Things We've Learned To Achieve Less Smoke and More Fire...

...and more heat.

This autumn we've been using a high-efficiency woodburning fireplace insert. It generates an incredible amount of comfortable heat.

There is one very big lesson that we've learned -- never let the embers get cold. Restarting a cold fire is difficult, requires kindling, and generates more smoke than warmth until the chimney and firebox get hot again. Keep stoking the fire continuously and you get the best, most efficient results. Simple and continuous is the way to go.

When it comes to ALS awareness and advocacy, December has been the opposite of June in many ways. Just six months ago we had a roaring fire of ALS buzz in the media and among our citizens as we approached July 4's 4 ALS activities in professional ballparks throughout the country. The rage and awareness were hot.

Six months later the ALS outrage embers are almost out. We'll restart them, but that's inefficient. Why don't we design ways to stoke the ALS rage year-round?

Are we all smoke and no fire at the moment? We should never settle for smoke unless it's telling us, "Habemus cure."