I have news to share about the proud sovereign nation of Manstovia, and it's not
good. A letter from our homeowners association explains that as of a couple of
weeks from now, residents will no longer be permitted to keep grills on our
decks. There is a regulation in New York State that disallows using grills
within 10 feet of flammable structures, like decks. Apparently this has been the
law for townhouses like ours for a long time, but it only recently came to
light. So now grills must be stored on the patio under the deck, and rolled out
to a safe distance when in use. In creating a new rule to cover this
requirement, the board will now permit the use of charcoal grills. These were
previously disallowed, but now can be operated if they are at least 25 feet from
the deck. So why isn't this good news you might ask? Well, as I've mentioned
before, we are lucky enough to enjoy a fantastic view of a pond. The bad news is
that while there is enough room between the patio and the pond for a propane grill, the pond is close enough
that a charcoal grill would have to be in the water to comply. And then there's
the convenience factor. Our current setup has a beautiful path from the kitchen
out to the deck. But going downstairs through the patio is at the opposite end of the
convenience spectrum. And the shore of the pond is not really an even surface to
park a grill on either. So there are several reasons why the new setup will be a huge
downgrade, which is disappointing. I thought having to switch from charcoal to
propane when we moved was the ultimate indignity. Now we are actually discussing
the pros and cons of just getting an electric grill, since these can be operated
on the deck. We've scaled back on the amount of meat we consume, so at this
point I'm just going to work on MrsBlue to get her past her aversion to me
potentially setting off smoke alarms by actually making the occasional steak or
burgers in the actual kitchen. As you can imagine, the flags in Manstovia are
currently flying at half-mast.
Smoldering Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.
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Science
Thanks Max.
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