Yesterday was my 34th birthday and I had a wonderful time with family at home while our roof was being replaced (cedar shingles) with a next-gen composite roof (another topic for another time).  Despite the hammering, we had a great dinner and this year, my mom gave me a Thermapen, connecting my love of grilling and BBQing and gadgetry.  This device was originally designed for laboratory use and now is used by culinary professionals around the world. It displays actual internal or liquid temperatures in 3-4 seconds vs. the 20 most take today.  I had the opportunity to try one out at least year's Eggfest and have been pining for it ever since.

The packaging is well done- each unit is individually calibrated and noted in pen by an inspector, it includes an NSF certification and certificate noting its rated to over 500 degrees.  Flip out the temperature probe and it automatically powers up.  If you have a chef or grillmaster in your family, this is a must-have gadget for saving them from singed knuckles.