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#109579 08/09/03 03:23 AM
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So how's everyone faring?

And I saw on a news clip that the London Underground still has no air conditioning, because it was built before AC? Yikes!


#109580 08/09/03 09:28 AM
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It has been between 95 and 100 degrees here for over a week now. Humidity today is said to be 85%+. Not too bad for me because I drive in to work in an air conditioned car and work in an air conditioned office. Right now it's good preparation since I'm off to Houston next week! Colleagues who come in by train are having a hell of a time though. Trains are operating at reduced speds because of the risk of rails buckling - the steel temperature is reaching 45 degrees plus in the sun. We have long days at this time of year so the heat really has time to build up and of course because this is unusual for us we don't have air conditioned houses - so the nights are hot and sweaty!

But I'm not complaining - I love it.


#109581 08/09/03 10:46 AM
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Terrific photo in the paper yesterday of two bears in a Paris zoo licking and mouthing cod-flavored ice blocks provided to help keep them cool in the pool. What'll they think of next!


#109582 08/09/03 11:46 AM
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> So how's everyone faring?

I'm toasty thanks. Never spent so much time outside in Europe. Average temps have been exceeded for five months straight! In January some towns in the Rhein area were under water; now there's very little water anywhere in Europe. I compared the UN description of its predicted weather for 2050 assuming 'business as usual', and almost all of their predictions have been fulfilled in the last two years throughout the world. We should be worrying 'bout 2005, not 2050, I think. And skeptics are saying people are merely panicking. I get the feeling the joke is on us and our exalted history.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/0,12374,782494,00.html
Anyway, I'm heading for a lake now. Keep cool people!


#109583 08/10/03 01:14 PM
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Sometimes it helps to be my age and have memories of how we beat the heat in those "no air conditioning" years!
Close all windows and draw all drapery first thing in A.M. to hold any coolness night may bring.
Strange as it seems, drink hot beverages to cool off. (When you visit Houston you'll find this is common.)
Take lukewarm showers, not cool.
In baths put some baking soda to beat heat rash.Also useful when washing and dusting baby.
If you can get blocks of ice, (bags of ice cubes work too) place in a washtub, have a fan blow across the ice to cool one room.
A flannel bottom sheet will actually be cooler than a slick one.
Wear cotton - best cooling fabric is seersucker, next Palm Beach cloth for men's suiting.
Eat small meals more often rather than big meals.
For animals - usually a dog will find a spot under a tree or behind shrubs, find that spot then dig a hole several feet deep, drop in several bags of ice, (puncture to allow melt to run off) refill hole. The ice will keep the spot cool and help dog cope. Provide lots of cool water. If animal gets wet, lie you hoase the dog down, be sure to dry thoroughly using cool setting on hair dryer, especially under "arms." Else a mould develops which is murderous to clear up. (A hot setting on a dryer can raise an animal's blood pressure and cause death!) Keep cats indoors and dogs away from beaches. The sand works into fur and causes all kinds of irritation, hot spots etc. (Cheaper to take the time than pay those Vet bills!)
Last and by far not the least : Tape a reflective material onto the top half of windows to reflect sun away. shiny side outward. Silver foil - the kind used for cooking and freezer storage - works like a charm. Will usually drop temp in house about 15 or 20 degrees.







#109584 08/10/03 02:41 PM
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Great suggestions, wow! To me, AC has become something I definitely don't want to do without. I often wonder how people made it through blazingly hot summers without it, particularly people in hot office buildings where breezes don't reach. Men in suits, trekking blocks to work; and un-air-conditioned subways (or even trains)? I don't want to think about it! Buckling railroad tracks?? Geez... sympathies.
And aren't we glad we don't have to dress like they did 150 years ago?! Long sleeves, and tight-fitting garments buttoned up to the neck...shudder.
Hmm--wow, your post reminded me of something my father always said, when I'd be down on the farm in shorts and sleeveless tops: that wearing long sleeves and long pants is better, because once they get wet with sweat, the breeze actually cooled you down more. Your comment about hot drinks reminded me of something, too, that I heard a long time ago: that in North America, food in the north tends to be kind of bland; but the further south (hotter in temperature) you go, the hotter (spicier) the food gets--and it's true!

WO'N, thanks for starting this thread. I'd intended to put this first, then got to running my mouth...sigh: I've been hearing about the awful heat in Italy; and now they're having a bad time with wildfires. Emanuela, tell us how you are, when you can. b-youth, good to hear from you--hope you enjoyed your swim! wsieber, how are things where you are? ammelah, if you're still around, how is Austria? crealude--France? I don't think Juan Maria has been here for a while, but I heard on the news that the heat in Spain is truly awful--people have died from it.


#109585 08/10/03 02:45 PM
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From my days in the Mexican desert:

If there is any shade around the house, position fans in windows so that it will draw the cool air in and suck the hot air out.

If it's too hot to sleep, wet and wring out a bath sheet or beach towel, cover yourself with it and point the fan on you! This got me through months of 90-100+ degree days when I worked nights.

If your schedule permits, take a nap in the heat of the day and stay up later at night when the air is cooler. My kids and I used to take our naps on the cool cement floors with the fans pulling in the air from under the fig tree.

Michigan tricks or "It's not the heat, it's the humidity":

Use a dehumidifier. Mine has been running non-stop for weeks now and I'm emptying the gallon reservoir 2-3 times a day. I can always tell when it's full by the heavy feel of the air.

When you can't stand the heat another minute, well, then, it's time for dinner and a movie. Let the air conditioned coolness of restaurant and theater wash over you.


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Haven't owned an air conditioner or a heater of any kind for 18 years (but I have dodged a couple of hurricanes).


#109587 08/11/03 12:03 AM
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heat wave or no heat wave, its a good idea to have some sort of reflective coating on your windows to keep out heat and UV rays-- the newest stuff is like 'clings' you put it on wet, with a squeegee, and you can peel it off in the fall (to let more light in for winter) and reapply the same stuff, next spring.. about $20 a roll (3foot wide by 20 foot long, does alot of windows!)

well placed fans, work well too, in my house we had a 'attic fan' that went on every evening, it exhausted hot air out of the attic, and drew the cool evening air into the house. I don't have any A/C in my apartment, about 10 days each summer i wish i did, but for the other 90 or so, fan do fine.

(and i have both southern and western expossures, (1 window faces east-- one more thing i like about the place, lots of cross ventalation!)

When we were kids, we would also hose down the roof (of our apartment, we lived on top floor of the building) in the early evening. the cold water started cooling down the tar (so it didn't radiate heat into the apartment all night,) and evaperation cooled it further--water shortages some places mean that can't be done, but 100% cotton sheets,(flannels, or better yet, 'brushed or sueded' cotton which have a lower nap) are great. and a evening cool down shower before you go to bed is a good idea too.. don't use soap, just rinse, (washing with soap too often can dry skin, and make it itchy, and uncomfortable)

i also like long sleeves, in a soft almost sheer cotton, they keep the sun off the skin, and you feel cooler.. loose skirts, or baggy pants are good too. (wear braces/suspenders, not a belt, for increased air flow!)
and remember, this too shall pass!


#109588 08/14/03 08:19 AM
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Thanks for all your great suggestions. I'm going to try the fan one in a mo. We had the heatwave in Manchester but we were also the proud possesors of the only cloud in Western Europe so not much sun ( thank goodness). I'm seriously considering moving to Iceland. Sure there are no trees and it's dark for six months of the year but hell at least it's a normal temperature. I don't do well in the heat, anything over fifteen degrees (centigrade) and I spend the whole day in a tepid bath with a pair of frozen underpants on my head. Sunstroke, heatstroke, claggy head, you name it, I've got it. I ask you, what is the point of living in a temperate zone if summer gets all over enthusiastic on you? Aaaaargh, I'm dreaming of fog, of drizzle and most of all snow, snow snow. You might think I'm being a miserable so and so but if I wanted wall to wall sunshine I'd move to L.A. I can't wait for autumn. Roll on October gales.


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