Good Morning all
Looking forward to fall here.

Good morning Christy!

Drove with Scout through lower 9th yesterday – down the route we drove 6 months after the storm that she posted in videos as FD. It seemed to be to be an almost perfect example of my husband’s claim that, left alone, nature will reclaim New Orleans in 10 years. The blocks above Claiborne and closest to the levee look almost like country. The roads are buckled and in places almost unpassible. 95% of the houses are now shells or slabs or piers or ruins. covered in weeds. If someone planted bamboo you would not see a thing in a year. It certainly calls me out on my life belief that all things are things and can be fixed or replaced.

In the middle of it all was a black man of indeterminate age (that is, 50 if he lived hard and had bad genes, 70 if life or God was more forgiving) mowing his lot. No house or slab or debris in sight. Just a lawn that looked like it backed up onto a country club.

Christy-greetings.
Here’s my technique with the hot weather:
Soak a wet t-shirt and squeeze dry. Wear.

Soak hair in water and hand wring out and then comb back. Set up an appropriate fan.
Ahhhhh…much cooler. And running around looking soaked will keep you cool. Hey, I’m a New Yorker, we’ve developed these strategems for the heat-heh heh ….

I had the same problem with an “underwhelmed” air conditioner and this really works. The humidity will keep the water on you and keep you cool. However, since those unfortunate days, I bought a BIG FEDDERS and my sweaty days are over!!
Built in ionizer too!!
Keep kicking their ass Christy!!
Hey, I’m a New Yorker.

Greetings from the western shores of Lake Huron.
I’s cool and foggy this morning; the dew on the fir outside looks almost like frost.
My sister’s family and mine have reinstituted an old family tradition of vacationing here.
Next year we will come earlier… last week was a popular one for fertilizing the fields.
Ah, the rustic life

Morning Christy! I share your pain. I live in southern Florida and my AC unit decided to die yesterday. A new one will be installed on Monday but I will have to be creative to get through the weekend. It has been averaging 103 during the late afternoon here and is usually 83 or more when I get up at 5 AM. UGH! Iced coffee is nice, as is iced vanilla chai latte, but nothing cools me off more than a good tall glass of icy orangeade or limeade. Something about citrus I guess. Also keeping the blinds all drawn until sundown and taking warm (yes, warm, not cold) showers seems to help. Something about warming up the body and then stepping out into the cooler air. Anyway, hope you have a cool refreshing day!

Mornin’, Christy!

I missed Phoenix Woman’s “Privatization Scam” discussion yesterday, and now it’s way-EPUed, but allow me this comment. Grover Norquist’s father, Warren, was a career Polaroid executive. When Polaroid went bankrupt, thousands of its employees lost their highly-valued pensions, long viewed as a major perk of working for Polaroid. Meanwhile top executives floated away with golden parachutes.

Those Polaroid engineers are now all living off on Social Security. I don’t know whether Grover’s father lost his pension or got a golden parachute, but he has to know that his colleagues do not live in poverty today solely because the federal government has provided them a safety net in their old age.

Warren is famous for eating a scoop from each of his children’s ice cream before they were allowed a taste, saying “That’s what taxes are.” Grover learned some lessons but ignored others. If you don’t have a golden parachute, you better hope there’s a safety net.

Christy, I’m sure you’ve seen the piece about Geoffry Fieger, the flamboyant attorney from Detroit, has been indicted by the US Attorney’s office. He’s been a long time supporter of the Democratic Party. Looks like the politicalization of the DOJ continues to pay dividends for the Republican Party. Just as they have planned.

The old ways of cooling off are still the best ways. Although it will be a bit too chilly for it today, the kids and I will be found practicing our sprinkler ballet as soon as the sun returns.

Good morning everyone.

I find a cool shower works well along with a cool compress on the back of my neck. I’m so tired of the air conditioning at this point.

Good morning. I just got back to Texas from 2 weeks in the high country of New Mexico and Colorado. I recommend staying there and not going home until arount the first of October.

Slip ‘n slides!

This year we took some of the burden off our air conditioner by installing an attic exhaust fan. We’ve noticed that the air conditioner isn’t having to cycle on and off as often, and it saved us over 200 kilowatts of electricity this past month, even in the horrible heat we’ve been having. It’ll also help the roof last longer…

What would really cool things off is to dump the Republican Party and their failed ideology based on social Darwinism, roll up our sleeves and undo the harm the Republican Party has done to the country and the world over the last 10 years.

I’m outside of Philadelphia and its tolerable…But I am off to Virginia on Monday to look at colleges with my daughter. Shes looking at UVA and the University of Richmond…

My favorite tomato recipe. I use Jersey tomatoes but any vine ripe tomato is yummy…
NO COOK TOMATO SAUCE
Cut up ripe tomatoes the more the better. Throw in some chopped garlic, a few handfuls of fresh basil and a little bit of EVOO (Extra virgin olive oil if you dont watch Rachel Ray) Throw over some cooked HOT PASTA I like Rotini. and while pasta is hot add shredded mozzerella. Delicious “sauce” without cooking

Cooling off:

When I get out of the shower I deliberately don’t dry my hair. That keeps the temperature down for a while.

Bluetoe @ 14

What would really cool things off is to dump the Republican Party and their failed ideology based on social Darwinism, roll up our sleeves and undo the harm the Republican Party has done to the country and the world over the last 10 years.

Hear Hear!

Good Morning Fellow Citizen, Thank you for your words that started to make me feel guilty, currently living in northern CA, it’s cool this morning with low humidity, jealous of your tomato’s (only 2 Roma’s have come up).Wishing you a lite summers rain to cool things off. I usually have a spray bottle to mist me thru-out the day, like misting my plants. I Love your writings, especially before the birds, kids, husband wakes. Watching C-span, usually a very early riser, Loving always your Sat. morning words…thank you…

As far as tomatoes go, I’ve taken to cooking them down in the oven instead of on the stove. I put the oven on convection roast at 300 degrees, put the tomatoes in a covered pot and leave it in there for few hours.

My wife and I are lucky enough to have a swimming pool in our backyard. And when I say “lucky” it’s not because we could afford it, but rather because when we went house hunting some years ago, we happened upon our current house, which was perfect and had been sitting on the market for nine months: according to our real estate agent, in our area a pool was considered too much work to maintain; it actually reduced the value of the property. Weird, but fine with us. In any case, to cool off from the 100 degree heat, we just get ourselves wet.

Oh and I’ve heard the term veto proof majority has a tendency to raise some temperatures.

I’m trying to keep my a/c use to a minimum, and until the temps hit the high 90’s and 100’s the last few weeks, I mostly used the ‘fan only’ feature on my thermostat and when the real heat set in, I gave in and turned on the a/c but kept the thermostat at 78, which means my upstairs office is quite a bit warmer than that since the only thermostat is downstairs. I keep cool by putting a dozen or so ice cubes on a dish towel, rolling the towel around them, and keeping it around my neck. It’s amazing how ice on the back of the neck cools you down.

I augment this by a mid-day hour-long soak in the old clawfoot tub…one of my favorite luxuries and temperature regulators, winter or summer.

mack @ 5

Greetings from the western shores of Lake Huron.
I’s cool and foggy this morning; the dew on the fir outside looks almost like frost.
My sister’s family and mine have reinstituted an old family tradition of vacationing here.
Next year we will come earlier… last week was a popular one for fertilizing the fields.
Ah, the rustic life

‘Morning, mack, writing from middle Michigan here. Watch out for the pickle trucks on those back roads.

And for deer.

When it gets quite hot, I immediately lower expectations of myself.

Millineryman @ 21

Oh and I’ve heard the term veto proof majority has a tendency to raise some temperatures.

MILLINERYMAN!

I keep a small bottle of Jean Nate’ splash in the fridge. Ahh, nice cold dabs on wrists, temples, nape of neck.
I have a gel pack that really feels good on the neck, too, right out of the freezer.

RSA @ 20

My wife and I are lucky enough to have a swimming pool in our backyard. And when I say “lucky” it’s not because we could afford it, but rather because when we went house hunting some years ago, we happened upon our current house, which was perfect and had been sitting on the market for nine months: according to our real estate agent, in our area a pool was considered too much work to maintain; it actually reduced the value of the property. Weird, but fine with us. In any case, to cool off from the 100 degree heat, we just get ourselves wet.

My sister, brother and I all live in the same small town. 20 yrs ago when we all had small children, we pooled our money and put in a pool at my parents home. We share expenses, maintenance etc. That’s where I’ll be today…if it doesn’t storm.

Morning Christy and ‘Pups,
Having grown up in Kentucky pre-AC days there are a couple of things I remember. If you don’t have AC, keeping the shades pulled helps plus stick a fan into an upstairs window blowing out. It creates a cross ventilation and pulls some of the hotter air out of the house.

And BTW, there is a reason that the stereotype of the slow moving, slow talking southerner developed in the first place. It takes effort to do things in the hot humid and it’s far easier to just sit quietly and read.

And I also have a “It’s Too Hot To Cook Book” that my mom used during the summer. A lot of salads and fruit including chicken salad/ham salad for sandwiches.

Christy – in New York’s Southern Tier, it is nasty hot (predictions are near 90 today) with very very high humidity. I rode my bike downtown this morning (woohoo me) – was in the 70s at 6:30 a.m. and the humidity was so high, I was streaming down my face within five min. OK…here’s how we deal with high temp/high humidity/no AC here:
1) anything that requires movement other than clicking the channel changer gets done before 10 a.m.
2) our house happens to be wired in such a way that should we need to use the laptop in the basement (always at least 10 degrees cooler than the first floor), the wireless router can reach down there also.
3) in my family, my dad’s answer to all hot temps at night was to sleep on the tile floor in the kitchen.
4)and of course, there is always the tried and true: go to the mall.
Having said that, I will break all my rules this morning and take recycling to the county landfill and go to the farmers market, but will hew to the letter of the law and spend the rest of the day in the mall refurbishing my college student son’s wardrobe (the last time we replaced his jeans was when he entered college three years ago, so I’m feeling the financial love at the moment for my thrifty son).
Think pleasant Democratic thoughts…

Christy, I felt your pain until yesterday afternoon when we finally got a break in temps with the first measurable rain in nearly six weeks. The rains continue as I type. it’s such a wonderful change I can’t sleep..even had to take a barefoot walk in it as the sun came up.

I hope this front is moving your way, until then all I have to recommend is pink lemonade..

About canning.. Isn’t it better to set that operation up outside in the shade or on a screened in porch? You could do it with a fish cooker or burners on the side of a gas bbq grill.

Also a heads up.. Lunar eclipse coming up early on the 28th.

Elliott @ 25

Millineryman @ 21

Oh and I’ve heard the term veto proof majority has a tendency to raise some temperatures.

MILLINERYMAN!

ELLIOTT!

Elliott @ 12

Slip ‘n slides!

Proof that Dog exists, is kind, and has a Twinkle in The Eye.

Or is heavily invested in plastics.

Here in Austin it is never hot enough, so we are holding our seventeenth annual hotsauce festival tomorrow in an attempt to get things warmed up! Based on historical performance, over one hundred gallons of the stuff will be consumed.

keeping cool by the creek’s good

Eureka- thanks for the heads up on the eclipse

Ceiling fans are good for winter or summer. The pull up the warm air in summer and can push the hot air down in winter. Use in combination with an AC and you can cut the AC use down.

Dress light and take frequent showers… evaporating water from the skin cools you. Keep your skin clean and pores open so that sweat can do its thing.

Keep shades drawn on the south side and open on the north side of the building and allow the air to circulate from warm areas to cooler ones.

Do not use incandescent lighting… way too hot. Turn off all unnecessary equipment such as TVs which are set to “instant on”… they are actually ON and generating heat. Turn off PCs, FAX machines, printer etc. at night. They are adding heat to the air.

Wear light weight clothes which are not tight.

Re dress light:

Just wear a swimming suit around the house :)

Eureka Springs @ 30

Christy, I felt your pain until yesterday afternoon when we finally got a break in temps with the first measurable rain in nearly six weeks. The rains continue as I type. it’s such a wonderful change I can’t sleep..even had to take a barefoot walk in it as the sun came up.

I hope this front is moving your way, until then all I have to recommend is pink lemonade..

About canning.. Isn’t it better to set that operation up outside in the shade or on a screened in porch? You could do it with a fish cooker or burners on the side of a gas bbq grill.

Also a heads up.. Lunar eclipse coming up early on the 28th.

2000-Year-Old Meteors to Rain Down on August 31, 2007

The shower is visible from only part of the world. If you live in the western parts of the USA, Canada and Mexico, including Hawaii and Alaska, you might spot an Aurigid meteor…

Anybody got a good pastry recipe?

I ask this on behalf of Congressman McNerney, so that he will at least be armed with *something* the next time he shows up for a gun fight…

And think cool thoughts and don’t get hot about republican shenanigans.

Mint drinks are cool too.

Due to a few of the cool evenings we already have some leaves are changing colors here in NH.

But it is hot again and it feels like August once more.

-GSD

We’re headed out to our sailboat which is ALWAYS cooler in summer than being on land.

Catch you’ll on Sunday PM… keep cool.

egregious @ 36

Re dress light:

Just wear a swimming suit around the house :)

Speaking as one who lives blessedly alone, I’m thinking that that’s way overdressed…

It’s a soup bowl here in CT, although most of the summer was really quite fine. How about trying this link and finding a cool, refreshing swimming hole to paddle around in?

For me tomorrow I hope New Hampshire weather is looking up ’cause I’m heading up to catch John Edwards’ bus tour. I hear he’s on fire which might make things a little hot.

I also missed the privatization thread but came across this article that is food related:

http://www.newsobserver.com/ne…..81092.html

Shorter version: “Feds privatize NC school ‘buy local’ food program, costs soar”.

Slightly longer version: scr*w yous all around for children who will get less fresh produce, NC farmers who supply the produce, and the taxpayers who get charged more for lower quality foods in the school systems.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! A pox on the bastids who play these games!

Singin’ in the Reign of Terror

I thought about getting a couple of bushels of tomatoes and doing some canning this weekend, but that is not going to happen today,

Well, since you’re not using them, and given that Fred Thompson is gonna be in town here in Indy this afternoon, I might have a good use for some tomatoes…

Evidently Mitt was here yesterday – safely under the radar, though.

Did you all see that a whistleblower was subjected to ‘enhanced’ interrogation techniques? Front page nbcnews.com

jayt @ 46

I thought about getting a couple of bushels of tomatoes and doing some canning this weekend, but that is not going to happen today,

Well, since you’re not using them, and given that Fred Thompson is gonna be in town here in Indy this afternoon, I might have a good use for some tomatoes…

Evidently Mitt was here yesterday – safely under the radar, though.

Heh I thot you meant here at fdl.

Go to the movies! Would LOVE some more lows in the 70’s. Last night was the first night we could recall that we slept with the windows open.

When I was a kid we went to the pool, the creek or hauled out the sprinklers and the slip n slide. I don’t remember it as suffering but then we got central air, and to tell the truth, the amount of time spent outside dropped noticeably.

Ah, something I can contribute! (although I read religiously here, and have to say that Joe Wilson last night simply yet again gave me hope with his straight arrow speaking of truth in the midst of the “discussion” last night).

I live outside of Redding in No. Calif. This summer has been fairly mild; topping out at only 114 this year in our yard … worst was 121. I know heat :) Thank GOD it’s not humid up here; and the days of drop-dead gorgeous high 70’s in the winter certainly compensate.

I wrote this a few years back:

I’M ONE HOT CHICK

One hundred and two
Or one hundred fifteen
Once you’re into three digits
The heats all the same

The asphalt is melting
The leaves they all droop
The last thing I think of
Is hot stuff like soup

My car is an oven
Hot tea? Use the hose
Forget about barefoot
The ground fries your toes

There’s poor little worm bodies
Lying around
They don’t move too swift
And the sun cuts them down

This sounds like a terrible place to reside
But guess what the upside to all this heat hides?
The cool of a morning becomes total bliss
I’ve never appreciated ice quite like this

You don’t take for granted the cool of the night
You cherish an ice cream and thrill at first bite
A quick summer storm? Greet with cheers and great joy
Great excuse to play kid and get soaked neath’ the sky

My friends that still live in the fog belt ask why
I’d want to move here where I’m just gonna fry
They don’t understand it’s a price I can pay
To appreciate cold stuff in a whole different way

Yesterday I was going to take the kids to the pool, but just couldn’t make myself get into the un-airconditioned car to do so. Would still like to do that one more time before school starts.

Daughter just started reading the Harry Potter book, so she probably wasn’t too heartbroken that we stayed home.

Son has started up with his ranting about all things school-related. Some of it, I agree with him–like about the summer homework, and that school starts way too damn early in the day.

But he also insists that school has started one day earlier each year for the past few years, and thinks that’s part of some nefarious plan. I think he has the makings of a conspiracy theorist.

Good morning from Arizona! This morning has dawned rainy and cool, only 75 degrees, but very humid. It’ll get hotter later.

I grew up in Ohio, with hot humid summers and no air conditioning. The answer to the 100/100 days was always fans. Lots of fans. Keep the curtains drawn and the fans on high. Take a shower, put on very light-weight cotton shorts and shirt, and sit in front of the fan.

A refreshing drink: Put a teaspoon of sweetener in the bottom of a tall glass. Squeeze a lime into it — the whole lime. Stir to dissolve the sweetener. Fill the glass with icecubes, and then pour seltzer over that.

Sweet, tart, fizzy and cold.

egregious @ 48

jayt @ 46

I thought about getting a couple of bushels of tomatoes and doing some canning this weekend, but that is not going to happen today,

Well, since you’re not using them, and given that Fred Thompson is gonna be in town here in Indy this afternoon, I might have a good use for some tomatoes…

Evidently Mitt was here yesterday – safely under the radar, though.

Heh I thot you meant here at fdl.

Too funny, ran into a gathering of Romney supporters last evening at hotel here, a swarm of Repugs waiting for Romney’s son Scott. Took pleasure in refusing a Romney sticker I was offered…some sly dog stuck one on the *ss-end of the rather portly woman handing them out.

Wished I’d had a camera.

Nothing helps me survive summers so much as a fine glass of brewed iced tea. In the evening, put your beer glass in the freezer first so you can have a chilled frosty glass. In the middle of the day always some ice in the glass to help lower body temperature.

I remember back when people had really small fridges and really really small freezer compartments, and no such thing as ice in the door. There were metal trays of ice that you had to crack apart with the handle on top of the tray. Not so great, but inside the fridge if you were lucky, wedged somehow into those small shelves there might be a homemade lemon meringue pie, or a plate of sliced garden tomatoes put there to chill, or a cold salad like garden cucumbers, onions and peppers in some vinegar water.

This am I’m heading to my local farmer’s market. Tomatoes are at the top of the list. One year I slow roasted quartered tomatoes, onions & garlic cloves with olive oil (jelly roll pans) in the oven until the mixture had the ‘look’ I wanted. Then when it cooled, lightly pulsed in food processor, filled quart jars & froze. Over the winter it was great to pull out a jar or two to make spaghetti sauce, chili etc.

Hey, Christy– Same weather here in the Metro DC area, and our central AC keeled over about six weeks ago. We figured we could make it through the rest of the summer and do some research on a green-friendly unit for next spring. So….

We’re using lots of floor fans, and a window unit in the bedroom. I can deal with the heat reasonably well during the day, but I really need cool air at night. Floor fans are also great for circulating the cool air from small or overwhelmed AC units. I bought a couple of Honeywells at Target for $30 each.

Oh, yeah– and if you have a basement, take advantage of it. Viva la root cellar!

Priscilla — oh my! So sorry — I know that August heat in Florida…take yourself to the mall for the day and get a frozen lemonade while you are there. Hugs, hon…

I still owe Demetrius a birthday cake. His birthday was on the 17th, but he’s good about waiting for his cake, which must be home made and German chocolate. It’s good that he’s patient, because it’s hard to get psyched about baking in the middle of August.

What to do in hot weather? Sweat.

Yesterday, two guys got in the elevator while I was transporting the bike and I down for a ride – one guy said – “Man, stay hydrated, you could die out there…” After my sincere promise to stop immediately should I in fact die out there, I hit it pretty hard for about an hour and a half, worked up a righteous sweat, *then* retreated to the A/C and a couple of bottles of water. aaaaahhhhhh….

Gotta just go with it – I’ll take a lotta hot over any amount of cold any time…

gravie @ 57

Hey, Christy– Same weather here in the Metro DC area, and our central AC keeled over about six weeks ago. We figured we could make it through the rest of the summer and do some research on a green-friendly unit for next spring. So….

We’re using lots of floor fans, and a window unit in the bedroom. I can deal with the heat reasonably well during the day, but I really need cool air at night. Floor fans are also great for circulating the cool air from small or overwhelmed AC units. I bought a couple of Honeywells at Target for $30 each.

Oh, yeah– and if you have a basement, take advantage of it. Viva la root cellar!

your root cellar comment reminded me of caves.

My friends are off to a cave tomorrow, I may accept the invitation, always a cool 53 degrees underground, and there are cool rocks, crystals and stalagmites and tites, to boot.

Does anyone have recipes they’ve personally used that involve crab meat? That may be a tall order (given the $20plus/lb stores are now charging) but maybe someone has something in their collection from “cheaper” days. ;-(

Off to check the crab pots; will touch base later.

Also food related: CNN says food prices up 6% overall this year.

solai -

Got a linky for that whistle blower comment?

When it gets too hot for me, I put my gel-pack bra in the freezer before gardening.

Pardon my Aspergers, but we stand a decent chance of eventually getting universal coverage if we can push SCHIP through BushCo. The key to great health care is the incremental expansion of Medicare, the most successful health insurance program ever devised. That’s why Grover Norquist and BushCo fear SCHIP so much — people want it and it works.

Privatization breeds profiteering. Public programs can work well when they are run by people who believe in them.

Now, back to the weather.

Am hot this morning, and none too happy with the loud construction work going on next door.

Plus, I don’t trust the Warner thing. I think the Rethugs want this as a “outside” point of contention, so that what ever they do will be “moderate” by comparison, i.e. bringing home some where between 0 and 5,000 soldiers.

I live in Seattle where it’s been nice and cool this summer, but I just got back from a week in south Jersey. The only way to stay cool there is to sit in front on the fan with a nice cool glass of iced tea. If you’ve actually got to do some work outside, you’re doomed.

And when we think of how hot Laura et al must have been in the Little House books, remember that they weren’t wearing tank tops and shorts, either. Long dresses, long sleeves and a laced up corset must have been pretty uncomfortable.

Good morning, good morning…

We had about two weeks of horribly sticky humid (for us) hot weather that thankfully broke last Monday. It gets hot here in so California but not usually humid as well. Ugh.

The best thing I did for my house, which has no A/C, and I have no intention of putting that in, is ceiling fans in every room That made such a difference, especially for those nights you lay on your bed trying to sleep? Put that fan on its lowest setting and it’s 100 times better.

Strategically placed regular fans, of course. Iced tea, lemonade, Trader Joe’s pomegranate sparkly drink ;-) are great during the day, in the evening I definitely recommend a mojito, especially if you grow your own mint…

Bill Moyers Journal was great last night. Some of it I’d seen before — low power FM radio.
The ending update on Ari Flesher and the war was very imformative — what I’d been reading on the internet — don’t watch traditional media but don’t they cover it the way Moyer’s does — though he didn’t mention Ari didn’t know the name of the soldier in the ad. I feel like I live in two worlds– the world of the internet where people know things and the world where I work, shop, etc where people seem to not have a clue. http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/index-flash.html

Best drink in the summer: Raspberry Ice Tea.

Take a gallon jug and fill it with warm water. Drop in 6 Raspberry Tea bags and put it in the sun for 2 hours. I used to sell this in my restaurant and sold several jugs a day. But,I used to put a cup of fresh lemonade in a blender full of ice and mix to make frozen lemonade. Use this as the ice for the Tea.

ccmask @ 63

When it gets too hot for me, I put my gel-pack bra in the freezer before gardening.

ditto.

Except for the gardening part…

Renee in Ohio @ 52

Yesterday I was going to take the kids to the pool, but just couldn’t make myself get into the un-airconditioned car to do so. Would still like to do that one more time before school starts.

Daughter just started reading the Harry Potter book, so she probably wasn’t too heartbroken that we stayed home.

Son has started up with his ranting about all things school-related. Some of it, I agree with him–like about the summer homework, and that school starts way too damn early in the day.

But he also insists that school has started one day earlier each year for the past few years, and thinks that’s part of some nefarious plan. I think he has the makings of a conspiracy theorist.

Just tell him he’s lucky you don’t live in KY or Texas (and other areas) as school has been in session for at least a week in both places.

It’s a nice time to visit friends and families with strong AC :) Going to the movies is a pleasant temporary fix.

If you’re exercising in addition to staying hydrated be sure to take in sufficient electrolyes.

On exercising in this heat: hydrate BEFORE as well as after exercise…

Take in a matinee — at the worst of the afternoon heat.

I also love my iced Toddy coffees made with New Orleans-style chicory coffee. The coffee brews cold overnight and the concentrate is kept in the fridge. Just add 1/3 concentrate to 2/3 ice and lightener of choice (skim, soy, whole milk). It doesn’t have the bite of brewed coffee, so I like having the chicory coffee – ymmv.

in honor of last night’s congressional visitor:

Jethro Tull – Thick As A Brick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PcX_D5Z_CA

ccmask @ 63

When it gets too hot for me, I put my gel-pack bra in the freezer before gardening.

I’m gonna try that :)

1 – crank up the a/c
2 – pull up a chair
3 – my drink is nothin but cool delicious water
4 – since it’s the weekend, siesta liberally!

Good morning Christy!

Here in Texas the low’s in the summer are often high 80’s.

We fight the heat by making smoothies in the blender. Ice. Frozen lemonade. Fresh fruit. Yogurt. 1 tsp vanilla. (Blend the fruit first.)

Sometimes I add seltzer to each glass if it’s still too thick.

OT
Allawi’s on the phone to C-SPAN Washington Journal

dakine01 @ 71

Renee in Ohio @ 52

Yesterday I was going to take the kids to the pool, but just couldn’t make myself get into the un-airconditioned car to do so. Would still like to do that one more time before school starts.

Daughter just started reading the Harry Potter book, so she probably wasn’t too heartbroken that we stayed home.

Son has started up with his ranting about all things school-related. Some of it, I agree with him–like about the summer homework, and that school starts way too damn early in the day.

But he also insists that school has started one day earlier each year for the past few years, and thinks that’s part of some nefarious plan. I think he has the makings of a conspiracy theorist.

Just tell him he’s lucky you don’t live in KY or Texas (and other areas) as school has been in session for at least a week in both places.

Round Rock TX & Austin both start on Monday. Only the TEACHERS have been back for a week or more!

egregious @ 76

ccmask @ 63

When it gets too hot for me, I put my gel-pack bra in the freezer before gardening.

I’m gonna try that :)

It works. And JayT, I love Jethro. Best song.

I have a thousand and one tricks for coping with this kind of weather, thanks to lupus and living in a 120yo house with zero A/C. (My budget only stretches to keeping food cold, unfortunately.)

The big rule in summer is: Avoid the sun. If you have sunlight streaming into your house, it’s bringing heat with it. Keep the windows and the blinds/curtains closed till sundown. (I use light-filtering blinds so the house isn’t like a cave.)

I also have fans going full-time in each room to circulate the air: ceiling fans in a couple to disturb the warmest air and regular table fans to create a draft. Air bounces, so putting the fan in a corner and pointing it toward another room’s wall helps it move all through the house. (This works if you don’t have small doorways/arches separating the rooms.)

Two tricks I learned living in Arizona: wear lightweight, light-colored clothing in 100% natural fabrics, and drink hot tea/coffee/cocoa throughout the day. The idea behind the hot drinks is that cold drinks make you want to be colder, while hot drinks make you feel comfortable with the temp. Sounds nuts, but once I started doing this I had fewer heat-related flare ups and actually felt cooler.

If all else fails, sit in the darkened living room and watch “Cool Runnings” or any Chris Farley movie. You’ll be laughing too hard to remember that you’re hot.

Toby @ 29: *waving* from Sayre.

Wow, TexBetsy–that’s too early to be back.

I’m sending my 5 year old on the bus Monday morning for his first day of kindergarten. We met his teacher and saw his room on Thursday. I don’t know who was more nervous, him or us!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20430153/

Link for whistle blower story.

musicsleuth @ 84

I’m sending my 5 year old on the bus Monday morning for his first day of kindergarten. We met his teacher and saw his room on Thursday. I don’t know who was more nervous, him or us!

How fun is that? A great day and a kodak moment.

My daughter and Bf visited last weekend and slept on our 3 season porch(we are renovating our house).
Flannel sheets, down comforter, windows closed and a portable heater.
Yesterday and today, shorts and sleeveless shirts, high 80’s with Humidity!
The weather this summer has been very weird with some very severe electrical storms and high winds.
But I too, have lots of tomatoes!

Morning,all.
I’ve come to the conclusion that heat is something that must simply be endured. We’re lucky that we have “dry” heat, but that doesn’t stop our brick house soaking up heat all day long and radiating it back out at night. If we get a string of high 90’s, it doesn’t get below 80 indoors. AC is the only way I can deal with it.

Which is why Fall is my favourite season.

Wish I could invite you all to come swim in my little corner of paradise. Those spring fed waters that Betsy put online after our gathering. Unfortunately, I get too busy and don’t take enough advantage of the waters myself. Yes, sometimes I’m a dummy.

musicsleuth @ 84

I’m sending my 5 year old on the bus Monday morning for his first day of kindergarten. We met his teacher and saw his room on Thursday. I don’t know who was more nervous, him or us!

lord, what I would give to roll back time to when the son was that age.

He’s 19 now – but when I dream about him, he’s still little, back when every sentence began with – “Dad,…..”

Gnome de Plume @ 89

Wish I could invite you all to come swim in my little corner of paradise. Those spring fed waters that Betsy put online after our gathering. Unfortunately, I get too busy and don’t take enough advantage of the waters myself. Yes, sometimes I’m a dummy.

I gotta say, that was a most inviting locale!

Elliott @ 91

Gnome de Plume @ 89

Wish I could invite you all to come swim in my little corner of paradise. Those spring fed waters that Betsy put online after our gathering. Unfortunately, I get too busy and don’t take enough advantage of the waters myself. Yes, sometimes I’m a dummy.

I gotta say, that was a most inviting locale!

Indeed. :)

You know, I know that it is really fun to riff off someone. But I just want to say for the record on the McNerney chat that (a) he’s a freshman congressman, which means he does not have a whole lot of power to snap his fingers and change things but, instead he has to work incrementally because that’s how things are set up in the House seniority system; (b) on the math, as much as none of us want to hear it, he is right that to change policy they will have to have a veto-proof majority — I disagree on the tactics of getting there in terms of what they have been doing (or not doing, as the case may be — but then I got the impression that he wasn’t all that tactically happy either with how things have been going); and (c) it’s easy to criticize from the sidelines when your ass isn’t in the middle of the fray.

It a much more difficult problem than how the WH and others define this as a “black and white, good or evil” sort of battle. This is a very, very shades of gray problem — we need to be out, but we don’t want the horribly compounded failures of the Bush Administration to spread out even more into the region and cause a conflagration.

Go back and re-read the chat that Joe Wilson did several months ago — as bad as things were then when he was talking about everything, they are much much worse now…with many more refugees flooding out into the border nations. It isn’t as simple as “get out now and hope for the best” as much as all of us would like it to be so — the stacked up failures of the last four years make that impossible, as much as it pains me to type that.

We need to act — as soon as possible — and the Democrats need to lead on this issue, not waffle, but to try and make that a freshman congressman’s fault? That’s just wrong. He’s not good with the public speaking, sound bite thing — he just isn’t — but, frankly, Newt Gingrich was and he’s a turd of a human being. And, I think, McNerney has gotten bad staffing advice, which again comes with the freshman legislator territory. Imagine for a moment the sheer amount of institutional memory that you have to absorb your first term in office…and then add to that all the legislative agenda information he’s had to read, think about, and then formulate a position on…and never, ever say anything that could ever be construed any other way than exactly what he meant by a media which makes their bones on manufactured controversy to sell papers and get ratings.

And then you start to get a feel what all of our legislators are up against. I think his approach is too soft, I think it is wrong-headed in a couple of places — but his heart is in a good place on it and the tactical understanding will come. It’s a tactical and strategic disagreement, not a personal one, for me. And he’s got character enough to confront critics head on and try and learn from the discussion (which is a helluva lot more than we can say about Chris Carney who really acted like a pouting, unaccountable coward when Howie simply tried to speak with him on the phone — truly). What that says to me is I’m going to watch his actions over the next few weeks — because that speaks louder to me anyway. Anyone can say pretty words to an audience — the ones who act on the courage of their convictions get my respect.

The whistleblower story is now at DKos. This is really a horrendous story that should enrage everyone. Waiting for more details but it seems the guy was detained and treated inhumanely (at the very least). An American citizen who committed no crime.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/24/22411/1187

Elliott @ 91

I gotta say, that was a most inviting locale!

I told Mr.Gnome when we had the chance to leave Dallas, that if I still had to live in Texas, beside these waters would be the only place I would go. Sometimes I ain’t so dumb . . . if only I could mend my obsessive ways.

horsewoman at 51-
liked your poem

and eureka, did you know about this?=
Subject: Fw: TWO MOONS ON AUGUST 28, 2007

*Two Moons on 27 August*

*27th Aug the Whole World is waiting for………….*

Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting August.

It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will
culminate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65M miles of earth. Be sure
to watch the sky on Aug. 27 12:30 am midnight. It will look like the earth
has 2 moons. The next time Mars may come this much closer in 2287.

Share this with your friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again.

========

one of my friends sent that to me

My wife and I will be getting into full on canning in the next couple of weeks. We have 21 roma and 21 various pepper plants, zucchini, cucumber, pumpkin, etc.

Earlier we harvested about 3 gallons of raspberries. Those were used for syrup and flavored vinegar.

For the tomato recipes requested, we us the spaghetti suace on located here >>> http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-Fact/5000/5337.html

FWIW, having lived all over the country, I will never complain about the heat so that I may reserve my rights to complain loudly and longly about the cold. I might mention the humidity when it’s hitting the 80s/90s.

But I tolerate the heat far easier than I tolerate the cold. So between 95 degree heat and 95% humidity and 5 below with minus thirty wind chill, I’ll take the heat thankyouverymuch.

Having said that, I’m sitting out in our backyard, where it’s about 60 degrees right now, drinking coffee and watching the cats pretend they are highly evolved predators who rely on their instincts to survive a hostile world, rather than the pampered, overly domesticated little princes & princesses that they actually are.

solai @ 85

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20430153/

Link for whistle blower story.

Thanks, solai.

For the Repub who think the troops are enjoying themselves, from the LA Times: GIs’ morale dips as Iraq war drags on

As for the heat, it will only be in the 80’s in Flagstaff today, where I am heading!

I have now moved my laptop and the table it is on to directly in front of the A/C vent. No idea why I didn’t think of this before, but that’s a bit better. (Thank you Mr. ReddHedd for the suggestion.)

christie-
jerry mcnerney said he was going to look over the other questions later, how is he going to come back and comment on them if the comments are closed? (i understand why they are closed, but still….)

Christy @93 Thank you. Right now I am feeling the August doldrums – both weather-wise and world-wise. You said things are so much worse now. That is one of my problems in reading through the blogs recently. I am so despondent! The Ben Sargent cartoon today said it all for me. I will get a link in a minute.

Christy @ 93

Thank you. We all want the miracle to happen yesterday and forget sometimes the overall realities of the situation in the world.

As has been said many times before, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Good morning everyone! I’m doing a quick drive-by today, but I sympathize about the heat. My wife called me last week when I was out of town at 11:30 PM to tell me the central AC was broken. Thank God it only cost me $150.

Christy, take those tomatoes and make some gazpacho. Very refreshing, and tastes fabulous.

1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
4 plum tomatoes
1 red onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

(h/t to the Barefoot Contessa)
Gazpacho!

jayt @ 90

musicsleuth @ 84

I’m sending my 5 year old on the bus Monday morning for his first day of kindergarten. We met his teacher and saw his room on Thursday. I don’t know who was more nervous, him or us!

lord, what I would give to roll back time to when the son was that age.

He’s 19 now – but when I dream about him, he’s still little, back when every sentence began with – “Dad,…..”

My son is 20 now. I loved those times. I was his best friend then…now his best friend is fluffy123.

In Russia if it goes above 80 degrees they complain about having a heat wave, and print articles in the newspaper about how terribly people are suffering. They like their cold.

Hm, I prefer the cold. You can always layer on more stuff, but you can only peel off so much in the heat before it a) becomes socially unacceptable or b) is all gone anyway.

I went to Germany a couple of summers ago and they said it was hot. As a Floridian, I found it delightful. It stayed light very late and I felt cool. I’ll take a Berlin summer rather than a central Florida one.

I’m in Boston, and we haven’t had to put our window AC units in this year. They are still under the bench on the porch.

Part of that is living in a 1930s pre-AC house. Cross ventilation in every room, non-built out attic for insulation, cellar with rock walls. They just don’t build houses like this anymore, and it’s a shame. Our next door neighbors, in a brand new house, had the AC running all summer.

Recipes:

For cooling lemonade, my favorite is Mock Juleps. You make mint tea, cool it off, and then use the mint tea to make whatever lemonade recipe you like. I often make this for parties and BBQs as my non-alcoholic beverage. Has a nice kick.

You can also make ginger lemonade. Slice and smash a few inches of ginger root. Let it hang out in the lemonade. Strain it out before drinking.

Have you tried the cold-brew iced coffee recipe that was in the NYTimes recently? It really does work. Mix 1/3 cup ground coffee with 1 1/2 cups water, but in jar with lid, leave at room temperature for at least 12 hours, strain out grounds, dilute with equal amount of water. It’s nice to be able to wake up to iced coffee without having to brew a hot pot and cool it down.
Recipe

I’d add fresh cilantro and a bit of green onion to that gazpacho recipe. But that’s just me.

egregious @ 108

In Russia if it goes above 80 degrees they complain about having a heat wave, and print articles in the newspaper about how terribly people are suffering. They like their cold.

Ha ha ha… I was travelling in Scotland one summer and when the temps went above 75F, I think it was (can’t remember the exact celsius), they literally started in with warnings about avoiding heat prostration on the radio, telling people to stay indoors, drink lots of water, etc. And everyone suddenly started sporting bright pink burned skin and they were literally all drooping, etc…and here I was, nut brown already and wearing a light sweater cos in the morning especially it was still CHILLY.

I have an experimental organic roof garden in Queens, better usage for all that roof space. My crop was doing so well this year I began selling to local restaurants, then my crop started disappearing. First the Italian tomatoes disappeared which I blamed on some local Soprano’s but a few days ago I discovered a band of urban Italian tomato loving raccoons. Now the raccoons have brought their friends and all is disappearing. I’m off this very hot morning to battle the raccoon tomato mafia.

What’s Cassie doing this morning? Still sleeping?

egregious @ 108

In Russia if it goes above 80 degrees they complain about having a heat wave, and print articles in the newspaper about how terribly people are suffering. They like their cold.

It’s hot here, but the pools are free and most places have AC. Also, for winters, I prefer a place with little or no ice. I find that pretty dangerous with the canes, even without the task of cleaning car windows.

PPP @ 114

I have an experimental organic roof garden in Queens, better usage for all that roof space. My crop was doing so well this year I began selling to local restaurants, then my crop started disappearing. First the Italian tomatoes disappeared which I blamed on some local Soprano’s but a few days ago I discovered a band of urban Italian tomato loving raccoons. Now the raccoons have brought their friends and all is disappearing. I’m off this very hot morning to battle the raccoon tomato mafia.

fence of some kind?

dmac at 103 — We had to close them off last night because our moderators get to sleep at some point and we had a few very determined and exceptionally rude people causing problems and making asses of themselves with which mods had to deal yesterday. It was either close the thread — or people were going to have to pull a 16 hour shift, and that was unacceptable — so it was the best that we could do.

Jeebus, we had a great chat, people got to ask excellent and well-thought questions, he answered a lot of them — and we do all of this pretty much for free for readers, beyond the ones who occasionally drop a little support in the paypal box (and for those of you who do, bless you – we really do appreciate it!). If he can get back in to answer more, we can re-open the thread for him or put up a fresh one like we did for John Dean when he did a second round of answers — but we work our asses off dealing with the backstage stuff as it is, and I’m not adding to it unless we need to do so. Hope that makes sense — I was up late last night myself and I’m tired this morning.

TexBetsy @ 116

egregious @ 108

In Russia if it goes above 80 degrees they complain about having a heat wave, and print articles in the newspaper about how terribly people are suffering. They like their cold.

It’s hot here, but the pools are free and most places have AC. Also, for winters, I prefer a place with little or no ice. I find that pretty dangerous with the canes, even without the task of cleaning car windows.

See, once you’re bundled up like the Michelin Man (like I do), ice is no problem. Bounce, bounce, bounce… *grin*.

How in the heck did the raccoons find it up there??? I hate when they pop the top off my garbage and have a hoe-down. Nothing worse than leaving for work and seeing the remnants of the week exposed for all the neighbors…

ccmask @ 115

What’s Cassie doing this morning? Still sleeping?

Still at a sleepover all night pajama party.

PPP @ 114

I have an experimental organic roof garden in Queens, better usage for all that roof space. My crop was doing so well this year I began selling to local restaurants, then my crop started disappearing. First the Italian tomatoes disappeared which I blamed on some local Soprano’s but a few days ago I discovered a band of urban Italian tomato loving raccoons. Now the raccoons have brought their friends and all is disappearing. I’m off this very hot morning to battle the raccoon tomato mafia.

A roof garden? Pity about the mafia, but do tell…a roof garden? Or do you mean atop a more conventional apartment building rather than a house? But then urban racoons??

*confuzzled*

peanutbutter @ 119

TexBetsy @ 116

It’s hot here, but the pools are free and most places have AC. Also, for winters, I prefer a place with little or no ice. I find that pretty dangerous with the canes, even without the task of cleaning car windows.

See, once you’re bundled up like the Michelin Man (like I do), ice is no problem. Bounce, bounce, bounce… *grin*.

Once I start bouncing like that, how do I get back up?

TexBetsy @ 121

ccmask @ 115

What’s Cassie doing this morning? Still sleeping?

Still at a sleepover all night pajama party.

I always called them awake-overs.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 118

You provided an excellent forum! I thank you and everybody involved for all the work putting it together and running it.

PPP – battling raccoons is much preferred to my battles: Last night Mr. Gnome thought the two pups, 105 pound Bucky and 70 pound Peewee, would like to swim in those spring fed waters together. So he let them off the leash (it was very late, so no humans were around, only the geese to chase.) The puppies did swim, crossed the bridge to the island, chased a few geese and then somehow slipped by Mr. Gnome to go play on the golf course where skunks abound at night! So at midnight we were de-skunking two very happy dogs. (I keep a de-skunk kit on my garden bench, as this happens whenever one of them gets out at night.)

TexBetsy @ 123

peanutbutter @ 119

See, once you’re bundled up like the Michelin Man (like I do), ice is no problem. Bounce, bounce, bounce… *grin*.

Once I start bouncing like that, how do I get back up?

Ah well, always a problem with every solution, isn’t there? :-)

(More seriously, yes ice’s a bitch…)

TexBetsy @ 121

ccmask @ 115

What’s Cassie doing this morning? Still sleeping?

Still at a sleepover all night pajama party.

Good for her. She deserves it. I still have girl slumber parties. We call them GNO’s. Girl’s Night Out.

Christy: Today is the Caladium Festival downtown. Last year I ran into Mahoney and his elderly church ladies. Hope to catch him again today in his cowboy boots. Also pick up some homemade relishes. Anybody have a question for Mahoney? It can’t be about the war because he doesn’t want to answer war questions. At least he wouldn’t last year.

BTW, the plugin that handles the comments here is pretty cool. Is it a custom plugin for this site, or is a public plugin and if so which is it?

Having lived in Virgina, just outside DC, as a youngster then spending the better part of a decade in the Pacific tropics, living on the gulf coast of Florida is a cinch. Before a/c the trick was to open the windows at sunset then close them when we got up. If there are any shade trees in the yard (these Yankee developers have yet to figure out what trees are for) the house will stay relatively cool most of the day. I turn on the a/c for an hour when I come home for lunch and another hour when I come home in the evening. An hour rids the house of the humidity and my power bill stays under a hundred bucks. August is the hottest month in central Florida, heat index of 105 is normal and the humidity can be cut with a knife, but it’s doable. I love listening to the New Yorkers who moved here to retire complain about the heat. They visited during the winter, bought during the winter and are flabbergasted at the heat during the summer. Nothing like doing a little research before making a big decision. Like where to live upon retirement. I only use New Yorkers as an example because there’s more of them than other northerners in Florida. What I don’t understand is why all of them have a Brooklyn accent. Y’all.

Think about this. If one goes from one’s air conditioned dwelling to an air conditioned car to an air conditioned office, reversing those actions in the evening, what affect do you think the heat and humidity will have on them? Becoming acclimated to the local weather is just not an option for those people. It’s easier to complain about the heat/humidity and the power bills. I don’t hear the guys who work on cars all day at Reed’s Car Care bitchin’ about the heat, though.

Southerners are the only ones who know how to make real iced tea. The secret is when to add honey or sugar.

peanutbutter @ 113

egregious @ 108

In Russia if it goes above 80 degrees they complain about having a heat wave, and print articles in the newspaper about how terribly people are suffering. They like their cold.

Ha ha ha… I was travelling in Scotland one summer and when the temps went above 75F, I think it was (can’t remember the exact celsius), they literally started in with warnings about avoiding heat prostration on the radio, telling people to stay indoors, drink lots of water, etc. And everyone suddenly started sporting bright pink burned skin and they were literally all drooping, etc…and here I was, nut brown already and wearing a light sweater cos in the morning especially it was still CHILLY.

If course, I remember the summer of ‘76, when temperatures in London hit the high 70’s everyday for WEEKS! There actually was a headline in the “Telegraph” that said something like “75 again today, no end in sight.” And it was a drought, too. I had a great time, school was out, we spent every day at the local outdoor pool.

I like it cold. Do not deal well with humidity!

PeteCO @ 131

If course, I remember the summer of ‘76, when temperatures in London hit the high 70’s everyday for WEEKS! There actually was a headline in the “Telegraph” that said something like “75 again today, no end in sight.” And it was a drought, too. I had a great time, school was out, we spent every day at the local outdoor pool.

Oh yes, there was one summer I travelled in the UK where it didn’t rain for about 6 weeks. They called it a drought!

I don’t think it’s rained here since January!

Wasn’t here yesterday, what is the consensus on Jerry’s chat?

PeteCO @ 131

peanutbutter @ 113

Ha ha ha… I was travelling in Scotland one summer and when the temps went above 75F, I think it was (can’t remember the exact celsius), they literally started in with warnings about avoiding heat prostration on the radio, telling people to stay indoors, drink lots of water, etc. And everyone suddenly started sporting bright pink burned skin and they were literally all drooping, etc…and here I was, nut brown already and wearing a light sweater cos in the morning especially it was still CHILLY.

If course, I remember the summer of ‘76, when temperatures in London hit the high 70’s everyday for WEEKS! There actually was a headline in the “Telegraph” that said something like “75 again today, no end in sight.” And it was a drought, too. I had a great time, school was out, we spent every day at the local outdoor pool.

I’ve become a Texan. We don’t even consider going to the pool unless the temp outside is above 80.

peanutbutter — Pretty much everything we use has been customized at one point or another for us. The comments load, our traffic levels and the resulting server tweaks to handle them at capacity have resulted in a lot of customization. But I’m not certain on the details because the tech end of things isn’t my specialty. *G* (Not by a long-shot, and if our tech folks are reading this morning they are laughing at the sheer truth of that…LOL)

OK, gotta get started on chores (window painting, car washing, assorted garden duties) while it’s still cool (see, I’m even on topic :-) ) so I can relax and grill in the afternoon when it’s hot…

Yipes! I just looked at the time – I’ve got to get going. I’ve got my orchiding class at noon and I have to get things prepared for that. See ya around. And I couldn’t get the link to the Ben Sargent cartoon in the Austin paper. It came to me online, but it is dated 8/24, if anyone else wants to look.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 136

peanutbutter — Pretty much everything we use has been customized at one point or another for us. The comments load, our traffic levels and the resulting server tweaks to handle them at capacity have resulted in a lot of customization. But I’m not certain on the details because the tech end of things isn’t my specialty. *G* (Not by a long-shot, and if our tech folks are reading this morning they are laughing at the sheer truth of that…LOL)

Christy opened one of her sessions at YKos2 by announcing that she’s not the tech person at FDL and even half the audience (and half the panel) there chuckled.

When the unrelieved heat and drought seem unbearable, I try to stop and think of the soldiers hauling around pounds of equipment that is supposed to help save their lives in even worse heat and all the Iraqis who no longer have A/C or much of anything else that they once knew as a “life”.

Sorry if this sounds like a thread downer and do not mean for it to be but, everything *is* relative and it sure does bring some reality-based perspective into my mind and physical body.

solai -

Thanks for the linky. Began reading the dead tree edition of the closest big city paper earlier and there it was, front page, below the fold…….which is a good thing in that the locals *are* hearing this kind of news.

peanutbutter @ 122

PPP @ 114

I have an experimental organic roof garden in Queens, better usage for all that roof space. My crop was doing so well this year I began selling to local restaurants, then my crop started disappearing. First the Italian tomatoes disappeared which I blamed on some local Soprano’s but a few days ago I discovered a band of urban Italian tomato loving raccoons. Now the raccoons have brought their friends and all is disappearing. I’m off this very hot morning to battle the raccoon tomato mafia.

A roof garden? Pity about the mafia, but do tell…a roof garden? Or do you mean atop a more conventional apartment building rather than a house? But then urban racoons??

*confuzzled*

Raccoons are quite adaptable to the cities. I lived outside Boston (Waltham) and we had raccoons all over the place. Well fed by raiding trash cans and dumpsters.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 136

peanutbutter — Pretty much everything we use has been customized at one point or another for us. The comments load, our traffic levels and the resulting server tweaks to handle them at capacity have resulted in a lot of customization. But I’m not certain on the details because the tech end of things isn’t my specialty. *G* (Not by a long-shot, and if our tech folks are reading this morning they are laughing at the sheer truth of that…LOL)

Yeah, I kind of figured. I like the way it does it, though, maybe I’ll poke around current comment plugins myself and see what there is. I like the way you can refresh comments without reloading the page, and how the newly typed in comment appears right there, along with any new ones in the meantime…very slick. (My compliments to your coders.)

Twisted Martini @ 134

Wasn’t here yesterday, what is the consensus on Jerry’s chat?

The consensus is that he left unanswered questions. He was given a lot of credit for showing up. Basically, he is still waiting for Republicans to line up behind him. Don’t miss reading the entire thread. Booman and Joe Wilson showed up. Great stuff for the new internet era.

After it gets too hot to do outdoor work a little later on here in lovely southern RI, I’ll go down to the ocean, which is only 5 miles away as the crow flies and spend the afternoon. It’s naturally air conditioned down there (but unfortunately not here at my house). They say the water temp is now somewhere between 68-72. I’ll think of all of you as I play in the waves.

Here are the Saturday Cartoons

Geiger’s going on hiatus

Jamie, who has done most of our WP customization, is a genius. Truly.

Christy: Just finished watching Netflix’s “Life and Nothing But”, a good foreign flick. A military man takes on the task of trying to identify bodies of loved one’s families after WW1. Put it on your queue if you like foreign films.

peanutbutter @ 133

PeteCO @ 131

If course, I remember the summer of ‘76, when temperatures in London hit the high 70’s everyday for WEEKS! There actually was a headline in the “Telegraph” that said something like “75 again today, no end in sight.” And it was a drought, too. I had a great time, school was out, we spent every day at the local outdoor pool.

Oh yes, there was one summer I travelled in the UK where it didn’t rain for about 6 weeks. They called it a drought!

I don’t think it’s rained here since January!

My dad rigged up a system for collecting bathwater in a barrel so he could water the yard.

Here in Colorado, it often doesn’t rain from October to March; only snow. I’m still not used to that.

Global warming? Gore.

If something isn’t done fast, things (heat) are going to get worse. Wonder how much war adds to air pollution?

rayne at 54-”Too funny, ran into a gathering of Romney supporters last evening at hotel here, a swarm of Repugs waiting for Romney’s son Scott. Took pleasure in refusing a Romney sticker I was offered…some sly dog stuck one on the *ss-end of the rather portly woman handing them out.

Wished I’d had a camera.”

now THAT is funny………perfect……

i bet you giggle every time you picture it

i forgot about that type of prank, remember in school when people would walk around with a sign half the day and not know it???????

i had mercy on them, i would tell them……..most of the time.

where i used to work, when post-it notes came out, we had a prankster in our office that put all kinds of hilarious notes on people…once, he wrote one letter for each post-it, was like a billboard…..his victim had no clue…….thankfully, he never blessed me with one, i was on his good side…….

solai @ 94

The whistleblower story is now at DKos. This is really a horrendous story that should enrage everyone. Waiting for more details but it seems the guy was detained and treated inhumanely (at the very least). An American citizen who committed no crime.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/24/22411/1187

Saw the wonderful interview with Vance on PBS about a month ago. I have seen him on Front Line and Open Lens On Democracy. His story needs to be told and retold. However, reading the whistleblower accounts all together is powerful because it gets to the heart of the bigger narrative. When 8.8 billion is unaccounted for ( almost a third of the current Iraq spending) we as citizens need to demand follow-up and quickly.

I will search the shows up and link to them later.

i live off the grid, so no air-conditioning. wouldn’t have it, anyway.
very hot here, except no humidity. all dry all the time.
when it really heats up, say over 100 on the deck, i “chase the shade” all day. each orientation of the deck is shady at different times of the day, so one just keeps moving operations.
also: i shroud the cabin — all doors and windows covered and shut after the morning coolness. not until the sun starts to set are they opened. and i’m kinda’ severe about that. the animals are not allowed to dawdle on the threshold as they ponder whether to be in or out.
when working outdoors: fully garbed. hat, long sleeves light cotton shirt, long pants, work boots. yes, it’s a bit sweaty, but to sweat is to be human. and sometimes the sweat cools me down.
the person who suggested wet t-shirt: most definitely! very excellent advice.
peace and love from a norcal ridge.

North Korea says 600 dead from floods (AP)

AP – Floods that swept across North Korea earlier this month killed at least 600 people, double the previously known toll, the country’s official news agency said Saturday.

Global warming should be front page news. And should be front and center in the political debates. Well… corporate GOP and the DLC would like that. So… that’s that.

Christy Hardin Smith says:
August 25th, 2007 at 7:01 am

You know, I know that it is really fun to riff off someone.

Not “fun” so much as gallows humor, imo.

but his heart is in a good place

beats the alternative, certainly, but to go in search of R’s with “good hearts” will not be any more productive that searching for a pot of gold at the end of a twisted rainbow.

And, I think, McNerney has gotten bad staffing advice,

which he appears to be hell-bent upon following. I agree completely that it took guts to show up here, and that he is to given a lot of credit for that. My impression, however, was that he didn’t seem to “hear” anything which was being said.

If these are growing pains, so be it, but I’d like to see some evidence that he’s at least somewhat amenable to “growing”.

‘Better than Pombo’ isn’t exactly the stuff of legends.

That being said, *huge* thanks to FDL for arranging all of this. Hope that this can continue – just hit the tip jar…(when “Sweet Jane” shuffles up on the Media Player, how ya gonna ignore the karmic message?) heh.

ccmask @ 107

My son is 20 now. I loved those times. I was his best friend then…now his best friend is fluffy123.

ROTFLMAO ‘fluffy123′ sounds like one of my 5-year-old’s computer user names for his Lego games. (Yes. He plays Lego on the computer *and* with actual Legos… It’s scary – he knew how to close down the computer from the ’start’ menu when he was 3.)

Oklahoma kiddo @ 154

Global warming should be front page news. And should be front and center in the political debates. Well… corporate GOP and the DLC would like that. So… that’s that.

One of the folks at dinner last night was a Jewish fundie who said, straight-faced, that petroleum was a free gift from God and that recycling uses more energy than it saves.

Check the fires out west and in Greece. I don’t want my grandchildren to become crispy critters.

morph at 144 says-”After it gets too hot to do outdoor work a little later on here in lovely southern RI, I’ll go down to the ocean, which is only 5 miles away as the crow flies and spend the afternoon. It’s naturally air conditioned down there (but unfortunately not here at my house). They say the water temp is now somewhere between 68-72. I’ll think of all of you as I play in the waves.”

rhode island, beautiful place….was just thinking of there yesterday…..a few years ago, went to newport for a wedding, went with my mom…spent over a week there, went to all of the ‘locals’ beaches…..but last day there, on the way out of town, spent it at the beach where all of the kite flyers are….down the road from there, loading up 4 backpacks full of rocks in the rain at the rocky beach there, had spent time there a few days before, swimming and exploring tidal pools…..i saw one that had EVERYTHING in it, even a starfish….wow, i’ve never forgotten it……

new entry in the newspeak dictionary:

What’s in a name? U.S. rebrands Iraq ex-insurgents (Reuters)

Reuters – U.S. forces have rebranded one of the main insurgent groups in Iraq and now use the term “concerned local nationals” to refer to a group that once claimed responsibility for killing scores of Americans.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070825/ts_nm/iraq_name_dc

Good Morning Christy.

It’s really hot here in OH too these days.

For the last few years, ever since himself retired – heh – we have had AC.
(love kidding him about that!)

But for many many years I would can & freeze our garden goodies for hours on end in the summer, with no AC those days. Often the muggy heat was just awful, but I had to keep going…

When I was done with a big hot project, I found it helped considerably to set a big stewpot of cold cold water from the tap on each hot burner to hasten the cooling. It helped take the sizzle out of the kitchen.

Another trick that sorta worked: our heating system has a “fan only” setting, and we have a big basement. I would open the air registers and punch that “fan only” button, drawing cooler air up from the basement.

We also added a whole-house exhaust fan some years ago. Much cheaper, and uses far less electricity than AC. But it’s very very good at drawing hot air up and out through our attic, and bring cool evening air in. We turn it on and it will lower the house temperature amazingly well in just 10 min. or so.

Every night, we open the windows wide and let every ounce of cool air in that we can capture. Then in the morning, if it’s going to be a scorcher, we shut up the house tight and close windows, blinds, drapes, whatever, and use fans. It works for a good part of the day.

Still, I enjoy feeling spoiled rotten, now that we have the AC. We don’t use it often, but sometimes it’s a huge relief. We’re very fortunate. I worry about those who simply don’t any opportunity to cool off. The elderly, the children, the power outages that leave them just stranded and in danger. I fear we’re going to see more and more of that.
Yes. I blame B*sh to a large degree. We could have helped so many people here and around the world, if not for the rampant greed and lust for wargames. What.a.waste!

One final note, probably repeating what some kindly firepup would surely have mentioned upthread:
Please, folks, if you have less fortunate people in your area, elderly, infirm, young children, … consider checking up on them to make sure they’re o.k. Oppressive heat can be a killer.

Iced tea, lemonade, PAH! Gin and fresh-squeezed Grapefruit, dozens of them, inside with the AC. FPL is making a fortune off me this year as well as the local Coast Guard Exchange. S. Florida sux in summer.

It’s foggy and cool here on the coast, maybe mid-fifties. Sun will be out later. Nice, quiet Saturday morning.

Nico @ 152

i live off the grid, so no air-conditioning. wouldn’t have it, anyway.
very hot here, except no humidity. all dry all the time.
when it really heats up, say over 100 on the deck, i “chase the shade” all day. each orientation of the deck is shady at different times of the day, so one just keeps moving operations.
also: i shroud the cabin — all doors and windows covered and shut after the morning coolness. not until the sun starts to set are they opened. and i’m kinda’ severe about that. the animals are not allowed to dawdle on the threshold as they ponder whether to be in or out.
when working outdoors: fully garbed. hat, long sleeves light cotton shirt, long pants, work boots. yes, it’s a bit sweaty, but to sweat is to be human. and sometimes the sweat cools me down.
the person who suggested wet t-shirt: most definitely! very excellent advice.
peace and love from a norcal ridge.

Love that you live off the grid.

We tried to build our first home, we wanted it energy efficient. Since it was our first home, the bank would not fund the building of an energy efficient home. We even tried to work with a banks that handled EEM’s mortgages. No luck. So our green builder suggested we buy a typical subdiv home, green it up and sell it and fund building our off-grid home ourselves. We are in year four of greening our subdiv home and hope to move on the “off-grid” soon. It’s been a 15 year dream.

Global warming. How do you like yourself? Medium or well done?

We used to drink from the hose. There’s home movies of me at about 4 years old playing in the sprinkler and drinking the water.

I asked my Mom not long ago how she didn’t flip out when she saw us doing that, thinking about how not sanitary that water had to have been. She sighed and said she tried not to pay attention. ;)

TexBetsy @ 112

I’d add fresh cilantro and a bit of green onion to that gazpacho recipe. But that’s just me.

oh! YUM! What was I thinking?! Our peppers and tomatoes are popping, and my late planting of cilantro is beginning to elicit drools as I weed around it. Thanks guys! We haven’t had gazpacho for just ages! Now I know what’s for dinner ;->

musicsleuth @ 156

ccmask @ 107

My son is 20 now. I loved those times. I was his best friend then…now his best friend is fluffy123.

ROTFLMAO ‘fluffy123′ sounds like one of my 5-year-old’s computer user names for his Lego games. (Yes. He plays Lego on the computer *and* with actual Legos… It’s scary – he knew how to close down the computer from the ’start’ menu when he was 3.)

LOL here too. That was his first love. After 3 years I said to my son “so, when am I going to meet her?” and he says “a week after I meet her”. What a wacky world these kids are growing up in. Fluffy123 lives in Brazil.

Our local energy co. heavily subsidizes solar panels and assorted other energy saving devices.

TexBetsy @ 157

Oklahoma kiddo @ 154

Global warming should be front page news. And should be front and center in the political debates. Well… corporate GOP and the DLC would like that. So… that’s that.

One of the folks at dinner last night was a Jewish fundie who said, straight-faced, that petroleum was a free gift from God and that recycling uses more energy than it saves.

And Ronald Reagan said ‘trees pollute’ and ‘when you’ve seen one Redwood, you’ve seen ‘em all’.

KLynn @ 151

solai @ 94

The whistleblower story is now at DKos. This is really a horrendous story that should enrage everyone. Waiting for more details but it seems the guy was detained and treated inhumanely (at the very least). An American citizen who committed no crime.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/24/22411/1187

Saw the wonderful interview with Vance on PBS about a month ago. I have seen him on Front Line and Open Lens On Democracy. His story needs to be told and retold. However, reading the whistleblower accounts all together is powerful because it gets to the heart of the bigger narrative. When 8.8 billion is unaccounted for ( almost a third of the current Iraq spending) we as citizens need to demand follow-up and quickly.

I will search the shows up and link to them later.

I posted on the story this AM, and was struck by how incredibly prescient Ike was 46 years ago. To wit:

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together….

As we peer into society’s future, we — you and I, and our government — must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.

Of course, all this has come to pass – the outsized influence, and plundering “for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorow.”

It is ill-making. Is there anyone besides Waxman (who has plenty on his plate) who can shine a light on this some more?

Oklahoma kiddo @ 170

TexBetsy @ 157

One of the folks at dinner last night was a Jewish fundie who said, straight-faced, that petroleum was a free gift from God and that recycling uses more energy than it saves.

And Ronald Reagan said ‘trees pollute’ and ‘when you’ve seen one Redwood, you’ve seen ‘em all’.

Yes – and someone suggested that rather than vote, we lock Carter in a room with a bunch of redwoods and Reagan in a room with an automobile running, and whoever came out could be President.

Just think about how many tons of air pollution would be prevented if just one day a month everything shut down. Time was when everything was closed every Sunday. How in the world did we manage not going to WalMart on Sunday?

When it is freezing cold everywhere else and we are enjoying days of sunshine I remind myself to be grateful for the climate in Arizona. I manage to keep from griping about the heat until about this time of year, when the AC has been on continuously since the end of May, and even swimming in the backyard pool isn’t refreshing because the water is two degrees below normal body temperature. We can’t take cold showers here because the water comes out of the pipes hot. This time of year we don’t even have our famous “dry heat.” It is just miserable, humid, breath sucking hot.

Okay, now that I’m through bitching, on to the coping mechanisms. I stop cooking. One advantage to this wilting heat is that no one is interested in heavy, hot food. We go for fruit, cheese, sandwiches, veggies and cold dips. We do our shopping early in the morning or late at night. Ice cream in the freezer. Loose, 100% cotton or rayon clothes, run the dryer at night, ceiling fans in every room. Ours never get shut off. And after three miserable breakdowns last summer of our 28 year old, original heat pump, we got a new unit. It took me eight months to pay it off, but I haven’t spent a single sleepless night laying in bed, with the AC unit wheezing on the roof, listening to the rhythm like I used to listen to the heart monitors in ICU, knowing a change in the sound could mean disaster. Oh, and the final luxury of the desert dweller, filtered water and ice in the fridge door. I used to think it was a fancy pants, pampered person affectation, but in Arizona it is as necessary as ceiling fans, AC, and ceramic tile floors throughout the house.

musicsleuth: My son was into Sim City when he was younger. He had every one of them and I strongly recommend the series. Of course, they might evenbe outdated now… He is 20 now and a plant manager of a manufacturing company. And he goes to college 3 nights a week. I was a single mom and had a deadbeat ex who never looked him up. He only saw him 3 times since we divorced 17 years ago. I am so proud of him. The men at the shop have taught him all the tool time stuff now and he is really blossoming. And, he votes.

It is ill-making. Is there anyone besides Waxman (who has plenty on his plate) who can shine a light on this some more?

Lieberman’s committee seems to have some time available.

Speaking of heat, but not much light, I was watching Hardball last night, oogh.

Host Mike Barnacle(?) standing in for Tweety, had a couple on, pretending to play a sorta Carville/Matalin routine. The gal was obviously pretending to be the Dem. side of the argument.
But my alarm bells went off in a split second, as she began referring to the “Democrat” party!?!
gr-r-r.

I don’t know whether to complain mightily to Hardball gurus, or stay silent so-as not to warn them we’re onto their shoddy game.
Dang MSM!

What say you, pups???

Mr. ReddHedd and I have talked about building in solar panels and other energy saving measures if we ever build a house some day. I’ve been doing a bit of preliminary research on it and there is a LOT of information out there, much of it conflicting. So, if anyone has suggestions on a book that is a good starting information kind of tome, I’d appreciate it. (Again, technology not being my strong suit, beginning information is the operative consideration as a starter. Thanks.)

jayt @ 176

It is ill-making. Is there anyone besides Waxman (who has plenty on his plate) who can shine a light on this some more?

Lieberman’s committee seems to have some time available.

Lieberman shines light? I had NO idea!

ccmask @ 175
He sounds like a great kid. Brazil! Talk about breaking down barriers :-)

Mutant Poodle @ 172

Oklahoma kiddo @ 170

And Ronald Reagan said ‘trees pollute’ and ‘when you’ve seen one Redwood, you’ve seen ‘em all’.

Yes – and someone suggested that rather than vote, we lock Carter in a room with a bunch of redwoods and Reagan in a room with an automobile running, and whoever came out could be President.

funny! I missed that one back then

IRT the whistleblower story. The abuse/corruption that Vance was reporting is now less frightening to me than the fact that he was imprisoned. I want to know who ordered that.

Mutant Poodle @ 172

Oklahoma kiddo @ 170

And Ronald Reagan said ‘trees pollute’ and ‘when you’ve seen one Redwood, you’ve seen ‘em all’.

Yes – and someone suggested that rather than vote, we lock Carter in a room with a bunch of redwoods and Reagan in a room with an automobile running, and whoever came out could be President.

I love it! Never heard it back then.

KLynn @ 179

jayt @ 176

It is ill-making. Is there anyone besides Waxman (who has plenty on his plate) who can shine a light on this some more?

Lieberman’s committee seems to have some time available.

Lieberman shines light? I had NO idea!

I crack myself up sometimes.

Oklahoma kiddo @ 173

Just think about how many tons of air pollution would be prevented if just one day a month everything shut down. Time was when everything was closed every Sunday. How in the world did we manage not going to WalMart on Sunday?

We didn’t all work three jobs in those days?

How do you get people fired up about global warming?

ZAHARO, Greece – Forest fires sweeping uncontrolled across southern Greece have killed 44 people, some found Saturday in the charred homes of mountain villages reached too late by rescue crews hampered by powerful winds. New blazes erupted across the country, including a fire on the fringes of Athens.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..eece_fires

Christy Hardin Smith @ 178

Mr. ReddHedd and I have talked about building in solar panels and other energy saving measures if we ever build a house some day. I’ve been doing a bit of preliminary research on it and there is a LOT of information out there, much of it conflicting. So, if anyone has suggestions on a book that is a good starting information kind of tome, I’d appreciate it. (Again, technology not being my strong suit, beginning information is the operative consideration as a starter. Thanks.)

Try here for starters.

They have a wealth of resources and are the best in the country to talk to for advice.

christie at 118 says-”dmac at 103 — We had to close them off last night because our moderators get to sleep at some point and we had a few very determined and exceptionally rude people causing problems and making asses of themselves with which mods had to deal yesterday. It was either close the thread — or people were going to have to pull a 16 hour shift, and that was unacceptable — so it was the best that we could do.

Jeebus, we had a great chat, people got to ask excellent and well-thought questions, he answered a lot of them — and we do all of this pretty much for free for readers, beyond the ones who occasionally drop a little support in the paypal box (and for those of you who do, bless you – we really do appreciate it!). If he can get back in to answer more, we can re-open the thread for him or put up a fresh one like we did for John Dean when he did a second round of answers — but we work our asses off dealing with the backstage stuff as it is, and I’m not adding to it unless we need to do so. Hope that makes sense — I was up late last night myself and I’m tired this morning.”

oh yeah, makes perfect sense……it was just on my mind…….what would he do if he did want to come back and answer things…….

i only know a little about what you all have to do behind the scenes, and from what i understand, it is an immense undertaking…….
it was a great chat, as usual………

my slim amount of extra money went to blue america this month, but next batch will be to you all……..

thanks…….and my best friend likes to eat frozen fruit bars to cool off…….as a kid, there was nuthin’ like a popsicle……..

On the really hot days I wear an old large cotton T-Shirt and carry around a spray bottle with tap water in it…

If you wet the T-Shirt and keep it wet with the spray bottle, this will keep you cool in the hottest weather!

jayt @ 176

It is ill-making. Is there anyone besides Waxman (who has plenty on his plate) who can shine a light on this some more?

Lieberman’s committee seems to have some time available.

Ouch. Isn’t he busy investigating democrats who give aid and confort to al qaeda?

TexBetsy @ 185

Oklahoma kiddo @ 173

Just think about how many tons of air pollution would be prevented if just one day a month everything shut down. Time was when everything was closed every Sunday. How in the world did we manage not going to WalMart on Sunday?

We didn’t all work three jobs in those days?

Very true. Our expections are much higher now. Many have to work three minimum wage jobs, with no bennies, just to feed their family. We need radical political change. ;0)

KLynn @ 187

Christy Hardin Smith @ 178

Mr. ReddHedd and I have talked about building in solar panels and other energy saving measures if we ever build a house some day. I’ve been doing a bit of preliminary research on it and there is a LOT of information out there, much of it conflicting. So, if anyone has suggestions on a book that is a good starting information kind of tome, I’d appreciate it. (Again, technology not being my strong suit, beginning information is the operative consideration as a starter. Thanks.)

Try here for starters.

They have a wealth of resources and are the best in the country to talk to for advice.

And you might want to start sooner than later. The DOE energy efficient tax breaks I think expire in about 7 months. Go figure…

adie-i would write someone about it, definitely………

I’m a Southern California resident who, unfortunately, doesn’t live in a beach house. My advice is to do all your chores early, before 10:00 a.m. Then pull the shades and drapes to keep the house cool. Don’t emerge until 7 p.m., and when you do finally emerge make sure you’ve got a bucketful of Corona and limes on ice. Fortunately I have central air conditioning and a swimming pool and I use them both. But I got my bi-monthly electric bill yesterday. It was $983.00. That’s almost as much as my mortgage.
Kind of ruined the weekend.

Christy,

IMO, perris nailed it last night.

Argued that dems don’t need a veto-proof majority.

If they send shrub Iraq-funding bills he vetoes, he’ll cut off funding all by himself.

I think McNerney sipped some koolaid.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 178

Mr. ReddHedd and I have talked about building in solar panels and other energy saving measures if we ever build a house some day. I’ve been doing a bit of preliminary research on it and there is a LOT of information out there, much of it conflicting. So, if anyone has suggestions on a book that is a good starting information kind of tome, I’d appreciate it. (Again, technology not being my strong suit, beginning information is the operative consideration as a starter. Thanks.)

Try Global Green – they have a green building resource center here. And a link to greenerbuildings.com is here.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 178

Mr. ReddHedd and I have talked about building in solar panels and other energy saving measures if we ever build a house some day. I’ve been doing a bit of preliminary research on it and there is a LOT of information out there, much of it conflicting. So, if anyone has suggestions on a book that is a good starting information kind of tome, I’d appreciate it. (Again, technology not being my strong suit, beginning information is the operative consideration as a starter. Thanks.)

You might like this story:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/…..1056/COL02

Photo voltaics are the ultimate answer. We’ve got lots of sand. How much R&D with the goal bringing the costs of silicon wafer produced power way down, can you buy for $12,000,000,000 per month (money Bush spends on war)?

and to keep cool-
one of my friends who has ACRES of perennial gardens wears a neck thing that loosely hangs around her neck that she puts in the freezer……is a product made to do that, don’t know the name of it……..she wears it all of the time, and swears by it………she’s always hoeing or transferring plants, etc………

TexBetsy @ 157

Oklahoma kiddo @ 154

Global warming should be front page news. And should be front and center in the political debates. Well… corporate GOP and the DLC would like that. So… that’s that.

One of the folks at dinner last night was a Jewish fundie who said, straight-faced, that petroleum was a free gift from God and that recycling uses more energy than it saves.

Oh sigh! And, it’s too expensive to recycle. It’s not worth recycling, because you can’t make a pile a’ money off it. Haven’t you heard that one? Glory be, these nits are gonna be the death of me, literally.

Did you dare say anything back at the fundie?
I fear I might have been gape-jawed. Such people trigger my sputter reflex in a hurry.

One thing to keep in yer arsenal for next chance, would be that maybe energy and cost should not be viewed as the only reason for recycling. We must consider saving resources and even – gasp – consider recycling as critically important, even if it costs more initially than just tossing our stuff. Recycling should be considered as so terribly important that it would even be worth paying extra to accomplish. And not using up so much in the way of energy and resources in the 1st place(!) is equally important: excess packaging, energy and pollution costs of shipping, yadda yadda…

Heard it somewhere, from a smart little kid:

“Why do people have to have so much stuff?!”

but i rant & ramble… time to stop *blush*

dmac @ 193

adie-i would write someone about it, definitely………

That’s what that little nagging voice in the back of my head has been sayin’ too. Thanks. ;->

Love your picture! Reminds me of my summers in DC with no air conditioning in the ’50s. The folks next door had a wading pool and sprinkler, and we would run and jump and splash all day. My faithful Frisky, the wire hair terrier best friend of my childhood, would watch, tail down, through the fence. So my Mom put out an old wash tub filled with water so he could swim too!
My Mom had the most scientific plan for opening and closing the venetian blinds around the house, following the sun, plus an upstairs fan that reversed. About 10 am we would all troop downstairs to the basement, and stay there until Dad came in at 5:30. Then off to the pool for a “quick dip,” home for a no-cook dinner (jellied chicken salad was a favorite) and then after an hour, back to the pool. Then home with all the windows open to cool off, then to bed. Even that wasn’t enough some nights — but it sure did help.
Now we can just ignore the weather — but back then it ruled our lives. Oh, wait! We’re in the middle of global warming, and weather will rule our lives more and more, in ways we never imagined back then.

Marretta @ 174

run the dryer at night,

Could I make a suggestion? Line dry your laundry.It’s free, and does not contribute to global warming. If it’s a covenant issue, I would suggest you work to get the rules changed.

I don’t mean to be a nag, but this is one of those things that drives me nuts. I hate the thought of all that energy being wasted when here in Denver, we can reliably line dry laundry for about 9 months of the year. Arizona is probably year round.

Adie @ 201

dmac @ 193

adie-i would write someone about it, definitely………

That’s what that little nagging voice in the back of my head has been sayin’ too. Thanks. ;->

Sometimes, the excess cost is a myth: Greener Buildings not as pricey as perceived: Study.

PeteCO @ 203

Marretta @ 174

run the dryer at night,

Could I make a suggestion? Line dry your laundry.It’s free, and does not contribute to global warming. If it’s a covenant issue, I would suggest you work to get the rules changed.

I don’t mean to be a nag, but this is one of those things that drives me nuts. I hate the thought of all that energy being wasted when here in Denver, we can reliably line dry laundry for about 9 months of the year. Arizona is probably year round.

…plus, nothing’s better than the smell of clothes fresh off the line…

PeteCO @ 203

Marretta @ 174

run the dryer at night,

Could I make a suggestion? Line dry your laundry.It’s free, and does not contribute to global warming. If it’s a covenant issue, I would suggest you work to get the rules changed.

I don’t mean to be a nag, but this is one of those things that drives me nuts. I hate the thought of all that energy being wasted when here in Denver, we can reliably line dry laundry for about 9 months of the year. Arizona is probably year round.

Hanging out the laundry is one of my small pleasures.

TexBetsy @ 157

Oklahoma kiddo @ 154

One of the folks at dinner last night was a Jewish fundie who said, straight-faced, that petroleum was a free gift from God…

Yeah, y’see, gasoline just comes up outa the ground under natural pressure, ready to be pumped into our cars, whereas other sources of combustion like hydrogen have be be man-made. God is so benevolent and wise.

PeteCO @ 203

Marretta @ 174

run the dryer at night,

Could I make a suggestion? Line dry your laundry.It’s free, and does not contribute to global warming. If it’s a covenant issue, I would suggest you work to get the rules changed.

I don’t mean to be a nag, but this is one of those things that drives me nuts. I hate the thought of all that energy being wasted when here in Denver, we can reliably line dry laundry for about 9 months of the year. Arizona is probably year round.

Against Homeowner Association rules here in Vegas. ‘Unsightly.”

Mutant Poodle @ 205

…plus, nothing’s better than the smell of clothes fresh off the line…

’specially the sheets .mmm..

You know… if this summer was this bad, what will next summer be like?

By the way, we put up a solar hot water heating system last year, and have saved a fair amount of money. It cost about $5k to put in. We’d like to put in panels to tie in with our electric service, but that’s a lot more investment. Maybe in a year or two.

God is so benevolent and wise.

Indeed. See Elliott @12

And George W. Bush wanted to go to Mars.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 178

Mr. ReddHedd and I have talked about building in solar panels and other energy saving measures if we ever build a house some day. I’ve been doing a bit of preliminary research on it and there is a LOT of information out there, much of it conflicting. So, if anyone has suggestions on a book that is a good starting information kind of tome, I’d appreciate it. (Again, technology not being my strong suit, beginning information is the operative consideration as a starter. Thanks.)

I do! Check this out, from the fine folks at Chelsea Green;
http://www.chelseagreen.com/20…..zenpowered

They have a whole bunch of books on this very subject, and the new Naomi Wolf!

http://www.chelseagreen.com/

Chelsea Green; The politics & practice of sustainable living!

I’m going to get me one of those little plastic kiddie pools. Be a great place to read under a tree, wouldn’t it? I keep looking for a cheap nicely-made hammock on ebay but no luck yet.

BobbyG @ 208

PeteCO @ 203

Could I make a suggestion? Line dry your laundry.It’s free, and does not contribute to global warming. If it’s a covenant issue, I would suggest you work to get the rules changed.

I don’t mean to be a nag, but this is one of those things that drives me nuts. I hate the thought of all that energy being wasted when here in Denver, we can reliably line dry laundry for about 9 months of the year. Arizona is probably year round.

Against Homeowner Association rules here in Vegas. ‘Unsightly.”

Such good taste in Vegas… :-)

Good Morning Fellow Hot Dogs!
Hey, Adie, I’m with you. We really don’t need so much stuff.
My family just returned from a week of camping and we really don’t need that much.
It was a lovely reminder of how we can exist without all our toys. (’cept I am glad to back to my electronic Lake. :)

newtonusr @ 216

BobbyG @ 208

Against Homeowner Association rules here in Vegas. ‘Unsightly.”

Such good taste in Vegas… :-)

Yeah, but, “Seven Deadly Sins, One Convenient Location.”

(actual I-15 billboard slogan)

jayt @ 212

God is so benevolent and wise.

Indeed. See Elliott @12

we had the perfect back yard for that thing, great slope down to the back porch — for popsicles

And I guess my father got over that “lawn thing” they get sometimes, so we could slip and slide for as long as we wanted.

jayt @ 212

God is so benevolent and wise.

Indeed. See Elliott @12

Manna from heaven – for the oil companies.

Good morning everyone. No complaints here. This is the first morning in weeks that the temperature is under 90 degrees topping 100 during the day. Hopefully we don’t go over 90 this afternoon. Next week we are predicted to have miserable heat again. I am enjoying the brief moment.

BobbyG @ 208

PeteCO @ 203

Could I make a suggestion? Line dry your laundry.It’s free, and does not contribute to global warming. If it’s a covenant issue, I would suggest you work to get the rules changed.

I don’t mean to be a nag, but this is one of those things that drives me nuts. I hate the thought of all that energy being wasted when here in Denver, we can reliably line dry laundry for about 9 months of the year. Arizona is probably year round.

Against Homeowner Association rules here in Vegas. ‘Unsightly.”

And here in many subdivisions. The point is, it has to change, and it will only change if people get elected to thei HOA boards and campaign to get rid of these ridiculous restrictions. Using a dryer to dry clothes in the desert southwest is morally wrong, IMO. It’s up there with driving a Hummer.

The health of the planet should be THE first item on the agenda. Everything else is secondary. If we are broiling ourselves alive, what else matters?

Just finished cruisin through the news

Highlight is that the White House thinks that it will be able to sustain the number of troops that it currently has in Iraq until April and then gradually slide back to pre surge numbers.

They cite comments from dems returning from Iraq and “progress” on the ground in their commnts. They think that they have the political war won for now.

Hi all. Just got back from the playground with two-year-old miniralphbon. The air in Brooklyn today is like soup. So I taught him a new call-and-response.

Me: It’s not the heat.
Miniralphbon: It’s the hu-mi-di-ty.

Oklahoma kiddo @ 222

The health of the planet should be THE first item on the agenda. Everything else is secondary. If we are broiling ourselves alive, what else matters?

Save the planet. Don’t give beer to moose.

Good morning, everyone:

I am so glad to have air conditioning now. My home has a good set of windows between the dining area and living room, so I can get a cross-breeze there, but the rest of the rooms get very hot without air conditioning. I only run it after it gets over 80 in the house, and it came on very early today.

We had some really wicked storms yesterday evening – tornadoes, unbelivevably heavy rain (3 inches in about 15 minutes), and 60 m/h gusts of wind. I thought everything would cool off after that blew through – nope!

Here is my favorite unusual recipe for lemonade: Thai Lemongrass Lemonade

10 cups water
6 stalks of lemongrass
juice of 4 lemons
juice of 4 limes
pinch of salt

First, wash and peel the very outer layer of lemongrass off and chop the lemongrass into 1-inch long pieces from the white end. Chop only up to about 2/3 of the stalk – throw the rest out.

Put the lemongrass into a tall pot with the water and the pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, let simmer for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, juice the lemons and limes.

When the lemongrass pot is done simmering, let it sit about 15 minutes to cool. Using a slotted spoon, pull out the lemongrass pieces & throw them away. Mix the lemon and lime juices into the water, and then serve the lemongrass lemonade over ice.

It’s a very refreshing twist on lemonade! Plus, it’s healthy for the digestive system (Thais believe lemongrass helps aid digestion and soothes stomach ailments).

If you haven’t worked with lemongrass before, you should know that you can tell fresher from older lemongrass by bending it. If it seems a little squishy in the white area, it’s getting old. If it’s pretty firm, you’re in good shape. Most Asian markets and even regular grocery stores that carry a lot of Asian ingredients seem to have lemongrass. Sometimes, they sell it as a packaged herb, already cut up. I try to find mine whole, just because it’s pretty abundant here, and it’s a lot cheaper.

PeteCO @ 221

BobbyG @ 208

Against Homeowner Association rules here in Vegas. ‘Unsightly.”

And here in many subdivisions. The point is, it has to change, and it will only change if people get elected to thei HOA boards and campaign to get rid of these ridiculous restrictions. Using a dryer to dry clothes in the desert southwest is morally wrong, IMO. It’s up there with driving a Hummer.

Those restrictions are tough. I found a way around it in the family home near Reno. We have a courtyard which I made very, very private. I’d put clothes, blankets out to air dry. In ten minutes they were bone dry. Zilch moisture there. In ten minutes I’m bone dry.

The key is not to wave your laundry in your neighbor’s face. Some neighbors do the same and I don’t see their laundry. The only view I have is lovely landscaping.

Darn, I missed it. I slept in this morning, which is unusual for me. I’m canning tomatoes today :). I’ll just blanch to take the skin off, put in jars with a little salt, close and cook in the water bath.

Mutant Poodle

I agree totally. I was simply making the point that even if recycling were more expensive, and sometimes start-up costs can make it seem so, $$cost should not be the only measure of its value and importance.

We in this household are living proof that going green as much as possible is often a money-saver.

We were comfortable and close as a family as our kids were growing up, even though we made do with far less than our “peers”. I was a stay-at-home mom, so we lived on one paycheck and had to be extremely careful with $$.
My MS degree was turned to practical use, as we skirted along the edge of subsistence farming ideas, to some extent, instead of having me go out & earn the money to buy the stuff we used and ate.

We live comfortably, but at a far lower rate of consumption than many of our friends. It has worked for us since the 60’s. Our kids were happy and busy growing up, and they are now responsible, caring, loving adults who are accomplishing much in this world. Yes, they know what “living green” means, and do their best within their own circumstances as adults.
They’re both pret-ty active liberals, and well-informed voters also. ;->

QuakerGirl @ 227

PeteCO @ 221

And here in many subdivisions. The point is, it has to change, and it will only change if people get elected to thei HOA boards and campaign to get rid of these ridiculous restrictions. Using a dryer to dry clothes in the desert southwest is morally wrong, IMO. It’s up there with driving a Hummer.

Those restrictions are tough. I found a way around it in the family home near Reno. We have a courtyard which I made very, very private. I’d put clothes, blankets out to air dry. In ten minutes they were bone dry. Zilch moisture there. In ten� minutes I’m bone dry.

The key is not to wave your laundry in your neighbor’s face. Some neighbors do the same and I don’t see their laundry. The only view I have is lovely landscaping.

When did it become offensive to hang out your laundry on your own property? People didn’t have dryers 50 years ago. In most of the rest of the world they still don’t. Snobbery, pure & simple.

jayt @ 60

What to do in hot weather? Sweat.

Yesterday, two guys got in the elevator while I was transporting the bike and I down for a ride – one guy said – “Man, stay hydrated, you could die out there…” After my sincere promise to stop immediately should I in fact die out there, I hit it pretty hard for about an hour and a half, worked up a righteous sweat, *then* retreated to the A/C and a couple of bottles of water. aaaaahhhhhh….

Gotta just go with it – I’ll take a lotta hot over any amount of cold any time…

Not me. Cold you can dress for and be reasonably cozy – heat there is nothing you can do about.

KLynn @ 164

Nico @ 152

i live off the grid

Love that you live off the grid.

We tried to build our first home, we wanted it energy efficient. Since it was our first home, the bank would not fund the building of an energy efficient home. We even tried to work with a banks that handled EEM’s mortgages. No luck. So our green builder suggested we buy a typical subdiv home, green it up and sell it and fund building our off-grid home ourselves. We are in year four of greening our subdiv home and hope to move on the “off-grid” soon. It’s been a 15 year dream.

yes, KLynn, it’s a long process. although the ability to truly live off the grid is much advanced these days. part of that goes to the early adopters and pioneers like the folks i live around here in norcal. for over 20 years, back-to-landers have been a bit of an underground society w/ regard to “off the grid” — that is, until the future became now.
the biggest stumbling block is cost, actually. there is a lot of money required in upfront costs. some stuff, like panels, are much cheaper than they were 10 or so years ago. but the invertors, and management systems are still pricey. however, that said: solar rules! it makes a household become super-consciouness about “watt” usage.
being a bit of a romantic, the renewable aspect just makes me giggle each time i power up. so great — this big sun in the sky powering my panels pushing juice to the invertors powering my plugs and delivering all the electricity i need. it’s cool.
sorry for the ramble and good luck on going green. it becomes a systemic change in the whole way you approach life and consumption in the 21st century. peace.

Cooling tip

I hope this gets through with all the previous posts. I learned this trick a long time ago and now I live in the Bahamas and use it regularly, particularly when I play golf in 95 humid summer conditions.

Hold ice cubes against your wrist for a few minutes (the inside part where you take your pulse) You can switch back and forth from one wrist to the other every minute or so until the ice is melted.

The theory is that your blood is running by close to the surface in this area and cools down quickly cooling the rest of your body.

You really will notice a difference.

chrisc @ 194

I’m a Southern California resident who, unfortunately, doesn’t live in a beach house. . . .But I got my bi-monthly electric bill yesterday. It was $983.00. That’s almost as much as my mortgage.
Kind of ruined the weekend.

On the bright side, $491.50 per month is almost as much as your mortgage. . .in southern California!

We’re stupid – we’re leaving the cool, foggy climate of SF this week, heading out to the godforsaken Black Rock Desert in Nevada (yup, Burning Man). Woo!

Hope y’all have a good Labor Day weekend, and take care of each other!

newtonusr @ 216

BobbyG @ 208

Against Homeowner Association rules here in Vegas. ‘Unsightly.”

Such good taste in Vegas… :-)

I’ve got a clothes washer, but never had a dryer and resist getting one. Sometimes I dry my clothes on a line outside, but usually I dry them inside on a stick hung in my bedroom. Looks tacky but who cares. Clothing lasts much longer this way. (No wonder I still look dressed for the 60’s.) I’ve been doing this for 30 years now. How much carbon have I not generated doing it this way?

Also for Reddhead: You don’t have to build a new house to have solar panels. If they don’t fit on your existing roof then you can put them on a rack in the yard, if you have a space that isn’t shaded. Finally, I found this great site, http://www.otherpower.com, that shows you how to build your own wind turbine from scratch, if you have the technical skills. Both wind and solar power are in my immediate future. I can’t wait for the nanny state federal government to develop an alternative energy future. That wouldn’t be in the best interests of the energy companies, so it’s not likely to happen any time soon. It all comes down to us, you and me, to do it ourselves. Every time it’s windy now, I think I could be harvesting that wind. Also, I want an all electric car and it looks like China will make them before US companies. We sure have declined, haven’t we?

See you at the beach! I’m going soon. It’s hot and very humid out now.

jayt @ 155

‘Better than Pombo’ isn’t exactly the stuff of legends.

Granted. But it’s a start.

It bugs me that so many people either don’t understand or refuse to accept that what we are embarked on here is a process, it’s going to take time, and it’s going to consist mostly of an accumulation of small victories. The cliche about politics being “the art of the possible” is no less true for being a cliche.

Jerry McNerney’s not just better than Pombo. He’s a lot better than Pombo. If he’s not living up to your expectations, ask yourself whether the problem is McNerney … or poor expectation management.

To those interested in battling raccoons from rooftop gardens it feels well over 100 on the tar roof and I’m back from decooning my garden… we’ll see. I have been experimenting in green roof ideas and am in the process of using part of a 2500 sq ft warehouse roof. Apparently I’m not the first http://www.cityfarmer.org/subrooftops.html .
The project so far has been very productive but I have a long way to go, roof weight, pollution verses chemicals, what is organic, watering systems, rooftop greenhouse, lightweight soils, etc.

Just checking to see if I successfully got my facebook link in right!

Not so far, but maybe now?

Yeay, yeay!

Ann in AZ @ 240

Not so far, but maybe now?

Looks like you got it!

Respectfully,

All of you in those areas where you are sweating off your butts need to come to the west coast and cool off…

It’s about 70 degrees right now where I’m at and I can see a breeze through my birch trees in the back…

Going to barbecue some veggies and some German brats this afternoon and gawd help me I want a beer to go with my troubles…

You can come over but would appreciate some Spaten very, very much….

Have a great weekend to all….

Here’s what I do, Christy: Wet down a cotton tee shirt under the cold water faucet, wring it out well so it doesn’t drip, and put it on. Wet down your head, too. The coolth lasts around half to 3/4 of an hour, depending on the temperature.

solai @ 94

The whistleblower story is now at DKos. This is really a horrendous story that should enrage everyone. Waiting for more details but it seems the guy was detained and treated inhumanely (at the very least). An American citizen who committed no crime.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/24/22411/1187

Here’s the legal brief in the Vance case…detailing his detention under “extreme duress” conditions after someone in the FBI leaked his “whistleblowing”

http://denver.yourhub.com/Brig…..20113.aspx

This NJ Summer has been extraordinary not for peak temperatures but for humidity-I’ve never been so uncomfortable. Yesterday I had to make my way through the unairconditioned Times Square subway station, and nearly fainted. I can’t wait for Summer to end.