Perhaps medical science should give this affliction a name. I suggest "Gadget Collectionicitus", or something of the sort.
Having identified [created] the problem, I'd like to talk about my chronic sufferings. It is an insidious disease.. it starts out one day with buying one neat toy.. then progresses to buying a much more expensive toy.. then another.. and another.. ad infinitum. Pretty soon you realize you're pretty much broke and swimming out from a mountain of stuff every day. So, to satiate my need to buy more, I'll describe my collection to you, the unknowing victim of my shameless self promotion.
Gadgets of every shape, color (typically black), and size (usually handheld) exist in my collection. I'm not sure what draws me to these wonderful devices, but this need to collect it is known to affect a significant portion of the male population. Proponents of a Freudian approach have their explainations, but I'll let them explain for themselves. For me, it's nice knowing that I can deal with almost any situation through technology. Or perhaps it's the preferred way of gaining social superiority in the civilized world (hasn't worked for me). At any rate, gadgets are wonderful things, and I'd like to take this part of the website to showcase and describe the most useful/neat gadgets in my collection.
Of the gadgets I have, I can actually credit this device with having saved my hide.
Pretty darn neat! Just like those expensive chemical lights you might buy at a camping stores, except that they're battery powered, a little dimmer, and last a lot longer. They take two AA batteries, available at your local corner mart. I use mine for reading in the dark (you need to let your eyes adjust first), finding my way around the house at night (won't wake people up like turning on lights, and won't kill your nightvision like a flashlight does), and for astronomy, where a somewhat dim light is required. In this last respect, it shines brightest [cough, gag], despite its green color, which is decisively against astronomy doctrine (red light is just so useless, imho). I still have the same pair of batteries I put in them the day I got it, and it's been on overnight more than 5 times, aside from my regular use.
If you're at all into a hobby dealing with any hardware of any sort, this is something you NEED. I've used mine for everything from cutting antenna elements (cutting wheel at 35,000 rpm), to polishing a feed ramp on a rifle (felt buffing wheel, 10,000 rpm), and removing bloodletting burrs from the inside of my computer case (sanding drum, 15,000 rpm). A godsend and a bargain at whatever price.
Supposedly made at Novosibirsk for use with the KGB, this little gem is top-notch quality.