Panasonic TY-LA1500 Projector Lamp for PT40LC12

I have the PT40LC12 and I am now on my 3rd lamp. I would guess that I have gotten no more than 1000 hours out of any of them. These are expensive lamps so it seriously raises the cost of ownership for this HDTV. And there's no warning that it's going to go out. So when it goes out, if you don't have a spare then your TV is dead for however long it takes to get another one. I have had a hard time finding them locally (in the SF Bay Area).