Tag: comfort

April 11, 2024 – Ready to Roll

April 11, 2024 /

Can I tell you, I used to love looking at gear lists on forums for the go bag. They were full of firearms, ammo, dynamite, hatchets, blowtorches, trauma kits and the like. But lets get real here, there is nothing to put us on our knees like discomfort. The other day, I went to go meet my wife at chemotherapy and I was hungry.

A snack is not a meal. I don’t take charcuterie boards as dinner nor am I satiated by fast food. In fact, I stopped for my wife on the way to the doctor’s office to get her a request. I ordered too and after I ate it, I honestly felt sick. The simple carbohydrate bomb of 2/3 of my daily calory limit is sickening after an hour.

The reason I also got fast food was because I intended to eat before I left. However, I was working and I ran out of time before it was absolutely time to leave. I figured, I would gut it out until dinner time but when she requested that I stop, I went ahead and ordered as well. I am also a pragmatist but I wasn’t prepared. This is why I went and got my own snacks.

A constant theme in my life today is that time is not my own. Almost without fail, I sit down to work or do something and then ten minutes later I have to get up and provide care or I have to go to something or from one appointment we unexpectedly have to go to the next. Rather than extra magazines, it would be far better to have some snacks.

Here are some of the lessons I have learned. I am not saying candy bars aren’t delicious, but being fulfilled would nice. Unless you can predict the weather conditions, you need to consider the melt temperature as well. The packaging should be protective or the items should be hard. Nobody wants a bag of chip dust or fruit paste. It should also be shelf stable.

I like jerky or pepperoni/jerky, nuts, granola bars and the like. Unless you want to portion out servings into bags, I would steer clear of glass jars and steel cans. Keep one serving with you and not a week’s worth. The goal is not to live out of your bag but to meet you where you are at. Those items can be replaced when you get home.

Before I went to stock up, I looked at some ideas on the internet to make sure that I have considered the possibilities. To be honest, there is nothing wrong with making your own banana chips, but who has the time right now. There were all kinds of protein balls and the like. A bunch of grapes or fruit full of water doesn’t meet my weight and storage criteria either. Take a banana to eat when you get to the hospital, not to carry around in your bag in case you need to skip a meal.

Spending the night at the hospital when the cafeteria is closed and you have to go through airport security to come back is a drag. It is much better to have things with you because no matter what you decide, that gives you choices. It is also much better to spend twenty minutes working before you leave than twenty minutes after you get back home. No matter how good the plan is, it is better to plan for contingencies.

In addition to the food, I also take a water bottle with me. The nurses have always been very accommodating when it comes to drinks, but never food. It is not because it is punishment or torture but most often in the hospital, diet is restricted and controlled and it is for the patients. I can fill my water bottle any time I like and they will lead me right to the station.

Sleeping in a reclining chair is much better when you are warm, comfortable and your belly isn’t growling. These are the items to have with you rather than a sword or fire starter. Of course, the contents of my bag will change when ‘The Stand’ comes to life but for now, I can’t even get into the hospital with a pocket knife.

End Your Programming Routine: As stated earlier, I don’t like snacks as a meal. It doesn’t beat mashed potatoes and meatloaf or even pizza. But, it is a heck of a lot better than factoring in another stop or even worse, starving. Even though granola bars are not really a balanced and healthy meal, it also beats the sugar in a fast food burger and fries and my body feels better too. These are the real lessons in preparedness.

July 13, 2021 – Sealing Air Leaks For Comfort

July 13, 2021 /

Having lived in old and new houses, they both have their advantages. New houses are energy efficient, provide the conveniences that are desirable and laid out in a way that appeals to our sensibilities. I prefer the old personally, I like the character. But that does come with many drawbacks.

One of those drawbacks is that retrofits often damages the integrity of the building envelope (said more plainly: holes where there didn’t used to be). Another one is materials built for one function but used differently. For example, windows were built to operate. Because they were made of wood, tolerances needed to accommodate for thermal movement and swelling due to water. So, there was some play in how tightly they fit in the jamb. So, if there is no weather stripping, this becomes a perfect place for a lot of air leaking.

One of the podcasts that I listen to, the Fine Homebuilding podcast talks a lot about this subject. Believe me, it seems like there is a lot to know on this subject particularly when it comes to HVAC sizing, efficiency and comfort. In my case, I don’t have to go to higher tech testing or solutions to find some high value and low cost improvements.

When I started working in the basement, it was winter. The normal temperature was around 57 degrees before the heat came on. If I ran the heater all day, I would see the temperature come up to 64 degrees by the end of the day. As we have moved into summer, the ambient temperature changed to around 62 degrees. It is still too cold to be comfortable in most cases. This was the first driver to build my office space was the desire to be more comfortable during the day.

As I moved to the north end of the basement, I could actually feel the temperature get colder. I knew that there was outdoor air leakage, but I took some pictures that your could see a couple of problems.

It doesn’t take a lot of imagination that when you see daylight that there is air leakage happening (not to mention water and vermin). I was looking around right before the heat wave and I saw something that not only could I address but it would be helpful. Under our kitchen is a crawlspace and that is vented directly outside. Essentially, the basement has the leaks shown but also 2 square feet of holes directly to the outside.

I had leftover rigid insulation so I built a box around the hole. As a result, I have seen morning temperatures move from 62 to 68 degrees. I have no doubt that in the winter it will be somewhat colder I am guessing add five degrees to 57 but I guess we will see.

There is one drawback to this modification which I have considered. Potentially, the air leakage in the winter provided a degree of warmth that kept pipe freezing to a minimum. I have had freezing on the hose bibs before but never in the kitchen plumbing. I may decide to remove this modification if the temperatures get significantly below freezing.

I do have one other option. It is not clear from the picture, but there is heat tracing on the piping. Most of it is in suspect condition and I have been removing it wherever it is in the way but I could hook it back up and then I wouldn’t have to remove my new box.

End Your Programming Routine: While there is no doubt that my results are anecdotal and not scientific I saw immediate change the day after installation. The cost was free since I did not have to purchase anything additional and it took me about two hours to build, fit and install the box. I expect that this will not only make the basement more comfortable, but also I think it will have an small energy impact on the whole house. At the very least, I will not need to run the heater so much in the basement.