Quick Grab Bag – Swissgear Travel Bag
I have been wanting to write a blog entry about my “murse,” that’s man purse for those of you that aren’t aware, for a while but just really haven’t had the time.
Well awhile back, I was sitting in a Concealed Carry Deadly Weapons class discussing different ways to carry. The satchel was an option that came up. No the bag pictured below is I think most likely the best entry level bag. Maxpedition makes several nice bags but those bags have two major draw backs. One is price, and the other is that they scream tactical. The Swissgear may come off a little more metro-sexual. Maybe the more tactical bag would on it own prevent a situation for escalating or maybe it would direct more attention to you making you on of the first targets in an active shooter situation.
The next logical question, is while would want/need and quick grab bag. The police have learned from high school and other public shooting events that waiting around for a SWAT team just isn’t going to work. They need to engage the shooter as soon as possible. In an open setting the officers can stay with their vehicle, therefore having plenty of access to additional gear. But what if they need to leave the cruiser and enter a building. The equipment on their duty belt isn’t going to be enough. There lies the basis for the quick grab bag.
Now, I am not a law enforcement officer so my review and possible load-out isn’t intended for their use, but more for the average civilian. The rational for my bag is I need to leave the house quickly and don’t want to forget something. This bag also isn’t intended to be a bug out bag, that will be covered in another post.
Let’s say your sleeping and your alarm company calls with a burglar alarm from your office. You jump up and stumble out to the car and take off. When you arrive. Everything appears normal, but your still going to need to clear the building. But what you don’t have a flashlight. That’s exactly what the bag is for. Or maybe you leave for the office and you need to copy some information to a jump drive, but you can’t find it because it slipped out of your pocket getting in the car and it’s in a million peices in your driveway. That’s what the bag is for. The final, example, you and the family are going for a day of hiking and your normal carry holster isn’t that comfortable and some snacks would be good. That’s what the bags for.
Here are the contents of my quick grab bag
- Flashlight (my choice is a Surefire
- Extra batteries or backup flashlight
- Pen
- Sharpie marker
- Small notepad
- Jump drive
- External hard drive
- Glow stick
- Knife or multi-tool
Now here are some optional or operational gear
- extra pair of prescription eye glasses
- ear plugs
- extra ammo
- spare keys
- extra phone charger
- flexcuffs or handcuffs (What! — Well what are you going to with the bad guy once you have stopped him. You can’t just shoot him, as much as you may want to. But remember handcuffs can get you into trouble with the law as well. So check your local laws as well.)
Now for a quick review of the actual bag itself.
The bag is a Swissgear Over the Shoulder Travel Bag – Grey
I purchased mine at Target from around $30.
The bag is constructed of nylon and has fairly decent zippers. The top flap has a small pocket and a large pocket on the outside, and a medium sized mesh zippered pocket on the inside of the flap. The front also have a small cell phone (or mag pouch) in the strap. The main body of the bag is divided into two large pockets. The rear pocket is open with two small pouches that are the same depth as the overall bag (perfect for an external hard drive and cord, phone charger or glow stick). The front pocket has a zippered mess pouch and two smaller pouches, perfect for pen or flashlights. That front pouch also expands slightly by un-zipping an external zipper. Now here’s what I really think makes this bag perfect for CCDW or Quick Grab is the rear zippered pocket. It will easily hold a J-Frame revolver or Glock 19. Since the pocket is on the side of the bag that is against your body is doesn’t print and scream firearm. The zipper is vertical and set up for a right-hander cross draw.
Overall, I am really pleased with the bag. I use it on a daily basis to make sure that stuff I may need is always close by.
Haiti – Water Relief
I am sure everyone on the planet is aware of what is going on right now in Haiti. Something like 20,000 people and counting are dead, bodies being moved and dumped by front end loaders into massive graves. Water and food becoming scarce and people rioting because that’s what people do when they are at the end of their ropes. I have a friend in Haiti right now and he told me that mothers are leaving their babies at the airport in hopes that someone will pick them up and take them home! He said that there were abandoned babies laying on the floors of the airport! Their families knowing that they will die if the stay there. My heart is broken. I have no words to describe how my guts are feeling tonight.
WHAS News Coverage of EDGE Outreach
My take on Notre Dame Football
I had started not even watching tonight ND game, instead opting to get ahead on some school work for the coming week. But towards the end of my reading the CBSSportsLine texts that I was getting during the fourth quarter were showing what looked like a good game. ND had scores 3 unanswered TDs and pulled to within a touchdown. (In my mind a controversial call may have ended the game early, but that’s a different point) The point that I’m really trying to make here, is what’s up with the Fightin’ Irish in the 4th quarter. All season they have made spectacularly plays and showed some of the real talent (that we all know the Irish have). But how come they can’t seem to get that kind of momentum throughout the whole game.
I think some of the current ND players are the best players they have had in awhile. Clausen shows some moves at times that really make him look like he has the potential to be a Montano. And Golden Tate, I can’t say enough good things about him, this season he has made some unbelievable plays.
So, what’s missing? The Fightin’ Irish should year in and year out be a highly ranked team. But it’s been years since fans have been able to wake up in the morning and check the paper and see the Irish in the Top 25.
I give Weis one more year. I think he’s a pretty good offensive coordinator and seems to really care about the team. So, one more year and a major bowl, that’s it.
But just one year isn’t enough ND should be in a big bowl game every year, and I don’t mean the Bob’s Country Bunker Bowl.
Bottom line is the Irish have the potential to be a “good” team but they need to find whatever they are missing to form the complete package. And they need to find it quick, I don’t think the fans can handle to many more years of this hype at the beginning of the year and then the disappointment at the end, I know I can’t.
Feel free to comment if you wish.
Writers block
As some of you guys are aware I have been working on serveral new websites for people. I have had exterme “writer’s” block. I sit down to punch out a bunch of work and end up getting nothing done. I have some really good ideas in head. But getting the visual layout down in HTML code is a bitch. I mean it’s driving me crazy. I want to get these sites done so I can get them to the customers for final reviews and or additions, content or whatever. Keep checking back hopefully we will have some really good sites up soon.
New Blog… New Look…
So The Montgomery Coconut Telegraph is no more. Brendan wanted to move all our blogging over to our website as we have converted our old website into a new and improved Wordpress Site (though I am not sure that Wordpress is improved, Brendan and I have a split opinion on this one, he’s on board I however don’t like it). So from now on you will have to get your dose of Montgomery’s from this site instead of our Blogspot site. Maybe I will learn to love it (here’s to hoping)! As you may have noticed I have posted all our previous Blogspot posts onto the new Wordpress blog and I will try and be a little more strict about making posts a little more regularly. If you are interested you can check out my Book Blog at www.geebsbookclub.blogspot.com and my boutiques bog at www.coutureclosetboutique.blogspot.com. I will be adding another in a few days, as I have become a blogaholic, and when I do you will be sure to get the link.
I love you all!
Lauren
The Montgomery Times Posted 9/11/2009 on Blogspot
Hello all!
I haven’t blogged in quite some time so I decided that I’d better get too it or you all might think we have moved so some remote tropical island in the Caribbean (we wish). But alas that is not the case we are still here in our snug little home in St. Matthews trying to fit in with the middle class and just make it through random work weeks. You haven’t seen much blogging because we quite literally are plum tuckered out at the end of the day when we finally get home from one of our 5 jobs. Yes you heard correctly, count ‘em 1..2..3..4..5 jobs (between the two of us)!!!! Brendan is still saving lives and property at St. Matthews Fire Department, and I still am clothing the wedding world with my shop The Couture Closet. But on top or our “main” jobs Brendan has picked up some hours at Open Range (a swanky upscale shooting range-oxymoron I know), and I am back in the trenches at Shaheens selling school uniforms to not so happy angsty kidos. Then the cherry on top is our 5th job as website designers, this is a little “on the side” job that Brendan started doing and that I have been been sucked into as well. All in all we are one busy little family here and when we get home we go comatose in front of the TV and forget how fun it is to write up a little hello to our friends and family here on our blog. I will start doing better I promise!
First Paddle of the Season Posted 5/5/2009 on Blogspot
Getting ready to put in at 393.
Lauren in the Kayak
Brendan before his big spill
Tim, Brendan, and I. (right)
Tim in yellow, and Brendan in red
Blog Time… Posted 8/12/2008 on Blog Spot
Themes and Custom Wordpress
Well, As I suspected working with wordpress is very easy to do if you can find the exact theme and layout that you want. however, if you want to make the page custom it looks like its going to be a ton of html coding. I’m going to keep working with it. Discover Downtown LaGrange wanted to go away from a traditional HTML and flash based site and use wordpress. Wordpress on the surface may be great for the Inferno Fitness site. It would give them a way to make quick changes to the site for any computer with an internet connection.
I’ll keep you updated on what I think, obviously you can see how the site is progressing just by checking back.
First Post to the Wordpress Site
I recently was told that Wordpress was a very easy way to create a website/blog. Being that it is edited on the web, I think that may be right. However, as I am getting started, I have had nothing but problems. One call to tech support in India, oh I mean Yahoo Customer Support. Plus I can’t get the site to look like I want it to. I understand that there is most likely some sort of learning curve. Also I am incouraged by the fact that there is a iPhone app, which may let me send updates right from the phone. That would be really cool. If that is truely the case, I may even switch the fire department site over to Wordpress. So needless to say, I’m not happy with the site right now, but I’m working on it.
Good Luck to me, I guess.