Gearing Up for Winter

See those blurs on top of the wood-stove? Those are spinning fans directing the warmth of the stove throughout the living room without an ERG of electricity being used, not a grid-generated watt or amp in the bunch. It's all poweredby the BTU's of the wood-stove, generating the power to turn the fans and disperse the heat through the room. The one on the right is usually turned 90° to dry the clothes from the last entry's little joy--our tiny washing machine.

They're called Eco-Fans, and you can find them described here. They're quiet and efficient and they make a big difference in heating the house. It's important on days like today--the pooh-blustery days that bend the grass plants, and push the tarp off the wood-pile, and follows it up with a chilling downpour that saps the heat right out of the house's timbers. It makes a big difference having the second fan (which arrived yesterday), because we can now spread the warmth in separate directions. Nifty.
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21 - 0?

What's up with THAT?
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Poker-Faces
We'd figured out that it had been four years since any combination of "The Gang of Four" had played poker, so with the chance that we could play this week, everyone got a little excited--so excited we forgot to acknowledge FarmerScott's birthday last week. We'll have to take in a show to do that, our treat, as is the custom. Johnson was flying out to visit his Dad--both father and son had the same heart operation within months of each other, so it's a good opportunity to compare scars and war-stories. But it left just four of us to eke out a poker game, which we did. We raided grocery stores for the snack-food of our youth-pizza rolls, M & M's, chips and a variety of pop, cranked up the oldies station (recording buddy Cathy Faulkner was on-duty, spinning the hits), and a swell time was had by all. Everybody won a few hands, and everybody lost some spectacular hands. And then, I had to spoil it all by bringing out the video-camera:

Why did I clam up when the camera was pointed at me? I can babble incessantly and in a close approximation to myself at a microphone (the story of why some day), but turn a camera on me and I'm a deer in the head-lights. Have to work on that. Anyway, the video is there because I suppose if I didn't put it up Bolt and FarmerScott and Martin might be disappointed. So, there it is.

The first of many more poker games, hopefully.