i'm trying an experiment with the heat down here.

i like this place. i really do. but all the pros come with the massive con that the heating is really awful.

it's the winter. i want the heat 'on'. i think that's reasonable. but, instead of just having a switch that i can turn on and off, i have one of these electronic temperature control devices that tries to turn the heat up and down to fit a desired temperature. of course, it doesn't work right. first, it's localized to one side of the room, so it's uneven - but i can deal with that. it's not the problem. the problem is that it gets stuck, and won't come 'on' by turning itself up past the heat i dial in and then never getting back down again. maybe this is supposed to be a power saving mechanism, but i have clean electricity here and i consequently don't have an environmental incentive to save energy.

so, what's been happening is that i just keep turning the heat up higher and higher. i set it to 23, and it turns off. so, i set it to 23.5 and it turns off. so, i set it to 24 and it turns off. listen: it's cold out. i don't care what the temperature on the thermostat says. i don't want it to set a temperature, have it shoot out a blast for a few seconds and then have it turn off. i just want it to stay 'on'. all the time. constant.

so, this cycle takes the temperature up higher and higher. but, then i eventually get to the point where i need to set the heat to 32 to turn it on, and i get dry skin and sore throats. so, this is not sustainable.

i'm trying to force the system back down to the low 20s by keeping the window open until it gets down to around 20. and it's taking a long time. and, then it turns on for a few seconds and turns off.

the answer may be to set up an algorithm where i take it up to 30 and then let it fall back.

but it can't be that dry in here. i need it to come down. and i need to find a way for it to stay on.

i'd like to just call the landlord and have him take out the thermostat. in an ideal world, i could explain to him that it doesn't work right. reality is that i'm just going to piss him off, because he's going to think i'm wasting energy. but it doesn't work right, and he'll save money taking them out.

right now, the windows are open. and i'm cold. but it's almost to the point that i can close them.