The Doom Tanks
By Daniel on May 6th, 2009- Comic »
- BattleTown »
- Comic
The heat is hot.
It’s summertime here once again in Phoenix. Basically, as far as I can tell, it’s summer here from May through November, give or take a few months. (Give, not take.)
It’s been in the 90′s for a good month now, but I don’t really count it as “Summer” here until it hits 100 degrees. That pretty much was today.
The locals are loco for heat, I’ll tell you that. The act relieved to say that it’s “FINALLY” warm, as if the 90′s have been cold or something. Really, I can understand it, as to embrace the heat is about the only way to survive here.
I took Kaid out swimming in the pool on Sunday, and it was a chilly 71 degrees in the pool. Stop laughing. It was shockingly cold for about 15 minutes, before we got used to it. Again, if 71 doesn’t feel cold to you, Phoenix living is going to kick you in the teeth.
This year, now that I’m working from home, I have a new challenge: How to stay cool? I have 3 monitors on all day, and these things combined with the computers, printer and IP phone pump out the heat. We can afford to keep our house at 83 degrees; my room is easily 5-10 degrees warmer. (Though I haven’t measured it… yet.)
Anyway, I spend the days a bit warmer than I’d like but perhaps this is the training that I’ve been needing. I’ll slowly but surely get used to sitting in 90 degrees in a leather chair for 12 hrs per day, and when I step outside, it will be… refreshing?
Well, no, but at least it won’t hurt so bad.
How about you: You a HeatMiser or a ColdMiser?
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Chadsworth in a Barrondook? Sweet!!
My hottest job was 90+ degrees in high humidity. Wore a respirator, leather sleeves and gloves and a visor with heavy clothes as I was lifted 60 feet in the air and even hotter near the tin ceiling. I was in a very jerky sky bucket as I sand blasted, tarred and re-galvanized lumber pressure treating kilns.
I had to undress outside my domicile, as I reeked of oily tar when I got home.
It was brutal, but it paid the bills. Perspective is everything! Now, I sit in a top floor office suite and sip hot coffee and poke at my laptop.
I like the heat as long as it’s dry and/or there’s air-movement. If there’s a breeze, even if it’s a hot breeze, then the whole perspiration-evaporation thing works and I stay comfortable. If it’s a still day or, as happens when living on an island, heat combines with humidity, then I turn into a soggy red-faced heap of sweat and crankiness.
Fortunately the weather here’s pretty moderate – if it hits 80 then people wander around talking about how hot it is. If it hits 90, people start going a little crazy and stuff starts shutting down. 100 is headline news.
The worst thing about summer in the temperate climate of the UK is that no one expects it to be particularly warm, so no one bothers making sure that the air-conditioning works until it’s too late. This becomes especially problematic when travelling by train or working in an office with computer equipment, as both have hermetically-sealed windows so that not even a breeze can get in. The trains get pretty ripe in the summer.
Most houses don’t even have air-conditioning, so it’s a matter of opening the windows and sitting in front of the desk fan.
It’s 50 here today.
I don’t think I’m any kind of weather miser. I can almost always find something to do, regardless of the temperatures. To tell the truth, I get pretty sick of listening to people complain about the heat/cold. Wusses, says I.
Alright, alright. I’ll stop complaining. It’s just been on my mind of late.
Cheap trick I learned in Australia if you don’t have AC. Hang a wet towel in the doorway or open window and the evaporation gives a little relief.
Sweet. I have a swamp cooler, but I sit in my office with a several hundred After Halloween books… I don’t want the moisture to mess with them.
Hey, I’m really enjoying the comic! I’m definitely a ColdMiser. When summer hits, and the temperature approaches something remotely close to human body temperature, I start to get kind of uncomfortable. Then after a couple weeks I get used to it.
Yeah, that’s my issue; I’m just not used to it quite yet. It’ll get better.
Try switching to flat panel monitors, they pump out a lot less heat than CRTs.
Yeah, I’m there already. But these things still churn out the heat. I tell ya.
I prefer it a little cold.
You can always put on more layers if it’s too cold. You can’t take off more layers if it’s too hot.
…Unless that’s what happened to Chadowrth?
In some ways, you’re entirely right.
definitely a ColdMiser. that’s why I had to escape the valley on the sun! LOL!
Its 52F here. This is one of the warmest days we’ve had this year. Seriously, there’s still ice and snow in some places.
Gotta love Canada.
I hate to necropost, but have you considered building yourself a swamp cooler to cool off your space?
All you need is as large a bowl as you can find, fill that with ice, and plunk it in front of a fan.
While making sure to keep the electricity and water as separate as possible, of course…
You’d be amazed at how cool this can make you feel
I have a swamp cooler, but I’ve read that it doesn’t do so much good fully inside the house. The moisture will build up, and then it’ll feel warmer yet.
Also, I’ve got 1000+ books stored in my office (After Halloween) and I really want to keep the moisture level very even for them. (Lest they curl crazy.) They’ve been quite used to standard Arizona humidity.