Prosthetic Conscience

Cast Iron skillet

Actually, I might buy this for myself. But it’s going here anyway: cast iron cookware. I was very impressed with Patty and Bobby’s small omlette pan when I went up to visit.

[ Posted: 18:33] | [ Category: /wishlist] | Permalink | Comments: 1 ]

Multitool

Another thing I want but won’t buy for myself: a multitool, but here’s the catch — I want one with a corkscrew! That seems to be a hard thing to find.

The ones I have found are the Leatherman juice CS4, and the Leatherman juice xe6, both of which include corkscrews with assist, like a sommelier’s knife.

[ Posted: 18:30] | [ Category: /wishlist] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Wish List: 15th Century Longsword

Okay, this is the big “I want it but won’t buy it for myself” item in the wishlist. The 15th Century Longsword by Windlass Steelcrafts (aka Museum Replicas Limited) is a low-end functional sword, suitable, when unsharpened (as I would prefer it) for martial arts and reenactment purposes. It is appropriate in size and weight for use in the longsword tradition of Fiore Dei Liberi and Fillipo Vadi, which I am studying.

It may seem a bit pricey, but where it comes to functional swords, this is the low end. A comparable sword from the high end of the production market (e.g., this one or this one or this one here or one of these) would be around $400, and custom swords can be much higher. Going any lower raises issues with safety, as cheaper swords are typically made for display purposes only, and cannot handle vigorous dry-handling, much less contact with blades or cutting-targets.

Update: I should also mention that I have read favourable reviews of the Windlass Shrewsbury sword. While this sword is a little smaller than would be ideal for me, it is widely considered a very good deal. It is light enough that I could use it for studying single-handed sword, as well as longsword.

[ Posted: 18:15] | [ Category: /wishlist] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

AP: Army has worst recruiting year since 1979

Heard this on Democracy Now, and went and found a print cite for it (AP Article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer ). In the last counting year, the Army fell 7000 short of its recruitment goals, the largest shortfall in both absolute and relative terms since 1979.

[ Posted: 17:16] | [ Category: /politics] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]