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Domain: planetchristmas.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to planetchristmas.com.

Comments · 6

  1. Re:If they are still not dimmable they still suck by SkyDude · · Score: 1 · on LED Lighting As Cheap As CFLs Invented
    I can't speak to the technology involved in making LEDs dim; others here have done so quite well. I will note that LEDs have become very popular with the 100,000-lights-on-my-house Christmas decorators, mostly because of the tiny amount of current they draw. Instead of running up a $2,000US electric bill in December, a decorator who replaces his old incandescent lights with LEDs will see an increase of less than $50 - $100, depending on how many thousands he's using.

    The major drawback that decorators have discovered is that LEDs won't last very long when used on computer controlled dimmers and flashing systems. Some have reported the LEDs are dead after just a few hours of being attached to a controller.

    Any one here have any thoughts on this?

    And yes, Virginia, there really is a website devoted to the Christmas geeks: http://www.planetchristmas.com/

  2. xmas light geeks by Alien54 · · Score: 2, Interesting · on Christmas Lights and Google Maps
    well, while there are plenty of houses out there, that guy in Ohio hit the Today show right after Thanksgiving (warning, IE required), and he had to turn things off because of the traffic going into his cul-de-sac created problems. That said, his work was the best coordinated of many shows out there. Compared to others on Google Video, his work is much better.

    The real geeks of this sort of thing hang out at Planet Christmas

  3. Re:What a waste of power by Odin's+Raven · · Score: 3, Insightful · on Christmas Lighting in Abundance
    Genghis9> What a waste of power
    Genghis9> And time.
    skinfitz> ...and money. If he want's to throw away
    skinfitz> money he should give it to a charity.

    I suppose the FAQ could've been better written on the monetary point, but if I'm reading it correctly he's expecting the electic bill for the display to be about $156 [1]. Not per day, not per week -- $156 total. This is not a lot of money, nor an outrageous amount of power. An interesting point in the FAQ is that the lights are never all on at the same time, so it's not as extravagent (at least not power-wise :-) as it might appear at first glance.

    Waste of time? The guy does it because he likes doing it. Some folks spend their free time rebuilding old cars, or tinkering with homebrew computer rigs, or smacking around a golfball. Any hobby probably looks like a waste of time to those who aren't interested in it, but if you're having fun doing something then it's not wasted time.

    The "shoulda given the money to charity" point is a slippery slope. The PlayStation in Little Timmy's stocking costs a pretty penny -- should he get his toy when there's starving people in the world? That's a moral question, and different people will have different answers -- and I for one couldn't say which answer it "right". (And just so I don't sound too terribly pompous, I know that I'd keep the PlayStation. :-)

    But isn't there something to be said for giving to your community? By all reports, a whole lot of people come by to see the display. It might not be your cup of tea, but there's many in his area who truly enjoy what he does.

    [1] Total based on the 2003 portion of the FAQ that estimates the cost will increase by $100, combined with the 2002 portion of the FAQ where he estimated the bill at $56.

    BTW, Google cache of the PlanetChristmas FAQ, since the original page is Slashdotted right now.

  4. My boss does this too. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on Christmas Lighting in Abundance

    He was recently on the Japanese equivalent of Good Morning America.

    He also sells the hardware and software used to control the lights. His website is Light-O-Rama. The major competition is Animated Lighting. The (currently slashdotted) chat rooms at Planet Christmas are your best bet for deciding which solution is your best bet.

  5. Re:Has everyone forgotten the Dec 25 Birthday? by stefanlasiewski · · Score: 1 · on Christmas is Coming

    Hey man, this guy *is* paying respect.

    The birthday boy (Santa Claus) is right there, in *the helicopter*, you can't get much more respectful then that!

  6. Wow! by PopeAlien · · Score: 1 · on Christmas is Coming

    A cheery suicide story for Xmess - Thanx slashdot! .. I'll be hanging out at the mall jabbing sharp products in my eyes if anyone wants to get ahold of me..