Hasta La Ideas

Shinfin is a different kind of swim fins. Instead of putting the fins on your feet like ordinary swim fins, Shinfins are made to be put on your – you guessed it – shins. This demands a different swimming technique, where you move your legs at the hip rather that at the knee. The advantages compared to regular swim fins are more or less obvious, and are to a large extent about ergonomics. Shinfin says that their fin gives a lot more natural swimming movement. This can only be determined by a test swim, but just the fact that you can walk in them, and use all sorts of water sports equipment, goes a long way in our book. The Shinfins are AUD 99:- (approx. USD 92:-) on the site. Thanks to Kirsten for the tip!brbr

You run the mixer with a squeeze of your fingers. Or several, we suspect. The ratchet mechanism and the supposedly highly efficient blade makes mixing vinaigrettes and powdered mixes quick and easy. The pitcher and the mixing blade are dishwasher safe; the ratchet mechanism must be hand washed. 2-cup capacity. USD 9:95.brbr

We have seen quite a lot of different ideas for loft beds, or elevated beds, or whatever you like to call them. And we are not talking about murphy-beds here. Many of these ideas have been used, or suggested, for small apartments where you really need the extra space. Now, elevated beds or loft beds need a lot of headroom. You can hardly even contemplate getting one for a modern apartment. You need something from the turn of the century before last. Now here is another idea that might actually work even in apartments of more recent vintage. French Bedup (site in French) makes a smart bed with its own elevator, that lifts the bed almost flush to the ceiling when it is not in use. They are from EUR 2.810:- (approx. USD 4.300:-) if we are not totally mistaken.brbr

The School of Fiber Science and Technology at the University of New South Wales have prepared a simple and easy to understand table of good solid tips for removing stains. We have covered some of these tips before, but check it out anyway. These people should know what they are talking about!brbr

A stroke of genius, we dare say. After about five minutes’ work with ruler, pencil and scalpel we have our own diffusor for the Lumix DMC-FZ20. The only little hitch was that the pop-up flash on the Lumix is so wide we had to cut the canister from opening all the way to the bottom. This meant that the lid would not stay on by it self, but a little superglue fixed that. The difference between using the naked flash and the diffused one is easy to see. Too bright parts and dark shadows are softened, and the pictures appear much more balanced. Now all we have to do is remember to bring the little thing.brbr