DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

We traded out all the incandescent bulbs in our house the weekend we moved in. Except for two: a recalcitrant half-globe fixture above the stairs that, despite four increasingly violent attempts, I can’t open, and a 4-way fixture in the foyer that uses torpedo bulbs with the candelabra screw base — smaller than the standard 1-1/16'' base you’re used to.

There’s not a big market for Compact Fluorescent bulbs with candelabra bases, so they’re expensive — something like $20 apiece when I called around, a couple years ago. Despite the tree-hugging appeal of having no incandescent bulbs in the house (except for that bastard above the stairs that I’m pretending doesn’t exist), I couldn’t justify the cost. We use the light in the foyer about three minutes every month, as dinner guests are putting their shoes back on on their way out the door. In a typical year, the electricity consumed by this fixture costs us … well, 160 watts (4 bulbs x 40 watts) times 36 minutes = 0.096 kWh; at 8.7¢/kWh (averaging the summer and winter off-peak, schedule E-7 TOU rates) … about 83/100 of a cent.

The break-even point for $80 worth of CF bulbs, at ~80% of .83¢/year, is 120 years. Compact Fluorescent bulbs may last a long time, but probably not that long.

On the other hand, my great-great-great-great-grandkids might be really impressed by my forward thinking. So I picked up a 4-pack of candelabla-base CFs at Ikea last month. CF prices have fallen, and Ikea has mastered the art of selling for cheap, e.g. by manufacturing furniture out of cardboard. The four bulbs cost about $18 total if I remember correctly, so it’s at least somewhat likely I’ll live to see breakeven, 21.6 years from now.

The only problem is, these bulbs suck. They’re so dim, it takes 10 seconds to know whether they’re working. When they’re fully warmed up, they do a real nice job of illuminating the inside of the frosted glass fixture.

But hey! I’m saving well over a half-cent a year! Rawk!

Chuck forwarded this great MasterCard commercial. “Rock and roll: priceless.” Woo!

The cover of the weekend’s Parade Magazine asks, “Who is the world’s worst dictator?”

I scanned the collage of headshots for George W. Bush. True story.

(No, I don’t believe he’s as bad as the 10 guys in the article. He’s only imprisoned and tortured a few dozen people, most of whom were not even US citizens. He will need to work much harder to make next year’s lineup.)

In related news, I really enjoyed Molly Ivins’ editorial, I will not support Hillary Clinton for president (mirrors) , especially this part:

The majority of the American people (55 percent) think the war in Iraq is a mistake and that we should get out. The majority (65 percent) of the American people want single-payer health care and are willing to pay more taxes to get it. The majority (86 percent) of the American people favor raising the minimum wage. The majority of the American people (60 percent) favor repealing Bush’s tax cuts, or at least those that go only to the rich. The majority (66 percent) wants to reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending, but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.

The majority (77 percent) thinks we should do “whatever it takes” to protect the environment. The majority (87 percent) thinks big oil companies are gouging consumers and would support a windfall profits tax. That is the center, you fools. WHO ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

If you visit the diRosa Preserve, take the guides’ advice and stop by Artesa Winery. It’s set into the ridge on a neighboring property, with awesome wrap-around views, fountains, sculpture… I think they even make wine.

The place is hard to find, takes a while to get to, isn’t obviously near other wineries, and everything inside is expensive. Have someone else in your group spring for the tasting (yes, they charge for tasting; this is Napa), but make sure you find the “view terrace.” This is what you drove out here to see.

Flickr, as usual, has some great photos, tagged artesa.

Also, check out the virtual tour on the Artesa site.

The diRosa Preserve is a 217-acre art park in Napa County, CA. We took the winter tour a few weeks ago, and loved it. I want to go back.

The main art gallery houses a permanent collection of some fantastic stuff — huge pop-art paintings, photos, weird kinetic and video sculptures (including one that shouted insults at me as I approached), even an art car from David Best (of Burning Man fame).

The tour guides were helpful, engaging, accomodating, and clearly knowledgeable. But they wouldn’t allow anyone to take photos inside the galleries, so my only pictures are from outside:
Photos from the diRosa Preserve

There are a lot more photos (and better ones) at Flickr: dirosapreserve