programming and human factors
by Jeff Atwood
A little over a year ago, I documented what was on my keychain. Here's what I have today:
If you're troubled by what appears to be profanity on the Leatherman Squirt, I'll refer you to my previous post-- it's a Pulp Fiction joke. This amazing little pocket knife is the only item that I haven't changed since 2005. I use it all the time, mostly for its scissors, screwdriver, or knife functionality (in that order). It sure does come in handy-- bricolage in action!
USB flash drives are a dime a dozen these days. It's the new floppy disk. This particular flash drive is a 1 gigabyte Iomega Micro Mini. It's by far my favorite USB flash drive model, for two key reasons:
So many USB flash drives have end caps that aren't physically attached to the drive. The first thing I do is lose them! The Mini's design cleverly solves this problem. There's even a little cutout so you can see the drive activity LED with the cap rotated.
The ARC LED AAA battery flashlight I used to carry sadly died. And the company that made it isn't around any more. But the replacement is even better-- the Peak LED Matterhorn. Here's why:
It is a wee bit longer, but otherwise it's a much welcomed improvement over the ARC. I stuck with the basic black keychain model, but there are a variety of styles to choose from.
The one item I wish I had on my keychain is a pen. I haven't been able to find anything appropriately compact and portable. Dan carries a space pen, but I need something that'll attach to a keyring.
I should mention that I do, in fact, carry keys on my keychain as well. I just removed them in the photo to highlight the important stuff.
So what's on your keychain?
update: Here's my 2008 edition of the keychain.
Just a ring with keys for me. But, if the need arose for some serious key-chain style multi-tasking, I would just throw my usb drive, multi-tool or flashlight in my pocket.
Mike Bush on June 10, 2006 12:30 PMHey, arc is not dead !
http://www.arcflashlight.com/
Regarding runtime for the matterhorn, the reviews state a much shorter runtime (about 50 minutes to 50%).
i guess this isn't really a thing ON my keychain... but i keep all my keys in groups on normal keyrings, then put each group on a climer's D ring. then its really easy to take off a group of keys if I know i won't need them. for instance, on weekends i leave the work security pass at home. i can take it from the D ring in half a second.
i don't have a lot of keys, but its sure useful to be able minimise when i want
dave on June 11, 2006 3:33 AMGeez. I wish I had a USB drive on my keys...All I really ever carry is a crapload of key rings, keys, and a single LED flashlight thats about three years old...
Wolfy on June 11, 2006 8:37 AMWhat, no bottle opener? Does the Squirt handle that?
Of course-- what self-respecting mini-multi-knife would be caught dead without a bottle opener.
Jeff Atwood on June 11, 2006 9:03 AMKeys + 1gb Lexar Jumpdrive Sport. The "cap" on it is a rubber holder for the actual drive and is attached to the keyring. The drive itself, however, comes out of the rubber so you don't have the whole keychain dangling from the USB plug. For some stupid reason they don't seem to be keeping up with the times, though--they haven't come out with a bigger model.
I also carry, but not on the keychain, a space pen and one of those little Leatherman tools, I don't know if it's the same model as yours or not. I used to have a little knife that was about the size of a silver dollar with a small spring-retracted blade that slid out of it. With the blade on a spring there was no chance of it coming out by accident. Of course it couldn't cut much but it was enough to get through the tape etc that wraps up most computer stuff. It disappeared one day during a computer-setup marathon and I haven't been able to find a replacement.
Loren Pechtel on June 11, 2006 11:25 AMWhat, no bottle opener? Does the Squirt handle that?
rcs on June 11, 2006 11:45 AMYou might get a kick out of this: a href="http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=91665"http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=91665/a
There's a similar thread on bladeforums.com
Name: on June 11, 2006 12:26 PMA Swiss Tech 8-in-1 tool.
Had a full size Leatherman tool in pocket, but in summer when wearing shorts, it's too big. Also the length of the knife blade would qualify it as a weapon here.
The Swiss Tech tool is nice, but not the Leatherman replacement I hoped for. I'm still evaluating it, but I already needed : a knife, a file and pliers during the past days, none of which are on the Swiss Tech.
So I'm probably going to take a look at the Squirt as well.
House key in your wallet? Not a good plan. You have a driver's license, right? Or some other identification of your name and/or address? A smart pickpocket can steal your wallet, identify your address from its contents, and then let himself into your house when you're not at home and help himself to what he finds there. It's the low-tech equivalent of writing your password on the post-it note pad next to your computer.
ObTopic: I wear a Leatherman (THE best geek toy of all time) on my belt, along with my phone. My keyring has two small screwdrivers, a Philips' head and a flat-head. Very useful at times. I used to have a whopping huge cloak pin, like a safety pin about an inch and a half long, but I lost it. A pen would be a good idea too...
Eric TF Bat on June 12, 2006 3:29 AMBTW, Jeff, is there any reason that the word we're supposed to enter is still orange, even though the image is wtf?
It's an ISA Server 2004 issue, where it has cached an incorrect copy of the image file. I'm trying to get a direct port 80 connection to the server.
Jeff Atwood on June 12, 2006 3:40 AMWhere do you keep your key-chain? I mean, it doesn't seem to fit in a pocket with all those things attached. How do you carry it around, in a separate bag?
regards,
martin
I have 3 keychains, one for work, home, and cars. The cars keychain has a 30 pin SIMM stick on it (the components have long since fallen off. :( ), the home ring has a little wodden scrollwork of my name, and the work ring is really dull: just the keys and stretchy coil thingy (technical term).
I used to have a handy little plier/screwdriver/etc thing on my home ring, but then I made the mistake of getting on a plane. They wanted some obscene amount of money to mail it to my house. I hope the bastard enjoys it. :(.
HitScan on June 12, 2006 7:18 AMI have one of the tiny squeeze button lights on my chain along with an ever necessary church key (a href="http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-chu2.htm)"http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-chu2.htm)/a
I have a Leatherman that I oftentimes wear on my belt (but not as often after it was nearly stolen a few months ago)
Steve Bush on June 12, 2006 12:59 PMI forgot a couple things, since I ignored the reasonable thought to actually /look/ at my keychains. :)
I have one of those little $5 LED pushbutton lights, and the coolest nerd keyring toy ever: a 1.5 inch 110 punchdown tool. They come in Leviton (possibly others) jack packs. I saw that they have a ring hole, and decided that it simply must be done. :)
BTW, Jeff, is there any reason that the word we're supposed to enter is still orange, even though the image is wtf?
A mini swiss army knife is very useful:
a href="http://www.swiss-army-knives.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=06226Tcat=7"http://www.swiss-army-knives.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=06226Tcat=7/a
Pen, torch, scissors, screwdriver, knife, keyring all in 5cm.
DaveH on June 13, 2006 2:50 AMI have gone through a few combos, the old classic was:
leatherman micro + maglite solitaire + kershaw 2" blade knife.
Have been looking for a new usb and the mini micro looks perfect. I have recently replaced the leatherman micro for a gerber shortcut which feels a bit more robust.
I really like the look of the new arc aaa, but don't think there are any UK distributors :-(
Doug on June 13, 2006 4:58 AMI can't believe you're able to sit comfortably having all that junk in your pocket. Or don't you keep your keys in a pocket? I'd like to have a mini Leatherman, but it's just too big.
All I've got besides my keys themselves are a tiny folding knife. And don't forget to take that off before going to the airport!
Chris Wuestefeld on June 15, 2006 8:08 AMOf course, less than a week after I write this, I forget to put my keys in my checked luggage and I have to sacrifice the penknife at airport security. Sigh.
Ah well, I hope the replacement has some revisions or new features.
Jeff Atwood on June 19, 2006 3:58 AMI keep all my passwords on my keychain. then i put the keychain in my usb stick...;-) in RL i then put my usb stickand the car/jhousekeys on the metal keychain.
Andy on June 20, 2006 10:50 AMMy keyring is attached to a Kubaton which can be carried any place outside of courthouses and secure areas of an airport. Go to either place and you replace the Kubaton with a Mini-Mag Flashlight.
BTW Thanks for sharing your projects on CodeProject, well done!!!
Kevin Gallagher on July 6, 2006 2:58 AMThe shipping might kill you, but if you send in your dead ARC they'll fix it, I think anyways.
R
Robert on August 8, 2007 1:33 PMThanks Anon, that L0D looks great-- I ordered one. Amazing how fast LED technology is moving.
Jeff Atwood on December 7, 2007 10:32 AMThis is an older blog entry, but I guess you are okay with perpetual comments...
Two things:
You might like the Inka pen for your keychain:
http://www.writeanywhere.com/inkapen.html
It has two modes, a smaller quick-release pen about 6.5cm long, and it transforms (by unscrewing the barrel) into a full sized pen. The full sized pen is much more useful and easier to hold but it takes about 20-30 seconds on average to "transform" it. Your call on if you are willing to go through this. I've had mine for a few weeks and I think the convenience is worth the minor hassle.
Secondly, and you probably know this already, the Arc-AAA is back:
http://www.arcflashlight.com/arc-aaa.shtml
But you definitely want the Premium or Premium w/GS version though -- brighter LED.
Thomas
Thomas on March 26, 2008 10:06 AMHi Thomas,
Great comments!
The latest 2008 version of the keychain post is here:
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001036.html
A mini swiss army knife is very useful:
http://nurmagomedov.blogspot.com
Pen, torch, scissors, screwdriver, knife, keyring all in 5cm.
dagestan on May 17, 2008 8:17 AMI've got my bike lock keys (yes plural, i never bothered to separate the spare from the primary), an RFID key for a lab at my college, and an old stick of RAM that came on the keychain.
Oddly, I keep my house key in my wallet, rather than on the keychain.
If you're looking for a good pen that's make to attach to a keychain, look no further than the Cross Ion. It snaps on and off, is small when not in use, and, well...it just looks cool.
http://www.cross.com/catalog/pendetail.aspx?cat_name=Ion+Pens
Carrying a mini flashlight is all about lumens and runtime, using the latest emitters. While I don't own one, I know that in the AAA realm it's hard to beat the Fenix L0D, such as at www.fenix-store.com. Around Chrustmas time they usually put out a special red one.
Also Anon on February 6, 2010 9:46 PMMy dad would absolutely love this Leatherman Squirt! Did you get it personally inscribed?
Kathy Garcia on July 1, 2010 8:29 PMThe comments to this entry are closed.
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