A PhD to buy a light bulb now?

Have you been to buy a light bulb lately?

Holy cow.

I went the other day to a Lowe's and then to a Home Depot.

First, you have to know the regular bulbs are going away. There are darn few of those.

After that, it's a whole new ballgame.

You need to know there are two options.

The first option is all the new fluorescent bulbs.

Sure, they save money and electricity and energy, more than anything.

You have to see how many Kelvins and lumens so you have the right coloring of the bulb in your room(s).

If you also need a 3-way bulb, fugghedaboudit. There are very few of those. And some of them are just bloody huge. They could be as big as a grown man's fist.

Then there's pricing.

If they're cheap, they only cost a little over $8.00.

Each.

They're supposed to last far longer but some friends have one that blew after less than a year.

Apparently we're supposed to start files at home, keeping track of how long ago we've bought these things and where.

The second option--you'll love this--are the LED bulbs.

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of LED bulbs since they last far longer than all the other bulbs--supposedly--but also, they aren't nearly as hot as halogens. (I'm not even going into those here. Suffice to say, they're bloody hot).

Then there's your second option. LED bulbs.

They're a whole 'nother issue. And education.

Same deal, too, where you have to look at how many lumens they put out but also different shapes and sizes.

And now, here again, the issue of price.

Holy cow. These things can cost you $40 for one bulb.

So if you haven't been out lately, to one of the big stores, be ready for a real education.

Book a lot of time.

You'll be there for a while.

After all, a doctorate in lighting takes some time.

I wish you good luck. And a lot of time.