Here’s Something Very Inexpensive That Will Be Worth It’s Weight in Gold if You Need It!

 
The Toiletry Travel Pack.  This little plastic pack is great for those unknown restrooms when you travel. Throw one in your pocket, even for a day trip. Perfect for luggage, the glove compartment, backpack, etc. Then when you open that door and find the restroom from hell, you're set. Inside each packet you’ll find   • Toilet seat cover • Toilet seat wipe • Germicidal Hand wipe • Tissue • Paper towel • and Disposable glove! And they’re at the Jet Travel website they’re just a buck twenty-five a pack, plus shipping. I think this is a great idea!  

 http://www.letravelstore.com/TTPK_028.html

Let's see. I have everything in the dishwasher. Plates, glasses & my computer keyboard!

As you might have guessed this is the Glow keyboard. The wireless keyboard is not as impressive a picture.Families routinely pass infectious diseases when kids come home with a cold or Dad has the flu. At home, they handle the computer keyboard and mouse and open the possibility of spreading germs through these surfaces. Seal Shield Keyboards are not only antimicrobial; you can put them into a dishwasher and let them get a real cleaning.  I tried of two of the Seal Shield keyboards – one wireless with a wireless laser mouse & one portable enough to roll up and pack in a suitcase or backpack. The soft Glow Keyboard is backlit for easy viewing. (I found typing on the rubberized keys takes a bit of getting used to, but the back- lighting is great in dimly lit areas.) The UV reinforced keys resist fading. Like any regular keyboard, it’s just Plug n’ Play. It has a regular USB connection, and comes with a PS/2 adapter. Actually this keyboard comes with a gold USB connector. When you put it in the dishwasher, the only thing you have to do is use the attached rubber Seal Cap to protect the USB connector. The wireless keyboard and mouse can just go into the dishwasher the way they are. (The wireless keyboard & mouse have battery compartments that have rubber gasgets to protect them during a run in the dishwasher.) I used both keyboards, and then ran them both through a complete cycle in my dishwasher. They came out soaking wet and I thought, “are these really going to still work?” I dried them off a bit and yes --- they both worked fine! Prices on the company’s website are full retail. If you do a web search you can find them for less.

www.sealshield.com  

Wave a wand & kill germs! This one can do that.

Safe at home. Or at least Safer!

Verilux says that required laboratory tests prove that the CleanWave UV-C eliminates up to 99.9% of viruses (including H1N1), bacteria, molds, dust mite and flea eggs from beds, upholstered furniture and other household surfaces. So you can have chemical-free sanitizing in minutes. Hypoallergenic sanitizing eliminates germs from surfaces that don’t tolerate chemicals such as mattresses, upholstery and electronics. This wand has a built-in LED count up timer. Each surface requires different amounts of time to kill germs via the UV-C light. A computer keyboard might require just 8 seconds, while a standard bed could take six minutes. But you don't need to carry a stopwatch. As you turn on this wand by holding the on button down for a few seconds, a count timer also starts. The hang tag and the instruction booklet give you the times needed for various surfaces. Since it's harmful to look into UV-C light, the unit as an automatic switch that turns the light off if you turn it to face up towards the face. And because it’s rechargeable, the wand is cordless, so once you charge it via the included AC cord, it’s easy to use anywhere around the house. The suggested retail prices is $89.99, but when I wrote this on November 22nd, it was on sale at the company website for $69.99. You can also do a web search on a shopping site like Amazon to see if there's even a lower price. There are many versions of this wand, including a travel version, but only this model - VH01WW4 - is said to eliminate H1N1 virus on surfaces.

http://www.verilux.com/uvc-allergy-relief/uvc-sanitizing-wand

A clever piece of luggage that may not be available for too much longer.

The Getaway is a sleek- looking carry-on bag with a frame covered in durable quilted water repellant treated nylon. But the thing I like best about this bag is that it has four wheels that spin in any direction. So instead of pulling it behind you, you can walk it along, right at your side. This is perfect for long lines like at the Security Lines at the airport. It’s at your side where no one trips over it. The company, Swany, also calls their bags The Lean On Me “Walkin Bags”. Dimensions (HxWxD) are: 18'' x 9'' x 18'' & it fit easily in the overhead compartment on my recent Continental flight to the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. There’s a roomy interior compartment; and three detachable pouches that Velcro in place. Another clever feature is a lightly padded pocket that can be quickly accessed through the convenient “by-pass” pocket on the outside of the bag. This makes it easy to “get in and get out without having to unzip the main compartment” The company says it’s fine for a laptop, but my guess is that it’s better for a netbook or a light laptop.  According to the specs, the bag weighs 8 pounds. It’s available in two colors:  black and red. The question is, for how long will it be available? Mine’s been in the warehouse for more than 7 years, and I just re-discovered it when my even older suitcase gave up the ghost. Since The Gateway seems to be on close-out at the company’s website, my guess is it won’t be around for much longer. The MSRP is $199.00, but it’s on sale for $119.00. (At least it was when I checked their website on November 19^th, 2009.) 

http://www.walkinbag.com/cases/limitedtimeoffer/getaway

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Turns your iPod Touch into a full featured GPS.

Dual Electronics (Yes the folks who were wildly famous for their turntables many years ago) have introduced the GPS Navigation & Battery Cradle for the iPod Touch (model XGPS300). The Cradle, which resembles a battery case in size and weight, provides a complete GPS navigation solution for the iPod Touch, including the NavAtlas turn-by-turn navigation app and a car mount. But wait there’s more! The Cradle also includes a rechargeable battery, amplified speaker, audio out connection and mini USB port. An adjustable windshield mount is also included for in-car use. The NavAtlas app, which works exclusively with The Cradle, includes all the features commonly found in PNDs and more, and is available on the iTunes App Store for free. The Cradle is ideal for in-car or handheld use, and it complies with the requirement from Apple to provide GPS location data to any app which requests it, including apps for hiking, bicycling, social networking, geocaching,  as well as other navigation apps. Dual says that there are approximately 24 million iPod touch owners worldwide who are missing out on the ever-growing number of location-based apps. But no more, thanks to the folks at Dual. The Cradle with the latest U.S and Canada maps from NAVTEQ has a MSRP of $179.99. More info at the You Tube Video – you may have to lower your volume - and the company's website.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApAOFyAynnE    YouTube Video

http://gpscradle.dualav.com/      Company Website for The Cradle.

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw966