Security Seal Facebook Twitter GooglePlus Pinterest Newsletter Sign-up

Dan's Stories and ThoughtsSubscribe to RSS feed

A Simple Copper Elbow

There is beauty in simple things. Read More

An American Cathedral

Remember those who built it. Read More

An American Love Story

Which is about two people I will always remember, and how they chose to live their lives. Read More

Dangerous Dan and the Hole in the Ground

There comes a point in your life when you put the book down . . . Read More

Delta Schmelta

Good luck with Brooklyn. Read More

Don't look down.

Remembering a time of innocence Read More

Feeling Taliesin

The spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright lives on within his beautiful home, which, sadly, is falling apart. Read More

Gaslighting

Some insights from a 1917 brochure on how gaslighting led to gas heating Read More

Generations

Central heating is still relatively new, and we've come a long way in just one generation. Read More

How are things in Heatingland?

Some wacky things in the news have made me wonder about the current state of Heatingland. Read More

How to Heat a Cottage

The Breakers in Newport, RI was quite a challenge for this Dead Man Read More

I don't get no respect.

Not if you're a radiator in Cape May! Read More

Imagine

Life at the Dakota Read More

Invention

The things we take for granted. Read More

It's only natural!

It's a people business, and in more ways than one. Read More

Jason, Rocky and Bullwinkle

It is good to be the hero. And I think that’s what these two wholesalers have become to their contractor customers. Heroes. Read More

Lester does ISH

A scary American gets his first look at Germany Read More

Lester on Efficiency

Violent, sure, but also quite scary. Read More

Lost and Found

It's amazing what you can find (and lose) inside a heating system! Read More

Low-hanging fruit

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if America’s colleges and universities sent their young mechanical engineers out into the world with some hands-on experience? Read More

Meet Bill Henry

Say hello to the guy who wrote Henry's Law. Read More

Memories of Starbucks

Not the coffee shop. This place was much better. Read More

Missy, at year's end

Sometimes, wishes come true. Read More

Modern Times, Old Buildings

Living with an old heating sytem can be a challenge, unless you're a collge student, that is. Read More

Moonlighting

How Frankie makes a very good living Read More

Mothers

You only have one. Call her. Read More

Old

We reserve the right to be ridiculous. Read More

On the Fence

Business lessons are everywhere. Read More

On Vigilance

Iin the mechanical world, we can never be too vigilant. Read More

Only Gus Touch!

Gus knows how to zone a system. Read More

Pump and Circumstance

Some learn the hard way. Others never learn at all. Read More

Quite a Messe!

Thoughts from ISH Read More

Radiator tales you may not have heard

You can't make this stuff up! Read More

Recommended Reading for Heating Professionals

Great books that may change the way you see the world. Read More

Remembering Gil

Gil Carlson was my teacher, and I will remember him always. Read More

Screwdriver Willie and the cold tenants

Some old steam systems have orifices instead of steam traps. Be careful what you touch! Read More

Snowmelting, Turfwarming and the Snows of December

Some random thoughts and nice memories on those three subjects Read More

So quiet, so thorough!

Get the right guy if you want great service Read More

So what do you do?

Which has to do with the trades. Read More

Something fishy

A tale about getting even. Read More

Square Pipes

Makes sense once you clear your mind! Read More

Sully

On being a grandpa. Read More

Tape

What my sister-in-law, Missy, taught be about troubleshooting, and about life Read More

Temperature Scales

Ever wonder how they came to be? Read More

The Carbon Club

The group that did so much, and so quickly! Read More

The dopey kid who used to wear your clothes

Some things to consider before finding fault with somone else's work Read More

The Dreaded Bear Report

Fatherly food for thought Read More

The Fitting

Or how Tommy and I found this really odd tee Read More

The Golden Rules of Hydronic Heating

Bite-size bits of truth for you to enjoy. Read More

The Great Experimenter

A bit about the late, great John Mills Read More

The Magical History Tour

A walk through Lower-Manhattan, and back into time, on a hot summer's day Read More

The Radiator

The often unseen beauty of everyday things Read More

The World According to Missy

Which has to do with love, not heating Read More

They're not that different

How I came to be a well-known writer in Iran Read More

This one's for Mark

I'm speaking out for those who often can't. Read More

Throwbacks

Those who have learned The Steam have an even greater lesson to teach us. Read More

Times change

Times change, but there will always be knuckleheads. Read More

Tom's Thumb

Some guys just know how to get the job done! Read More

Turf

There's something missing from central heating, and I think it's something we all long for. Read More

Twelve things I learned this year

Here’s an even dozen things I learned this year by just being quiet, paying close attention, and thinking as hard as my old brain would allow. Read More

Uncle Tony

Remember a beautiful man. Read More

Washington Steam

How the Dead Men once heated the D.C. Mall Read More

Wasted Energy

And on a grand, glorious (and pretty amusing) scale Read More

What's the Right Temperature?

It all depends on where you're coming from! Read More

Wheels

Some thoughts on changing times Read More

Why measure?

Kids in our business say the cutest things. Read More

You are where you live

It's pretty amazing what the experts of old believed. But hey, maybe they were right! Read More