Observations

I use 2 tools on an almost everyday basis that have changed my life.

Twitter

At first I was hesitant to use Twitter. The whole idea of micro blogging seemed like a gimmick that nobody needed.  But I have come to realize Twitter is not so much about Tweeting yourself, but rather following important people in real time.

It gives you the opportunity to follow famous or highly influential people and be on the cutting edge of the latest news and research. I use Twitter to follow people who spend their whole lives dedicated to a topic I am interested in.

It’s a way to hack your life somewhat.  You can take advantage of the knowledge someone else discovered through lots of trial and error and reap the benefits!  Having a convenient Twitter app on your phone is so handy when you are simply waiting on life, waiting at the bank, waiting for a train, or waiting for a meeting to start.

You can stop wasting time and start learning something that could change your life in a big way.  Get a Twitter account right now and follow these people to get started as there is very little dribble and mostly packed full of useful information…

Kevin Rose (founder of Digg.com, Tea Enthusiast, Host of Diggnation, Host of the Random Show, Host of Foundation)
Tim Ferriss (NYT Best Selling Author of the Four Hour Work Week, and The 4 Hour Body)
Dr Weil MD (Founder of Integrated Medicine, author of articles on Huffington Post, restaurant owner, author)

You can see who else I follow on Twitter, by clicking that link or following me.
(Although I don’t have much to Tweet about)

Everyday I get a stream of interesting links and articles to read, so much so that I have needed another tool to keep track of everything.  Which brings me to…

Delicious (or other social bookmark website)

I find stuff everyday that I find interesting but most of the time I don’t have the time, or the mental capacity to remember a “book recommendation” or interesting “Christmas present” or bottle of “Wine” that I should try.  That’s why social bookmarking is the way to go.   Say for instance someone you are following on Twitter, or a friend of yours recommends a book to you.  If your like me, it takes you a month (or longer) to read a book and in that time, you will lose that book recommendation on a little piece of scrap paper somewhere on the back of a billing statement that you threw away last week… probably.

God knows you could bookmark it in your browser, but chances are that will get cluttered really quickly and then what do you do when you want to look at that bookmark when you’re at work, or on a cell phone? 

This is where social bookmark sites like Delicious kick ass.  You simply click a button in you browser and it stores the page your at on Delicious.com to your account, which you can access from any web phone or computer.  ANYWHERE.  You also can tag it with a word, in this case I tag it as “books”.   Now when I finally finish my first book, I can log into Delicious and click on the tag “books” and up comes 18 more that I found interesting enough to save.  It’s super handy for keeping track of books you want to read, movies you want to watch, documentaries that are interesting to you, Christmas presents, health information and articles, stuff you want to buy, and so on.   You can also check mark the bookmark and mark it private so that only you can see it.

It’s so useful to keep track of everything, I have no idea why I didn’t embrace this 6 years ago.   You can see things I have bookmarked, here… http://www.delicious.com/justinrueth

This is a review of the first generation Blackburn Flea.
(without solar/USB charger)

Earlier this year I reviewed a bunch of new designs. Blackburn, a favorite of mine for years, was one of the first places I checked. Having owned other Blackburn products before I have always been happy with the performance. The design and price point had been the motivating factors in my previous purchase of the Blackburn Quadrant and Mars 3.0 two years ago.

Since then two of my friends purchased the Cateye HL-EL220 and in a side by side comparison appeared to be a bit brighter than my Quadrant. I figured it is time for something new. I began the day going to 3 local bike shops and checking out the selection of lights. I was determined to buy the Cateye my friends had, when I saw the Flea on the shelf. They had one set up on a display as well, and I was immediately shocked by the small size of the light. It was unbelievably small. Literally smaller in size, than my Cyclometer.

The design was amazingly simple and efficient; it resembled a miniaturized hood scoop on a mustang and looked badass, in an all black. The brightness of this tiny light was just incredible. I really expected it to be a bit dimmer than my Quadrant, but it was actually, BRIGHTER!

Blackburn Quadrant Versus Flea (Off)

Blackburn Quadrant Versus Flea (On)

The size of this light and the amount of brightness they pack into it made it a great design in my book, and it immediately became a contender.

Blackburn Mars 3.0 Versus Flea (Off)

Blackburn Mars 3.0 Versus Flea (On)

Traditionally the downside to small lights is the price and life of the battery inside it. Watch batteries can be about $5 dollars a piece and don’t last as long as typical AA and AAA batteries. But since it is rechargeable that isn’t a problem, and it comes with a charger. The charger is even smaller than the light itself, and comes in a little rubber pouch.

Flea Charger and Pouch

The manual says you can charge the internal battery on the Flea using any alkaline, NiCad, or Lithium Ion battery (except 9V). Depending on the battery you are using you can charge the Flea up to 30 times off of a single D cell battery!

That can be really handy especially since the charger is so small you can keep it in your bike pack, and literally recharge it in while on the trail during the day.

It’s also handy while traveling I don’t have to carry a large 4 battery charger with me, and have to carry a cigarette adapter with me as well.

I love that 1 tiny rechargeable lithium ion watch battery is all the weight you carry with the light. My old Blackburn Quadrant uses 4 AA’s which makes it clunky and a bit in the way. The Flea being so small and having no removable parts on it makes it feel more robust. In the way solid state hardrives are more robust than their disc counterparts. Being incredibly light weight, it doesn’t move around as you hit bumps in the road, or pot holes.

The Flea also uses a Velcro band to attach it to the bike which cuts weight even more, and won’t break over time, like plastic clips can. The rubberized plastic strip on one side keeps it from sliding around once attached to the handlebars or seat post.

Flea Velcro Straps

Now for the cons. I had only 2 issues with this design. First, the tail light is hard to point in the direction you want and has a tendency to point more at the ground than behind you do to the angle of the seat-post. I would still recommend the Mars 3.0 tail ahead of the Flea, even though the Flea is brighter. Second, it took about 4 hours to charge each light. In the past I was ready to go in a half an hour, with a charger that charges 4 batteries at a time in just 15mins. But if you’re smart and plan ahead this shouldn’t cause much of a problem.

All in all it is a great design, its extremely low profile, makes it remarkably portable and convenient, It’s brightness rivals or beats, comparable AA or AAA powered LED lights. I would highly recommend this light for people who bike at dawn or dusk, or who want the added visibility a light draws during the daytime. However if you are a person who rides quickly, in or near blackout conditions, or off road, I would suggest something a little more powerful.
Purchased @ Local Bike Shop

Flea Headlight: $32.99
Flea Taillight: $32.99
Pair: $59.99