Exactly. The zippered notebook looks the most professional, but leaves you without both hands free. With two children, I have to keep both hands free at all times. Talk about preparedness! On the other hand, a waist pack or shoulder bag can carry more, but isn't "acceptable" for a lot of the social situations I find myself in weekly, such as church, board room, customer visit, etc. Hmm. As long as I have my children with me, I can get away with stashing some stuff into the diaper bag without looking strange. Around here, however, a man carrying a shoulder bag would get some strange looks, and the last thing I want to do is call attention to myself. I guess a very low profile, trendy messenger bag might work. Bigger guys can wear waist packs without them even standing out, but on me, it would look like the example above of the Mac Truck side mirror on a Mini Cooper.