triple aught design, gear

Nemesis Hellion

Last winter when TAD Gear had their holiday sale, I picked up a Nemesis Hellion.

It’s an nice little neck knife – though I don’t often carry it that way. I tend to tuck it away somewhere in my jacket, or sometimes a boot, as a last ditch resort for when all my other blades have receded into the void and the cardboard boxes are out for blood.

For when I do carry it around the neck, I replaced the chain with gutted paracord and wrapped the handle Atwood style (also with gutted paracord) to reduce the amount of cold metal touching my skin.

Unsheathed

The Kydex sheath is a tight fit. It takes a few wiggles to get the knife loose, and the blade often comes out with black specs cut from the inside of the sheath. (At least you can be assured the knife isn’t going to fall out and impale you in the toe.)

When it first came, the butt-end was almost as sharp as the tip. The next time I went out, I took a little sandstone to it and sanded it down.

Honestly, a knife this small doesn’t have much application (unless you’re Jack Bauer – I’m sure he could find a use for it). It’s more of a fun toy. I wouldn’t pay the $39.99 TAD currently asks for it, but if you can find it cheaper, it’s a well built blade and a worthy addition to any collection of Sharp Things.

Plans are meant to be tossed away

Greetings from Portland. (Surprise?)

I’m staying in the Hawthorne District, which so far seems to be an over-sized Capitol Hill – same shops, even.

If anyone has suggestions for that which must be done or seen, let me know. I head home Friday.

Public transportation here seems to be overpriced, but I can rent a bike for $15, so I think I might do that tomorrow. Walking around today, it looked this area was bike-friendly, but the other side of the Willamette River… not so much.

The Forecast Calls For Rain

I’m off to the islands. I don’t expect to have internet access till I get back, and I don’t have the sidewinder adapter for my new phone, so communications will be scarce. See you around.

A Potential Threat

Schneier mentions a new “Citizen Counter-Terrorists” program in Manchester. The hotline asks callers 10 questions concerning their potential terrorist neighbor. Let’s see if I fit the bill.

  1. Do you know anyone who travels but is vague on where they're going? Check
  2. Do you know someone with documents in different names for no obvious reason? Check
  3. Do you know someone buying large or unusual quantities of chemicals for no obvious reason? No
  4. Handling chemicals is dangerous, maybe you've seen goggles or masks dumped somewhere? Check
  5. If you work in commercial vehicle hire or sales, has a sale or rental made you suspicious? n/a
  6. Have you seen someone with large quantities of mobiles? No
  7. Have you seen anyone taking pictures of security arrangements? Check
  8. Do you know someone who visits terrorist-related websites? Check
  9. Have you seen any suspicious cheque or credit card transactions? Check
  10. Is someone is asking for a short-term let on a house or flat on a cash basis for no apparent reason? No

Looks like I meet 6/10 of their requirements for being a terrorist. 60% isn’t considered a passing grade, in my experience. Take that, you pesky neighbors!

Planning

Maps

Anti-Iraqi

As part of an article on the increase of Fort Lewis soldiers in Iraq, the Seattle Times today has an image of the Stryker Brigrade with a caption that reads

Soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team use smoke grenades for concealment as they engage anti-Iraqi forces in Baqubah last week.

It’s interesting what they choose to title the Bad Guys™. No longer rebels, insurgents, freedom fighters, or terrorists.

Anti-Iraqi. Certainly there are citizens of Iraq who disagree with the ideals of those getting smoked by the Stryker Brigade, but the term “anti-Iraqi” implies some sort of overwhelming consensus in the country that these people are wrong – implies that the Sunni, Shi’ite and Kurds feel some sort of political unity, which I really don’t see as the case. The country of Iraq is purely a figment of the West’s imagination.

(On another note, is it just me, or are those guys in the picture wearing Multi-Cam? Shouldn’t they be in ACU? Perhaps they grew tired of getting shot at due to crappy, useless – not to mention ugly – camo. Revolt!)

review, books

The Structure of Delight

Nelson Zink‘s The Structure of Delight is a book of stories within stories. A sort of manual for reprogramming you mind, it’s the book that Daniel Quinn would write if Quinn had been a student of Freud.

Through the interwoven stories, Zink challenges perception and meaning, expounding that all is rooted in the mind, shifting the reader’s experience of reality.

books

The Ecology of Magic

For those who have yet to read David Abram’s The Spell of the Sensuous, this interview by Scott London does a good job of introducing some of the book’s ideas.