Bladetech Doesn't own a ruler?

I ordered another PVS14 pouch to hold my NVG inside a bag. I ordered a durable looking container from bladetech (http://www.blade-tech.com/AN-PVS-14-Case-with-Tek-Lok-attachment-pr-911.html). When I got the pouch and was about ready to mount it on the panel I realized something was wrong, very wrong.

I guess it didn't occur to anyone to measure and drill the holes in a way that would place the mallice clips parallel to each other and actually leave them usable?

Terrible quality control. I would recommend against buying from bladetech.

Digital Dead Drops - Kingston Wi-Drive

As a kid I used to love spy movies. Hell I still love good spy movies and novels. Being a security geek I have given a lot of thought to dead drops, and digital dead drops in particular. Not just because of how they can change the outcome of a story but because I am sometimes tasked with preventing a possible covert exchange of information, forensically prove one took place or *gasp* steal some information and transfer it without being detected.

Few months ago the Kingston Wi-Drive (http://www.kingston.com/us/usb/wireless) caught my attention and I ordered the 32GB model and have been using it for the last 3 months.

The drive capacity isn't super impressive but more than sufficient for a typical dead drop or just some vacation pictures.

The drive does support encryption and plain text transport.

The battery life was excellent, so was battery capacity retention when left outside for 2 weeks in an alosak bag (granted this has been a wimpy al gore winter).

The profile is very sleep, fits well into jacket breast pocket, bag slash pocket, and can be easily attached with double sided tape under desks, benches or garbage cans.

The drive is not waterproof but that cab be easily solved with an alosak bag without sacrificing signal strength or by a small pelican case at the expense of some signal strength.

The drive does get a bit warm with large transfers but not terribly so.

The range is a bit of a sore point - it's slightly better than a verizon  miFi 2200 but not by much. i wouldn't want to be using this if I was going up against a sophisticated attacker with even consumer off the shelf DF equipment or directional antennas.

I wasn't brave enough to rip apart my unit but I would love for kingston to add an external antenna port to it or better yet a swing up antenna that can be unplugged/unscrewed and an aftermarket antenna plugged in/screwed in instead.
A removable/replaceable antenna or at least an additional charger port for a piggy back battery pack would be great to increase the drives on-station time.

Given the current price the drive is still a good buy, and has tons of great uses. The ipad and iphone software is quite stable and easy to work with. Only missing feature is remote wipe.

Preview of Whats to Come - Bag Reviews

I'll be posting a few reviews of several Mystery Ranch bags and Camelbak Tri-Zip side by side.

Side by side.

This is a Mystery Ranch tan 3 day assault pack. One of the contenders for my new EDC bag. Some days I am haulting 2 or 3 laptops along with chargers and forensics gear in addition to my typical stuff I like to have on my like a first aid kit, HAM radio, and spare mags.

(http://www.mysteryranch.com/military/assault-patrol-packs/3-day-assault-pack)

Camelbak tri-zip. Possible EDC bag for when I don't need to carry the kitchen sink with me. Maybe 1 laptop if that and the every day items.

Mystery Ranch NICE Crecab with a NICE frame. This will be girlfriends backpacking bag.

(http://www.mysteryranch.com/military/assault-patrol-packs/nice-crewcab-pack)

Also got the Mystery Ranch daypack lid to increase the load to either of the packs if its needed.
(http://www.mysteryranch.com/hunting/nice-frame-packs/nice-daypack-lid)

I fully expect the nice folks at Mystery Ranch to name their next boat after me given the bag prices...

This maxpedition is my current EDC. I will likely be replacing it with the camelbak tri-zip in the next few days. The bag is just a tad too small, hard to organize and doesn't have a good way to mount a HAM radio in a way that will allow the antenna to be properly positioned while the bag is worn.

I am also not quite sold on the 'sideways' orientation it is meant to be accessed in.
I can only fit an X60 laptop in it, the T60 laptop doesn't fit never mind the larger analysis laptop.
I really want to be able to have a compartment just for APRS gear as well.

F00d Review: Ella's American Bistro

Had a chance to checkout Ellas bistro. The menu is simple and fairly small. The items don't sound impressive. We ordered fried pickles, clams, fries and a salad. The food was very well executed. Even something as simple as fries tasted like nothing you can hope to get at a fast food place or dinner. Even the dinner rolls were fresh, just out of the oven. No pre-cooked and reheated food here.

For desert we got a chocolate crem brule.

The drinks are dirt cheap and reasonable sized.
We got ridiculously stuffed. Next time we will order less food.


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ellas-American-Bistro/
http://www.ellasamericanbistro.com/

F00d Review: Alma de Cuba

I had a chance to eat at Alma de Cuba for a second time. We ordered the 7 plate ceviche platter and the dates with almond wrapped in bacon. For desert we got the chocolate cigar. The food was absolutely delicious, and perfectly cooked. I can't even say which dish was my favorite because everything was so good. We ordered the perfect amount of food for 2 people. Perfect meal without feeling stuffed.

The drinks were amazing as well, but a tad on the small size for my taste.

Can't wait to go back there!

http://almadecubarestaurant.com/