I used to be all anal about battery care.

But then I really started abusing my batteries but they seem "take it" - I'm still using a battery nearly three years old - and I am talking about all night "run till its dead usage."
I've got about 5 batteries now - try to store them correctly - but it doesn't seem like as big of a deal any more....... I guess if you treat them just right you'll get 5 years or more...