Actually,
looking, I can now find various inexpensive blowers online for
fireplaces. In 2012 I couldn't, so that's odd. I'm sure they existed, I
can't believe everything was invented in the last couple of years -
probably I was using the wrong search terms.
I'd need to take
the old hearth apart to see if there's electrical power under there. If
I understand correctly, the fan is supposed to suck air from outside,
down from around the chimney flue gap, which heats it, then it blows
the air into the room. But there is none of the switches and gear
either, so that's another expense.
Another option is the hollow pipe grate, which roughly doubles the efficiency of the fireplace, if it has a power blower.
Lunch
was with friends, at the local Thai place. Afterwards we all went over
to See's Candies to pick out a box of chocolate each. It was nearly
empty when the four of us got there, but by the time the single worker
had filled four boxes there was probably 10 people waiting!
In the evening I was going to go over to their house for leftover Thai, but had a developing nasty headache, so begged off.
For whatever reason I didn't get much done. I did do my bills, which was kind of depressing.
Book #2 was The Raven, The Elf, and Rachel, by L. Jagi Lamplighter. This was the sequel to Book #1, and we get a little more background and various adventures.
Friday
2
January2015
Friday
- Cold. I think it was 16F last night. Which was more than the high in some parts of the country, so I'm not complaining.
I've
had several nights now where I've used the fireplace - more nights of
use than all of last year combined I think. The cats and myself both
like it, but it's not too efficient as a heater. In the past (30 years
ago) this model came with an optional forced air fan, but I wasn't able
to find one that fit recently.
Even a simple modifications
would, I think, be improvements - maybe some pipe and/or sheet metal
insets to make it more of a 'Franklin Stove'.
I did a bit on the app, but the noisy neighbor and various chores kept me from any prolonged efforts.
In order to make my own life easier I've added the missing weekly blogs to 2002 - Week #1 through Week #11. So now I can just say "Thirteen Years Ago" in the menu above, and the link
goes there, rather than having a "First Post" and "Twelve Years Ago"
thing that I have to change every March.
Of course I don't have much content, but I'll go through my notes and pictures and emails and see if I can fill in a few of the blanks.
In the evening of New Years Day (yesterday) I finished Book #1 for 2015, The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin,
by L. Jagi Lamplighter. This, unlike the last few books, actually has a
Christian plot to it. It's a world a lot like ours, a lot like the
Harry Potter world, but explicitly without Christianity. Then, to a
young girl at a Wizard's School, stuff starts happening. There's a
Lion, too, so there's a Narnia connection...
I liked it enough that I've bought the sequel, only $2.99 on the kindle.
Thursday 1 January2015
Thursday
- New Years Day!
A Happy New
Year to us all, we could use it...
I
brought my iPad over on New Years Eve and S finally had a chance to
play with it. She liked it, but had some suggestions and changes, as
expected. Mostly it needs to be a bit simpler to use for the target
audience.
