“How could you own a single flashlight?”
Going on two years ago I wrote a post called The Cult of the Flashlight that occasionally still comes back to haunt me. I am not renowned for my people skills, I’m prone to blurt and my only nod to tact is silence which often doesn’t work in conversation and never in blogging. This post was not…tactful. In fact I woke up the very next morning determined to write an immediate apology.
So anyway, while I’m blathering about people who keep score by how many high-end flashlights they own, they’re looking back with equally amused perplexity…
…and I got a comment last evening from the lady who actually wrote the documentation I mocked. Seems if you type “flashlight cult” into a search engine, you get that becoming-infamous post. Like, right up at the top. And flashlight hobbyists do like to talk about flashlights…
Fortunately they also seem to possess a sense of humor.
Hehe. Yesterday, I was going through my med kit, and found I needed to swap the battery in flashlight I forgot I had. So … add 1 to the count, which can’t do, because I don’t actually know the count. Which reminds me it’s time to swap the battery in the light I keep in the man-purse. Oh, and for basic use, I still like the simple approach.
The “apology” link doesn’t take us to the apology thread.
Oops. Quite right. Fixed.
You have a post right at the top? Congratulations!
Once upon a time I was one of those flashlight aficionados but there was a reason for this. The EDC flashlights I had for work were not only to see at night but were used to blind bad people giving me a chance to take action. I write flashlights plural since I was in the habit of buying new ones when the technology improved. Since I retired those lights gather dust in a drawer somewhere only to be dragged out for power failures and such.
My girlfriend had her name brand lithium-ion powered EDC flashlight explode in her hip pocket last week. It ruined her pants and phone case but fortunately the phone was between the light and her thigh. Her iphone survived and although the case garbage now she can still wear a bathing suit without having scars to explain.
If you carry a rechargeable flashlight think about how something could short the charging terminals. Given her pocket contents at the time I think it was an internal short but keys and exposed terminals might be a bad idea.
Hm, yeah, that goes to my policy about carrying batteries in my pockets at all. But do you have any notion what caused it to explode inside the flashlight?
People who ‘geek’ out with certain EDC items are to be expected. Some folks feel the need eke out every bit of performance out of their equipment.
Flashlights are a often carried ‘talisman’ against the fear of being trapped in darkness. Unless you have been trapped in the bowels of a building with no light source, you haven’t experienced helplessness. Pitch black everywhere, not knowing for sure the power will flip back on at any second.
Oh, you don’t have to convince me about flashlights. I’m not dressed without mine. But it was only relatively recently I learned that they’re hobby fodder. I always thought they were just flashlights.
Everything is hobby fodder. I laughed when I saw ToyKeepers reply to that post, I should have sent here a link to it years ago.