Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

(The current ratio of off-topic to boating threads is running about
4:1. The current ratio of OT to boating posts is running almost 13:1).

I'm going to be rigging for a couple of lighted boat parades and I'm
trying to figure whether to run my Honda 1100 watt genset or run off of
the inverter. Anybody know, offhand, how many amps a string of the itsy
bitsy holiday lights might draw? If I can get a couple of hours of
light off the inverter bank
I won't screw around with the gasoline powered genset.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

Chuck, are you talking about the 1000 bulb strings that peole wrap
their Christmas trees 20 times with ? The ones with the box that makes
them doo all kinds of tricks?

or standard 120v. small bulbs.

the tinly little lights don't pull much at all individually, but still,
amps x volts = watts

you sould see on the string what the wattage is that will be needed to
carry them. and how many lights are you trying to pull with your
inverter?

It's really not difficult.


Chuck Gould wrote:
(The current ratio of off-topic to boating threads is running about
4:1. The current ratio of OT to boating posts is running almost 13:1).

I'm going to be rigging for a couple of lighted boat parades and I'm
trying to figure whether to run my Honda 1100 watt genset or run off of
the inverter. Anybody know, offhand, how many amps a string of the itsy
bitsy holiday lights might draw? If I can get a couple of hours of
light off the inverter bank
I won't screw around with the gasoline powered genset.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

good call, Tom. I wasn't sure how many lights Chuck was going to pull,
but I did think that the genset would be a bit of overkill.



Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On 18 Nov 2006 16:58:43 -0800, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:

I'm going to be rigging for a couple of lighted boat parades and I'm
trying to figure whether to run my Honda 1100 watt genset or run off of
the inverter. Anybody know, offhand, how many amps a string of the itsy
bitsy holiday lights might draw? If I can get a couple of hours of
light off the inverter bank
I won't screw around with the gasoline powered genset.

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)



Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type. I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings. Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.

The bulbs themselves use a lot less power than the larger old fashioned
C7 lights, but people tend to use so many more of them that they end up
not saving much power.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
oups.com...


I'm going to be rigging for a couple of lighted boat parades and I'm
trying to figure whether to run my Honda 1100 watt genset or run off of
the inverter. Anybody know, offhand, how many amps a string of the itsy
bitsy holiday lights might draw? If I can get a couple of hours of
light off the inverter bank
I won't screw around with the gasoline powered genset.


The problem is that those boxes of lights usually don't indicate wattage or
amp draw.
They just say "120 vac". But ....

I strung several strings of lights on a car trailer one year for a Halloween
hay ride. Since I didn't know what the draw was, I did not want to risk
powering the inverter from the tractor battery, so I charged up a deep cell
and installed it on the trailer A frame. Ran the lights using a Radio Shack
700 watt inverter and the lights were run for several hours continuously
without killing the battery.

Eisboch

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

On 18 Nov 2006 16:58:43 -0800, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:

(The current ratio of off-topic to boating threads is running about
4:1. The current ratio of OT to boating posts is running almost 13:1).

I'm going to be rigging for a couple of lighted boat parades and I'm
trying to figure whether to run my Honda 1100 watt genset or run off of
the inverter. Anybody know, offhand, how many amps a string of the itsy
bitsy holiday lights might draw? If I can get a couple of hours of
light off the inverter bank
I won't screw around with the gasoline powered genset.

Here's some commercial LED types that are supposedly 'energy efficient'.
You might just give them a call about specifics.

http://tinyurl.com/y35peo

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:



Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)

Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type.

No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings. Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.

Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.

NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...
.................................................. .................................................. ..........................
.................................................. .................................................. ..........................

I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
. ..
On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)
Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type.
No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in
the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling
around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.
Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.

NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...
.................................................. .................................................. .........................
.................................................. .................................................. .........................

I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W




You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that most of
the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the visibility is
good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I got 24" and 28" chain
saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.

How can anyone refuse an offer like that?

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
. ..
On 11/19/2006 8:28 AM, Jim wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
. ..
On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string
and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)
Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type.
No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in
the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling
around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.
Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.
NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...
.................................................. .................................................. .........................
.................................................. .................................................. .........................

I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W



You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that most
of the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the visibility
is good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I got 24" and 28"
chain saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.

How can anyone refuse an offer like that?


So, what time will you be here?
Noon

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 13:09:48 GMT, "Jim" wrote:


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
. ..
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:



Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)

Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type.

No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings. Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.

Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.

NO WAY
2.4W............................................ .................................................. .....
................................................ .................................................. ...........................
................................................ .................................................. ...........................

I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W

These are GE lights that I've had for at least ten years and the boxes
have the wattage rating right on them at the back.

Tell you what - I'll go down to the barn, pull out the power analyzer
and check them.

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I'm more than willing to admit it.

No problems. :)

Me too. :^{ )

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

Harry Krause wrote:
On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)

Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type.

No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in
the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling
around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.

Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.


NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...

.................................................. .................................................. .........................

.................................................. .................................................. .........................


I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W




You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that most
of the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the visibility
is good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I got 24" and 28"
chain saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.

I wouldn't trust half the characters in here with a dull butter
knife...let alone a 28" chain saw!
I finally got my 8 month old Ranger truck dirty yesterday hauling the
scrap lumber from my deck addition project to a construction debris
site. One more load should make my backyard presentable.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 13:28:12 GMT, "Jim" wrote:


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
m...

On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
m...

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:


Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)

Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type.

No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.


I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in
the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling
around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.

Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.

NO WAY
2.4W.......................................... .................................................. .......
.............................................. .................................................. .............................
.............................................. .................................................. .............................

I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W

You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that most of
the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the visibility is
good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I got 24" and 28" chain
saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.

How can anyone refuse an offer like that?


Agreed. :)

Tom could bring his 'Tree Farmer' to help out.
http://www.equipfind.com/logging/1985TreeFarmerC5D.htm

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 10:47:58 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

On 11/19/2006 10:40 AM, Don White wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:
On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)
Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type.
No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in
the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling
around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.
Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.

NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...

.................................................. .................................................. .........................

.................................................. .................................................. .........................


I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W



You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that most
of the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the visibility
is good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I got 24" and 28"
chain saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.

I wouldn't trust half the characters in here with a dull butter
knife...let alone a 28" chain saw!
I finally got my 8 month old Ranger truck dirty yesterday hauling the
scrap lumber from my deck addition project to a construction debris
site. One more load should make my backyard presentable.



Come on...imagine "Smithers" with a real chain saw. He's surely cut off
both his legs.

For someone you don't give an *f* about, you sure whine about Reggie a lot.
Have you ever noticed that?

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 11:19:21 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

On 11/19/2006 11:03 AM, JohnH wrote:
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 10:47:58 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

On 11/19/2006 10:40 AM, Don White wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:
On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)
Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type.
No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in
the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling
around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.
Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.
NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...

.................................................. .................................................. .........................

.................................................. .................................................. .........................


I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W


You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that most
of the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the visibility
is good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I got 24" and 28"
chain saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.
I wouldn't trust half the characters in here with a dull butter
knife...let alone a 28" chain saw!
I finally got my 8 month old Ranger truck dirty yesterday hauling the
scrap lumber from my deck addition project to a construction debris
site. One more load should make my backyard presentable.


Come on...imagine "Smithers" with a real chain saw. He's surely cut off
both his legs.

For someone you don't give an *f* about, you sure whine about Reggie a lot.
Have you ever noticed that?


Facilitating again, eh?

You needed none. You did quite nicely without!

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 11:38:03 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

On 11/19/2006 11:32 AM, JohnH wrote:
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 11:19:21 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

On 11/19/2006 11:03 AM, JohnH wrote:
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 10:47:58 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

On 11/19/2006 10:40 AM, Don White wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:
On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)
Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type.
No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in
the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling
around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.
Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.
NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...

.................................................. .................................................. .........................

.................................................. .................................................. .........................


I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W


You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that most
of the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the visibility
is good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I got 24" and 28"
chain saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.
I wouldn't trust half the characters in here with a dull butter
knife...let alone a 28" chain saw!
I finally got my 8 month old Ranger truck dirty yesterday hauling the
scrap lumber from my deck addition project to a construction debris
site. One more load should make my backyard presentable.

Come on...imagine "Smithers" with a real chain saw. He's surely cut off
both his legs.
For someone you don't give an *f* about, you sure whine about Reggie a lot.
Have you ever noticed that?

Facilitating again, eh?

You needed none. You did quite nicely without!


Not at all. I think "Smithers" is a piece of sh*t. I see no reason to
hold back.

I can't understand why you could feel so strongly about him. He's done
little more than correct some fallacious thinking on your part and tried to
instill in you a little civility.

Be nice.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

Harry Krause wrote:
On 11/19/2006 11:32 AM, JohnH wrote:
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 11:19:21 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

On 11/19/2006 11:03 AM, JohnH wrote:
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 10:47:58 -0500, Harry Krause

wrote:

On 11/19/2006 10:40 AM, Don White wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:
On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in
message ...

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet

wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini
string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years
Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)
Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless
they're the
LED type.
No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could
find in the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was
pulling around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp
draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.
Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200
watts
total.
NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...

.................................................. .................................................. .........................

.................................................. .................................................. .........................


I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W


You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that
most of the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the
visibility is good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled.
I got 24" and 28" chain saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.
I wouldn't trust half the characters in here with a dull butter
knife...let alone a 28" chain saw!
I finally got my 8 month old Ranger truck dirty yesterday hauling
the scrap lumber from my deck addition project to a construction
debris site. One more load should make my backyard presentable.

Come on...imagine "Smithers" with a real chain saw. He's surely cut
off both his legs.
For someone you don't give an *f* about, you sure whine about Reggie
a lot.
Have you ever noticed that?

Facilitating again, eh?

You needed none. You did quite nicely without!


Not at all. I think "Smithers" is a piece of sh*t. I see no reason to
hold back.
Harry,
It is nice to see you care so much about me. I would hate to think you
didn't care.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 14:55:02 GMT, "Jim" wrote:


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
m...
On 11/19/2006 8:28 AM, Jim wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
. ..
On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet

wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string
and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival
of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)
Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're
the
LED type.
No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find
in
the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling
around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw
with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.
Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.
NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...
.................................................. .................................................. .........................
.................................................. .................................................. .........................

I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W



You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that most
of the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the
visibility
is good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I got 24" and
28"
chain saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.

How can anyone refuse an offer like that?


So, what time will you be here?
Noon

I was thinking more along the lines of the Twelfth of Never.
He asked for the time, not the date. Sheesh.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 13:09:48 GMT, "Jim" wrote:


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
. ..
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:



Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)

Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type.

No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings. Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.

Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.

NO WAY
2.4W............................................ .................................................. .....
................................................ .................................................. ...........................
................................................ .................................................. ...........................

I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W

Crap - well, don't I look stupid. :)

I took the power analyzer out and took a look - works out to 40.3
watts per 100 mini's.

You're right.

Upon reading the box, the only way I can think of that I came up with
that is that I read it wrong - it's small print, I took off my glasses
to read it. It's 2.5 volts per bulb.

My bad.

I APOLOGISE A THOUSAND TIMES!! I MADE A MISTAKE!!!!

I'M ONLY HUMAN!!! :)

Oh, and the inverter in my truck is 1k watts, not 350.

D'Oh!!!
No need to grovel. Just send one of those el cheapo blanks you are trying to
give away, with some of your winding handiwork and instructions on how to
use the darn thing. What sort of instrument are you using to get such a
precise reading?
Jim (smiley)

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 19:30:30 GMT, "Jim" wrote:


No need to grovel. Just send one of those el cheapo blanks you are trying
to
give away, with some of your winding handiwork and instructions on how to
use the darn thing.

I'd be glad to do that for you - sometime over the winter. I'm
running on short time until after Christmas.

What sort of instrument are you using to get such a precise reading?

Fluke bench DMM - a left over from the consulting days.

Measured the current, got an accurate reading on the voltage, applied
Ohm's law.

This Fluke also has a power recording feature, but that was off by 5
watts.


A Fluke? I'll never replace my Simpson 260. The one that has a sticker
on it that says, "US Government Property, Department of the Navy".

Eisboch (now, how the heck did *that* show up in my toolbox?)

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

Harry Krause wrote:
On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)

Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type.

No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in
the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling
around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.

Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.


NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...

.................................................. .................................................. .........................

.................................................. .................................................. .........................


I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W




You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that most
of the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the visibility
is good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I got 24" and 28"
chain saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.

Are you paying scale?

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

Harry Krause wrote:

On 11/19/2006 7:29 PM, Dan wrote:

Harry Krause wrote:

On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string
and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)

Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type.

No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find
in the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling
around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.

Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.


NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...

.................................................. .................................................. .........................

.................................................. .................................................. .........................


I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W



You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that
most of the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the
visibility is good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I
got 24" and 28" chain saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.


Are you paying scale?



Sure, the unskilled rate.

OK. So what's the difference?

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 15:26:56 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
. ..
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 19:30:30 GMT, "Jim" wrote:


No need to grovel. Just send one of those el cheapo blanks you are
trying
to
give away, with some of your winding handiwork and instructions on how
to
use the darn thing.

I'd be glad to do that for you - sometime over the winter. I'm
running on short time until after Christmas.

What sort of instrument are you using to get such a precise reading?

Fluke bench DMM - a left over from the consulting days.

Measured the current, got an accurate reading on the voltage, applied
Ohm's law.

This Fluke also has a power recording feature, but that was off by 5
watts.

A Fluke? I'll never replace my Simpson 260. The one that has a sticker
on it that says, "US Government Property, Department of the Navy".

Eisboch (now, how the heck did *that* show up in my toolbox?)

Nothing like a precision bench DMM - especially a Fluke.

I have a Simpson 260 myself. One of the best meters ever made in my
opinion. I have a Fluke portable, but if I'm working on something and
need a portable, I always grab the Simpson.

I feel the same way about my Bird 43 with the 4304 adaptors. I've had
that thing forever.

Had a Simpson for years. Until a battery leaked and ate lots of the inside
up. Was a great meter. I have a Fluke for the house / garage. But in a 99
cent store one day, is a nice small digital DVM with diode checker, etc.
Bought that one for the boat box. A nice meter.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 19:30:30 GMT, "Jim" wrote:


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
. ..
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 14:55:02 GMT, "Jim" wrote:


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
news:MK6dncTjSpJEwv3YnZ2dnUVZ_qKdnZ2d@comcast. com...
On 11/19/2006 8:28 AM, Jim wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
. ..
On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet

wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini
string
and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years
Festival
of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)
Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're
the
LED type.
No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find
in
the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling
around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw
with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.
Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200
watts
total.
NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...
.................................................. .................................................. .........................
.................................................. .................................................. .........................

I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W



You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that
most
of the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the
visibility
is good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I got 24" and
28"
chain saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.

How can anyone refuse an offer like that?


So, what time will you be here?
Noon

I was thinking more along the lines of the Twelfth of Never.
He asked for the time, not the date. Sheesh.

Oh no - not another extended discussion about the nature of time. :)

Depends on the Black Energy, the counterpart to Gravity.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Dan" wrote in message
nk.net...
Harry Krause wrote:

On 11/19/2006 7:29 PM, Dan wrote:

Harry Krause wrote:

On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet

wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string
and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival
of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)

Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're
the
LED type.

No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in
the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling
around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw
with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.

Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.


NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...
.................................................. .................................................. .........................
.................................................. .................................................. .........................

I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W



You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that most
of the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the visibility
is good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I got 24" and 28"
chain saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.


Are you paying scale?



Sure, the unskilled rate.

OK. So what's the difference?


Same he pays the Mexican day laborers.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
ink.net...


Had a Simpson for years. Until a battery leaked and ate lots of the
inside up. Was a great meter. I have a Fluke for the house / garage.
But in a 99 cent store one day, is a nice small digital DVM with diode
checker, etc. Bought that one for the boat box. A nice meter.


99% of the time that's all you need. I have a few of them because whenever
I need a meter to work on something I can never find one, so I buy a new
(cheap) one.

I have the Simpson with it's original case and also a Fluke DVOM that I
rarely use anymore. The Simpson is more of a collectable now ... my only
souvenir of 9 years in the Navy. I used to have a nice, dual channel
O'scope as well, but I haven't seen it in years. Don't know what happened
to it.

Eisboch

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

Tektronix 561 with the plugins?

That was a great scope - used to own one myself.

No, although we used them in the Navy. The one I had I purchased after I
got out of the Navy ... I think it was made by Hitachi. For the life of me,
I can't remember what happened to it. It's either packed away in a moving
box that I haven't opened in years or I ..... oh ..... now I remember
......

When we were buying our first house back in 1981 we had a huge yard sale to
raise money for the downpayment/closing costs. I sold it then ... along
with a pair of the original Bose 901's that I had treasured for years. Also
.... two Sansui power amps, four-channel decoder, (before the days of "Dolby
surround sound", Teac reel to reel tape deck ... Dual 1219 deck ...a bunch
of cool stuff given up for the sake of domestic tranquility.

Eisboch

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 05:46:40 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Calif Bill" wrote in message
hlink.net...


Had a Simpson for years. Until a battery leaked and ate lots of the
inside up. Was a great meter. I have a Fluke for the house / garage.
But in a 99 cent store one day, is a nice small digital DVM with diode
checker, etc. Bought that one for the boat box. A nice meter.


99% of the time that's all you need. I have a few of them because whenever
I need a meter to work on something I can never find one, so I buy a new
(cheap) one.

I have the Simpson with it's original case and also a Fluke DVOM that I
rarely use anymore. The Simpson is more of a collectable now ... my only
souvenir of 9 years in the Navy. I used to have a nice, dual channel
O'scope as well, but I haven't seen it in years. Don't know what happened
to it.


Tektronix 561 with the plugins?

That was a great scope - used to own one myself.


My favorite is the Tek 465B, I've got one that has done very well for
me, after using a handful of modern scopes I still won't give up my 465.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

Best route it to throw an extra deep cell battery somewhere and run the
inverter off it.

2.5 watts? Common sense should have told you that was impossible.
Even one single night light bulb is 5 watts.

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 14:55:02 GMT, "Jim" wrote:


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
On 11/19/2006 8:28 AM, Jim wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
. ..
On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini string
and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)
Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless they're the
LED type.
No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could find in
the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was pulling
around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.
Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.
NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...
.................................................. .................................................. .........................
.................................................. .................................................. .........................

I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W



You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that most
of the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the visibility
is good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I got 24" and 28"
chain saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.

How can anyone refuse an offer like that?


So, what time will you be here?
Noon

I was thinking more along the lines of the Twelfth of Never.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 05:46:40 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Calif Bill" wrote in message
hlink.net...


Had a Simpson for years. Until a battery leaked and ate lots of the
inside up. Was a great meter. I have a Fluke for the house / garage.
But in a 99 cent store one day, is a nice small digital DVM with diode
checker, etc. Bought that one for the boat box. A nice meter.


99% of the time that's all you need. I have a few of them because
whenever
I need a meter to work on something I can never find one, so I buy a new
(cheap) one.

I have the Simpson with it's original case and also a Fluke DVOM that I
rarely use anymore. The Simpson is more of a collectable now ... my only
souvenir of 9 years in the Navy. I used to have a nice, dual channel
O'scope as well, but I haven't seen it in years. Don't know what happened
to it.

Tektronix 561 with the plugins?

That was a great scope - used to own one myself.

I have a dual channel Tek and I know where it is. Talk to the possessor
couple times a year. Is a 100mhz Field engineer model, forget the number.
Is small enough to easily carry. I remember working as a Field tech when
going to college and we had to carry the 541 in the car to the computer
sites.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

Harry Krause wrote:
On 11/19/2006 8:51 PM, Dan wrote:

Harry Krause wrote:

On 11/19/2006 7:29 PM, Dan wrote:

Harry Krause wrote:

On 11/19/2006 8:09 AM, Jim wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 08:25:01 GMT, James Sweet

wrote:

Inverters are rated in watts.

Less than two watts for 100 mini lights.

I ran two six foot Christmas trees, about 5 100 light mini
string and
four light strings off a 350 watt inverter at last years
Festival of
Lights in Putnam and it didn't even breathe hard.

Have a freakin' ball with the lights. :)

Try closer to 50W for a string of 100 mini lights, unless
they're the
LED type.

No way. And just to prove a point, I went out to the garage and
looked on a box of colored mini lights - 150 string.

2.4 watts.

I was a little surprised honestly, but last year I acquired a
power analyzer and ran around plugging in everything I could
find in the
house. The Christmas tree with miniature lights on it was
pulling around
350W, at which point I started checking individual strings.
Incandescent
loads have a unity power factor, so you can measure the amp draw
with
any cheap multimeter and use ohms law to calculate the watts.

Interesting - that string I ran on my truck drew less than 200 watts
total.


NO WAY
2.4W.............................................. .................................................. ...

.................................................. .................................................. .........................

.................................................. .................................................. .........................


I just checked a set of icicle lights.
Individual lights =2.5V
Total of 100 lights
Fuse = 3A
No where on the package could I find watts or amps rating.
Measured draw = 300MA or 36 W


You guys need something useful to do. Come on down here. Now that
most of the leaves have fallen off the trees in my woods, and the
visibility is good, I need some fallen timber cut up and hauled. I
got 24" and 28" chain saws, axes, carts, whatever you need.


Are you paying scale?



Sure, the unskilled rate.


OK. So what's the difference?



Apprentices start at one half the rate of journeymen.

Half? So what does the apprentice make?

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

I bought a couple of strings of holiday lights last night.

Talk about a tough item to buy with any meaningful electrical info,
wow.

I finally found one brand of lights (100 itsy bitsy lights on a cord)
with packaging that included a note about a 3-amp inline fuse. Aha! Now
that's something I can relate to.
I'll figure two strings, drawing no more than 6-amps. I won't be
exceptionally bright, but then again I'm never expected to be all that
bright. :-)

The toughest part of these lighted boat parades is maintaining night
vision. Sure as heck there will be somebody covered with bright white
lights, 12 kW genset running hard to keep up with the load.

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

On 21 Nov 2006 07:54:28 -0800, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:



I bought a couple of strings of holiday lights last night.

Talk about a tough item to buy with any meaningful electrical info,
wow.

I finally found one brand of lights (100 itsy bitsy lights on a cord)
with packaging that included a note about a 3-amp inline fuse. Aha! Now
that's something I can relate to.
I'll figure two strings, drawing no more than 6-amps. I won't be
exceptionally bright, but then again I'm never expected to be all that
bright. :-)

The toughest part of these lighted boat parades is maintaining night
vision. Sure as heck there will be somebody covered with bright white
lights, 12 kW genset running hard to keep up with the load.

What holiday are you celebrating with all these lights?

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

JohnH wrote:

What holiday are you celebrating with all these lights?

Same as most of the rest of the northern hemishpere; winter solstice.
It's a holiday that celebrates light, both literally and spiritually.
Most religious traditions put a particular interpetation or "spin" on
the season. Since there were no such things as electric lights back
when any of the major religions were founded, it would be silly to call
them "Christmas lights" or by any other name with a religious
affiliation.

The primary solstice celebrations in the Western world are Christmas
and Chanukah, so Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Sensational
Saturnalia, Bonkers Brumalia,
Cool Yule, Blessed Sankrati, or whatever winds your clock. Might as
well celebrate all of them, no point to miss out on a good party.

One solstice holiday we don't hear much of anymore is Dies Natalis
Solis Invicti. (Latin for
"Birthday of the Unconquered Sun"). During the ascendency of the Roman
Empire, one of the most popular gods was actually a Persian diety
borrowed from Zoroastrianism. The god Mithras was sent by the chief god
Ahura-Mazda to save the world after it had been corrupted by sinful
men. Mithras was believed to have been born of a virgin on December 25,
and some scholars make an incendiary claim that this legend was the
basis for the somewhat more recent Christmas story that appears in two
of the four official Christian gospels. Some of those scholars and
others believe that Christmas was assigned to December 25 specifically
to usurp the day from Mithras during that period of time when Rome was
interested in making Christianity the official religion of the Empire.

The two events I will be participating in are the Seafair Holiday
Cruise (aka "The Special Peoples' Cruise) and a lighted boat parade
sponored by a local yacht club.

Of all the things to participate in each year, few are more rewarding
than the Special Peoples' Cruise. We take developmentally disadvantaged
kids and adults out for a boatride.
Hundreds of boats participate, and we have a long parade that stretches
clear across Lake Washington and back to Lake Union. It's quite a
sight. For most of our guests, this event is one of the more exciting
things that they get to participate in all year; and they are very
grateful. To me, this cruise precisely encapsulates the true meaning of
the solstice holiday season- whether any individual's particular
religion honors Jesus, Yahweh, Mithras, The Goddess, Thor, Zeus,
Apollo, or whomever. Or whether a person chooses no religious
affilitation at all.

So I'm celebrating winter solstice. The reintroduction of
spiritual-light and the return of the sun. (at least if you live in the
northern hemisphere). If you want to ask, "Does that include
Christmas?" Absolutely! Solstice wouldn't be the same without it. And
like most Americans, my solstice celebration will include a mixture of
secular as well as spiritually significant symbols and events. Somehow,
I don't think the kids aboard the boat or the spectators along the
shoreline are going to care very much whether my particular
perspectives on the season coincides with any or many of their own. :-)

Any boaters left here? Holiday light question.
 

On 21 Nov 2006 13:33:36 -0800, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:


JohnH wrote:

What holiday are you celebrating with all these lights?

Same as most of the rest of the northern hemishpere; winter solstice.
It's a holiday that celebrates light, both literally and spiritually.
Most religious traditions put a particular interpetation or "spin" on
the season. Since there were no such things as electric lights back
when any of the major religions were founded, it would be silly to call
them "Christmas lights" or by any other name with a religious
affiliation.

The primary solstice celebrations in the Western world are Christmas
and Chanukah, so Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Sensational
Saturnalia, Bonkers Brumalia,
Cool Yule, Blessed Sankrati, or whatever winds your clock. Might as
well celebrate all of them, no point to miss out on a good party.

One solstice holiday we don't hear much of anymore is Dies Natalis
Solis Invicti. (Latin for
"Birthday of the Unconquered Sun"). During the ascendency of the Roman
Empire, one of the most popular gods was actually a Persian diety
borrowed from Zoroastrianism. The god Mithras was sent by the chief god
Ahura-Mazda to save the world after it had been corrupted by sinful
men. Mithras was believed to have been born of a virgin on December 25,
and some scholars make an incendiary claim that this legend was the
basis for the somewhat more recent Christmas story that appears in two
of the four official Christian gospels. Some of those scholars and
others believe that Christmas was assigned to December 25 specifically
to usurp the day from Mithras during that period of time when Rome was
interested in making Christianity the official religion of the Empire.

The two events I will be participating in are the Seafair Holiday
Cruise (aka "The Special Peoples' Cruise) and a lighted boat parade
sponored by a local yacht club.

Of all the things to participate in each year, few are more rewarding
than the Special Peoples' Cruise. We take developmentally disadvantaged
kids and adults out for a boatride.
Hundreds of boats participate, and we have a long parade that stretches
clear across Lake Washington and back to Lake Union. It's quite a
sight. For most of our guests, this event is one of the more exciting
things that they get to participate in all year; and they are very
grateful. To me, this cruise precisely encapsulates the true meaning of
the solstice holiday season- whether any individual's particular
religion honors Jesus, Yahweh, Mithras, The Goddess, Thor, Zeus,
Apollo, or whomever. Or whether a person chooses no religious
affilitation at all.

So I'm celebrating winter solstice. The reintroduction of
spiritual-light and the return of the sun. (at least if you live in the
northern hemisphere). If you want to ask, "Does that include
Christmas?" Absolutely! Solstice wouldn't be the same without it. And
like most Americans, my solstice celebration will include a mixture of
secular as well as spiritually significant symbols and events. Somehow,
I don't think the kids aboard the boat or the spectators along the
shoreline are going to care very much whether my particular
perspectives on the season coincides with any or many of their own. :-)

Yes, the Special Peoples Cruise looked to be a good time for all, at least
that was the impression I got from looking at the pics from last year.

I wonder if Santa Claus will show up again?

http://tinyurl.com/y6y45n

If you haven't seen the pics, they're pretty good.