Aug 152009
 

quikpodQuik Pod

www.quikpod.com

Don’t you hate asking complete strangers to take a photo of you and the family posing outside Tourist Trap 24 when you’re away on holidays?

Not only do they usually need detailed instructions to activate a completely automatic point-and-shoot camera, they are just as likely to blur the shot – which always features the camera-owner looking anxious with mouth half-open issuing instructions – “No, not that button!”

And there is always that worry in the back of your mind – Will this be the time that the stranger runs off with my camera?

The Quik-Pod is the solution – one of those simple little gadgets that seems so obvious you wonder why it wasn’t invented decades ago.

It’s a hand-held extendable polycarbonate and aluminium rod used for taking pictures of yourself without the need for others.

The Quik Pod is also useful in crowds – it can be used to aim a camera above your head to photograph a concert or sporting event.

With a built-in self-positioning mirror to help frame the shot, the Quik Pod sells for around US$30.

Price: about US$30

Purchase from: www.quikpod.com

Aug 082009
 

If you’ve watched any late-night television at all in the last year, you’ve probably heard of a dodgy beauty device for feet called the Ped Egg, courtesy of the shudderingly awful commercial that, according to CNN, is currently the subject of a lawsuit by Kelly Parks-Corso and Jonathan Corso, the married Florida foot models starring in the ad.
PedEgg
(How does one become a Foot Model? Do Foot Models always marry other Foot Models? And is this lawsuit partly inspired by concerns these two Foot Models have about the viability of their careers, now that PedEgg is marketing Foot Beauty to the masses? Will there be a veritable flood of Foot Models storming the Foot Model market and driving Foot Model fees through the floor?)

The two Florida foot models (only in America!) claim to have been duped by Telebrands, the manufacturer of PedEgg, who applied ‘horror makeup’ to the before shots of their feet – and to top it off, didn’t pay for all the broadcast rights due to any self-respecting high-profile Foot Model.

I have deliberately digressed from describing the PedEgg in detail, dear Reader, because quite frankly the ad gave me the heebie-jeebies.

The gadget itself is essentially a cheese grater for your foot. For foot-cheese. And it collects the foot-gratings in a little container. It’s truly revolting.

The egg-shaped foot file has over 100 “stainless steel micro files” stuck to the grating side of the “convenient storage compartment.” And that’s it, that’s all it does.

To get your hands on this little beauty involves three payments of $19.95 plus postage plus handing your credit card number over to a late-night phone sales assistant. Me, I’m wearing closed-in shoes instead.

Bottom line: Foot scrapings, eeeuw!
Where: www.pedegg.com
How much : about Au $ 60