Rumor mill rumblings

The workshop has been buzzing about all that recent presidential excitement in the USA. We’ve never had an election here at the North Pole. Santa has been in charge from the beginning and no one has complained. He must be doing something right. All other countries of the world should take note.

Remember Geek My Tree (www.geekmytree.com)? They’ve been to several Christmas Expos. Brad and his father created a great product that let you light your tree in just a few minutes with the latest RGB smart pixel technology. They appeared on ABC’s TV show called Shark Tank and got an investor to take them to the big leagues. My mother used to say “be careful what you wish for” and that might be true for Geek My Tree. Being high profile also means competition and there’s already a cheap knock-off on sale at Walmart. Santa bought one and was far from impressed. Cheaply made, limited functions and not all that bright. Lesson to be learned from the big man in red: don’t fall for low cost imitations. Get the real deal.

Looks like Christmas Expo 2017 (www.ChristmasExpo.com) is heading for Music City, also known as Nashville, Tennessee. Santa reminded me the event started in a suburb of Nashville way back in 2003 by a group of dedicated decorators wanting to help others. Thank goodness, or many wouldn’t be over-the-top decorating today and Santa would never be able to find your houses at Christmas. Come July you’ll probably find me in Nashville at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge downtown on Broadway most every evening. Feel free to buy me a drink. Christmas Expo. Be there. I’m already getting thirsty.

Rumors are rampart Light-O-Rama (www.lightorama.com) has struggled to keep up with demand for their new smart pixel controller boards that fit in neatly with all the other great Light-O-Rama hardware and software. Finally, someone is simplifying the overly complex world of smart pixels. Just over $6 per smart pixel string port is about half of what everyone else charges. But, apparently, a low price means very high demand. Some sort of challenges with a now bankrupt shipping company and then having to get another manufacturer to quickly build replacement boards led to a quality control issue and ultimately slow deliveries of the final product. I’ve been told Light-O-Rama is finally filling backorders and fresh orders will be shipping within a few days. I’m seeing smart pixels taking over the world.

Remember years ago, when the first gizmos came out that shot a zillion green laser dots against a wall and people thought it was the end of Christmas lights as we knew them? Those initial products had a lifespan of a few hours and the idea faded quickly but started coming back to life last year. Now it’s hard to walk down the store aisle and not trip over one of those laser things. We have a couple here at the Pole and Eldridge aimed them up at the canopy of a snow-covered spruce. When the wind is blowing, it makes a great effect with the zillion green and red laser dots moving around. What we couldn’t figure out was the sudden burst of plane crashes in the area. Then there was the knock at Santa’s door by the men in black. Don’t aim those laser gizmos into the air. Airplane pilots don’t appreciate the sudden night blindness. Lesson learned.

This article was included in the November 2016 issue of PlanetChristmas Magazine.

By Master Elf N. B. Scuttlebutt