This cool mug from this cool nerd.
A bunch of low self-discharge NiMH batteries. Trying to wean us off alkalines for most things.
Some more light sources, to be powered by said batteries. Various hands-free lights, and some LED retrofits to fit in our old incandescent-based 2xD cell flashlights.
And three of these "Joule Thief" based boards that can draw usable power from "dead" alkaline batteries for days. I've been meaning to build my own but it keeps getting put on the back burner, so I just broke down and bought some that more industrious nerd made for sale. These also stand upright on their own.
Gonna be honest, most of the battery and light purchases were because of Zeta knocking out our power for more than a day and our reliance on big candles to light the house during the night when most of battery-powered stuff would have been run down.
I already had a couple of "30 day" LED lanterns, but still got nervous about having enough reserve batteries for other things. On the plus side, I have been needing a couple of new lights (a headlamp, some magnetic utility lights) and I've been wanting to do something about our old flashlights for a while now. Plus I have more devices running on NiMH batteries than before and like to have a few pre-charged to rotate in. That way I can save the alkalines as long-term backups, reducing battery purchases for things that run on AA/AAAs.
