seperis | the unbearable lightness of being

So this is what happened.

bkwyrm mentioned wanting to get full spectrum lights to combat winter mood swings, which reminded me that I had burned out a light bulb and mentioned that new-fangled "full spectrum" thing to my mother, who remembers this from fish and reptiles entering our home.

This was my first mistake.

I bet you did not know there is a store in Austin called, prosaically enough, The Light Bulb Shop. I bet, however, that you can work out what is sold there. Oh yeah. Not just full-spectrum, but weird coiled-looking full-spectrum marked by similarity to watt output. And some--other things. Did you know these come in sizes?

I'll be frank; I had no clue that less than ten miles from my house, there is a store that sells nothing but lightbulbs and some of them are full-spectrum of various wattage that fit into one's ceiling fan. Who. Honestly. Saw. That. Coming? Also, they are expensive, as I got three, because, fine, I don't really know why but the ceiling fan takes three and you can't get just one bright new energy efficient coily-futureistic looking one and leave the other two dinosaurs of lightbulb technology there; that's not classy. Not that until now I have ever cared, but I'm also a fangirl, anal, and a completionist--can you see me leaving that store with only one for a three-light ceiling fan? Did not. Think. So. They gave me a coupon. Honestly? Didn't really help that much with the price. Maybe just covered the tax. They told me these would save me money, which made me laugh, because I have never paid that much for lightbulbs in my life. Honestly, I don't even know what happened between the time I walked in the store and the time I left clutching a biodegradable paper bag and a receipt. And coily-looking lightbulbs.

Let's pause here for a second. Here is what was actually supposed to happen on Saturday.

A.) Get Child Wii.
B.) Get Wii Accessories.

Accessories turned out to be a Wii Fit, since everyone and their new puppy talks about it like a religious experience and because I love walking around Best Buy saying "Where is the Wii? Where? The Wii? The Wii is where?"

Hours of entertainment. I just love saying Wii. And asking about anything I could add the adjective Wii to. Wii socks. Wii shirts. Wii cookies. Wiiiiiii fun.

Anyway. Back to the story. Everyone who has ever read here knows I get a shopping high when making large purchases and taking me to a store, a light bulb store, with a variety of lightbulbs is a bad idea and that is how I ended up with a TV two months ago (except that had nothing to do with lightbulbs; I really don't know what happened then). My family knows this.

However, the deed is done. I took them home (and was mocked for basically having no excuse whatsoever to call anyone for any reason a reckless spender again when I look at the receipt for my three freaking lightbulbs), got an oven mitt, went to my room, turned out the lights, and sincerely hoped for electrocution.

I didn't die, in case you were worried.

All three lights went in. Now, here is something I did not know about my room.

The walls are really dingy and my room is now really bright. Like, non-eyestrain bright. Almost daylight bright. Mood-enhacingly, vitamin D producing bright. Really. Damn. Bright. And I will say this; never realized how dark everything is until now. And it's really cool because somehow, I got used to a throw blanket that was a dingy shade of olive and is actually supposed to be electric lime.

New world order, folks. Also, apparently the city of Austin loves these bulbs. They won't give me anything, but they will virtually give me cookies for being environmentally sound.

That was my weekend.

Oh. I watched two seasons of The West Wing, because--well, there's no real reason we need to discuss that, is there? That was a lot of TV watching. Things I didn't realize:

Cuddy was a call girl and Commander Adama was a justice. God bless television. I had my lights on when I saw it for easy recognition. It was nice.

You have to tell me what kind of swank lightbulbs these are. I'm kind of prone to SAD and have trouble finding bulbs that are bright enough, dammit.

I will find my receipt and check the type.

I mainlined five seasons of The West Wing in a little over a month and it took me a fair amount of time to recover, so I feel your pain! Seasons 1-3 were my favourites; did you enjoy?

So far, very much. I'd watched parts before, but seeing all of them has been a *lot* of fun.

(no subject)

From:

fyrdrakken - Date: 2008-11-10 09:14 pm (UTC) - expand

And thn there was light.... I know that feeling. First time I used bulbs like that in the basement (of all places) I pretty muh went "o.O" at the whole room.

My walls are not as white as I thought. But I can see so much better.

(no subject)

From:

slippery-fish.livejournal.com - Date: 2008-11-10 03:39 pm (UTC) - expand

I thought you were in Texas? Isn't that so far south that you don't even get short days? Why would anyone would even have trouble with too little light there?!? Personally I reduced my last electricity bill by just using mostly one energy efficient light bulb, though granted at a latitude equal to Southern Alaska it is a bit gloomy... OTOH considering that my family lived in Northern parts for centuries I'm sure I'm adapted well to be in the dark half of the year.

We have short days! Just you know, not Land of the Midnight Sun short days, but lots of winter overcast days. It does tend to make things a bit dark. Though I'm beginning to wonder about the state of light fixtures in ways I did not really understand before this weekend.

(no subject)

From:

ratcreature - Date: 2008-11-10 04:13 pm (UTC) - expand

The sticker shock is big, but the good news is that you won't have to replace those lightbulbs in, like, ever. (And they're way cheaper to burn.)

I am jealous of your Light Bulb Shop!

I am kinda shocked I didn't know it existed. And that my mother did.

It is a marvelously terrifying store. They have lightbulbs I did not know could exist in our dimension.

(no subject)

From:

omglawdork.livejournal.com - Date: 2008-11-10 05:06 pm (UTC) - expand

FYI, those lightbulbs NEVER FREAKING DIE. You will be bequeathing them to your grandchildren. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but really, they totally outlast other lightbulbs and that's where the savings lie.

I was really unhappy about that Cuddy-callgirl thing. I wouldn't have cared if she were a callgirl Sam became fond of and that was it, but she was a callgirl studying to be a lawyer (!), which made her very stupid, because if she got arrested and convicted, she would not have been allowed to become one. Also, lawyers and law students aren't supposed to commit felonies, they're charged with upholding the law, even if they should disagree with said law, thus rendering her ethics nonexistent, even as we were expected to find her a sympathetic character. Oh, Sorkin! Why you make your supposedly intelligent female characters do such stupid things? Why?

But I adored the Commander Adama justice. He went antiquing with his wife! I'm hoping life continues to resemble art and we get someone like him for the Court.

Considering how often I have to change my usual bulbs? I have no problem with this.

I'm seriously looking into getting one of those lights- prone to SAD and in this city during the winter, it isn't unusual to go at least a month withouth the sun. One year we went nearly 4 months. That was a bad year. Augh. But a lot of ladies I know who do/used to suffer from SAD swear by them. So. I'll look into them more.

If nothing else, being able to not squint is doing wonders for my mood. I never noticed how easy it was to find stuff--or see the color of my shoes--with proper light.

The Big Boss at work had full spectrum lights ordered for me, because he said I was, "gloomy and droopy" in my office, and I needed real light to "perk up".

The supply guy went overboard and ordered 4 full spectrum lamps for me. They are all futuristic and silly looking. And actually, the amount of light they put out was very low in comparison to the hideous neon light overhead. I would sit in my office and feel like I was in a dark closet with a little blue light on. The guys in the outer office made fun of me to no end. "You crazy, cat loving, liberal, with your natural lighting." I was dubbed "lamp girl" for a whole month.

I couldn't take it anymore and quietly hid the lamps behind a bunch of boxes in the supply room. *hangs head*

*dies laughing* Ouch.

The Light Bulb Shop claims another victim!

I swear, I had to practically drag my brother out of there once. I have no idea how much he's spent there on efficient bulbs, and I don't want to.

I'd love to update all the ones in my apt, but 3 of my 4 ceiling fans take FIVE bulbs each--you do the math. I comfort myself with buying LED Christmas lights and being happy when my eclectric bill doesn't spike over the holidays.

oh man, I believe it.

My fan takes three. I have two over the vanity and a closet and a lamp that--will be updated someday. Then--then the rest of the house. *shivers* Though I have been told and have read it does save a lot of money.

You got the energy-efficient full-spectrums? Are they nice? Do they buzz? Are they going to get dimmer over time? My history with compact fluorescents is dubious (if I wanted to look like a zombie and be driven nuts by high-pitched buzzing, I'd just stay at the office full-time) but these sound nice. I would be interested in follow-up reporting, because I too suffer from seasonal darkness and am looking into lightbulb replacements.

No buzzing at all. I--do'nt know about dimming, as these are the first not in the garage where I never go. I will follow up!

As a Vision Scientist (tm) I've been looking into these "so called" full spectrum bulbs. The first thing I found out is that there is no such thing in Science! as "full-spectrum".

Anything with a color temperature (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature) above 5500 Kelvin is supposed to be similar to outdoor light.

Now, there is also luminous intensity, as represented by candelas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candela), usually represented as candelas per square meter.

Lux (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lux) is a little more complicated, and frankly, the wiki article explains it better.

The studies I know of that deal with SADS use light boxes that discuss things in terms of Lux. They haven't exactly been an unqualified success.

Because light does, in fact, regulate sleep-wake cycles, and may be implicated in dopamine production, It is definitely a good idea to make your environment lighter during the day. Keep in mind, this is a system separate from other visual perception, and it takes at least 10 minutes for these neurons to really respond to light.

The best advice I've heard (other than installing a lot of lightbulbs with decent color temperature) is to get outside around noon even if it's cold out for at least 20 minutes, and resist the urge to eat too many carbohydrates (tryptophans piggyback on the glucose, and make you sleepy).

I'll take your word for it; it's similar to what we had to get teh lizard, from waht I read on teh box, just in non-terrarium form.

(no subject)

From:

littlemousling - Date: 2008-11-10 06:50 pm (UTC) - expand

Are you new to The West Wing? Because

pocky_slash has an excellent TWW primer, which she wrote up simply because The West Wing has been referenced all over the place with regards to parallels to the election and Obama.

It's so awesome and kind of hilarious to see art imitate life and life imitate art! Also, have you seen this?

President Barack Obama learns about the Stargate Program by

ladycat777. It is made of PURE WIN.

Heh. I watched parts of season two when it was current, then fell out of the habit.

B managed to score some of those new curly-looking 'energy effiecient' bulbs at a convention and HOLY FREAKING CRAP! It took awhile to get used to the brightness, I tell you what.

It also makes our carpet look like slaughtered Barney and put him on the floor. *L*

*dies* I believe it. There are new colors in the spectrum that I did not know existed.

I have a friend whose obsessed with saying "Wii" so he says stuff like "Wiitarded" all the time.

I'm sorta dazzled by the fact lightbulb stores exist. I'm going to have to bring that up in a conversation some day.

It is a beautiful and miraculous place with a red lightbulb on top.

And here are pictures! (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=the%20lightbulb%20shop%20austin&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi)

(no subject)

From:

mneiai.livejournal.com - Date: 2008-11-11 01:54 am (UTC) - expand

YES! Compact fluorescents = secret to happiness and joy and joyness. And you can find ones up to about 28 watts, which is a TON of light fluorescent-wise but requires not even half the power of a regular (60, 75, 100-watt) incandescent. And they last practically FOREVER, though I think I might swap out a couple of my older ones to see how much they've dimmed in the YEARS I've been using them.

Um, not that I'm super excited about freaking light bulbs or anything. ::is only mildly embarrassed::

My secret to being happy happy happy happy happy? One of those floor lamps with five heads, and a 28-watt CF bulb in each one. That baby can make it noon at midnight, for very very little energy use.

*happy to know this*

Light bulbs are awesome. And I want that lamp.

I love Austin.

The Light Bulb Shop. That's awesome!

It is. And right down the road? The light fixture store. It's amazing.

I have a full spectrum light - it looks like the desk lamp that ate all the other desk lamps. It's that big. It does help, but I find if I use it for more than about half an hour a day, I have trouble sleeping, so if you suddenly develop insomnia ... beware the lightbulbs. *g* Of course, please don't develop insomnia from worrying about whether you may or may not develop insomnia. Enjoy the light bulbs.

*happy* They are pleasing.

I think we've got a fair number of those lights in various regions of the house, if you mean the spirally coiled bulbs. Of course, the one I can remember is in the lamp in the living room that no longer turns on (whether due to burnout or to plug or cord damage I don't know). Well, actually I think I've got in the lamp on my bedside table, too. (I can't stand overhead lighting -- gives me a headache from the glare -- but my two bedroom lamps are bright enough to give me all the light I need unless I'm doing something superfiddly possibly involving dark yarn.)

Most of our lighting issues have been in the living room, though -- indirect lights were the only ones the house came with, and not only was there no light fixture in the overhead lamp but it wasn't even set up to have one added. Fortunately my future-brother-in-law has enough of an electrician background to run wires down the pole from the ceiling to the fan, and for a few glorious months we had enough light in the living room for me to knit by. And then in the past week or two the light stopped turning on when we pull the cord, and Mom pointed out it can't be a case of all three bulbs going at the same time, so either it's a switch issue or an electrical issue (though the fan itself works fine). So. It's very dark in our living room.

Yes. The living room is dark and I'm currently pricing two lamp lights and one for the ceiling fan because seriously, it's depressing now that I see what we could have.

(no subject)

From:

fyrdrakken - Date: 2008-11-11 04:10 pm (UTC) - expand

Ooo, I would also love to know what type of lightbulb those are. I'm excited about the prospect of Austin having nifty things like that, in that I'm still torn about whether or not I'll move there for a few years (mostly for school) after I fix my health problems. It seemed really awesome when I visited for three days, but I was there three days, so not a lot of experience on my part.

Next entry has the description!

(no subject)

From:

seperis.livejournal.com - Date: 2008-11-11 01:51 am (UTC) - expand

ROFL, I love your shopping story. I do have a light box. I live up north, and without it, winter is a long and hideous thing for me. The spiral lightbulbs are nice but many of them simply are not rated high enough to do the job. They have to hit really high on the Kelvin index, or the color barometer, and you have to be fairly close to the light in question. If your symptoms are mild the light bulbs should be fine, if not, well, I have my light box. They are expensive, but help me a lot. Which is why I have the light box, and use it between two and four hours during the winter. I actually ordered this through the mail, from the Co. Natural Options,and there was a supplier out here, but there is supposed to be one down south too. The going outside for twenty minutes of real sunlight does help too, if the weather isn't too hideous. There is nothing like the real thing after all. -SB

I go out at lunch in winter especially and sit in the sun somewhere. It really is a good mood lifter, and easy way to do sudoku. *G*

(no subject)

From:

slvrbld747.livejournal.com - Date: 2008-11-11 02:43 am (UTC) - expand

Hmm, ponders. Have you ever seen 1983 "The Dead Zone" movie with Christopher Walken? Martin Sheen plays a psychotic senate hopeful that when he becomes the president nukes the world into world war 3... it sort of makes the whole "The West Wing" series really amusing to me.

I pass that light bulb store in Austin all the time but I've never gone in. I do love their big plastic light bulb head guy. =D

-Diana

I now feel kind of bad that I haven't done anything about MY lightbulbs.

late to the party and all, but yes, coiled compact fluorescents are awesome. Your electric bill should go down, as well as not having to replace them as often as incandescents.

one drawback, tho. I just had my first CF bulb burn out (honestly, I think I put it in about two or three _years_ ago) and hey, you know what? They're harder to throw away responsibly than regular bulbs. They qualify as haz waste, and should be disposed of as such. So it takes a little work to figure out what your local options are. I happen to live in a place where I can safely dispose of them, but they charge us $1/bulb, and you have to take them to a drop-off center rather than putting them in the trash.

learned a bunch from http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_lighting/ask_us/faq_compact.htm#disposal
And locally, from our city recycling and hazardous waste website.

The 42W 2700K compact fluorescent I have in the dining room was the brightest one I could find that just screwed into a regular lightbulb socket. It's supposed to be about as bright as a 150W incandescent bulb. It's bright enough that I can't look straight at it and I think I'm glad the store didn't have one with a higher light output.

It's about 3 inches wide at the widest part and 6 inches long ( 7 inches if you include the part that is in the socket ),
so it won't fit into all light fixtures.
The identical one I had there before lasted about 5 years of being on 16 hours a day.

I stuck my ear next to it just now to see if it buzzes. I can hear a very faint buzz beginning when my ear is within 16 inches of the bare bulb. I hadn't noticed that before.

It did slowly become dimmer, which I only noticed when I got the new one.
I got it at the local specialty lightbulb store-- I don't know the brand.
I don't think it's full spectrum, I just asked for the brightest one they had.
It was indeed very expensive. Something like $20.
I took the old one to the city household hazardous waste facility, as it contains mercury.

--Vaneye

Profile

seperis

Page Summary

Quotes

If you don't send me feedback, I will sob uncontrollably for hours on end, until finally, in a fit of depression, I slash my wrists and bleed out on the bathroom floor. My death will be on your heads. Murderers
. -- Unknown, on feedback
BTS List
That's why he goes bad, you know -- all the good people hit him on the head or try to shoot him and constantly mistrust him, while there's this vast cohort of minions saying, We wouldn't hurt you, Lex, and we'll give you power and greatness and oh so much sex...
Wow. That was scary. Lex is like Jesus in the desert.
-- pricklyelf, on why Lex goes bad
LJ
Obi-Wan has a sort of desperate, pathetic patience in this movie. You can just see it in his eyes: "My padawan is a psychopath, and no one will believe me; I'm barely keeping him under control and expect to wake up any night now to find him standing over my bed with a knife!"
-- Teague, reviewing "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones"
LJ
Beth: god, why do i have so many beads?
Jenn: Because you are an addict.
Jenn: There are twelve step programs for this.
Beth: i dunno they'd work, might have to go straight for the electroshock.
Jenn: I'm not sure that helps with bead addiction.
Beth: i was thinking more to demagnitize my credit card.
-- hwmitzy and seperis, on bead addiction
AIM, 12/24/2003
I could rape a goat and it will DIE PRETTIER than they write.
-- anonymous, on terrible writing
AIM, 2/17/2004
In medical billing there is a diagnosis code for someone who commits suicide by sea anenemoe.
-- silverkyst, on wtf
AIM, 3/25/2004
Anonymous: sorry. i just wanted to tell you how much i liked you. i'd like to take this to a higher level if you're willing
Eleveninches: By higher level I hope you mean email.
-- eleveninches and anonymous, on things that are disturbing
LJ, 4/2/2004
silverkyst: I need to not be taking molecular genetics.
silverkyst: though, as a sidenote, I did learn how to eviscerate a fruit fly larvae by pulling it's mouth out by it's mouthparts today.
silverkyst: I'm just nowhere near competent in the subject material to be taking it.
Jenn: I'd like to thank you for that image.
-- silverkyst and seperis, on more wtf
AIM, 1/25/2005
You know, if obi-wan had just disciplined the boy *properly* we wouldn't be having these problems. Can't you just see yoda? "Take him in hand, you must. The true Force, you must show him."
-- Issaro, on spanking Anakin in his formative years
LJ, 3/15/2005
Aside from the fact that one person should never go near another with a penis, a bottle of body wash, and a hopeful expression...
-- Summerfling, on shower sex
LJ, 7/22/2005
It's weird, after you get used to the affection you get from a rabbit, it's like any other BDSM relationship. Only without the sex and hot chicks in leather corsets wielding floggers. You'll grow to like it.
-- revelininsanity, on my relationship with my rabbit
LJ, 2/7/2006
Smudged upon the near horizon, lapine shadows in the mist. Like a doomsday vision from Watership Down, the bunny intervention approaches.
-- cpt_untouchable, on my addition of The Fourth Bunny
LJ, 4/13/2006
Rule 3. Chemistry is kind of like bondage. Some people like it, some people like reading about or watching other people doing it, and a large number of people's reaction to actually doing the serious stuff is to recoil in horror.
-- deadlychameleon, on class
LJ, 9/1/2007
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Fan Fiction is John Cusack standing outside your house with a boombox.
-- JRDSkinner, on fanfiction
Twitter
I will unashamedly and unapologetically celebrate the joy and the warmth and the creativity of a community of people sharing something positive and beautiful and connective and if you don’t like it you are most welcome to very fuck off.
-- Michael Sheen, on Good Omens fanfic
Twitter, 6/19/2019
Adding for Mastodon.
-- Jenn, traceback
Fosstodon, 11/6/2022

Credit

Base style: Open Spaces by seperis
Theme: New Green by seperis

November 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 2022

Page generated Jul. 6th, 2025 10:31 am

Profile

Links

Page Summary

Quotes

Credit