Leg-Up Carpet Pad Suits Golfers to a T
Golfers weary of turning into contortionists while trying to change shoes without scratching the car with their spikes may want to try Leg-Up, a 24-inch long, 12-inch wide carpet pad. It makes shoe changing easy and protects the finish of the auto.
Leg-Up attaches with a Velcro strip to the inside of the car trunk. When changing golf shoes, flip the heavy-duty, bound carpet over the bumper and prop your foot on it. It won’t slip and will help protect the car. Just fold it back into the trunk when you’re finished.
Leg-Up comes in blue, gray or brown and costs $19.95, plus $3 shipping and handling (California residents add 6% sales tax). To purchase by check or mail order, write Members Service, 11217 Old River School Road, Downey, Calif. 90241. For MasterCard or VISA orders, call the company’s toll-free number, (800) 424-9378.
Island Ice for Little Shavers
If you’re looking for an easy way to make snow cones for the kids or frozen drinks for adults, consider the Hawaiice Ice Shaver S-200, a manual grinder that you can use anywhere.
The device, manufactured by Back to Basics Products Inc., comes with three ice cups--18 ounces each--for freezing blocks of water or fruit juice.
When you want shaved ice, slip a frozen block into the shaver’s hopper and turn the crank on top. You can adjust the blade for fine, medium or coarse flakes. On a medium setting, one ice cup makes about four cups of shaved ice.
You can use your own juices or flavors or buy Hawaiice concentrates in 20 flavors for $1.25 each. Add 1 quart water and sweetener, if desired. The shaver, which comes in black or white, retails for $29.95. A smaller version of the device is available for $19.95. Hawaiice Ice Shaver can be purchased at J.C. Penney and Best Catalogue Showrooms. If you can’t find it in your area, contact Back to Basics Products Inc., 11660 S. State St., Sandy, Utah 84070; (800) 688-1989.
Finding Out How the Weather Is
If you’re planning a trip to Senegal or Sri Lanka, or even somewhere closer such as Death Valley, you may want to take note of a new worldwide weather-reporting service.
Launched recently by American Express Travel Related Services Co. Inc. to assist travelers, 1-900-WEATHER offers weather reports--including temperature, humidity and sky conditions--for 600 national and international cities. The reports are updated hourly, a company spokesman says, and you can also get a three-day forecast for cities in the plan, which is provided by Accu-Weather. In summer, you can receive coastal beach and boating reports for U.S. locations; winter, ski reports and highway conditions for American ski areas.
For foreign cities, the service also gives helpful information about visas, local currency and tipping customs, and voltage and electrical requirements for appliances.
The 900-weather number costs 75 cents a minute and is billed directly to the caller’s phone. The number can be accessed from most touch-tone phones, though some hotels, businesses and pay phones block access to 900 numbers.
For American cities, you simply punch in the area code after dialing 1-900-WEATHER. Overseas locations can be reached by pressing the first three letters of the city’s name--for instance, MAD for Madrid. To get a free list of area codes for the 600 locations served by the weather line, write 1-900-WEATHER, 261 Central Ave., Farmingdale, N.Y. 11735.
Address Kit Lights Up Numbers
There’s a new, inexpensive, lighted house number kit called Address Lite. It gives homeowners a low-voltage lighted address fixture they can put up to help emergency personnel such as paramedics or firefighters.
“This product will save someone’s life because the extra time required to slow down and search for house numbers, especially at night, can now be spent in emergency assistance,” said Robert Mikuta, national sales manager for Quest-Con Lighting of Whittier, the California manufacturers’ representative for the product.
The fixture can be hooked up to an existing doorbell system or powered by an 18-volt plug-in transformer. Mikuta says it requires only a drill and a screwdriver to install. It runs on two automotive taillight bulbs (14 volts each) and can be run 24 hours a day, he estimated, for about $5 a year.
Address Lite is a white acrylic plate to which 4-inch-high self-adhesive black vinyl numbers can be affixed. The plate will hold five numbers; it fits on a black acrylic mounting plate--10x5 inches--that attaches to the house.
The fixture, plus two sheets of numbers, bulbs, 10 feet of wire, connectors and fasteners, costs $24.95. The transformer is $9.95 more. Add $2.27 sales tax in California. Shipping and handling is $2.75. If you want the factory to pre-address the light, add $2. To order, write Quest-Con Lighting, 14116 E. Whittier Blvd., Suite 504, Whittier, Calif 90605; (213) 943-8262.
