Random Thoughts - Part Deux [NO POLITICS]

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by soundman98

changing the subject because family stuff sucks.


found a new flashlight today, acebeam tk16.
https://www.illumn.com/flashlights/a...-included.html

hadn't heard of acebeam before, but seem like decent products.

nice little flashlight, one of only a few that gets a high CRI. best of all, it uses a standard triple-beam 20mm carclo TIR optic, which means i can play with the few dozen optics i've already got for different beam patterns.

just ordered a turbo glow gasket that sits behind the optic as well for a nice look..

Haha... 1250 lumens.

[soundman98]

1250 is really nothing like it used to be. SOP for flashlights anymore is 1k lumens.

if i want to be taken seriously, i won one of these at a raffle a while back.
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Produc...Lights/2354-20

and then if i want to be taken comically, a number of years ago(photobucket says 2012!), i made a dual-35w hid converted spotlight with high/low functionality. something like 6,000 lumens



i took it apart soon after i got it all working, with plans to convert it to lipo instead of the SLA battery it had in it. it's been on the 'healing bench' ever since. fun little project, but really no practical use to lighting up airplanes from my backyard.

it was a fun r/c car, though a bit heavy.

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by soundman98

changing the subject because family stuff sucks.


found a new flashlight today, acebeam tk16.
https://www.illumn.com/flashlights/a...-included.html

hadn't heard of acebeam before, but seem like decent products.

nice little flashlight, one of only a few that gets a high CRI. best of all, it uses a standard triple-beam 20mm carclo TIR optic, which means i can play with the few dozen optics i've already got for different beam patterns.

just ordered a turbo glow gasket that sits behind the optic as well for a nice look..

No, no, no. Don't start or we'll need a flashlight thread.
Here's some of mine:
Olight I1R EOS (not the 2nd version). I use this every morning at 1.30am to check my bgl. It is so small I hold it in my mouth.
Nitecore Tiny2 My favourite small flashlight. The small led screen is a nice touch.

Sofirn SP36S. A relatively inexpensive compact flooder. I bought a Sofirn Q8 Pro for my father-in-law and I was a little tempted to get one myself. It is significantly brighter than the 36S.
I like Sofirn lights; I think they are great value for money. I also have a Sofirn twin beam headlamp.

Something I always look out for now is USB charging. It is so much easier than having to deal with separate battery chargers.
Something else that gets me about some flashlights is the overly complex UI. It's a frickin' torch, not a control panel for a power station.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

Something else that gets me about some flashlights is the overly complex UI. It's a frickin' torch, not a control panel for a power station.

tell me about it. and they always set up high output mode, SOS, strobe, and red lights functions in the standard UI, like we're all getting stuck out at sea, clearing rooms with SWAT, and going bear bear grylls with sharpened sticks on deer every day.


the first main EDC i used was a 4sevens quark tactical. it was perfect. simple programming mode with programmable settings. head unscrewed, i set to moderate output, and head screwed down was turbo output. i never needed anything more than that.

but then 4sevens got sold(took me off guard with how involved he was in the forums, and developing products off that), and started it's downward spiral into oblivion-- i think it's been sold off 2 or 3 times over, now owned by prometheus lighting..

started looking around, and ended up with a fenix e18r. the optics package is really interesting to me, still want to order just the raw low profile TIR optics for other purposes. main problem is too many button presses, and it has a specialized magnetic charging port, and a magnetic tailcap. the charging port stopped working the 2nd month i had it, and i'm always wiping crap off the magnets, because i don't work in a clean room.

so i'll give this acebeam a shot for a while. it at least allows me to lock to 1 setting for quick access, which will serve 80% of anything i'll need it for. and i really like that i can change the optics package to anything i want out of carclo's tri-up catalog-- never had a flashlight that customizable before.

[RobertPaulson]

Originally Posted by soundman98

all i can see is that mustang desperately needs a detail job!

Driving about 300 miles through rain and then dust will do that to black paint

well that and the previous owners desire to use a brush to wash the car to create 1 billion swirls. I never kept the car long enough to get it fixed

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by RobertPaulson

Driving about 300 miles through rain and then dust will do that to black paint

well that and the previous owners desire to use a brush to wash the car to create 1 billion swirls. I never kept the car long enough to get it fixed

You should see my frs. I'm happy it's not all shiny and perfect anymore. When it's time, I'll do a full-on paint fix and start over.


That's my plan, at least. She's golden in all the nooks & crannies where it counts.

[cjd]

I still have scratches where I bumped the paint with my headlamp Some of them when the car had less than 5 miles on it (well, that I had driven it... came 'new' with ~300) and at least one I think hit sheet metal.

Also need to adjust the repaired rear spat (hey, cheap mods buying broken stuff!) since it keeps getting pulled away at the upper edge.
The custom quick-release Verus diffuser is holding up nicely though! (4 stock screws, but I added quick-releases at the leading edge and tapped the Mann swaybar mount blocks for the ball-pins... so it's easier than ever to remove for autox)
Might be time to sell off the mods I can though and return to normal car ownership. Well, except then I'd have nearly no reason to drive, ever. Shoes are cheaper than tires though!

[JD001]

Aaaaarrrrrrgghhhhhh... just seen a Xmas advert on TV!!! WTF, It's only bleeding October!!!

[Stephen W.]

Originally Posted by RobertPaulson

Driving about 300 miles through rain and then dust will do that to black paint

well that and the previous owners desire to use a brush to wash the car to create 1 billion swirls. I never kept the car long enough to get it fixed

My black tS sat in a showroom for near on 6 months. It was washed once before going in and then all the sales staff did was take shop cloths and grind the dust into the soft Subaru paint. The car had like 7 km's on the clock and a million swirl marks. (see 1st photo)
It was so unprotected that the water wouldn't run off when the detailer washed it. (see 2nd photo)
I paid to have the paint corrected and ceramic coated. Now water beads up and rolls off (see 3th photo)
And the sun dances off it. (see 4th photo)

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by JD001

Aaaaarrrrrrgghhhhhh... just seen a Xmas advert on TV!!! WTF, It's only bleeding October!!!

I've noticed in large shopping centers here there are always signs up for some promotion. If it's not christmas it's mother's day. If it's not mother's day it's easter. Father's day might get a flogging too. There has to be a reason to go out and spend more money on stuff we don't really need.

[NWFRS]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

I've noticed in large shopping centers here there are always signs up for some promotion. If it's not christmas it's mother's day. If it's not mother's day it's easter. Father's day might get a flogging too. There has to be a reason to go out and spend more money on stuff we don't really need.

I used to wonder what drove that. But now, having lived in a suburban neighborhood for the last few years, I’m beginning to get it. We have neighbors who go in for every type of holiday blow-up doll imaginable. Plastic skeletons as tall as houses. Snoopy driving Santa’s sleigh. Giant cactuses and carousels and things that I can’t even figure out, all running on their own little air pumps from October onward. They use their garages like a mini-storage, so they’re the same ones who can’t park their cars under cover. I can’t figure out if people do it for their children, or for themselves. That kind of consumerism just blows my mind a little.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by NWFRS

I used to wonder what drove that. But now, having lived in a suburban neighborhood for the last few years, I’m beginning to get it. We have neighbors who go in for every type of holiday blow-up doll imaginable. Plastic skeletons as tall as houses. Snoopy driving Santa’s sleigh. Giant cactuses and carousels and things that I can’t even figure out, all running on their own little air pumps from October onward. They use their garages like a mini-storage, so they’re the same ones who can’t park their cars under cover. I can’t figure out if people do it for their children, or for themselves. That kind of consumerism just blows my mind a little.

YOU DON'T WANT TO BE LEFT OUT. SCROOGE.

BUY BUY BUY

JUST LOOK AT WHAT THE NEIGHBORS (that are $40k into debt doing this) ARE DOING. THEY'RE HAVING FUN! DON'T YOU WANT TO HAVE FUN?!?

[NWFRS]

Originally Posted by soundman98

YOU DON'T WANT TO BE LEFT OUT. SCROOGE.

BUY BUY BUY

JUST LOOK AT WHAT THE NEIGHBORS (that are $40k into debt doing this) ARE DOING. THEY'RE HAVING FUN! DON'T YOU WANT TO HAVE FUN?!?

My god. I never thought of it that way.

I’m basically the Grinch.

[soundman98]

lol, my 1 neighbor literally bought everything one could buy for christmas in the past 20 years and 'decorates', err, jams it all onto his front yard-- takes him nearly 2 full days to do. every year.

i don't even bother with lights. if anyone asks, i tell them he's making up for my lack of decoration.