Monday, January 13, 2020

peev2c11


PEEv2c11
Post-Apocalypse Lighting
This entry made more sense when I originally wrote it, as not everyone was then sold on LED lighting. Today, it really isn't any contest anymore. Economically it is foolish to use anything else ( resource wise as well ). Less than twenty years ago I still had kerosene lamps for my emergency lighting, and that was even AFTER I had been writing on LED lights, one of the first ones that did so for preparedness as far as I'm aware. The first LED's were sad and pathetic tools, indeed. Nothing at all compared to today.
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I was living in Florida and one of their bizarre bicycle laws was that lights were mandatory ( not that it is a bad law, just that few others do it, I had never heard of it and they actually paid cops to patrol the bike lanes to enforce it. Another strange one was that you weren't allowed to carry a passenger. The state sucks now, but it was pretty low tax and laid back then, even with those exceptions. Like a lot of places today ). At first I just zip-tied a small AA flashlight to my handlebars, but I was burning a LOT of batteries.
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This was one of the worst times as far as my divorce, child support and income went, and I was broke dingus poor. I couldn't even really afford multiple batteries each week. You do remember how crappy incandescent bulb flashlights and lanterns were, don't you? If you weren't draining the batteries after twenty minutes, the thing was breaking. So, I went on down to the bike shop and asked them if there was any solution to this problem. I didn't want one of those lame ass generators that ran off the tire, but I was also desperate.
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I don't even think China was making batteries for us yet ( this was the late 90's ). I just remember them being so expensive I was willing to use my credit card to invest in a solution. They introduced me to LED bike lamps, and I had never heard of that technology ( LED's were used way before that. I remember one rich kid in 8th grade, with an LED watch. It had red numbers and you had to turn it off quick after looking at it, as it drained the battery. I just didn't know what it was at the time ). It was NOT a cheap solution. I think I paid $35.
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If you went by the price of gold, that would have cost $150 today ( granted, gold was way undervalued then, a combination of new petroleum rich mining methods and western central banks selling off their gold stockpiles. Perhaps a better metric would be it cost twice my electric bill a few years later in the mobile home park ). It did its job, saving me from buying a lot of batteries, but we are talking something like five hours of run time, on very weak lumens. Ten or fifteen times better than the old flashlight, but complete crap compared to what it would do not too much later.
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I remember being blown away when the dollar store first started carrying LED flashlights. Still the same crappy strength, and as poorly made as the old incandescent, but by gum, only a dollar! And this was less than six or eight years later than the $35 unit. But even just twelve years ago, the better LED's still were very weak in output. They lasted much longer, which was good. But the illumination was nothing to brag about ( not with units that were cheap enough to stock multiples of ). That is why I still had kerosene lamps for Y2K. No way I could afford extra bike lamps. Wal-Mart had $5 oil lamps. I could have a couple of back-ups and a primary unit, under half the cost of ONE of the LED's.
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I don't know if you remember Dean Ing in the 80's, with his survivalist writings. He had the series of novels where the LDS church is the areas powerhouse after a nuclear war. Systemic Shock, Single Combat and Wild Country. Classics ( if you can't find them cheap enough used, Systemic Shock was the best one as far as the actual war and aftermath. If I recall correctly the other sequels were more “new social orders after the collapse” ). His non-fiction was Pulling Through and The Chernobyl Syndrome ( I think Pulling Through was a combination of non-fiction and a novella ). The non-fiction had the best illumination advice I had come across up to that point.
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He had a rooftop windmill made of scrap that used one of the bike tire generators to charge up an automobile battery, which ran a automobile license plate light bulb, the lowest draw bulb you had in 12v then. That was as good as it got for light in a fallout shelter. Sweet Jesus In A Gondola! We have it so much better today, even the crappiest options. I could take a dollar garden light ( the bulbs on a stake that run at night, solar charged during the day ) and have better lighting than just a decade ago.
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Of course, I would advise buying a better than a dollar garden light if that is the way you want to go. If you unscrew the top you expose the bulb you can bypass the very quickly fogged by solar radiation plastic, but you want a little better quality for longevity than the dollar units. For LED flashlights, I would NOT buy any of them under, say, $5. The cheaper ones will work fine, for a time, but better to spend a bit more and get more years out of each one. A $5 flashlight will last far more than five times a $1 one, usually.
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I like the LED lanterns, now that the lumens have increased so much. The first ones I had used D batteries and were crap. Now you can just use AA's ( I won't buy anything unless it uses AAA, or AA's. They charge SO much quicker in a solar charger, and it is MUCH cheaper to buy the rechargeable ones ). Most of the rechargeables are good for two thousand cycles. If you use them a lot, and even charging them three times a week ( it should be less ), just a few sets of batteries should last you a good twenty years after the collapse.
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A few flashlights, low lumen for longevity, high lumens for night shooting, with back-ups for each, a few headlamps and a few lanterns ( and back-ups ) and you can be set like royalty for light post-apocalypse. One thing you might consider adding to that to really stretch out the life of your LED's is the reuseable light sticks. UV Paqlite used to make Tooblites, but now all I can find on Amazon is UV GloStik ( a stick rather than a tube ). No, they are not bright enough to do anything with. They are more like locators ( like the glow in the dark tape ).
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No, they are not bright past an hour ( then after a night, towards dawn they are barely visible ). The company sells a flashlight that recharges the green stick attached to it. It is the green glow, and a flashlight/recharger built into one. The problem is it costs $50 ( called the Mule Light ). I think it is a great concept, as the green glow strip can run 400 hours with a tiny charge to keep it at maximum power. But if any part breaks, you are out big bucks. Better to make your own ( the company published these instructions, so they aren't just Quick Buck Artists ).
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Using a high lumen LED flashlight, place the lens next to the glow stick ( tube, whatever ). Shine for five seconds. Now you are fully charged for at least twenty minutes. Construct a cardboard and duct tape box to shield the flashlight, to preserve night vision. I found that if you laid the tube on the page of a book, you could read the sentence above the tube, with no eye strain ( obviously, this would go for map reading also ). These glow sticks are a mineral inside an epoxy material. They last forever. A niche, to be sure, but I like the concept of REALLY stretching out my rechargeable batteries.
( .Y. )
( today's related Amazon link click HERE )
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note: I find this hilariously scary.  The Federal Reserve Bank has just announced it will extend its repo market liquidity injections ON THE WEEKEND!  Yeah, five days a week isn't enough to keep the system from crashing due to lack of liquidity.  But, nothing to see here!  'Murica, Hump Ya!  And, Fracking Forever.
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note: on a much lighter note, HERE is two former spec ops guys doing an "apocalypse challenge".  Ten minutes, $50, Wal-Mart shopping before the public learns the apocalypse has started.  Actually rather informative.  I enjoyed it.
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note: free for today books, alien invasion, HERE 
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51 comments:

  1. Thanks for dragging my analog geezer ass into modern practices and gear. I positioned with kerosene hurricane and bail handled barn lanterns for extended collapse illumination. It is obviously now been edged out by "competive" tech advances in other equipment. I will ad onto existing l.e.d. lights and batteries inventory. (Although a solar-controller-charger- battery bank and rotation scheme set up will be the best forever set up)

    Queen Greta will be proud the fossil fuel powered lighting will be wharehoused only for back ups, bonus points towards social score comrades.

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    1. Ah, Greta, our Sino Overlord approved bullshatter

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    2. Yeah, controlled fifth columnist, with dad/handlers running facebook on her asberger manipulated freak show. Freak shows are when freaks eagerly or cooperatively are manipulated for cause celeb topics or profit schemes, and enjoy it or perform with vigor. (Like midgets making side income getting thrown down bowling lanes) Not offensive calling what it is.

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    3. Do they still have midget throws for distance?

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    4. Yeah, I don’t think that sorta thing flies anymore Jim. If it did, I’d start by tossing that little bastard Zac, from little people, big world, off of the edge of the grand canyon.

      I remember when I used to play midget toss with my dwarf cousin in the backyard pool, when she was younger. But today, you’d probably take some heat for that sort of thing. No one has a sense of humor anymore it seems :D

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    5. Well, dammit! That's a shame. One of the more original Drinking Games :) I hear Mao and Castro didn't have much of a sense of humor either.

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  2. Off topic but you might find this site interesting. Electroverse.net

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    1. A web site whose first sentence is "According to The Weather Channel". Okay, you kids have fun over there. Appreciate the link, but definitely NOT my bag, baby.

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    2. Older is better ( M14 v M16, anyone? ). In select instances, I'm willing to admit newer is better. Still liked my old Mac with floppy, but it ain't a manual typewriter. But I'd take a VW Bug ( pre-computer chip ) over almost any vehicle today. That doesn't mean I want to go back to a horse ( beastly animals ). Can't see the problem with being selective-I just want the best performance. Doesn't everyone?

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  3. I’m the minion that recently mentioned those replacement LED tubes (Replace the 48” florescent bulbs and fixtures). Those things kick ass! Another minion mentioned that they probably won’t last the 40 years that they’re rated for, and I have no reason to doubt this. But if they last 5 years, you got your money’s worth out of them.

    For flashlights, I tried both the Maglite Solitaire, single AAA, as well as the Maglite that used 2 AAA’s. The single AAA only lasts a few weeks per battery, with part time use, but due to its small size, is very nice to have. The 2 AAA model is quite a bit brighter, and last a good deal longer. It’s larger of course, but still small. Unless you want to spend more, try to avoid the flashlights that have a push button switch, since they’re notorious for failing after a short while.

    For very powerful flashlights, of the variety that light up hillsides, you still need halogen incandescent bulbs. To my knowledge, newer automobiles today often use LEDs for tail lights, and other lighting, but still use halogen bulbs, due to their superior lighting.

    I don’t know what it is, but I love those glow light sticks. I’m going to have to get a few of those rechargeable models, and maybe even a few of the one time use variety, for emergency purposes.


    Hykolity 4FT LED Wraparound Light 40W 4 Foot LED

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYVPZ2T/ref=sspa_dk_detail_4?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07XYVPZ2T&pd_rd_w=C4bpL&pf_rd_p=45a72588-80f7-4414-9851-786f6c16d42b&pd_rd_wg=INPal&pf_rd_r=GY8WPKJ1M45Y2WY6W0VP&pd_rd_r=69faacf3-27e5-4fc9-b33d-d4f595b00a2b&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExNEJKS1Q3WlJPRVg0JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjA2NjUyVzdZTFJPQzZSSzZLJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA3NTA3MTYyS1ZNT0RRU1NYMVVDJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

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    1. Yeah, the green glo sticks are very limited in utility, but I own at least three or four anyway.

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    2. I've been to flyover places where people dress like it's the 1970s, un-ironically. So I suppose you, Anonymous, may be a few decades out of date but look into modern white LEDS because there's stuff now that *can* light up a hillside and ther are indeed cars with irritatingly bright LEDs out tootling around.

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    3. Aren't the irritating headlights just a question of direction? Seems a fixable problem, like all those asshats that make the engine noisier.

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  4. Frugal survivalism as if prepping is time sensitive.

    A lesson for our Dark Over Lord Bison.

    During your travels in life, if ya come upon any computer laptop battery packs that people throw away, inside those packs are lithium ion batteries called 18650 (it's the size as how they are named now days. 18mm dia. by 65mm long) This is the size that Musk used to make the battery packs for the Telsa for the first several years.

    Well anyway, reclaim them from the packs and start using those for your energy needs. I bought the charger that handles those and have several hundred already. I ordered the battery trays from Fleabay to make 12 volts (3 cells will do it. Each cell is 4.2 volts.) I found an IP66 LED strip (weather sealed) in the trash and just wired it up to a pack.

    I used it to work on the old battle wagon this past weekend.
    So much easier than a flashlight or drop light.

    I might even order some of the LED strips roll and cut to size what I need from Fleabay.

    Save some money, and start looking at what can be repurposed afterward. :)

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  5. Been using the Ultrafire flashlights daily for at least 5 years with no problems, highly recommend. I've bought a dozen or so. They will run off 1.5v AA or the 3.7v 14500. I use rechargeable 3.7v.

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071Y6JFBM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    Dollar General has small $3 LED lanterns that use (2) AA batts and I have at least a dozen of them too and can recommend them. Just looked on their site and they weren't showing, perhaps a physical store item only, dunno.

    Any normal grown man in the 20-40 age bracket in Florida can be working in residential construction RIGHT NOW making more money in a day than he can spend in a week. Just grab a hammer and shovel and drop in on any home under construction at 7am and be ready to work RIGHT NOW. I lived there for 40 years and the whole time construction was king, for men wanting to earn real money.

    Light sticks? Please. I (tried to use) used them once, never again. Shall I count the problems? Almost zero useable light. Run out/dim fast. You can't turn em off except put it in your pocket. Plastic in your pocket will get damaged in duressful positions. I see no advantage with the stick over any LED flashlight. I've had a Photon Freedom on my keychain for more than 10 years and have never changed the button battery's. Again, highly recommend. The newer ones have a shield around the snoot to cancel side scatter and preserve night vision.

    Been using the EBL 2800mah AA rechargeable batteries for years with no problems. Blow away Eneloops. Recommend. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HSHLC82/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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    1. The glo sticks are meant to use in a limited situation ( reading ) to supplement the LED. To really stretch out artificial light after the die-off

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  6. My lizard brain is keeping me on incadescent bulbs now in the household for reading, tasks, general uses. I get too much negative vibes or irritations and reports of l.e.d. lights having bad light spectrums for eyesight health. From eye doctor types as well.

    For mobile field ops or required battery powered lighting during unicorn cavalry heathen clearing operations I'll utilized the l.e.d. options then for group standards compatability of course.

    My fuki-U-shima irradiated canned seafood is enough health concerns to contend with as it is.

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    1. I experienced LESS eye problems going to LEDS, as off grid I had more light to read by, at one forth the watts. RV incandescent bulbs sucked up the juice and gave crap light. On grid, brighter light. My eyes are already bad, so perhaps I'm not as effected?

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    2. The large scale LED lights are rated in either "cool" (blue) or "warm" (pink) and you have to try each to determine which is favorable. The cool ones seem harsh to my eyes unless they are ceiling mounted in a large room, like my workshop, where I like em. My office is only half the size of the workshop so I have warm ceiling LED lamps in here. Just guessing, as I have no way to measure it, but I believe the blue ones put out more light than the pink ones. Also, the "lumen" rating may have something to do with it.

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    3. Did you just put up a new picture by your name? I like it, the cat is a good touch.

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    4. No, I've had that one for awhile, at least 6 months. Yeah, that's a killer cat ain't it? lol

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    5. I remember the relief of going from a CRT computer monitor to flatscreen one which is basically LED.

      And as Jim says, there are all different colors of white LEDS and not only that, but you can get light systems where you can dial the color. I occasionally visit a jazz club with dial-able lighting and I'll see nice warm lighting on the musicians and look up and there are arrays of red, green, and blue LEDs.

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    6. That was ghostsniper, with the color spectrum. Credit where due.

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    7. GS-I swear I just now noticed the pictures scrolling through the different faces. No, dammit, I'm not losing it! :)

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  7. I have Streamlight "The Siege AA" I rate it highly. It illuminates a room well, is easy to hang off of things.

    https://www.streamlight.com/en/products/detail/index/siege-aa

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    Replies
    1. Here that is at Amazon:
      https://amzn.to/3878IUO

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    2. We have several of that "style" of lantern and they work good. TOO good. I had to put foil around one side and turn the illuminated side away so I wouldn't get blinded every time I looked at it. They are THAT bright!

      This is the least expensive and highest rated PAIR of AA battery powered lanterns on amazon, gonna go order me a pair right nah!:

      https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Portable-Camping-Flashlights-Batteries/dp/B00XM8HTIS/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=streamlight+siege+aa&qid=1578964930&s=outdoor-recreation&sr=1-3

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    3. I had a flashing green light for my bicycle, as a safety beacon on the road at 5AM. Pointed at the road, and only out of the corner of my eye, that sucker was stupid bright. I had to duct tape off half of it. I think it was twenty hours of use on two AA's. And that was five years ago. I image the new ones are even better.

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  8. Can't brew a tea nor warm frozen fingers with an LED.

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    1. Granted. Have both, one for winter. Just like I used a peculator in winter and French Press in summer. Just like an outdoor kitchen for seasonal use. Just like you use a different gun for different tasks. Now, about that tea thing, comrade...

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. I think MOST people will be the bad guys.

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    2. I think most people ARE bad guys.

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    3. Don't serious people ALREADY have several crowbars, I know I do, and have had them for decades. Those 2 guys look like clowns. Special forces? Please. Don't be so gullible.

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    4. The sad part is that they teach those guys to survive long term with NOTHING. Especially the Green Berets over the SEALs, since they may have to walk to the other side of a continent to be picked up after being inserted into a prohibited country and the extraction plan fails. Basically they're just being lazy and entitled. SAD and SCARY.
      Romans 14:11

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    5. Perhaps standards have slipped in the last two decades, as they train them to get out and go private contractor, churning them out from a cookie cutter. I want to say there are more contractors than troops on the frontline, but I'm not sure if I'm remembering that correctly ( I believe it is to reduce the casualties needing reported??? )

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    6. GS-the point of the exercise was you are starting from nothing ( I think they said, you are on vacation, in an anti-gun state? ), with limited money and almost no time. It was to illustrate hurried priorities and to see how they could have done better. See above for quality of training.

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    7. GS-most people are idiots and lazy, now. Come Spicy Time, then they turn bad. I have no love lost for 99% of humanity, but they are keeping the lights on for now, and the spice flowing.

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  10. Used to be that Harbor Freight gave away something every month
    with a purchase, leather gloves, tarps, batteries, now for the last 8 months it been the LED flashlight.
    This store is going to be out of business before the end of 2020.
    But non the less buy $4 of something and get this LED light for FREE!
    Went camping last year and had a brown bear come up to my campsite and flashed this LED light into his (or her) eyes and it left lickety split!
    Would not be a problem to stick 1 on a bike if your not to old or fat to still ride a bike or get out of the duct taped recliner. Hugs and sloppy kisses! Betty Neff.

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    1. I'd be interested to know why you think HF is going out of business by the end of the year. It was my understanding that they bought from man brand companies, had it re-branded, then bought in bulk to undercut the competition with the essentially same product. No matter how the tariffs work out, they still stay under everyone else's prices. Is it because the economic collapse hits and all its customers lose their jobs? Or because they lose money on sales and make it through the bubble stock market, like Amazon? Nice to have other input than my own echo chamber.

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    2. Should be "name brand", not "man brand". Swear I'm going dyslexic. The dropped letters are because I need to change out this keyboard. Nasty Wal-Mart humper. Still, trying to be frugal, cheap, tight-ass, and run it until total failure.

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  11. Lights and bike lights ....

    I remember coming back from Reserve duty through Waikiki, and a cop (there was only a hooker on every corner ....) hassling me saying I needed to have a light on my bike and he'd give me a break and if I walked the bike I was ok but I wasn't to get on and ride until I was out of his sight.

    I was living on about $350 a month rent included so I got one of those little generators that run off of the tire. The one saving grace with those was, they naturally made the lights flicker a bit which does wonders for being seen as opposed to an unwavering light.

    After that, I discovered Cat Eye brand bike lights and have never gone back. I used their light sets from the early 80s to now, and in the mid-80s got to be a hero when the lights went out at work and I was the only one with a flashlight because I'd take my bike light in with me. I was able to pull the light out of my fanny pack that I kept stashed under my work bench, and lead groups of people out. And one lady back in to get her purse.

    There are a lot of light sets out there these days and to me, Cat Eye is the sweet spot. You can get cheaper lights and they might be pretty good, and in a rough environment bike likes are sort of a "consumable" item between wear and theft.

    For flashlights, I remember when Mag-Lites were the shit, and had a small one I'd bought in the early 80s, for the longest time. Now, they ARE shit and my last one, I threw out into the road for a bum to find.

    You could almost call this time in history "the LED age" like people talk about the gaslight era, the oil-lamp era, etc. Today's LEDs are amazing.

    For a good quality flashlight, I really like Pelican. They're not cheap, but like Cat Eye bike lights, they're in that sweet spot between the cheapos which sometimes are surprisingly good and more often are not, and the higher end stuff like Streamlight.

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    1. At least you aren't one of these weirdo's carrying a flashlight on their belt at all times like they are Batman.

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  12. Off Topic:

    How Much Wheat in a 5 Gallon Bucket – Pounds, Calories, #Loaves Bread

    https://modernsurvivalblog.com/preps/how-much-wheat-in-a-5-gallon-bucket-pounds-calories-loaves-of-bread/

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    1. Why read the article? 33 lbs per bucket, 1500 calories per lb.

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    2. Maybe, Ken Jorgustin is trying to poach some of your minions? 💩

      I stop by Mr. Jorgustin's site from time to time.
      I can only handle so much goody/goody two shoes, butt kissing from the commenters. 🤮

      Ken, Mac Salvo, Daily Sheeple were some the the sites I used to like. Now... I'm a PROUD Minion!!! (Butt kissing included.)🤪 The Hair looks GREAT! oh Dark Over Lord.🤣

      You made a comment a week or so ago, 'bout how a lot of sites are not doing as well anymore. (Lack of ad dollars or something like that.) I think they are just killing it by censoring everything now.

      I only made one comment on Ken's site to contradict him on an EMP article he had, and people were freaking out that they would not be able to get to their guns, because the keypads would be fried. All I did was gave him the address to Sargent and Greenleaf article (one of the major players in the electronic lock game.) and how they tested their stuff to survive an EMP. Ken made sure that comment was never posted.

      I found your site when you made a statement on Brandon's site 'bout freeze dried food. Brandon is like a perpetual child, that wants you to agree with everything he say's. If you question him, he will remove your post and ban your IP from posting. I've seen him do it.

      You have your detractors like Anon() and as far as I've seen, you roll with the punches.

      That is why I like visiting here. Between Anon, DG, and others, it makes me think, and learn.

      ALL HAIL!!! the Stunning Coffier Hair, of the Dark Lord of Prepping. 🧛‍♂️ Long live the King.

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    3. I dish it out, so I better be able to take it. I can't agree on the censorship issue. Almost everyone can get the word out, it is just a lot more work now. Even Patreon, flaming faggot Bay Area PC Liberal puke, only banned one person. Still lots of Deplorable voices there. It is still an uphill fight, and commies never rest, but I think a bit of lawyer heat calmed them down for now. No, I think the Yuppie Scum Survivalists already got their one month of freeze dried and FLIR scope, or are now unemployed, and now the boutique prepper businesses have a lot fewer sales. So, a lot less ads, and all the scumbag me-too prepper sites are no longer being kept in the lifestyle they have become accustomed to, and stop posting, or post rehash crap ( that is MY specialty, you copycat mo-humpers! ), and lose readers and hence even more ad revenue. Not much of a lose as far as I can tell. There is a place for Beginner Preppers, but not when everyone does that. And, extra bonus minion points for the proper salutations and butt kissing. And poop pile icons!

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  13. Dean Ing. I still have a few of his paperbacks on the shelf . . . cool. I know Pulling Through is one of them.

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    1. They stand the test of time in many ways. I need to find "Systemic Shock", haven't read that for near thirty years I think.

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  14. My husband buys those solar powered garden lights. If they aren't broken by a falling branch (we have a lot of old trees in our yard), they last a long time. Well, unless the lawn service destroys them with a weed-whacker.
    The LEDs, we use as a night light in the living room, or to get some light when we are out of the house for a few hours. Keeps the burglars away, as they are not certain whether or not we are home.
    Honestly, the one part I would have some issue with in the Apocalypse is wanting power for my toys - phone, computer, Kindle. It is kind of pathetic to think about how we've grown accustomed to that level of luxury.
    Oh, yeah - and toilet paper and wet wipes - some of the best products of the modern age, at least in terms of convenience and comfort.
    I never bought into the idea of a baby boom after, as I just can't imagine young women confronting the concept of cloth diapers (and having to wash them). When our eldest was in diapers, we spent over 4 months without a working washer. I had to periodically fill the tub, and use the 'grape-stomping' method of getting them clean.
    NOT fun.

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    1. People will quicker realign their definition of luxury and comfort. Not much of a problem. Just initial withdrawals

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