Hey, you gotta start somewhere! There's nothing wrong floros, they just aren't very aggressive and they create a very oddly-shaped light-sphere. Their effective range is around 4-6 inches at best. You really need to keep active growth areas in this realm. There are many tricks to take maximum advantage of long florescent tubes that are awkward to work with. There is a way of getting more light energy from long florescent tubes where you want it. Get foil tape (2' wide for T12 floros, 1' wide for T8s and make sure it has a clear adhesive) and very carefully stick it on the back side of your florescent tube which faces away from your plants and towards your reflector, directly on the bulb, be sure to avoid folds bubbles and wrinkles. Make sure the tape falls an inch or two short of the end caps as the bulb is hottest here and you definitely don't want the metal tape to create a short between the usually metal caps. If you got the tape on there nice and straight with a minimum of imperfections they will be noticeably brighter on the side facing your plants. This works by reflecting the photons directly back out the front side of the bulb instead of them coming out of the backside, hitting whatever reflector you have and then making their way back down to the plants. Its a bit tricky to do right, but yields a major advantage and can extend the effective range of a tube up to a respectable 8 inches. Many plants are also compatible with the supercropping technique, which is great to use on sprouts and the like before they go outside to get them nice and squat and bushy with massively thick stems which will support huge growth once in the great outdoors. You can check out the details on my indoor tomato thread I've linked to below. Oh, also, welcome! I've not been on the forums long myself, but I think you will find its a very supportive community. Here is a link that might be useful: tomato diary

"Thank you guys for all your insight!" Well primarily all due to our failures. We have found and reported on 10,000 ways that won't work. Video: Were some of those worms flying worms? Really Cool Video!

Thank you for a warm welcome! I hope to post pics soon. I have been quilting 6+ years and have done paper piecing, patchwork, applique (fusible, machine and hand) and a little free form with embellishing. I'm really a generalist- purses, totes, wall hangings, lap and bed size, table runners, etc. Current WIPS are bed quilt, purse and two stuffed cats. Of course, a few UFO's are safe in boxes! I am excited to try new things and appreciate all the ideas that are put forth here. I quilt and sew for my own satisfaction, not for competition. You all are inspiring!

I think this topic will be rather a niche subject so have you considered doing a search for 'named' lighthouses? I am not familiar with those in the US but here in the UK we have several famous ones. The Eddystone, Bishop's Rock, Wolf Rock etc. and there is always the story of Grace Darling the daughter of the lighthouse keeper on the Farne Islands who rowed through a gale to rescue a stricken ship. Or maybe you could find something about R L Stevenson's (of 'Treasure Island' fame) Father, he was a famous lighthouse builder. Of course these might just lead you to Non fiction books, but they could be interesting. You could check out the website below for 'Trinity House' the organisation that controls all lighthouses/lightships round the English coast. Here is a link that might be useful: Trinity House