From way over in redneck-ville....

Not really sure about this one - Kevin can you chime in?

A timely article

Here are some things the pros at BuyerZone suggest you consider when shopping for a hot tub:

* Most buyers prefer to install their hot tubs outside. Look at your yard and landscape and decide on potential installation locations. Hot tubs can sit above or below the ground.

* Sizes of hot tubs vary from small models that seat just 2 people to large models that seat 10 or more. How many people do you want to accommodate? A 7-foot tub is a fairly common size and typically seats about 4 to 6 people.

* There are 2 primary options for heating the water in your hot tub: electricity or gas. Electric heaters are more common and somewhat less expensive to install; natural gas heaters can reduce your operating costs over the long run.

* When you're getting price quotes on spa tubs, make sure the estimates include all aspects of the purchase: the tub itself, delivery, and installation, including electrical and water hookups.



My question is - if I live in a three bedroom condo, will my wife let me put a 4-6 man hot tub in the first bedroom?

Updates and reminiscing

It has been nearly a year between meaningful posts here at Responsible Hot Tubbing and I thought it was high time to do something about it. Since both Kevin and I have fulfilled the unspoken mission of BYU by getting married (pretty unbelievable actually), you may have thought that this blog no longer would serve a purpose. The truth is, that we have both moved on and have little time nor reason to hot tub - and that is a crying shame! Think of all the Provo socialites that we met, the memories made, and the shriveled up toes and fingers! Those memories will always remain firm in our minds and we will pass them on to our children through this blog. So this post goes out to you Sadie.

From day one, Sadie did not enjoy the tub as much as I thought she would. She is, after all, my child. Shouldn't she love to lounge and splash in warm water? Turns out, no. Nope, she does not like to take a bath and actually screamed the entire time she was in it. Looks like I'll have to do some more training with her as she gets older. I was just thinking that it is never too young to start. Guess I was wrong.

Warning: No public hot tubs in Maryland

Well, I have been in Maryland for four months now, so I thought I would review hot tubs in Maryland. The problem is there are none. The community pool, of which we have a great view, has pathetic hours. 11-8 each day from June to September. So, they naturally decided that it wasn't worth it to have a hot tub. What a poor, poor decision. When we searched for an apartment, we could not find any in the area that had a hot tub, so I presume there is a law passed by liberal legislators discouraging apartment owners from including hot tubs. So, watch out Maryland, you are close to entering the dreaded Responsible Hot Tubbing Black List.

On another note, I just read Moneyball (thanks Chris). It is a highly recommended reading. Did you know that Batting Average was invented by a British sportswriter? We know that sports writers are not experts at sports (they're expert writers, duh), but to allow a British person determine the best way to analyze baseball is horrifying. Anyway, Moneyball tells how the market finally prevailed, once the stakes were high enough for valuing baseball players. Enjoy!

Hot tub review

Laura and I stayed in a Fairfield Inn in Burlington Iowa (near Nauvoo) on our trip across the country. We arrived late so we were disappointed by the sign saying that the pool area closed at 10:00 pm. However, the person at the desk said we could use it since we arrived late. (After hours hot tubbing is always great.) So we of course went hottubbing.

The hot tub was particularly deep from the seat level to the water level. This was a nice feature since you could rest your head on the edge of the tub. The temperature was great, even a little too hot for Laura. So it was a great

Overall, I would rate the hot tub as a 3 (of 5) stars. If you are loooking to hot tub in southeast Iowa, I would definitely recommend the Fairfield Inn in Burlington.

What's in a name?

I suppose it is about time to explain my clever screen name. When Kevin and I first started going to the Colony hot tub on a daily basis we were very enthusiastic, as most should be. Sitting in the tub longer than the recommended 15 minutes required physical as well mental stamina and fortitude. We experimented with a number of solutions that might enable us to stay longer. The half-in-half-out technique worked for a while as did the roll in the snow, but what we realized was that we needed to cool our core temperatures in order to increase our exposure time. We started taking glasses of water to the hot tub, which dramatically increased our time. We hadn't realized that we needed to rehydrate in order to replenish our body's store of water that we had lost. This was an important breakthrough and Kaley and Tacie will probably testify as we stopped by their apartment nearly everyday to refill our water glasses. What really put us over the top was a random trip to 7-Eleven. We came back from a baseball game and stopped by to get slurpees before heading home. The thought occurred to us that the slurpee would be really good in the tub and would achieve all the desired results as water re hydration, but with all the added sweetness of a semi-frozen beverage. Hence the name slurpee-in-hand.

"Do unto the hot tub as you would have others do unto the hot tub."

Today I will begin a series of important steps that all Responsible Hot Tubbers follow. The golden rule of hot tubbing is "Do unto the hot tub as you would have others do unto the hot tub."

The inspiration for the blog and the rule was already mentioned by Mr. Slurpee. Somebody or some group had left the cover off an outdoor hot tub during a cold winter night. By the time we had arrived, the hot tub was just not the same, for the temperature had plummeted. We had hoped that this was a singular occurrence by a rogue hot tubber, but alas we came across this situation several times. Hence, we felt the need to share our learnings with others. So, please, always replace the cover when you leave the hot tub.