Pocket Dump 27-07-14

Yeah I'm one of those guys.

What we have here is:

MostRad minimalist wallet from Kickstarter. It's a really nice faux leather wallet that hold 4 credit cards (plus a few more if you use the elastic that was designed for bank notes) in a really small profile. Mine is still going strong but I've heard of others showing signs of wear (but that's part of the charm isn't it?). I don't usually carry banknotes but some have reported their currency doesn't fit properly. But everything said, I like mine, it's great as a card wallet.

Victorinox Alox Cadet. A few years ago I started regularly carrying a pocket knife, and I don't know how I coped before. Too damn useful. Of course, being in the UK I have limitations on what I can carry in public, but a good old Swiss Army Knife can't be beaten on function or non-aggressive looks. I don't usually carry the Cadet, mostly I go with an Alox Farmer or Pioneer (or Wenger Soldier), but when going minimal, the Cadet is great. Especially when combined with the:

Lumi Wee SS. Another item I don't usually carry. I could put it on my keys but I'd be worried too much about losing it. I took a chance buying this, the maker has something of a chequered past when it comes to fulfilling orders. But I live fairly local so I took the chance on one of these and a stainless bead (which lives on my Farmer). The Wee is a nice little backup flashlight, mine is the Stainless Steel (SS) model with a 100 lumen LED. I chose this option over the brighter one to increase battery life. It uses a tiny 10180 rechargeable battery so I can't expect this to light up all night long. But when I work days and walk through darker corners of the building I work in, it's just right to see me to the end. It's a no nonsense on-off twisty operation which I prefer over the variable Quantum DD (a similar micro flashlight which I also own). I've often come back to the QDD and found the battery dead, thinking I've switched it all the way off only to find it must have been very slightly but imperceptibly on. No such worries with the WEE.
A spare battery lives in the container (A QDD item I believe).

Bolt Action Pen. Gotta write reports, yeah? This was made by a maker on EDCS "Revs". It's excellently made and the finish is superb. I asked for Red Mallee wood to match a knife I was modding, and I also had a fountain pen made at the same time. This bolt action pen fits great in the hand and it has a more classy appearance to the other bolt actions pen kits I've seen (with a rifle for a pocket clip? No thanks). Takes a Fisher space pen refill too.

Begstarter

I've come relatively late to the kickstarter party. Not fashionably late but late enough that the good nibbles have already gone and all that's left is the plates of rapidly hardening cheese and pineapple on a stick.

I've backed a few good projects, some which have been run really well by self confessed "amateurs". But I've pretty much had it with KS now. The bubbles burst, when something appears on the pages of The Daily Mail you know its time to move on. It happened with eBay, after the DM made a feature of it it exploded and came into the public eye. Good for eBay, but it brought scammers too.

Now its a trend that's repeating with Kickstarter.

Recently there's been an explosion on begging projects, it started with multiple projects about making potato salad but diverged to other foods. These projects are only asking for a small amount, usually less than $10 but there are so many. It makes finding worthwhile projects a chore and these people are just "in it for the money" or just "in it for self promotion".

I'm not saying all KS projects have to be about the backers receiving a physical item at the end of it. I've been altruistic with a few of my backed projects because I thought the cause was worthy.

Even before Kickstarter existed I backed this guy - 50pence in da pod, you can see me at number 65. I backed it because he made his case in an entertaining way, and was insisting on only being given 50p. Any excess was returned.

But asking people for money to buy yourself a meal, and promising "photos of the event". No, screw that. Buy your own meal or donate the money raised to charity.

The writing of some of these projects pages is so poor too, basically reading "I want food, give me money". What you need is an education in manners, go away.

But it gets worse,there's been a few projects recently with even larger begging bowls. "I like to take photos so buy me a camera". "I want to play games so buy me a Playstation". Well I do too, I also work to buy things. And if I can't afford them, I go without (or get finance but that's another sorry tale).

The world doesn't owe you a shiny toy.

What this all shows is that the Kickstarter system is open to abuse. KS themselves state they have no control to make sure creators fulfil their promises, which I can understand but they obviously don't vet projects very well before they go live. 

Or simply don't care. KS get a cut of funds received if the project succeeds so is there any such thing as a bad project from their point of view?

It brings to mind Lionel Hutz on selling houses "The right house is the house that's for sale, the right person is anyone". 

As I said above, I've backed some cracking projects both with and without receiving a physical reward. I'll start reviewing a few soon. But for now I think I'll call it quits with backing anything else, unless something really cool comes along. 

Hmmmm

Well, well, well.

Not much going on here. I guess it was inevitable, my old van was a complete labour of love with much to do. And being a van it had so many choices of how to do it.

Not so much with the Freelander. Well, there are some major things I could do, but won't as I want a daily driver that is cheap to run and insure. Once you start on big modifications the insurance cost becomes crippling.

Case point, my insurance is up for renewal, and the existing companies (who are supposed to be specialists for modified cars) "offer" is £380 fully comp with limited mileage. Best quote I've gotten for similar cover but without the voluntary excess or limited mileage is £150. And that is with a reputable company I've used before.

It's a no brainer really.

But I'm not stopping tweaking my Hippo. It's still going to be "enhanced" but in subtle ways to make life easier. It's not that I don't want a 2" lift roll cage and winch bumper, I do, but don't need it so it's not happening.

But with less work going on this blog will quickly gather dust, so it's not going to be just about the Freelander anymore. Yeah its time to open up my noggin with a large blunt saw and see what falls out.

You never know, someone other than my wife might start reading this!