[TAG] Work In Progress

[Mike Orr]

On 11/11/05, Jimmy O'Regan <jimregan at o2.ie> wrote:
> Mike Orr wrote:
> > http://www.aussieinamerica.com/holidays/lights.htm
> > 240 volts vs 120
> >
> > It says all Australian outlets have wall switches, because it's
> > supposedly too unsafe to pull a live cord from a 240-volt outlet.  Why
> > did I not see these switches in Europe then?  Or did I just fail to
> > notice them?
>
> It's about 50-50 here.

Here about the only outlets that have switches are living rooms
without a built-in light.  The idea is that you'll have a lamp that
precisely matches your decor preferences.  This was popular in 70s
construction.  It's irritating if you (1) don't have a lamp, or (2)
don't want to put a table in that location, because you have to walk
across a dark room to turn on your other lamp.  And most portable
lamps don't adequately light the room unless you have lots of them, so
you end up with a couple lighted areas in a sea of darkness.  Slightly
less irritating are bedrooms with a dinky ceiling light over the
closet, so again you have to use a lot of (space-consuming) lamps or
curse the darkness.  I've been living in pre-1930s construction for
most of the past 16 years (my current apartment was built in 1903),
and it doesn't have such nonsense.  Every room has a ceiling light in
the center that lights the whole room.


--
Mike Orr <sluggoster at gmail.com> or <mso at oz.net>