LightHearted
Enlightened
Yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far for us here in Fresno, CA. The news said the high was 101, but my digital thermometer read 104 on my patio. I suspect that home AC usage was also at a high for the year and was taxing the power grid. I was at Wal-Mart at around 8:30 pm when the lights went out. The store's emergency lights came on instantly, but some of the isles were still pretty dark. The first light I reached for was the only one I had on me, my Inova MicroLight. This thing rarely gets used, so the batteries were still fresh enough to produce a very bright light. I was easily able to see items on the top shelves and even read prices without too much trouble. Since it didn't look like the power was going to come back on right away, I used my Micro Light to navigate the store and put back all the items I had planned to purchase. In a big dark building, a single 5mm LED sure can draw a lot of attention. I got a few (jealous?) stares from people who obviously wished they had thought to carry such a useful little toy on their key chains too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif People were in very good spirits. They seemed to be more amused by the novelty of the situation than viewing it as a frustrating inconvenience. I saw one guy using his cell phone as a light to continue his shopping. I thought that was a great idea, although I guess he didn't realize that without power he wasn't going to be able to check out.
After a few minutes of enjoying my peripatetic adventure, I saw a Wal-Mart employee instructing people to leave the store. She had a flashlight that resembled a typical cheap 2c Rayovac with nearly dead batteries. Man, how I wished I had my QIII with smooth 20mm IMS reflector, mineral glass lens, and R123 to really show her up. I suspect it would have probably drawn a lot more attention than the little Inova, had I been using that little pocket monster instead.
People filed out of the store in an orderly manner. With the emergency lights on there wasn't really much need for my MicroLight other than to show off, which I did of course. Once out of the store I saw that the lights were off for a good mile or so to the west and as far as I could see to the east. This was a pretty big event. Back in my car I searched through my glove box to see what my options were. There was a Princeton Tec Surge, Princeton Tec Rage, Infinity Ultra and a couple different color Photons. I put the Rage and Infinity Ultra in my pockets and headed home.
When I got home the power was still out, so I started looking for longer running light sources. The first light I picked up was my PT EOS headlamp. I knew I it would give me something like 40 hours of wonderfully regulated Luxeon output on low if I needed it. This also gave me two hands free to install freshly charged Ni-MHs in my Dorcy 4AA lantern with XPR103 bulb. It makes a very nice white light and easily hangs from a ceiling fan to illuminate a room. I found my QIII, put in a fresh R123 and replaced the Rage in my pocket with it. Now, I was set. I had a long running headlamp combined with near (Infinity Ultra) and far (modded QIII) illumination on my person. I then took a break and enjoyed a bowl of black cherry ice cream to escape the near 90 degree temperatures in my house. I also got a chance to test my fairly new APC UPS. My computer fired up and gave me plenty of run time to check my email and read the latest news. It was good thinking to plug my cordless phone into the UPS for times like this as well.
I then checked on my neighbor across the street and had a nice chat with her on the tailgate of her truck while shining my QIII up and down the block keeping an eye on the neighborhood. I asked her if she needed a flashlight, but she said she was fine. She had several candles going in the house. She did comment on the brightness of my "little flashlight." I gave her a brief explanation of my modifications to it, and she laughed. She knows I'm a geek. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif There was a decently cool breeze blowing by that time, so she brought us out a couple drinks and we chatted for a while longer. Since we both had to get up early, we decided to call it a night. I went home and enjoyed doing some reading by my headlamp all the time thinking, "Yep, these are the times flashoholics live for." I fell asleep reading in bed. The power came back on about 2:30 am. I woke briefly and went back to sleep with a smile on my face.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
After a few minutes of enjoying my peripatetic adventure, I saw a Wal-Mart employee instructing people to leave the store. She had a flashlight that resembled a typical cheap 2c Rayovac with nearly dead batteries. Man, how I wished I had my QIII with smooth 20mm IMS reflector, mineral glass lens, and R123 to really show her up. I suspect it would have probably drawn a lot more attention than the little Inova, had I been using that little pocket monster instead.
People filed out of the store in an orderly manner. With the emergency lights on there wasn't really much need for my MicroLight other than to show off, which I did of course. Once out of the store I saw that the lights were off for a good mile or so to the west and as far as I could see to the east. This was a pretty big event. Back in my car I searched through my glove box to see what my options were. There was a Princeton Tec Surge, Princeton Tec Rage, Infinity Ultra and a couple different color Photons. I put the Rage and Infinity Ultra in my pockets and headed home.
When I got home the power was still out, so I started looking for longer running light sources. The first light I picked up was my PT EOS headlamp. I knew I it would give me something like 40 hours of wonderfully regulated Luxeon output on low if I needed it. This also gave me two hands free to install freshly charged Ni-MHs in my Dorcy 4AA lantern with XPR103 bulb. It makes a very nice white light and easily hangs from a ceiling fan to illuminate a room. I found my QIII, put in a fresh R123 and replaced the Rage in my pocket with it. Now, I was set. I had a long running headlamp combined with near (Infinity Ultra) and far (modded QIII) illumination on my person. I then took a break and enjoyed a bowl of black cherry ice cream to escape the near 90 degree temperatures in my house. I also got a chance to test my fairly new APC UPS. My computer fired up and gave me plenty of run time to check my email and read the latest news. It was good thinking to plug my cordless phone into the UPS for times like this as well.
I then checked on my neighbor across the street and had a nice chat with her on the tailgate of her truck while shining my QIII up and down the block keeping an eye on the neighborhood. I asked her if she needed a flashlight, but she said she was fine. She had several candles going in the house. She did comment on the brightness of my "little flashlight." I gave her a brief explanation of my modifications to it, and she laughed. She knows I'm a geek. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif There was a decently cool breeze blowing by that time, so she brought us out a couple drinks and we chatted for a while longer. Since we both had to get up early, we decided to call it a night. I went home and enjoyed doing some reading by my headlamp all the time thinking, "Yep, these are the times flashoholics live for." I fell asleep reading in bed. The power came back on about 2:30 am. I woke briefly and went back to sleep with a smile on my face.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
