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List of Grilling Gadgets for Fourth of July

Americans can add something new and “out of the box” to their Fourth of July celebrations this year.

Featured on MSNBC, the following gadgets can make grilling outside more portable, more extreme and a little silly. The grilling gadgets were discovered by “That’s Nerdalicious!" and reported this week.

1- Element Portable gas grill (Commentary: Until the iPad has an app that would allow us to grill a couple of burgers up on the screen, the Element Portable is about as compact and functional as its going to get. Features of the Element Portable include: an 8,000 BTU burner, 160 square inches of cooking surface, push-button ignition, legs that fold up to become handles, a red travel band, dishwasher-safe runoff tray and a shoulder strap. That’s right - you can actually wear this grill. The difference is that you won’t have to explain to your buddies about the difference between a satchel and a purse. Cost: About $150.)

2- Altoids can grill (Commentary: Believe it or not, there is an even more convenient way than the Element Portable to grill up a burger and a hotdog. Although you will have to compromise a little on the size of the cooking surface. This pocket-sized, do-it-yourself grill is made out of an Altoids tin, some sheet metal screws and two computer fan guards. For a fuel source, all it needs is a single charcoal briquette. It’s everything you need to cook up a single burger or hot dog, and maybe even toast up a marshmallow for s’mores. Plus, you can use it just about anywhere. Pricing may vary.)

3- The Kitchen Magician (Commentary: The Kitchen Magician is the Swiss Army Knife of grilling utensils. It features 19 tools in one including everything from a spatula to a coffee filter to a pepper shaker. It’s one of those gadgets that packs in so much functionality that it ends up getting in its own way to become nearly useless. Cost: $12.49.)

Like us on Facebook (Commentary: We love the taste of food from a charcoal grill, but gas grills get the most use because it’s so much easier to fire up. The Turbo Charcoal Lighter can speed up the charcoal process thanks to a large chimney lighter that can be ignited quickly with a gas-powered burner. It’s also a lot safer than using a Roman candle Cost: $49.95.)

5 -Bruce balcony grill (Commentary: If you live in an apartment, grilling is most likely handled by George Foreman. For apartment dwellers with a balcony, one way to get around that problem is to use this flower box-style charcoal grilling system. It can be mounted on the railing to save space. Of course, watch fire codes. Pricing not available.

My Airfare Pricing Proposal | So Much Cooler Online

Airfare pricing is a silly dance. It’s possible to fly across the country and every passenger will have paid a different fare. I know they’ve got the actuaries and statistical models to maximize profitability, but I’m curious how a different pricing structure would work. I propose a different kind of transparency. Instead of customers and airlines playing chicken with each other , what if they offered a predictable, fair price well in advance, and increased in a predictable way as the departure date got closer?

It wouldn’t have to be a screaming deal, but it would give incentive for customers to buy early knowing prices will only go up if they wait. And the airline will sell more tickets earlier on, so they could fill up the plane without a profit-killing fire-sale. Then, if there are still empty seats at truly the last-minute, the company can offer a super-cheap fare to real impulse flyers.

This way, customers can feel confident they’re making a smart decision to hand over the money now, knowing prices will only go up — and not wanting to gamble on true last-minute availability.  With their constant price changes, airlines seem to go out of their way to make customers feel unconfident, and that’s not a great way to do business.  Beyond the assurance they’ll reach their destination safely, people want to feel the got the best deal available to them with the least amount of headache.

Say it goes something like this:

The airlines think they can manipulate demand more than they really can. Most people I know have a destination, and then seek out the lowest fare using the online tools available. Nobody is going to wait until the last second to book a ticket in the hopes of an amazing deal if they have somewhere they really need to be. Under my pricing model, these are profitable customers that are willing to pay a good fare in advance. But when the plane is empty and the price is still artificially high, they know they’re getting taken.

It will certainly be a tough model to stick to, like the car dealer who says no-haggle pricing and means it.  But consider other industries using a similar model. Hotels, another business with a limited inventory that goes 100% to waste when unused, often offer discounts for customers who pre-pay in advance. Registration fees for conferences start cheap well in advance, but go up as you get closer to the event. Customers who can plan ahead are better off, and they’re happier. And in general, aren’t companies better off when their customers are happy? Maybe some brave airline will try my experiment.

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