Saturday 25 June 2016

My Geek Dad "Survival" Tin

It was Father's Day in the UK and I was lucky enough to receive a fine tin from my youngest daughter.  Her cub pack all got one and they all inscribed them with personal messages for their Dad's.

Here's a picture of the tin:


So what to do with such an awesome tin?  Some quick Googling showed me there's a online "movement" where people define the optimal set of kit that can be stored in a small tin (usually an Altoids tin) to be used in survival scenarios.

Now living in the leafy English suburbs and rarely venturing into the wilds I thought it unlikely that I'll ever need a full survival kit.  Instead I tried to think about all the things that a Geek who does a bit of sport and likes days out with the family would need.

Here's a picture of the kit I've selected initially.  I'm sure I'll evolve it over time:


From left to right, top to bottom you can see:
  • A shoe lace.  Useful for family walks if a lace breaks.
  • Fishin' line, hooks and a weight.  If we're out and about and want to do a  spot of fishin'
  • Zinc oxide tape.  Useful strapping up painful places when doing sport.
  • An elastic band.  Useful for pinging at annoying people.
  • Two mini cable ties.  Ever useful for fixing stuff.
  • A pencil.  If I need to jot down a geek idea.
  • A Swiss Army Knife.  Loads of tools for multiple scenarios.
  • Sticking plasters (Band Aids for you in the U S of A).
  • A sewing kit.  If I get the urge to do a spot of embroidery.
  • Safety pins.  For pinning on race day numbers and fixing ripped clothes.
  • Paper clips.  Useful for clipping paper together.  Could be used to get a SIM out a Smartphone.
Here it all is packed tidily in the tin.  There's room for more and I'm sure to evolve it over time!