Slashdot Mirror
How Do You Handle Your Keys?
arisvega writes "I lost my backpack some time ago, but was lucky enough to have left my laptop at home that night, and my cell and keys in my pocket. The inevitable habit-change that followed was to start strapping my keys on my pants, so at least I would still be able to get home (as long as I kept my pants on). But I realized I had a lot of keys: one for the outer door, two for the inner, three more for my girlfriend's place, one for the office, one for the postbox, one for my bicycle, the car, the motorbike and the roof. ... Plus, I keep a tiny Swiss Army knife on my keychain that I really wouldn't want to part with. Needless to say, this makes a jingly bunch that eats through my pocket. I ask you, Slashdot people, how do you carry/safeguard a hefty, pronouncedly jingly bunch of keys? What are the alternatives? Any suggestions on clothing or technology? Would having 'The One Key' make things better, or worse?"
I keep my keys in my front right pocket. They don't go anywhere else. They're always there unless they are in my hand and I'm unlocking something. If I do set them down, I usually notice that they are missing (and also am in the habit of patting myself down to make sure they are there before leaving the house etc). The same goes for my cell phone in my other front pocket and my wallet in my back pocket. that's where they go and I simply don't put them anywhere else except for unusual situations. That usually solves my losing things issue and when people ask me how many times I've lost my phone, I can say 0.
For too many keys, since I didn't want to change my system, I eventually had to split up my key rings. One for every day, always have keys. Another for the car. Another for my photostudio. Another one for work keys. The work keys go on my lanyard at work and the others I only pick up and put in my pocket when I actually use them. They actually do fit better on different key rings rather than all on one. Otherwise, they sit in the same coffee mug on my desk at home.
If you live in an apartment building with a single entrance (think movie style with the stairwell in the middle), you have the main apartment building key, the door knob key, and the deadbolt.
Three keys, designed for increasing levels of individual safety (insofar as locks are not designed to keep you safe, but to make it noticeable when someone is actively violating another persons safety ~ or however that gets said)
2^3 * 31 * 647
For those in colder climates, try the heavyweight firehose material pants. Also recommended for winter desert hiking when you can have rain, snow, sleet, and hail in the same 2 hour period.
Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.
Most badge readers aren't two-factor. They rely on something you have, and that's it. Some combine it with something you know (a keypad) and/or something you are (handprint), but in my experience, those are the exception.
You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
I keep a large ring of keys for the house/truck/garage as well as a larger keyring for the shop, trailers, chains, and various pieces of power equipment.
The best way I have found to keep them all on hand is with a chain wallet. I use a good leather chain wallet, but replace the small stock chain with a 2 foot length of chain cut from the end of a large dog leash. The hook on the end is robust and large enough to accommodate several key rings.
The short chain length gives enough length to unlock doors without unhooking the keyring, and allows it all to be dropped in a front pants pocket to keep it low-key so as to avoid looking like some sort of trailer-trash skateboarder wannabe with 4 feet of chain hanging out of the pants.
I have lots of keys .. but I'm a man. I put them in my pocket, and maybe sometimes they bulge a little. So what...
The day your bulge of keys is what you're concerned about is the day you realized you're not doing anything to challenge yourself or not pushing yourself to do something seriously worthwhile. That's fine by some people's standards. Not mine, but to some I suppose....
Like I said... I'm a man. There are keys and sometimes I have a lot of them and sometimes I prioritize them. But I'm far too occupied with something far more important to drivel on about it and ask the public for help.
There's a rather old-timey solution to this problem. I, too, was tried of wearing holes in my pockets from the numerous keys I had to carry around. Get yourself a leather key wallet. It is a wallet sized object with a set of key holders inside. You can store your keys in a relatively small area, and no more tearing up your pockets. Some of them even include change purses.
"Enough of this wretched, whining monkey life." -- Marcus Aurelius, _Meditations_, Book 9, 37
Actually, we do have something similar in Japan. They are e-cash cards. Suica is one of the more popular ones since it lets you ride the trains without having to buy a ticket each time. You charge it up with cash and then you use it until the cash runs down on it. You can use it to buy almost anything your heart desires (inside a train station anyways) including drinks, food, smokes, condoms, newspapers, etc... I have also used it as a "key" for some of the pay lockers. You open the locker, stick your stuff inside, pay with your Suica card and the door is locked. The only way to unlock it is to swipe the same card you used to pay for it.
"Freedom in the USA is not the ability to do what you want. It is the ability to stop others from doing what THEY want"
If you are going to a locksmith, you might consider getting deadbolt and other locks for your house that uses SFIC [1] cylinders. This way, you can not just have a rekey job in the future be insanely easy (pick up the new cylinders from the locksmith, use the old control key to slide out the old cylinder on each lock, and use the new control key to slide in the new ones), but you can also change brands of cylinders. If you want to change from Best to Medeco, or from Medeco to Schlage Primus, it can be done very quickly.
You also will have good security, since in general, locks that use SFIC cylinders tend to be a lot better made than most consumer stuff.
[1]: Small Format Interchangable Core.