"Christmas" Is Here

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere I go.

No I'm not about to break into song, it's literally true. I was at the supermarkets today and every isle had either Christmas versions of stuff, or decorations thereof. The trees are popping up all over the place. Even our high street lights have been installed. Mind you, I don't remember if they actually ever took them off.

One change I've noticed over the years with our lights is that they've gotten more "energy saving". A lot of them are made of thin light tubes that are most likely LED and some kind of fibre optics that amplify the light somehow. Mind you, all they have to do is dial down the other lights and the Christmas ones will shine more. Our eyes adapt to the available light so the brighter the other lights are, the brighter the decorations have to be to stand out.

I'm sure the council has been trying their best to reduce their carbon footprints generally. If not for the environment, to cut costs. Lower energy decorations mean lower electricity bills I suppose. Talking of which, mine has gone up yet again. As we approach winter, all my utility bills are starting to mount - especially gas. I am considering experimenting with electric heating this winter to see if that's actually cheaper. I know gas was cheaper in the past, but with these crazy price hikes we've had for over a year now, that may have changed significantly.

Technology has also improved. The heating system I have now is decades old - half a century hold actually. I can imagine it's super inefficient and is costing me unnecessary money. It's expensive to upgrade, but it may be worth it in the mid to long run.

Peace & Love,

Adé