Light: Ra Clicky 140Cgt
Tonight I was at Linn's, as I often am, when disaster struck! Erin was vex'd with a spell of numerical befuddlement! She urgently needed the assistance of a calculator, but... it was solar powered and the dim cafe lighting wasn't enough to power the display adequately. Fortunately, my Clicky was able to stand in for the sun and avert disaster.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
AtHC: Around the House Carry?
And the potential practicality of apparently ridiculous and excessive preparation.
A few thoughts on the scope and range of the EDC ethos, as a defense made against my own doubts.
When you're padding aboot your domicile, perhaps clad in the comfortable uniform of repose, 'tis a mite silly to be hauling along a knife, innit? Yes, that's how I felt too, though it didn't stop me from doing it. (I think it's fine to recognize that something you do is silly, but that doesn't mean you should stop doing it if you don't also believe it to be wrong or harmful.) Starting about a year ago, before going from my room to the living room to watch something on tv, I'd sometimes/often slip a folder in my pocket as if I were going out, and then I'd feel like another ridiculous knife knut obsessively preparing for the sudden collapse of society at any moment, or an invasion by those [insert appropriate epithet] [associated color] [disliked minority group, political leaning, or nationality]s that paranoid survivalist types love to fear. However, I don't really feel so silly about it these days because the practice has demonstrated its value to me. A few brief anecdotes (or you might want to just skip to the conclusion):
— Back in February, my life was dominated by the Olympics. Around the same time, my UKPK Drop Point (factory second) finally arrived. It was one of my most anticipated knives ever because I knew it would be rather perfect for my purposes, but it got lost in the mail and after two months I had no expectation of ever seeing it. When it did appear unexpectedly one day, I was loath to let it far from my sight; as I lounged about, consumed by winter athletics, the UKPK sat in my pocket just about the whole time. And I felt silly about it, but I just really liked it, so I did it anyway. On one of the first days I had it, I was watching with my mom and she asked me to open a difficult piece of mail for her. I always open mail with a knife because... that's who I am, obviously, and since I had one already on me I was able to immediately zip it open for her and hand it back. I could have ripped it open by hand if I'd had to, or run off to fetch a knife; it wasn't a big deal... but it was very convenient to be ready for it. That got me to thinking more about the practicality of my silly habit.... More on that later.
- Shortly after the last occurrence, probably also during the Olympics since the seating positions were the same, my mom was sitting on the couch when she found that a tick, carried in by one of the pets, had found its way to her and was now crawling up her arm. When she realized what it was, she started to freak out, but I was able to quickly help out by telling her to hold still while I pulled out my tiny Ladybug Salt and intercepted it. I whisked it up onto the blade, carried it off, then used the back of my ferocious 4" keychain knife's blade to apply enough force to dispatch the monster before sending it to a watery grave. Now, in all seriousness, I'm really glad I had a tool that allowed me to respond to that so quickly and effectively. What would have otherwise been a more unpleasant situation was taken care of immediately. That went a long way toward changing my mind; if something I'm doing is proven to be able to help someone else, it's worth continuing.
- Most recently, I was again in the living room, this time to watch the Tour de France (yes, it seems I'm only there when there's an epic, multi-day sporting event to watch) when... my dad received a box of avocados in the mail! He wanted to open the box and show them off, so he came over and asked if I had a knife, even though I was in my lounging and watching mode. That amused me, that he expected me to have a knife on me even then, and didn't think it a silly thing to ask. And yes, I had my Cat in my pocket because I'd just been opening something of my own. He of course commented on how sharp it is... everything seems very sharp indeed when your main around-the-house cutting tool is a pair of scissors you got in a multi-pack from the dollar store. But I digress; the point is that having it was good, not having it would have been less good.
So, my conclusion, after all those words to describe a few trivial anecdotes of barely significant occurrences. Basically, it's this: I carry a knife—among other things—with me every day because they're useful/helpful/handy/convenient for a great many tasks I might encounter within a typical day, so having them available is simply prudent, sensible, and forethoughtful. Furthermore, the same kinds of tasks I often encounter when out in The Real World can also be found at home, and being at home is no reason to be less prepared to deal with them by having the helpful item I need a short walk away instead of on me and ready to go—especially if such continued preparedness comes with little or no additional inconvenience. So, in my experience, in my life, in my environments, in my situations, I've found that carrying a knife even when not leaving the house is just as justified as when I'm anywhere else, and the same goes for a light after dark. I'm not going to carry a pry bar in my pajamas, or an emergency saw or a mylar blanket or a fire steel, because those are less versatile and cannot legitimately be expected to prove useful in that situation and environment—to carry them would be *actually* ridiculous. But, there's nothing ridiculous in carrying any tool that has been confirmed useful in that particular environment.
(As I type this, I'm reclining in my cozy fleece pants. My FRN UKPK Lightweight (CE FRN UKPKDP LW...) is in the pocket and ready to go, but completely unnoticeable at 1.9oz.)
A few thoughts on the scope and range of the EDC ethos, as a defense made against my own doubts.
When you're padding aboot your domicile, perhaps clad in the comfortable uniform of repose, 'tis a mite silly to be hauling along a knife, innit? Yes, that's how I felt too, though it didn't stop me from doing it. (I think it's fine to recognize that something you do is silly, but that doesn't mean you should stop doing it if you don't also believe it to be wrong or harmful.) Starting about a year ago, before going from my room to the living room to watch something on tv, I'd sometimes/often slip a folder in my pocket as if I were going out, and then I'd feel like another ridiculous knife knut obsessively preparing for the sudden collapse of society at any moment, or an invasion by those [insert appropriate epithet] [associated color] [disliked minority group, political leaning, or nationality]s that paranoid survivalist types love to fear. However, I don't really feel so silly about it these days because the practice has demonstrated its value to me. A few brief anecdotes (or you might want to just skip to the conclusion):
— Back in February, my life was dominated by the Olympics. Around the same time, my UKPK Drop Point (factory second) finally arrived. It was one of my most anticipated knives ever because I knew it would be rather perfect for my purposes, but it got lost in the mail and after two months I had no expectation of ever seeing it. When it did appear unexpectedly one day, I was loath to let it far from my sight; as I lounged about, consumed by winter athletics, the UKPK sat in my pocket just about the whole time. And I felt silly about it, but I just really liked it, so I did it anyway. On one of the first days I had it, I was watching with my mom and she asked me to open a difficult piece of mail for her. I always open mail with a knife because... that's who I am, obviously, and since I had one already on me I was able to immediately zip it open for her and hand it back. I could have ripped it open by hand if I'd had to, or run off to fetch a knife; it wasn't a big deal... but it was very convenient to be ready for it. That got me to thinking more about the practicality of my silly habit.... More on that later.
- Shortly after the last occurrence, probably also during the Olympics since the seating positions were the same, my mom was sitting on the couch when she found that a tick, carried in by one of the pets, had found its way to her and was now crawling up her arm. When she realized what it was, she started to freak out, but I was able to quickly help out by telling her to hold still while I pulled out my tiny Ladybug Salt and intercepted it. I whisked it up onto the blade, carried it off, then used the back of my ferocious 4" keychain knife's blade to apply enough force to dispatch the monster before sending it to a watery grave. Now, in all seriousness, I'm really glad I had a tool that allowed me to respond to that so quickly and effectively. What would have otherwise been a more unpleasant situation was taken care of immediately. That went a long way toward changing my mind; if something I'm doing is proven to be able to help someone else, it's worth continuing.
- Most recently, I was again in the living room, this time to watch the Tour de France (yes, it seems I'm only there when there's an epic, multi-day sporting event to watch) when... my dad received a box of avocados in the mail! He wanted to open the box and show them off, so he came over and asked if I had a knife, even though I was in my lounging and watching mode. That amused me, that he expected me to have a knife on me even then, and didn't think it a silly thing to ask. And yes, I had my Cat in my pocket because I'd just been opening something of my own. He of course commented on how sharp it is... everything seems very sharp indeed when your main around-the-house cutting tool is a pair of scissors you got in a multi-pack from the dollar store. But I digress; the point is that having it was good, not having it would have been less good.
So, my conclusion, after all those words to describe a few trivial anecdotes of barely significant occurrences. Basically, it's this: I carry a knife—among other things—with me every day because they're useful/helpful/handy/convenient for a great many tasks I might encounter within a typical day, so having them available is simply prudent, sensible, and forethoughtful. Furthermore, the same kinds of tasks I often encounter when out in The Real World can also be found at home, and being at home is no reason to be less prepared to deal with them by having the helpful item I need a short walk away instead of on me and ready to go—especially if such continued preparedness comes with little or no additional inconvenience. So, in my experience, in my life, in my environments, in my situations, I've found that carrying a knife even when not leaving the house is just as justified as when I'm anywhere else, and the same goes for a light after dark. I'm not going to carry a pry bar in my pajamas, or an emergency saw or a mylar blanket or a fire steel, because those are less versatile and cannot legitimately be expected to prove useful in that situation and environment—to carry them would be *actually* ridiculous. But, there's nothing ridiculous in carrying any tool that has been confirmed useful in that particular environment.
(As I type this, I'm reclining in my cozy fleece pants. My FRN UKPK Lightweight (CE FRN UKPKDP LW...) is in the pocket and ready to go, but completely unnoticeable at 1.9oz.)
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Geocaching thread
I intend for this to be a thread for reporting my use of lights and knives while in the pursuit of geocaches. So far, that mostly means these will be Pacific Salt anecdotes, since it's been my official caching knife so far, used for cutting through weeds and poking around in potentially treacherous spots. Another tool worth mentioning, though its role is not so noteworthy on a case by case basis, is the ZebraLight H30. It's become my official geocaching area light; a job for which it is ideally suited. I clip it to a chest pocket, angled downwards, and activate it when it comes time to open a cache and sign the log. It gives me a smooth field of hands free light wherever I'm facing, without having to bother with a more cumbersome and suspicious headlamp.
2010
6/27: My first day of caching. Used the Pacific to poke around through pine cones and pieces of bark to find two caches on the ranch. Returned out of the depths of the forest around dusk, so I used the Apex and warm Clicky to find my way home.
6/28: Found a couple more caches on the ranch, used Pacific to poke around in rocks and bushes. Used Apex for light.
6/29: Did some caching on Moonstone, used Pacific to drag caches out from under the boardwalk rather than reaching down into there.
6/30: Went out for a day of caching with Ian, Katie, Brian, and Justin. We went to the end of Harmony Headlands for a cache out there, which we didn't find. I poked around some bushes and branches with Pacific for a while with no sign of it.
7/15: Used Pacific to dig around in storm drain debris looking for a difficulty 3.5 cache that had been sitting inactive for three months waiting for a new log. Found it and added a log to get it back online. Used UK Rescue to cut a strip of paper for the log. Also used the SF L1 to give me some strong and focused illumination for peering down into the drain. I'm starting to think it would be nice to get one of the new FRN UK Rescues just for caching. It's cheap enough to beat up like I do to the Pacific, can be easily disassembled for easy cleaning, but the sheepsfoot tip would make it much better suited for digging through stuff. It'd be the next best thing to an Atlantic. As it is, I have to be very careful not to damage the cache I'm trying to pry out.
8/10: Went after Bill Kerr Trail on my bike. Sped down the forest path around sunset with Apex hanging off my backpack, pointing more or less forward. Think I had a Clicky wedged under my hand too. Used Pacific to clear some spider webs away from the cache before reaching for it, after retrieving it from the creek bed, as I'd just had to do with my camera as well. Clumsy day. The highlight of this cache was meeting Jimmy, the little orange cat who lives nearby.
8/25: My log for Pine Line:
"Whew! This one ended up being quite an adventure, and it was probably the most frustrating of the caches I did end up finding, mostly because I made it harder than it should have been at every opportunity. I headed out in the early evening on my bike, not really intending to go caching. Since I was on that side of the ranch, I decided to go after this one, but rather than heading straight up the hill I thought it would be easier to take the indirect route by going out through Seaclift Estates, up the first road, and then out the path at the top of the hill, which I (correctly) figured would take me right by the cache area. Well, that nearly killed me. In my attempt to show what a manly cyclist I am, I pushed way too hard on a serious hill and ended up almost passing out in a nice fellow's yard (he gave me water and refrained from calling me a pansy) near the top. After recovering, I made it the rest of the way up and out to the cache area, but when I got to just about GZ I found it to be a perfect potential mountain lion den, and something biggish was rustling in the bushes just on the other side of the downed tree. By that point, I'd come too far to let anything stop me, but I didn't want to get an unpleasant surprise either (better to be paranoid than dinner), so I headed around the bush to try to get a view of what seemed to be watching me before it got the drop on me. So there I was, looking like a crazy idiot, calling out to the bush to let it know that I didn't want any trouble, with a knife in each hand [Pacific and Endura] ready to meet a charge... when I look over my shoulder and see someone walking down the trail behind me. Quickly stash knives and pull out camera, try to look like a sane and nonthreatening nature lover, just in time to greet a nice older lady who wanted me to bring my red bike back up the trail for a photo op in front of the mossy tree along the main trail. I obliged, rode back up to the tree, made some small talk as the fog rolled in and the light ebbed out, then said goodbye to the nice photo muggle and headed back to GZ.
I actually looked right at where the cache was hidden and gave the area a cursory glance because I thought it looked like a good hiding place, but I didn't take it seriously because the gps was leading me deeper into this miniature section of woods. I never did figure out what was rustling, but it had quieted down by now so I decided to just carefully go for it. I couldn't find a convenient way in, so I ended up crouching down and nearly crawling my way into the middle of it, where I searched for about half an hour without any luck. On the plus side, I was able to practice some CITO action and collect a number of beer cans (which I took a closer look at after reading the hint) and a water bottle that appeared to have been made into a bong. Guess it's not a lion that hangs out here.... Finally I checked the gps again and found that it was now leading me back out of the wooded area... straight back to the obvious spot I'd already looked over. Clambered back out, took a closer look, immediately spotted something out of place, and there it was. Oy. Signed the log, replaced the cache, looked up just in time to see an owl fly over my head. By this time, it was almost 9pm, fully dark, and the thick fog had coated my waiting bike in a layer of dew. Affixed my bundle of CITO treasure to the handlebars, prepared my light, sealed up the softshell, and bombed back over the hill by the direct route this time. I was never so glad to make it back to the terrace trail; my quick ride across the ranch and back turned into a 4.5 mile, 2 hour adventure that I at one point thought I might not make it back from under my own power. Quite an evening. Good hide, TFTC!"
9/21: Got the FTF on Barking Up the Wrong Tree. Searched a long while and at one point got frustrated enough that I used the Pacific to saw through a small dead branch that was getting in my way. It did it well.
10/01: Went up to the top of Happy Hill and took a walk through the forest to find "End of the Road - Cambria Pines," which we'd had to give up on at the end of June. This was the first cache with my new caching knife, a plain edge Cara Cara Rescue. I mostly just chopped some weeds with it, but its rounded tip was nice for poking around in pine cones and bark when I got to the GZ.
10/10: No tools needed for Rusty Bridge to Nowhere, but I did take advantage of the interesting rusty surface to take some photos of the Pacific.
2011
1/4: Joe discovered that my "Stairing at the Sea" cache had gone missing, so I replaced it with a new one, this time screwed into place. It was a tough job in a small space at an awkward angle, but I got it installed with light from the H30.
2/01: Found "MB Back Bay Surprise" out in the Morro Bay marina area. The wet log on this one finally convinced me of the value of my space pen, so I decided to finally get some refills for it.
2/24: Finally finished "Adobe Abode" and had quite an adventure doing it. Along the way I got to quickly explore the old adobe with the warm Clicky.
2012
2/06: Haven't been doing much caching lately, so today Michelle and I headed out to Pine Mountain in Atascadero to look for a couple. We got there just before sunset, so we ended up doing a bit of trail walking by flashlight. I had the 100Chc and she borrowed the ZL SC51w. Unfortunately, no finds. My records getting really bad.
2010
6/27: My first day of caching. Used the Pacific to poke around through pine cones and pieces of bark to find two caches on the ranch. Returned out of the depths of the forest around dusk, so I used the Apex and warm Clicky to find my way home.
6/28: Found a couple more caches on the ranch, used Pacific to poke around in rocks and bushes. Used Apex for light.
6/29: Did some caching on Moonstone, used Pacific to drag caches out from under the boardwalk rather than reaching down into there.
6/30: Went out for a day of caching with Ian, Katie, Brian, and Justin. We went to the end of Harmony Headlands for a cache out there, which we didn't find. I poked around some bushes and branches with Pacific for a while with no sign of it.
7/15: Used Pacific to dig around in storm drain debris looking for a difficulty 3.5 cache that had been sitting inactive for three months waiting for a new log. Found it and added a log to get it back online. Used UK Rescue to cut a strip of paper for the log. Also used the SF L1 to give me some strong and focused illumination for peering down into the drain. I'm starting to think it would be nice to get one of the new FRN UK Rescues just for caching. It's cheap enough to beat up like I do to the Pacific, can be easily disassembled for easy cleaning, but the sheepsfoot tip would make it much better suited for digging through stuff. It'd be the next best thing to an Atlantic. As it is, I have to be very careful not to damage the cache I'm trying to pry out.
8/10: Went after Bill Kerr Trail on my bike. Sped down the forest path around sunset with Apex hanging off my backpack, pointing more or less forward. Think I had a Clicky wedged under my hand too. Used Pacific to clear some spider webs away from the cache before reaching for it, after retrieving it from the creek bed, as I'd just had to do with my camera as well. Clumsy day. The highlight of this cache was meeting Jimmy, the little orange cat who lives nearby.
8/25: My log for Pine Line:
"Whew! This one ended up being quite an adventure, and it was probably the most frustrating of the caches I did end up finding, mostly because I made it harder than it should have been at every opportunity. I headed out in the early evening on my bike, not really intending to go caching. Since I was on that side of the ranch, I decided to go after this one, but rather than heading straight up the hill I thought it would be easier to take the indirect route by going out through Seaclift Estates, up the first road, and then out the path at the top of the hill, which I (correctly) figured would take me right by the cache area. Well, that nearly killed me. In my attempt to show what a manly cyclist I am, I pushed way too hard on a serious hill and ended up almost passing out in a nice fellow's yard (he gave me water and refrained from calling me a pansy) near the top. After recovering, I made it the rest of the way up and out to the cache area, but when I got to just about GZ I found it to be a perfect potential mountain lion den, and something biggish was rustling in the bushes just on the other side of the downed tree. By that point, I'd come too far to let anything stop me, but I didn't want to get an unpleasant surprise either (better to be paranoid than dinner), so I headed around the bush to try to get a view of what seemed to be watching me before it got the drop on me. So there I was, looking like a crazy idiot, calling out to the bush to let it know that I didn't want any trouble, with a knife in each hand [Pacific and Endura] ready to meet a charge... when I look over my shoulder and see someone walking down the trail behind me. Quickly stash knives and pull out camera, try to look like a sane and nonthreatening nature lover, just in time to greet a nice older lady who wanted me to bring my red bike back up the trail for a photo op in front of the mossy tree along the main trail. I obliged, rode back up to the tree, made some small talk as the fog rolled in and the light ebbed out, then said goodbye to the nice photo muggle and headed back to GZ.
I actually looked right at where the cache was hidden and gave the area a cursory glance because I thought it looked like a good hiding place, but I didn't take it seriously because the gps was leading me deeper into this miniature section of woods. I never did figure out what was rustling, but it had quieted down by now so I decided to just carefully go for it. I couldn't find a convenient way in, so I ended up crouching down and nearly crawling my way into the middle of it, where I searched for about half an hour without any luck. On the plus side, I was able to practice some CITO action and collect a number of beer cans (which I took a closer look at after reading the hint) and a water bottle that appeared to have been made into a bong. Guess it's not a lion that hangs out here.... Finally I checked the gps again and found that it was now leading me back out of the wooded area... straight back to the obvious spot I'd already looked over. Clambered back out, took a closer look, immediately spotted something out of place, and there it was. Oy. Signed the log, replaced the cache, looked up just in time to see an owl fly over my head. By this time, it was almost 9pm, fully dark, and the thick fog had coated my waiting bike in a layer of dew. Affixed my bundle of CITO treasure to the handlebars, prepared my light, sealed up the softshell, and bombed back over the hill by the direct route this time. I was never so glad to make it back to the terrace trail; my quick ride across the ranch and back turned into a 4.5 mile, 2 hour adventure that I at one point thought I might not make it back from under my own power. Quite an evening. Good hide, TFTC!"
9/21: Got the FTF on Barking Up the Wrong Tree. Searched a long while and at one point got frustrated enough that I used the Pacific to saw through a small dead branch that was getting in my way. It did it well.
10/01: Went up to the top of Happy Hill and took a walk through the forest to find "End of the Road - Cambria Pines," which we'd had to give up on at the end of June. This was the first cache with my new caching knife, a plain edge Cara Cara Rescue. I mostly just chopped some weeds with it, but its rounded tip was nice for poking around in pine cones and bark when I got to the GZ.
10/10: No tools needed for Rusty Bridge to Nowhere, but I did take advantage of the interesting rusty surface to take some photos of the Pacific.
2011
1/4: Joe discovered that my "Stairing at the Sea" cache had gone missing, so I replaced it with a new one, this time screwed into place. It was a tough job in a small space at an awkward angle, but I got it installed with light from the H30.
2/01: Found "MB Back Bay Surprise" out in the Morro Bay marina area. The wet log on this one finally convinced me of the value of my space pen, so I decided to finally get some refills for it.
2/24: Finally finished "Adobe Abode" and had quite an adventure doing it. Along the way I got to quickly explore the old adobe with the warm Clicky.
2012
2/06: Haven't been doing much caching lately, so today Michelle and I headed out to Pine Mountain in Atascadero to look for a couple. We got there just before sunset, so we ended up doing a bit of trail walking by flashlight. I had the 100Chc and she borrowed the ZL SC51w. Unfortunately, no finds. My records getting really bad.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Lights saving lights
Lights: Ra Clicky 100wwCT, SureFire G2Z-M60
Tonight, after the My Javelina show at the Rogue Wave Cafe in Cayucos, I was standing around with some friends when Will's girlfriend dropped the rubber switch boot from her flashlight. As such things do, it hit the ground and scurried into a secure hiding place behind a bench, against the building, and under the overhanging shingling. They probably never would have found it tucked away like that, but I brightly lit up the area with my two lights and spotted it hiding back there. Another flashlight's day saved.
Tonight, after the My Javelina show at the Rogue Wave Cafe in Cayucos, I was standing around with some friends when Will's girlfriend dropped the rubber switch boot from her flashlight. As such things do, it hit the ground and scurried into a secure hiding place behind a bench, against the building, and under the overhanging shingling. They probably never would have found it tucked away like that, but I brightly lit up the area with my two lights and spotted it hiding back there. Another flashlight's day saved.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Salts at Schizatchfest
Lights: Ra Clicky 100wwCT, Inova T1-K2TFFC
Knives: Spyderco Pacific Salt, Ladybug Salt
Chris celebrated his birthday today with a bonfire at Avila/Port San Luis with various friends. Since it went well into the night, obviously my flashlights were useful when it came time to clear up. The Clicky's strobe in the heavy plume of smoke was pretty entertaining too. There was also a bit of knife usage. Since I was at the beach and I already have experience with getting Columbia River sand/silt into a knife pivot, my Salts were the obvious choice to carry while everything else got tucked safely away inside my bag. When Kyle wanted a piece of my banana, I used my Ladybug Salt to slice some off, since I keep it clean for food use and it's been my official banana knife recently. When Michelle needed to cut the plastic wrap off a bundle of firewood, I gave her my Pacific Salt, and the wrapper appeared to pretty much melt away on contact.
Knives: Spyderco Pacific Salt, Ladybug Salt
Chris celebrated his birthday today with a bonfire at Avila/Port San Luis with various friends. Since it went well into the night, obviously my flashlights were useful when it came time to clear up. The Clicky's strobe in the heavy plume of smoke was pretty entertaining too. There was also a bit of knife usage. Since I was at the beach and I already have experience with getting Columbia River sand/silt into a knife pivot, my Salts were the obvious choice to carry while everything else got tucked safely away inside my bag. When Kyle wanted a piece of my banana, I used my Ladybug Salt to slice some off, since I keep it clean for food use and it's been my official banana knife recently. When Michelle needed to cut the plastic wrap off a bundle of firewood, I gave her my Pacific Salt, and the wrapper appeared to pretty much melt away on contact.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
La Boheme
Light: Ra Clicky 100wwCT
I went to the final performance of La Boheme at Cal Poly and, after a long wait at the ticket office, arrived just as the lights were going down. Of course, this was a Clicky moment. I had the 100wwCT with me, so I quickly clicked it down to the minimum level, which I have set at 0.14lm, and used it to make sure I didn't step on any toes on my way in. This story is worth noting primarily because it's a situation where 99% of other lights would have been unacceptably obtrusive, but the Clicky is designed well enough to function perfectly in this situation. I can't stress the value of a very low level enough.
I went to the final performance of La Boheme at Cal Poly and, after a long wait at the ticket office, arrived just as the lights were going down. Of course, this was a Clicky moment. I had the 100wwCT with me, so I quickly clicked it down to the minimum level, which I have set at 0.14lm, and used it to make sure I didn't step on any toes on my way in. This story is worth noting primarily because it's a situation where 99% of other lights would have been unacceptably obtrusive, but the Clicky is designed well enough to function perfectly in this situation. I can't stress the value of a very low level enough.
Friday, March 12, 2010
To Cat a piece of paper...
This morning, I arrived at my math class a few minutes late. I knew we were having an extra credit makeup quiz, so I headed up to the front of the room for it but was told it would be on my own paper. Problem was, all of my paper is in my spiral bound notebook, and I was in a quiet room of people working on math. Since I didn't want to rip it out, I held the notebook off to the side and out of sight, pulled out my little Cat, and quickly sliced it out. Day saved!
However, it did make me rethink the importance of how much and what kind of noise different edges and steels make when cutting paper. In that silent room, my slightly toothy S30V made a grating sshhhrrrrzzzzzz sound as it cut, and I would have much preferred an edge that was just the tiniest bit quieter and smoother in its sound so it wouldn't have sounded like something terribly violent was happening to that notebook. It's been a while since I've compared, but I think I recall VG10 and 8CR13MOV having a slightly softer sound, at least as I sharpen them.
However, it did make me rethink the importance of how much and what kind of noise different edges and steels make when cutting paper. In that silent room, my slightly toothy S30V made a grating sshhhrrrrzzzzzz sound as it cut, and I would have much preferred an edge that was just the tiniest bit quieter and smoother in its sound so it wouldn't have sounded like something terribly violent was happening to that notebook. It's been a while since I've compared, but I think I recall VG10 and 8CR13MOV having a slightly softer sound, at least as I sharpen them.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Headlamp vs. Torch: A discussion of proper light usage
Contributed by Joe (yes, not-contributed by Joe)
Joe: last night i was coming down from El Cajon Mountain at night.
we started at dusk and before we got to the road it was stargazing dark.
two of us had headlamps, one had a dim hand light, and i had the P2D.
(one hapless guy had nothing. he walked in the middle of the pack.)
(to be fair none of us expected to be out that late. i would have brought Streamlight if i had.)
(by "none of us expected to be out that late" i mean "we arrived at the foot of the mountain at 8:30 AM.)
Me: "In our defense, it was unexpected, so it was ok that we were unprepared for it."
Joe: uh huh.
but.
anyway.
we were walking over uneven terrain. not treacherous, just with lots of little rises and dips, and there were bits of light scrambling.
so
i discovered that
when i held the P2D low, basically just holding it in my hand as i left my arm swinging like normal walking, the bumpy ground was full of shadows and hilights.
i could see the 3d-ness of it.
relief might be the right word?
Me: relief.
Joe: but basically i could see the terrain,
the topography of it.
if i held the P2D at my temple like a headlamp,
the shadows all disappeared,
because the light and my eyes were inline.
Me: yeah that's a thing, and a part of using a light; that's one reason I often don't care for headlamps.
holding it away allows you to see relief on the ground better and you can see farther because you get less backscatter from atmosphere, holding it in line with your eyes allows you to check for reflections like eyes.
so what did you conclude?
Joe: i concluded that a headlight will never be my only (or even primary) source of light when covering rough terrain
*that i will never plan for a headlight to be my only.
Me: good lad.
and that's an important lesson.
if you go on an Online Forum,
you'll find that it's full of lots of Opinions.
lots of People have an Opinion, and they really like the one they have,
and many say, I have a Torch, I don't need a geeky headlamp. others will say, once I tried a Headlamp I never bought another torch because they're pointless.
as is usual with such Opinions, both are Wrong.
both do good things, both are necessary at different times, and having and respecting both is the only correct answer.
Joe: yeah a headlamp is nice for close work
in fact it is nice for work that needs a hand and then another hand, where neither of those hands is holding a torch.
Me: yep, if you're, like, carrying stuff and doing ... hand stuff, a headlamp is great.
Joe: and if i were serious about crossing some ground and didn't mind being a bright obvious target (and annoyance to sleeping animals), i could easily see using one of each.
headlamp for the basic business of one foot in front of the other, walking on the mud not the three inch deep puddles; torch for finding a path, terrain relief, and mid-range looking & seeing.
Joe: last night i was coming down from El Cajon Mountain at night.
we started at dusk and before we got to the road it was stargazing dark.
two of us had headlamps, one had a dim hand light, and i had the P2D.
(one hapless guy had nothing. he walked in the middle of the pack.)
(to be fair none of us expected to be out that late. i would have brought Streamlight if i had.)
(by "none of us expected to be out that late" i mean "we arrived at the foot of the mountain at 8:30 AM.)
Me: "In our defense, it was unexpected, so it was ok that we were unprepared for it."
Joe: uh huh.
but.
anyway.
we were walking over uneven terrain. not treacherous, just with lots of little rises and dips, and there were bits of light scrambling.
so
i discovered that
when i held the P2D low, basically just holding it in my hand as i left my arm swinging like normal walking, the bumpy ground was full of shadows and hilights.
i could see the 3d-ness of it.
relief might be the right word?
Me: relief.
Joe: but basically i could see the terrain,
the topography of it.
if i held the P2D at my temple like a headlamp,
the shadows all disappeared,
because the light and my eyes were inline.
Me: yeah that's a thing, and a part of using a light; that's one reason I often don't care for headlamps.
holding it away allows you to see relief on the ground better and you can see farther because you get less backscatter from atmosphere, holding it in line with your eyes allows you to check for reflections like eyes.
so what did you conclude?
Joe: i concluded that a headlight will never be my only (or even primary) source of light when covering rough terrain
*that i will never plan for a headlight to be my only.
Me: good lad.
and that's an important lesson.
if you go on an Online Forum,
you'll find that it's full of lots of Opinions.
lots of People have an Opinion, and they really like the one they have,
and many say, I have a Torch, I don't need a geeky headlamp. others will say, once I tried a Headlamp I never bought another torch because they're pointless.
as is usual with such Opinions, both are Wrong.
both do good things, both are necessary at different times, and having and respecting both is the only correct answer.
Joe: yeah a headlamp is nice for close work
in fact it is nice for work that needs a hand and then another hand, where neither of those hands is holding a torch.
Me: yep, if you're, like, carrying stuff and doing ... hand stuff, a headlamp is great.
Joe: and if i were serious about crossing some ground and didn't mind being a bright obvious target (and annoyance to sleeping animals), i could easily see using one of each.
headlamp for the basic business of one foot in front of the other, walking on the mud not the three inch deep puddles; torch for finding a path, terrain relief, and mid-range looking & seeing.
Friday, February 12, 2010
ProPoly Revived!
Contributed by Joe (or more like not contributed, because he's a jerk about it).
Joe:
Joe:
ok NEWS FROM TODAY
i went to the streamlight repair place
Emergency Equipment Engineering
they have *the [worst]* website, don't even bother. actually do. it's amusing.
inside it was all uniforms and holsters
this is apparently where police officers *actually* get uniforms?
and like, such as "tactical equipment"
they don't repair Propolys at all
they repair "some models"
(Stingers ha. ha.)
so it'd be: accept from me. at the end of the month, sent off with the batch to Streamlight Central. at the end of the month it comes back. so like 2 months of waiting.
suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck
so he recommends just calling lady at Streamlight Central. he gave me her direct line. apparently she is the repairs lady.
that'll take 2 weeks plus i pay shipping. : /
ok.
so i leave
i call the other authorized repair place int he county, 15 minutes east in El Cajon
he says the only thing he can repair on a Propoly is the tailcap switch, but their shipment to the factory is going out next tuesday, and it'll be returned in 2-3 weeks after that.
so, hey, i'll save shipping.
so i go over there
he says, you know what, let's put a new switch in. just in case.
he disappears into a backroom for a while
i look around at the various things in what is basically the lobby
he comes back and it works!!
so somehow
when alkalines explode
tarnish the reflector
get all kinds of powdery gunk all over the contacts and the emitter itself
... they actually only ruin the switch.
so
I WON!
streamlight is totally working again. free of charge.
it was only the outside of the reflector that got mesed up
the reflecty part is great.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Welcome to the club, Rushi!
Rushi just got a Ra Clicky EDC to replace his stolen Fenix P2D! Hopefully it will generate some stories for him to share with us here.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Another moving day
I once again got to spend a day moving for my mom. Trucks, boxes, stairs, narrow doors, stress, all the usual. Not a whole lot to report. My UK Rescue cut a piece of cardboard off a box to wedge the armoire door and the Clicky Cgt was used a bit after sunset. Nothing exciting, but glad to have them.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Putting the dead back to bed
So, this afternoon, I was doing my usual sort of thing, wandering around the cemetery, looking for friends. It was my first time up there since the big storms of the last few weeks and there was a lot of debris lying around. Branches were strewn everywhere, and surprisingly many of them looked just like the branches at the beach in Morro Bay, covered in sea lichen and stuff. A worker was there with chainsaw and mini-backhoe clearing away stuff. As I was walking through the rows looking for interesting headstones, I found a couple wooden markers that had been blown over or knocked over by falling branches, including one of the ones I was out looking for today, almost like it was meant to be. So, I grabbed some of the fallen branches lying around, used my little Spyderco Cat to whittle a point on one end where necessary, jammed the pointy end into the dirt, and made them into temporary supports to hold the markers up until someone could get around to re-sinking them properly.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Woot Bag of Crap Flashlight in Haiti Aftermath
It may not be much of a flashlight, but it's a light, and it worked when it was needed. This is a perfect example of why I promote the EDC ethos.
http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=11068
http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=11068
Friday, January 1, 2010
Swiss Army = key to party
My first story of 2010 is a very important one. In the wee small hours of new year's eve, after celebrating at the Pewter Plough cafe party (with very good singer), I went off for my own celebration on Moonstone Drive. I took my camera gear and one of the bottles of Martinelli's I got earlier down to the little hidden bench I found last week on the edge of one of the cliffs and perched there comfortably above the waves (I was fortunately well bundled up for the 43º weather). Now, my more loyal readers will remember that the last time I encountered one of these bottles it was on a night I was traveling light and I ended up having to rip the top off with my Manix. This time I was prepared and was able to neatly (and much more gently) open it with the bottle opener of my Victorinox Climber Deluxe. A big improvement. And so I sat there all alone at 2am and celebrated the passing of the years.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
A mother's reaction
I was at the Plough picking up my mom's dog and she was struggling with a little plastic package of sequiny things she was going to use to decorate the cafe for the new year's party. I watched her struggling with it for a moment to see if she'd have me do it or just keep at it then I asked if she'd like me to do it for her. She promptly handed it over and I opened it with my friendly little bright orange UKPK Rescue. One of the things I like about this knife is that it's so gosh darned cheerful in its vibrant, fruity shade! But of course her reaction was that it looks so sharp and is that really legal. Oy. I didn't show her the on-loan Military I had in my pocket.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Contrasting attitudes
While visiting Tia, she wanted to open up some of the boxes of books she'd shipped home, so she asked for a knife. I handed her my new Cat second, which I thought was oddly perfect for her with its small handle that is actually probably not small for her hands. This is an unremarkable story, just a typical day to day use of one of my knives, but it amused me because Tia gives the impression of being possibly the girliest tiny little big city girl I know, but she doesn't bat an eye at taking and comfortably using whatever knife I give her, from the little Cat to the 8" Kulgera. It'd be nice if it weren't remarkable, but earlier in the evening I found myself in the middle of Ian's knife discussion with a new temporary busser from England who wondered what the point was of carrying a knife at all. He didn't seem uncomfortable around them, like some are, but he didn't get them and didn't see the usefulness. So, after that, it made me smile to see someone apparently so unlikely putting one to use and taking it for granted that I'd have one on me.
Edit: In the busser's defense, his objection was largely directed at Ian carrying his big Para-Military, which I admit far exceeds any actual necessity in this case, though I disagree with the implication that this makes it wrong to carry such a knife if it's preferable and legal. Also, the busser himself carried a small traditional pocketknife while bicycle touring, though I doubt he kept it on him normally.
Edit: In the busser's defense, his objection was largely directed at Ian carrying his big Para-Military, which I admit far exceeds any actual necessity in this case, though I disagree with the implication that this makes it wrong to carry such a knife if it's preferable and legal. Also, the busser himself carried a small traditional pocketknife while bicycle touring, though I doubt he kept it on him normally.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
The Tender Trap!
Once upon a time there was a princess, her name was Kaitlin, and she was having a birthday. In celebrating her birthday, we found ourselves in the magical and bluesy land of Cambria Pines Lodge, where I suddenly became savagely hungry. I searched the menu and settled on an old favorite that always comes through for me: chicken tenders with fries! But, when they arrived, I was given no silverware! So there I was, sitting in the middle of a loud bar lounge, moments from perishing, with a delicious basket of chicken and none of the typical implements of gentlemanly consumption. But! I was prepared. I pulled out my Titanium spork (ugh, geek points, but it really is good and worth it) and Spyderco Khukuri and proceeded to lay waste to my dinner with great precision. As I was cutting with the Khukuri, I realized that cutting food was exactly the kind of cutting I got the knife for, the angled blade could not be more perfect for it. I pretty much want to cut all my food with it now.
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Upward Descent
Contributed by Sam
Light: Ra Clicky 170Cn
Location: Sacred Tree, HSU
I was climbing my favorite tree, got way up to the top when I thought "oh wait, I didn't zip my Clicky into a pocket"... just at that moment, as I squatted down into position, the Clicky popped out of my pocket, fell the better part of 20 feet, hit a branch, bounced straight up about 4 feet, then continued to fall, hit two other branches which sent it spinning out of control for the rest of its fall, and skidded into the under brush..The Clicky ended up falling approximately 75 feet total.
I decided that since it wanted to do that, I wasn't going to go chasing after it. I remained up in the tree a while, viewing the post-sunset sky. The wind was cold.
After a while I came back down and found the Clicky lodged in the undergrowth of ivy vine. I inspected it a moment, saw nothing wrong, hit the button and it bursted to life.
Light: Ra Clicky 170Cn
Location: Sacred Tree, HSU
I was climbing my favorite tree, got way up to the top when I thought "oh wait, I didn't zip my Clicky into a pocket"... just at that moment, as I squatted down into position, the Clicky popped out of my pocket, fell the better part of 20 feet, hit a branch, bounced straight up about 4 feet, then continued to fall, hit two other branches which sent it spinning out of control for the rest of its fall, and skidded into the under brush..The Clicky ended up falling approximately 75 feet total.
I decided that since it wanted to do that, I wasn't going to go chasing after it. I remained up in the tree a while, viewing the post-sunset sky. The wind was cold.
After a while I came back down and found the Clicky lodged in the undergrowth of ivy vine. I inspected it a moment, saw nothing wrong, hit the button and it bursted to life.
Monday, December 7, 2009
The Knife Has a Thousand Eyes
Contributed by Brian (he provided the title too).
once upon a time i was in a car (a honda, my honda) with my good and close friend curtis. he had just purchased a brand new journal (he's a writer folks) that was wrapped in a very thick plastic. not sure why whoever made this journal thought it needed to be placed in thick plastic, but it was. sadly the brute strength of one curtis could not open the damn thing. so what was i to do? well friends, a while back my other good and close friend ian got married. while attending his wedding he gave all of his groomsmen (myself included) a knife each. not just any knife. a beautiful opinel. now back to the plastic packaging. i took out my wonderful opinel and slid through the plastic like those 2 people did through white house security. after the job had been did (yes did) curtis showed his gratitude by letting me buy him a jameson....... the end.
once upon a time i was in a car (a honda, my honda) with my good and close friend curtis. he had just purchased a brand new journal (he's a writer folks) that was wrapped in a very thick plastic. not sure why whoever made this journal thought it needed to be placed in thick plastic, but it was. sadly the brute strength of one curtis could not open the damn thing. so what was i to do? well friends, a while back my other good and close friend ian got married. while attending his wedding he gave all of his groomsmen (myself included) a knife each. not just any knife. a beautiful opinel. now back to the plastic packaging. i took out my wonderful opinel and slid through the plastic like those 2 people did through white house security. after the job had been did (yes did) curtis showed his gratitude by letting me buy him a jameson....... the end.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Other uses for a Manix2.
This was a more interesting night than anticipated. I ended up hanging out for a little while at Mozzi's with Annamarie, Rebecca, Chelsea, and Micah. After a while they decided to move on to the lodge and Annamarie peer pressured me into going along, but it was 11:55 and they were just closing. We went back down to Mustache Pete's to see if they stayed open any later but they were closed too. Finally it was decided that they would proceed to Rebecca's house, Annamarie declared that I was going too, and Rebecca vetoed any potential noes. So it was settled. We headed over to the artist studio/guest house for our little party, carrying snacks and the makings of some kind of very girly sounding drink they wanted. But, one of the ingredients was Martinelli's sparkling cider, which we too late realized doesn't have a twist off cap, and there was no bottle opener over there. Rebecca tried keys, Micah tried a can opener that looked like it might do it, but nothing budged it. Normally I probably would have had something with an opener on it, like a SAK or the Leatherman Squirt in my little supplies pack, but tonight I was trying to travel very light because I was using my new Nalgene flask for the first time and that allowed me to get away with not carrying any bag. I was a little reluctant to do anything too abusive if not necessary, but when all else failed I finally just hooked the Manix's blade spine under the cap and wrenched it off. It actually worked perfectly and the edge of the cap didn't even scratch the 154CM. Glad I decided to bring that one along since I would not have been so rough on the Khukuri. All in all, a fun and interesting night.
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