Black Friday is quickly approaching. The comfort of a Thanksgiving meal with family and friends, an afternoon of football and naps on the couch are followed by utter chaos on the city streets as men and women scramble to pick-up the best bargains for holiday gifts this season. Electronic retailers, department stores and outdoor equipment shops will all be hyping up their best gift buys. The unfortunate part will be that you and a hundred other people will all be diving for that same item.

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To the uninitiated, fishing at night may seem a rather foolish venture, since it combines hooks with darkness. However, night fishing is gaining in popularity among experienced anglers for several reasons. First, in hotter climates where the midday sun can scald, it’s often more comfortable to fish in the cooler nocturnal air. Many also prefer the jetboat-free silence of fishing at night. Most important, though, is the activity of the fish themselves: some species, including bass, white bass, crappie are at their most active at night. Longtime fishermen and fisherwomen often find they get more bites at night, especially during the full moon.

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Flashlights have come a long way. The first hand-held electric torches were considered novelty items, and were named “flashlights” precisely because they couldn’t deliver steady light. Russian immigrant Conrad Hubert (nee Akiba Horowitz) is the entrepreneur we have to thank for the transition to reliant flashlights. In 1897, Hubert was struggling to make ends meet in his new homeland. Since he was flat broke, he took work anywhere. He worked in a cigar store and ran a hotel and restaurant. He even repaired watches for a while. But he never seemed to have enough money.

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Today, few Americans could imagine life without flashlights. From changing a flat tire to digging out the camping stove during blackout, you can’t comfortably get along without a trusty flashlight. But as long as you’re going to have one, why not choose the best? These days, flashlights aren’t just tubes with batteries in one end. You want an electric torch with the latest features that’s easy to use.

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Campers and rescue personnel alike have long valued the strobe function on flashlights for emergencies. Recently, however, military and law enforcement agencies have been researching how flashing lights can delay or even completely stop violent attackers. As Derek Valcourt reported on WJZ 13 in Baltimore, the Department of Homeland Security is developing an LED Incapacitator flashlight. Government officials hope to provide this new high performance flashlight as a non-lethal method to control, but not kill, non-cooperative suspects. Powerful flashing lights confuse and temporarily blind attackers. As David Throckmorton of the Department of Homeland security told Valcourt, “In effect what you are trying to do is get the person to close their eyes and make it hard for them to keep being aggressive and coming at you.”

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