Free Republic

As I near 70, no matter how much I exercise, my grip has become weaker, and this is a problem for consistently pulling pocket knives, small flashlights and small pepper spray out of my pants pocket with 2-3 fingers. I carry them on a Pocket Shield. A bit expensive, but IMHO worth it. (Belt carry isn't legal, and too problematic where I live, and yes I am working to move...) I noticed that I have less trouble with a larger flashlight that has aggressive knurling, but that light is realistically too large and too heavy for daily pocket carry). Was...

If you’ve managed to make it this far in life without quite figuring out what demographic boxes to tick on the Census form, a recent working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research might have some clues for you. According to the Washington Post, University of Chicago economists Marianne Bertrand and Emir Kamenica “taught machines to guess a person’s income, political ideology, race, education, and gender based on either their media habits, their consumer behavior, their social and political beliefs, and even how they spent their time.” The results are, at times, surprisingly granular and seemingly nonsensical: Owning...

I've seen some ads recently for the Shadowhawk X800 LED Flashlight. I was wondering if any FReepers own this, or anything like it, and if you think it was worth the money.

Micro-Prepping: Final Call. If you're reading these pages, you know it's coming. You probably also think it's close -- very close.

Ozark Trail is a lower end brand marketed at Walmart.  Just because something is inexpensive does not mean that it cannot work well.   Value for the time spent is an important consideration.  Flashlight technology has advanced so rapidly with light emitting diodes (led) that inexpensive lights of today can easily outperform expensive lights of a few years ago. I have been looking for a light that is very bright, so it could temporarily blind an assailant at  night, yet be tough enough to use as a makeshift  blunt instrument if necessary. My brother recommended this light to me, as...

...and earns spot in Google Science Fair finals This girl's science project really puts your baking soda volcano to shame A 15-year-old girl in Canada has invented a flashlight that only needs the warmth of the hand to turn on. Ann Makosinski, a high school junior in Victoria, British Columbia, was trying to think of a way of harvesting untapped energy when she was inspired to make the flashlight. She realized that the warmth generated by the human body was an overlooked energy source. Her project objective was to create a flashlight that ran solely off the heat of the...

<p>The Transportation Security Administration announced Tuesday that U.S. airline passengers will soon be allowed to carry small knives in their carry-on bags, a move that prompted swift condemnation from a flight attendants union.</p> <p>The union for Southwest Airlines flight attendants called the decision "dangerous" and "designed to make the lives of TSA staff easier, but not make flights safer."</p>

If you have experience and/or knowledge of tactical flashlights please share with us. BrandsModelsLumensBattery TypePrice

Flick the switch on these flashlights and they don’t light up. They blow up. Three of these bombs have exploded within the last month in the Phoenix area, causing minor injuries to five people and raising fears of more serious ones. Police still have no idea who is behind them and have taken the unusual step of putting up 22 billboards across the sprawling metro area to warn residents about discarded flashlights. “The nature of the bombings are so random,” said Tom Mangan, a special agent at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Phoenix. An explosive...

The first question some may ask is “Why?”  Those of us who are LED addicts say “Why the hell not?”  This guy literally took 500 bright white LEDs and created his own giant 50W flashlight.  While it may have been just ever so slightly overkill, it’s still an impressive build.  Can you imagine soldering all of those 500 LEDs?! Don’t Miss: DIY Super-Powered Flashlight Beam****************************************************************************Youtube Video of the Construction and Demostration at the website.... *********************************************************************************** As you can tell in the video above, it has an absurd amount of controls for various brightness settings.  Heck, it could even be a...

Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Dining Services Earth Hour Event: On Saturday, March 27, at 8:30 p.m. Shafer Court Dining Center and Jonah’s will take part in Earth Hour — the world’s largest climate change event. By simply turning out all nonessential lighting for one hour, Dining Services will join tens of millions of concerned citizens through...out the world in calling for action to save the planet. The locations will remain open, but with limited lighting during this hour. For more information about the VCU event, contact tmhighsmith@vcu.edu.

By now, just about everyone and their mother should be aware that Bushmaster Firearms (now wholly owned by seemingly unstoppable and more-than-a-little-ominous, voracious and rapacious gun-company-gobbling juggernaut Cerberus Capital Management, L.P.) will be manufacturing the multi-caliber MagPul Masada assault rifle/carbine under the name "Adaptive Combat Rifle", or "ACR" for short. But another MagPul item has been getting a good bit of press since the show, as well, and that's the slick little MagPul FMG9 (or, FMG-9) prototype folding 9mm Parabellum (9x19mm NATO ) mini / micro-submachine gun (SMG) that utilizes a Glock 17 slide and any factory Glock 9mm magazine,...

It looks like a big flashlight — but it's really a nonlethal weapon designed to make you sick. Intelligent Optical Systems, Inc., of Torrance, Calif., has been granted a contract by the Department of Homeland Security to develop what it calls the "LED Incapacitator," according to a DHS online newsletter. The handheld device using light-emitting diodes to emit super-bright pulses of light at rapidly changing wavelengths, causing disorientation, nausea and even vomiting in whomever it's pointed at.

New LAPD flashlights are too small to be used as weaponsLOS ANGELES The L-A-P-D has decided that smaller is better when it comes to flashlights.Police Chief William Bratton is scheduled to unveil new flashlights today that are brighter than the ones they use now, but too small to be used as a weapon.  The idea for the new ten-inch torch was conceived just days after news cameras broadcast images of L-A-P-D officers beating a car-theft suspect with a two-pound, two-foot long standard issue flashlight.  Bratton banned the large flashlights after the 2004 beating and called for manufacturers to create...

Less Lethal Options for Today's Law Enforcement Challenges Sponsored by TASER International with Major Steve Ijames Integrating less lethal concepts with high tech illumination devices Everyone knows the flashlight is an indispensable tool, and those using one in law enforcement as of late have been fully indoctrinated into the politically correct "illumination only" aspect of its design and intended use. Likewise, those who have been around the business more than a few years can remember when the flash light was used for lighting up more than the night. As a new officer in April of 1979, I had the privilege...

LOS ANGELES - The city's police commission unveiled a plan Tuesday aimed at discouraging officers from using flashlights as weapons, except in emergencies. The proposal comes months after a telvised beating by Officer John Hatfield showed him striking a motorist 11 times following a foot chase. The June 23 incident sparked widespread objection to the use of flashlights as weapons. "Officers don't mind being held accountable as long as they have a clear policy to follow, and that's what we're providing here," said Alan Skobin, vice president of the police commission. The proposed policy, to be considered Jan. 11, stops...

No One Lights Up a Room Like Ted By DAVE BARRY BOSTON -- In a moment I will provide you with complete details on exactly what has been happening here at the Democratic National Convention (nothing). But first here is an Urgent Code Red Terrorism Update: They took away my flashlight. I am serious. As you may recall, along with my colleagues, I was issued an Anti-Terrorism Kit consisting of an evacuation hood, a whistle and a flashlight. I was carrying this kit when I went through the security checkpoint at the FleetCenter. (For security reasons, the space between ''Fleet''...