Tool User

Tools on a bench in the village of Shinlonga (see Shinlonga) in the Hukaung Valley Wildlife Reserve (see Hukaung Vista). Thirty meter fiberglass tape with slope correction table taped on the back, Spiegel relaskop for measuring slopes and heights, orange Forestry Suppliers fieldbook (big fan of these), Pilot G-2 retractable gel ink pen (extra fine point, 0.5 mm), and a lovely NYBG baseball cap. Simple tools are an important part of what I do, and I see that I have posted a lot about this (see Tools of the Trade, Shopping For Supplies, Field Equipment, Transect Ropes Redux, More Red Lines, and Tool Repair). Suffice it to say that I have gotten pretty good with a compass.

"The disappearance of tools from our common education is the first step toward a wider ignorance of the world of artifacts we inhabit".

-Matthew B. Crawford
 Shop Class As Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work (2010) 

[NOTE: I lost the baseball cap; left it in a restaurant in Central Vietnam].