Things That Work: Fenix Flashlights

Flashlights have come a long, long way since my childhood. It seemed the coolest TV sleuths (Simon and Simon, Magnum P.I., and others) had a super bright and small flashlight to use on their nightly investigations. So the Mini Mag-Lite was obviously the solution for compact portable illumination. Well, maybe it was 15 years ago, but I would hardly call them state of the art today. The LED is king of the flashlight world today.
I appreciate fine tools that do a job and do it well, like a watch or a camera. For most people the watch and camera has been replaced by their phone and that is fine. I've yet to find a flashlight that was anything but a flashlight that was worth talking about and I still (for the moment anyway) prefer for my phone to be a phone.
Back to flashlights. Good LED flashlights are expensive. Some of them are really expensive. So the desire to have a powerful flashlight that was compact and didn't burn through expensive batteries in minutes rather than hours was being suppressed by the fact that I was not going to spend $150 or more dollars on a flashlight.
One piece of good news was that Coleman came out with their Maxx series of LED lights about a year ago. I selected their 115 lumen 2AA model ($26 Wal-Mart) and haven't regretted it. It is a fine flashlight, bright enough to render someone blind at night for several seconds which is a useful feature if the need should ever arise. What did I not like about it? It didn't offer a low power setting that could maximize the battery life. Who needs all 115 lumens all the time? I don't but for $26, I couldn't complain. Besides, the AAs seem to have a fairly long life in this light anyway.

About the same time I bought this flashlight my best friend began working for Fenix. Fenix is relatively new to the flashlight industry and they build high quality flashlights for consumer, military, and law enforcement. He introduced me to their products and I was thoroughly impressed with what I read about and wished that I had saved my money for one a Fenix light. Beside that fact that the Fenix lights were loaded with features, they were considerably cheaper than light from other manufacturers . So much cheaper that I ruled them out from consideration.
The light that I have ended up with is their PD30 model. Its highest setting is 215 lumens! Yes, that is bright. This is not a setting that you want to leave it on for it can damage the light if it is used on this setting for more than 10 minutes. Fair enough. The high setting is 115 lumens and is more than bright enough for most any situation. Fenix, I suppose, was showing off because they included two more lower settings and an S.O.S function and a strobe function as well. Cool. Very cool.
In fair disclosure I did not buy this light. It was a gift to me by my friend. However, comparing price to features with other popular lights it is easy to see that the Fenix lights are a bargain. This particular light's MSRP is $99. Another brand's comparable light is $150. Yes, I will be laying down my money for other Fenix products as need and generosity arises. I can't think of a better gift anyone could have given me and I can't wait to give one to some deserving guy-or gal.

Business is Good! or The World Belongs To Those Who Hustle

How many times in the last two years have we heard how bad the economy is? Every day there is a report in the news about some company needing help, going under, or laying off workers. But is this really the truth? In some ways it is. I, myself lost my job this spring as a result economic conditions in rural Crawford County. There are tens of thousands of workers who have been laid off all over the country. Things are bad or are they?
For some folks the answer to that question is going to be yes. But, my friend, it doesn't have to be. Solomon wrote in the Proverbs that we are supposed to pay attention to the ants. A good friend of mine watched the ants one time and he got a unique insight to their resourcefulness and a really cool story to boot. Solomon said that the ants have no king to lord over them and tell them what to do. They just know. They know that to survive the winter, they need to store food while the food is available in the summer. In my buddy's story, the ants were caught in flood water. Thousands of ants linked their legs so that they became a buoyant ball of ants. Naturally some of the ants were under water, so they crawled to the top of the ball and let other "dry" ants take their place. The ants were working hard to survive in adverse conditions. They were doing what they knew to do to make things turn out for the best.
So what is really going on and what do ants have to do with it? I'm glad I asked. What is really going on is a carefully thought out marketing campaign by the media to ensure they have something to write and talk about. Other than that, it beats me. What I do know is that during the Great Depression there were people who retained their fortunes and people who made fortunes.
All we hear about are those who lost fortunes. Let me ask you a question, when you hear about a major sports event, for instance the recent World Cup of football, do you hear stories about the team that finished second? No, you don't. You hear about the victor, in this case Spain. The sports media will be interviewing the Spanish team, their coaches, and their fans, but you won't see to much about, who was it again? Hmm. I forgot. So why do we see news headlines about losers and sports headlines about winners? News "winners"don't sell newspapers. Winners are doing OK, their business is good, and their employees are happy. Sports winners have conquered a great obstacle; they've beaten the man! And more Americans are much more concerned over their sports teams than they are with what is actually going on. We are a perplexing herd who will believe almost anything the media will tell us.
So, who was it that made fortunes during the Great Depression? People who behaved like the ants in the flood. If they didn't make changes to accommodate the changing environment, they would drown like every other creature who couldn't get out of the way. These are people who are resilient and are ready to adapt to the market's changing conditions. By the way, this very thing is going on right now in the midst of our own economic meltdown.
Solomon goes on to admonish the seeker that if he should choose the path of comfort, the Lay-Z-Boy or Serta Perfect Sleeper, poverty and want would come upon his house like labor comes on the expecting mother. Fast and when she least expects it.
When we choose comfort over the things that give us life, things that exercise our faculties, we choose to fail. The failure often does not come right away but rather when we are good and asleep. The alarm is sounded in our depth of sleep and we are jolted out of bed with the house ablaze and no water in sight.
Was I caught off-guard? Not really. Now I do have certain advantages that a lot of folks do not have. I've actually had to depend on God to supply my needs a time or two in the last six years. So when my superintendent came to me and said I was the low man on the totem pole, I knew things would be OK. I would be where I needed to be at the time I needed to be there. Guess what? I still don't have the surety of a "main gig" and I'm not worried about it in the least. I've taken a lesson from the ants and have been more than willing to expand my horizons and exercise my talents. Who knows, I may come out of 2010 without the need for a "main gig" and that would be alright with me.