I've been "looking up" at stuff on utility poles for well over 40 years and of course the most fascinating things I've seen up in the air have been the insulators I could tell (and have told) some mind-blowing stories about. Through the years I've also eye-balled many a nice vintage street light and consequently I have quite a collection (amassment) of them too.

Recently I got some skinny about the "arrangement" as seen in the accompanying photograph. Although none of this stuff is old I was informed it was rather "perplexing" to say the least. The location is a couple towns from here and I simply HAD to have a look/see for myself. Here you see *five* mammoth, industrial-size floodlights clustered on an otherwise every day utility pole with 13.8kv distribution above and communications cables closely beneath.

Our electric utility rents these lights and does to several adjacent businesses. I've *never* seen so many light fixtures configured on one pole, let alone imagining the incredible amount of power it takes to stoke these bad boys up! An Energy Star competition or accreditation is very unlikely here. And lets not forget about the brillance here, kids. I can safely say there is more combined candle power strewn from this sparkling, ornamental jewel than from any lighthouse in the United States. Nothing that Thomas Edison probably would have had within his wildest dreams. You virtually need sunglasses to walk beneath these monstrosities at night.

Is energy conservation at issue here? Nahhhh. How about light pollution, nahhhh also. It baffles me as to what someone was thinking each time a new light was added since they illuminate regular, everyday businesses.

All I can think of is the ancient addage: "Let There Be Light!"

And so it was...here!

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