"It looks nice, Sparky"
![](http://www.thelope.com/images/09-12-01-270.jpg)
Some people measure their Christmas lights in bulbs, some in dollars and others in the joy they bring. Though I think Carl Engelhardt of Blue Springs, Missouri, definitely fits in that last category too, he measures his in amperage.
I asked him "how many amps?"
"Let me bring up my Excel spreadsheet and I can tell you exactly how many amps I'm using."
That's Carl
The answer, by the way, is 92.2 amps on nine different circuits equipped with digital timers.
![](http://www.thelope.com/images/09-12-01-260.jpg)
I asked Carl if he had any guidance for those who may wish to follow in his well-lit footsteps. He advises that he has the best luck following his own rule of 5. That is to say, he finds he can link five 100-light strands without blowing a fuse in one.
Carl is actually quite the environmentalist, which leads his son, Greg, to needle him with "every time you turn on your lights, another polar bear dies."
![](http://www.thelope.com/images/06-11-25-187.jpg)
Carl's wife, Kris (seen with Ace and Carl in a 2006), supports Carl's amperage habit with a National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation flavor: "I stand out there in my sweater and say 'it looks nice, Sparky,' then go back inside because I'm freezing my a-s off."
![](http://www.thelope.com/images/09-12-01-240.jpg)
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