Sigh.... I'm a complete nerd... and so, the concept of gadgets (especially electronic ones) are like catnip to a cat. I have countless things that I pick up, of which some actually get used quite often... and others, get stashed away for the time that I will really need it or find a use for it!
So, asking me to pick a single favourite gadget is like asking me to pick a favourite child... or if you don't have children, asking to pick a favourite beer... and if you don't drink, asking who your favourite child is! After thinking it over.. I did settle on my most favourite gadget, plus two others that I think are just pretty cool as well. Unfortunately, in picking the winner and two runner ups, I had to disappoint many of my gadget friends.
Read on for my entry to My favorite gadget contest - Win 500 STEM Tokens run by @stemgeeks!
The Favourite
Many of gadgets are electronic and I do take many of them with me, when I'm either travelling or just getting around town in my daily routine. That means that they are in constant demand for that lovely electrical goodness that oils and powers their inner workings. To keep that vampiric thirst for electrons sated, I have a stonking huge 20,000 mAhr battery from Anker. Actually, I have a few of these batteries, as they can take a bit of time to charge if you don't have a high output wall charger with USB-C outputs.
So, the gadget that is the indispensable part of the setup is a decent multi-ended power cable from Anker, the Powerline II, 3 in one cable. Firstly, the Powerline series from Anker is a high quality charging cable in braided or plastic covered wiring that adheres to the relevant power standards for USB power delivery. So, no worries about accidentally frying any hardware with differences in USB-C power delivery aberrations.... and as I've found over many years of being a loyal Anker customer, their stuff is high quality AND durable. There is nothing worse than having a power cable snap or fray.... Anker gives a LIFETIME guarantee on their cables! Of course, that does come at a bit of a price premium against cheapo cables, but adherence to power standards and guaranteed durability is worth quite a bit more than a few euros!
Now, the reason that this is such an essential part of my travelling kit is the fact that we currently exist in a bit of a transition poop-show between USB-C and micro-USB connections for power delivery. Some of my gadgets have the older micro-USB connection and others have the newer USB-C connection... and some of my friends have a weird Lightning fruit connection. I always keep my battery zipped up in my bag, and the end of the power cord hanging in easy reach near the top or in a side pouch (connected to the battery)... and there is nothing more annoying when you are loaded up for travelling (or riding a bike.. or walking..) to feel around the tips of the power cable to see if you have the right cable for the gadget that you want to power.
Hence, the triple ended power outlet! You just grab the single cable end and you stick whichever cap is appropriate for your current charging needs! The downside (but from an engineering point of view, a necessary requirement) is that the power delivery is done through a micro-USB end (the other ends plug into the micro-USB and then to the device), which means that you have to deal with the lower power delivery output of the older USB standard.... that said, it is fast enough, as most of the time I only need to repower a device and not power AND use it at the same time.
So, that was my favourite gadget... in the end, it wasn't one of the superstars (like headphones, or Switch... or laptop... or gaming mouse... or Ledger X... or Bluetooth transmitter.... or....)... but one of the under-recognised cogs in the ecosystem, the humble charging high-quality, durable and versatile cable!
Two interesting ones
I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to opening jars... I'm a violinist, so people expect me to have strong hands... but to play the violin, you are more about dexterity rather than CRUSHING the violin! So, I have weakish hands... which means that my wife needs to be the one opening the jars as she has stronger hands than me.
However, recently I bought this little tool that acts like a torque wrench... harnessing the brain-power of the user over the brute strength in the hands. Let me say, it has been a game changer! I can now independently open jars without reliance on my wife! In fact... I'm starting to wonder why I need to have her around?
As a kid, LEGO was great fun... but inevitably led to skinned cuticles and broken fingernails when you tried to pry LEGO apart.... or worse, you would use sharp knives to get in between those LEGO pieces (actually... that was my father's idea!).
These days, as my girls start to get into LEGO more and more, I've noticed that LEGO have included this handy little gadget for getting pieces apart! All the little bits and pieces, leverage and sharp edges that you will need to turn LEGO from a blood sport and an exercise in frustration into an enjoyable game of building stuff!
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