I think that pretty much everyone knows that moving between homes sucks. Besides the many small items that have to be packed, you have a number of large things like mattresses and furniture that are a real pain to move.

Sometimes, these things aren't that heavy but they are problematic to grasp -- if you've ever moved a floppy queen sized mattress you know exactly what I mean. You have to stand them up to get through doorways, but when you do this, there's nowhere to grab the stupid thing!

Enter the Forearm Forklift. It's another of those wonderful "As Seen on TV" things that will have you smacking your head and saying, "why didn't I think of that?" Basically, the product consists of some long straps that you put on your forearms and then around the heavy or bulky item and it helps you get a grip so you can get the job done. They also help you from having to bend-over while carrying tall items that need to fit under a doorway, thus helping to avoid back problems.

The Forearm Forklift moving strap system is only about $20 and is available in many, many locations and websites as listed on their page. Next time you're moving, invest the $20 and save yourself some time and lots of headache!

With as crowded as most people's garages are, I'm surprised that an idea like this is so rare.

These bicycle storage lifts mount to the wall and feature a gas piston like you'd find on a hatchback car. When you're ready to store your bicycle, you simply pull the lift down, put the bike on it, and it lifts back up. Your bike is stored safely several feet off the floor of the garage. The way the mechanism works, you can pile stuff below the rack on the floor and you don't have to move it to use the rack. Pretty smart.

The Self-Lift Bicycle Storage Rack is on sale right now for $50 (usually $90) so grab a couple and quit tripping over the bikes as you wiggle through your crowded garage!

There have been DIY diabetes testing machines for some time but if you want or need to monitor something like your blood cholesterol, you had to go to the hospital and get a full-blown blood test. That's a pain in the butt and expensive.

Now, with the CardioCheck self-tester, you can buy a relatively cheap $99 unit and testing "strips" that are about $5 each so you can monitor your own blood chemistry levels. There are testing strips for Total Cholesterol, HDL, Ketones, Triglycerides, and Glucose.

Crunchgear has a little write-up/review of the tester and it sounds as though he actually compared the results with a doctor's visit, so check it out if you're interested.

The Nukalert is a keychain-sized radiation detector which you can use to monitor the ambient levels of radiation wherever you go. Of course, if you're concerned about this kind of thing on a day-to-day basis, I have to wonder if you should change the places you visit.

The Nukalert is $160 in single quantities, should you have to pay for it. I'd guess that most people who need this kind of thing have them provided by their employer, though.

I won't get into the disgusting details, but let's just say that where I work, quite a few people finish their, ahem, #2 and walk straight out the door without washing their hands. Yeah, disgusting, huh?

Well, The Handler is an invention that helps you avoid grabbing the same public bathroom door handle as those less hygenic folks. It's a small device, similar in size and shape to a car remote, which springs open to expose a hook which can be used to discretely pull the door open. With The Handler, you don't have to use paper towels or grab the handle yourself, thus hopefully allowing you to avoid nasty diseases and other things you'd rather not think about.

The only problem that I see is if you've already got an over-crowded keyring. Maybe car companies can license this and include it in their remote controls.

The Handler is only $10.95 direct from the manufacturer.

This is a really good idea. The Pedalite bicycle pedals incorporate multiple high brightness LEDs which flash different colors in an attempt to keep motorists from plowing over you. The really neat thing, though, is that the LEDs don't run off of batteries.

Each pedal has a small gearbox and generator that is turned as the cranks rotate. The generator presumably charges a capacitor because the LEDs will stay blinking at least 5 minutes after movement has ceased. So, you basically install these pedals on your bike and never have to think about them again.

At first, I had nightmares about those 1970's generators that were popular when I was a kid - remember the motor looking thing that pressed against the bike wheel and made riding 10X more difficult and always wore-out the tire? It looks like the generator technology has come a long ways - fortunately.

The Pedalites are about $80 US for a pair.

Schwinn has created an entire line of electric bicycles which don't look like your typical "I'm making a social statement" alternatively powered vehicles. They actually look like a normal street bike.

The line-up includes everything from shaft-driven models to normal derailleur-driven powertrains. The batteries are lithium polymer (LiPo) and presumably packed into the thicker main frame member. The batteries charge in about four hours although I don't see a mention of range. I guess that's probably largely dependant on the conditions, terrain, and rider's weight.

The full line-up of Schwinn electric bikes.