Random Question - Color Swatches??

Mar

25th

2008

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My family recycles as much as we can. Tonight, while breaking down a cardboard box, my eye caught one of the little color swatches located on the small tab on the top of the box. I suppose I see them all the time, but I took a second glance at this one for some reason. “What is it there for?”, I asked myself.

On almost every box in my pantry, I found something similar to the swatches in the picture. Some have numbers and letters on them, others only have colors, some only have gray-scale swatches. The most common pattern is a group of squares, but some packages have circles. There isn’t a pattern from what I can tell.

What are these used for? I can only guess that they are some sort of quality control for the colors used in the printing of the box. But, that doesn’t make sense for the grays, letters, etc.

I hope it’s not a stupid question…if someone can answer it, you’ll help me sleep a little better at night.

My Tom Bihn Brain Bag Backpack

Mar

25th

2008

Filed Under Computers
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I’ve been looking for a new backpack for the past couple of weeks as I have a long summer of travel ahead. As a software engineer, I have to lug around my laptop, multiple cables, power supplies, notebooks, and other equipment, and a good bag is a must. I also wanted something that will hold all that gear, a 17″ laptop, and my DSLR camera, so my old bag, which I’ve had for almost 10 years, is in need of an upgrade.

In doing my mandatory research, I came across the Tom Bihn Brain Bag. I’ve read almost their entire website, done multiple Google searches for reviews, and even had a buddy who lives in the Seattle area drop by to take a gander at their setup. One thing is for sure, there aren’t very many bad comments out on the web about Tom Bihn’s products.

Mine arrived today. I ordered the Brain Bag (in navy) and a 2S Brain Cell (a sleeve for the laptop) to hold my Dell. All of my research was right on target…I love it.

As an engineer, I like it because it’s built well, good looking, and just plain simple. No fancy stuff…just room for whatever you want and a comfortable, attractive way to carry it.

The pros:

It’s light and comfortable. It seems to “hug” my back and has a great padded feel to it. Although I haven’t weighed it, it feels several pounds lighter than my previous backpack.
It’s HUGE inside. The Brain Cell takes up the majority of one of the two main compartments, but can still hold more stuff. The other compartment will hold my camera, equipment, and two 3-ring binders.
There aren’t a lot of small compartments. I consider this a positive as it will keep my “clutter” to a minimum. The front two pockets have some room for some pens and other small items, but there aren’t as many spaces for my stuff to sink to the bottom and be forgotten.
The waist strap is removable and it comes off without much effort.
A lifetime warranty.

The cons:

The cost. Tom is proud of it, but at this point I’d say it was money well spent. A lot of reviews I’ve read said that the owners have had their bags for 5+ years and it still looks like new. And, it seems that once you’re a Tom Bihn customer, you’re hooked on their bags.

I look forward to putting the bag through a few more “tests” and showing it off a bit. It’s a good looking bag that seems to be quite functional, as well. It certainly meets my requirements of carrying more stuff than my previous backpack, and has the potential to be a “one bag solution” to both my work and personal needs. That’s not to say I won’t order a different style of bag from Tom in the future.