I'm not sure what brand of CFL you use, but I havn't found
them to be rugged.

As to filament bulbs. Try a different brand. I had some
Phillips that would blow easily, and GE I think it was,
worked fine. Rough service bulbs are a good idea.

As to the center spot. Also sand it a bit, with a bit of
emery cloth wrapped over the end of your finger. Scratchy
side out, of course.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...

Good idea on the heavy-duty bulbs. It may be, in this case,
that the
filaments inside the bulbs are actually broken and making
intermittent
contact.

CFLs are more rugged in this regard.