Let There Be Light

Winter.  It's dark in the morning.  It's dark in the afternoon.  It's even dark in my house.

Why, you ask?  It's those damn CFL bulbs!  Trying to be ecological and economical, I've converted to the compact fluorescent lights where possible (not all of my fixtures accept them).  We typically burn through bulbs at an extraordinarily fast pace, so anything that lasts longer would be a positive.  And I think the CFLs do - though not the ten times longer promised.

From my research, CFL bulbs are supposed to provide the same amount of power (light) with less energy.  In my experience, however, they provide less light more slowly.  It takes time for them to fire up - no immediate lights on, lights off.  Forget the clapper.

Even worse, the CFLs don't hit full power.  They operate on dim . . . always.  There's never enough light. Nowadays,  there aren't even enough regular light bulbs to buy, as stores push the CFLs.  It's especially hard to find high wattage indoor flood lights.

This seems particularly odd since, as we hear constantly, the baby boomers are graying . . . and losing their eyesight.  They need more light, not less. . . .

I'm in the dark.