UPDATE: You can watch a LifeCast video of this post here.
Finally you are off for the week...
Work was difficult today. Lanie from marketing was more intense than usual and you grow weary of her persistence.
Its 6 PM, you are at the Metro.
The one dollar bill that you place in the metro conductor's hand is weathered through years of traveling.
You take your seat.
It is warm as it always is; calm as well, which is a welcome surprise.
the views through the meticulously cleaned windows slide by your eye as your drift off slowly in your mind. How fast are you going? 50, maybe 60 mph?
it doesn't matter.
Then, as your vision passes lazily over the landscape, you see the sun emerge from a mountain that had been a silent silhouette. You reach for your digital camera, two snapshots later, and you are satisfied.
A woman yelps in frustration, with a note of emergency. She yells that she is claustrophobic and she needs to be set free from the shackles that is the seat belt. Without hesitation, you reach down once again and pull out your knife. With a smooth slice, skilled and certain, you cut her seat belt, freeing her from her disillusioned doom.
you get home, upload your camera shots to Flickr, and pop a beer and realize, "Damn, I had exactly what I needed today."
You my friend, had the perfect "Everyday Carry." (EDC)
Everyday Carry
Everyday carry is defined as:
I have found, as a seasoned traveler, business man, tech savvy individual, and soldier a few very important items, in fact, 8 items. These items are not across the board, but they seem to be very useful to many people (as I view them from various places around the world).Every day carry (EDC) refers to various items, usually small, that are worn or carried by a person on a daily basis for use in everyday tasks from the mundane to the unexpected.src. Wikipedia
The Items
1. FLIP HD Mino camera from Pure Digital Technologies is a rather cheap and extremely small high definition Camera for people that are on the run. I picked this up from Amazon for $200 and I have not looked back since. It is a fantastic camera for still video, with moving video being a lower quality product. The entire camera weighs probably weighs 4 oz, very small indeed.
2. A fine Digital Camera (personally I use a Canon Powershot) is usually a necessity for most occasions, and has its place as number two on my list. As you can see, my list is very socially oriented as I feel the most important items are the ones that capture memories and experiences. We can go through this world and accomplish everything there is to accomplish, but when I am 60, I will probably just want to see a picture of my son crawling at 10 months old more than anything.
3. Sturdy and multifunctional laptop I am really starting to get into the Netbooks that are out there as I feel a multifunction and reliable laptop is key for frequent travelers and generally tech savvy people. I personally have a Gateway Tablet PC computer as it allows me to turn my computer into tablet mode and watch movies on a treadmill while in hotel gyms. Plus, for drawing and Photoshop usability, a tablet cannot be beat.
4. Sharp, retractable knife Many times, one finds that they need a knife. Use it for opening envelopes, opening bags of food, or opening those impossible plastic cases around USB sticks when you buy them from Bestbuy. Extremely useful, must have.
5. USB Drive, large in size personally, I like to carry a 16gb USB stick as well as a 500 gb Acomdata executive hard drive with USB powering options (don't need a wall outlet). Also, I format each to be NTFS so that I can store large items on there, like virtual machines or other items (movies, videos). Each of these seems to be very useful for me.
6. Moleskin Notebook This guy is absolutely essential, there is something that wonderful about being able to sync your thoughts to a fine notebook for retrieval later. I am not a fan of syncing with a phone, I like to see my thoughts and my penmanship on the page. Personally, I use a 5 x 7 notebook with square ruling so I can easily break up my page into many items.
7. Logitech Quick Cam Pro for Notebooks webcam This guy is really important to me, because as a frequent traveler, I need to stay incontact with my family. For example, I am currently across the pond from my wife and I will be able to get on Skype, call her and through some custom skype settings on her end, I will be able to get auto answered and then auto video'd so that I can see my house even when no one is there. I can then just talk through the microphone and someone (if they are home) can hear me and come into the room to start chatting.
8. 4GB iPod with headphones My final item is an iPod. We all need them, they are extremely important for our mental well being, and they help us on long flights and tough times while in loud hotels. Mine is loaded up with some long techno tracks from Paul Oakenfold, so on plane rides, I can just chill out and let the music flow.
9. A good book, something to keep you enticed I have found that books on soft skills of my profession are the easiest books to read in situations where a book would be needed. For example, I am currently
I have many other items that I bring, such as a flash light, an extra laptop battery, various cables, a USB adapter set,a steel clipboard, a surge protector with multiple outlets (this is so essential in many situations, almost on my list), but the ones above get the most use, the other are great in very specific situations. What do you feel is essential?