Like zombies in a George Romero film, our homes are being invaded by a relentless, mindless horde. The dread LED*. They glow throughout the house, from room to room, eating power, throwing back the night.

Down the hall the living room pulses a slow, white light; the telltale heart of the powerbook's sleep LED, never to be stilled. The electric toothbrush, parked in its charger blinks non-stop piercing blue that fills the bathroom. Have the police pulled over a speeder in the toilet again?

They are precursors to sentient robots. First these insecure appliances with nervous LED personalities: "Look at me! I'm part of your lifestyle. Charging! Charging!" They are the illegitimate offspring of the talking cars, ill-conceived horrors which kept trying to convince us that "a door is a jar."

It's nice to know that the toothbrush is topped up on electrons and the computer is happily sleeping. But I only care about this information for a tiny fragment of a day or week. I don't need it blaring across my vision, illuminating the nights.

No appliance is critical or important yet each strives for attention. If we lose power, hey, how about NOT flashing midnight?

Let's send the blinking LED to the same unmarked grave as blinking web page text.

* light emitting diode