Hurray! Power failure at work

The lights all went out here today. Time for a flashaholic to do his thing.

Unfortunately, there was a window nearby so it wasn't completely dark. (Only a flashaholic would say that!) But is was still pretty dark.

My nearest light was a Teralux replacement in a MM. It was very white and more than bright enough for the job.

A co-worker saw my light and asked for some guidance so he could turn off some equipment before the power was restored. He didn't say anything about beam quality, brightness, or LED in a small flashlight. All he said was "Thanks".

And thats the way it should be.

Nice job!

Too bad it wan't darker. We flashaholics love opportunities to rationalize our passion -- and get a little deserved appreciation.

I was once in a high-rise office power failure without a light, and have never been without one since. One time makes a believer.

Awesome! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Better to have a flashlight and not need it than to need one and not have it.

East Coast Blackout, prime example

Photon,

Congratulations on your power outage! I love those things.

I got ripped off on the East coast blackout. The power went out in my apartment, but I had to leave to visit my mother in another state. She had power the whole time. I was really bummed out. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif I hope there's another one.

We had a brief blackout this evening. All of the overhead lights started flickering really badkly for about 45 seconds, then - poof! - plunged into dimness.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crackup.gif

Bad bad Neil!! A flashaholic will look for any excuse to turn on his lights, right?

Although it was no fun for us in NYC for 29 hours, I immediately gained a great respect for my diving lights and other incandescent lights. For that night, I was the true "Flashlight King" around here, and my neighbors either asked me to loan them a light, or I offered. It was no picnic even with the lights, because when the elevators stopped, everyone had to walk up or down the pitch black stairs in our 23 story building. Now I always carry one of my LED lights, especially when I take the Subway to Manhattan. That is one location you do not want to be in, without a light.

I know that the east coast blackout inconvenienced a lot of people and caused really bad problems for a few, but for me, it was very enjoyable. All the hustle and bustle shut down for a day and it was like getting a little vacation right in the middle of the summer. Plus, of course, I got to play with my flashlights a lot, especially since the streetlamps were out.

I was in another blackout a few years earlier, that only affected a few block area where I worked. It was in the early afternoon and there was plenty of sunlight, so flashlights weren't an issue. But as the minutes went by and the power didn't come back, we wondered how long the power would be out and nobody had a radio to listen to a news report. If power was expected back within an hour, we were going to wait it out, but if it was going to be longer, the boss was going to tell us to go home for the day. While we were discussing how to get an update, the lights came back on (total outage was maybe an hour and a half) and settled the question.

Anyway, in addition to a couple flashlights, I generally now always carry a small earphone radio in my shoulder bag. There's a thread about radios like that over in the gadgets section, if of interest. I think it's worth having a thing like that in your kit.

Didn't anyone have a radio in their car?

Yes, probably someone would have gone out to their car to use the radio if the lights didn't come back on when they did. It wasn't like we were desperate and stranded or anything. It was a nice summer afternoon and we were just hanging around the office enjoying the quiet of all the computers being powered down. But shortly afterwards I brought a small radio from home and tossed it in my desk drawer. I don't think I ever turned it on during the rest of the time I worked at that place.

I get power outages 3 or 4 times a day...

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Boris said:
I get power outages 3 or 4 times a day...

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That helps show how good we have it in the USA. Power is so reliable that an outage is unusual.

Isn't there something basicaly wrong with looking forward to blackout's? Not that I don't also but I'm not that bright.

I don't think that it's exactly looking forward to blackouts as much as it is looking forward to the opportunity to produce lots of light.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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OtherMutt said:
Isn't there something basicaly wrong with looking forward to blackout's?...

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course. Did you think CPF members were normal? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

In fact, earlier tonight I did my evening ritual of walking to a nearby condo complex, and veering off into the woods for a few beam comparisons. There was a neighborhood watch guy in the woods dressed in camo with a video camera. I later talked to him after I blasted him with my Micra, and he got pissed. He said he was trying to catch some local teen punks, and he was wondering what the heck I was doing out there firing all these weird beams around.

It made me wonder just how strange flashoholics can sometimes look to nonbelievers. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif