This blog post was originally going to be about something else entirely.  A shelf.  Yup.  I know what you’re thinking, “Who cares about a stupid shelf?”  You do.  Believe me.  It’s an awesome shelf.  But, as will happen, something else caught my attention and distracted me.  I’m still going to write about it, just not here.  I mean, not any more than I already have.  Starting… now.

As I said, I got distracted.  I’m like that dog from the movie “Up.”  Don’t know what I’m talking about?  Here you go. But I digress.  We’re here to talk about the little things that make life better.

I am occasionally forgetful.  My wife would suggest I’m being generous with my adverb, but when she writes her own blog she can use whatever words she wants.  This one’s mine.  As I said, I am occasionally forgetful.  One of the things I forget is the porch light.  Either turning it on, or turning it off.  Usually it just stays on 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 1/4 days/year (leap year is just bad math).  Of course, the ultimate goal is for the light to be on when it’s dark outside, and off when it’s light outside.  But, and here’s the kicker, I rarely use the front door.  My car’s in the garage.  I rarely drive my car out through the person-sized front door, preferring to use the car-sized garage door.  I know, I’m eccentric.  But this means I don’t often SEE the light, and forget it’s on.

So imagine my surprise when I discovered that I am apparently NOT the only person with this challenge?  And apparently some forgetful genius invented a solution!  The “Dusk-To-Dawn” Lightbulb.

Here’s how it works.  You screw it in to the fixture.  Then you turn the switch to the “on” position.  Huh.  That’s weird.  The light’s still off?  DON’T PANIC!  It’s all going according to plan (assuming you did this during the day).  All you have left to do is wait for sunset.  That’s when the magic happens.  The sun goes down, and the light goes on.  All by itself.  It’s like a little miracle.  But… you know… it’s science.

WAIT!  It’s too soon to celebrate.  This is only half our problem, right?  The other half is “does it go off in the morning?”  Spoiler alert: It does!  The sun comes up and the light goes off.  Celebration time!  WOOT!

So back to my original theme: “It’s the little things.”  It really is.  Little conveniences like this automatic lightbulb help make life just a little bit better.  Sure, I could have retrained myself to add flipping the porch light switch twice each day.  But I’ve got other stuff to do.  This is EXACTLY what technology is for: Improve our quality of life.  This is one product that delivers on that promise.

Want to buy one?  It’s about $10.  Here’s the one I’m using:

Philips Energy Saver Dusk-to-Dawn Light Bulb

I can’t say enough nice things about this bulb.  Enjoy!

Living the Dream,

-Humble Dave