I have a 75 watt, glare-free, long life
Harmony House light bulb in my toilet.
I have been living in the same apartment
for over two years now
and that bulb just keeps burning away.
I think it is fond of me.
– Richard Brautigan
I bought a cheap extension ladder when wallpapering a stairwell - I just taped (8-10 wraps of 3/4" masking tape) a cheap towel to the end of the extension piece so it could rest against the wall and not mar it.
Got a cheap (aka: light-weight) ladder?
That’s what I did for my over-stairs light and it worked great. That guy’s platform seemed massive overkill to me, though. I used a single piece of plywood and a pair of 2x4s cut to length and screwed solidly into place. My platform was just about the width of the staircase so that it couldn’t slide laterally. I placed the ladder perpendicular to the direction of stairs so that it couldn’t slide out. Obviously that would be a risk if the ladder is placed along the same incline as the stairs.
Let’s see…
We need Der Trihs to tell us that darkness is caused by racism, homophobia, and Christianity.
Marley to reply “This”
Tomndeb to suggest that a new light bulb would fix the problem.
Twenty assorted Dopers to respond instantly “CITE?”
Ten more to tell us patronizingly “Google is your friend” and provide links to web sites showing us how to screw in light bulbs
Eve to tell a delightful story about how she and her dear friend Olivia de Haviland changed a light bulb together back in 1959.
Delores Reborn to make up a Family Feud game with 10 topics based on lighting (“Name a song with “light” in the title”…")
RickJay to tell us that baseball is better played in the daytime without artificial lighting anyway.
Hmmmm… this is getting complicated. I figure we’re going to have at least 100 Dopers.
On the forest moon of Endor, of course.
Wait, that doesn’t make a damn bit of sense. I bet the new light bulb won’t fit, anyway.
adaher to tell us that recent polling data indicates the lightbulb was doomed in the next election anyway.
elucidator to make some pithy comment about the toughness of hippie light bulbs back in the day and how easy today’s liberal lightbulbs have it.
smapti to tell us that if the lightbulb had only done what the cop told it to do, it would still be shining.
Bricker to tell an involved legal hypothetical with the goal of convincing us that the old lighbulb didn’t actually do anything wrong by burning out.
Some random StormFronters to come in and tell us that the reason the old bulb burned out is that it wasn’t pure white.
ETA: zeldar to post a poll about which lighbulb will next win the Lightbulb Belt.
I understand Kareem Abdul Jabbar is looking for work.
OP, I had a similar problem but instead of just changing the bulb I changed the fixture to one that hangs from a chain. Now I can reach the bulbs with my six-foot ladder.
To change it out I used a roof ladder and a friend to hold it in place. I also tethered myself to the ladder with a belt. Be warned though… it was not easy. If you don’t think you can do hire someone to change the fixture.
So we must acquit. Problem solved.
Then Airman Doors to tell us that, once the bulb is in, the Steelers will be a lock to win the Super Bowl again…
You beat me to it, but I was going to say that Airman Doors would blame the lightbulb burning out on Todd Haley’s play calling.
You should really turn the power off first. And use a potato.
But not as a contraceptive.
Wow! That’s cool. Thx.
And be sure to fumigate for spiders.
Drum God, any update? Surely with all the “help” you’re getting here, you’ve solved your problem? 
The person you want surely is in Florida.
Couldn’t a monkey climb a rope and change the lightbulb? I’m thinking if you set up a pulley with a weight on the other end?
“Being over a staircase, I cannot easily bring in a step ladder and reach it.”
You are not over a staircase.
/grammar critique
“I’ll never be over the staircase, any more than I’ll ever be over Macho Grande.”