SavvySkull Historical Blog Reference

This page provides historical context and source references for the former SavvySkull blog. It is maintained by DeltaSpark and does not represent the former author. Any current commentary is identified separately from historical material. The page has two parts: the sourced history of the former blog first, then a separate section on what the current site publishes.

Verified historical background

The one source confirmed for this page is a Columbia Journalism Review article by Paul McLeary, published April 21, 2006. According to that article, the New York Times launched a group blog called Frontlines in March 2006. It was written by four active-duty soldiers and Marines deployed in Iraq, and it was placed behind the TimesSelect pay wall.

The article names Army Captain Will Smith, then 30 and serving in Tikrit, as one of the contributors, and identifies SavvySkull as that contributor’s personal blog. It cites at least 332 service members blogging from Iraq at the time and discusses the limits that military rules placed on such writing. The other Frontlines writers are not SavvySkull authors. The article is about the Times project and the wider practice of military blogging, so it does not summarize the former blog’s posts or describe what the contributor wrote there.

This page records where the 2006 statement can be read so that anyone researching the history can check it. It does not establish what the former blog contained, how long it ran, when it stopped, or who owned the domain between 2006 and today. The current SavvySkull site is not a continuation of the former blog. A reader should not infer from this page that the two are connected in subject, authorship or editorial approach.

Archive entries and old addresses

No posts have been verified yet, so none is listed and this page does not describe or quote the blog’s contents. An entry will appear only after all of these are confirmed, as the editorial policy describes:

1. The original URL where the material was published.
2. The text itself, from a reliable archive snapshot or a copy supplied by the rights holder.
3. The date of first publication.
4. The author, with the original attribution kept.
5. The rights holder and the permitted use.
6. An editor’s review of the record against the evidence.

An unknown old address returns a genuine “not found” response, and nothing redirects to an unrelated page. Google’s guidance on site moves recommends that removed content return a not-found or gone response. An old address is redirected only to a page that directly corresponds to it.

Sharing material or a correction

If you hold a copy of the former blog, can show rights in it, or have found a mistake on this page, write to [TBC: contact email]. Include the original address of the material and the evidence you have, such as an archive link, the date, the author and what you can show about rights. The contact page explains what else helps.

The current SavvySkull site

Everything outside this page is a separate publication about outdoor equipment, operated by DeltaSpark and unconnected to the former author. It is written for people who buy, specify, deploy and maintain equipment at outdoor worksites, camps and field locations.

Its guides answer questions such as:

• How much portable power does a team need for a work shift?
• What does an IP rating tell you, and what does it not?
• How do you compare waterproof cases beyond marketing claims?
• What belongs in a request for quotation for outdoor equipment?
• How do you check a supplier’s test report?

Portable power and lighting

Portable power and lighting decisions usually start with a vague need, and the power and lighting section turns it into numbers that can be compared with a manufacturer’s published specifications. Power is the supply and light is one of the loads, so sizing the supply without listing the lights, or buying lights without knowing what they draw, leaves one of the two short.

• Sizing a portable power station helps you list loads, check continuous and surge watts and estimate watt-hours with stated assumptions. It includes the power station sizing worksheet.
• Choosing portable work lights helps you compare light output, beam pattern, runtime claims and mounting for a given task and area. It includes the work light comparison sheet.

Equipment cases and protection

Claims printed on cases are easy to misread. The cases and protection section starts from the equipment and the conditions it will meet, then asks which documents support each claim, so a case is chosen by what can be verified and not by the word “waterproof.”

• Reading IP ratings helps you find the exact claim, the cited standard and the tested model. It includes the IP claim check table.
• Selecting a waterproof equipment case helps you review dimensions, seals, closures, valves and test report scope before an order. It includes the waterproof case procurement checklist.

Camp and site equipment

A camp or temporary site is a set of functions such as shelter, food handling, hygiene, lighting, storage and power. The camp and site section works from what the site must do to what it needs, which avoids buying items first and finding the functions later. It is a planning aid and does not prescribe quantities, because those depend on the site, season and guest numbers.

• Planning campground equipment helps you map functions and users, label items essential or optional, and assign servicing and storage. It includes the campground equipment inventory.

Buying and maintenance

Equipment problems often start in the paperwork: a request that left out the operating conditions, a test report for a different model, or a maintenance schedule nobody wrote down. The buying and maintenance section covers defining a need, asking for it, verifying the evidence and maintaining what you own. Each stage leaves a written record, so the next person on the team can see what was asked, what was promised and what was done.

• Writing an RFQ for outdoor equipment helps you state measurable requirements and a response format that makes quotes comparable. It includes the RFQ template fields.
• Checking a supplier’s test report helps you match a report to the offered model, read its scope and verify the issuer. It includes the test report verification record.
• Building a maintenance plan helps you turn model manuals into an equipment register and schedule. It includes the maintenance plan template.

Checklists and templates

• Power station sizing worksheet, from the power station sizing guide
• Work light comparison sheet, from the work light guide
• IP claim check table, from the IP ratings guide
• Waterproof case procurement checklist, from the case selection guide
• Campground equipment inventory, from the campground guide
• RFQ template fields, from the RFQ guide
• Test report verification record, from the test report guide
• Maintenance plan template, from the maintenance plan guide

Every template is a versioned CSV download, no email is required, and all of them are on the checklists and templates page.

Where to start

• Portable power and lighting: size power and compare work lights.
• Equipment cases and protection: read protection claims and specify a case.
• Camp and site equipment: plan equipment by site function.
• Buying and maintenance: write requests, verify evidence and plan upkeep.

Editorial note

The dates on this page, all in 2006, belong to the events described and to the Columbia Journalism Review article. This note is current commentary by DeltaSpark and carries no date of its own. For how the current site works, see the About page, and for how sources and corrections are handled, see the editorial policy.