Now if only Chinahouse called their mercury lamps "LifeGuard" and started making them with better quality, in the USA!

I like that new avitar. BTW, LifeGuard lamps used an extra chemical that retarded arc tube blackening. Sylvania banner lamps and GE Bonusline lamps used the same chemical too. The companies stopped using it though because the MV lamps were lasting "too long" without being too dim so they weren't making enough profit. Nowadays some MV lamps just simply stop working randomly. I personally like sylvania the best for all lamps except PSMH/CMH, CFLs, and LED lamps. For PSMH and CMH and LED i like Philips the best and for CFLs, I'd have to say GE is the best though they seem not to be top notch.

Yeah, as far as the spiral CFLs go I like the 13w GE Helical ones, had one die early but one infant mortality case for a cheap Chinese throwaway product is still acceptable in my book. Yeah, I've also heard that there was some other chemical to reduce the arc tube blackening in mercury vapor lamps.
My avatar is a clear (Philips?) mercury vapor lamp in my Electripak yard light? Yes, there is tape on the diffuser since it's broken in several places

Hmm. You can get a new diffuser at Home Depot. It's an online product only though. here's the 8" refractor and here's the 12" lens.

Interesting, there was a RONA that had some diffusers on clearance so I bought a 8" and a 12" refractor for two bucks a piece. They were originally 20.