I Got Wood (heat)

One of the things I like about my house is that it is already set up for a wood stove, though I have put off buying one for quite a while. It was during the last ice storm that the thought fully occured to me that if the electricity goes out, I have no heat. Sure, the furnace is gas, but the fan to push the warm air would be dead.

I have wanted a wood stove for a long time, but the cost was putting me off. Then I was at Lowe's one day and saw that all "seasonal heating" was 50% off. So, in short, I got this stove for $84 plus tax. It's not very big, but it makes a huge difference...

Fire good...

I quickly found out that there is a lot more to it than just stuffing the thing full of wood and setting it ablaze. Controlling the burn is actually quite tricky, but I am slowly getting the hang of it. I won't go into details here, but a lot of valuable information can be found at woodheat.org.

This provides me with a good deal of peace of mind. If I am suddenly left without power, I can still cook and stay warm. And it is wonderfully low-tech. The next thing I need to look into is water filtration.

Semper Paratus

Monday Chick Pix 19

This week's pic is Ali Larter as Claire Redfield in Resident Evil: Extinction. By now I figure that the kind of women I find attractive is becoming quite apparent...



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Amazing Discovery 2

I dug some stuff out of storage the other day and I found my Homer Simpson water bottle:

Much to my amazement, he fits perfectly in a Maxpedition Mini RolyPolly:

Just the thing for those days when a Nalgene bottle is just too drab.

Semper Paratus

Amazing Discovery

I was at Wal-Mart the other day, goofing around in the camping department, and I came across this:


I thought WTF?! They were only a dollar so I picked up a package to see if it really was what they said it was. It is. When activated with water, the little tablet, which is about as big around as a nickel and a quarter inch thick, "grows" into a tightly rolled up washcloth-sized towel. The instructions instruct the user to apply .53 ounces of water. What the hell is .53 ounces? After some simple math, I figured it was about a tablespoon:

After pouring on the water it begins to look like this:

And here is how it looks when you begin to unroll it:

Fully open:
It stays moist for a fairly long time and it is really soft. The package claims that it 100% biodegradable. It would be a nice chemical-free alternative to regular baby wipes. But since paper or fiber towels pack flat anyway, I don't see any space saving advantage to using these. But your friends won't be impressed with your regular old boring paper towels. Buy a package of these and prepare to be amazed.

Semper Paratus