I’ve been covering a lot of topics related to the portable and mobile electronics I carry around with me. But there are plenty of other tools and ‘raw materials’ I carry with me to try to be as prepared as I can for most of the little problems which always seem to come up. This is then a list of the hardware’ and ‘software’ I carry (i.e. tools and materials).
There are only a few actual tools I carry with me (all the time). I have a Swiss Army Knife (and an LED light) I carry with my keys. And in the small computer bag I carry (a canvas messenger bag); I carry a small (3 inch) folding knife, and a multi-tool. With these tools I can deal with nearly any small problem which I am likely to run into. Within the bounds of what I carry, I have a small saw, several blades, screwdrivers, a toothpick, a pair of tweezers, scissors, full size needle nose pliers, and even a bottle opener.
Obviously this is not what you would call a modern ‘travel kit’ in that the small knives in this set up would probably get me on a no fly list… But for everyday life, these tools are quite handy.
As far as the ‘software’ goes, I carry a few essentials, including an Altoids box (you know, the little tin box the mints come in)…this little box has hundreds of uses. I have seen people turning this container into alcohol camp stoves (a stove for one…), and even a case for a micro guitar amp (pretty low fidelity…). For me, I carry one of these from my trove of these little cases to carry the rest of my raw materials.
These include:
10 paper clips
Super glue (gel)
Some (folded) paper coffee cup sleeves
Duct Tape (would around the outside of the box)
Beyond the Altoids box, I also carry several pens and a small reporter’s notebook (worthwhile if all of my electronics fail me…). So, with regard to these materials I have a few links wh9ich show some of the possible uses for them:
Simple Duct Tape Crafts
http://www.ehow.com/list_6731023_simple-duct-tape-crafts.html
Instructables
http://www.instructables.com
Altoids and tin cases
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/altoids_and_tin_cases
So, if you also have a Boy Scout point of view (i.e. ‘always prepared’), let me know how you equip yourself to deal with the rest of the world…
