brightnorm
Flashaholic
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2001
- Messages
- 7,160
This thread seeks to discover how your interest in flashlights has affected the people around you: family, friends, lovers, colleagues, strangers and especially how many flashaholics you feel that you may have "created" or "converted"?
@@@ (Feel free to skip the next two paragraphs)
Every religion, philosophy, way of life and passion has its proselytizers, adherents and converts, so why not Flashaholism which is as productive as many and more benign than most? I should know better by now but I still marvel at the obtuseness of friends, family and colleagues who simply cannot understand the fascination, or at least the practical value of a good light. Of course my intolerance is common to passionate believers of any stripe and it never deters me from spreading the good news .
And it really is good news because our fascination rarely if ever harms, and often genuinely benefits the Flashaholic and those around him. I'm sure that many of us can relate incidents where our lights made a real difference, sometimes a critical difference, especially in the case of our LEO's and others in vital public service. @@@ OK
So, getting back to the title of this thread I'll try to figure out how many Flashaholics I've "created" or "converted". First a definition:
FLASHAHOLIC:
Someone who appreciates and actively seeks information about portable lights because of an ongoing fascination with them and their development, and whose interest often results in the purchase and/or modification of these lights.
There are different degrees of Flashaholic involvement but I believe that in order to be a true or full Flashaholic you must be certified, and that certification can only be attained through membership in CPF along with at least occasional reading of threads.
Based on that definition I unfortunately can't claim any true or full Flashaholic conversions, but there have been several partial ones.
Two partial Flashaholics
Two doormen in my building who at times were among witnesses for some review tests. One just bought a Magcharger (I told him about the new bulb) and is expressing interest in the Tigerlight FBOP. The other bought a 2L and two Photon II's
One partial Flashaholic
My girlfriend who I often use as a test witness. She began simply to humor me but has developed a genuine interest and recently asked me for something other than the 2L I gave her on our second date (several years ago). I showed her many lights and she especially liked the 1x123 ARC's, but wasn't happy with the price when I told her she'd have to buy it herself. She also liked the MiniMag BB & MM but decided to stay with the 2L.
Four partial Flashaholics
Colleagues: They started out with derisive but good natured humor but became impressed and interested when I started using them as witnesses for my "vertical throw tests" on adjacent tall buildings during evening work hours. They were intrigued by the D3 + SRTH/N2, marveled at the US and Tigerlight and were in disbelieving awe at the M6. But the light that gave them the most pleasure was the MagCharger with standard "brighter" bulb, because they enjoyed spotlighting distant objects and innocent pedestrians. One said he "felt like a sniper". Three of them bought lights, 2L's and X5 Classics with skateboard tape I put on the heads for them, plus possibly one or two ARC AAA's.
The fourth was an odd case. There was a fire in his Grandmother's house with severe damage and loss of electricity. No one was hurt but there were missing papers and valuables. He quietly, almost surreptitiously approached me at work to borrow a light. I had a bunch in my desk and gave him two 2l's with a pair of extra batteries. The next day he just as quietly returned them, and I said to keep one as a present which made him happy but he then said these exact words: "You don't have to mention this to anyone, OK?" What could I say?
Assorted other partial Flashaholics
I've given AAA's, 2L's and Photon II's to most of my close friends and family. For some reason, just like my girlfriend they were less interested in Mag AAs with assorted dropins even though I offered to do the setup for them. I can't figure out this reluctance, but the 2L was always an instant hit. It seems to be the perfect gift (black almost always preferred by both men and women) and I've stocked up on them. Photons have been the second most popular followed by the Arc AAA.
Total partial Flashaholics created
It's hard to find an exact figure, but I'd say a solid dozen is pretty close.
How many Flashaholics or Partial Flashaholics have you created/converted, and under what circumstances?
Brightnorm
@@@ (Feel free to skip the next two paragraphs)
Every religion, philosophy, way of life and passion has its proselytizers, adherents and converts, so why not Flashaholism which is as productive as many and more benign than most? I should know better by now but I still marvel at the obtuseness of friends, family and colleagues who simply cannot understand the fascination, or at least the practical value of a good light. Of course my intolerance is common to passionate believers of any stripe and it never deters me from spreading the good news .
And it really is good news because our fascination rarely if ever harms, and often genuinely benefits the Flashaholic and those around him. I'm sure that many of us can relate incidents where our lights made a real difference, sometimes a critical difference, especially in the case of our LEO's and others in vital public service. @@@ OK
So, getting back to the title of this thread I'll try to figure out how many Flashaholics I've "created" or "converted". First a definition:
FLASHAHOLIC:
Someone who appreciates and actively seeks information about portable lights because of an ongoing fascination with them and their development, and whose interest often results in the purchase and/or modification of these lights.
There are different degrees of Flashaholic involvement but I believe that in order to be a true or full Flashaholic you must be certified, and that certification can only be attained through membership in CPF along with at least occasional reading of threads.
Based on that definition I unfortunately can't claim any true or full Flashaholic conversions, but there have been several partial ones.
Two partial Flashaholics
Two doormen in my building who at times were among witnesses for some review tests. One just bought a Magcharger (I told him about the new bulb) and is expressing interest in the Tigerlight FBOP. The other bought a 2L and two Photon II's
One partial Flashaholic
My girlfriend who I often use as a test witness. She began simply to humor me but has developed a genuine interest and recently asked me for something other than the 2L I gave her on our second date (several years ago). I showed her many lights and she especially liked the 1x123 ARC's, but wasn't happy with the price when I told her she'd have to buy it herself. She also liked the MiniMag BB & MM but decided to stay with the 2L.
Four partial Flashaholics
Colleagues: They started out with derisive but good natured humor but became impressed and interested when I started using them as witnesses for my "vertical throw tests" on adjacent tall buildings during evening work hours. They were intrigued by the D3 + SRTH/N2, marveled at the US and Tigerlight and were in disbelieving awe at the M6. But the light that gave them the most pleasure was the MagCharger with standard "brighter" bulb, because they enjoyed spotlighting distant objects and innocent pedestrians. One said he "felt like a sniper". Three of them bought lights, 2L's and X5 Classics with skateboard tape I put on the heads for them, plus possibly one or two ARC AAA's.
The fourth was an odd case. There was a fire in his Grandmother's house with severe damage and loss of electricity. No one was hurt but there were missing papers and valuables. He quietly, almost surreptitiously approached me at work to borrow a light. I had a bunch in my desk and gave him two 2l's with a pair of extra batteries. The next day he just as quietly returned them, and I said to keep one as a present which made him happy but he then said these exact words: "You don't have to mention this to anyone, OK?" What could I say?
Assorted other partial Flashaholics
I've given AAA's, 2L's and Photon II's to most of my close friends and family. For some reason, just like my girlfriend they were less interested in Mag AAs with assorted dropins even though I offered to do the setup for them. I can't figure out this reluctance, but the 2L was always an instant hit. It seems to be the perfect gift (black almost always preferred by both men and women) and I've stocked up on them. Photons have been the second most popular followed by the Arc AAA.
Total partial Flashaholics created
It's hard to find an exact figure, but I'd say a solid dozen is pretty close.
How many Flashaholics or Partial Flashaholics have you created/converted, and under what circumstances?
Brightnorm
