The rumor mill again
Half fact, half rumor and half wild speculation on LED pricing
Government overthrows, earthquakes, tsunamis, nuclear meltdowns. What in the world is going on with everyone down south? Sounds like the earth is falling apart. Head to the North Pole where everything is doing just fine.
Hearing some disturbing rumors about LED pricing. Seems Christmas light production is moving to Vietnam where labor is cheaper yet the overall price of LED strings are going up 15% this year because of the never-ending shortage of copper. I’m sensing some sort of conspiracy similar to the pricing of gasoline. How can trouble in the Middle East yesterday end up with the price of gas going up a dime at the North Pole gas station this morning? Surely a gallon of crude oil isn’t turned into gasoline and deposited in the underground tank of my local gas station in less than 24 hours! And why does it take so much longer for the gas price to go down after the crude price has gone down? I’m not a betting elf but I’m putting my money on oil companies muscling into the Christmas light business.
Looks like my second favorite Christmas event has gone through a name change. I’ll admit to feeling quite “in the know” when bragging to the other elves about going to PLUS. Most would look at me funny, twitch their ears and ask what a PLUS was? I’d say it was the big Christmas expo where all the decorators came together, learned from the best and saw the latest from the vendors. Then they would say that was fine but why was it called PLUS? If I happened to be next to a computer I could punch a few keys and figure out it’s an acronym for PlanetChristmas Lights Up Symposium. If there wasn’t a computer around I would quickly change the subject. Ohhhhhh. I’m starting to understand. Christmas Expo or www.ChristmasExpo.com is a whole lot easier to remember. D’OH! I’m still calling it PLUS because I’m an official old timer.
Light-O-Rama new product rumors are swirling everywhere. Light controllers with built in C-7 incandescents so LED strings dim “normally” sounds quite intriguing. Their S2 sequencing software has been overhauled so it’s called S3 with all sorts of new bells and whistles, including features from SuperStar. Nice! Then there’s the rumor of some sort of 21st century X-10 controllers meaning there’s no need for data cables daisy chained around the yard. It’s too much for one elf to comprehend. The absolute latest is this will be shown at Christmas Expo. Get out of my way. I gotta get to PLUS, I mean Christmas Expo… or whatever it’s called. Gatlinburg, here I come!
Remember that megatree of a couple of years ago where every light could be told to be a different color at anytime and you could see images moving around. It sure looks like what the SeaWorld Sea of Trees used. Now there’s a website. Checkout www.stellascapes.com Why do I keep thinking about Marlon Brando and A Streetcar Named Desire???
So much more to say but no more room. Don’t worry. I’ll be back! Know something I can share with the everyone? Think of this nosey elf as the WikiLeaks of the Christmas world. From safe and secure Santa’s Workshop:
Merry Christmas!
This article was included in the March 2011 issue of PlanetChristmas Magazine.
By Master Elf N. B. Scuttlebutt
