So with the weather heating up again in the Northern
Hemisphere I was just putting up my passive shields and
I thought I'd share.
So with the weather heating up again in the Northern Hemisphere I was just putting up my passive shields and I thought I'd share.
I live in a 1930's construction home where central air was not a thing.
and went to the hardware store and got some .5" thick foam insulation board, the sort for foundations but the blue board but the white stuff with the silver coating on one side. We get 4x8 sheets here in the states so 48x96 inches and with windows that are about 29" wide (for a blinds) I
Out here in the Pacific Northwest we've been having a mild start to the summer (unlike most of North America), it's a nice break for us. I
Also, I do have aluminum foil covering one of the windows visible from
the front of my house, I have made the conscious choice not to live like an adult and cover the window in a more aesthetically pleasing way.
Shiny windows club!
Would it be feasible to get a central A/C system installed for your
house? I've heard of people doing that, and I've heard it can cost
between $5,000 and $10,000 (US), though I'm curious if it would be feasible with a house from the 1930s.
I'm also in the pacific northwest, and I'm happy we haven't had any
super hot days yet (though a few days with 90 degree temperatures, which is definitely a bit warm for me). I'm hoping we don't have any super
hot heat waves like 2021 where it got up to around 118 Farhenheit (47.7 Celsius)..
So with the weather heating up again in the Northern Hemisphere I was just putting up my passive shields and I thought I'd share.
I live in a 1930's construction home where central air was not a thing. Then and now we use a hot water boiler system and large cast iron registers for the winter months and in the summer we sweat...
Still, it's a good house. In the last 20 years houses on average have grown 1000 sqft and the family hasn't. Our 1930's place is 1100sq feet and for the two of us it's perfect. I'm not trying to fill up or heat and cool more than I need. I can cut my grass with a push mower on a half acre and still have a decent garden out back.
A lesson from Europe was that in America we have lots of space we take for granted. I think we need to stop doing that with our homes, and probably our cars too!
is definitely a bit warm for me). I'm hoping we don't have any super hot
heat waves like 2021 where it got up to around 118 Farhenheit (47.7
Celsius)..
Blarg! that's like Turkey hot... I was there in November once upon a time and the Turks were in suits with sweater vests in Istanbul. It was 70F at night... They asked us if we came from somewhere cold as my friend and I were in sneakers, light pants and t-shirts and sweating... Marty being a smart ass Canadian said, "yes, we live in houses made of ice and hunt whales!"
Shiny windows club!
You do see that quite a bit here too. I was just
thinking of a place that is on the west side of Lake
Cayuga (one of the finger lakes north of Ithaca) where
in the summers they foil up all the easterly windows.
It's like prairie some places when you're up on top of
the high lands around the finder lakes. Especially where
they are farming and can be pretty exposed. Stunted
little trees and all for the persistent winds. I do love
how varied the geography of NY is.
Nightfox wrote to n2qfd <=-
Re: Re: Heating Up Again
By: n2qfd to Nightfox on Sun Jun 30 2024 08:20 pm
Blarg! that's like Turkey hot... I was there in November once upon a time and the Turks were in suits with sweater vests in Istanbul. It was 70F at night... They asked us if we came from somewhere cold as my friend and I were in sneakers, light pants and t-shirts and sweating... Marty being a smart ass Canadian said, "yes, we live in houses made of ice and hunt whales!"
:) Lately, I'll start sweating a bit if I'm doing a bit of physical activity even when it's cool (upper 60s Fahrenheit).. When the temperature starts getting to the mid-upper 70s and higher, I start to sweat fairly easily.
Interesting that you mention the prairie aspect. When I put foil on my window I was thinking about my Grandma's house in Saskatchewan on the Canadian prairie. I remember the front windows being covered in foil throughout the summers. Now I wonder if that's more common amongst prairie folk or if it's a coincidence and everyone finds the sun hot and also has a roll of aluminum foil in a drawer.
You might not like it here in Florida... lately (in northern FL) we've had 95F and 70-80% humidity. Walking out to check the mail produces sweat. ;-)
Re: Re: Heating Up Again
By: Gamgee to Nightfox on Mon Jul 01 2024 10:12 pm
You might not like it here in Florida... lately (in northern FL) we'v 95F and 70-80% humidity. Walking out to check the mail produces swea ;-)
Yeah, I visited Florida years ago and I didn't like the heat or
humidity..
Here we're in the Endless Mountains, and I had some
friends go out west and if there was any real issue it
was the never ending sky.
We grow up here in a landscape of valleys, south of the
finger lakes. The friend I'm thinking of remarked this
feeling like there was no where to hide, being exposed
all the time. He said the sky was too big and it was
suffocating.
Here you've always got a hill in view. They say "Ithaca
is Gorges" on the bumper stickers... They also say it's
10 square miles surrounded by reality!
I'm sure it's the later, but maybe there is something
to life in the open we mountain williams need to learn about...
Nightfox wrote to Gamgee <=-
Re: Re: Heating Up Again
By: Gamgee to Nightfox on Mon Jul 01 2024 10:12 pm
You might not like it here in Florida... lately (in northern FL) we've had 95F and 70-80% humidity. Walking out to check the mail produces sweat. ;-)
Yeah, I visited Florida years ago and I didn't like the heat or
humidity..
You might not like it here in Florida... lately (in northern FL) we've had 95F and 70-80% humidity. Walking out to check the mail produces sweat. ;-)
Yeah, I visited Florida years ago and I didn't like the heat or
humidity..
You get used to it though. Now when I visit a dry place (Vegas for example), my sinuses and skin don't like it much.
n2qfd wrote to Gamgee <=-
You might not like it here in Florida... lately (in northern FL) we've
had 95F and 70-80% humidity. Walking out to check the mail produces sweat. ;-)
No I'm not a Florida guy,
I mean you guys have some great stuff, I love the Kennedy Space
Center. I was a fan of Santibel Island, super place to hide away while
on vacation and feel like you were in 1998..
Funny you mention the dry parts of the world too. My spouse
complains about the dry too for the same reasons. I love it. I loved
live in the Adirondacks during the winders when it would be -39/40F and the air couldn't hold any moisture. Summer might still hit 90 F and so keeping paint on a wooden house was a chore... That's a bit range to
flex through. The kitchen cabinets would not stay closed in the summers for the wood swelling and would not say closed in the winter for the
wood shrinking! I was a COOP weather observer for the NWS and we fed
our data to the Forecasting Office in Albany. They were using us mostly
to tune out wind turbines, turns out they were something of an issue
for Doppler radar once upon a time. But I'd go out and read the
recording thermometer, my rain gauge, snow on the ground and new snow winters and even take snow cores to melt for the liquid equivalent to
help predict run off in the springs. We didn't have ticks, too dry, too cold. We hardly had earthworms, then again we didn't have much earth,
it was mostly sand. We did have black flies and mosquitoes, it wasn't perfect.
But I'll take the cold.
Nightfox wrote to Gamgee <=-
Re: Re: Heating Up Again
By: Gamgee to Nightfox on Tue Jul 02 2024 01:56 pm
Yeah, I visited Florida years ago and I didn't like the heat or
humidity..
You get used to it though. Now when I visit a dry place (Vegas for example), my sinuses and skin don't like it much.
I've been in drier places than where I currently live. In 2008, I
moved (for a job) to Bend, OR, which is in a high desert area that
doesn't get much rain. After a little while, my hands started to get
dry and I got some cracking skin on my knuckles & such, and I tended to feel better when I went back to visit NW Oregon. I've since moved back from there though.
Yep, that's exactly what I mean. I have some family in Idaho, in that high desert environment, and it's not a place I like. Mostly brown, dry, dusty, and constantly windy. It actually amazes me that people choose to live there. :-)
Nightfox wrote to Gamgee <=-
Re: Re: Heating Up Again
By: Gamgee to Nightfox on Tue Jul 02 2024 05:59 pm
Yep, that's exactly what I mean. I have some family in Idaho, in that high desert environment, and it's not a place I like. Mostly brown, dry, dusty, and constantly windy. It actually amazes me that people choose to live there. :-)
When I was in Bend (OR), I also thought it was mostly brown (and grey), though I don't think it was constantly windy. I actually thought it
was a good town, though I like where I am now. They say Bend is good
if you're into outdoor activities, due to the lack of rain and scenery, and being near several mountains is good if you like skiing (Mt.
Bachelor and Three Sisters are in the area).
Where I am now, the area is more colorful due to the rain, and it's
also right between the mountain (Mt. Hood) and the coast, so I feel
like there are plenty of options here for places to go that aren't too
far away.
I have visited the Portland area a couple of times, and enjoyed it a lot. In fact, I once rode a Navy ship there via the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, and spent a wonderful few days there as a young (and single) Sailor. I've rarely seen a place where the girls were so..... patriotic and willing to... thank us for the work we did. ;-)
Nightfox wrote to Gamgee <=-
Re: Re: Heating Up Again
By: Gamgee to Nightfox on Tue Jul 02 2024 07:48 pm
I have visited the Portland area a couple of times, and enjoyed it a lot. In fact, I once rode a Navy ship there via the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, and spent a wonderful few days there as a young (and single) Sailor. I've rarely seen a place where the girls were so..... patriotic and willing to... thank us for the work we did. ;-)
;)
Years ago, I had heard Portland, OR had the highest number of adult entertainment venues per capita of any city in the US.. I'm not sure
if that's still true though.
Yep, I'm familiar with that weather scenario too. All places have their pluses and minuses, I guess. I grew up in northern Vermont so I know what cold is. Great stuff when you're a kid, sledding/skiing/skating, even making money in the winters shoveling people's driveways. As you
Years ago, I had heard Portland, OR had the highest number of adult
entertainment venues per capita of any city in the US.. I'm not sure if
that's still true though.
Could be, not sure. Just to clarify, my comment above was not about *those* kind of girls... LOL. The local girls don't get to see Sailors often, and came out to the ship in droves, for tours and then out on the town for the night.
Forgot to mention before, this was something called
the "Portland Rose Festival", which I guess is a pretty big deal in those parts, at least back then. It was quite common for a couple of Navy ships
(their ship to be selected to visit) each year. It was a LONG way up the rivers from the sea to get there, took like 14 hours or something and quite stressful regarding safe navigation. One of the best port visits I ever had, worldwide.
Nightfox wrote to Gamgee <=-
Re: Re: Heating Up Again
By: Gamgee to Nightfox on Wed Jul 03 2024 07:04 pm
Forgot to mention before, this was something called
the "Portland Rose Festival", which I guess is a pretty big deal in those parts, at least back then. It was quite common for a couple of Navy ships
It still happens, every year. I usually don't go though, as I'd rather avoid the crowds.
(their ship to be selected to visit) each year. It was a LONG way up the rivers from the sea to get there, took like 14 hours or something and quite stressful regarding safe navigation. One of the best port visits I ever had, worldwide.
That's cool. There are also riverboat cruises along the Willammette
River in Portland, as well as along the Columbia (into the Hood River area, etc.), and I'd like to go on one of those some time.. They often include a meal on the boat. I've never been on one of those.
n2qfd wrote to Gamgee <=-
Yep, I'm familiar with that weather scenario too. All places have their pluses and minuses, I guess. I grew up in northern Vermont so I know
what cold is. Great stuff when you're a kid, sledding/skiing/skating, even making money in the winters shoveling people's driveways. As you
We lived in Montpelier for a while. Used to go up to St J often.
Vermont was an experience. Wetter than the Adirondacks oddly enough.
The Green Mountains seemed less sandy than when I lived in Saranac
Lake.
I understand though. An hour commute to Ithaca is significantly less
fun when the weather is bad here too!
That's cool. There are also riverboat cruises along the Willammette
River in Portland, as well as along the Columbia (into the Hood River
area, etc.), and I'd like to go on one of those some time.. They often
include a meal on the boat. I've never been on one of those.
You should do it! Maybe on the next birthday/anniversary/holiday that fits. I bet it would be a great time.
Wow, it sure can be a small world. Who'da'thunk that a couple of BBSers would have both lived in such a remote/small place as that! Very cool!
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