’t even bother and went for pasta instead— way easier to cook, but easily 3x the calories.
After I got a rice cooker, I just pop like 4 cups in that mfer and we got enough rice to last through like 2 days worth of dinner + bentos for lunch the day after.
Get a rice cooker y’all.
ok this might sound heretical but a “hack” i learned from cooking youtube is to just boil rice like pasta then drain. I do this for about ~12 mins with white rice and it comes out perfect every time with no risk of messing up. Downside is you need to drain it.
unsure the validity of this claim? but apparently there can be a non-insignificant amount of arsenic in american grown rice, and boiling can help leech it out into the water.
what’s the difference with cooking rice the normal way?
Love mine.
When I make chicken or beef stock I put it in I’ve cube trays. On some mornings I add the rice, a stock ice cube, and maybe some miso. I let it ride while I get ready and then crack an egg on the cooked rice and add some avocado, tamari and rice seasoning (nori and sesame)
Best breakfast and super easy
For anyone who doesn’t want a rice cooker but can’t find a good basic white rice recipe: Put rice and water in a pot (1 cup rice to 1.5 cup water. People will tell you 2 cups water, punch them, or ignore them, your choice.) Turn it on high until it boils, stirring lightly occasionally to stop it from sticking. As soon as it starts boiling (not simmering) cover it with a lid and turn on low. Keep covered until it’s done (just taste it to test if it’s done.)
P.S. You can add whatever seasonings you want if you find something good online or something. It’s not important to actually cooking the rice.
My husband got us a Zojirushi rice cooker for my birthday one year, and I love it so much! We had an old $15 Oster one previously, which was also pretty nice to have, but oh boy. I’m spoiled by Zojirushi now. We could make a cake in it! I haven’t yet… But I could! Lol.
I’ve always wanted to try one of those, nice.
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More importantly, it clutters the kitchen.
Is it different from a pressure cooker? Because pressure cooker is similar (add water, rice, start cooking, wait for X whistles) and has multiple use cases.
Rice cookers are not sealed for high pressure (they are in fact not sealed at all, just like regular pots and lids, because they need to lose excess moisture) and they are configured for this one particular thing: every rice cooker is calibrated for a fixed serving of rice (or couple different settings) with fixed amount of water. All it really does is turn off at the perfect moment,
which is determines by weight.which is determined by a thermostat (magnet-based in this case)The high end rice cookers use sensors and will vent excess moisture or hold in moisture as need and can adjust cook time.
Zojirushi calls their sensors “micom”
Oh, I have a pressure sealed rice cooker, but it’s the top of the line Zojuroshi and is more like $600. It’s also not fast, takes like an hour, but the rice is divine. Sadly, I rarely cook rice. I got it for my sister, who lived in China for a while and used to eat rice all the time, but then moved into a tiny house and gave it back to me… I can’t really bear to throw it out - but I only use it if I’m making a huge amount of rice randomly.
Ah okay. Thanks!
A pair of high fidelity earplugs (aka concert earplugs or filtering earplugs). You can get a good non-custom pair for $15–$40, and that’ll work well for the average person for a long time.
They’re excellent for live music, airplanes, and anytime you want the world to be quieter but still need to be able to understand speech. And for music specifically, they can bring the volume level down just enough to be safe without muffling the sound like traditional foam earplugs do. Protect your hearing, kids!
Protect your hearing, kids!
Seriously, PROTECT YOUR FUCKING HEARING. I was young and stupid (now I’m no longer young) and went to way too many raves, gigs etc. without any sort of hearing protection, and now I have a nice constant background track of EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and can’t hear higher frequencies worth shit
Right ear went to working in a call centre. Left ear seems to be trying to decide if it’s going to recover or not from some unaware idiot in Tesco suddenly walking up and slamming his stock cart shut right next to me. I really hope I don’t end up with stereo EEEEEEEEEEEEE but it feels like an inevitable matter of time at this point. There goes the left one again…
I didnt even go to any concerts or anything and i still have it 😭
I can get tinnitus if I have too much ear-wax and I have to remove it periodically, since it wont come out on its own.
Yep, tinnitus is your brain filling in the absence of hearing, its not a condition in itself
I got some of these and they are excellent
Comfy enough to use for sleeping?
You can buy earplugs made specifically for this purpose that stick out less so you can lie down
I’m sure you could with these, but I would advise against it because smoke alarms.
I know it’s way more expensive, but the last gig I went to, I used my AirPods Pro in transparency mode, and it reduced the sound down from an insane ~110db to peaks of 90! Definitely worth protecting your ears.
Airpods (and noise cancelling in general) are not substitutes for hearing protection!
Yes, good point! Whilst it’s probably better than nothing, it won’t be a proper substitute for proper hearing protection like the earplugs mentioned
Yeah, I can’t stand losing the high frequencies and overall feel of the music with “musician’s” earplugs. How anyone other than a drummer plays with them and is satisfied is beyond me. I have some Etymotics just sitting here.
Do you have any more info on how you measured the db reduction? I love my AirPods Pro for reducing noisy environments but avoid them any time I actually need hearing protection because I’m not sure how effective they are.
Just went to my first concert with a pair of these and I highly recommend. Not having a headache and ringing ears the next day was really nice.
Do you have any brand and model recommendations?
I’m no earplug connoisseur, but I’ve been using Westone’s WM16 for smaller venues, and Etymotic Research’s ER20XS dual-flange for louder situations. I haven’t tried much else, but these work well for me. I’ve also heard great things about Earasers, Eargasm, and Hearos.
Earasers are a bit more expensive and appear to have a unique ergonomic eartip. iirc you can get them for $40 elsewhere, maybe Amazon. I’ve read that Earasers’ “-19dB Peak” model has a very slight sound reduction, so I’d probably opt for their middle “European Standard” model. On the other end of the price spectrum, Hearos is particularly inexpensive at a glance. Idk anything about specific models.
Some brands have multiple types of earplugs (e.g. for music, shooting, construction work), so make sure you’re getting one designed for music or “high-fidelity” or something like that. Any of the “good” brands are probably going to work just fine. (Read the reviews if you’re unsure.) Most brands seem to include multiple eartip sizes in the package so you can choose the right fit.
Beyond that, there is some element of personal preference. For example, I first tried Etymotic’s classic triple-flange version and didn’t like how deep they stuck into my ears. It felt invasive. But the dual-flange model feels great for me.
And finally, there are different options for how much attenuation (noise reduction) you want. Like I mentioned, my “-16dB average attenuation” earplugs feel good for small/medium venues (a backroom venue of a bar, maybe a theater). For a larger venue (arena or stadium, or even just a really loud loud theater) you’d definitely want more significant average attenuation, probably in the low-to-mid twenties.
Most earplugs will be confusingly marketed with multiple attenuation values. One will be an official NRR value, which is apparently required but controversial, and the other(s) will be the average and/or peak decibel reduction “when the product is used correctly” as reported by the manufacturer. It seems people don’t talk about the NRR as often. But it’s fun that they’ve made it more complicated for us to compare products.
I should also mention that if you’re a performing musician or hardcore concert-goer, you may consider springing for custom-molded earplugs, which are way pricier. I haven’t made that upgrade yet, but everyone who does seems to think it’s life-changing.
This got long, sorry!
I’m no earplug connoisseur
7 paragraphs about earplugs
uh oh, they’re onto me
+1 for Eargasm. The real MVP is the keychain carrying case which ensures I never leave home without em. As a drummer, DJ, and loud music enthusiast they’re one of my best purchases ever. I genuinely forget they’re in sometimes, but then I’ll take em out and it makes a big difference. Awesome quality of sound, just less damage.
I didn’t even know this existed. I really suffer in places with too much background noise.
For anyone reading this, I definitely recommend Earasers. I have spent the better part of my life around really loud music things, especially because of my job. These things work wonders and are incredibly comfortable and low profile
I have done this same thing. My hearing is a bit hypersensitive and these kinds of headphones have helped me in many different, loud situations!
Went to my first concert recently—I loved it, but immediately knew I should have bought a pair of these.
Even regular earplugs at a loud concert work amazingly well for me. I can still hear conversation (people yelling over the music) but the deafening volume of the concert is brought down to acceptable levels.
I don’t understand why concerts are so loud. They’re just…so, so fucking loud…
I’ve been using my AirPods Pro 2 at races. They seem to work exceptionally well with noise cancellation on.
If you have a car get a dashcam. It’s more valuable than any insurance because it will definitively prove what happened when something goes wrong. Bonus: you can post videos of bad drivers doing stupid things on the internet for imaginary points.
If only there was actually a good car dashcam, but every time I go down that rabbit hole I give up frustrated. The quality (build, mounting, video, whatever) is shit in pretty much all of them, and the “passable” ones look like a web cam from 2005 still.
There’s a reason for that, Linus Tech Tips did a great video on it. You’re better off buying an old go pro and using that.
there are also android apps to do it with your phone but then you need a fairly safe mounting point for imyoir phone high up
Only if you remember to turn it on
We’ve been happy with the VIOFO A129 Pro. Not very expensive and good quality video on both cameras day and night. There are lots of day/night comparison videos and the VIOFO beat a lot of cameras that were much more expensive.
Yep I’ve also got a VIOFO, works great.
I thought it would be kinda ugly when I looked at it, but depending on how your car is designed once it’s mounted you don’t really see it so it’s fine. Took a while to figure out how to wire it to the battery though, mostly because I’d never done that before.
I agree, I also have a VIOFO A129 DUO and it’s great. But I haven’t found the time yet to mount the rear cam… too much hassle to bring the cables to the back of the car.
Another happy (though quite new) owner of a VIOFO here, A119 Mini v2 in my case. Great picture quality.
People lie. Even a shittiest, cheapest dashcam will be better than nothing, when you have to prove to your insurance company who was really at fault after a collision.
I’ve bought the N2 Pro from Vantrue a couple of years ago and I’ve been super happy with it. The quality is pretty good and it has actually capable night vision and parking surveillance. I’ve also bought one for my brother in law (who got into an accident just a month after) and one for my grandma. Not to sound like an ad, but these are definitely worth checking out even if it’s an older model.
Look for a BlackVue or Thinkware.
I got one for $40 that’s 1080p, and the “high endurance” sd card I got for $15 is still going 4 years later.
Don’t overthink it. You don’t need something fancy.
I’d say before you even get a dashcam get an AC jump-starter. Those are less than $100
Definitely get one for your teenage driver. It keeps them honest and safe. And they will pay for themselves many times over if you get in an accident that wasn’t your fault. It’s like having your very own personal unimpeachable witness riding with you.
I agree and I have a dashcam. Best purchase ever, even though I hope to never need to use it.
I got my dash cam after someone tried to blame me for t-boning myself…
A bike. Poor people in underdeveloped countries can use it to get access to education and markets, while people from developed countries can ise it to keep healthy and reduce their environmental footprint
I was going to say that, but out of the 6 bikes in the garage none of them are under $100 even second hand.
In fact I would advise against getting a cheap shitty bike that isn’t going to last. Spend the extra money, get something good. It’s better for the environment and your wallet in the long run.
I’ve driven “good” bikes all my life. Aluminium frame, disc brakes, fancy suspension, 3x9 gears. That sort of thing.
Wanna know what my best biking experience was? Riding a steel frame, 3-speed dutch-style rental omafiets with no suspension and regular-ass brakes on a vacation. That thing was hella comfortable, sturdy as a brick and convenient.
If I lived in a not fully car-brained city where you can safely bike and was tight on money, I’d absolutely buy an old cheap used regular-ass steel frame bike with no frills and use the hell out of it until it’s irreparably broken. You can leave that thing standing in the rain, locked with just a frame lock (or perhaps even no lock at all) all without worrying that it might get damaged or stolen because there isn’t much to damage or steal in the first place.
I also don’t see how buying a “good” bike in any way helps the environment when the alternative is re-using something that’s already been built and successfully used before.
I love my 2000€ Brompton that I daily-drive but I’d be nearly as happy with a 100€ bike like I described above. You don’t get more bike when you go above that price point, you only get a more fancy bike.
A good “omafiets” costs a lot more than $100 though, at least here in the netherlands.
Oh I’m sure the one I rode cost a lot more than that, I just took that as an example for a super basic bicycle. Point being that this super basic one was better in many ways than the fancy one at home.
I was also not talking about getting a “good” omafiets either; that was, like, the whole point.
You don’t need an expensive bike for commuting, but for the sake of your health DO NOT DO any sports on cheap bikes! Repairing your skull is not fun. Different bikes for different rides!
I’m really jealous of the Brommie’s folding mechanism.
I currently use a full size Dutch-style bike, but been keeping my eyes out for a secondhand folder for easy travelling, once I can swallow the price 🥲
Steel vs. aluminum might very well depend on how big you are, and if you’re a guy or gal.
I’m small and the weight difference between aluminum and steel is significant enough that I’ll never go back to steel if I can help it. Basically, with aluminum I can carry groceries and such easier b/c the bike itself is lighter.
Large folks with lots of muscle might not see this difference, however.
Yeah I was going to say this too. I got a cheap Walmart bike and it was still $300.
Here in Germany you can get a second hand bike for free. In the UK I used to be able to get one for about 50£…My current one is quite fancy, and I got it for 180€, so I don’t think it’s impossible to find it cheap and good.
The usual warning is not to buy a new one in the supermarket for those prices, as what you get might be worse than not having a bike
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I have a bike in a city and it’s faster than the cars. The cars are always stuck in traffic as I fly by. Bikes are the best.
In some cities it’s faster to walk than to drive, lol.
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Can’t leave footprints if your feet aren’t touching the ground.
It would increase your travel distance though. Mechanical advantage for the win.
If you live in America, there are certainly a lot of things to consider on this point; mainly whether cycling in your area is even safe—obviously the ideal solution would be to move to an area with safer cycling, but that’s not an option for everyone—and I’d much rather someone not cycle than die because their area has horrible roads for cycling and they didn’t think about that. Check the safety of your area, and consider moving to a safer area for cycling if necessary (Or if you’re in it for the long haul, consider pitching in the community and trying to lead it towards a safer cycling future)
I was gonna say this.
$100 on craigslist or a local bike refurbishing place (where I got mine) will get you something that will last for years.
Throw in a $15 bike lock, a cheap returned helmet, and a $5 rear bike light and you’re set for life.
A bidet. You can install it yourself in 20 minutes and enjoy a lifetime of cleaner buttholes and save on tp.
3 dozen pairs of identical socks. Mine are black crew cut. I’ll wear them until the last few pairs are worn through and I’ll never have a sock without a mate.
Maybe specific, but if you do any DIY housework, get an endocscope. Baiscally, a 10 foot long flexible wire with a camera and light at the end. Uses your phone as a screen. Can be had for <$50. So many of my house projects would have been impossible without it. Also good for finding stuff under the couch.
A water kettle. Doesn’t have to be any fancy one, but it really fucking rocks for anything you might think of : want hot water for tea? No problem. Need hot water to steep something? No problem.
Most mid-range ones are insanely power efficient too, often being alot better than just boiling water on a stovetop, or using a microwave. And, depending on insulation, heat can be stored for over 6! hours.
A fire extinguisher can be found for less than 100 USD and is a must-have. A smoke detector is also a bare minimum in my opinion.
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99 bucks
Water sensor alarms.
If you have any doubts about the pipes in your house or have a feeling that water might enter your basement, sensors will help you sleep at night.
Water damage to your home is no joke. I know two separate homeowners who have had leaks from their refrigerator’s plumbing (water and ice dispenser). The damage for each homeowner was quite extensive given how small the leak was.
I second this!
Most people who have heard of water sensors know of the moen one. I’m in Canada, and my plumber recommended a Canadian company, Sinope. They were much less expensive and had a sensor in the line and ones you could put in and around appliances that use water.
The in-line flow sensor shuts off the water if it senses abnormal flow anywhere. But the physical sensors shut off the water when it’s leaking at that spot.
We’ve had no leaks, but the flow sensor shut off the water when I filled the kiddie pool and forgot to turn it off. It also cuts short, excessively long showers (that can be turned off).
The safety net is fantastic to have. We can install that freezer ice cube maker without a worry.
I went to go check out Sinope’s site, and it was already in my browser history. I wonder what past me was looking up…lol
Besides that, the smart valves are so much cheape than Moen! I might have to actually get one now. The ever looming threat of potential water damage stresses me out way too much.
The math we did was that the price was lower than an insurance deductible, and future rate hikes because of that. We also told our insurance company about it, and they said it reduced our home insurance cost. We halved our home insurance cost between the sinope, alarm system, pipe replacement, and changing providers.
For the sinope, you must consider installation cost if you want a plumber to do it. That probably adds hundreds.
I actually didn’t even think about the insurance deductible. You’re right that, even with installation, it would be less than that. Thanks for the info!
Home owners insurance or renters insurance should cover that, right?
In one case, it was under warranty but heavily disputed and it took a lot of posturing to get the work done.
In the other case, insurance took care of it, but flooring that would have been covered by insurance would not match the rest of the area, so the owners decided to renovate a lot more than they wanted to.
To me, the pain of having to live through the repairs/renovations is enough to make me vigilant of water leak issues.
Yup. They’re super cheap and awesome on the rare occasion they go off. If you place them right, you’ll even be alerted to tiny leaks like a slow drip from the toilet supply.
A portable car tire inflator (with build in battery).
An iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit. I can not even begin to count how many times it saved me.
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