h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Someone might pine for a scotch.

I believe pine scotch is called turpentine.

I like to sip Scotch whiskey in front of a nicely dried wood fire.

( An actual fireplace in my living room makes this a less manly and rugged affair, but at my age - I don't care )

My father lit many fires in his fireplace when I was growing up. Now he's in a longterm care facility and the house has been sold. Another lucky family will get to enjoy that fireplace.

I'm amazed at how many of the "little boxes made of ticky tacky" (planned community houses) in my area here along the Gulf Coast of Texas come with fireplaces. I wouldn't want one around here. It rarely gets cold enough to use one so their just not worth the maintenance.

Round about now, new legislation will be presented on the use of wood burning heaters / fireplaces and their emissions of soot and other harmful substances. (Netherlands)

I may have to burn my complete logpile this winter, while I still can.

Theoretically, you could burn something besides wood in your fireplace.

Yeah, plastic contains a lot of energy (among other things). I wouldn't say it will be an improvement.

I was really happy to have a fireplace last year, when my central heating died during the weekend while it was freezing outside.

About 10 years ago, a fellow I know from the local pub came in telling a tale of his own "heroism", or at least his own good-neighborism.

His neighbors knocked on his door at around 2-3:00 in the morning. Their central heating had gone out and it was a cold December night. They had a couple of young kids, one a newborn, so of course this fellow welcomes them in to his warm home. This is in one of those many cookie cutter, ticky tacky subdivisions. Now by the time I hear this story, this family has been in his house for nearly a week as their heating repairman traces down the defective part for the repair.


So, it's one thing to bring in the neighbors on a cold night (maybe, more on that in a bit), but they certainly overstayed their welcome beyond that. At the very least, they could have gone to the store the next day and bought more blankets and space heaters.

But really, they could have done that that first night, as there are 24 hour box stores not 10 miles away.

But really, they could have just bundled up. As I said, it was a cold December night... FOR THE GULF COAST! It was in the low to mid 40­­°s F. They wouldn't have frozen to death!

When I were a kid, we actually turned our one gas space heater off even in freezing weather at night. We bundled up under blankets and the first one up, usually me, lit the stove and got the best bun warming spot in front of it.

Young folks these days... blah blah... millennials... blah blah... get off my lawn!

I used to live in a 1930's house with my parents with just two gas heaters at ground floor. My room in the attic was below freezing in winter, so I moved down one floor if it got too cold.

This may explain why I still walk around in a T-shirt when the rest of the family is wearing sweaters.

Yes, but it's a *flannel* T-shirt .

If I'm properly bundled up, I can take the cold. I keep my thermostat at a steady 64.

Still, I've never been fond of cold weather, and here in Boston it can get below 5 degrees F. Maybe I think I've earned the right not to be too cold now that I'm older -- as long as I can afford it.

Earning the right not to be too cold when older, I recognise that. My Grandmother, who survived both worldwars always wore summer clothing in house and turned the heat up to 28C / 82F. I always had to remove layers of clothing upon entering.

64 degrees is a lot lower than 82. I allowed my wallet to decide how high the temps could be before my wallet began screaming. I've known people who set their thermostats in the low 50s. That's *too* cold.