Schlatter Family Site

Ol' Dad's List
of
Good Stuff

This page features "stuff" that I have used and, as a result of using it, I recommend it.  This page is in no particular order and you are likely to find just about anything listed here. 

"Rite-in-the-Rain" notebooks

These notebooks are made of water-repellent paper -- covers and pages are water-repellent.  The notebooks are intended for use by people who must make notes outside in all sorts of weather and environmental conditions -- such as surveyors, field collectors, scientists, and the like.  They are not inexpensive but, for what you get, the price is reasonable.  I have used these for years.  Because I am a career military officer, I developed the habit long ago of carrying a notebook with me to write down whatever.  I don't recall where I discovered "Rite-in-the-Rain" notebooks but I have a stack of them in my closet and almost always have one in my hip pocket.

Here's a link:  http://www.riteintherain.com/

 Here's the "Rite-in-the-Rain" 3X5, top spiral-bound notebook.   They have notebooks of every size and configuration -- 3X5, 4X6, shirt pocket, hip pocket, 5X8, 8-1/2X11 -- you name it.  The notebooks come with many different page styles:  ruled, graph, surveyor notes, EMT notes, etc., etc.

They sell waterproof ball point pens, but, I have found a pencil is best for writing in the rain.

Garmin GPSmap 76Cx GPS receiver

I have owned three different Garmin GPS receivers and this is my favorite.  I also own a Garmin eTrex GPS receiver which also is an excellent piece of equipment but the 76Cx is my favorite.

The GPSmap 76Cx has a LOT of capabilities; my favorite is the ability to load maps into the receiver and to set up maps on a computer and load them into the receiver.  The  GPSmap 76Cx has a color display, long battery life, external connections, and is easy to use -- the buttons and commands are quite intuitive (entering addresses is a bit slow, but, that's what you expect when you work with an instrument without a keyboard).  Also -- the GPSmap 76Cx uses a microSD card to store maps.  This allows the user to insert a large-capacity card so you can carry around a lot of maps.  I have a 1GB microSD card in my GPSmap 76Cx.

Here's a link:  https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=350#

Mini Cooper

This is a long story, but, in August 2007, we purchased a Mini Cooper automobile.  If you have never seen one of these -- and you may have seen one and not known what it is -- the Mini Cooper is a classic.  It's a British car; the Cooper company was failing for a number of reasons, so, BMW purchased Cooper and started making the Mini Cooper.  The car retains the classic Mini Cooper body style and is manufactured in Great Britain but under the skin the car is all BMW. 

Ours came with:

• Leather seats;
• Cold-weather package (heated seats, heated mirrors);
• Sirius satellite radio with lifetime subscription;
• Six-speed automatic transmission with electronic, clutchless manual shift capability;
• Run-flat tires.

The Cooper is something of a cult car -- a lot of Cooper owners take advantage of the fact that Coopers are FAST and NIMBLE.  The car is highly maneuverable -- it corners like a cat --  and is very peppy, even with a 4-cylinder, 142 HP engine.  The Sport Cooper has a turbo-charged engine and a 6-speed manual transmission and will hold its own with the likes of big Mustangs. 

We like it because of its fuel mileage -- we get 32 MPG driving around town, 36 MPG driving in a rural area, and 42-45 MPG on the interstate.  Yes, it's a small car.  We leave the rear seats folded flat and put all sorts of stuff in the rear -- luggage, groceries, lumber, hardware, you-name-it.  Ours is Chili Pepper Red with a white top.  WE LOVE OUR COOPER and recommend it every chance we get.

Here's a link to the Mini Cooper website:  http://www.miniusa.com/#

Pointer Brand denim jeans

I discovered Pointer Brand jeans in the late 1990's.  As of around 1998, Levi's jeans are no longer made in the US.  In fact, in 1997, we were living in Bristol, TN.  I had business in Mountain City, TN, which was home to one of the last Levi's manufacturing plants in the US.  Levi closed the Mountain City plant -- putting 500 people out of work -- and moved the plant to Mexico.  I stood on the loading dock of the plant in Mountain City and watched as equipment was shrink-wrapped and loaded onto flatbed trailers to be trucked to Mexico.  I was acquainted with a man who had worked in the Levi plant for several years and was supporting invalid parents.  When the plant closed, he shot himself so his parents could get his life insurance money.  At that point, I stopped wearing Levi jeans and started wearing Pointer Brand jeans.

Pointer Jeans are made by the L. C. King Manufacturing Company in Bristol, TN.  All the employees are local people.   The plant is non-union and provides its employees with a full range of benefits and has a pay scale that's well above the local wage.  They make jeans, painter paints, overalls, and short overalls.

The founder, Mr. L. C. King, raised and trained hunting dogs -- pointers -- and one of his dogs was a champion pointer named Carolina Bill.  Mr. King named the jeans "Pointer Brand" to honor his dogs and a likeness of old Carolina Bill is on every garment that leaves the factory. 

You can order Pointer Jeans online -- here's their website:   www.pointerbrand.com     One of my favorite parts of their website is the "Pointer People" section where people who wear Pointer jeans submit photos of themselves.

Estwing hammers

Can't beat an Estwing hammer.  Now, I know that everyone has a favorite hammer.  A lot of carpenters, especially framing carpenters, have started using the California framers with their curved handle.  Some folks don't like an all-steel hammer -- Estwing makes a full range of hammers -- steel, fiberglass handle, wooden handle, framing, general carpenter, rock hammer, engineer hammer, etc., etc.   And -- nail guns seem to be taking over -- but -- have you noticed that carpenters who use nail guns always seem to have a hammer hanging off their tool belt?   I have used Estwings for years and own a pile of them -- one of almost every size they make.

Timex Bodylink® System

Check out my long article about the Timex Bodylink® System.

More to come -- check back with us later!!