First Blog Post

I had difficulty coming up with a post this week. It made me realize how much I take lighting for granted. I notice it, sure, but hardly ever appreciate it. After class today I tried paying attention to as much lighting as I could. Nothing struck me as incredible, or overwhelming, and it wasn't until I got back to my apartment that I really thought about what I could say. I don't know how many of you live in Camino, but I have to say that the light they provide in the room stinks. I actually noticed that the first day I moved in, but only now did it strike me to write about...frankly...how much the light sucks.

There are two big issues with the light. Firstly, the light takes forever to get bright (which it never fully gets to). This indicates to me that it is a CFL (compact fluorescent), which is great to save energy, but not to provide the light that I need. Second, the light never gets very bright, which I honestly don't know whether that is a problem with the bulb or the glass protector around the bulb. The light is on the ceiling, and the glass around the bulb seems to be pretty thick which I assume has quite a bit of dimming power.

The way I get light into my room is easy during the day, and difficult at night. I have two windows, so during the day there is plenty of natural light to be had. However at night, I have to rely on my bed lamp, which also uses a compact fluorescent bulb, but without anything blocking it (ie glass) it is much brighter. However, being a bedside lamp it really only shoots light in a very specific direction, and I can only light half of my room or so.

I just thought it was interesting that in an otherwise beautifully furnished (and lit) apartment, the light in the bedroom where I spend most of my time is pretty weak. I don't have a camera so I can't show you, but I will try and borrow a friends camera for future blog posts.

Chris Lanehart