Just a quick pointer for those who service Midas consoles…conveniently, the two Torx bits in a Klein 32477 10-in-1 Screwdriver/Nut Driver
(my daily go-to screwdriver, I love that thing) are the two sizes you need for a Midas, the larger one to get modules out, and the smaller to get faders out.
I haven’t tried it, so I can’t vouch for it, but this seems like it’d be a nice thing to have around the shop, even if it’s more of a nice thing to have and not a necessity. (Via Toolmonger)
Since getting packages delivered to an apartment when you’re not home is nearly always an adventure in head-bashing-against-brick-walls, most of us at the shop get the occasional mail order item delivered to us at work. On Friday, our apprentice extraordinaire, Jay, got a package from Cabela’s, with a new waterproof work jacket they had on sale for stupid cheap.
I’d been looking for a good work jacket for next fall and winter, since I’m tired of getting my everyday jacket filthy at the shop all the time. I had been considering the Carrhart version of this sort of jacket, but that was more than twice this price. I had Jay send me a link to the site, and thought you guys would appreciate it, too.
Just a quickie here before I go to bed. I was browsing past the TerraLux site to see if there was anything new, and indeed, found that lots has been up lately.
Most notably, to me, was that they’ve released their own tailcap switch for the AA MiniMag. I immediately went about getting one to check out, and I think we finally have a Kroll killer.
It’s got a metal machined body that perfectly matches a black MiniMag AA in shape, feel, and color, with a red, rubber-capped switch on the tail. since the switch is on the end, but the outer body is metal, the flashlight still slides easily into any holster; the one major downside to the Kroll is that tighter holsters are quite a snug fit, and even loose ones can be a struggle.
I haven’t tried this yet, but in a recent discussion on gig butt over at the LAB, one of the members posted recommending a brand of powder I’d never heard of, called Anti-Monkey Butt Powder. At first I thought he was kidding, but indeed, it’s real.
So, for the remaining couple warm months, be sure to check it out! They’ve even got t-shirts!
And there’s an endorsement from one of “us”:
Found this cool little multi-wrench, courtesy of Smart Stuff. It’s sort of like the Mega-Combo keychain C-clamp wrench, but that fits a LOT more sizes.
Just a quick update to let y’all know that the ingenius new Lectrosonics RM Remote Controller–which I was the first to give you the scoop on from AES a while back–is finally here. Howard from Lectrosonics has been demoing it this weekend at the BSMC, and you can check it out on their website.
Way…frickin…cool.
Is it finally time to say goodbye to guesstimating your suitcase’s weight once a week or more on tour?
This USA Today article seems to suggest so!
Bets that the guy who invented this has spent at least part of his life as a road dog?
On the other hand, I’m sure the LCD won’t last more than a couple trips…unless perhaps they ruggedized it with a break-resistant screen?
I was in a Skechers store this afternoon, and discovered that Skechers offers a couple different designs of steel toe sneakers. That’s right…normal looking athletic shoes with steel toe caps. No more big beefy work boots or hiking boots (unless that’s your thing)…
Check ‘em out at Skechers.com in both womens’ and mens’ sizes and styles. Sweet!
And before we get the old “they’ll cut off your toes” stuff going again, here’s one of the MythBusters tests I actually haven’t found a major flaw in.
–A
Okay, so you know that nasty, painful, dry cracking you get on the side joints of your fingers after a couple days of pulling cable or rope? You know how none of the normal “hand goo” you buy in the pharmacy does a reasonable job of making that go away? Worry no longer, my friend, because if you can get past the name of it and actually convince yourself to try the stuff, I’m going to share a secret with you.
When I gave you my "best of" report on October’s AES convention,
I teased you about a scoop regarding a new development from Lectrosonics that
will make the day of every engineer who’s ever worked with a beltpack transmitter.
Well, gang, here it is!
One of the highlights of my couple days visiting the show floor at AES was
finally meeting Gordon Moore of Lectrosonics
in person. I’ve known of Gordon and his co-worker Howard Kaufman via the Theatre-Sound
Mailing List for quite some time, but had never met them. It was great just
to put faces with names, but it also happened that Gordon was excitedly touting
Lectrosonic’s new SM transmitter, the smallest beltpack they’ve offered yet
(and it’s surprisingly affordably priced, too–yes, a tiny Lectrosonics trannie
YOU can afford!). Gordon was quite ecstatic about these new toys, and by the
time we were done talking, I was, too.
Posted from: Tulsa, OK
Next tour stop: Bossier City/Shreveport, LA
Apparently this is the week for stumbling across cool tools. This time, much
as I hate supporting them, I was in the local branch of Sam Walton’s Evil Empire
(hey, when you’re on tour, and don’t have a car, and one’s right behind your
hotel and open 24 hours, you really don’t have much choice). Browsing through
the tool section, I came across this little beauty:
Posted from: Tulsa, OK
Next tour stop: Bossier City, LA
Okay, it does nothing at all to help my geek rating, but I got really excited
when I stopped in a local Office Depot a couple days ago and spotted one of
a few new offerings from the fine folks at Sanford
who make the Sharpie markers
that we all love so much. Excited enough that I decided that they, along with
two other products (one new, one not entirely) deserve to be the next GUDT.
Posted from: El Paso, TX
Next stop: Tulsa, OK
This one’s a quick shout out to the newest member of my first aid kit, Swabplus
antiseptic swabs. These are a simple little idea, cotton swabs with a liquid
filled tube instead of a solid stick. There’s a line printed on one tip of the
swab; you snap that tip off, and the liquid flows to the other end. They make
them filled with iodine, antiseptic, pain reliever for insect bites, etc.
Posted from: Arlington/Grand Prairie, TX
Next tour stop: Oklahoma City, OK
Introducing a new category for OFTR, the Gadget of the Unspecified Duration of Time (I
was going to go for Gadget Du Jour or Gadget of the Week, but let’s be realistic
here…there will be a new one when I come across something worthy, so I’m not
going to be specific on the regularity of it, or lack thereof). The GUDT will be
a cool little product that isn’t really suitable to a detailed review, but is
definitely worth calling your attention to.
