3 or 4 vs 5 or 6

In the recent days since the RISD announcement I have been expanding my search for wisdom by meeting with current sitting university presidents as my new hobby. One president told me a funny story about former MIT president Paul Gray…

Taking a few days off – wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Today we arrived at our Christmas hide-away. We’ll be back with more smart stuff on the 2 or 3 of January 2008. Until then we wish all our old and new readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.brbr

Simple and cheap laptop stand.

We have been reading about this and that laptop stand for years. All have the purpose of rising and angling the laptop to make typing more comfortable, and to lift it from the table to enhance cooling. Earlier today we had this idea. We put the suction cups from our travel clothes line under our laptop to raise it from the table. So far it has worked just fine, and it has not cost us a cent since we already had the clothes line. The travel clothes line cost SEK 40:- (approx. USD 6:-), but after all we have just borrowed the suction cups…brbr

D.I.Y. blood type test.

Don’t know if we really would have believed in this, if it were not for the fact that our favorite anesthesiologist blogger, Joe on Book of Joe, had mentioned it. We have been thinking of having our blood typed, but the only way we figured out was to become a blood donor. Now that is not a bad idea in itself, they usually need all the blood they can get, but the thought of leaving a pint or so short has kept us away. If this test kit works as advertised, you can get the whole shabang done with just a couple of tiny drops… USD 8:99 on Think Geek.brbr

Crank powered, collapsible camping light.

This camping light fills all the basic requirements we would put on such a device. Except possibly that we would probably pick another color. It is crank powered and rechargeable. And it is collapsible. You get about 10 minutes of reading light for every minute of turning. And should you get tired, it will also accept power from a solar panel or, if the sun should have set already, from the car’s lighter output.brbr

Breakfast set with minimal footprint.

This smart little breakfast set with two chairs has, as far as we understand, only been available from Amazon UK. And it has been sold out there. But we wanted to include it anyway, because it is cleverly thought out; designed to occupy a minimum of space in a small apartment. Hopefully it will be an inspiration for others to work on space saving furniture?brbr

New luminous paint will glow for years without re-charging.

Litrospheres are tiny luminous particles that can be injection molded or mixed into paint. The company that makes the product believes it will primarily be used for rescue and safety, but we think people in time will find many useful and fun applications for this invention. Especially since the luminous material is pretty cheap (approx. USD 0:35 to cover a 8 x 11 surface), and that it can be made in different colors. A more detailed description of the Litrospheres can be found on PESWiki.brbr

Heated ice-scraper charges in the car’s lighter outlet.

Christmas will be all over us any day now, but there is still no sign of snow in Stockholm. In spite of this, ice will still form on windshields at night. So why not write a post dedicated to traffic safety. The electrically heated ice scraper is charged in the car’s lighter (or power) outlet, and it is promised retain a working charge for three hours. We have never had that much ice on any car window, so it should be enough for most situations. Available on Amazon for USD 17:-.brbr

Non permanent glue stick.

Most glues are of course made to stick permanently. The harder they stick, the better the glue. Bu for those occasions when you do not want stuff to stick forever, a glue that is just a little sticky would be just the thing. The Scotch Restickable Adhesive Glue is such a glue. It will be like making your own notes stickers.brbr

Diffusion screen for digital cameras.

Our old Lumix DMC-FZ20 digicam has a fantastic zoom and a wonderful image stabilizer, but we always think the flash is too hard. We have pushed it down it to the -2 position, but there is still a definite Tunbjörk feel in our flash pictures. That can be fun sometimes, but most of the time we would prefer a softer light. For those pictures, maybe a diffusion screen like this would help softening the flash. Worth trying, but before we shell out GBP 10:- (approx. USD 20:-) for a Lumiquest Soft Screen for DSLRs with a pop-up flash, we will try using a bit of sandwich wrapping paper.brbr