Reading What Sucks

I live in the top (8th) story and my balcony as well as my only window is looking to the West. You would not believe how hot it gets in here. It's bearable in the morning, but you can barely breath in here from 5 to 9 PM. Right now I'm sitting here in my shorts and the sweat is raining down my head in streams.

By all means, please tell me any trick you might have up your sleeve to fight the heat. I bought a fan two weeks ago, but all it does is blowing the hot air into my face.

Help me survive in here!

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion

Close your curtains - I live in a south facing room and the sun streams in most all the day - I barely open my curtains.

Close your curtains - I live in a south facing room and the sun streams in most all the day - I barely open my curtains.

That's the tip other people living in my story told me as well. At first it felt a little weird to switch on the lights in early afternoon, but hey, it's about survival, isn't it?

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion

I live in the top Floor ouf our house and in summer, when it's 26 degrees outside, i have 36 inside, so here's the best stuff i know:

1. buy an air-conditioning (it dries the air, but if you haven't got a problem with that, it's great)

I usually "Borrow" my dad's :)

2. put on some cloth you made wet with cold water, cools you for sometime

3. Take a cold shower, ain't that effective but really feels great

4. Once, when i had 46 degrees in my room and I was near death, I put a hose around my body and let cold water run trough the hose. Ok not really saving water, but it was saving my life :)

5. open the window over night and close it and the curtains over the day. And DON'T leave your pc on, it's what heatens your room most. Ok I always run my pc in summer, but that because i rather get medium-roasted than leaving my beloved pc alone :-D

6. do it as some animals do during winter, hold a sommersleep
go asleep when it gets hot and sleep until autum when temperature falls again

hope it helps

cya Magic

P.s. In greece, when it gets hot in summer, they water all the streets, which makes the temperature quit acceptable

"The wise have always said the same things, and fools have always done the opposite"-Schopenhauer

And DON'T leave your pc on, it's what heatens your room most. Ok I always run my pc in summer, but that because i rather get medium-roasted than leaving my beloved pc alone :-D

Let me say I know of that dilemma.

Once, when i had 46 degrees in my room and I was near death, I put a hose around my body and let cold water run trough the hose.

You don't happen to have a photo handy, do you? :-D

buy an air-conditioning (it dries the air, but if you haven't got a problem with that, it's great)

I was looking into A/Cs yesterday. Unfortunately many of the more affordable versions either don't cool at all, or if they do lights in your town go out as soon as you switch them on.

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion

What kind of A/C have you looked at?
the ones you put in your window or tower ones?

my dad has a tower with ahose the leads the hot air out and it cools really great, I think it did cost 150 euros

i don't know the model and the firm that made it, bould i'll try to find out

cya Magic

P.s. no i don't have a photo handy, but a webcam. But i won't take a pic ;)

P.s.s It ain't that bad to live in a hot room, you get used to it, the only thing i have probs with, is sleeping. It's hard to get a sleep when you feel like somewhere in the sahara.
I once thought about a kind of counterplane with little tubes running trough and a cooling device that makes the cool water run trough the whole thing, but i couldn't afford the device...maybe i should take up that plan, i think it's no prob to afford it now

"The wise have always said the same things, and fools have always done the opposite"-Schopenhauer

What kind of A/C have you looked at?
the ones you put in your window or tower ones?

That would be the tower ones I suppose.

i don't know the model and the firm that made it, bould i'll try to find out

That would be really great!

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion

Dear Jaz:

I live in the Palm Springs, Ca. desert. Today it is 108 and it's only Early June... I have windows on every side of this house and my office, where I am 90% of my life faces the rising sun. The first year here, I had my air conditioner on everyday for the first month. My electricty bill was over $500.00. After I picked myself up off the floor, I knew I had to do something. Something - Cheap... Can you say aluminum foil....? I covered every West window with the thick, extra wide foil. It may not look very attractive, but it will keep you alive. And cool.

Now, if you've got the funds, there is now on the market an aluminum foil looking shade that will reflect the sun and then you can open them up after the sun goes down... They have them at Home Depot and hardware stores.

Good Luck...

D

My electricty bill was over $500.00.

Ouch! Reminds me of when I began using dial-up online services many years ago (long before that Internet thing became mainstream) and at the end of the month my parents had a similar amount of money on their phone bill.

I was still a 14 years old teenager living with my parents at that time, so what could I do except hiding the bill under my mattress :)

Now, if you've got the funds, there is now on the market an aluminum foil looking shade that will reflect the sun and then you can open them up after the sun goes down... They have them at Home Depot and hardware stores.

I will definitely look into that. Thanks a lot for the hint!

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion

Los Angeles can get pretty hot sometimes.

1. Get yourself wet and then have the fan blow at you (or any form of a wind). It feels really nice.

2. Get a polar jacket on yourself and get it really cool inside. I know someone who walks out of the house, that is cool, and goes through the whole hot day with a jacket on. Everybody thinks he is crazy.

3. Don't use those paper fans, they take more effort than you think.

4. WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope I could help. -Demi

PS. One more thing, if you have a car (hopefully small so the air conditioning can circulate easier), turn on the air conditioning and after the car is cold, turn it off and relax. Use the foil idea also (to keep the cold in). If you don't have a car, use your parents car, but don't drain the battery.

It is better to be pissed off than pissed on.

This post was edited by Demiurgic on Jun 08, 2003.

Get a polar jacket on yourself and get it really cool inside. I know someone who walks out of the house, that is cool, and goes through the whole hot day with a jacket on. Everybody thinks he is crazy.

You think that would work? Now to the problem of getting something as big as a polar jacket really cool inside... :)

WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!

You betcha! I'm an extraordinarily heavy water drinker. The water in many German cities is of excellent quality which is why many people, including myself, have one of these water sparkling devices. I bought mine at the same time as Ettena and I'm at my third carbon dioxide cartridge already, while she is still using the one that came with the sparkler.

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion

Ah, i understand. In melbourne we get about a month 20degrees followed a fortnight of 40degrees followed by a week of blissful 25, followed by about two months of 30-35.

we may be the most livable city however i believe our motto should be beautiful one day, raining the next!

i reccommend getting out the house. library's are great places! as are shopping centres!

however, if you wish to stay inside, i reccommend putting a tub of cold water with ice blocks in it in front of your fan which should at ALL TIMES be placed in front of you!

either that or hire an eskimo to sit on you face....

-mel

Look at me! I'm a prostitute robot from the future!

I think I will go with the Eskimo idea. Maybe I'll even try the hint with the tub of cold water!

Actually I've noticed that many companies are combining a simple fan with a coolable bottle of water and then sell the resulting device as an air conditioner.

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion

Girls, guys, thanks a lot for so many helpful tips, that was certainly much more than I expected!

Also thanks to null who sent me an emergency-SMS right after he saw my post and came up with some more ideas, like hanging a wet towel in front of the window and having the fan blow against it. Rumour has it that everyone in Australia is doing this?

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion

Well, Bob our Australian programmer says that people use some seaweed-like stuff, but I've thought it might be easier for you to use a towel instead. :-)

"*sigh* Some men are really hard to manipulate!" - Orchid

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

had an extremly long reply which just disappered into cyber-space due to BLOODY TELSTRA!

grrrr.

ok, this a last resort method.

go to your bathroom. fill the bath with cold, cold water. sit with your feet in bath. have a fan blowing into bath, have another one blowing on you. drape wet face washers around your neck. open a window slighty with icey water in frot of it. have the door open a crack with all other windows and curtains closed except for one at the opposite end of the house where the curtain should be shut but the window should be open. dont ask me why, something to do with circulating air. turn bathroom fan on. proceed to read or some other time wasting activity. if you have a space far away from the bath, the television can be your greatest friend.

well this is my much simplified last resort plan.

i have never heard of any seaweed thing though...hmmmmmmm, you may want to question Bob's reliability! Tell Bob Melbourne says hi! and sends thoughts of vegemite, and barbeque shapes! and also potato cakes which apparently you can't get anywhere but in Oz??

if you have sky-lights...cover them. those things are SATAN!

my father reccommends to create a draft by opening a low window and a high window...hmmm, not sure about that one, but apparently it works, which is all we want right?

you see how complicated all this is? just hire the eskimo dammit!

-Mel

Look at me! I'm a prostitute robot from the future!

thoughts of vegemite

Wait. . .
Didn't the Marmites slay the Vegemites in the Bible? I think it was in Dalmations, or maybe Excretions.

No, it was definitely in Amphibians. Amphibians 3:11 (What's that you say? There's no Amphibians in the Bible, you say? What about the plague of frogs?)

Thbbbbt

This post was edited by Magnifico on Jun 09, 2003.

No, i'm quite sure vegemite won...that battle anyway. then later in Amphibians 4:27 Promite was victorious and so it has stayed. i personally can't stand the taste of vegemite, but oh well...each to their own.

-mel

Look at me! I'm a prostitute robot from the future!

Sorry, but I can't help but add to this.

This reminds me of 6 months ago, one of my first posts on NAO blabbing about how stinking hot it was. 6 months later, and we have Jaz in Germany complaining about the heat, and me and Mel in Melbourne soon to be complaining about the cold (well maybe, it doesn't snow here except on mountains).

My suggestion for night time is this: Sleep on tiles. Actually, that's really uncomfortable. I usually sleep on the outside of a sleeping bag in summer. Ah, nylon. It tends to stay cooler than ordinary linen.

P.S. I have also never heard of any seaweed thing. Ask Bob if he's from Queensland. It would explain a lot.

Which world is Plato in?

P.S. I have also never heard of any seaweed thing. Ask Bob if he's from Queensland. It would explain a lot.

:-)

Well AFAIK his mom lives in Sydney. I can't tell where he grew up or lived last. His last name is Streatfeild, if that gives you any hint. And he's very afraid of spiders. :-P Anyway, with two Australians not knowing this it seems to be some regional thing. I'll ask him again if he shows up this week (and I don't forget it :-) ).

"*sigh* Some men are really hard to manipulate!" - Orchid

My suggestion for night time is this: Sleep on tiles. Actually, that's really uncomfortable. I usually sleep on the outside of a sleeping bag in summer. Ah, nylon. It tends to stay cooler than ordinary linen.

hmmmmm, i don't like this. when your body is on the nylon it cant breathe and you wake up all sweaty and disgusting. compromise, sheet over sleeping bag.

-Mel

Look at me! I'm a prostitute robot from the future!

It gets really fucking hot in Memphis as well (only inland tropical climate), but the humidity is the main problem here... a dehumidifier takes care of that. A little tower AC unit will help a lot, especially if the room isn't too big. The aluminum foil type reflective thing works really well for cars (on the windshield), so I would assume it works for a house as well

"It was not God who created man, but man who created God." --Santa Caserio

I don't really know much about how to relieve the heat, but it'll help alot if you avoid drinks and foods that have high sugar (or caffeine) content, because those'll jack up your heart-rate some, and that'll just get you warmer.

It gets really fucking hot in Memphis as well

Yeah, that's the downside to having one of the largest rivers in the world running past your city (the upside being that it can break up just about any eastward moving storm cell)

Thbbbbt

Drink a lot of tea (make sure you put the bag in first though)

i dont have a dream "I HAVE A SCHEME"

Drink a lot of tea

Only decaf. Caffeine, which most teas contain, just jacks up your heart rate, which gets you hotter.

Thbbbbt

I lived in fucking arizona all my life dear.... Theres no way to beat it, u must adapt. Please come here and then really complain about the heat.

120 Degrees was the hottes at one time.....

Take that!

"We All Live In A World Of Political Subsitution." -Serj Tankian