Hackers Accessories

In addition to a common mode of dress, there is a similar set of tool of the trade which many hackers can be found carrying. Often a black satchel (though many responses claimed green, no doubt in keeping with the hiking boots and chamois shirts) or military surplus shoulder bag is filled to overflowing with things which hackers must have to sustain their hacking lives when separated from their computers. A typical inventory might look like this:

Notepad (legal or steno size)
Multiple pens and pencils
Various screwdrivers, hex keys, and torx drivers (for installing cards, and opening cases)
The flashiest programmable calculator that the person could find. These tend towards the HP {RPN} units, but there is a substantive minority using Casio algebraic units. These should graph if at all possible.
Floppy disks. A variety of floppies containing diagnositc tools, a current project being moved to a new machine, or the most recently aquired programs to be toyed with.
{Cruft}, and lots of it. ATM receipts, old tests, source code print outs, unpaid bills, scraps of note paper with program ideas, {IP} numbers, and phone numbers on them, etc...
A good pocket knife. Swiss Army-type knives with several tools are prevalent.
Musical instrument. Harmonicas dominate this catagorie, though DoN Nichols (dnichols@ceilidh.beartrack.com) apparently sports a penny whistle in his toolbelt.
Multitester and/or logic probe.

More financialy equiped hackers can also be found with portable computers, Apple Newtons or other {PDA} devices, and expensive versions of the multitester (Fluke, is an example of this). A properly equipped hacker can continue to be immersed in a hack while sitting through an unusually boring lecture, or while on the bus.