LOL You so funny!

Jim

 

Ah Yup!

 

That is a cool pic of the golden gate bridge in the summer.

Jim

 

It's not really that bad.

 

Have you guys found anything interesting with the holiday retail ads?

 

My SO got a flashlight that uses a 18650 lithium battery. It's got several modes, a magnet and clip for hands-free use. The battery seems to last forever, and it has a USB-C port for easy recharging. We like it a lot, but I have no idea where she got it.

 

I have sharpened mine one time only because I couldn't find my new blades and the tip was busted off the other end. And you need to clean your knife, it's a mess!

I just ordered two of these one for each of our vehicles, I have one in the house and like it a lot. The other night I needed a flashlight when I was out in the field in my truck and had to use the light on my phone. That won't happen again.

 

Happy Saturday Nor-Cal! Excellent weather here, but a bit cold.

Jim

 

Those lithium ion battery flashlights @ 3.7 volts are very bright. I worry about those lithium batteries and how they heat up during charging. Better manufacturers will publish charging information. FEIT specifically states, in their fine print, that the light needs to be charged at 5V 1A. Different electronics have their own specifications. Most people have no idea what that means. They never look at their adapters or read the fine print. They see a USB cable with the right attachment, and plug it in. I just looked at my phone charger, and it's 5V 3A. That's how those lithium battery fires happen.








In the course of several decades, I've used a lot of different flashlights. Some, I will not use again. For various reasons. They get too hot. They use weird batteries that you can't find everywhere. Some are so fragile that taking a bump could damage the lighting element. Too big. Too small. Too heavy. Switch design is easily activated when you don't want. Too many gimmicky features. Of course, it's all personal opinion. My personal opinions.


I have no use for a 6 or 9 function light, with different levels of lighting, and strobe lights. I just want the light to turn on and off. I don't want to click the switch 6 times, cycle through all of the features, while I'm trying to use it.

When I was a kid, the light that you had to have was a Mag-Lite. During that era, it was the best. Over the years, people have complained that Mag-Lite has lagged behind in technology. You can spend less than $20, get something that fits in the palm of your hand, and it puts out tons of Lumens by way of a lithium battery. Mag-Lite is still selling a 10 lb flashlight, that's 4 feet long, and uses 6 D batteries.




When I entered the work world, Streamlight was the standard. Rechargeable. Much brighter. And extremely expensive to buy and maintain. Auto mechanics, fire fighters, police, utility workers...... you saw the chargers mounted in PG&E trucks, fire engines, police cars. It became such a popular item, that even Snap-On tools sold it on their trucks. If you worked somewhere that used Streamlight, you would not go looking for anything else.




To me, a flashlight is a tool. It all depends on what you're doing with it. Same way there are dozens of wrenches, in different sizes. We all can't carry a 8" Crescent wrench.


As a homeowner, in The City, my flashlight will be for power outages. I need to be able to see well enough to go to the basement and check the circuit breaker panel. I might go out to walk the dog at night. I'll look under the hood of a car. I need enough light to crawl under a sink to look at leaking plumbing, without blinding myself with too much light. It has to be well built and reliable. In the event of a natural disaster, or systemic power outage, it has to be able to use "standard" batteries. Batteries that you can find at any corner store, 7-Eleven, Wal*Mart, etc. Which means AAA, AA, C, & D. These same battery sizes also have low cost rechargeable batteries and battery chargers. This allows me to get a dozen batteries and a charger, and keep them charged. If there were a civil disturbance, natural disaster, etc..... even if I went looting, I wouldn't be able to find an extra 14500 or 18650 lithium battery. And there would be no power to plug the USB cable into. My choice for the homeowner flashlight defaults to the Mini Mag-Lite. Value priced. Bright enough to do the job with 332 Lumens. 13 hours run time. Backed by a lifetime warranty. And you never hear about a Mag-Lite falling apart or failing.







It's not a utility knife that I carry in my pocket.
What you see is years of abuse, misuse, and lack of care.

It should be thrown away. It's old. The thumb wheel on top broke off a long time ago. The blade retention part is no longer a good fit. The spare blade door is also broken.

This is the "beater" knife. I keep beating up this knife, so that I don't beat up anything nice. Of course, how "nice" can a razor blade holder be?



This is what I carry in my pocket. It's very light, and sharp. And it's clean.

 

Your right about the chargers. I have an outlet in the house that has 2 USB outlets, I don't know what the output is but it is low. It took a couple days to charge the first light I bought. I also have a couple of 1 amp chargers in the shop.

I don't care for strobe functions but I like three different levels of light, actually two levels would do it. I like having the super bright light to scan the hill sides looking for the strange animal sound and the lower level to conserve power and just general lighting. The other things I like about that light is it comes with an adapter to work on 3 AA batteries, and the case is nice for bouncing around in the back of the car and truck. It also works as a hand warmer.... LOL

 

Had to ask my SO what her flashlight was. It's a Big Larry made by NEBO. You can get it direct from NEBO for about $23, but it's also available from HD for about $17.



It can be charged via a USB-C connection, but it also can be charged in our semi-universal charger.

Whoops! That's the wrong Big Larry. Ours looks the same, but it's now called Big Larry 600, or in some places Big Larry Pro. That one is the same light output, but runs on AAA cells. Ours is $15-$20 more expensive depending on where you get it.

 

I saw an Energizer like that which uses conventional AA batteries. Very versatile design.

 

Happy Sunday FTE , well the Elk hunt in the Cascades was fun , scary and very scenic, but we didn’t bag anything , I need to re-evaluate my tactics, yes I’m old , yes I need better tires , yes I can’t hike like I use to , and No don’t take the truck down over grown old log roads , next year we’re going to pull the Gator on the flatbed, and hunt or at least get to those tight spots and sit & wait .
on our return home last night my wife said , STOP, me HuH 🤔, that’s the Christmas tree I want , honey that tree is roughly 18’ , I want it she says , ok dear , it’s too heavy to lift cut 4’ off the base (chop chop) it’s sticking out of the back of the truck 8’ (chop chop) perfect she says , the tree is still in the back of the truck waiting to see if the base stand will even fit , I think when it’s all said and done , we will have a noble Douglas fir standing around 4’ in the house , because that’s all I’ll be able to lift and carry inside
Oh the ducks beat USC are we surprised?

 

Around the house, I use a Mini Maglite. Antiquated. Not the brightest light in the drawer. Not the sharpest tool in the shed. I can see my fuse panel. It's great when I wake up in the middle of the night and have to go to the bathroom. Don't need a tactical light to pee. Just enough for me to look into the oven. I don't like the dim yellow oven lights. I got a pig leg going today.

 

I just turned the heat down to slow roast it. Hopefully, it will be tender.