Did you guys actually read her thread? She's doing trials, the pics are after 10 minutes to see how the lather holds up. It's not taking her that long to actually make a good lather :P
I soak my brush in the shave bowl with warm water. Wait for a bit while I get everything ready, then tump the water out of my bowl and shake my brush once.
Go to your local pharmacy/wal-mart and buy a GOOD set of steel tweezers. They could cost more than the cheap flimsy metal ones. Get ones that preferably have a sharp point to them as well as a flat...