Bearable lightness

We've all been warned that electric rates are going to go up next year, so I went to PECO's website to see if there were any changes I could make to reduce my electric usage.
Naturally, they urge us to replace standard incandescent bulbs with those new curly "compact fluorescent light bulbs" (CFLs), but I was startled to read that you're not supposed to turn them on and off too often:

"Turning a CFL on and off frequently can shorten its life. To take full advantage of the energy savings and long life of ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs, it is best to use them in light fixtures you use the most and leave on for at least 15 minutes at a time. Good locations include outdoor light fixtures, indoor fixtures in the living room, family room, kitchen, bedroom, recreation room, etc. This is not to say you should leave your lights on all day if you use ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs. It is still a good habit to turn the lights off when you leave the room for an extended period."  

Wow, this is not how I was brought up. I can remember my father constantly telling us to turn the lights off every single time we left a room -- and conversely, to turn the lights on when we were reading. "Put some light on the subject," he'd quip, reaching over to turn on a lamp.
Of course, with today's CFLs, it would take a minute to warm up ("slow starting," they call it). Kind of like the TV set we had back then!