Nordstrom

The Best Penlights for Pocket-Friendly Illumination

2019-03-27T07:29:00.000-07:00

Your phone may have a built-in flashlight, but do you really feel comfortable propping your phone inside of your car's engine bay, or against a precarious surface while you work? Maybe it's time to grab a penlight.

When you think of a penlight, what comes to mind? The mechanic digging under the hood of your car? A poor soul looking for lost jewelry in the carpet? A doctor staring up your nose or down your throat? Well, these are some great uses for a penlight, but they can also be used in some modest situations, like looking under the bed or walking around in the dark.

See, penlights have really come a long way. They're smaller than ever, but they can put out as much light as some full-sized flashlights. And while your phone's flashlight may get you through some basic situations, you'd almost always be better off with a super bright, super small penlight. Plus, you can hold a penlight in your mouth for hands-free illuminated work. You can't do that with a phone (or at least you probably shouldn't).

Whether you're a mechanic, an electrical worker, or an average person with the occasional desire to have a flashlight, there's a penlight out there that's perfect for you. But there are a ton of penlights on the market, and it can be hard to find a penlight that fits your needs (additionally, some penlights are absolutely terrible). Luckily, we've done the hard work of sorting through them for you.

Streamlight 661188 Stylus Pro 100 Lumen Penlight

There are a lot of niche penlights on the market, but most people just need a small light that can be used anytime, anywhere. The Streamlight 66118is a 100-lumen penlight that's about the size of a sharpie. It runs on two AA batteries, and it has an IPX4 water-resistance rating, which means that you can use it in the rain.

A small penlight like this can be used for just about anything. Car maintenance? Sure. Jewelry lost in the carpet? This light will help you find it. Kid has a sore throat? You can check it with this light. For $20, you really can't go wrong.

Streamlight 88033 ProTac 250 Lumen Penlight

If you're looking for a super bright penlight that can rival the strength of a larger flashlight, then you should check out the Streamlight 88033. This 250-lumen light is powered by two AA batteries. While it works well for car maintenance and electronics work, it can also be used to get around at night, or to dig for whatever you've lost under your car seat.

The Streamlight company refers to this penlight as a "tactile light," and for good reason. For a 250 lumen light, this thing is surprisingly slim. It also has an IPX7 water-resistance rating, so you can use it in the rain (or dunk it in a meter of water for a half hour, whatever comes first). Plus, the Streamlight 88033 has an 18-lumen low power mode and a strobe mode, so you can use it for quiet bathroom breaks or SOS signals while camping.

Anker Bolder P2 120 Lumen Rechargeable Penlight

Tired of replacing batteries? The Anker Bolder P2 might be your escape from battery hell. It's a micro USB rechargeable 120-lumen penlight, with a durable build and a slim design. The Anker Bolder P2 has an IPX5 water-resistance rating, which means that you can use it during a storm without a worry. While this penlight doesn't have a strobe function (a blessing if you ask me), you can adjust the light to a 40-lumen low-power mode when 120 lumens is a bit too bright.

This is a great, modern penlight that doesn't compromise convenience for usability. It may not be as bright as the Streamlight 88033, or as slim as theStreamlight 66118, but it's definitely worth your time if you're dead set against batteries.

Streamlight 66418 Flexible 90 Lumen Penlight

If you're looking for a penlight that makes car inspections a breeze, then you should check out the Streamlight 66418. It's a 90 lumen penlight with high power, low power, and strobe settings. It's powered by two AA batteries, and it comes with a small magnetic clip that can stick to the inside of your car while you work.

As you've probably noticed, the Streamlight 66418 has a long, flexible head. You can snake this head around the insides of your car to get perfect, hands-free lighting. Or, you can hang the Streamlight's flexible head outside of your shirt pocket, and you can pretend that it's your tiny robot assistant.

Because this penlight has a long neck, there's a chance that it won't feel too cozy in your pocket. If you want a super convenient penlight that can go anywhere, then you might want to grab something smaller, like the Streamlight 66118.

EagleTac D25C 453 Lumen Mini Flashlight

If you want to mix the convenience of a penlight with the illuminating power of a flashlight, then you should check out the EagleTac D25C. It's a tiny (yet powerful) 453-lumen flashlight that runs on CR123A and RCR123A batteries. Like penlights, the EagleTac D25C has a small pen-clip, so it can securely fit in your pocket or bag. Plus, the EagleTac has strobe, SOS, and directional beacon settings.

While penlights have a narrow field of illumination, the EagleTac D25C has a comparably broad range of illumination. Really, this is the perfect light for general use. The EagleTac D25C is great during a power outage, or for rummaging through the corners of your garage at night. And while this light can be used for car maintenance and detailed electronics work, an actual penlight will always be better.

Ausein COB Rechargeable Pocket Floodlight

Ausein

Modern penlights are pretty bright, and they can be used to illuminate the underbelly of a car or to find small jewelry that's fallen on the floor. But, penlights are directional, they can't be used to light up a large space.

If you're looking for a pocket-able light that can illuminate a large space, then you should check out the Ausein COB pocket floodlight. This rechargeable 3 watt light is great for illuminating your whole engine at night, or for getting around the house when the power goes out. It also has a magnetic strip that's good for picking up loose screws, or for sticking to large metal objects, like the hood of your car.

Again, this isn't a penlight. But if you want the form of a penlight and the wide illumination of a floodlight, then the Auesin pocket floodlight is worth 10 bucks.

Should You Use Hubitat to Automate Your Smarthome?

2019-03-26T05:08:00.000-07:00

The first step in building a smarthome is often choosing a hub, and there are many options. Hubitat is a unique cloud-independent hub. It's incredibly powerful, capable, and complicated. But should you use Hubitat in your smarthome?
Hubitat Is a Powerful Hub for Your Smarthome

Hubitat

One thing is still true; there are too many smarthome hubs from which to choose. And while there are hubs you should avoid altogether, Hubitat isn't necessarily one of them: it's complex, perhaps too complex for many people, but has a lot of powerful features.

Hubitat is a true smarthome hub designed to be the center of your automation. It connects to Z-wave and Zigbee, Alexa and Google Home, Lutron and LAN devices. What makes it different from most smarthome hubs is its emphasis on local control and incredibly advanced automations. It boasts a fairly large device integration list, and if you choose wisely, it should be able to control anything you add to your smarthome.

For example, with Hubitat, you could create a set of rules that would dim your lights from 100% to 30% over the period of a half-hour at sunset or 8 PM (whichever is later) and then bring the lights back up slowly at sunrise or 6 AM (whichever is later)—all without any cloud interaction. This will even work if your internet goes down. SmartThings and Wink can't reach that level of complexity, especially while relying only on local control.
Most Hubs Are Cloud-Based, But Hubitat Is Local

Other major smarthome hubs, like Wink and SmartThings, are cloud-first devices with perhaps some local control added afterward. When you tap the button on your phone to turn on the living room light, a signal is sent from your phone to your router and over the internet to the Wink or SmartThings cloud servers. That command is processed and then sent back over the internet to your router and then to your hub. Finally, your hub sends the command to your light. Without some support for local control, this doesn't work when your internet goes down.

Hubitat handles most of the work locally, which offers several benefits. Because your command doesn't have to go over the internet and back, you'll see your lights turn on and off more quickly compared to Wink or Smartthings. If your internet goes down, these locally controlled capabilities will continue to work. And, if privacy is your aim, you'll have more of it since you aren't communicating with a corporation's cloud.

You can, of course, connect some devices that do require the cloud, like Amazon Echo or Google Home, to Hubitat. You'll lose some speed and privacy when you use those devices and anything controlled by them.

One of the other benefits of Hubitat is cost. Once you buy the Hubitat hardware, you're done. Hubitat doesn't force you into ongoing monthly subscriptions to gain functionality; everything it offers is included, even software updates. Hubitat usually sells for $149.95, although right now Hubitat is offering the latest hardware for $99.95.
With Hubitat You Create Complex Automations

Hubitat

Automations are the real smarthome superpower. While we love talking to our homes, Hubitat can make voice control unnecessary. Hubitat allows for advanced triggers and rules. For example, you can set up a rule for the following: Because you walked into the bedroom, and it's after 9 pm, and it's cold tonight, and the heating isn't on, the lights should be activated and dimmed, and the electric blanket should be turned on. If you're usingindividualized presence detectors, you could define that this only occurs if one specific person enters the room.

As another example, with motion sensors in a bathroom and smart bulbs or switches, you could automatically turn the lights on when someone walks in. You could also determine how bright the lights should be depending on the time of day and how long they should stay on before automatically turning off again—and again, the length can depend on the time of day. You can go so far as to add a second motion detector in the shower and have it override the "turn back off" portion of the rule while someone is showering, which means your lights won't turn off when someone is in the shower.

The level of detail and intricacy to these rules and triggers is a reason why the local control is so important. If you step into a room and the light doesn't turn on near-instantaneously, then you'll feel the need to flip a switch manually. At that point, your house doesn't seem so smart anymore. Voice control helps because you won't need to move towards or stumble to find the switch. But fast automations are even better because you don't need to do anything at all. Instead, the house is anticipating your needs.

Simply put, Wink and SmartThings aren't capable of this detailed level of automation. Alexa or Google Assistant routines certainly aren't, either.
Advanced Features Don't Come Easy

Hubitat

Unfortunately, with great power comes great responsibility. In this case, you'll be responsible for making it all happen, and it won't always be easy. When you first set up a Hubitat hub, you'll start by opening up a local webpage. Currently, Hubitat doesn't offer any smartphone apps, they're coming soon, but until then the closest you can get is building a custom dashboard. Once you're viewing the webpage, you'll need to discover your devices, name them, and then start adding apps.

Apps in the Hubitat realm extend its capabilities. You'll need an app for any safety monitor, an app for controlling lights with motion sensors, a rules app to build advanced automations, and so on. The web interface controls all of this. It's like using a router's web interface. You'll spend time clicking menus, choosing dropdowns, and saving changes. That's how it works when everything goes right.

Occasionally, something might not work well, and you'll need to work with code by hand. Hubitat relies on the Groovy programming language for this, and if you're not familiar with coding, then your best bet is to ask help in Hubitat's forums or to reach out for support.

You'll also need to learn how those apps and rules work. Hubitat does have excellent tutorial videos and an active and helpful community. But it's a learning process, and it's a new logic to master. For instance, if you wanted a rule that turned on the porch light when the backdoor is opened but only if the deck lights weren't already on, you'd have to define the rule as "when backdoor open and NOT deck light on." Hubitat's logic is consistent. Once you do learn the ins and outs, you won't spend all your time remastering a new skill. But getting to grips with Hubitat will take time, effort, and the willingness to learn.

And remember, there's no app to quickly access your smarthome devices to turn things off and on with the push of a button—at least right now. The best you can do is build a custom dashboard for your home. The various dashboard options are nice and incredibly intricate, but they do take some more legwork from you. And currently, those dashboards are the only way to enable remote control of your smarthome.
Should You Get Hubitat?

Hubitat

Whether you should choose Hubitat or not comes down to a few basic things: How much effort you want to put in, how much learning you want to do, and how much you like the idea of a truly automated home.

If the idea of accessing your router's settings to make changes to your network intimidates you, then Hubitat—which is even more complicated—may not be for you. If you want something easy, with simple setup and remote control capabilities, you should pass on the Hubitat and consider another option like SmartThings—or Wink, if the company ever gets the Wink Hub back in stock and starts selling it again.

If you are tech-savvy, like to get your hands digitally dirty, and don't mind spending weekends watching tutorials on a new complex skillset, Hubitat is worth considering. And, if you like the idea of a genuinely automated smarthome that anticipates your needs based on your location, the time of day, and other conditional triggers, you should consider bringing Hubitat to your smarthome.

MỘT SỐ ĐỀ ÔN- ĐỀ THI GIỮA KỲ 1 TIẾNG ANH 5

2018-10-19T04:07:00.000-07:00

- Chào mừng quý Thầy Cô và các bạn đến với giaoandethitienganh.blogspot.com( Trang chia sẻ giáo án, đề thi, tài liệu môn Tiếng Anh)

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ĐỀ CƯƠNG ÔN TẬP HỌC KỲ 1 TIẾNG ANH 6-8-9-10 BẢN WORD- BÙI VĂN VINH

2018-10-19T03:36:00.000-07:00

- Chào mừng quý Thầy Cô và các bạn đến với giaoandethitienganh.blogspot.com( Trang chia sẻ giáo án, đề thi, tài liệu môn Tiếng Anh)

- XIN MỜI THAM GIA NHÓM: TẠI ĐÂY

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2018-10-19T00:33:00.000-07:00

Nordstrom

The Best Penlights for Pocket-Friendly Illumination

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