欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記

The 6th Year annual maintenance cost me dearly!
I paid a bit more than 400 euro for this maintenance service. This time besides the regular oil change, the radiator fluid seems to have been changed.

Picking up the packages at the post office
I did. One was the Streamlight™ Stinger HP from the United States of America and the other was a small electric board that would work inside my iPod Classic in place of ailing 1.8-inch HDD.

The Stinger HP was in a great cosmetic condition. I found no scratches nor any dents on it. When I turned it on, it did not light up. The battery must have been depleted, so it seemed. The battery was consequently placed in the charger in its dedicated place (one of the chargers that I own is a piggy back charger). I waited for hours before it got fully charged to whatever capacity left on it.

The reason for this impromptu purchase its serial number. The serial number was a prime number 49261. It was not because the price was low nor it looked beautiful. I purchased an Ultra Stinger just a while ago because of the same reason (the serial number is a palindromic prime number). This Ultra Stinger has a lot of scratches and dents but still it is valuable to me.

I put a working battery in it and, voila, it worked! The bulb turned out to be fine.

It is really incredibly beautiful indeed. No blemish! Despite its beautiful disguise, it must be old since it has "Made in USA" etching on its battery compartment cap. Newer models are made in "China" and carry no "Made in USA" letters at all.

My collection so far is;
1. Stinger serial #02610 - "MADE IN USA" "NORRISTOWN PA"
(converted by me into "Classic" with Streamlight genuine LED conversion kit)

2. Stinger serial #1593844 - "MADE IN USA" = "MADE IN CH*NA" "EAGLEVILLE PA"
3. Stinger HP serial #038994 - "MADE IN USA" "EAGLEVILLE PA"
4. Stinger HP serial #049261 - "MADE IN USA" "EAGLEVILLE PA"
5. Ultra Stinger serial #093139 - "MADE IN USA" "EAGLEVILLE PA"
6. Ultra Stinger serial #354145 - "MADE IN USA" = "MADE IN CH*NA" "EAGLEVILLE PA"

"NORRISTOWN PA" looks very cool!

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Oil Chage after one year! ]の続きを読む

テーマ:自動車の整備＆修理 - ジャンル:車・バイク

1. 2023/09/29(金) 18:28:29|
2. Mazda MX-5
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Pixel 7 System Update September 1st
I did not notice it until Today (September 20, 2023). I think I checked for the update a couple of times since the beginning of September but somehow I did not see it.

I don't know how it improves the functionality of the phone or what bug it crashes. I just hope it is for the better.


The nose hair cutter worked!
I am not here to plug it but I just want to write that I am happy the way it works quite well. The best part (yet to be tested with time but ) is it does not need any additional power like battery cells. It is made of seemingly stainless steel so it won't rust easily and will last for some time.

My choice was a hand-operated cutter. I could have chosen even cheaper electric one but I chose the one with least chance of failure.

This product carries a logo of "Benma" and a part horse picture. If you Google it, you will swiftly find what it means.

"Kenichi" Breden from Luxembourg (LSAP)
It was a couple of weeks ago that I found a poster hung on a roadside tree, traffic sign or something on my way to work in the morning. They suddenly started to appear in the area where I currently work. They (similar ones) were already seen in the capital area much earlier.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Luxembourg

This is the Wikipedia description of political party system in Luxembourg. I was taken a back when I saw a communist party listed there and seemed to be even "legal". WTF? OK, communist parties are not too foreign to me, a Japanese citizen, as we do have a communist party in Japan and they do have seats in the big house (Congress) and also everywhere in big and small cities and towns in Japan.

I have heard or seen names like;
DP (Democratic Party), CSV (Christian Social People's Party) and LSAP (Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party). These English translation words do not match thier preceding acronyms as they could be Luxembourgish acronyms.

I found Madame "Yuriko Backes" in an article that appeared on the Google recommended news a while ago. She was born in Japan and partly raised in Japan (but not in Japanese educational system).

Anyway, back to the poster incident. They were political posters from LSAP and my eyes spotted a name on one of the posters in passing (I was driving the car at 50 km/h). "Kenichi" is not a normal (I mean, is not a typical "Western" name) name for a Westerner. I thought, "who is this man?. Ken-Ichi is a popular and typical Japanese name for men and his face does have some trace of Asiatic features. Does his mother come from Japan?

I put a hyphen between "Ken" and "Ichi" as they are two separate words. It should be read Ken-Ichi but not Keni-Chi as most Westerners would easily. As a name it is one word but still it consists of two words. Ken could be anything (hahaha, as I don't know the exact word or "Kanji" in Japanese) but Ichi is one, numerical one or 1. He could be the first son of the family as he has 1 in his name, which can not be the case (for him or any Japanese men). Ken could be "healthy", "loyal", "knowledge" or other words. You don't want to know how this could be but that is the way Japanese language works.

I searched for his name on the net and found that he is a son of Luxemoburgish farmer who raises with his son Japanese bulls for meat. It does not mention his mother but I assume she is Japanese.

If he is elected successfully, he could be a second Luxembourgish politician who have a Japanese name.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Pixel 7 update September 1st]の続きを読む

1. 2023/09/25(月) 17:40:46|
2. Diary
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Streamlight™ Stinger HP
Yes, I am a failure and can not control myself. I bought another useless Streamlight Stinger HP for no reasons. The reason for choosing this one was that it had a prime number for its serial number but it does not justify my decision to buy it. I did not need it at all.

Judging from the serial number (#049261), it could be old but it looks still impecably beautiful with almost no scratch marks or scuffs. It comes with the battery but the seller claimed that she/he could not assure that it would work as she/he did not have a charger to charge the battery. It could have a blown bulb. Its battery could be dead. It does not matter to me.

In fact, my (of my two Ultra Stingers) Streamlight™ Ultra Stingers feel good in my hand with only one 18650 cell inside. It feels light and agile.

I do own a used (but still able) Streamlight 6 V (1.2 V x 5 sub-C cells) battery pack but it makes the whole Ultra Stinger too heavy.

This is the second Stinger HP for me.


Red Notice (2021)
In the scene where the two protagonists discovered the secret hidden vault and descended there to uncover what was hidden there, the two of them seemed to be using two identical flashlights. They (flashlights, here) seemed to me Streamlight HPL flashlights or at least very similar flashlights.

"Five-second rule" was mentioned in the subsequent scene.

five second rule
noun

1. The thesis that food fallen on the ground remains equally edible and healthful if lifted therefrom within five seconds.

Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.


"The five-second rule, or sometimes the three-second rule,[1] is a food hygiene myth that states a defined time window after which it is not safe to eat food (or sometimes to use cutlery) after it has been dropped on the floor or on the ground and thus exposed to contamination."
Wikipedia


I don't know what this movie aimed at in its making. Clearly "Indiana Jones" was one of them.

Hudson Hawk (1991)? (Lara Croft) a.k.a. Tomb Raider?

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Streamlight™ Stinger HP and Lamborghini Miura]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

1. 2023/09/18(月) 17:23:30|
2. Bike Races
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The fate of 32 Stinger HP flashlights
The ebay auction is ending and I am watching it.

The bid went up to $ 392 and ended. I was just watching and never participated in the bidding. I was just curious.

So this supposedly guy (or could be gal) paid $ 392 for 32 pieces of flashlights and this makes $ 12.25 a piece. A nice deal!


Why are there DIY lens replacement reports of Streamlight (Ultra) Stingers?
I have been searching for some reports or expecting to find ones on the Internet but the searches were in vain.

Occasionally I found some discussion talks on some forum sites like Reddit but the discussion ends in some person mentioning seeking some professional help (authorized service dealers or such).

Mag-Lite flashlights (like my 4 C-cell type) have a threaded ring to hold the lens (along with the sealing o-ring) and of course it is easy to replace the lens.

On the other hand, Streamlight (Ultra) Stinger's reflector housing bell (I don't know the official name of it) does not have a moving part at all. Its lens and reflector (a shiny conical metal part) don't move at all. I believe they (lens, sealing o-ring and the reflector) are pressed into the groove.

Removing the lens may release the o-ring and the reflector. I don't know whether this is the case.

My latest ebay purchase, Streamlight Ultra Stinger #093139 has a very much scratched lens and they (spider's web-like scratches) are very much visible on the wall when I flash on the wall. Additionally, the center of the lens has a peak. I assume that the heat from the filament bulb melted the plastic (?) lens.

How did it happen? If you use the flashlight too long (as long as the battery lasts), does this happens?

I would like to replace the lens if possible.

Lumens Factory's LED upgrade

I have been interested in the "Lumens Factory" LED upgrade product for Streamlight Ultra Stinger. If I were to get it, I can use it on my Stinger HP or Ultra Stingers. The nice part of this LED upgrade is that it can take either 3.6 V or 6 V DC current. It means that I can use a Lithium-ion 18650 cell to power it up.

I like my Ultra Stingers whether they have a serial number of a prime or non-prime number (#093139 and #354145 = 5x11x47x137) but the its full weight with the genuine Streamlight battery is a tad too much. I don't like it.

I made a makeshift temporary 18650 Stinger battery adapter and it works. I tried it with my Stinger HP (a filament bulb) or Ultra Stingers (a filament bulb from Stinger HP). It makes the total weight way smaller and also makes the flashlight feel light in hand.

Am I going to buy this Lumens Factory LED upgrade? Possibly in near future.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [The fate of 32 Stinger HP flashlights]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

1. 2023/09/12(火) 15:01:36|
2. Diary
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Update on this ebay auction items

I kept staring at these numbers and found one more thing. Number 06 and 07 are separated by two. Number 34543 is the one between them. And lo and behold! It is a prime number and palindromic.

01. 034346

02. 034378

03. 034384

04. 034393 = 163 x 211

05. 034403 = Prime number

06. 034542

The number between 06. and 07. is #034543. And it is a prime number and palindromic number, either. What a shame that this one is missing from here!

07. 034544

08. 034586

09. 034658

10. 034667 = Prime number

11. 034740

12. 034752

13. 034888

14. 034956

15. 035007 = 3 x 7 x 1667

16. 035016

17. 035024

18. 035044

19. 042373 = Prime number

20. 051605 = 5 x 10321
21. 051606

22. 051630
23. 051631 = Prime number

24. 062452

25. 070918

26. 070954

27. 074364

28. 074380

29. 074408

30. 079903 = Prime number (a twin prime number with 79901)

31. 099719 = Prime number (a twin prime number with 99721)

32. 142598


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ
[Prime number bonanza part II]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

1. 2023/09/07(木) 22:42:53|
2. Diary
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Prime numbers bonanza!

There is an interesting listing on ebay at the moment, well at least interesting to me.

There is a lot of f*cking 32 Streamlight Stinger HP being on auction now (as of the writing, September 6th, 2023). Where do they come from?

Anyway, the seller painstakingly collected all the serial numbers from those flashlights and listed in the description. I picked them up and checked to see if I could find something even more interesting. And I did.

First of all, they (serial numbers) were not in a series but seemingly in a random order. I sorted them out and also checked any of those odd numbers were prime numbers (except those ending in 5).

Findings: (assuming that these numbers were collected correctly)

There were 6 (six) prime numbers among these serial numbers.
05, 10, 19, 23, 30, 31.

There were two pairs of consequent numbers.
20 and 21, 22 and 23.

So number 23 (#051631) had a prime number serial number and had its consequtive (or subsequent) younger even number sibling.

79901 is also a prime number. This means that 79901 and number 30. 79903 are twin prime numbers.

99721 is also a prime number. This makes number 31. 99719 is a twin prime number.

So there were actually two twin prime numbers (30 and 31) on the list.

Quite interesting, isn't it?


01. 034346

02. 034378

03. 034384

04. 034393 = 163 x 211

05. 034403 = Prime number

06. 034542

07. 034544

08. 034586

09. 034658

10. 034667 = Prime number

11. 034740

12. 034752

13. 034888

14. 034956

15. 035007 = 3 x 7 x 1667

16. 035016

17. 035024

18. 035044

19. 042373 = Prime number

20. 051605 = 5 x 10321
21. 051606

22. 051630
23. 051631 = Prime number

24. 062452

25. 070918

26. 070954

27. 074364

28. 074380

29. 074408

30. 079903 = Prime number (a twin prime number with 79901)

31. 099719 = Prime number (a twin prime number with 99721)

32. 142598


Streamlight Ultra Stinger #93139 has arrived
Today I drove to the local Post Office and picked up the flashlight sent from the U.S.A.

The only reason I bought this old and rather battered flashlight was the fact that its serial number was a prime number and at the same time palindromic. I had already had a beautifully preserved Streamlight Ultra Stinger. I could get it at a very reasonable price (with a charger cradle).

Compared to this Ultra Stinger, this newly-acquired Ultra Stinger was a bit expensive. So as I wrote, the only reason for getting it was its serial number.

I opened up the package and checked the content. It was just as the ebay seller had described. The only thing that I had not foreseen from the description and the photos was its missing coil spring pushing down the filament bulb.

I looked for it on the net and found two possible solutions.

Solution 1. (perfect but costly)
I found a seller on ebay selling the exact coil spring. The price is acceptable but since it comes from the USA, the shipping charge is twice or almost thrice more expensive than the spring price itself.

Total price for one coil spring is: around 23 euro.


Solution 2. (make-do but cheaper)
I found a coil spring set (5 pieces) sold on Amazon Germany that has the following specifications. The outer size is 16 mm (which is perfect), the wire diameter 1.2 mm (which is almost the same - as the genuine spring) and the overall length is 50 mm. I can cut this into two pieces and the resulting coil springs will do.

Total price for one coil spring (including possible other 9 surplus springs) is: around 9 euro???

The problem is that this seller won't send it to Luxembourg. If I want it desperately, I will have to ask one of my colleagues who live in Germany to get it for me (in other words, borrowing the address).

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Prime number bonanza!]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

1. 2023/09/06(水) 18:31:29|
2. Diary
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