The Lightbulb Quandry

I needed a standard 60 watt bulb for a lamp at my house.  Seems easy.  So, at the store, I go and there are a row of items which vaguely resemble light bulbs.  None of them are the traditional bulb I have seen for some five decades.  Instead, there are squiggly ones, triangle, square, ones that look like bike reflectors, and there are conversion charts that are harder than converting to metric.

So, I figure I will choose one that says it is like a regular 60w bulb and looks to have the right screw in size metal twisty part.  This is written by a person who earned an Electronics Engineering degree in 1985…  There are no 49 cent bulbs.  I am left with a weird-looking thing for $4.99, a more normal one for $5.99, and one for $23.99.  The one for $23.99 says it will last an average of 22.3 years and save me tons of money.

That’s right, a bulb that lasts 22.3 years.  I am 51.  I am not guaranteed to last 22.3 years myself.  That is quite a commitment to make to a light bulb.  Even a lamp.  How many lamps or bulbs do you really want to commit to for 22.3 years.  Some home mortgages are shorter.  Many people have careers that are shorter.  Just 20 years in the military to get retirement.  You could buy this bulb in basic training and keep it with you to your retirement home.

I bought the one for $5.99.  When I opened the tiny package at home, there were two of them in there.  I am not sure I will know where the second bulb is when the first one finally gives out.  It is expected to last me five years.  I was simply relieved when I screwed in this new technology and turned the switch that a light came on and seems to be reasonably bright.

Don’t get me started on the new energy-saving track lights in my kitchen and entryway.  When I first turn them on, they are so dim I am not sure they are working.  It takes them about fifteen minutes to reach proper lighting.  It reminds me again of the military when we were trained to adjust our vision over time for night-time operations, then how to work with flash bangs.  I am finally of the age where new technology is not always welcome.  Even for a tech geek like me.