UPDATED: Broken headset has been repaired, removed from list! Various sold out items removed from list, replacement items and sources added where possible.
More than a little late this year, I keep getting phone calls and email asking where it is-sorry (and keep those cards and letters coming). Almost completely void of toys, despite being a wishlist for a nerd with ADD/HD, a true sign of poverty. As always, thank you all very muchand!
We’ll start off with the true wishes. After years of sleep apnea and other woes my once fabulous memory is failing, especially my short term memory. Vitamin B1 supplements only go so far and seem to take a while to be effective. In the meantime I can’t afford the surgery or the mask, so I’m dependent on outboard memory. for years my outboard memory was a Palm Pilot device, but now my last one is dead (I have a pile of dead ones secreted away). Apple has Refurbished 8gig iPod touchs for $199. Yeah, locked, walled garden, but they can be jail broken. And they kill the current Palm devices in features, network connectivity, battery life and price.
(UPDATED) For everyone everywhere who has ever told me “why don’t you just write stuff down, that’s what I do,” you can sort through the wads of rain and sweat soaked illegible notes that litter my pockets, vest, and pack. My handwriting is illegible even to me, especially when I’m trying to write fast, one of the many reasons I got into computers. And frankly I’m tired of killing trees. If you feel otherwise and wish to impose your views on me your welcome to get me a few dozen Rite in the Rain pads, a Fisher Space Pen, refills, and a Esstac black pouch to carry it all in 
(UPDATED) Next up: a Macbook or PowerBook G4. My beloved 12″ PowerBook is dead, and the one I’m currently using is on it’s way. I’ve had to replace the hard drive and one memory card this week. (OK, I’ve replaced the hard drive 3 times and the memory card was also bad, so how about a couple of 1gig memory cards and a hard drive? Contact me for current prices)
The ever shrinking middle class: Snugpak poncho (one size $37.97). Odd for a poncho in that it has a hunched, longer back to accommodate a large pack, like my ever present 55 lb. pack, and it has a zipper and front pocket. Odder still, it has sleeves. So technically it’s a smock or honking large anorak. Waterproof.
What would a FFEJWORLD wishlist be without a plea for a vest of pockets? Cabela’s is blowing out the 5.11 vest (2x, Black, $49.99). One of the best vests out there. Please not the khaki
(UPDATED) Now on to the cheap seats. First strategic planning for wintering in bus stops: Waterproof mittens (Cabela’s, $29.95, yup, price went up 2XL, black) and handwarmer (any color but orange for $17.95) from Cabela’s. Someday I’ll write an essay on why you need more then one pair of gloves/mittens, and why handwarmers and muffs aren’t just for hunters and victorian revivalists. If the mittens sell out, go with the Thinsulate Fleece mitts for $17.99 I really, really need a few pairs of glove liners (Cabela’s, silk, XL $6.95).
Cabela’s packable waterproof rainpants (another closeout, black, $19.99, contact me for embarrassing size, Cabela’s sizes run small). Anyone who bikes or walks miles in the rain or snow knows why, but they also stop wind chill. Not as waterproof or durable as Gore Tex, but less maintenance and dirt cheap.
(UPDATED) LA Police Gear is blowing out 5.11 pants, which Andy Ihnatko has dubbed internet pants (satirized by Merlin Mann here). Yes, all the pockets a nerdling would want. $18 for the original, $10 for the dress, (Sold out in my size) $4.99 for the shorts, $10 for the short sleeve shirts (sold out). Contact me for sizing.
(UPDATED) As detailed in a previous post I’m always looking for PALS webbing pouches and pockets. Tactical Tailer is blowing out their Go Bag (sold out). Damn good medium sized pouch, will hold 2 water bottles to the 55 lb. pack. Triple Aught Design’s are still blowing out their BC8 pouches (SOLD OUT), I could use a few for fiddly bits. Sat-Com Bag it’s a shoulder bag originally designed to carry a satelite communication system antenna in the field. It’s also a movie star thanks to a certain movie 
A cross between a messenger bag, tripod bag and a sleeping bag carrier for the 55lb pack (County Comm, $26.50, black)* And you can never have enough County Comm EOD utility bags ($19.95, black).
In a similar but not PALS equipped vein, the Nite Ize Hip Pockets ($18.95), a variation on the fanny pack with loads or fiddly pockets for my tools.
4 gig flash drive from Newegg ($9.99 free shipping!). Cheap, not the fastest, but I could use a handful, they’re the floppy disks of the current age
*You could lash 2 together using it’s PALS webbing to make a backpack. I’m going to lash it to the 55lb pack. I really wish I had one of these back when I was dragging around Gitzo and Bogen tripods
for a living…
