This from financial columnist Jeff Brown:

The electricity-saving experiment I described last month has worked, cutting my household bill about $50 the first month and $70 the second.

As you may recall, this entailed reducing the water flow in the shower and using a kitchen timer to hold the family's showers to five minutes.

A note to my family: The day that I start to restrict your showers to five minutes and time you with a kitchen timer is the day I give you permission to take one of the kitchen knives and stab me for five minutes.