nytimes.com — BATH, Ohio, March 15 — Doug Weintraub loves showing off his new $60,000 fireplace. It is in his backyard, with a chimney, built by a stonemason from Ukraine, that stands 16 feet tall.

Doug and Janis Weintraub had a fireplace with a 16-foot-tall chimney built outside their home in Bath, Ohio.

Beside the hearth is a cubby stocked with firewood “just for looks,” Mr. Weintraub said. As he pressed the “on” button of a remote control, a hissing sound could be heard, then the gas-burning fireplace sprang to flame, visible from inside the house.

Mr. Weintraub, a technology investor, then cranked up the volume on the fireplace’s built-in stereo system, and a meandering saxophone riff reverberated off his $2 million home and across the neighborhood. The Weintraubs said they considered building a waterfall into the fireplace, but decided that might be too extravagant.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Mr. Weintraub said.

jay: no, actually, it’s not. you’re a dildo. wait, let me be more specific. you’re an incredibly wasteful nouveau-riche dildo, even without the waterfall. i know it, the reporter knows it, and to at least a small degree, you know it, too.

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