Great Successor Praised; Light Bulb Blaze; Economy Razed, and more: PM Links

North Korean ruling circle gives Kim Jong-Il's son Kim Jong-Un what may be the most unimpressive title yet for a ruler of the Hermit Kingdom: "Great Successor." South Korean ambassador Kim Young-mok tells CNN the dicatorship's neighbor will lay low during the transition. Kim Kardashian, Lil Kim reportedly furious over snub. 

House wants payroll tax holiday to last longer than the two-month can-kicking that got through the Senate. Obama Administration accuses Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) of falling for a "Tea Party revolt."

Corporate welfare queen General Electric miffed about possible delay in implementing regulation that will enable GE to sell more and crappier light bulbs for higher prices with less competition. Politico's Robin Bravender considers this a mystery. 

We're poorer than ever. Tireless doomsayer Michael Snyder puts together a list of 50 terrifying facts about the U.S economy. One stunner: Household net worth reportedly fell by 4.1 percent in the 3rd quarter of 2011 alone.

Photo treasure found: New book features amazing gallery of Rolleiflex photos amateur shutterbug Vivian Maier took in Chicago in the 1950s — all discovered in an auction of the contents of an unpaid storage locker. 

Death of the movies continues: Another terrible weekend for box office raises the old question of when the decline in movie theater attendance will reach terminal speed. (This too might pass: Never underestimate the power of lousy movie offerings to keep audiences away.) 

Comments

[First of Etiquette]

Evening Links: They've got real staying power!

[Episiarch]

I've done far worse than kill you, FoE, I've hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me, as you left Tim. Marooned for all eternity, at the center of a dead thread. Buried alive.

[Tim]

Yeah!

[Jews 'n Things]

THAT'S NOT FUNNY!

[JW]

Um...KH...no...

EPI!

[Fist of Etiquette]

The nanny had no formal photography training but has produced a series of pictures hailed for their brilliance.

Do people really need formal training to take great photographs? Her subjects were compelling, which is the most important thing (after keeping your thumb away from the lens.) Anyway, you take the picture and if it's not good you just delete it from the memory card.

[Apatheist]

I don't think it takes formal training but it is certainly more than just having compelling subjects. These photos are wonderful.

[Restoras]

Well, I've discovered that one trick to taking great pictures is to take a lot of them and just fiddle with your exposure settings.

[JD the elder]

Formal training? Probably not. It's a little like asking if somebody really needs formal training to be an amazing guitarist. No, but you do need to put in your hours of study.

As for subject, I am often reminded of Andy Warhol's answer, when someone asked him what made a great photograph..."It's in focus and it has somebody famous in it."

[JW]

"It's in focus and it has somebody famous in it."

And Leibovitz still carries the sword proudly.

[Kim of Etiquette]

North Korean ruling circle gives Kim Jong-Il's son Kim Jong-Un what may be the most unimpressive title yet for a ruler of the Hermit Kingdom: "Great Successor."

Kim Jong-Un: The Glorious Inevitable

[Drake]

The only fat kid in North Korea.

[BakedPenguin]

Ostensibly, one of the reasons he was Jong-Il's fave son is that he was the best looking of the bunch.

[Drake]

Damn

[Tim]

He's the Mitt Romney of North Korea.

[PantsFan]

and ladies, he's single!

[Citizen Nothing]

You know what's a worse job than Great Successor? Assistant Great Successor.

[R C Dean]

Also known as the Pretty Good Almost Successor.

[JEP]

Assistant to the Great Successor

[Citizen Hackett]

Fuckin' comedy -- how does it work?

Ask me "What's the most important part of comedy?"

"What the most imp..."

"TIMING!"

[Fun Fact]

If they took all of the urinals out of all of the bus station men rooms in America and laid them end-to-end, you wouldn't want to be there when they did it.

[ZOMG!!!]

PICK A NAME!!!

[wylie]

fun fact: this is the accepted method of presenting fun facts.

[Funny Guy]

Has anyone quipped yet that Kim Jong-Un has a punchable face? Ha! It's always funny, so if nobody has said it yet...he does!

[wylie]

eh, he's not AS punchable as Pelosi or Brewer.

[Anonymous Coward]

The King-Beyond-the-Wall.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sadly, child poverty is absolutely exploding all over America. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 36.4% of all children that live in Philadelphia are living in poverty, 40.1% of all children that live in Atlanta are living in poverty, 52.6% of all children that live in Cleveland are living in poverty and 53.6% of all children that live in Detroit are living in poverty.

And what do all those locations have in common? The poverty line seems to help urban leaders when gathering votes, when the opposite should be true.

[Raston Bot]

FACT: shitty football teams and world class orchestras cause child poverty

[Kolohe]

That wasn't very fun though

[Apatheist]

Ed Morrisey repeats the Ron Paul actually wrote the newsletters assertion:
http://hotair.com/archives/201.....ps-to-3rd/
What a hack.

[Joe M]

Outside of all the bullshit we've been witnessing, isn't it kind of amazing to see the full power of the establishment media finally being put into motion with the single goal of destroying the Paul candidacy?

This is a true test of its waning strength versus the decentralization of the Internet.

[Name Nomad]

If RP gets a win or two under his belt, it'll probably get much worse.

[Joe M]

Under the hood of the Insider Advantage Iowa poll.

Paul is leading every age group except 65+. He also leads among all three political divisions: Republican, independent, and Democrat.

[RoboCain]

Isn't that his own age group?

[Joe M]

Weird, right?

[RoboCain]

Worried he'll scrap SS?

[Joe M]

Just the most set in their ways and unwilling to try something different is my guess.

[Citizen Nothing]

Greatest Generation my ass.

[Atanarjuat]

Actually the Greatest Generation's children (the dreaded Baby Boomers) are about 65.

[oldtimer]

Absolutely. My age group talks about RPs foreign policy when they mean Medicare. Makes us old folks sound serious when trying to connect to those that are paying our bills.

[Tulpa]

A prophet is not without honor...

[Maxxx]

Many of Paul opponents will take heart in concluding that Paul cannot get more than 25 percent in any state, and so he can be dismissed as a spoiler.

The same can be said of the Establishment's man Flopney.

[Raston Bot]

Ed Morrisey also thinks if Iowa goes RP, then

1. Mitt Romney will probably run the table as Republicans everywhere else but Iowa recoil in horror.

2. the drumbeat to unseat both Iowa and New Hampshire from the front end of the primary system will prove irresistible.

I can't tell if Ed is hyperventilating or masturbating or both while he writes this piece. He must be one of those pants-wetting centrists I've read about.

[PantsFan]

It's only 3:30!

[Joe M]

P.M. is P.M.

[Fist of Etiquette]

It appears 4:30PM EST (the only Standard Time) is what has been settled upon as the time for P.M.S. Links to be posted.

I encourage everyone to throw a fit on days when 4:33 rolls around and no links are yet posted.

[Episiarch]

I'm sure you'll throw enough fits for everyone.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I don't throw fits, genius. I pitch them. (I find the hissy variety most effective.)

[Episiarch]

You mean sissy, not hissy, right?

[Fist of Etiquette]

We offered the world ORDER.

9:00AM Morning Links, 4:30PM Evening Links.

[Tim]

At least Hitler made the links run on time....

[PantsFan]

But German links are delicious.
mmm, Bratwurst.

[Pip]

Say what you will about Reason Magazine, but at the very least they keep the links running on time.

[PantsFan]

Eastern Time is an abomination.
Might as well be on Newfoundland time.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Your canuckcentric existence is the abomination. No one here even knows where Newfoundland is.

[Dagny T.]

Newfies need their own time zone so they don't get their weirdness all over the rest of us. Don't even get me started on Labrador.

[wylie]

No one here even knows where Newfoundland is.

Wait, I just found it.

[Kolohe]

That's Cape Breton.

[T]

I keep telling you people, Canada is fictional, like Narnia and Belgium, and thus has no real location.

[Banjos]

If Canada and Canadians aren't real, then who the hell is buying up AZ realty and attending Coyotes games?

[wylie]

If Canada and Canadians aren't real, then who the hell is buying up AZ realty and attending Coyotes games?

Crab people. Duh.

[Tim]

It's the only province without bigfoot.

[STEVE SMITH]

EVEN STEVE SMITH KNOW BETTER THAN TO RAPE SOMEONE WHO DRINKS SCREECH

[Episiarch]

STEVE SMITH FIND NEWFIES TOO STRINGY AND STEVE NOT LIKE NEWFIE ACCENT! STEVE FIND HARD TO UNDERSTAND WHEN RAPING!

[Dagny T.]

They jig a lot. What with the jigging and the raping, a vacation in rocky Newfoundland would be a bumpy ride indeed.

...Sweet fuck that's a great idea for the next Adam Sandler movie. Work in a Labrador from Labrador and that shit writes itself.

[Tim]

Having been many times in Quebec, any other province would have to work extremely hard to suck worse.

[Hans Brix]

Adam Sandler raping a labrador... It would be the funniest thing he's done in years, and it ain't even funny.

[Sandi]

I took a shit in Newfoundland once.

[Anacreon]

I once had a vacation beach fling with a gal from Nova Scotia, does that count?

[CalebT]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yh6SriAjdE&h=aAQEvgkW5

The theatrical trailer for TDKR debuted this weekend.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Pittsburgh as Gotham? I don't think so.

[Jerry]

So anyone got to see New Year's Eve yet?

[wylie]

"The Movie showing you what you should be doing this New Years instead of watching this movie."

[The Bearded Hobbit]

So anyone got to see New Year's Eve yet?

Mrs. Hobbit and I saw the 4PM show last Friday at the local multiplex.

We were the only people in the theater.

... Hobbit

[wylie]

because people with any sense were out partying and screwing instead of watching a movie where people party and screw.

[Mrs. Hobbit]

What the fuck so you think we were doing in the theatre?

[Tim]

Fucking movies cost too much. They can't seem to figure that out.

[Double D]

That's because studios take around 90% of the ticket price for a few weeks after opening. Theaters have to charge an arm and a leg to stay open at all.

[Tulpa]

Isn't that something the market should take care of?

[Tim]

It is, hence all of us explaining why we aren't going.

[PantsFan]

Theatres make money on concessions. Too bad I never buy concessions.

[DJF]

What, you don't want a $10 bag of stale popcorn?

[sloopyinca]

Does that pic look like his daddy put a cigar out on his forehead?

[Joe M]

It's the trepanning scar.

[sasob]

Yeah. That or the scar from his lobotomy.

[Tim]

THe evil eye!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Our Great Successor had the same problem.

[El Commentariosa]

Everyone's favorite Rednick Ted Nugent writes: Cut "Social Welfare Programs" Because Poverty Is Based On "Poor Decisions" "We Need To Punish" in the Washington Post, so the commenters at media matters have a problem with this.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/201112190001

[Banjos]

Bring back Evening links! How am I supposed to let my hair down, wear a low cut shirt, have a few drinks, and make an ass out of myself at 2:30p?

[Episiarch]

Start having the drinks at 1:30PM and I bet it'll get easier.

[Sparky]

Move east, it's like traveling to the future.

[Banjos]

Why does the future smell like ass?

[wylie]

time's arrow travels ass-first.

[Butts Wagner]

How am I supposed to let my hair down, wear a low cut shirt, have a few drinks, and make an ass out of myself at 2:30p?

My dream too.

[Dagny T.]

Jong-Un is one ugly dude. Like that which he is Greatly Succeeding, he's an excellent candidate for Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians.

[Tim]

Is that work safe?

[Dagny T.]

Yes! It's hilarious. Just a bunch of headshots of dudes, some famous, some not, with kind of lumpy, un-manly faces that, once prompted, you could kinda imagine on an aging lesbian who works at, say, an independent bookstore.

[Tim]

To quote Bart Simpson (back when he was still funny); " AYE CARUMBA!"

[TulpaDerp]

I'll be in my bunk?

[sasob]

How come Paul McCartney wasn't in that list?

And it's no fair including Fess Parker, cuz he's like ancient. By the time men and women get that old they pretty much look the same...unless one of them has a beard.

[RoboCain]

Masi Oka is not old. Nor does he look like a lesbian.

[Dagny T.]

The dude doesn't have to be old to look like at least a middle aged lesbian. And yeah, Masi Oka actually does. The rounder/chubbier the face, the less like a dude you start to look. Beards can be a useful mitigating factor is these cases.

[Sparky]

Leave Tim Tebow alone!!!!

My favorite bit FTA: And in Washington, D.C., Christian teenagers were forced to pray in a gutter after police told them it was illegal to pray on a sidewalk outside the Supreme Court.

Of course, nobody was actually forcing kids to pray in the gutter.

[Episiarch]

God no longer loves Tim; he's gone back to loving Tom Brady.

[Dagny T.]

An uncomfortable fact about Tim Tebow, which may be the only thing about him that doesn't get mentioned enough, is that he's actually pretty damn hot.

[Brett L]

No matter what he tells you, prayer - no matter how fervent - does not prevent STDs or pregnancy.

[Coeus]

Actually, the jezzies have got you covered:

http://jezebel.com/5868205/sho.....-tim-tebow

[Joe M]

"Prey" on him? Hyperbole much?

[Bingo]

Hahaha, I love the "What if Tim Tebow were a Muslim?" related article

[Dagny T.]

I thought the answer to the what-if was going to be "then everyone would be so much more weirded out by his public religiosity and would be Innocently Wondering whether he was terrorist-affiliated" and not "then everyone would luuurrrvvve it so much." Go figure.

[Mike M.]

That's great, a nation full of starving and destitute people is now being ruled by a 28 year old with a double chin.

[Tim]

One day they'll cut him up for steaks.

[wylie]

a piece of meat like that would be much better with a slow/low cooking method.

[sasob]

Cuz pork should be cooked well done.

[Tim]

Rice or a potato dish on the side?

[wylie]

roasted brusslesprouts.

[The Real Barry O]

Let me be clear. I may look 28, but I'm actually 50.

[Ron Paul]

the most unimpressive title yet for a ruler of the Hermit Kingdom: "Great Successor."

However, I'll take it.

[Jews 'n Things]

The Carolina Journal, published by the Raleigh-based John Locke Foundation (for which I've given paid speeches on occasion) reports that staffers in North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue's office have been getting advance word on monthly unemployment statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is highly illegal under federal law and violates what I have understood to be a strong tradition in the BLS and other government statistics that no one?no one at all, not even in the White House?gets advanced word ahead of the public announcement of government statistics.

There's obviously good reason for this: someone with advanced word could place bets in financial and community markets and make lots of money. That's why Congress provided for penalties of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for early release of this data. And there's another excellent reason: government statistical agencies should be free of political influence to insure the integrity of the numbers on which many people depend. My understanding is that an important part of the bureaucratic culture of federal statistical agencies is a pride in their independence and integrity; this is something not to be lightly squandered. Maintaining that culture is vital if the government wants to get highly competent people to dedicate their careers to this important work.

It doesn't appear from the Carolina Journal story that Perdue tried to or indeed could have influenced the numbers; rather her staffers used the heads-up to craft their press releases, presumably to make Perdue look better. That probably hasn't been very effective; her poll numbers have been dreadful and she seems to be behind Republican Pat McCrory (48%-39% in a PPP poll released last week) in her 2012 race for reelection. It is quite shocking to think that someone at the BLS is squandering the agency's integrity just to give a Democratic governor a little edge in writing press releases.

The Carolina Journal also reports that someone in the BLS was giving advance word of statistics to someone in the office of Perdue's predecessor Democratic Governor Mike Easley in 2003 and 2004. This suggests that the culprit is someone at the BLS who is not a political appointee (since Republicans were in power back then) but with Tarheel Democratic connections or sympathies, and it may not be difficult to identify who that might be. There's nothing in the Carolina Journal report to suggest that something like this is happening in other states. But it is something the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee should look into.

http://campaign2012.washington.....rat/264741

[RoboCain]

Lighting candles prevents gun violence

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.c.....more-88333

[juris imprudent]

The wax jams up the gun.

[Jim Walsh]

The Great Successor looks exactly like the fat kid in high school the jocks would torment. That's kinda scary when you think about it...

[Arduin Grimoire]

Look out, Bo! That low-down snake-belly-mean Sheriff Roscoe done set him up one of his genuine impenetrable roadblocks across Possum Gulch! And if them federal boys catch you with Boss Hogg's funny money in the General Lee, you can forget about havin' any of Daisy's huckleberry pie for a while. And what's this? Seems some ol' body left his farm wagon up against the gulch all tilted-like. Now, can any y'all guess what ol' Bo is thinkin' right about now? Stay set, folks, and we'll see if Luke manages to break himself into jail... and if Bo here ever comes down.

[Tim]

Better title ; The Great Succulent Socialist Butterball.

[RoboCain]

"One individual was responsible for coming up with the appalling question," former SigEp member Wes Lewis said. "It was never answered because who it was asked to refused to answer it and the told the new member to change the question immediately."

Lewis also said that it was series of questions between individuals rather than a survey.

Members of the fraternity are still unsure of who authored the question, he said.

http://www.vermontcynic.com/ne.....-1.2682802

[A Serious Man]

Official The Dark Knight Rises full-length trailer released today.

It seems Nolan has picked up on the whole OWS, 1% meme as evident in the way Anne Hathaway (Catwoman) talks to Bruce Wayne during the party scene. And Bane looks pretty awesome, so I got my hopes up for this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x648eA9qgt8

[Tulpa]

Uh, it was filmed last summer (partly here in PGH), so I seriously doubt OWS influenced the dialogue at all.

[wylie]

liberal bullshit -> OWS
|
| -> Hollywood
|
| -> Dark Knight

[wylie]

my kingdom for the proper whitespace in that diagram...

[A Serious Man]

True, but I just read an article that said they considered doing some shooting at Zucotti park back in September while they were filming a scene at Wall Street.

[dbcooper]

Isn't "living large" something only black people say?

[Tulpa]

Also, isn't Catwoman a villain? (rhetorical question)

[Gojira]

Feds tell random dude he can't give away his sperm.

[Tim]

Or anybody else for that matter.

[Episiarch]

Hey Jimbo, I watched The Pit yesterday. Great stuff. When Teddy said "I'm going to look at these a lot" about the pictures he took of the librarian, I almost passed out laughing. Awesome.

[Gojira]

Awesome, thanks for the update. I'll order it online to add to my collection for Christmas.

[Dagny T.]

I clicked the link fully expecting it to be some creepy jizz fetish thing, and lo and behold it turns out he actually just wants to help people. The feds should leave him alone either way, of course; it was just a surprise in these Rule 34 dominated, mysteriously sticky SugarFree times we're living in.

[Coeus]

The best part is that they ordered him to "cease production". He may very well be the first man in history that the US government has officially ordered to stop masturbating.

[Auric Demonocles]

That's really just distribution. It sounds like they are requiring him to become a eunuch.

[Juice]

What the hell is with Korea having only 5 or 6 names? Everyone is named some combination of Kim, Park, Lee, Ho, Choi, or Jung (or one of the variations on those names).

[Tim]

It makes me il.

[The more you know]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.....nventions_(Korean)

[Apatheist]

What do you get when you combine modern feminism and class warfare? A whole fuckload of stupid:
http://jezebel.com/5869324/has.....poor-women

A lot of hilarious comments but I'll leave you this one:

Because raising a child is as much of society's responsibility than that of a parent's? I really hate the argument of "Well, you chose your choice, so now you have to suffer the complications when life doesn't work out the way you planned."

[Warty]

Two sentences. Unsubstantive.

[Apatheist]

This is in response to "smartgal" is is defending the idea that reproductive freedom includes not being forced to pay for other's reproduction:

Except you're not asking someone to prove that it makes logistical sense to set up a welfare state that way, you're just displaying your thinly-veiled horror at the idea that business might have to fork over money for an entitlement. We know this because it's well-documented that you're a psycho Ron Paul libertarian.

People have answered your question: if business doesn't like it, we vote for it anyway and dare them to move or close shop. Because there are many ways to pay for things through taxes, and because nowhere is it written in stone that the marginal cost of contributing to maternity leave insurance will decimate profits or tax revenues, seeing as other countries get away with it.

[Apatheist]

"smart gal" who is defending...

[Dagny T.]

After a certain point, I can't even be bothered to try to wade through their feeble excuses for reasoning (drink!). My brain just refuses to voluntarily take in more stupid. But: what do we say in the face of not-mocking-feminists? Not today.

Treating childbirth as a choice punishes 45% of the population for a normal and vital social and biological function.

Treating choices like choices is mean.

I also think there should be federally-funded paternal leave.

And you get a unicorn! And you! And you!

[sasob]

No wonder they're called feminazis. (No, I'm not a Limbaugh fan.)

[rather]

All you need to know about Ferris Jong

[Old Mexican]

Re: rather,

All you need to know about Ferris Jong

Must have been slow at the Librarian Night at the local bar...

[Tulpa]

General Electric miffed about possible delay in implementing regulation that will enable GE to sell more and crappier light bulbs for higher prices with less competition

Cavanaugh, check your premises. Transitioning to CFLs and LEDs means you sell fewer bulbs since they last longer.

As far as the crappy goes that's a matter of opinion, but CFLs and LEDs certainly cost a lot more to make than incandescents, so the higher prices may well not translate into higher profits. I'd expect a sometime writer for a libertarian magazine to understand the difference between price and profit, but maybe I expect too much.

It's far more profitable to sell razor blades than razors and far more profitable to sell blank DVDs than DVD recorders, so I suspect incandescents are in fact more profitable. But I'm willing to be proven wrong.

[Tim]

Incandescent 100 watt bulb, fifty cents at Lowes.
LED 100 watt bulb like thing with metal fins, 50 DOLLARS at Lowes.

[Tulpa]

I guess the law of supply and demand has a light bulb exception that allows arbitrarily large profits for manufacturers?

[Paul]

Cavanaugh, check your premises. Transitioning to CFLs and LEDs means you sell fewer bulbs since they last longer.

Except they don't. I'm currently replacing CFLs around my house at about the same rate as standard incandescents and they cost a bazillion times as much.

[Joe M]

Yes, that's what I was going to say. Despite claims to the contrary, my experience has been that CFLs last about the same length of time as incandescent, except they're more expensive and toxic.

[Tulpa]

I'm continually amazed by these stories, because I had two CFL bulbs that lasted from 2002-2010, and two more that have been going since 2005. And of course the two I got last year are still going.

Am I just incredibly lucky at picking out bulbs? I dunno. The rigorous tests of bulb lifespans would seem to agree with my personal experience, not those of the anti-CFL people.

[Gojira]

You may have been lucky. I've had both experiences (one lasted 5 years, and another one only lasted 2, which was not enough to make up the marginal cost of going through maybe 3 old-style bulbs in the same time period).

[Paul]

And I also don't get it. A lot of my incandescents last a really long time. I want to say that it's not uncommon in my house for an incandescent to last in excess of a year. Let's see a CFL beat this:

The world's oldest light bulb has been burning for 109 years - so little wonder it has a fan club with thousands of members and its own website.
As EU rules deny householders the right to use traditional filament bulbs, the so-called 'Centennial Light' has been on almost constantly since 1901.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....tbulb.html

[Paul]

Cavanaugh, check your premises. Transitioning to CFLs and LEDs means you sell fewer bulbs since they last longer.

I've had incandescents last nearly as long.

The rigorous tests of bulb lifespans would seem to agree with my personal experience, not those of the anti-CFL people.

Labratory tests, yes. CFLs will last longer... in theory.

The ballast is the weak point. If you turn on an incandescent and never turn it off right next to a cfl that you turn on and never turn off yes, the CFL will last longer.

Unfortunately, I turn my lights off when I leave the house. Sometimes even when I leave the room.

And even if they do last marginally longer, the environmental argument is a laugh-and-a-half. The manufacturing proceses and mercury used to make the things seems to defeat the purpose.

Some of us aren't anti-cfl, we're anti-forced-use CFL. Getting the government into the business of picking 'superior' technology is bound to fail. Especially because there are new technologies emerging with would essentially make the whole debate moot in about five years. But like HD tv, it's not going fast enough for 535 guys living in a swamp.

[Tulpa]

It wouldn't be much harder for a lab to test lifespan with the bulbs being turned off and on at regular intervals either. Why are none of the anti-CFL people able to point to such studies? Government conspiracy?

[Joe M]

And of course, all of this is beside the point, namely, having the freedom to make your own assessment of the pros and cons of all types of bulbs and choose freely.

[Tulpa]

I agree, I just wish Rason would stop gratuitously disparaging perfectly good lighting products in the service of their agenda.

Maybe we need to check Koch Industries' connection to incandescent manufacturing.

[Joe M]

This is similar to the climate change debate. Whether or not it's a real problem, the point is that government mandates are not the solution.

[Timon19]

They're on the whole, decent-to-fairly-shitty lighting products, which doesn't make them nearly worth it for most uses.

I've had CFLs last a good long while (about a year and a half, so far), and others that have lasted less than two weeks. Most of my incandescents last AT LEAST six months.

The key is the application. If you're using them in situations where they are on for hours at a time and you don't care that they turn your skin a sickly gray-green, CFLs are great. I use them for porch and garage lighting. They take a while to spin up when the temperature is below about 50 degrees (and even as low as 70), but I don't care.

Inside, they've been nothing but shit and they look fucking awful. I've changed about 3-5 incandescents in the year and a half I've been in my new house, and I have A LOT of them. At least one of them was when a lamp got knocked over and blew the filament.

[Fluffy]

If they were perfectly good lighting products, they wouldn't need to ban their incandescent competition. Now would they?

Before I try to answer the question of whether you've had good luck picking bulbs, let me ask you: what year was your house built?

[Tulpa]

They don't need to ban their competition. People have been buying them for over a decade.

My house was built a long time ago. Why?

[Paul]

From Seattle City Light:

Avoid excessive on-off cycles.
A CFL usually has about 7,000 on-off cycles in it.It's up to you how you use them.Repeated on-off cycles (more than 20 per day or in motion sensors) will shorten the life of your bulb.

http://www.seattle.gov/light/c.....v5_lw2.htm

here's the EPA on what to do if a CFL breaks:

Before Cleanup
?Have people and pets leave the room.
?Air out the room for 5-10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor environment.
?Shut off the central forced air heating/air-conditioning system, if you have one.
?Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb:
?stiff paper or cardboard;
?sticky tape;
?damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces); and
?a glass jar with a metal lid or a sealable plastic bag.

During Cleanup
?DO NOT VACUUM. Vacuuming is not recommended unless broken glass remains after all other cleanup steps have been taken. Vacuuming could spread mercury-containing powder or mercury vapor.
?Be thorough in collecting broken glass and visible powder.
?Place cleanup materials in a sealable container.

After Cleanup
?Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly. Avoid leaving any bulb fragments or cleanup materials indoors.
?If practical, continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the heating/air conditioning system shut off for several hours.

Really? Yeah, so now a broken CFL requires a team of guys in effing haz-mat suits to tape off your house and perform a super-fund style cleanup.

From the EPRI (via MotherEarthNews):

to avoid cracking the glass, hold onto the plastic part of the bulb as you screw it into the can. Also remember that most CFLs are not designed to last as long in recessed cans. The lifespan of your bulb essentially depends on usage and how often you turn the bulb on and off. Look on the box: generally the manufacturer provides the recommended number of times you can turn the CFL on and off in a day to get the lifespan that you expect.

The bulbs that I've had fail were not in recessed cans. One was a basement lightbulb which was completely exposed. No housing.

My case is admittedly anecdotal.

Oh, the colors tend to suck air. I don't care who says they're "better than ever!!1!!"

[BigT]

Incandescent bulbs can last more than 110 years.

http://www.centennialbulb.org/photos.htm

[Paul]

Posted at 7:38. But yeah, it needs to be said twice.

[Tulpa]

Interesting. Also, all the oxygen molecules in your house can coalesce into your toaster slots and leave you gasping uselessly as you die of asphyxiation.

[sasob]

Incandescent bulbs will last much longer on direct current than alternating, and if they are not turned on and off. They also last longer if operated with a rheostat or dimmer switch.

[Tim Cavanaugh]

Wherever this idea that the new variety lasts longer came from, it has not matched my experience.

Also, I hate the quality of light they produce.

[Paul]

Everything looks green!

[Paul]

And besides, who cares. If GE supports the reg, you can bet by the powers of Greyskull, there's profit in it somewhere.

[Tulpa]

GE is a weird animal; they're driven as much by opportunities to suck at the govt teat as they are driven by profit.

In this case, I suspect they're pissed because they dumped more capital into equipment for producing CFLs and LEDs than the market will support at this time. Govt regulation is like a serrated knife...pulling it out can be even more painful than pushing it in.

[Paul]

And, as Phantom Limb will tell you, serration is only good for bread.

http://forums.f13.net/index.ph.....#msg932786

[Gojira]

And as I never tire of pointing out to people who try to cut bread, Phantom Limb was dead wrong.

6. Bread and rolls are broken off into bite-size pieces (why do you think they call meals, breaking bread!!!) and butter is spread on each bite as you eat it. Never use a knife to cut the bread, nor butter a whole slice at once!

[Paul]

My mother was british and agreed 100% with #6, but, having a personality and accent almost identical to Phantom Limb's, she taught me from a very young age that Serration Is Only Good For Bread.

Essentially, you first slice the baguette with a serrated knive-- and ALWAYS SLICE IT ON THE DIAGONAL-- then once the individual pieces are laid out, you break them up and butter them according to #6.

Or shorter: #6 doesn't negate that Serration is Only Good For Bread.

My British mother and Phantom Limb said so, and they were eerily similar in temperament and personality.

I choose mom.

[tarran]

Tulpy, what happens to GE & Phillips market share when the government puts the manufacturers who don't have the capitalization to go through the permitting process to build new manufacturing plants and get approval for a new product line?

Does their market share go up?

Or does it stay the same?

[Tulpa]

Your first question has a grammatical error somewhere so I'm not sure of the meaing. If you're asking whether the regulation benefits GE and Phillips, obviously it does. The writer of the article Tim links to doesn't seem to understand the difference between business and Big Business.

I'm just saying it's not merely a case of GE being greedy (though that's there too) but they really will lose money if the standards don't go into effect.

[tarran]

No, you were saying that the new regulations wouldn't improve the profitability of the corps, thusly:

"As far as the crappy goes that's a matter of opinion, but CFLs and LEDs certainly cost a lot more to make than incandescents, so the higher prices may well not translate into higher profits."

This new regulation takes out the low-margin competition. Those are the guys whose pricing applies downward pressure on profit margins.

And the fact that GE will lose money if the new rule does not go into effect doesn't bother me at all. When a mobster goes to prison, and ships no longer have to use his favored longshoremen to unload their goods, the sudden poverty of the longshoremen is *not* our problem.

If GE goes bankrupt, it's awesome; it frees up assets tobe used by people who know how to actually run a profitable business by satisfying customers.

[BigT]

Irony - GE founded by Thomas Edison in favor of outlawing Edison's most famous invention.

[Paul]

The rules ? authorized under a 2007 energy law signed by President George W. Bush ? call for incandescent light bulbs to be 30 percent more energy efficient.

DREGULASHUN!

[Joe M]

What if Ron Paul wins Iowa?

A Paul win in Iowa ? combined with a thumping of Gingrich in New Hampshire ? is mostly good for Romney.

Beat the drum, beat the drum, beat the drum...

[Robin Bravender]

Fucking rent seeking - how does it work?!

[Apatheist]

well, it works well

[rather]

Sad,  I wonder if her implants masked the cancer?

[BigT]

I would have needed to examine her more closely.

(you know, of course, that the connection between silicone implants and cancer has been thoroughly debunked, although it bankrupted Dow Corning)

[rather]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life.....nt-scandal

[P Brooks]

Manufacturers are worried that the rider will undermine companies' investments and "allow potential bad actors to sell inefficient light bulbs in the United States without any fear of federal enforcement," said Kyle Pitsor, the trade group's vice president of government relations.

Who will be hardest hit, I wonder?

[Maxxx]

The poor and minorities.

[Joshua Corning]

North Korean ruling circle gives Kim Jong-Il's son Kim Jong-Un what may be the most unimpressive title yet for a ruler of the Hermit Kingdom: "Great Successor." South Korean ambassador Kim Young-mok tells CNN the dicatorship's neighbor will lay low during the transition. Kim Kardashian, Lil Kim reportedly furious over snub.

The lackluster First person shooter "Homefront" predicted all of this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT61-0JJTzk

[--]

Get the mod pack "Homefrontal Nudity" and it wont be so lack luster.

[Michael Haltman]

Learn as much as we know about the new North Korean dictator and youngest son of the last dictator, Kim Jong-Un!

Read the story and watch the video at The Political Commentator here, http://politicsandfinance.blog.....video.html

[DNC]

Note to White House: Our internal polling shows that women don't find your current rhetoric condescending enough. You need to step it up a notch.

'Enabling women to have a voice alongside those of men'...

http://www.reuters.com/article.....N820111219

At least have your SecState say some stupid shit. And get her on the ticket!

[Coeus]

Seattle police unfairly targeted!!!!

It being on policeone, comments are what you'd expect (though there is one decent one. I suspect he's new and he'll be driven out of the force by his fellow officers in a short time.)

http://www.policeone.com/use-o.....eted-them/

[Coeus]

And the best part is that the majority of the defenders defend them by saying that their police departments are much more "hands-on".

[Neu Mejican]

http://swellco2000.com/2011/12.....-websites/

[JB]

Fuck GE, Fuck GE, Fuck GE.

No sane person would buy their products. A bunch of Obama cronies.

[Troy]

Mr. Un is a lil rolly polly. A fatty fat. I wonder how many people will die because he can't see his penis?