[Sorry about the messy formatting here! I’ll tidy asap…]
*Forever Fun Pack for Kids (and Adults)… Here’s an idea for a fanny pack full of goodies to help kids and adults have fun and get interesting things done their whole life. These goodies just NEVER wear out.
*Survival Kits… I have a little stepwise plan
for being prepared, from a little to a little more. It’s fun to make lists.
*Flashlights… My 15-yr-old Petzl and Minimag were corroded beyond repair so I looked into what lights are up to.
4 major innovations are: 1.) LEDs are bright and last for many hours. 2.)
Lithium batt’s are small but very strong. 3.) Dual-mode LED/halo’s give
you both worlds. 4.) Tactical lights are tiny, quality, and blinding. HREF=”https://flashlightreviews.home.att.net/reviews/reviews_index.htm”
TARGET=”frame685178″>Here’s a guy who reviews them all. I bought 3 new lights reviewed as clear winners. I’ve been impressed so far: Petzl Myo-5 headlamp (dual-beam multimode LED/halo);
Streamlight Twin-Task 2L (dual-mode, small but very powerful); TARGET=”frame685178″>ARC AAA (superbright ultratiny LED, voted best pocketlite). I also noticed the TARGET=”frame685178″>SureFire E2—a tiny tactical that can flood a parking lot.
 *Cameras… They’re only good
if they’re there when you need em. My regular digicam is pretty small but gets left behind. So I got a TARGET=”frame685178″>Sony Cybershot U30: about $130, 2mb. The disposable
TARGET=”frame685178″>Kodak HQ offers an actual pro lens for $7—great
for leaving in bike bags. A reusable cheapy with great lens is the “https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000089GJZ/jeffpottersoutyo” TARGET=
“frame685178″>Kodak KB22 for $17.
| Â *Knives are a great value… Fine knives are at the high end of metal/material/leather craftsmanship—like a fancy car |
—offering great function and style, often for less than $50. Buy from
a local shop if you can. To appreciate these things you really need to heft
and flick em. I recommend the petite TARGET=”frame685178″>Spyderco Delica for casual everyday carry (EDC).
The stylish TARGET=”frame685178″>Kershaw Leek must be seen to be believed (the HREF=”https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001U1NAA/jeffpottersoutyo”
TARGET=”frame685178″>Rainbow is awesome). TARGET=”frame685178″>CRKT M16s are more tactical but still thrifty.
  ISMAP> |  *Stylish, effective pocketknives for cheap… For those on a budget, here’s a website with cheap nifty knives. |
I bought two Rough Riders: a TARGET=”frame685178″>slim with clip, $9; and a TARGET=”frame685178″>suave with hand guards, $7; and I really like them.
If you don’t know, one-hander linerlocks with clips are very handy and inspire
one to fiddle with their knife. They give a lot of craftsmanship and tool-action-click-snap
bang for the buck. They’re for utility work, but they’re also defense blades
and can look intimidating, so don’t fiddle in public.
$50 gets you a LOT and $150 gets you the cat’s meow. Here are some lovely
high-end $60 TARGET=”frame685178″>kits. Lefties get the deluxe treatment from HREF=”https://southpaw-knives.com/” TARGET=”frame685178″>a guy who modifies
standard knives, greatly enhancing many of them–he seems to like working
with the cheap but good Buck Strider. TARGET=”frame685178″>Here’s a guy who beautifully customizes Swiss Army
Knives.
“#al_bolo_bm_pab_ak_side” ISMAP>*Swiss Army Knives are evolving… SAKs
now offer pens, cigarette lighters, onehander blades and…memory! Yeah!
Now they only need a compass and thermometer and I think we’re set. But
they can’t keep dropping stuff, like the tweezers and toothpick! Gotta have
it ALL. TARGET=”frame685178″>Midnight Manager: pen and light (I have one; they’re
great). TARGET=”frame685178″>SwissFlame. TARGET=”frame685178″>Trekker: onehander. And they offer a knife with
generically useful USB TARGET=”frame685178″>memory. Crazy.
beer and wine. Booze is falling fast. No reason for it not to. Wives’ tales
begone. Make great booze at home. Yeah, it’s true. Michigan now has a $150
permit for fruit distilling…down from $10,000. The other shoe will drop.
Ya can’t keep an everyday market down. Here are some fascinating sites offering
all you need to distill or discuss: TARGET=”frame685178″>one, TARGET=”frame685178″>two, “frame685178″>three, four,
five, HREF=”https://stillmaker.tripod.com/” TARGET=”frame685178″>six, “https://www.encode.com/exec/npage2.htm” TARGET=”frame685178″>seven,
eight,
nine,
ten,
TARGET=”frame685178″>eleven.
*Jiffy RV Mini-Van Concept Car…
Here’s a scheme.
Otherwise, there’s the fine Westy
to ponder, for $40K. I once saw a 70’s Dodge Sport Van 3-on-tree mint green
RV, $1500 perfect. Woulda been sweet!
- Hey, those Leatherman-style multi-tools are really something!
So are those Topeak multi-wrench thingies for biking. As is this
new Survival tool from Schrade: got it all. Then you have your new
combo-unit cellphones, like the PalmTop Sprint Handspring Treo:
cellphone, camera, browser, PDA, GPS…yikes! And I see that wristwatches
are including more and more goodies, too, like: compass, alarm, heart-rate-monitor,
thermo (actually I haven’t seen one offer all these yet, but close). - Rough Sketch
of Fully-Faired Bike Boat “Concept Car”
