Seems that some people are extracting those a123 battery cells I was talking about from Dewalt 36 volt drill battery packs.
Interesting. Seems like maybe I should keep an eye out for them. It might be handy to have a high capacity/high discharge battery that I can quickly charge. Maybe I'll build an electric bicycle or something. I have an idea for a constant pedal torque bike (pedaling controls speed and always requires the same effort no matter the grade) that might be interesting.