I wonder if that’s a boiling frog scenario. I’m always tempted to keep increasing the heat in hot tubs after adjusting to temp. I wonder if your sister gradually moved closer as she got acclaimated to the temp.

i don’t have a microwave oven but I appreciate the suggestion.

I’m considering that as well and got some tips from here:

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2024/12/how-to-build-an-electrically-heated-table/

So far my lower body is fine but in case it gets colder I have been keeping an eye out for excess waste roofing insulation in my area, which I would use for an under desk rig.

When you say your clothing becomes the chimney, that makes me wonder if I should surround myself in a insulated structure, unlike the link above where they seem to let heat escape around the legs.

Thanks for the suggestion. That seems ideal because it’s directional. I could probably mount it to heat the keyboard area without adding any heat to the laptop. I’ll try to find a smaller 250 watt one so I can just heat the keyboard area.

For £3 that’s certainly worth trying. I guess I would not find those locally but they look simple enough to make.

I just downloaded the manual and skimmed through pages of safety info. This was the only relevant statement about that:

“Limit the length of use and check the skin’s reaction.”
“Overly prolonged radiation may lead to the skin being burned.”

Since they don’t mention a duration of exposure, I get the impression this is just pointing out the obvious for liability purposes in case someone does something foolish.

The 15 min seems to be more about protecting the device itself from over-heating. Which I suppose means it’s not well designed… overly fragile. And I guess the lack of fan would enable the device itself to take on lots of heat. (edit: sorry, just read that it has a fan… though it could be fragile nonetheless)

update: I also see that the bulb lasts 2000 hours. I’ve seen 250 watt bulbs claimed to last 6000 hours for like ~$20. So I guess this thing is garbage.

They spoiled:

• red kale
• fermented fruit juice
• fermented strawberry jam
• pumpkin jam
• sourdough

but it’s unclear which led to possible benefits. With jams I would just scoop out the unexpected organisms and eat the rest. Maybe that’s not even necessary.