Time for space heaters. Because space is a cold and lonely place… (My rented house, on the other hand, is only cold.) 

No, not space theater, although it was a bit theatrical I guess.Let us start with the cold facts, which is that the cold weather has just gone on and on ever since the Copenhagen Climate Summit reached a vague semblance of agreement. I am not going to comment on the theological implications of this today, just the practical consequences. As it dawns on me and my fellow Norwegian that the cold snap was not a snap but the onset of a serious piece of winter, and as we have put behind us the frantic shopping (for them) and days off from work (for me), there arises the matter of buying an electric space heater. The cold is advancing on all fronts: Gnawing through the walls, creeping through the ground to come up under the floor, even settling in the water pipes. Something must be done. Something, in the Land of Cheap Electricity, means a space heater.

In truth, electricity prices are constantly higher now that we have several thick cables to Europe, but this winter is not the worst, since the hydropower magazines are nearly full from two years of plentiful rain. The electricity backbone net has been upgraded bit by bit lately too, in preparation for more power transfer between the different parts of the country (and between Norway and Sweden and Denmark) as well as in preparation for the new energy sources, mainly windpower, now under construction and/or planning.

In any case, the electricity network is going to be put to the test, because I was not the only one buying a space heater. When I was there a bit after 3, people were swarming around the few remaining space heaters like male beetles around a female, except several of the customers were actually female. Like the one who bought the oil-filled radiator. It is not fueled by oil, it is electric, but it uses oil to store the heat and distribute it around the fairly large surface of the radiator. A nice invention, but oil does not strike some of us as the obvious medium, especially after reading the (very rare) report of them exploding, scattering superheated oil all over the place and setting it on fire. The lady was somewhat wary of this as well, it seemed. The store clerk assured her that accidents were very rare. “Just don’t leave it on when you go away from it.” “So does that mean I can’t leave it on at night?” “No, just don’t leave the house with it on.”

I for one would rather be outside the house when it is suddenly and violently set on fire, rather than sleeping upstairs with only one stairway between me and the world. Your sense of self-preservation may vary. If the house is going to burn down anyway, I would rather it do it without me. Preferably not at all, of course, but this means a bit of a balancing act regarding space heaters. Like balancing it on top of the toilet, since the alternative is halfway hidden by the curtains, and I think that is a truly foolish idea.

Yes, I bought a small “ceramic” space heater. Quite small and quite expensive. I do not mean to imply that the shop is gouging, even though today would be a good day for just that. Rather, I think the earlier customers have bought the cheap and most of the large heaters already, leaving only those that seemed to offer less value for money. I suspect that by the end of the day, they were all sold out anyway. Because you really don’t want your water pipes to freeze and stay frozen, like the ones in the bathroom here. Not that I am sure heating the bathroom will help. The pipes come up from the floor, and hot air is unlikely to have much influence on the ground under the floor. After all, hot air rises up, away from the floor. This is why modern Norwegian houses use heating cables in the floor. That way you only need a moderate heat to feel comfortably warm. Oh well, a bit late for that now.

The temperature today is by the way up to a moderate -7C (just below 20F). It was -16C when I left home this morning, so this is not so bad. Generally Møll is milder than Nodeland, being closer to the coast and near sea level (although none of them are really inland or in the hills). Also on Norway’s south coast, being further west generally means milder weather in winter (and less hot in summer, and more rain overall), although the difference is probably not that great from just half an hour’s bus ride… The weather forecast for tomorrow is the same, then colder again Wednesday (-12/-11C). Beyond that it is probably guesswork as usual. They guess that it goes back up to -7 on Thursday, then slowly up to -3 through the weekend, with cloud cover mostly but without snow. That seems kind of optimistic, but would be nice. Of course, I could just keep buying space heaters, and if I get enough of them the weather will turn warm, like the rain stops if you carry an umbrella, right? After all, I am the main character! Well, of this blog I guess.

Seriously though, it seems like the weather is the main character when I write from the Mothhouse. Hopefully that will change, given time.

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Oh, and one more thing. I spoke to my immediate boss about my incompetence. I asked that I be given more of the work I can do, until such a time as I can learn more. Right now one of two local coworkers is on sick leave and another on partial sick leave. There is no one to teach me, and no material for self-study, and I don’t know a lot of people so I could call them and ask. I have to do what little I still can. I feel that this all happened because I did not value my work as an opportunity to give help to others. Because I did not appreciate my opportunity, it has been almost all taken away from me by fate. I am not going to just stand by and let that happen. The time for repentance has come, even if I do it badly.