Friday, June 01, 2007

Keeping Cool

We're deep in a hot, muggy period in Kitchener, the first test of the hot, cold, active, and stagnant areas of my new apartment. By keeping the lights off and building a chain of fans on the second floor I can create a nice column of moving air from west to east, even if the air isn't necessarily cool.

My cat's paws are extraordinarily hot and she likes to put them on my arms while she's sleeping. Otherwise she spends much of her time behind the TV set, which is on the first floor and therefore cooler. Up here on the second floor I find myself bumbling around in the dark a lot. When working in my "Little Lemuria" music studio I do my best to tune the fans out and have as few pieces of equipment running as possible.

One way to beat the heat? Sleep in the afternoon! I decided to take a short nap and ended up sleeping deeply for four hours. Now I'm awake and it's relatively cool (or rather "no longer stifling") and I'm thinking it would be nice to go out on the balcony and sit with the cat.

Some ways to stay cool when you're a pedestrian:
  1. Walk slightly slower than normal; the more humid air you breathe in, the more exhausted you get.
  2. Plot your route so that you avoid reflective and radiating surfaces (ashphalt, glass, steel) and, instead, walk through places with lots of grass. Hell, just walk on the grass, even if they tell you not to! Blame it on the city planners.
  3. Love each and every tree you walk under. Their shade is essential.
  4. Stay away from cars; they're sources of heat and bad air.
  5. Drink something cold as you walk.
In short: two-way roads are bad, parking lots are REALLY bad, residential streets are good, and parks are an absolute blessing.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

enviro-Muffy is at it again! Thanks for the tips. Install a cieling fan and take public transit or walk when you can. reduce reuse recycle

VanillaJ said...

Step #1: Open citrus-volka or gin & tonic beverage.
Step #2: Drink until heat is forgotten

Adam Thornton said...

Best yet, get a ceiling fan AND booze!

Tip for cats: put an icecube in their water bowl occasionally. It's the only time Zsa Zsa actually DRINKS out of her water bowl.

Anonymous said...

I've tried placing plastic sandwich bags full of ice in front of a fan. It works a little. I need to do some more experimenting.

Anonymous said...

What's the matter with you Canadians? It seems like just yesterday that you were waiting for the ice to melt. And now you crib that it is too hot! :)

Anonymous said...

I am one of those Canadians who loves the cold. A temperature of about -10C outside (no windchill), and I'm happy.

Anonymous said...
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Adam Thornton said...

Maybe if you put the bags of ice ABOVE the fan (since cold air drifts downward?)

It's true...at least in Southern Ontario, we get really extreme temperatures. I can handle anything as long as it isn't extended...it's the two weeks of unceasing heat and humidity that starts to wear me down, especially since we're in a pretty smoggy valley.

But NOTHING makes me wish for winter! :)

Anonymous said...

My idea of the ice was to create a kind of "wind-chill effect" with the air from the fan moving over the ice.

I have always disliked the heat as an adult. Southern Ontario can get hot and humid air pumped up from the Gulf of Mexico and South America area in the summer.

Canada gets every type of weather and temperature range in the world, but I still prefer the cold to the warm.