How about replacing the switch with a dimmer, and turning them on by
turning up the dimmer, rather than a sudden "on"?  Since dimmers that
replace switches are quite common and cheap (at least here in 115VAC land),
this may be easiest and cheapest.  Beware if you have track lighting or
something though - those 60W bulbs add together pretty quick to get total
wattage beyond the usual dimmer's capabilities.

If you want to involve a PIC, it should be "easy" to create a pseudo-dimmer
circuit that does the ramp up based on a simple on/off switch...

BillW

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