Comments on: The Simple Dollar Morning Roundup: My Least Favorite Thing About TV Playoff Baseball Coverage Edition

By: Pam

Pam — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:16:52 +0000

I hate the color of compact fluorescents, I feel like I am in the dark. I even prefer clear bulbs to soft white because the light is a little sharper. Reveal (trademark) bulbs are even better but I use them only a few places because it seems too extravagant to pay for premium lightbulbs. Halogen bulbs I like a lot–they are a much whiter light–but the energy savings are much less and they are less available in stores because of the safety issues.

Are there any compact flourescents that are whiter light? Higher wattage doesn’t do it for me, the room still seems dark because the color of the light is so grey.

Years ago I also saw a figure that turning fluorescents on and off uses much more energy, so they only save energy if you leave them on for at least an hour. Is this still true?

By: Trent K.

Trent K. — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 05:22:45 +0000

I’m 18 and I can’t stand Dane Cook.

I think baseball playoffs are more likely to be watched by the same people, watching almost every game, rather than a bunch of different people watching one or two games.

I’m one of the people who likes watching baseball so i’m sick of seeing the same commercials.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 04:11:20 +0000

Go Rockies!

I’ll be fair and say I’m not normally a baseball fan. I’ve watched a few World Series games, but none of the LDS or LCS before. But I’m a CO native and I’ve jumped on the Rockies bandwagon.

I despise all commercials. It’s a lot each month, but I definitely enjoy my dual-tuner HD DVR.

By: Nate

Nate — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:55:37 +0000

Dane Cook is probably a 18-25 demographic, which is probably what TBS is targeting. I am 23 and enjoy Dane Cook, I do like the commercials though the ‘one october’ slogan bugs me and I just say there’s one next year too.

By: Steve W

Steve W — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 19:01:15 +0000

Between the steriods, Barry Bonds, asterisk-statistics (astertistics?), canceling the 94 World Series, lack of revenue-sharing, artificial turf, meaningless inter-league play, and the DH — between all that, baseball has a lot bigger problems than Dane Cook. I quit on it years ago.

By: Kat

Kat — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 18:24:42 +0000

Ooh, I hate those Dan Cook commercials too. And they have been on for months.
Switching your bulbs doesn’t mean you are “going green”. You need to do a lot more than just switching your bulbs to go green.
I can’t use them either, Keter, and actually had to leave a job because they wouldn’t change the lighting near me.

By: Keter

Keter — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 18:07:03 +0000

@Dana and !wanda – the new ones still give me headaches and eye pain. I have enough trouble because I am on a computer 10+ hours a day; my monitors are set at 90Hz (highest they will go) and I still see flicker.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:43:18 +0000

I’ve been keeping the remote in my hand and quickly hitting the “MUTE” button during the commercials this year.

I’m not really sure who Dane Cooks audience is either, and I just had this conversation with two other people within the last week. I can’t find anyone that likes him.

Here’s a link to a sportwriter complaining about TBS’s coverage this year. So you’re not alone, Trent.

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10398254

By: !wanda

!wanda — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:23:18 +0000

@Dana: Try newer fluorescent bulbs. Old fluorescent bulbs, with magnetic ballasts, flicker at 120Hz; you can’t detect the flicker consciously, but it can still affect you. This kind is probably the type that gives you headaches. Newer bulbs have electronic ballasts, and the body can’t detect them flickering. They are associated with much less eyestrain and headache and are also more energy-efficient. Most CFLs sold today are of this type. It’s worth a try, and you might be pleasantly surprised.

By: laura k

laura k — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:14:48 +0000

I have some of my lights on timers and/or light sensors. One of the ones with a sensor does not turn on CFLs, perhaps because it’s close to 20 years old. (Incidentally, since it also happens to be attached to the lamp that the cats knock over at least a couple times/year, I’ve decided it’s better for the environment and my wallet to have to replace broken incandescent rather than CF bulbs.)

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:36:17 +0000

Regarding CFLs: fluorescent light is a known migraine trigger. Some of us sticking with incandescent bulbs have a legitimate reason for doing so, and it’s really frustrating to hear over and over how unreasonable we are being. I’m not “going green” at the price of blinding pain and nausea 24/7.

By: Brett

Brett — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:53:01 +0000

Fluorescent and incandescent lights aren’t perfect substitutes, which means it’s not necessarily “irrational” to prefer incandescents just because they’re more expensive. In particular, retail stores tend to prefer incandescent lights, because they make their merchandise look and sell better.

Personally, I use both, depending on the application, and there’s a very clear difference in color quality.

By: Lloyd

Lloyd — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:08:39 +0000

As a fan of the game, I think Dane Cook’s commercials do a great job of capturing the essence of the postseason. October is what I live for in terms of sports. Those Frank commercials on the other hand….Shoot me, please.

By: Lazy Man

Lazy Man — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:06:52 +0000

The first two hundred Frank TV ads on TBS were fine with me. It’s the last six hundred that made it my least favorite part of the playoffs.

By: FinanceAndFat

FinanceAndFat — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:01:56 +0000

Interesting chart at the Economist. I’m working at replacing the bulbs, slowly, but maybe I should also jump on that insulation project I’ve been considering. It seems pricey on the surface, but it could help my house and help save the world. :)