Hangnails bother me so much that when I get one, I can't think of anything else until I get rid of it. I will even bite it off if I am without clippers (this doesn't work well and usually results in blood being drawn). The Tweezerman hangnail clipper was designed to cleanly cut off a hangnail. The angled blades make it easy to see what you're doing. It gets right to the nub of the hangnail, preventing it from spontaneously regenerating. I keep one in my desk drawer and another in my travel kit. Read the rest

I have self-healing cutting mats in a few different sizes. One of them is over 30 years old. I used it to help make the zine version of Boing Boing in the late 1980s. I still use it today. If you have never used a self-healing cutting mat, you don't know what you are missing. You can make thousands of craft knife cuts and the mat will still look new. Amazon has them on sale now for cheap. Read the rest

These vividly colored pens have a brush on one end and a fine firm tip on the other. I've been using them to take notes and doodle on important phone calls. This 18-pack is cheap, so if you routinely leave the caps off, like I do, there will not be a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Read the rest

Use code 3SULMIMO to get this universal travel adapter at a good discount. I just ordered one because I do quite a bit of international traveling and this adapter works almost everywhere, and in addition to an AC outlet, it has 3 USB outlets and 1 USC-C outlet.

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I gave my mother an Aura digital photo frame for Mother's Day (hopefully she's not reading this post). Before I shipped it to her, I set it up so it would be preloaded with family photos. It's a 9.7-inch HD display mounted in an attractive frame. It has a sensor so you can wave your hand and scroll through the photos. The cool thing about it is that I can add photos to the frame remotely through the Aura app. I also invited my sister to add photos to the frame, too. The app has face recognition and you can configure it to automatically send certain people to the frame. Overall, it was brainless to set up and I didn't have any connection problems like I often do with Internet of Things stuff (I'm looking at you, SkyBell). Surprisingly, there are no subscription fees. Read the rest

Ever since I started using these nylon mesh zipper bags, my travel experience has improved. I have one bag for paper stuff and pens, one for medicine and first aid, one for tools and gear, one for cords and portable power, and one for snacks. When I get home I leave the bags in my suitcase, making packing much easier the next time I take a trip. The bags are see-through and very durable.

I recently bought yet another set of these bags to hold components for Raspberry Pi projects. I think I have a total of 36 of these bags now. Read the rest

I've owned quite a few vegetable peelers, and the Kuhn Rikon model is my favorite. The blade is very sharp and it easily skins sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and even jicama. They are really cheap, too. Buy a 3-pack and share them with your friends. Every time they accidentally cut their finger using it, they'll think of you. Read the rest

My old 100-foot extension cord seemed to have wriggled out of my sight like a shy snake. I bought a replacement, from the AmazonBasics line. It coils nicely and is fairly lightweight, which doesn't bother me, because I'm not using it to power an electric kiln or an industrial clothes drier. Right now Amazon is selling it for a couple of bucks less than the usual price. Read the rest

Gildan crew T-shirts are very inexpensive and comfortable. Today's price is the lowest I can recall. If I didn't already have a shirt drawer bursting with Gildan tees, I'd buy another six pack. Read the rest

As a person who drinks copious amounts of tea and coffee, I can attest to the efficacy of these teeth-whitening strips. You just attach the tape-like strips to your upper and lower teeth and wear them for an hour (I usually forget I have them on because I'm so engrossed in my work). I noticed a big difference after the first day (the full course runs seven days). Read the rest

I use my Instant Pot nearly every day -- making chili, curry chicken, borscht, taco beef. Last night I made zucchini soup. We always have a lot left over, and the best way to store the leftovers is in a 64-ounce wide-mouth Ball jar with a plastic lid. Be sure to get the wide mouth jar, it's much more convenient. Read the rest

I have a few different LED headlamps, but this one is by far my favorite. It features a band of LEDs that throw light in a wide area in front of you. It lights up the entire area around you, as opposed to LED headlamps that illuminate just a spot. It uses 3 AAA batteries and has an easy on-off touch sensor switch. Read the rest

I have this tire pressure gage and use it once every few months to check the car air pressure.  The illuminated readout and valve come in handy in low light. It's made by Tacklife -- I have a lot of Tacklife tools and they all work really well. Read the rest

I've been using a Wen variable speed rotary tool since early 2017. It works as well as a Dremel tool costing several times as much, and the accessories are interchangeable. Right now, Amazon is selling it at a lower-than-usual price. Read the rest

Tacklife makes good low-cost power tools. I've bought a lot of different tools from Tacklife and use them all the time. If you use code B797VDYT you can get this Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Cordless Screwdriver with 32-piece screw bits and USB charging cable for about half the already low price. Read the rest

When my father upgraded to the latest Apple Watch, he gave me his old Series 3 model. I wasn't sure if I'd use it, but after a few months, I've decided it is a net plus in my life.

The best thing about it is responding to text messages by simply holding the phone up to my mouth and talking. The natural language processing is excellent. This feature saves me a lot of time every day.

I also like getting alerts about upcoming appointments, turn-by-turn directions (with vibration) when I'm walking in an unfamiliar city, flight change alerts (via TripIt), paying for stuff with Apple Pay, buying Starbucks by pointing the watch at the counter scanner, pressing the "Find my iPhone" button (which makes my iPhone beep so I can find it), and checking time with the world clock.

Right now Amazon has the 42mm model at a really low price, much less than the smaller 38mm model. Read the rest

The Instant Pot Ultra 6 Quart electric pressure cooker is on sale at a low price today. I use my Instant Pot a few times a week or more (chili, yogurt, soup, stews, borscht). You can find tons of cookbooks with recipes designed for this versatile cooker.

One thing a make a lot is chicken curry. I cut up two packs of chicken thighs (10 thighs), add them to a quart of chicken stock, a bag of baby carrots, a can of coconut cream, a tablespoon of salt, a lot of crushed garlic, a tablespoon of curry powder, and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. The meal takes 30 minutes to make. Read the rest