S.o.t.D. - Monday (Marko Fürstenberg Remix) – Freund Der Familie

Monday (Marko Fürstenberg Remix) – Freund Der Familie

Fürstenberg is consistently one of my favourite artists.

S.o.t.D. - Sunflower – Mentha

Sunflower – Mentha

S.o.t.D. - Entity – Duckem

Entity – Duckem

Mwah! Mwah! Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!

S.o.t.D. - Dawn – Macca & Vector

Dawn – Macca & Vector

Masterful tune.

S.o.t.D. - Atlantic Drift – Nebula

Atlantic Drift – Nebula

S.o.t.D. - Knitevision – Photek

Knitevision – Photek

Stunning track. Crisp, clean, slightly ominous, yet with a really positive vibe to it.

S.o.t.D. - Voices (feat. Sasha Keable) – Disclosure

Voices (feat. Sasha Keable) – Disclosure

If this sort of tuneage doesn’t make you and the person you dig and who digs you get it on, there is something wrong with one or both of you.

S.o.t.D. - JB Dub (Frank Hellmond Remix) – Nvelope

JB Dub (Frank Hellmond Remix) – Nvelope

S.o.t.D. - Relax – Re-Drum

Relax – Re-Drum

Yes it is. I think I need to make a long playlist of Re-Drum tracks and spend a few hours checking out more of their stuff.

S.o.t.D. - Hacker Wacker – Nubian Mindz

Hacker Wacker – Nubian Mindz

Has a swing feel to the drums. Good stuff.

S.o.t.D. - Space Technique – ASC

Space Technique – ASC

Name is very appropriate for the tune. ASC has one hell of a slick technique and there is a definite spacey feel to this.

S.o.t.D. - Pandora – Swarms

Pandora – Swarms

Relaxation guaranteed.

S.o.t.D. - Aliens Don’t Boogie – Thor

Aliens Don’t Boogie – Thor

S.o.t.D. - Stimela (Jazzanova remix) – Hugh Masekela

Stimela (Jazzanova remix) – Hugh Masekela

The Eurybia Project

Using a pine tree 7½ meters in length, and adzes and scrapers made from bone and bronze, an experimental archaeology project at the Butser Ancient Farm in Hampshire England aims to make a dugout boat.

The Eurybia Project

S.o.t.D. - Silver Blade – Dillinja

Silver Blade – Dillinja

Absolute monster of a tune. Just love Dillinja’s ability to be both atmospheric and then also seamlessly blend in staggering bass and drums. That first drop at the 1:30 mark and then a second drop at the 3:45 mark.....sweet jeebus.

S.o.t.D. - Satellite (Metamorphic Downtempo Mix) – Tritonal

Satellite (Metamorphic Downtempo Mix) – Tritonal

Super catchy chilled out pop. The singer on this is Jonathan Mendelsohn.

S.o.t.D. - The Vortex – Alaska

The Vortex – Alaska

Interplanetary audio hallucinations. The choppage on the breaks is just nuts.

S.o.t.D. - Flush – Sanasol & Thor

Flush – Sanasol & Thor

I think I’d completely lose it if this track came on over a big system.

S.o.t.D. - Remind Me (Tom Middleton Cosmos Mix) – Röyksopp

Remind Me (Tom Middleton Cosmos Mix) – Röyksopp

A sweet original, and a great remixer. More betterer.

S.o.t.D. - Spacebaby – Ott

Spacebaby – Ott

I need to listen to more Ott. This is mesmerizing.

S.o.t.D. - Armylian (Sygnals Rmx) – Momentum

Armylian (Sygnals Rmx) – Momentum

Ambient, but beaty.

Fyr’mups

I have made a separate pouch for this item before, the Spark’mups. (Which was actually the first thing I ever posted on this blog.) Meant to hold a Silva match case (a copy of the K&M Matchcase), containing a SparkLite and TinderQuick tabs.

If you want to know a bit of the thought process behind this (and several other pouches to come) read about the Tūl’mups. Same basic premise and design features – just a different size.

As usual, I started out with a rough paper model to get a sense of the size needed. A lot cheaper than making mistakes in fabric. Not a perfect medium, but it works okay.

A few pictures I snapped. I think it’s all fairly self explanatory. The BALLS (Belt Attachment Lowerable Loop System) might not be, but that is explained in the aforementioned link.

Oh yeah...sewn by hand on the commute to work and on lunch breaks.

S.o.t.D. - H2O – Lauge & Baba Gnohm

H2O – Lauge & Baba Gnohm

Interesting, and slightly creepy, video about an under construction mine in Finland where nuclear waste can be stored.

Tūl’mups

So I came up with NyfFyrLyt 3....and after living with it for a while I realized I wasn’t so keen on it.

Mainly the fact that it weighed a kilo, and was essentially a big brick attached to my belt. It just wasn’t a comfortable day to day item.

I came to the conclusion that the idea of one pouch, while on the face of it an elegant solution, a few smaller pouches, some that I can wear on the right side and some on the left side was a much more workable solution. Not to mention that I don’t need to or want to carry all of them all the time. I may just want a flashlight, or my LM Wave - but not some of the other things all the time.

Created this pouch, the first of several, for the PocketWrench 2, Leatherman Bit Kit, brass calipers, and a needle nose file, the Tūl’mups.

Nothing that innovative about the pouch itself. I used webbing for back and the flap, and a side release buckle for a closure.

Bottom is just folding and stitching the excess of a square of Cordura down.

A step from the construction process. I wanted three compartments, and created that by sewing a length of tubular webbing on to the flap. The Cordura that formed the box would create the third compartment. Something else I did was to sew a bartack across the bottom of the tubular webbing so that the PocketWrench would sit up a little bit higher to make accessing it easier.

A closer look at the three compartments.

The one innovative idea on the pouch is one I carried over from the NyfFyrLyt 3. BALLS – Belt Attachment Lowerable Loop System. I can wear it high or low, and also still attach it to PALS webbing.

Box stitch on the strap.

The required items as carried.

I’ve already realized a shortcoming – it’s catchy. If it was a fairly tight belt loop, one just large enough to accommodate the width of my belt, it would be less of an issue. I needed to clamber into a tight space a few days ago and stuff on both sides snagged and managed to ride up and fold out enough where I have to manually unhook myself. Getting into a kayak hatch with this one would become a pain in the ass. Not just a nuisance, but I could see it potentially being dangerous as well.

The Siamese SlikClips are also a bit pointed, and I can see them damaging upholstery. (There is also the issue of their strength limitations.) I’m thinking I’d like to get my hands on some WooJin Gate Keepers instead. But I think before I spend the money on that, I will try a loop of Spectra line and knot it. Light, low profile, free. Not as quick to attach and detach though.

Another thought I’m having is in order for these pouches to be as low profile as possible, to ditch the SRBs. Maybe have a strip across the pouch that the flap can be inserted into to hold it closed. Would likely need pull tabs to open it and close it. I’ll give it a try at some point.

S.o.t.D. - Snow and Stars – Suduaya

Snow and Stars – Suduaya

Only discovered this guy yesterday, but I like what he does.

S.o.t.D. - House Of The Flying People – Suduaya

House Of The Flying People – Suduaya

Great video that really does feature flying people.

Spiral of Theodorus

Spiral of Theodorus

First constructed by Theodorus of Cyrene, the spiral (also called the square root spiral, Einstein spiral or Pythagorean spiral) is composed of contiguous right triangles. It is begun with an isosceles right triangle with each leg having a length of 1 - then another right triangle is formed next to it with one leg being the hypotenuse of the prior triangle and the other leg having a length of 1.Thus, each successive nth triangle has side lengths √n and 1, with a hypotenuse of √(n + 1).

S.o.t.D. - Stone In Focus – Aphex Twin

Stone In Focus – Aphex Twin

I’ve remarked before that Aphex Twin manages to create some incredibly emotional and evocative electronic music. While some of his stuff is grating, some of it is exquisitely beautiful. Off of Selected Ambient Works Volume 2.

S.o.t.D. - Last Words – Hospitality

Last Words – Hospitality

Breezed through Toronto on Sunday and as I usually do, I grabbed a copy Ultra Left Wing Weekly - I mean Now - and a review of this album made me check this song out. Has a poppy, early 80’s feel to it.

S.o.t.D. - Blue Water – Metamatics

Blue Water – Metamatics

Another sweet track from Lee Norris, aka Norken.

S.o.t.D. - In All Its Forms (Original Mix) – Warmth

In All Its Forms (Original Mix) – Warmth

S.o.t.D. - 101 Rainbows (Ambient Mix) – Caustic Window

101 Rainbows (Ambient Mix) – Caustic Window

One of the many guises of Aphex Twin, and another facet of his creativity.

Flexibility

As I approach old codger status, one thing I’m happy about - besides my stunning good looks, staggering intellect, stupendous kindness (and I’m sure many other fine qualities my humility prevents me from discussing) - is that I am still really flexible.

Flexibility. It’s important. Work at maintaining it. Stretch every day. You don’t have to become a yoga master, but do some stretching exercises every day. Your older self will thank you.

The Adobe Illustrator Story

Heaven knows I have some issues with Adobe Illustrator, but I use it and I have been for a long time. It may not be my favourite vector illustration program, but it was good to see this glimpse into the birth of it. Funny to look back on what are now positively quaint images of computer ads from 25 years ago.

S.o.t.D. - Astray (feat. Nori) – Soular Order

Astray (feat. Nori) – Soular Order

I like the last 1¾ minutes the best.

S.o.t.D. - Spyroid – Ozric Tentacles

Spyroid – Ozric Tentacles

I don’t know why, but I am not so familiar with Ozric Tentacles. As a fan of System 7 and Eat Static, I’m digging it and thinking I need to listen to morem.