S.o.t.D. – Sordid – Amon Tobin

Sordid – Amon Tobin

Amon Tobin sounds like the offspring of a stoner rock band and a psych jazz combo, and the prodigy of a 1960’s movie soundtrack composer and a hip hop producer, meeting and having an illegitimate love child.

S.ot.D. – Night Life – Amon Tobin

Night Life – Amon Tobin

While I’ve always been a fan of sampling, I think Amon Tobin is one of the masters of it. He manages to create really dense tracks that walk a tight rope of being both airy and claustrophobic at the same time.

Fun with PhotoShop

Then again...when is PhotoShop not fun?

I offered to help with scanning some pictures for an event coming up here in the neighbourhood in a few weeks.

It’s an event to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Crystal Palace, which stood for a little over 30 years in Victoria Park just a few minutes walk from here. Modeled after the Crystal Palace built in London, England 9 years before, it was intended to house the Provincial Exhibition and other cultural events. The city, assisted by surrounding counties and municipalities erected the building in 1860 at a cost of $20,964. 31 years later it was declared unsafe and condemned.

There aren’t a lot of pictures remaining of it, and even fewer of the interior. One of the few found of the inside was an engraving of a sketch done by F. M. Bell Smith, of the Grand Firemen’s Gathering on August 6th, 1874. A copy was found on the Library and Archives Canada website. Which of course is a crummy low rez JPEG.

Another version of the image was found in a history book. It was a line drawing which I could scan at a pretty high resolution. But part of another image was overlapped in the top left corner.

Hmmmhhh....

So I cobbled this together. Don’t think I spent even 5 minutes on it. Not perfect, but it’s better than the blurry JPEG, it’s better than having part of the image obscured with part of another picture, it’s better than chopping the image off so that the balcony disappears altogether (which would have negated the sense of scale). I suspect 99.9% of people looking at it will never suspect a thing.

S.o.t.D. – Zen Garden – Alexander Daf

Zen Garden – Alexander Daf


Great driving tune.

S.o.t.D. – Alta Infidelidad - Oeste

Alta Infidelidad - Oeste

SOTech Go Bag

From talking to folks in the know, I gather this pack started life as a GAP bag. Someone in a USAF CSAR unit liked the overall size and shape of it, found that it fit perfectly beneath the seat of a helicopter. Good for an escape and evasion scenario. Chopper gets shot down or goes down with mechanical problems, grab the bag with important stuff and start running back to friendly lines. The only problem was that the GAP bag came in stupid colours and was made to very inexacting standards. Someone took it to S.O.Tech who made some modifications and built it to a higher standard in military friendly colours.

SciFi geeks and/or pack geeks (at times interchangeable) might recognize it as the bag carried by the USAF SOF guys in Transformers.

Rather than the usual backpack straps, this has just a single sling. At the bottom is a quick ditch side release buckle. It can also be worn as a belt, with the pack part at the back. I tried it and wasn’t so fond of that carry mode.

On both sides are two blocks of three rows of PALS.

And on the face of the pack are three zippered pockets.

The opening to access the main pack are two zippers along the back. They’re connected by a handle that allows both to be opened at once. The main compartment measures 51 cm (20") x 20¼ cm (8") x 20¼ cm (8"). (SOTech also has an extended version of this bag, big enough to hold an M-4 with a barrel of less than 17½", broken down into upper and lower components. Instead of the three outer pockets, it only has two larger pockets.)

There’s a sleeve in the back for a hydration bladder. I found it impossible to fit a 3 liter CamelBak bladder in there, whether it was ¾, ½ or ¼ full. I’m not about to put an empty one in there and then try to fill it with water. I suppose some brand or size of bladder might fit, but I reckon it’s too small.  Given where the “real” users of this product are located, I think 3 liters of water is a reasonable quantity.

The 3 external pockets measure 14 cm (5½") x 12½ cm (5") x 7½ cm (3"). I replaced the zipper pulls with coloured sinnets and added a square of 4" Velcro for patches. The two pouches are an HSGI Nalgene Pouch and a Maxpedition FR-1 First Aid Pouch.

Left side.

Right side.
In the two above photos you can see some sinnets that act as zipper pulls for 2 slot pockets that run along the sides. Each slot pocket is divided in two making for 4 pockets for small items or documents.

Besides a carry/grab handle on the top, there is also an additional folded and Velcroed down carry/grab handle. The main compartment and smaller pockets have drain holes.


It’s kind of a neat bag, but I wasn’t super keen on it. I really didn’t like how the sling carried, specifically when I was running. I already mentioned the hydration sleeve which I though was too tight. And (I feel a bit sacrilegious saying this) I wasn’t thrilled about the quality of it. I had always heard about how great SOTech’s stuff was, but compared to most of the other stuff I have, it was a bit underwhelming. The zippers worry me. It almost left me wondering if I hadn’t received a Chinese airsoft knockoff.

I don’t know if you can tell from these pictures (that’s the problem with black bags - they don’t photograph well) but the PALS channels are pretty wonky. They don’t line up well, the spacing is all over the place. In one spot I can just barely get a Malice Clip in there.

I had a couple of pouches mounted on the front of the sling, and at one point I noticed some frayed webbing. Right away I suspected it must be my sewing. Nope, my hand sewing was just fine. Some of the PALS webbing had come loose from under the seam tape. It was like the end hadn’t been burnt and it frayed to the point that it came loose. I was going to send it to them to fix, but figured that was too much of a hassle. I’ll fix it myself.

And then sell it.

The overall shape of this bag, scaled down a bit, with two straps rather than the sling, sans the PALS on the sides and the three pockets on the front, was partially the inspiration for the EscapePod though.

S.o.t.D. – Nothing But Dead Landscape – Circular

Nothing But Dead Landscape – Circular

Perfect title for an eerie but beautiful mood builder.

S.o.t.D. – Station 5 – Solar Fields

Station 5 – Solar Fields

Whooshy. Love the whoosh.

S.o.t.D. – Excess – Lusine

Excess – Lusine

Awesome. A 5½ minute orgasm in musical form.

S.o.t.D. – Solstice (Warwick Bassmonkey Mix) – Hallucinogen

Solstice (Warwick Bassmonkey Mix) – Hallucinogen

From Hallucinogen in Dub, remixed by Ott.

Bibliophilia: The Visual Display of Quantitative Information – Edward R. Tufte

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information – Edward R. Tufte

I’ve never had much chance to do charts or graphs or visuals that “display quantitative information” but I sure am intrigued by the subject. And this is the definitive book about it. This and all of Tufte’s books are amazing – visually and intellectually.

S.o.t.D. – Blowbaq – Legion of Green Men

Blowbaq – Legion of Green Men

I can’t believe that I haven’t had a tune by these fellas up yet. I’ve talked about them in other ways, but figured it was high time I put up a track. And I think it’s high time those frakkers put out a new album.

S.o.t.D. – Separate Sense – Swarms

Separate Sense – Swarms

1 Whole Year!

It just dawned on me that I have been doing this blog for 1 year today.

S.o.t.D. – Free (Deep House Mix) – Jill Scott

Free (Deep House Mix) – Jill Scott

Guaranteed to lift your mood.

S.o.t.D. – Microscopic – Gas

Microscopic – Gas

Spacey, trippy, ambient goodness

S.o.t.D. – Cosmic Disco – Derrick Carter

Cosmic Disco – Derrick Carter

The first part of a mix CD that came with MixMag back in 97. I put this up for Jedi Knight’s Big Knockers by the very multifaceted team of Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton.

That relentless beat, the perfect tempo of it, with just the right number of bee pee ems - creamy! I wish it went on for much longer.

S.o.t.D. – Yugen – Ochre

Yugen – Ochre

S.o.t.D. – Rama Communication – State of Bengal

Rama Communication – State of Bengal

S.o.t.D. – Stoek – Yimino

Stoek – Yimino

Odd, glitchy beginning that then segues into a really atmospheric toe tapper.

S.o.t.D. – Manhattan Spiritual – Reg Owen Orchestra

Manhattan Spiritual – Reg Owen Orchestra

An oldie, (from the late 50’s), but a goldie

S.o.t.D. – I Gave You Everything – Swarms

I Gave You Everything – Swarms

I only discovered this act a few days ago and I’m really digging them.

S.o.t.D. – Say It Right (Swarms Dubstep Remix) – Nelly Furtado

Say It Right (Swarms Dubstep Remix) – Nelly Furtado

I can’t say I ever pay much attention to what is popular in the world of music, so I wasn’t even that familiar with this track. The original is actually pretty good, and I almost wish they had superimposed this remix over the video, cause she looks pretty good in it.

S.o.t.D. – Rare and Plentiful – Tipper

Rare and Plentiful – Tipper

Another slice of atmospheric wondrousness from Tipper.

SunBumbleFlowerBee

Slurp’mups

This is the first of several components that are meant to accompany the EscapePod™.

I’ve been using hydration bladders for a whole bunch of years. A few different brands. They all have their pros and cons. Just like water bladders in general. Personally I like that they allow me to carry a good sized supply of water. While carrying all that weight isn’t so fun, this time of year I drink a lot of water. Not to mention that sources of potable water are often quite a distance apart, even here where I live. Streams that flowed like a torrent in spring or fall, are sometimes a barely there trickle in summer. Being able to stock up is good. Having that hose right near my face, means I’ll probably drink more water over the course of a day. Also good. The strikes against them are that they can be a bit finicky. Refilling them can sometimes be a real nuisance. In winter that tube has a tendency to freeze up, but that can be overcome to a degree by blowing into the tube to push all the water back into the bladder itself. Another downside is that it’s often hard to gauge how much is left in the bladder. With a bottle that is in your hand when you’re drinking from it, it’s much easier to tell if you need to stock up on water. The Platypus bladders I had were a real pain since any sort of inadvertent pressure against the bite valve would cause water to come gushing out. If my pack toppled over and I didn’t notice it right away, a lot of water could leak out. The CamelBaks I have now have a shutoff valve that remedies that, but of course, you still have to make sure you actually engage that shutoff valve for it to work.

My big issue with them is invariably how to carry them. I’ve tried carrying them on my back, under a pack. That lasted a minute or two. Many packs have a pocket or area to put the bladder, inside the pack. That keeps all that weight near the back. That’s nice, but it take up a considerable amount of room in the pack, and having to refill that thing is always a real challenge. When you’re at home and you put the bladder in, and pack everything around it - great. Trying to wrestle a full 3 liter water bladder back into a full pack - yeah right. Having to half unpack your bag at a creekside, and prevent a bunch of stuff sacks from getting coated in muck or not roll down the embankment into the creek - uh, no. Not to mention, after having a bladder leak inside a pack, I’m still always a bit leery about it. Everything in my pack is in waterproof bags, but it’s still always in the back of my mind.

Carrying them on the back of a pack puts a lot of weight further from your center of gravity. Carrying them on the side of a pack works a bit better, but the load needs to be balanced. 3 liters of water on one side and nothing to counter balance that weight on the other side is noticeable. 

The other issue for me is that when I head off on a day trip, I then need to remove it from my main pack and find some way to integrate it onto a day pack set up. Preferably with as little futzing and fidgeting as possible.

I got an Emdom H2O Carrier. While it is a very nicely thought out and well constructed piece of gear, it’s just way too much for me. The basic idea was sound, so I decided to use it as a starting point to design something that would better suit me.

The front. I built this thing with three layers. An outer layer of 1000D Cordura, a middle layer of insulation (Radiantex. I got it for making cozies. There might be something better for hydration bladders, but it’s what I had), and an inner layer of 420D packcloth. I wanted to avoid as much as possible sewing through all three layers, so everything was sewn to the outer layer of Cordura, then the other two layers were added to form a sandwich if you will.

Inside of the back.

Outside of the back.
The elastic covering over the tube hole was sewn through the outer layer of Cordura, but the edge binding tape surrounding it was sewn through all layers.

Putting binding tape around the outside edge of something is tough enough, but around the inside edge of something is a real challenge. Brutal.

The center divider panel. I cut a hole through all three layers...

...and put a metal grommet on it. I usually button hole my drain holes, but opted to use a metal grommet for the first time. I’ve used grommet presses in sign shops before and they do a nice job of flanging the other side. All I had was a little grommet setter, a base and a die you tap with a mallet and it doesn’t do nearly as nice a job. Essentially splits it into several pieces and then very crudely bends them back. Oh well, it works and since it’s on the inside anyway....

Then I carefully sewed a piece of webbing over it, on the four corners, onto the outer layer of Cordura.

The zipper was sewn in between two pieces of 1½" webbing. 

I opted to take a piece of Cordura, double it and sew it over one of the pieces of webbing to form a protective flap over the zipper.

The two center portions attached and sewn to the back.

Double checking to see that all my measuring panned out properly. And it did. A full 3 liter CamelBak fit perfectly. The dimensions of it are 43 cm (17") high, 15 cm (6") wide, and 7½ cm (3") deep.

And that’s it completed. I opted to only put a tube hole on one side since I knew I would always carry it on the right side.

I also put two ladder locks on the bottom of the front since I was afraid that the weight of all that water might tend to pull it downwards. Or that as the water is drunk from the bladder, the connector straps which would have been tight when full, would then become quite slack, causing it to slide down. The idea was that I might put two straps on the right side of the EscapePod and run them through the ladder locks to act as a sling, should that prove to be the case. I need to get some time in with this thing to see how necessary that actually is.

And there it is attached to the EscapePod.

Mounted to the EscapePod™. You can see what I mean by the Slurp’mups sliding down a bit when the amount of water in it decreases and the tension of the straps consequently loosens.

This is it attached to the side of the Kifaru Express. Gotta remember to add a third female buckle.

Very happy with the way it turned out. 

I debated whether to add a means of wearing this separately with some backpack straps. I opted not to, but I’m still wondering whether I should have. Like the EscapePod, I will likely make more than one of these. One with lighter material, make some little tweaks here and there, etc. Maybe I’ll add that option then.

And it weighs  almost 200 grams less than the Emdom model it replaced.

Oh yeah, and I sewed the whole thing by hand. :-)

Friendly Feline

I’ve seen this kitten around the neighbourhood a few times lately. Skinny little thing, but very friendly.

It’s cute and all, but let me just take a Bob Barker moment, and say that I hope whoever this cat belongs to take the time to get it a tag and give it all of its shots and have it fixed.