The Vent and Rant Thread

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Well, yes, 37C is getting up there. It's that here, before the sun comes up, LOLOL. (not quite, but it's well near 90F, in the mornings, in the dark and then it shoots up to 105F--114F pretty dang quickly.)

I envy you your cooler weather. Of course, I don't say that in January. :-)

Our houses here are not build to keep the heat out, but to keep the heat in. Average daytime temperature this time of year is 21-23C.

It's slowly cooling down now, it's 11pm and it's still 31C. That's in the city center. The official local temperature is 22C, but that's outside of the city, in a field (and during the day in the shade). At least it was a dry heat, normally when it's hot in the Netherlands it's get humid.

My bedroom is either 29.9C or 28.5C. I got two thermometers about 15cm apart. I'm going to believe the lower reading. Because almost 30C is just too hot for a bedroom to be. Plus that thermometer is the new one, a couple of years old, the other one is almost 20 years old.

I'm sitting here, in front of my fan, waiting for it to get cooler outside than inside so I can open up the windows. I'm certain I won't get much (good) sleep tonight.

Tomorrow it's going to be 28C, but a lot more humid. In the late afternoon and evening the chance of thunderstorms seems to be rising by the hour, so hopefully that will freshen things up, though it'll take a couple of days for the house to cool down. So I'm expecting another couple of nights of too warm bedroom temperatures.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I'm sitting here, in front of my fan, waiting for it to get cooler outside than inside so I can open up the windows. I'm certain I won't get much (good) sleep tonight.

Tomorrow it's going to be 28C, but a lot more humid. In the late afternoon and evening the chance of thunderstorms seems to be rising by the hour, so hopefully that will freshen things up, though it'll take a couple of days for the house to cool down. So I'm expecting another couple of nights of too warm bedroom temperatures.

Take a kitchen towel, wet thoroughly, and wrap around your neck. Now, do the same with another towel, only stick this one in the freezer. When the one on your neck starts to feel like it's no longer helping, swap them.

Seriously, this does work and it's essentially free and available to pretty much anyone. You'll look silly, especially if you drape another over your head, but this is how I got through our "heat dome" last year.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Take a kitchen towel, wet thoroughly, and wrap around your neck. Now, do the same with another towel, only stick this one in the freezer. When the one on your neck starts to feel like it's no longer helping, swap them.

Seriously, this does work and it's essentially free and available to pretty much anyone. You'll look silly, especially if you drape another over your head, but this is how I got through our "heat dome" last year.

Thanks for the tip, I hope I won't have to use this, but it's good to know something that helps. I'm seriously considering buying one of those cooling pads for big dogs, or possibly two since they aren't that expensive. For on my bed during warm nights.

As predicted didn't get much sleep. Today will be another warm day (28C), and it won't cool down much during the night. Though it will cool down a lot quicker, 21C by midnight. It's currently almost 27C in my bedroom, so it's time to close the window and curtains and keeping my fingers crossed it won't heat up too much.

Today the store's open, I won't be doing much useful. A small shipment came in yesterday. I should be able to deal with that in a couple of hours. But I won't today, that's something for tomorrow, when I'm hopefully less tired and it's a bit cooler.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Take a kitchen towel, wet thoroughly, and wrap around your neck. Now, do the same with another towel, only stick this one in the freezer. When the one on your neck starts to feel like it's no longer helping, swap them.

Seriously, this does work and it's essentially free and available to pretty much anyone. You'll look silly, especially if you drape another over your head, but this is how I got through our "heat dome" last year.

As someone who has thermoregulation issues, I can vouch for this.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

Thanks for the tip, I hope I won't have to use this, but it's good to know something that helps. I'm seriously considering buying one of those cooling pads for big dogs, or possibly two since they aren't that expensive. For on my bed during warm nights.

They actually make "bandanas" that leverage this by being filled with something that absorbs the water and slowly gives it up. (Silica gel? Not sure.) IAC, it looks a little less goofy, but, OTOH, you have to buy it. Check Amazon. Here's the Amazon.ca version, not sure which store you shop in...

Though honestly, having a couple of these vs. the kitchen towel trick? I use the kitchen towel unless I need to go in public in this sort of weather.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by CRussel

They actually make "bandanas" that leverage this by being filled with something that absorbs the water and slowly gives it up. (Silica gel? Not sure.) IAC, it looks a little less goofy, but, OTOH, you have to buy it. Check Amazon. Here's the Amazon.ca version, not sure which store you shop in...

Though honestly, having a couple of these vs. the kitchen towel trick? I use the kitchen towel unless I need to go in public in this sort of weather.

I have two cooling bandanas somewhere, they are filled with orbeez, which absorb water and have a cooling effect. I completely forgot I had them. I ordered them last year, but they didn't cool enough for my liking. But then I was overheating so much last summer that nothing worked.

I noticed this year that I'm able to deal with warm weather a lot better than I have for years. Especially at night. Another sign that I've had the chronic appendicitis for a long time.

One more warm night and from tomorrow we'll get a couple of cooler days and nights. Hopefully the house will get a chance to cool down before another warm spell on Sunday and Monday (27-30C).

[ApK]

We had those bandanas at some point, but they long ago got stored with the missing dryer socks and other permanently lost items.

"Cooling towels" have been the craze the last few years. While they claim to have some particular cooling ability, they are just towels. Their main benefit over a dish towel is that they come in various colors and designs to address the "going out in public without looking like you have a dish towel on your head" issue.

[Rumpelteazer]

Normally I have the groceries delivered on Thursday morning between 8 and 10am. Before the store opens. In the past we had it delivered when the store was open and even if both my father and I were working it was a less than ideal situation, especially during the busier time of the year. When my father went to hospital I changed the time and it has stayed that way.

My mother doesn't like the early delivery, not sure why; I'm the one lugging the crates upstairs and unpacking them. And has been pushing for me to change back to a later delivery.

On Wednesday night I got an email that my order had been cancelled due to technical problems. Luckily I was able to reorder for today, but the earliest slot was between noon and 3pm. The currently delivery time estimate is between 1.40pm and 2.40pm. I'm hoping it's after 2pm, then my father is coming down to work in the store (every two weeks he adds an other hour to his working day). And hoping it isn't busy at that time and I can get everything upstairs and unpacked.

It's the first time in many years an order has been cancelled. Luckily it's during the summer vacation and I was able to get a slot so soon.

[cromag]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

"People of diverse abilities" used as an euphemism for disability...isn't that basically everyone?

Also, why are people so afraid of the word "disabled"?

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Becasuse "disabled" means "can't do anything".

My vision is poor. Some things are harder for me to do such as finding specific locations in very large places (like the right platform in a massive train station), and there are some things I can't do/aren't allowed to do, such as drive a car.

But I'm certainly not disabled. I've always refused to describe myself as disabled. If I had been blind, I probably would have, because then there's a MASSIVE amount of things I wouldn't be able to do without some form of assistance.

I volunteered for many years at a therapeutic riding center -- Somerset Hills Handicapped Riding Center. Several years ago they changed their name to remove the reference to "handicapped" and they have always discouraged the use of the term "disabled".

The term "disabled" carries a lot of baggage but isn't really descriptive. I worked with kids and adults with conditions that ranged from autism to cerebral palsy to Down's syndrome, to paralysis, to seizure disorders. And even among clients with a shared diagnosis individual abilities varied widely. Using a blanket term to describe them wasn't helpful and gave strangers a preconceived idea as to what individual strengths and needs they might have.

[Deskisamess]

Cancer sucks. My BIL is stopping treatment for his esophageal cancer. Hospice is getting involved.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

Cancer sucks. My BIL is stopping treatment for his esophageal cancer. Hospice is getting involved.

Yes, it does. I hope his pain is being well-managed; I’m sure his family has lots of support. I’m sorry.

[Deskisamess]

Originally Posted by issybird

Yes, it does. I hope his pain is being well-managed; I’m sure his family has lots of support. I’m sorry.

Not much pain right now, haven't spoken directly to my sister yet, so unsure of a time-line. He's not been on regular pain meds yet as far as I know.

There's been a fast advance according to the scans from April and last week. My family isn't much for talking, and I don't want to bug her. She didn't want me to come over yesterday when I was near there. Her oldest daughter is flying in Saturday, and has promised to keep me in the loop with details. BIL isn't her bio father, but she considers him to be her dad.

[ApK]

Why must one of the very few days I decide to wear shorts while working at my desk coincide with one of the very few days our normally aloof cat decides she wants snuggles and so climbs up my bare leg onto my lap?

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by ApK

Why must one of the very few days I decide to wear shorts while working at my desk coincide with one of the very few days our normally aloof cat decides she wants snuggles and so climbs up my bare leg onto my lap?

Who says it's merely correlation, and not causation?

[Rumpelteazer]

My father got a reality check this week. Ever since getting back home he hasn't really been getting the exercise he should. He hardly ever goes out on walks, because he can't walk far and doesn't want to have talk to people (customers, neighbours, etc). The only way he can take longer walks is starting with shorter walks and building it up. But his way of building up is taking a 5 minute walk today, 10 minutes tomorrow, 15 minutes on the third day, etc. It doesn't work that way, you have to build up gradually.

He did start enthusiastically on the exercise bike. But after a couple of weeks that tapered off and now he works again (adding an hour every two weeks or so) he only cycles once or twice a week. He doesn't get that much exercise in the store; it's summer and quiet.

A couple of weeks ago he got cleared for the "heart rehab program". He expected that he would be cleared because he thinks he's fit enough and doesn't need it. On Monday he had to do a test where he had to cycle on an exercise bike at a certain speed and the resistance would go up gradually. He didn't finish the test. On Tuesday he had to go for an intake meeting with a doctor and a physical therapist. He didn't really want to talk about what was said, besides blaming his diabetes. My sister was there so hopefully she can fill us in today. But in two weeks time he'll get a notification when he's expected to join the program. From what I understand that is group physical therapy once or twice a week.

Us motivating him to go for walks or cycle haven't worked, we stopped because he got started to get angry and would not get any exercise. When his program starts he at least will get the group physical therapy and hopefully they will motivate him to do more at home.