nifty gift

[cellio]

Some time ago a friend asked me when my birthday is because he had the "perfect" gift for me. (We don't normally send gifts to each other, but this was an exception.) I'd forgotten all about that until a package arrived recently.

It contained a very nice, hefty flashlight with a good solid grip. That was a little puzzling, but there was more amidst the packing peanuts. The package also contained a copy of the book Defensive Tactics with Flashlights, apparently written for police officers. This looks like a fascinating read (I'm not very far through it yet), and it tickles that "hand-weapon" interest that goes back to my SCA fighting days. As a pedestrian I've sometimes found myself contemplating the defensive properties of umbrellas, too. (And, I learned from Google, "flashlight tactics" is apparently a thing. I had no idea.)

Then I turned the flashlight on and was surprised by a blue beam. A very powerful blue beam (LED). Looking more closely: ultra-blue. That is, it's a "black light". Why is that interesting? Because I see into the UV spectrum, so that light does more for me than for others.

I'm impressed by my friend's ability to combine odd bits of trivia about me in this way. Nifty!

Comments

[tashabear.livejournal.com]

I made sure, when I got a pocket tactical flashlight (http://www.amazon.com/Bonfire-3-Mode-UltraBright-Flashlight-Tactical/dp/B006L7C6L2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380683918&sr=8-1&keywords=tactical+medic+flashlight), that I got one that actuated with my thumb on the butt, that fits in my fist almost perfectly, and that has a "crown" on the lens face called a "strike bezel" in case I needed to pop someone with it. I have no doubt I could do some damage with this thing, but as it's only 5.5" long, I hope I never have to, as they'll be way too close!

I haven't done any self-defense work with it, but I am not surprised that flashlight defense is a thing (and I'd love to try it!). Cane defense is, too, and my sensei taught a young man who used crutches to incorporate them into his martial arts practice. Anything can be a weapon, if you know how to use it. We practice offensive belt techniques a lot. Heck, I got a new CO2 cartridge for my Sodastream today, and I was thinking what an awesome thing it for be for self defense.

I wish more of my female friends lived closer -- I think you guys would really enjoy a self-defense class from my sensei.

[cellio]

From what I've read of your studies, I think you're right that I would enjoy a class with your sensei. It's too bad we live so far apart.

You can see UV light?

[isaac moses (from livejournal.com)]

Are you Geordi La Forge or something? Do you have any other super powers?

Re: You can see UV light?

[cellio]

Probably not very far into the UV spectrum, but definitely some. (Those dark-purple "black lights"? Bright blue.) It turns out that the lenses in your eyes block a lot of it. I have no lenses in my eyes (born with cataracts and implants hadn't been invented yet, not that they could put them in a child's eyes anyway). Glasses lenses block it too, which means I can see some pretty funky effects by looking out over the tops of mine.

While you'd think it would be a cool super-power, aside from seeing better than average by moonlight if there are no city lights in the way, it's mostly a detriment: bright sunlight hurts me more than others (I pretty much have a permanent squint outdoors, even with transition glasses lenses), and expanses of snow on a sunny day a really challenging. (Most people probably don't drive with sunglasses in the winter.)

It's funny you mention Geordi La Forge: I've sometimes commented that the technological advancement that would personally help me the most would be fully-adjustable/programmable glasses, and even if it meant I'd have to look like La Forge I'd gladly do it. I have a complicated combination of vision problems that makes it challenging to get glasses right -- and even so they can only help so much. Being able to make subtle adjustments rather than starting over with a new pair, or switching modes (reading, computer, driving, etc), would be huge.

Re: You can see UV light?

[isaac moses (from livejournal.com)]

You definitely need to become a crime-fighting superhero (assuming you aren't already) at least if only in unlit towns on moonlit nights.

Have you heard of water-filled, adjustable glasses, e.g. http://www.eyejusters.com/glasses/ ? The technology was developed to make it cheaper to distribute glasses in parts of the world that lack enough optometrists to go around, but perhaps they'd partially suit your purposes. Unfortunately, they don't offer adjustment all the way from reading to distance, they don't offer distance glasses on their website at all, and they don't offer variable opacity. I think they do indicate, though, that the future you're hoping for is probably not too far away.


(Heck, now that I think of it, I'm tempted to buy a pair myself as a geeky fashion statement. The only problem is that I require distance glasses, and they won't sell them to me.)

... Digging further, I see that this retailer does sell the "negative reading glasses" version of these as "Emergent Myopic Glasses" - that is, "for emergency use only, because we'd never undermine regulations requiring distance glasses to be manufactured precisely based on a qualified optometrist's prescription ." Tempted again.
http://www.innovativereadingglasses.com/buy_adjustable_reading_glasses.html

... and through Amazon, I discovered another product that does offer adjustability from distance to reading in one pair. (I bet if you did it constantly, though, you'd wear out the moving parts.) Mixed reviews on Amazon.
http://www.adlens.com/products/emergensee/

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

That is an AWESOME gift.

*makes a note to acquire a tactical flashlight*

[chaos-wrangler.livejournal.com]

I'm impressed by my friend's ability to combine odd bits of trivia about me in this way. Nifty!

Nifty indeed!

[goljerp]

Cool gift. And, as far as mostly-useless superpowers go, maybe you could team up with a guy I knew whose super power was "prevent the heat death of the universe".

I suppose if you were really going to use your super powers, you'd need to get a custom-made LED which emitted light only in the part of the UV that you see (but most people don't). Then you could see the evil-doers, who would be blind, blind! (Except, of course, that they would be able to tell you were around because of stuff fluorescing... (see, e.g., http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/f/blblacklight.htm , for a list)

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

That is awesome -- and belated happy birthday!