The Benjamin Franklin chair and stepladder – revisited.

This smart chair and stepladder combo was supposedly invented by Benjamin Franklin for the libraries of the USA, but it looks as though his patent has expired (if he ever had one). This is the third chair and stepladder based on the same idea that we have seen so far. This one comes from Stonewall Kitchen and it is USD 159:-.brbr

RFID door lock makes safer doors.

Previously, we have been critical, or at least skeptical, to RFID technology. At least as far as it involves passports, ID-cards, bus passes and so forth, since those will reveal your movements. This application, however, may be a really bright idea. The door lock is managed via RFID key-fob or card and all you have to do is touch the card or key-fob to the lighted button for the lock to identify you and open the door. The RFID lock should be suitable for security doors too, since it requires no physical contact or hole in the door to work. It also has a dead-bolt feature and a built in alarm if someone tries to force the door. The RFID door lock is USD 300:- on Think Geek.brbr

Cleaning beads for hard to reach places.

This must be the thing for everyone who likes to use a decanter to aerate their wine, or on the other end of the scale, those who pour their BIB wine into a carafe to make it appear a bit less like plonk. Both groups have probably noticed the cleaning the carafes is not a simple thing. With this product, however, all you are supposed to have to do is pour some water into the carafe, add the beads and swirl around for a while. The balls of steel will remove residue from the bottom, and afterwards you rinse them off to use them again. Wonder if it would work with ordinary smallish steel ball point bearing balls? From Wine Enthusiast for USD 20:-.brbr

Cellphone with a built-in bluetooth headset.

Chinese mobile telephone maker Naxin are selling a mobile with a smart compartment with a bluetooth headset. The headset is charging in its slot when you are not using it. The phone, called NX788 has GSM double bands , supports Bluetooth A2DP, has twin SIM card slots, a 1.3 mega pixel camera, a microSD slot, supports MP3 and MPEG-4 plus a QVGA touch-screen display. The little miracle is on sale in Hong Kong for USD 190:-. We would be tempted to pick one up if we were going that way.brbr

Shopping bag grip #15.

We just could not resist this one. Not after we have posted on no less than 14 other solutions on the bag grip. It is amazing how much thought and creativity that is being spent on coming up with new solutions to this rather trivial problem. USD 6:-. See the other bag grips here. brbr

Breathing wine glasses.

German glassworks Glashütte Eisch has a series of glasses made using a glass quality they call Breathable Glass. Wine poured into the new glasses and left resting there between 2 and 4 minutes will, according to the Eisch web site, get the same aeration as decanted wine left alone for between 1 and 2 hours. The glasses are made from lead free crystal glass and have been oxygenated after manufacture to get the desired properties.brbr

Secret stash in your laptop’s PC-card slot.

We have posted on several different clothes and shoes with built-in secret pockets and stashes. Now the turn has come to the computer, at least laptops with PC-card slots. If your laptop has a PC-card slot you can substitute the card with a Stash Card, that has room for some of your dearest stuff. Some cash, perhaps, or a couple of flash cards. Or a credit card… probably not, come to think of it, since if the Stash Card could swallow a credit card, they would have said so on the site. The Stash Card is USD 8:- with Wireless Garden.brbr

More ventilated shoes.

The other day we posted on the ventilated Breezewalk shoes, and just a couple of days later we stumble on an ad poster for these shoes. They are called Geox, and they look like they breathe with the sole, rather than with the heel as the Breezewalks do. The Geox shoes uses a patented membrane in the sole of the shoe that lets water vapor through but stops water drops. The Geox shoes are around USD 70:- on Amazon.brbr

Hanger and squeezer for toothpaste tubes.

We have a special fondness for tube squeezers of every kind. This is a new find from a Bangkok department store. Sorry we cannot remember which one. It is a tube roller where you put the end of the tube, and turn until it sticks, and a hanger with a suction cup to be placed on a bathroom tile. The squeezer/hangers were available in orange, green and blue plastic (we would have loved a transparent one) for THB 25:- (approx. USD 0.73) which must be considered reasonable.brbr

Phone strap for stemmed glasses.

Not because it is über-smart. But because it is a bit funny. And because it reminds us of Henry Chinaski (Mickey Rourke) in Barfly. The phone strap for everyone who wants to keep his or hers wine glass close to the heart. It is USD 25:- on Wine Enthusiast.brbr