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What's in Your Gadget Bag, Cory?
Cory Doctorow has taken a two-second break from his road warrior ways to pen this description of the crud he lugs around. Read it and weep, wanna-bes.
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They also asked CmdrTaco the same question recently.
What's in Your Gadget Bag, Cory?
filed under gadgets
Cory Doctorow is the Nerd Prince of Blogging: co-editor of the popular BoingBoing.net, acclaimed science fiction author, and advocate for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. A man this busy needs as much helps as he can get, and Cory isn't shy about what gadgets he finds useful (or awful):
Fido Vtech prepaid mobile: this is the worst mobile phone I've ever owned. I have a bottom-of-the-line Nokia I use in Europe and a similar one that T-Mobile sold me in San Fran, and when I turned up in Toronto last week, I figured I'd just put a prepaid SIM into that one and go with it. However, the scumbags at T-Mobile *locked* the fucking thing, which meant that I had to go buy *another* phone (that's THREE phones in total, now!) and I ended up buying the Vtech used for 60 Canadian pesos at a counter in a Chinatown mall. It receives and sends SMS, but it doesn't have T9, so it's basically impossible to use for texting. The UI is utterly martian, like something designed by throwing dice, and the phone itself feels like it's made out of dried spittle and chewed-up paper. Worst. Ringtones. Evar. Oh, and it's FUCKING LOCKED to Fido. Rilly. Christ.
Exilim EX-S3: This is the BEST camera I've ever owned. The 2MP version of this thing was the first camera I ever owned whose UI made perfect sense to me, the first one small enough to carry around in my pocket all the time. The 3MP version is every bit as slick (and now I'm lusting after the 4MP version with the fast mechanical zoom lens), but higher rez. My only complaint is that you can't charge it off of USB -- I try to charge all my devices off of USB from my laptop using ZipLinq retractable cables: saves on shlepping around a bunch of bricks and is a total lifesaver in Europe, where I need only adapt my laptop to the local plugs. The only downside of this thing: it is so GODDAMNED COOL that it's impossible to just whip it out and fire off a couple casual shots: someone will always come up and ask to fondle it and get their DNA all over it.
iPod 40GB: I've taken to using this to store video as well as audio: I have about 30GB of music and audiobooks, and the remaining 10GB makes for enough storage for several DVDs' worth of ripped movies that I can watch on the road when I tether the iPod to my PowerBook. (Indispensable iPod accessory: iSkinz rubber casing; friggin' iPods scratch if you look at 'em crosseyed).
15" PowerBook G4 1GHz/80GB: Bought an Aluminum Book last September (I usually kill about one PowerBook/year) and am still loving it. The weight is a little bit much -- I've been a 12" iBook and PowerBook user for 3 years or so, and the extra pounds really add up -- but the screen real-estate and that high, high RAM ceiling, c'est magnifique.
Linksys WAP-11 and WS824: I'm trading this rig for the office I borrowed for the month of April. I think that the FCC made Linksys take the 824s off the market cos they put out dirty, lobe-y WiFi at distance, but this building's got a stucco facade whose chickenwire guts act as a natural Faraday cage, so it's not like my signal's interfering with anyone else. Probably.
Roadwired RAPS laptop case: I love this vecro-y computer diaper. It's wicking, padded, and sizes to fit any laptop (though the 15" PB is a tight squeeze). Much nicer than any sleeve for my money.
RoadWired Ethernet cable: hands-down the best retractable Cat5 cable I've ever owned, and the RJ45-RJ11 adapters that hide in the case turn it into a phone wire for those craptacular 56K moments.
BohemianBag.com Czech Plumber's Bag: The perfect-sized, durable leather shoulder bag. Looks like $106, and keeps on getting prettier the more I abuse it. Steel-reinforced handle is super-swell. I replaced the shoulder-strap with a RoadWired cushion strap for extra comfort between departure gates.
TokyoFlash OVO DecisionMaker watch: this is the dumbest and coolest watch I've ever owned (my grandfather was a watchmaker, so I've owned quite a few). It has a built-in f
"Is that a gadet in your pocket, or are u just happy to see me?"
what a geek....oh wait.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
no way, I carry alot more than that
It seems to me that a number of these functions could be easily combined into one useful "sub-tablet" much like the Newton used to be. For instance:
.mp3's off their old Newtons.
1) I could not make phone calls on the Newton, but it seems to me that combining a WAP with code like iChat could easily be patched into a cellular network via a server which negotiates the call at perhaps a reduced price. VOIP, right? This way you don't have to worry about "locked" phones when you travel from one country to another or good around with those SIM cards. (where did I put that SIM card anyway? *as he digs furiously through his travel bag*)
2) I am not sure why folks like using their phones as cameras, but Sony has been integrating cameras into their Clie's for some time now and could easily be done. Although, again.....I am not sure why people want this. The CCDs would have to get LOTS better and you still have to deal with tiny lenses with lots of aberration in them. I much prefer my Canon Elph.
3) iPod. Well, yeah....music and why not movies too? This functionality could easily be emulated on any OS and as I recall, there are many folks that even play
4) Well, the Newton was not a replacement for a full featured laptop, so if you want to do Photoshoppin or something like that, a sub-notebook will not cut it for screen real estate alone.
5) Cables? What cables? Use 802.11x and Bluetooth. Done.
6) Time? Apple for some time has had servers that are linked to atomic clocks so that you can set the time on your computer to an absolute time.
7) PDA? This would be an uber PDA. We don't need no stinkin Palm.
Shoot, there were people that were even using their Newtons as wireless web servers, so the functionality was there.
So, there. Seven devices that folks are totin around that could be all one device. I hate to say it but why does not Apple get back into this market? They could do it right.
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
An Electronic Thumb
The Guide
Last, but not least, a towel
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Or, you could just buy a laptop. Not such a big load as I had anticipated. Im sure the "48 page Canadian passport" could fit in the laptops side pocket.
-Vib, videogame freelancer for news0r.com, videogame.net, and vnorby.tk
Is there anybody anywhere in North America selling a GSM phone that isn't locked to a provider? You'd think that true road warriors would want to either chip-swap or have multiple chips and enough brains to suggest which network to make a call on, or could be told by the user which one to use in software...
... Who the hell is Cory Doctorow and why would we care?
Hate me!
Darn! My Swatch has seen better days, so I was really excited about the "OVO DecisionMaker Watch":
I relish the impracticality of a watch that makes you sit through a 10-second animation before showing you the time, and which periodically goes into "naughty mode" where it distorts the time so that you can't read it until you give it a "corrective shake" that's hard enough to trip the built-in motion-sensor.
Well, the link from Cory "who the heck is this guy?" Doctorow's page was 404, so I googled around a bit and found out the bad news: they're sold out and can't get anymore. "Previously sold at Tokyoflash. Sorry, we can't get any more." Crap!
Time to add another saved search on eBay...
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
Apparently his kit doesn't contain a host capable of withstanding the first 5 minutes of /.'ing. Still loading.
i'm not being a troll here. i honestly don't know who that is...and since it's slashdotted already, can someone let us know who that is?
Hope he's got a spare webserver in that bag because they're going to need a new one.
I didn't see "a girlfriend" in that list...
The coolest voice ever.
Will convergence ever happen where we wouldn't have to carry around a dozen things?
Best Community for Gaming and Gadgets!
"Hey! Youve got too PowerBoocks! Ha! Dupe!"
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
blah
Who the hell is Cory Doctorow and why would we care?
He's the author of Eastern Standard Tribe. And, apparently, a gadget geek worthy of Techno-Bill himself.
The coolest voice ever.
"60 Canadian pesos"
That's good shit.. We can insult both of our neighbors in one shot.
Already there are a number of posts where people say "dude, you could replace 12 items with a single XXXX piece of gear"
I challenge these people to a usability test. Can a camera phone do justice to a 3 MP camera? PRobably not. Does it make sense to put an MP3 player in a phone or pda, if you are limited to 256 MB of music? NO! Is it comfortable to walk down the street taking pictures and listening to music on your laptop? That's a recipe for breaking your laptop.
It seems like Cory has the "convenience first, hard-core gear later" ethos down pat (heck, he even plans for those times when you have to use dial up! Egads!) First line is a camera that fits EASILY in a pocket (I love my Canon Powershot, but I need pants with roomy pockets!) and a phone, iPod in another, working our way down to a PDA and ultimately a laptop. His statement where he uses the laptop to recharge everything makes it sound even more like its his "base- station away from home" and less like an on-the-go device.
I mean, I could hook up my Visor Neo to my Cingular phone and ssh, but why when I have broadband at home, broadband at work, and don't travel? (did I just lose my membership in the Geek/Nerds Unified Technology Society by admitting that?)
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
...one of the things he does NOT carry around is bandwidth.
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Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
I guess he's got a free-range girlfriend.
If you want to keep a high opinion of this guy, read his books and stay far far away from his corner of "The Blogosphere" (gak). Having Xeni Jardin post utterly inane sex-geek-tech-chic crap on your forum is bad enough, but removing the means for readers to comment on it (maybe this was just me =P)...thats inexcusable.
"You know why you do not see me styling wit my homies? Because I have no homies!!" -Mojo Jojo
Oh come on. IT'S FUNNY!
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
Boy do I suck at this.
i don't understand what's to be upset about. he has normal geek stuff that most /.'ers own. I probably make way less than him, but I have a laptop, bag, digital camera, wireless router, and cell phone. and while i've yet to buy the ipod, i have had multitools and pda's in the past. i clicked the link expected crazy stuff. there's no gps. no plasma tv's. no rackmount servers. its cool to see what's in his bag and cmdr taco's but ... its not like i should 'read and weep.'
I always have a couple of nice pens on me, my TI-89 for the off chance I need to find the tax on an item, or a mugger demands all my money unless I can do a really tricky trig integral. An extra set of headphones in case an impromptu lan party were to spring up. My green laser to point and laugh at the people with the lesser red lasers. On my hand is my LAKS 256mb watch, filled with all sorts of neat stuff. I also carry a big package of mints in a Dilbert tin, for both my breath and others. And, finally in my pants pocket, the most versitle and usefull tool of them all, a wallet with cash and plastic.
he'd need to carry an AP if he was going to rely on that. And all the necessary plugs for an AP... not everything has WiFi, ya know.
Or he could carry an ethernet dongle and enough cable to use the newtonish object. Either way, the uber-alone wouldn't cut it
but the comments were pulled because of excess goatse, not complaints about xeni. Maybe now that they have MT and can disable images, they'll come back
Look. My acustic coupler works just fine, as well as the day I stole it from the computer center at school. Why should I upgrade? Life is good.
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
Brilliant!
If it wasn't repeated, I wouldn't be able to read it, insensitive clod! Besides, he's posted as *AC*.
This guy needs to check his priorities. He has all that crap with him just in case... but what if he gets laid?
Lets face it... nerds dont get that many chances... so we should all cary condoms at all times. It would be terrible to have the chance of a lifetime and not be prepared. They are much cheaper than child support and antibiotics.
Obama is a twitter sock puppet
So, here's some information about what I carry in my "kits":
In my pockets:
In my computer bag, which I carry 90% of the time I go anywhere. My computer bag is an Eagle Creek small shoulder bag with upgraded padded shoulder strap that includes a sticky ruberized side to reduce sliping off your shoulder.
Finally, I periodically have another larger bag which I carry in my car for our weekly Hacking Society or other geek meetings. It has a pile of stuff in it:
Michael, you fag.
My balls are in my bag. You should know, they're usually in your mouth!
Lots of the gadget geeks on the internet, seem to not have the latest gadgets. haha
Best Community for Gaming and Gadgets!
If you had asked him before he got all those emails about herbal viagra: Swedish penis pump- that's in my bag baby, by Cory Doctorow
I'm a 3rd party Dell on-site tech. It comes in handy to have lots-o-stuff on the road. Here's my list of crap-in-a-car.
...that's the stuff in the front passenger seat, I won't even start on my trunk....
-Dell 400 CPI-A w/802.11b wifi pcmcia(loaded with Winamp 2.8 and a case full of MP3 CD's and a cassette adapter to play over the car stereo) in Dell's leather multi-pocketed breifcase type laptop case.
-Xircom 10-100 +56k PCMCIA nic (in pocket of case w/several boot disks) just in case
-Handy-dandy Knoppix 3.3 CD
-Kodak 3.2 MegaPixel cam
-1 Silver Jam Cam 3.0
-1 Blue Jam Cam 3.0 (you can never have too many sh*tty camera's)
-USB cable to transfer from camera's(in case Bigfoot's in a mood to pose). (No SD's or MMC's available)
-Palm Viix (in case on my belt)
-Palm Portable keyboard
-Sony Ericson t306 cel phone (on holster on my belt) w/ear bud
-Palm size Multimeter
-Lysol. (some people are pigs and so is there home (great grammar?!?!...I think I got my point across, though))
Some people are like slinkys. They're useless, but it puts a smile on your face to push them down the stairs.
Surely I'm not the only one who immediately thought of Ludicris: Tell me who's your weed man, how do you smoke so good? You's a superstar boy, why you still up in the hood? What in the world is in that BAG, what you got in that BAG? A couple a cans a whoop ass, you did a good ass job of just eyein me, spyin me
What the hell is the CTO of Sony, Netherlands doing on /. all day? :-)
I never owned a laptop, or a palm pilot. I certainly will never own a cell phone. I'd like a digital camera but never got around to researching which one to buy. Anyway, film works just fine for me still. Basically all I got is occasional use of my wife's iPod.
Does this make me less of a person in the eyes of /.?
-Lebofsky
You only need two things. Duct tape and WD-40. If it moves and it shouldn't, use the duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use the WD-40.
If your girlfriend's in a bag, it's time to upgrade.
Or bury at midnight.
Well, it's gonna sound retarded, but there is a point here. It's great to condense equipment completely, but there's really a point in which equipment doesn't need to be condensed.
;)
For example, the iPod fits the perfect niche of being a personal media playback device and a storage device at the same time. Adding video to this device would be a bit of a hack, and quite inconvenient considering the UI that the iPod uses. So why not just build wireless into the thing and have it talk to a Newton-like device (Bluetooth of course, but we all know it's dead..
Next, I believe that Cameras go really well with Cellphones, but I don't believe they go well with PDA's. Reason: a cellphone is used for convenience of location, you can make a call from anywhere. Having a picture functionality built into that call is also awesome, because if I'm picking out a car from a lot, I can send pictures back to my mom of the things she wants to look at (color, price, etc), and have her call me back with what she thinks. Rolling this functionality into a PDA seems too clunky; overkill.
I also don't believe for functionality's sake that PDA's and Cellphones work well together, so I'd like to keep those seperate. The reason for this: you can't jot down a note or look on a calender while having a call without really straining yourself.
This being said: there are new camera phones built in with Bluetooth as well.. (see where I'm going yet?) Imagine having the circle completed with a tablet-PC like device, with a 4 inch LCD screen, a CD(-RW possibly? DVD-RW even?) drive to read in videos, movies, games, to use on the tablet pc. Use the iPod as the harddrive. Use WiFi where applicable, use the cellphone when not. Pictures from the cell can go directly to the iPod and be stored, or to a flash card reader (or dongle) on the PDA device. You set up a nice, Three way triangle of useful features, each vertex completed by the other two devices, but QUITE functional without them.
While it'd be nice to have them all in once device, it's just not at all possible these days it seems. While everything's a lot smaller, these smaller devices cost a lot more than most anyone would pay for. To roll ALL of the features above into one, you'd might as well buy a laptop. To roll in the features into the devices I've mentioned... well, all they'd really need to do is develop the PDA/Tablet-PC end, and roll Bluetooth/WiFi into the iPod, which, IMHO, will probably be the next revision.
Dreams maybe, but could be the very near future..
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." G.W.Bush
I goto war, err work and school, with just a couple of multi-purpose gadgets:
1. A t-mobile sidekick. Sure it has some duct-tape helping keep the screen in place but it does all my email and its an excellent browser. It also has AIM and an ssh client. I leave the computer at home where it belongs. No more lugging around a laptop and hurting my back.
2. Neuros MP3 player/recorder. The thing transmits to FM so I don't need any damn cables. It has a 20gig drive in case I need to move data and don't want to burn a CD. (it also records line/in and has a built in mic. It also tunes FM)
3. A small case of CDs. Lots of utils and knoppix when things get serious.
4. A 128 meg USB drive. Contains (among other things) putty, tightvnc viewer so I access my windows machine, lots of school docs, some work stuff, etc.
5. Watch? I don't need no stinkin' watches. (there's one on the phone)
Carry many tools while looking like a total tool as well!
I wouldn't SSH over GPRS. Too much latency. GPRS works for web, email and IRC (the latter just good enough) but SSH overhead brings GPRS to its knees. Don't even think about playing games over GPRS.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
And that's about it. Oh, and my keys and my phone.
Coincidentally, both Commander Taco and Cory's bags each had a slip of paper with the SAME phone number on it. The phone number was given to them by two different, mediocre looking chicks they had tried to pick up. It was the standard phone number provided to uber-dorks by women sick of being hit on by said uber-dorks:
/. should be quite familiar with that number.
310-217-7638
99% of
T-Mobile will allow their phones to be unlocked after about three months of service. Just send email to simunlock@t-mobile.com with your name, phone number and IMEI number and they'll hook you up.
the growth in cynicism and rebellion has not been without cause
Author keeps bitching about Tmobile and Fido cause the phones he bought from them are locked... Could you European folks just please check out the facts before you call these companies "scumbags" (from the article, about Fido).
The fact is that both Canadian and American phone companies have to fund phones to make them cheaper for consumers so they can get 'em at decent prices. Vtech phones may be shit, but you paid CDN $60, while it woulda cost you about US $200 to get it in Europe unlocked. So buy your crap and don't complain.
That's not funny. We dorks, nerds, dweebs, and geeks have feelings too. The rejection hotline is a slap in the face of all our nerdy efforts to build up the courage to even talk to a woman, let alone get laid in our lifetimes.
Infantile and noninformative. Give me well elucidated facts and let me decide for myself, but please spare me from "reviews" where the guy's decision is bleedingly obvious before even halfway through the first sentence.
Holy shit, not only you suck with timing, you managed to lose to a post moderated +5: Insightful. Which means that someone
a) read or looked at the linked article
b) managed to generate some valid opinion
c) clicked back to Slashdot
d) wrote up an insightful commentary
e) posted
And there you are at this exact moment, trying to get that frist poss.
He's right. I have no idea who this guy is nor any indication about why I should care.
What I got from the article:
1) Dude carries alot of crap around with him.
2) He peppers his writing with little "witty" blasts at various products.
3) He travels ALOT and was not shy about implying that in every other sentence. Obviously he is cooler than the rest of us.
I'm not trying to sound cold here (but I am, so that's how it comes out). Seriously, what is the point of this article?
What kind of geek bitches that he can't unlock his phone? Come on... go on EBay or Craigslist and you can either buy the cable and software, or hook up with someone locally who will do the job for around $15-$20.
All right. I know I am not the only one here who thinks this: I'm so tired of the phrase "Road Warrior." I like and respect Cory Doctorow, but he is not a "Road Warrior." Neither are those wanna-be geeks who go out to sell technology instead of do technology.
Until I see some souped-up buggies with frickin' lasers, I don't want to hear about road warriors. I hate that phrase more than I hate iSomething, or eOtherthing. Hell, I even hate it more than I hate "My Foo." All that was clever the first time, cold pancakes with no syrup the second time, and absolutely grating the third time.
Frickin' lasers. Until then, zip it.
Microsoft is to software what Budweiser is to beer.
I mean no offense, but this stuff is all OK at best, and most of it is pretty lame.
With a tag line like "Read it and weep, wanna-bes." i thought he might actually have some cool stuff. I know highschoolers with more intriguing backpacks.
Uhhh, his "gadget bag" is rather bare IMO. I read it and I didn't weep.
At the risk of turning this into a geek's version of penile-measuring, here's mine:
* 20GB ipod (3G). Currently working through the entire LOTR audiobook set.
* Griffin iTrip radio adapter... great, unless you live in Boston where there are NO unused radio frequencies.
* Sony lightweight clip-over earphones. I need bigger ear canals or something.. Can't handle earbuds. Good sound, but did they really need to make the wire between left and right sides 2' long?
* Nokia 3650 w/ bluetooth earpiece. This phone also doubles as my PDA, synced via bluetooth to either Outlook or Evolution through gnome-bluetooth. Camera is decent for close-up shots, but colors always seem too saturated.
* Dell Latitude C840. One heavy mofo of a laptop, but my eyes are grateful for the huge screen. Trumobile (802.11g) inside as well, running fc1.
Well this should really stimulate the economy.
Nice specs and those are some older tech eh?
and its 'Mort'.
I am a Mort as well.
And it makes you more of a person, less of a obsessed freak.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
fuck off. i'm a programmer, and i dish out facials on the regular. you can be a geek and still get laid. once you realize that women are whores, the future is open wide, and so are their legs! ha!
Survival kit contents check. In them you'll find: one 45 caliber automatic, two boxes of ammunition, four days concentrated emergency rations, one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills, one miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible, one hundred dollars in rubles, one hundred in gold, nine packs of chewing gum, one issue of prophylactics, three lipsticks, three pairs of nylon stockings. Shoot! A fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.
I've got more than that in my left hip pocket alone!
Of course, the 15" Powerbook chafes a bit, but...
I have a girlfriend whose name doesn't end in
*yawn* Nothing to see here, move along. Is this supposed to be impressive? *boggle*
Wasn't there a multi-tool which allows one to change the tools on it? If not, there out to be, or someone should make a small multi-tool which is certified for air travel. A Leatherman Micra sans knife blade (replace it w/ a nail file?) would be about right.
Failing that, buy a spare multi-tool and snap the knife blade off (terrible to do but...) --- last I checked the FAA regulations small eyeglass tool kits were okay, if pliers are as well, should work --- be sure to check the latest iteration of the FAA regs before travelling though.
For my part, the only time I didn't have my Leatherman w/ me was when travelling to Hawai'i last year --- normally I also keep a camera toolkit in a small leather ``Safety tool kit case'' which Levenger's was selling a few years back (way cool and highly recommended, has small wrenches and hex keys in addition to the normal screw drivers) but left that behind 'cause of the awl in it and since it goes beyond the afore-mentioned ``glasses repair kit''.
William
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
A computer. ...what, you were expecting a whole bevy of singing and tapdancing gerbils?
Honorary Member of Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Process Servers
I think I've slept with him!
Still #1 -- Lonely Gay Geek
On the other hand, no GPS? It's like AMEX -- don't leave home without it. On the other hand, it doesn't have USB (few do), so that's another bulky cable adapter to haul around if there's data to exchange.
Design for Use, not Construction!
Cory forgot to mention his enormous, throbbing ego, which he carries around with him all the time.
I saw Cory speak at a conference last year. He got a legitimate, well-reasoned, nicely worded question from the crowd. Because it didn't agree with his world-view, Cory belittled the guy and didn't address the questioner's point at all.
All Cory is about is promoting Cory. Remember a few months ago when he got press for being on the Atkins diet? Cory would get into necrophilia if he thought there was an upcoming "Necrophiliac Geek Trends" article in Wired that he might get mentioned in.
- "When you want something with all your heart, the entire universe conspires to give it to you" -Paulo Coelho
Dang, they start them early these days. I was really tempted but went for this instead.
I roomed with Cory for a little bit, and I'll tell you right now, with that many geeks around, the mains outlet real estate becomes quite valuable. (I think I had no less than 10 items that needed recharging and Cory, even with USB chargers, must have had way more than I.) So it was a first-come-first-serve battle for recharging.
Kinda like an Oklahoma style land grab for power outlets.
Thankfully, he carries a mini surge protector that at least gives you a few more places to plug in.
Since I've seen him do that, I've taken to carrying one in my bag when travellling, and it makes a big difference. Hotels never have enough outlets.
And I guess a multiple outlet surge protector really isn't a "gadget" per se, but everything else in the bag can be made useless quite quickly without it...
______
Once: you're a philosopher. Twice: a pervert.
I Heard Of This PDA In Circuit City. Everytime I Go There, I Practice Graffiti On The PDAs All The Time. When I Went There With My Mom, I Took A Picture Of Her With The Built-In Digital Camera That's Included On The PDA. I Heard About The Highest Resolution It Goes: 1,280 x 960 Pixels. When I Bring It With Me Everyday To School, I Can Take Pictures Of My Friends That Are Girls. I Also Heard This Has A Built-In MP3 Player. Then I Be Able To Listen To Music On This Thing. Then I Have Both iPod And Sony NX80V To Listen To Music To. But I Have To Store My Music On A Memory Stick. But The Memory Sticks Are Kind Of Expensive. But, I Still Can Afford The Memory Sticks In The Store. I Don't Know You Can Carry Around Your Neck If It's 8.0 Ounces.
Eh, that's nothin'. A real geek would through some RJ-11/45 ends and a crimper in the bag and roll with a spool of cable. Now that's interchangeability!
If you never make mistakes, it's probably because you're not doing anything.
... too bad your ACOUSTIC coupler doesn't have a built-in spelling checker...
Too bad you are an ASSHOLE...
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
A Casio Exilim EX-S3? Christ, what good is a camera that fits in your pocket if it takes soft, noisy, and down-right shitty pictures? Get a clue Cory and buy a real fucking camera.
It's times like this when I recall the old TV show "Connections" by James Burke. He said he liked to challenge people to empty their pockets or purse and try to find one object that wasn't mass-produced. Keys, coins, paper, pens, money, etc, it's all mass produced. I've tried this on dozens of people, and only one person had a single non-manufactured object, my sister had a fossilized shark's tooth she carried as a lucky charm. Everybody carries around nothing but manufactured crap. It's all instantly replaceable garbage, nothing of any intrinsic value. If you were stripped naked, you could replace all of it without difficulty, if you had some cash to buy new crap. Is that how you want to live, with a disposable lifestyle? Even worse, do you want to live a craphound lifestyle, reveling in consumerist crap like Cory does?
1) 667mhz 15" tibook(yeah, it's getting long in the tooth, the paint start to chip off and aligator in spots)
2) leatherman wave, by far THE best multitool. all others are wannabes
3) verizon v60. not as sexy as other phones, but works great
4) usb data cable for the v60. lets me use the phone as a modem when wifi isn't avaiable
5) casio exilim ex-s20 - great camera, sucks because of the charging and cradle scene, but super-portable and quick for documentation purposes
6) ancient vst firewire drive for xfer files
7) moleskine notebook(trashed my palm v, drooling for the ux50 when i get cash)
8) iogear usb to serial converter
9) high sierra laptop backpack - doesn't look like a laptop bag(covert)
10)ecg j-500 - butane soldering iron
11) network cables, velcro strips
three can keep a secret, if two are dead - benjamin franklin
Cory Doctorow: geek? No. Windows-user? Yes.
'nuff said.
Well, even though I'm here often, I'm not a bona fide nerd, as you can tell from my random sample of jacket pocketses:
* a toque (I'm canadian eh)
* bus transfer and taxi receipt from 13 months ago
* pen cap
* $5 imitation multitool held shut by rubber bands
* sunglasses, no case, surprisingly unscratched
* one (1) toddler's sock
* fingerless gloves, grubby
* more rubber bands
* zippo lighter, pouch of Drum tobacco, rollies
* many unlabelled keys on a long chain
* a slim digital watch sans straps
* pocket version of sun-tzu
* scrap paper, grubby
* ancient crumpled receipts beyond deciphering
* a pay-as-you-go Nokia that I rebel against (so it's been out of funds the last 2 weeks)
* one (1) strike-anywhere wooden match
* a short length of rope for practising knots
Yes, this jacket gots lotsa pockets.
Damn those pesky terrorists
What utterly unconsuming and vacuous drivel.
In this issue of Slasheteen:
Bah, what's the use.
I have better things to do, like maybe go wash the feet of some putz with an X. in his name or something along those lines.
It's an obscure Dilbert comic. Dilbert and his gadgetry nemesis Techno-Bill.
Who the fuck asked what you thought? Keep your lame ass opinions to yourself.
> Is that how you want to live, with a disposable lifestyle?
Wait, so the only "real" "non-consumerist" you found was a credulous superstitious person who carries a lucky charm? Yeah, believing in fantasy, what a wondeful saving grace. Maybe next time you'll find someone with an "real piece of the original cross."
> Is that how you want to live, with a disposable lifestyle?
Nothing like an english speaking westerner with a computer and an internet connection telling us to go back to the woods. Its called hypocrisy. You happen to be using a large "disposable consumerist gadget" yourself.
>If you were stripped naked, you could replace all of it without difficulty, if you had some cash to buy new crap.
So if there was a fire in my apartment its good to know I can get back to my business, my lifestyle, etc with minimal effort. Heck, these evil "consumerist goods" are compatible with my off-site backups! Comrade you have truly awakened me!
>Even worse, do you want to live a craphound lifestyle, reveling in consumerist crap like Cory does?
Craphounds look for junk with no resale value like a clock found in the garbage that has a 1950's pinup girl painted on it. (its called ironic appreciation) Going to the local thriftsore or garbage-bin to collect 'crap' is the polar opposite of consumerism.
This way you don't have to worry about "locked" phones
This isn't quite on topic, but I'm curious. What is the deal with a "locked" phone? You can't just take it to another network and put in a new SIM card? Can they be unlocked? Are they manufactured this way or something?
I am on a road trip. A no shit, give up the house, buy a car, hit the road, no permanent address, couch surfing road trip. W/ the wife.
These are the gadgets I have:
40gb Ipod w/ belkin fm transmitter
gps
two tablet/laptop combos (acer and toshiba)
talking pedometer
compass
cell phone
old palm III
AA/AAA battery charger w/ batteries
usb light
walkie talkies (motorolla)
laptop bag (this doesn't count as a gadget)
book light (for my wife's note taking in teh dark)
digital camera (pentax IV)
cdrw/dvd fw drive
USB thumb drive 256mb
wireless Access point
computer speakers
emergency flashlight toolbox gizmo
projection atomic time sync clock
self inflating air bed
massaging heated car seat
DC/AC converter
cat5/telephone cable (way too many cables, not sure why the article had to mention the cables. I have the fancy rolly kind too but my rj11 one was a piece of shit and I ditched it)
and of course the car is pretty technical too.
I realise it might be fun to pick through the pockets of a gadget freak on the road but some of the items in his pockets are very much a demonstration of being on the road and less of gadget freakness.
Now as for me. Well I have a much smaller bag. I don't travle except between work and home and I spend time planning my bag carefully.
I have a Handspring visor PDA with a Visor Phone for a cell phone. Unlocked. T Mobile for the service. Free nights and weekends. I work nights and weekends so it's perfict.
However Handspring discontinued the Visor Phone so there is no getting an upgrade.
For PDA Internet access I have A Minstrel module for the Visor. It's nice enough. Internet service by Earthlink however I've shut the service off becouse I don't need it right now.
I also have an I/O Magic MagicImage 500 digital camra. It's not a tourest camra. I use it to take photos for eBay auctions and posts pictures of myself and famaly on the Internet so my net friends can gaze apon my face and know fear.
This camra uses a smart media card so I also have a smart media addapter for the Visor.
I also have a voice recorder for.. yep.. Visor.
I have a castoff i705. This is my mothers old PDA (she folowed the Palm series of wireless PDAs from the Palm 7 up...)
For entertainment I have a portable color LCD TV. It's pritty beaten up. Not as rugged as I'd like.
And I have a solar and hand crank powered radio.
What goods the solar when I'm asleep days?
Feeh.. I usually plug it into the wall but it's nice to be able to unplug it when ever I like and still use it.
Batterys? Who needs batterys? (Yes I know it's a battery inside that I charge up.. not the point. I don't have to replace batterys)
The Visor Neo dosen't have rechargable batterys so I might normally go through batterys if not for the rechargables I use. I have a cheap charger but it's also portable and fits in my hip bag.
Next... I'm working on my mothers Zaurus.
I'm configuring her Linux PDA to do what she needs/wants automaticly so she won't have to do anything.
She got a Wifi card for it on sale and now she knows why... She can use it to find hotspots but it won't work past that. She's shopping for a better card. Not cheap.
I'm thinking that will be my next direction.
There is a Zaurus phone (like the visor phone) that works better than the visor phone but I'm wanting to wait for the cost to come down.
I'm also considering a Dragonix but I'm not sure how I'd get cell phone service on that.
(Dragonix is a home made PDA.. plans downloadable on the Internet.)
In addition I'm looking into getting a new digital camra that uses compact flash instead of smart media.
(Cheaper media, larger memory and when I need lots of memory IBM microdrive)
Thow I don't know if an IBM microdrive will work on a digital camra I know it will work on a Zaurus.
But enough of what I want and back to what I actually have.
I have one of those hand pump flashlights. Made for emergencys. I used mine for regulare use and it lasted a while before flying into peaces.
Wops. Not durrable.
1 large cup, Tea bags, cheap flatware (stainless steal forks and spoons), An stainless steal SPORK... and the lunch box it comes in. Tupperware type forks and spoons and durrable plastic forks and spoons.
CDs for every occasion, Sevral copys of Knoppix... Never have enough copys of Knoppix. Give away copys of Knoppix.
Have a CD.. It's Knoppix.
Art supplys (Drawing pad, #2 wood pencle, Mecanical pencle, color pencles, color pens, tracing paper)
Second set drawing supplys (Cheap lined paper book and a wood pencle)
I have convernted a laptop bag to carry my art supplys. A small toolbox for my color pencles. The cheap note book and wood is stored in my backpack so I always have something to draw on.
Termal blanket (for emergencys)
A bottle of asprin and a deck of Yugioh cards, rule book and play matt.
A box of dice. (Left over from when I was playing Champions)
Usually I have a lunch packed in cheap tupperware wanabe containers. A sandwich or something like that.
1 Tarot deck and 1 pocket sized I Ching and 3 replica chines coins.
I don't actually exist.
> speaking as a multilingual buddhist
Yeah, its fairly obvious you're some religious view.
>Filling your pockets with crap will not reduce the emptiness in your life.
What emptiness? Don't try to be play "everyone's shrink." Thanks.
Now, if I pull out a USB drive from my pocket and it has all my writings on it and my art then guess what - it is exquisitely unique. But from the ignorate macro level, to you, its just another gadget.
If I pull out a mass-produced camera full of data which when rendered are photos of all my loved ones then its unqiue and important to me. But to you, its just an consumerist addiction and I'm a gadget buying fool.
I seriously suggest you stop and think about what you're complaining about and realize that good things come in "Evil consumerist packages."
Finally, little grasshopper, what if my USB keychain had a photo of a cool shark's tooth I saw on the beach, but didn't want to take for my own moral reasons. I would think that someone who did that would be much more respectful of nature than your (as you define it) "craphound" sister.
Why don't you tattoo the links to the products you're shilling on your forehead? That way I don't have to click through to see all the edgy, urban warrior crap you use.
What a Gap.
Geeks come in all shapes and sizes. Dont apply the stereotype of a medium-height thick-rimmed glasses, monotonic, sad-sense-of-fashion geek who listens to the MP3 player, constantly taps at his PDA and pulls out his laptop to show off 3d games and knoppix to people around.
I hate small appliances. I hate cellphones and dont have one. The only thing in my wallet is a (paper) diary and a swiss army knife. I dont have a USB-key and hate wireless keyboards and mice. Heck I hate wireless in general.
So whats my connection with technology? I love playing with the innards of Linux and BSD. I fool around with solaris, aix, openvms and os/400 too, right here at my home computer pile. I'm trying to get into ham radio and enjoy soldering SOC chips on self-etched PCBs for prototyping and booting Linux/QNX. Oh yeah, I tune my 93 dodge shadow alot.
Therefore you see, I pity this guy and would try not to be seen around him.
The world is bigger than a 'few' slashdot posters think.
"Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." -Nim Chimpsky
You forgot scripts for the plays you're supposedly auditioning for. How are you going to convince people you're an out-of-work actor without those?
One more thing:
The genes that produced that tooth are just as, if not more so, mechanistic and mass-produced than the chip fabricator that made my USB keychain. Just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it falls outside the real of materialism and how genes produce objects like lungs, hearts, and teeth.
I suggest you read something like The Selfish Gene to understand why the shark's tooth is not really unique. Or a good biology text about how dna/rna produce real structures in a living organism.
I don't carry very many things around. I have a slim wallet with only the things I need and a key ring with only the 3 keys I need.
The reason I carry manufactured things is because they are of some use (though as you point out, little value). I've evolved way beyond the pointy stick or sharp rock phase.
In a way, it's replaceability adds to the value. I don't need to worry about losing my lucky shark tooth that I could lug around for no reason at all, if I wanted to.
They just came out with a new one, the Freedom Micro. Like the Photon 3, but smarter, and easier to use. So they say, at least. I still have my II (red) and 3 (white), but might "upgrade" sometime. :)
"Those who consume the bulk of goods are those who make them. We must never forget this secret of our prosperity."
Maybe I'm being harsh but gadgets are strike me most as status symbols these days. Don't get me wrong, I've weblogged over WAP, GPRS and XML-RPC with the best of them. Geeking is a fun hobby. But most of my friends and acquaintences do not have their PDAs, cameras, mp3 players and smart phones not to make their lives simpler. Annecdotally speaking I've seen them used most whilst demostrating just how AWESOME they are. Like 1960's housewives showing off their diamond anniversary rings at tupperware parties. Colour me jaded, scream geek Jihad, whatever. I get on just fine unaided these days. I want to do cool things with technology, sure. Showing off my techo-bling to the powerbook brigade is not one of those things anymore.
_nfotxn
It's Cory's house. If I come to your house and pee on your rug, and you throw me out, is it because I peed on your rug, or because you can "dish it out but not take it?"
To paraphrase: the first rule of The Accidental Tourist is to never travel with anything that isn't easily replaceable. If you take the opinion that you can never be sure what'll happen to you, even on a walk to the corner store, then you should never carry anything irreplaceable, ever. (And it would seem to me that someone who needs a lucky charm at all times would certainly agree with such an opinion.)
The problem is, ID cards and whatnot are actually a pain in the ass to replace. So you have people carrying photocopies of their birth certificates. What we need next is either implanted marks of the beast (so we don't have to worry about loosing them) or proxies for the things that are hard to replace like the Universal Card.
I myself also have a problem in that I'm just in this part of the world for school and, despite having been here for almost 6 years, never got around to feeling like a permanent resident. So since I am "travelling" as far as I'm concerned, I try to avoid owning irreplaceable things at all.
Yeah, SOGs are modular, although there aren't that many items to swap between. However they have the all-important Robertson driver.
A good Canuck like Cory should be ashamed (and unhappy) of owning a multitool without a Robertson driver. Since 90% of screws sold in Canada are Robertson, it seems like any multitool without one is useless. And don't give me any crap about the Leatherman Adapter -- if I wanted to screw with adapters and stuff like that I'd just buy a screwdriver.
I really wish you stupid Americans would stop imposing your shitty screwdrivers on the rest of the world.
If you have $4K worth of equipment on you and you walk into a shady neighborhood, you are asking for serious trouble. If you have very good insurance or you're an affluent geek, then this should be a non-issue. For the budget-conscious / paranoid geek, it is a big deal. If you're heading off to a country where crime rates are high, you might consider leaving your precious gear at home.
Here are a few ideas that could save your valuable gear and data.
1. When stepping out of your secure environment (hotel, office whatever) empty your pockets and wallet. Carry enough cash to get around and back comfortably, but leave credit cards, important papers and other stuff at home. If your "lucky charm" is a $2.5K De Beers diamond pendant, leave it home. Trust me, you'll feel lucky. Take off that tacky Rolex as well.
2. All the data you need to carry can be stored in CD-Rs. If you're going on an installation / demonstration, you'll definitely get a computer on site. Live CDs help too. Alternatively, have all the necessary data on your website. If security is an issue, use encryption. I think most places have computers these days, so no use carrying your own.
3. Long travel time? Get a paperback. Losing a $5 paperback vs. $250 ipod - do the math. I've noticed that it can be hard finishing a paperback in a busy 1 week road trip because too many things come up. Besides, I don't see why anyone needs to have their lifetime's music collection with them in a trip.
4. Digital camera - what's wrong with film? Scanned film from an Olympus Stylus Epic (~$85) can beat the quality of any $800 digital camera. Batteries go for a long time, and you won't worry about cables, chargers, NiMH batteries and memory space. You can buy film and batteries in most places.
5. Phone - Any cheap-o GSM phone will do. Just buy a "SIM card" from a local provider. Skip SMS and stick with email. Internet cafes can be found in most areas. I'm assuming you'd be heading out of the USA, so finding GSM would be easy.
In summary, travel light, keep gadget count to a minimum, and ensure the safety of your precious gear and data. If you're facing the wrong end of a gun, losing a paperback, few CD-Rs, and $200 worth of gear is an experience you can live with. $4K? That would hurt.
Of course, if you are a high profile geek who *needs* to have $4K worth of gear wherever you go, you could probably afford a bodyguard in hostile environments.
C.E.
......when your name is also Cory!
because no matter which crowd I'm in front of when I start pawing around and pulling stuff out, it almost never fails to produce a "WTF is THAT!?!?" from whichever crowd, geek or musician, I happen to be around at the moment :-D. (Sadly, haven't ran across any fellow-geek, linux-using blues players around my area, hope I'm not _that_ rare a breed :-/ )
Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
... or if you wanna be real edgy, fully stocked sl5500 with a foldaway keyboard ... i have mine configured with 512megs storage, 64megs RAM, and wireless lan... as well as a few CF cards around for movies and games, gbcart style ...
freakin' -love- having a complete linux build, plus compiler environment and source for everything, in my pocket.
linux r0x the palm-top.
(as for cory: i'm on my 4th full passport, australian, ya wanker!)
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
I'm a travelling wifi/PDA/Linux programmer. I work part time for a US-based company. I've been in Southeast Asia for close to 3 months now and don't plan on returning to the States for another 12 or so. I've programmed in the jungle, yo! I move around a lot, and use the internet for communicating with work. Care to take a look in my bag? I'll spare some details, but here's what I carry around with me, and protect, everyday:
.mp3s on the Axim
1. A 15" Dell Inspiron 8200 notebook. Dual boot WinXP & Linux.
2. A Dell Axim, for testing with PocketPC
3. A Palm Tungsten C, for testing with PalmOS
4. A Canon digital elph s400 for digi pics
5. Retractable ethernet
6. Wifi card for laptop
7. Wifi compact flash card for the Axim
8. Notebook webcam for video conferencing
9. 1 GB compact flash for
10. 1 512 MB SD card for full notebook system backups that I can carry with me everywhere.
11. 1 32 MB compact flash (came with the camera)
12. 1 512 MB compact flash (for use in the camera)
13. Telephone cord, in case I need to use a modem
14. Power adapter/surge protector for plugging in to weird/short power supplies.
15. Mouse--can't use the touchpad that long
16. Smart gloves! To relieve my repetative stress injury
17. Headphones for music
18. Notebook light for seeing in badly lit rooms
19. 2 USB sync charging cables for the PDAs
20. Extra battery for laptop
21. Floppy drive and disks for laptop (useful so I don't have to carry my computer around everywhere)
22. Notebook lock/alarm
23. Multitool for computer repair, etc.
24. Folks, all of the above fits comfortably in one nice sized LowePro laptop case
I also carry with me the following:
25. A pacsafe "steel web" for protecting all my goodies
26. A CD case full of mp3 DVDs, bootleg DVDs from Bangkok, and Windoze & Linux CDs for quick system recovery for theft
27. A UK & US passport, the latter full of stamps (had to say that because the guy in the article boasts about his shiny new passport)
That's all my gadgetry, and does not include the backpack, clothes, and other crap I constantly carry with me
Who really gives a rat's ass about what some lame ass "blogger" and crappy author drags around with him? Lameoids, that is who. Total waste of electrons. Go solve world peace or hunger or something useful. I am ashamed to think that I once thought Slashdot had something to offer.
Reporter: So, Mr. Einstein, what's in your gadget bag?
Einstein: Gad-get who?
Reporter: Gadget bag?
Einstein: Oh, a clickitty sack! No, I don't carry those. I used to have a compass, but I ruined that with the magnet.....I also used to have a motorcycle, but my licence got revoked for driving too fast. I explained to the officer that I was going under the speed limit, but he didn't understand....
Reporter: I see, how fast where you going?
Einstein: c
Reporter: see what?
Einstein: No, 299,792,458 m / s
Reporter: Could you convert that into miles per hour?
Einstein: No.
Reporter: Yeah, I was never good at math either. So, what gadgets... err I mean clickitty things do you carry around?
Einstein: Oh, just a pencil and paper.
Reporter: How about a watch?
Einstein: Ah, I find it irrelevent.
Reporter: I see. That's not too impressive. I hear even Von Neumann carries around a cell phone.
Einstein: Look, Johnny and I never got along... I don't mean to bad mouth the guy, but you think he'd invented a new fundamental law of physics or something. Oh and Godel tried to get me one of those pre-paid things... I never use it. I told him, I don't even wear socks, and when I do where socks they don't match. Oh, and I don't tie my shoe laces either. Mrs. Godel bought me some velcro shoes. They're nice.
What do you mean my sig is repetitive? What do you mean my sig is repetitive? What do you mean....
You insensitive Clod!
Current:
12" Powerbook/60GB
Cruzer SD reader
1 32 MB SD card
1 512 MB SD card
Logitech MX 900 Bluetooth mouse
Composite video cable
Various audio adapters
Gameboy Advance SP w/ three games, rotated as I see fit
GBA SP USB charger
Sprint Treo 600
T-Mobile Nokia 3595
Umbrella
Retractable headphones
Noise-reducing headphones
Bic Grip permanent marker
Pentel Techniclick mechanical pencil
Bic Z4 pen
Tin of mints
Bag: Targus Sport Deluxe Notebook Backpack
That's a light loadout, with just enough to let me handle various problems, and vaguely comfortably crash anywhere if needed. I've carried more, but I don't need all of it these days:
CD wallet (half blanks, half various rescue CDs)
Hotsync cable (I used to use a ZipLinq-style cable, but it flaked out)
RioVolt MP3/CD player (since outdated by the Treo)
GBA e-reader
3" CD Wallet for Gamecube games
CD wallet for PS2/DC games
4 NiMH AA batteries, 2 AAA's, plus a wall charger
Probably more stuff... but I can't recall. I'm slowly working on trimming down the load, but the Targus bag is probably the most important thing I carry these days. It's got enough room for damned near anything I'd want to lug with me. Needs more pockets, though.
Raptor
"Procrastination is great. It gives me a lot more time to do things that I'm never going to do."
I remember Cory's infamous "Throwing all the toys out of the playpen" over at BoingBoing. He has pretty much wrecked that blog, and the boingboing name which was around in 'Zine form for about a decade before Cory was.
He can not take critisism, and as many other posts say, he is all about himself and how cool we are all supposed to think that he is.
At the end of the day, his personal bag of crap gadgets is about at cutting edge as his haircut or terrible taste in ugly clocks.
I guess you're complaining about Phillips screws and drivers?
Remember, they're designed for being driven by a machine so that the head will pop out instead of overtorquing the connection --- that they're awkward to drive or remove by hand is a consequence of that feature.
Hardly ever see a Robertson screw hereabouts, so it's nice that SOG tools makes (in America for the most part) multi-tools suited for the Canadian market....
I bought my brother-in-law a Leatherman tool adapter for Christmas a couple of years back and it seems to've worked out well for him. Nice 'cause he can keep it in his briefcase for work, but not have the extra weight when recreating on the weekend where he's unlikely to find a torx &c.
William
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
REI.com has it for $50, and since I have about $86 and change earned on my 1% cash back REI credit card (not a 0.25% scam like Discover, TRUE 1% on every PENNY spent, no $1000 increment BS like all others) it is basically free!
I love REI!!!!!
Cory Doctorow has taken additional two-second breaks from his road-warrior life to pen more descriptions of various kinds of crud he lugs around. Read it and weep, wanna-bes and get-a-lifers!
In this exciting, 15-part blog, Cory:
- Regurgitates the contents of his colon and tells us which of its contents were delicious, spicy, binding, and gassy;
- Removes from his Hungarian travel sachel 7 days of his worn French underwear and describes which track patterns he has seen previously in his dreams;
- Shows us his latest "boi" toy, the Luby Susan, a rotating carousel of flavored and scented jellies he has tested personally while enjoying his global, fly-by-night lifestyle; and
- Describes how his Eurotrash coolness is superior to a European's and excitingly Canadian.
Hyperlinks to all of the above products are included!Oh I totally agree that Phillips are excellently designed for their purpose, but it's really unfortunate that they end up being used in all sorts of inappropriate applications. I also fail to understand why all multitools aren't available with Robertson drivers -- it'd only require replacing their Phillips driver in the production line.
The problem is that Robertsons are so ubiquitous in Canada that you'd end up having to haul around the adapter any time you expect to encounter any screw, which kind of defeats the purpose of a multitool.
In that case, Leatherman is really missing out on an opportunity (and one which SOG has capitalized on).
To get back to the original discussion, well the solution would seem obvious:
- purchase a Leatherman
- take it to your machine shop
- cut off most of the blade
- grind the remainder of the blade down to make a Robertson screwdriver head
``et voila!'' a Leatherman suited not just for use in Canada, but also acceptable to the FAA (I think, maybe, perhaps, but you'd better check the regs on that).
William
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
Damn, that's not a bad idea. I can see why resourceful people are so enamoured of their local machine shops...
``local machine shop''?
I meant the collection of tools on my workbench in my basement....
William
(who kind of regrets having given away a book on how to create a lathe by investment-style casting --- the idea was a lathe could replicate itself (the only tool in a shop which can), and be used to build a drill press &c.)
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
Some fool, apparently myself, wrote: "Previously sold at Tokyoflash. Sorry, we can't get any more."
Great news, boyz n girlz... it's available again! Follwowing the same link now brings up an active order page, and sure enough, it's listed as usual on the watches page.
The only glitch seems to be that the color selection has changed... white isn't available, only turquoise blue. Still, it's too cool to pass up... hope they still have it when I have the cash. I should be able to convince my wife that $38 for a one-of-a-kind watch is a good buy compared to her own online addictions...
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.