It's been a few years since I've kept you all up to date on the contents of my EDC bag. And I know what you've all been asking yourself: "What's Mike got in his bag today?"

Now keep in mind that this is an Urban Dad kit. So an extra Metrocard is much more useful than, say, a fishing kit. Tool-wise, I ditched the Victronix SwissTool because of its weight and bulk, opting for smaller and lighter single-use tools. The only thing I miss not having is the pliers, but you've got to make choices.

First, the bag itself. I switched out of the camera bag I'd been using for years and into a Muji Travel Organizer:

Advantages of this organizer are 1) it opens like a book, giving me easy access to contents; 2) lots of little pockets and things; 3) it looks more "professional" than my old bag; and 4) most of the storage is in two separate packs that velcro to the bag's interior. The two packs enable me to switch out one pack for another (e.g., removing the Emergency Pack and replacing with the Computer Cable Pack.) It also means I can make the whole bag "flight safe" in about ten seconds.

Left Side:

• Sunglasses that fold flat. Also available at MOMA.
• On the A&P Key Ring, a Leatherman Micra.
• A "Micro Widgy" pry bar (yes, it actually has come in handy).
• Tweezers.
• Moleskine Cahier notebook, business cards, spare Metrocard.

Center:

• Pilot G-2 Gel Pen
• 4-bit pocket screwdriver

Right Side

• Spork!
  
• Bandanna. The cloth with a 1000 uses.
  
• Adventure Medical Kit. The basics in a small flat pouch.
  

The "Urban Dad" Pack

• Writing: The Stowaway Space Pen. Skinny version of the space pen, but you can't refill it. Also a golf pencil and a mini-Sharpie.
  
• Drawing: Small blank notebook. Miniature color pencils. I couldn't find this set online, but you could buy similar mini pencils in bulk from BC USA, purveyor of fine Japanese stuff. Eraser.
  
• Entertainment: Miniature Bicycle cards, wrapped in potentially-useful rubber bands. Also the new, improved Zepto Dice!.
  
• Other Useful Things: Krazy Glue, collar neck extender, paper clips,
  band-aids, Altoids Smalls, eraser, floss, hard candies (with Vitamin C!).
  
• Low-Tech Tech: Timex 1440 sports watch, clip version. Includes stopwatch, alarm, etc. Kingmax flash drive. Small cheap keychain flashlight (you can pick some up super-cheap at DealExtreme, purveyor of fine products from Hong Kong.)

Emergency Pack:

• Things that cut other things: P-38 can opener, pocket saw, pocket straight razor, and the trusty Doug Ritter MINI RSKMk1 knife.
  Things to connect things together: Telephone wire; duct tape; an s-biner and a regular carabiner; a Niteize figure 9 with cord; 10' parachute cord; knot cards, because I have a lousy memory for knots.
  
• Things to catch other things on fire: Split pea lighter
• Other potentially useful things: clip compass;
  B001GAOO6Y:Fenix 01 flashlight, 2 AA batteries; a small aluminum whistle; extra pills in pill case, cushioned by two B000VDPYNE:pill towels.
  

"Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff."

I'm not sure of the total package weight, but it certainly feels lighter than the old bag. So there you go, my obsessive listing of my obsessive bag. At least you know that when push comes to shove, I'll be the one with the duct tape.

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Categorized: Community

See also: EDC | Every Day Carry | Gear | Preparedness | Stuff

Where Should I Eat? Fast Food Flowchart. Via Debbie.

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Categorized: Business & Economy | Odds & Ends

See also: Charts | Fast Food | Flow Charts | Food | McDonald's

• "We think customers understand that [our guacamole] isn't made from avocado."
• I'll have mine with a side order of Möbius Bacon Strips, please.

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Categorized: Business & Economy | Odds & Ends | Science & Technology

See also: Food | Math | Scary | Topology

So all is well in the Jewish community here because the Hasidic rabbi is helping the Montana cop speak Hebrew to his dog. Thanks to Susie for the article.

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Categorized: Local News

See also: Dogs | Judaism | Montana | Police

I like to give people gear. Being a gearhead, I don't want all hoard all my research on which doohickey is the absolute best doohickey to solve your doodad problem. Gear is useful, and it's the kind of thing that non-gearheads don't usually buy for themselves.

Today's gear guide: Keychain Stuff!

• Flashlight: Photon Freedom. You can get a cheapo keychain flashlight instead (CountyComm has one for $1.20), just make sure that it has an on/off switch and not one that you have to keep squeezing to light. (You may need both hands for other things!) But I like the Photon Freedom for the following features: First, it dims.1 This is really useful if you want to, say, read a program in a dark theater, but don't want to have your flashlight blazing away. Second, it can also strobe, and flash SOS in an emergency. Third, it has a handy clip that can quickly detach from your keychain, which is useful when you want to use the flashlight but not have your keys dangling from it.

• Pico Pen. I have been using the PicoPen for a while now and I really like it. (Available on Amazon, but CountyComm has a better deal.) It's a good keychain pen with a magnetic cap that attaches to the keyring, so I always have it on me. If you want an insanely detailed, 22 page review of keychain pens, you can read "Keychain Pens: IN Search of Excellence". Whoah.

• Cash Can. I reviewed this on Cool Tools last year. It holds a rolled-up $20 bill for emergencies.

• Phone Tag. You need something that will let someone know how to get in touch with you if they find your lost keys. I used to use an actual dog tag, but they're pretty big to carry around in your pocket all the time. This tiny pet tag is just big enough for two phone numbers. Obviously, don't put your home address on it!

• Miniature pocket knife. I used to use a Swiss Tech Utili-Key but found that it was too difficult to open quickly, and too dangerous to use since you have to hold it by the blade if you want to use its other features. This pocket knife is 4 cm closed. The blade isn't much, but it works in all those situations where you want to cut cord or tape and try to use your keys instead. This knife was my grandfather's, but I've seen similar ones in army-navy stores.

That's all for today's gift guide. Go Give Gear!

1How does an LED dim, you ask? It actually flickers on and off very quickly.

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Categorized: Business & Economy | Community | Odds & Ends

See also: EDC | Gear | Gift Guide | Gifts | Tools

Still working on my upgrade to Ishbadiddle -- wrestling with Drupal is like wrestling with angel, only with more extensive documentation.1

What I have in mind is to collect data streams from the Greater Ishbadiddle Community. The new Ishbadiddle will take in Twitter, LiveJournal, blogs, delicious links, RSS feeds, email, and however else the Ishbadiddlers want to post their information. Sort of what I've tried to do with the "On Our Blogs" section with Yahoo! Pipes, but integrated into the main blog. Suggestions on redesign / retooling are welcome (but email me, because the comments here are nearly broken).

In other news, I have a couple of job interviews coming up (yay!) and sold my first Zepto Dice (wahoo!) And here's the first video of Science Mondays With Dad:

I started doing science stuff with the boys after they went to Carmello the Science Fellow for a week over the summer. They wanted to do his after-school program, but 1) it's pricey, 2) it's not close to home, and 3) we weren't that impressed with the week-long program. Carmello showed them a lot of TV. And we're not talking Cosmos re-runs, either. So I figured I'd do it myself. Coming up next: Electromagnetic Crane, and Which Takes Up More Volume: Ice or Water?

Stay tuned!

1Apologies to all who read this joke already on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

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Categorized: Community | Science & Technology | Site News

See also: Drupal | Science Mondays | Site Redesign