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Life in Gadaffi’s Hot Tub

Posted on March 15, 2011 by david

Intoxicated squatters calling themselves “Topple the Tyrants” appear to be enjoying the hot tub, as well as other amenities to be found in the Georgian-style mansion of Colonel Muammar Gadaffi’s son, Saif al-Islam.  I guess we all need to protest dictatorship in our own way – and this certainly looks like a…umm…unique way to do that.

Libyan rebels of the Gaddafi regime reportedly took over the Hampstead, North London, mansion last week, renaming it ‘the Embassy of Rebel Libya’. Valued at $16 million, this would be a valuable Rebel Libya asset.

The group posed for this photo, with the Libyan flag, inside the luxury home (presumably before dipping in the hot tub).

London Police said they are monitoring the situation treating the occupation “as a civil matter.”  However, if Saif al-Islam manages to track down the “Topple the Tyrants” occupiers, rumor has it that he might not be quite as gentle.

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Save money, save energy in your hot tub

Posted on March 9, 2011 by david

We live in the land of plenty.  really, when and where have people ever been as fortunate and as rich as us.  By “us”, I mean 21st century North America. Think about how much we have that people in most other places and all other times just don’t/didn’t have.

  • How much convenience.
  • How much luxury (gadgets, cleanliness, stuff, etc.).
  • How much education.
  • How much health.
  • Such long life.
  • How much freedom.
  • How much capability.
  • How much variety (food, travel, etc.)

But sometimes, all of this can come at a cost.  One of the ultimate modern luxuries available to modern man is the hot tub.  And hot tubs have costs, just like everything else.  Hot tubs cost money and they cost the environment.  Both these costs are due to the great amount of energy they consume.  And energy costs are predicted to continue climbing, while environmental challenges are predicted to continue growing.

So isn’t it nice to know there are seven things you can do to reduce your energy use in your hot tub.  Reduce your costs.  Reduce your environmental footprint.  Reduce your worries.

COVER UP

No need to keep the hot tub exposed to the open air. Put the hot tub cover (http://www NULL.hottubcoverscanada NULL.ca/) on right away, when not in use. You keep your door closed in winter to keep the heat in, or in summer to keep the air conditioning in. Remember when your mother used to remind (or nag?) you to “Keep the door closed. Are you trying to heat the whole neighbourhood?” Well, the same goes for your hot tub - keep the spa covered, or you’ll heat the whole neighbourhood.  Stop exposing your hot tub.

DAYTIME COOL-DOWN

Are you a night-owl spa-user? Do you light up the area at night? Have you considered replacing bright energy-sapping electric lights with gentle mood lighting, such as candlelight? A few candles don’t consume as much energy as electric floodlights do (and you might enjoy the romance and/or the calm of their soothing glow).

TURN IT OFF

When you know you’ll be away, you don’t need the heat. Any time you know in advance that your schedule will be just too busy to pop in for a dose of instant spa relaxation, turn the heat down or even off.   (CAUTION: In cold winter weather, keep some heat on so that pipes don’t freeze and equipment is not damaged.)

DON’T WASTE WATER

The more water gets splashed around outside the tub, the more new water has to be replaced and reheated. Save water, save heat.

WINDBREAK

You can keep the “hot” in “hot tub” better by creating a windbreak around your spa. You know how food cools down so much more quickly on your patio table than your kitchen table? So does your spa. The wind carries the heat away, and the spa has to reheat the water much more quickly, much more intensely. Save energy keeping your hot tub warm, by creating windbreaks, such as nicely ornamental fences (you might even want to paint them with scenes of a Cuban beach or a forest stream) or flowering shrubbery.

FILTERS

It pays to keep your filters in good condition, and replace them as they show their age. Clogged filters slow down water circulation, straining the equipment you’ve invested in.  This makes your motors work harder and consume more power (higher energy costs). An overworked motor will also have a shorter life and need to be replaced sooner (higher maintenance costs).  Treat your filters with respect.

KEEP COZY

How about a light-weight thermal blanket, specially designed for pools and spas? They neither cost much nor weight very much. It will add to the insulating value of your hot tub cover (http://www NULL.hottubcoverscanada NULL.ca/).

In addition to saving energy, a thermal blanket keeps moisture away from the hot tub cover (http://www NULL.hottubcoverscanada NULL.ca/), which helps it last longer. Since the thermal blanket costs much less than the cover, this is a great investment.

So a thermal cover saves you money in two ways.  Keep your baby cozy.

Now that you have seven ways to save money, save energy and help the environment, your next hot tub session can be even more relaxing.

This post was included in the Carnival of Wealth (http://personaldividends NULL.com/news/admin/carnival-of-wealth-29-mar-13-2011-edition) and the Canadian Finance Carnival (http://canadianfinanceblog NULL.com/canadian-finance-carnival-27/).

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Monkeys Love Hot Tubs

Posted on March 3, 2011 by david

Monkeying around in the hot tubIt’s not just us humans who love their hot tubs.  Monkeys do, too.  And it’s not just humans who relax in the warm water and calming steam.  Monkeys, do too.

Japanese Macaques, more often known for their aggressive behaviour, have discovered that they calm down quite nicely.  Yes, a hot tub is soothing for humans and monkey alike.

This four-minute BBC video (nicely narrated) gives us a close-up of the Japanese Macaque social life surrounding life in and around the hot tub.

 

Here are a couple other videos of Japanese Macaques enjoying mental health breaks in their hot tubs. These videos are much shorter to watch:

 

This one runs three minutes and is narrated in German, but well worth the viewing:

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Usher Tours in a Hot Tub

Posted on February 25, 2011 by david

Superstar celebrity singer Usher takes his hot tub on tour with him. His inflatable hot tub helps him relieve the stresses of life on tour, which can be considerable.

It seems that being a celebrity is not much different than being you or me. We also get stressed and we also need to remove our hot tub covers (http://www NULL.hottubcoverscanada NULL.ca/)as frequently as possible.

Usher told British TV show Loose Women, “I have a few little things that make the dressing room comfortable. I really like a living space, not just dry walls. I have drapes to kind of make it feel like home. I take what I consider my therapy. There is a regimen that I have after every show where I have a cold and hot dip, so I travel with a hot tub. It’s inflatable, so every night there’s this inflatable tub that I dip into. After every show I take a cold dip and a hot dip – it’s just relieving the excitement and the pressure and the adrenaline. So I take a cold shower and pipe down and sit in the hot tub – alone!”

If you can’t get to the hot tub, make the hot tub get to you.

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Top Tips To Keep Creatures From Falling Into Your Hot Tub

Posted on February 23, 2011 by david

Creatures come in all forms, from neighbourhood pets and wild animals to bugs and yes, even people. Dragons and Basilisks are also creatures, but today we’ll be discussing how to keep real-life creatures from falling into your hot tub.   Here are the top ten ways to protect your hot tub from creature invasions.

1. Deck Fence – The easiest way to keep your deck or patio safe from unwanted guests, in the form of neighbourhood pets, wild animals and people, is by erecting a security fence. A security fence, much like a pool fence (http://www NULL.fencefence NULL.com/pool NULL.html), can be something as simple as a four-foot high chainlink fence with a locking gate. This fence will help to keep animals out and send a message to humans that they are not invited.  It won’t work so well against insects, spiders or worms.  Nor against dragons.  But it will save you from having to remove a drowned skunk from your hot tub.  Contact a local fence company (http://www NULL.fencefence NULL.com/) to have one installed.

2. Yard Fence – A yard fence, or privacy fence, will enclose you entire yard helping to keep animals and people out. This will help you to keep your hot tub from hosting unwanted visitors, and the privacy fence will also provide you with some much needed privacy for those late night romantic dips in the hot tub.  This is much like the deck fence, but it protects a wider area.  Presumably that includes your hot tub.

3. Hot Tub Covers – Hot tub covers (http://www NULL.hottubcoverscanada NULL.ca) are a great way to keep bugs out of the water. These covers are easy to use and should be used every time you get out of the tub. The covers not only ensure that spiders and dragon flies and beetles do not land in the water by accident but also do not allow mosquitoes and other pests to make their nests in the water.

4. Plastic Owl – Your kids will love this one. A plastic owl works like a scarecrow for smaller birds and rodents. Typically these owls are used in gardens to keep your plants from being eaten, but it is also a great way to keep these unwanted visitors and their leavings out of your hot tub.  Yes, their leavings (if you have problems with pigeon poop around your hot tub, this is for you).  “Hey, kids – come back with that plastic owl.  What do you think it is, a toy?”

5. Herbs – If chemical sprays are not your forte you can always go the natural route by sprinkling herbs around your patio. Dried spices like cinnamon, chili powder, and black pepper will not only deter animals but they have also been known to be avoided by many crawling insects like ants. (WARNING: This will not deter your Aunt Mavis who loves to bring over well-seasoned soup…but you might not want to deter her.)

6. Citronella Candle – Although citronella candles will deter many animals from entering your hot tub, it is also a great way to keep the area free from mosquitoes, black flies and other buzzing pests.  No word on dragons, but I suspect you would need a pretty big candle to catch their attention.

7. Sprays – There are many commercial sprays on the market that will help to keep bugs and animals away. Most animal repellents are made to mimic the scent of predators such as foxes and wolves and come in the form of pellets that you can sprinkle around your patio.  The alternative would be to get a couple wolves as pets.  Exactly – go for the spray.

8. Household Products – Vaseline, chalk, baby powder, vinegar, dish soap and even glass cleaner are great household products that you can use to keep insects away from your hot tub. The strong scents that these products give off may also help to keep animals away as well.  Enough of them, and you might keep unwanted guests away, too.

9. Chlorine – Chlorine will help to keep your hot tub water bug and insect free by killing off any of the insect eggs and larva that the water born bugs may have laid. Whenever using chlorine make sure you follow the instructions properly. It’s one thing to have a bug free hot tub, but if too much chlorine is used the water won’t be safe for you to use.

10. Kitchen Tent – Although it may seem a little extreme, erecting a kitchen tent over your hot tub will keep those annoying insects from buzzing in your ears while also keeping their four legged furry counterparts away from your hot tub.  This is an ideal solution for someone who is truly allergic to mosquitoes.

This is a guest post written by Jay Fence, who runs the North American Fence Builders Association, which lists fence companies, such as Toronto Fence (http://www NULL.fencetoronto NULL.com/) and Chicago Fence (http://www NULL.fencechicago NULL.net/).  Fence-builders can help keep out the four-legged creatures; use additional strategies for the bugs and birds (and dragons).

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World’s Biggest Mobile Winter Hot Tub

Posted on February 17, 2011 by david

How would you deal with the mid-winter blues?  With a hot tub, of course.

How would the City of Waterbury (Connecticut) deal with the mid-winter blues?  With a hot tub, of course.

A big hot tub.

A big, mobile hot tub.

The City equipped a giant dump truck with a 2000 gallon hot tub, heated by an on-board furnace.  But don’t think you`ll be enjoying the relaxing feeling of soaking in the world`s biggest hot tub just by moving to Waterbury; this tub isn’t for human consumption.  In fact, this tub is more likely to consume snowmen than real people.

Dubbed the “Snow Dragon”, this truck was designed to help Waterbury cope with the tremendous amount of snow that falls every year in the town.  First, snow is thrown into the truck, then dumped into the hot water.  The snow melts, and runs out of the truck and down the sewer.

“We literally run out of places to put all of the snow that we’ve removed – particularly from the downtown area,” Joe Bosco, with the City’s Department of Public Works, told WFSB News.  Although it costs $350 per hour to operate, the cost is worth it so that the City can continue to function after snow storms such as the ones that came at the beginning of February.  The alternative would be…

Snowmen beware!

…

Artwork thanks to Chasing Distractions (http://chasing-distractions NULL.blogspot NULL.com)

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