The first time we featured the First Alert SRC500 Storm Light on BuyersHQ.com was back in January, right after Haiti was devastated by an earthquake.  In an effort to do our part to help, Buyers HQ donated a portion of each sale that day to the Red Cross’ relief efforts.  In the grand scheme of things, our donation was small, but we did our best.  Thanks to everyone who purchased a storm light/radio in January, and if you missed your chance, today’s your lucky day!

So, two months later, how is Haiti doing now?  Well, they’re still in very rough shape, as you can imagine.  The island nation is in a holding pattern as it awaits a March 31 international donors’ conference in New York with the hope of kick-starting the reconstruction effort.  According to a draft summary of the Haitian government’s damage and needs assessment released last week, Haiti will need $11.5 billion to build anew.

Today, about 1.2 million Haitians have temporarily resettled in some 460 tent-city encampments in the Port-au-Prince area. About 40 percent still do not have tents or tarpaulins.  Haiti’s rainy season begins in April.  To get involved with Haitian relief efforts, we recommend you visit http://www.RedCross.org.

Thanks to today’s daily deal, you can now have the power of 2 million candles in the palm of your hand for the low, low price of only $23.99.  I think we can all agree that that’s way less than what 2 million candles would cost you, so you’re coming out way ahead on this deal.  Plus, where would you even put two million candles?  It’s not as if any fire marshal in the country is going to allow 2 million lit candles inside any building anywhere.  Outdoors, then?  How do you propose to keep them all lit?  Screw the candles.  I’m getting the cordless rechargeable spotlight instead!

I have to say, I’m having a great time thinking of all the fun things I’m going to do with a two-million-candle power spotlight once it finally arrives.  Maybe I’ll build a makeshift stage in the basement, aim the spotlight at it, and pretend I’m Ted Nugent ripping out a solo on tour with Damn Yankees.  Better yet, maybe I’ll just stop paying my light bill and just use the spotlight to light my home after dark!

Heck, maybe I’ll just bring it on by the local candle-maker’s shop just to show off how obsolete he’s become.  Then I’ll hand him a spotlight of his own, all wrapped up in holographic paper because we’re living in the future now.  Sure, he’s a complete stranger and everything, but for $23.99, I can afford to give a few away!

Here on the Gulf Coast, tornadoes, tropical storms, and even hurricanes are a fact of life.  During hurricane season in the summertime, everybody stocks up on plywood, non-perishable foods, batteries, and liquor just in case we have to face a few days without electricity.  It’s a bit of a pain, sure, but a little preparation goes a long way if the power lines go down.

There’s a pretty easy way to tell people who have been through a week without power from people who haven’t.  You see, when people plan ahead for life without electricity, they usually worry about the food in the fridge or whether or not the radio has fresh batteries inside of it.  It’s easy to forget about mankind’s greatest electrical invention:  air conditioning!  Do you have any idea how hot and steamy it is in the aftermath of a tropical storm?  If you don’t pray you never find out.  That’s why all experienced weather warriors keep a few battery-powered fans in their emergency kits.  Our deal of the day today is doubly useful, because it’s got a flashlight included, too.  That means you can read at night without worrying about the humidity created by your profusely sweating body curling the pages.  Nice!

Every adventurer needs a pack of supplies—heck, even Bear Grylls carries a backpack and a knife.  The Meade 6-Piece Outdoor Adventure Pack Set includes pretty much everything you need to survive camping in the woods, hiking in the mountains, or navigating down the river.  But not all adventures take place outdoors!  Some involve spending time with your insane relatives over Christmas vacation.  Strangely, there are few adventure packs marketing on the Web that cater to these challenges.  If I was tasked with assembling an adventure pack to assist you in surviving Christmas with the in-laws, though, here’s what I’d put inside of it:

•  One extra present for your wife’s cousin’s new redneck boyfriend. Sunflower seeds are always a good choice.
•  One secret flask of bourbon to be deployed when the yelling starts.
•  One children’s Tylenol to give your hyperactive nephew when no one’s looking.  Puts ‘em right to sleep!
•  One pan of Rice Krispie Treats.  Mother-in-law still hasn’t realized that fruit in gelatin is NOT a valid desert. 
•  One list of excuses as to why you cannot stay an additional day, including “we boarded the dog” and “taxes are too high!”

What adventure supplies do you find are necessary to surviving Christmas with your family?

Flashlights never seem that important until you really, really need one.  I found that out the hard way after Hurricane Ike last year.  After the massive storm smashed into the Gulf Coast, the region’s power grid was a mess.  Something like 90% of the South Texas coast had no electricity.  When the power company has a system-wide outage like that, it’s going to take a minute to fix.  In the storm’s wake, there were electrical trucks all over the place, patching up torn lines, replacing felled poles, removing the debris from power stations, and pumping the water out of generators all over the city.  I didn’t have power in my home for eight days.

When you don’t have power for eight days, you realize how boring life must have been before electricity.  There was nothing to do but eat, drink, and talk.  Remembering the relatively light blow my home had been dealt by Hurricane Rita a couple of years prior, I hadn’t stocked up on electric lights or batteries.  When the sun went down, I went to bed.  There was no TV to watch and there wasn’t even enough light to read.  I learned my lesson.  Now I have a hurricane tool kit that includes several rechargeable flashlights like the RoadPro MPLK-501 Grip Power LED. Hurricane season was pretty quiet this year, but I know that someday that hard, cold wind will come calling again.

Why is it, exactly, that it’s impossible to find a flashlight when you need one? It’s generally agreed that there are three places where you should always keep a flashlight: in the kitchen, in your bedside drawer, and in your car.  Over the years, I’ve bought all kinds of flashlights. Small ones, heavy ones, halogen lights, xenon lights—I don’t know what happened to any of them. They were all right there, taking up space where they were supposed to be, until I needed one.  Even if I managed to somehow locate one, the batteries would be dead. I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t put them back right away after I used them or what, but I must have spent thousands of dollars over the years buying more stupid flashlights I was just going to lose.

That’s why the RoadPro AC/DC Rechargeable 12 Million Candle Power Utility Light is so perfect for me.  Sure, it’s got enough light output to give you a suntan, and that’s important in emergency situations.  But what I like best about it is that it’s too big to lose! It’s light enough to be portable, but it’s big enough that it’s hard to miss. This thing isn’t going to get lost in the couch cushions, am I right?  And I don’t have to worry about the batteries dying, because it’s rechargeable. Even if the power is out, I can always charge it up with the DC outlet in my car.  It’s foolproof.  And I never have to buy another flashlight again.

Two weeks ago, my buddy earl bet me $50 that I couldn't catch a snipe in one month.  After 4 un-successful trips I figured it was time to give myself an advantage. I purchased the Fine Tool 20 LED cordless flashlight. With the 20 LEDs I can see no matter how dark it is. At $11.95 I had enough money to purchase a six pack of beer. When I catch that snipe, I will still make a hefty profit as long as Earl pays up.

"Did you hear that Earl? You better have my $50 ready"

Your Buddy,

Bubba Ray