8 Minute Read
8 Minute Read
The Fate of the Furious, What’s in My Bag Edition
I love a well-thought-out gadget post. Yes, I geek out reading The Verge. In each post for my own humble newsletter, I try to include a tool with practical application. In my last, I showcased an Arc Browser feature, a search tool that consolidates news into a single convenient webpage. However, after a solid week of use, I found the summaries consistently unreliable. Clearly, the source, the complete article, matters.
Unearthing the truly new, the world-changing applications, is becoming harder these days. And Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, spanning search, coding, and chatting, now seem like old hat. Infinite in scale, I can’t help but wonder if junk AI is cluttering the internet, leading to even more junk and poor writing. As these models are fed a steady diet of webpages for training purposes, Google, Microsoft, and others are engaged in a relentless cycle of consuming and regurgitating poor content. This vicious loop seems like an insatiable binge of badly written Doritos—vomited up and eaten again. Sigh, It’s harder to find a great article in the wild. The type I love. Well researched. Thorough. Thought-provoking. You know, the kind that endures. The ones worth remembering:
Instead, I’m left with a new breed of news that is nothing more than an AI synopsis derived from salacious Reddit posts. Lacking identifiable sources, many are nothing but clickbait.
Why is the information landscape cluttered with noise?
It’s likely a numbers game. The cheeky overshadows the weighty. And it’s far cheaper. Yes, Book-Tok trumps the well-read librarian. A few clicks with Microsoft CoPilot is easier than the legwork of beating the streets.
Unfortunately, this trend is not new. Years back, posts on “what’s in my bag” grew common. Harder to find these days, the format highlighted gadgets—a practical point of view. Then, Instagram ruined what used to be innocent, somewhat helpful recommendations, turning them into paid advertisements. The rise of influencers followed.
When I encounter product recommendations today, I can’t help but think someone is getting a kickback. It reminds me of Tucker Carlson flying to Russia, hamming it up, and praising the wonders of Soviet grocery stores. I’m unsure if I was more surprised by the mental gymnastics involved in kowtowing an argument or that he actually visited a grocery store. Case in point, he deployed his superpower aw shucks with the cart and the quarter. It’s not a Soviet invention; Aldi has done it for years. Regrettably, he won’t be the first politician to be fooled by state propaganda. Or the second.
But if Vladimir wants to pass me a million dollars to promote a product, I might be game. I do like Tetris. It was born in the USSR, and Apple made a trailer worth watching from the source material.
You see, these bag and product recommendation posts are riddled with phone releases or nifty charging cables. They serve a certain function. So, I’m going to do the same but add a rule, What’s in My Bag Edition, Ten Years Going. If it hasn’t been in my bag for ten years, it doesn’t make the cut. No click bait or cheap endorsements, leaving nothing but the important or products that stand time’s test. Or nothing at all.
What Made the Cut
The Saddleback Leather Bag. During my time at IBM, in the peak of my road-warrior era, I noticed my work bags frayed and failed with reckless abandon. They’d last a few months before I tossed them. The culprits? Either cheap leather or shoddy construction, or even cheaper nylon from a conference tote. That’s when I decided to invest in a lasting carry-all. Enter Saddleback Leather’s Saddleback Leather. Now, after a quarter-century, it still shines new. As for maintenance, I condition annually over Thanksgiving weekend—a tradition I never forget.
A Keychain. Hidden inside the bag is a clip for attaching keys. While the bling has changed—from the San Diego Zoo to Disney World—the ring itself endures. Nowadays, I rarely use keys, not even sure what many unlock. Part of the mystery, a choose-your-own-adventure story. Are they for a lockbox? A car? Or perhaps a broken bike rack tossed to the trash heap?
Leather Journal Covers. I own two. I’ve kept a journal for ten years going, a type of morning pages as time allows. For paper, I use Moleskine, with no rule (I like to doodle). Around the year-end mark, I archive the finished book on my shelf and begin anew.
The reason for two?
Well, one is for personal and the other for work, “separating church and state.” Post-use, I turn in or dispose of anything work-related. Why? Such notes remain in an ambiguous legal status. Are they the employers or the employees? Who owns that intellectual property? This recently came to light in Joe Biden’s classified documents review by the Justice Department. Though he possessed highly classified documents, some highlights on Afghanistan came from his own personal notes. My opinions on this matter aren’t that important. Still, if a job transition occurs, adhere to the prescribed record’s retention process, often found on outdated, seldom-visited web pages.
Pocket Knife. Air-travelers beware; this is strictly for the true road warrior. I recommend The James Brand, Swiss Army (Victorinox), Chris Reeve Knives, and Spyderco. Or find a jewelry store while traveling, unique custom builds can be found in the wild.
A Professional Picture. My wife and I had this grand idea at our wedding to put disposable cameras at each table. Reception goers could take pics of friends and family, and then, as the theory goes, I’d develop and see candid magic. A great idea. Now, you’re thinking a dark side might exist here. Sure, what could go wrong with twenty-something friends drinking wine? But in reality, that’s not what happened. My five-year-old nephew discovered a fleeting love of photography. He snapped nearly every picture. When I developed rolls upon rolls of film, I had pictures of tables, floors, and blurred motion on the dance floor. He had fun. One could call this a busted idea, but, from hundreds of photos, he snapped a perfect shot of my bride. Camera pointed up, a child’s view. And her smile. I’ve carried that picture inside my bag for a quarter century.
What’s a lesson learned in making great art?
Sure, creativity matters. Chance, just keep trying. And a five-year-old who ruled the dance floor that night once upon a time helps too.
Not a Single Book. I diverge back and forth between paper and digital. But a few on my shelf that I’ve owned for over a decade merit an honorable mention even if they don’t regularly travel. Great Gatsby. A Bible—the family type (try the Net translation). Meditations, annotated. Successful Manager’s Handbook. Mythology. Iowa Baseball Confederacy. Carter Beats the Devil. The Storied Life of AJ Fikry. Atlas Shrugged. Nobody’s Fool. The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes. Elements of Style. Plato’s Republic. And… The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.
Close Cut-Offs
Kindle. E-ink readers are undergoing a resurgence. Remarkable 2. Scribe. Kobo Libra 2. Due to their purpose-built nature, these devices seldom require upgrades. My original Kindle might have made the cut, but I left it on a plane. Recently, I discovered that most lost items and luggage find their way to a unique Alabama store— PBS feature. I might trek there to see if I can rediscover what’s lost again.
Nintendo Switch. It’s hard to believe, but the family has been rocking this beast for nearly eight years. It is a technical marvel, but the longevity shouldn’t surprise. Someone found a battle-scarred Game Boy in the Second Desert Storm from the First Desert Storm, which fired up fine. Crazy. This is one of those companies I hope the techno giants never acquire. To me, Nintendo transcends the typical tech titan—a legacy of magical fun with a plumber for a mascot.
A Fast and Furious Moment
I recently worked through all eleven movies. The evolution of this series is odd. The first is groundbreaking. The third is the Karate Kid with cars instead of a ring fight. Originally panned, this has probably aged the best. But there is something about that scene in Fast Five when Dom, the lead character, holds up his hands and yells, “This is Brazil!” That’s a scene, often mimicked but never duplicated. Yeah, no Academy Award here, an odd popcorn movie at best.
But in the latest effort, there is a moment when Dom glances about his garage. He has family pictures tacked up—trinkets on his work desk too. These are his treasures.
Like the contents of this list, there are no electronics. Or cords. Or cables. Or stickers. Or even this cool Flipper Zero thing I’ve recently discovered.
A fictional life of extraordinary heists—our white tank top hero has hijacked cars, served time in prison, and played the part of an international spy. He’s seen the world over. Yet after hours of run time, filled with explosions, this is my favorite scene. An old garage. Family pictures. And his love for an American Muscle car.
So, what about our own life’s work?
Will we leave behind the Pentagon Papers? Or a haphazard Reddit scrape? And among our possessions, what truly matters? And what lasts?
Ideas, yes, they are indeed powerful. Until next time, be intentional not with what fills a worn leather bag but with what fills a legacy and world, leaving it richer for having been here. So choose wisely. Live fully. And, yes humble reader, love deeply.
As always, thanks for reading.
References:
- This was a tough post to write—many solid products exist. But few can hold up over a decade. I do think the Switch is going to make it.
- The headlining picture is a quick and dirty of my bag, which has traveled the world many times over.
- The Fast movies are worthy; people watch in droves.
