Flashlight Porn

I've always loved flashlights.  From the first moment I got one of those crappy D cell $3 plastic incandescent jobs you get waiting in the checkout line right down to the uber high tech tactical LED.  I have had them all.  MagLite has been my favorite but they are behind the curve.  Why the heck can't they make the monster 6 D cell into an LED so bright it could cut Luke Skywalkers hand off?  Why!

Anyway, I had to move on from the police issue MagLite to the companies who sit on the cutting edge year after year.  Move over Surefire, Streamlight, Pelican, Fenix, and all the other great new flashlights you can cut through the night like a knife in hot butter.  I stumbled upon the Nitecore T26 today. The TM stands for Tiny Monster, and whoa, is it.

That is four individual Cree XM-L2 LEDs.  Four!  What is better than one bulb?  FOUR!  This puppy kicks out 3800 lumens.  For perspective the new MagLite 2D Pro throws an excellent beam with 274 lumens and can pretty much keep your dog in sight from the front door to the end of the yard with ease. This bad boy is reportedly 13X brighter than the 2D Pro.  I...I just can't even comprehend....

Better yet, it runs on four good and solid rechargeable batteries (you can charge them in the flashlight) or 8 of the popular (and much easier to find lately) CR 123 lithiums.  Not convinced?  It also runs in five different brightness modes or three flasher modes (SOS, beacon, and seizure induction).  And for those of us who live in constant paranoia that the batteries are going dead?  Yep, it has an LCD readout that tells you exactly how much time you have in each mode.  Worried you might be stuck in that cave for a while?  No problem!  Low mode (150 lumens) has you covered for 48 hours.  Not long enough? Maybe you're riding out the zombie apocalypse?  How about 1000 hours at three lumens (about as much as a keychain light) in lower mode?

Still need convincing?  It's fairly durable and water resistant.  Check out this "ruggedness test". Seriously, you should watch it.  With the lights off.   It has some kick butt dramatic music.

I don't know if I'll get the Tiny Monster T26, but dang, it's just what the little boy in me always dreamed of.  I mean surely the bank won't mind if you skip the car payment this month to pay $390 for a flashlight right?  Did I mention its rechargeable?

December update

I would suppose it is high time for me to update my own blog.  Recently a couple guys and I decided to put together a baseball blog.  Seems fitting.  That is about all I watch from April to September so I might as well do something mildly stimulating to my mind and vocabulary by writing about it.


So at last I blogged I was about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime in Utah.  After looking over the BOSS (Boulder Outdoor Survival School) information for about 3 years I had the chance to take the plunge and do it.  It was a week long from a Sunday to a Saturday morning but it felt like about 387 straight days.  To say that it was a difficult physical and metal undertaking is like saying that WWII was a bit of a skirmish.  Despite getting physically in solid shape for a good six weeks prior I was quickly filleted of my belief that I was ready.  


I won't divulge details so that those that might read this and are thinking of taking the challenge miss out on the "surprises".  Let me list out some of the experiences:  got dehydrated, vomited, stung by wasps, stung by fire ants, lost 9 lbs in 6 days, hiked 80 miles, hiked/walked 31 miles in one day and in the dark, hiked regularly in the dark, slept on the ground, slept on the ground with no blanket, drank water that looked like Pig Pen took a bath in it, drank more water with tadpoles and mosquito larva in it, made fire, got rained on, dodged a flash flood in a canyon, made GORP (Good Ole Raisins & Peanuts) a meal, went 44 hours without food, slogged through rivers, climbed at death defying heights, and finally used duct tape as blister first aid.


Yeah it was hard.  And not really fun.  But it was good.  The people were good, the scenery was amazing, and the skills I learned were awesome.  But mostly I can say I did it.  

12 days till the BOSS Course

On January 3rd 2011 here are the numbers:


Gravity - 181.0 lbs
Lard Count (body fat) - 21.4%
Orbit (size around midsection) - 39 inches
Left Gun (bicep) - 13.25
Right Gun (bowling side) - 13.5
Left Root (thigh) - 22.5
Right Root - 22.375

My goals to be achieved by June 1 are thus:
8% Lard Count or less
Bench Press 200lbs
Run 5k in under 27 minutes
Consume my body weight in beans


Tonight after the turbo charged fitness routine for the past three weeks we sit here:


Gravity - 172.4 lbs
Lard Count (body fat) - ?
Orbit (size around midsection) - 37 inches
Left Gun (bicep) - 13.5
Right Gun (bowling side) - 14.5
Left Root (thigh) - 21.5
Right Root - 22.0


I have no idea where I am for body fat.  The scale I have says I range from 18-21% and there is just no way that is accurate.  You can't add an inch to your bicep, drop and inch from each thigh, and 2 inches from the waist and stay at 21% body-fat.  My best guess is that I am in the 16-17% range.  


So less than two weeks now till my survival course.  The rest of this week I really need to step it up.  I need to hit the weights twice, run two 5k, and do the 9 mile walk again.  That all needs to be done by Saturday.