Saturday - Sunday Open Thread | 33 comments (33 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

and Summer here has only just started

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sat Aug 18th, 2012 at 11:13:06 AM EST

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

If fOrecasts can be trusted, here the fourth week-long heatwave of the year is starting...

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Sat Aug 18th, 2012 at 12:20:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Same here: since the heat is also reaching the Paris region, the national media (Paris based) have declared a nation-wide heatwave emergency.

I'll admit that 36°C is rather unusual in the Northern half of the country (25-27 would be an average), even where I come from, it would be called "a hot summer day".

For the moment, it's still cooler in the house than outside, so I'll open the windows later tonight.

The Toulouse region has peaked at 41°C today.

Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.

by Bernard on Sat Aug 18th, 2012 at 01:49:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

Actually, it isn't turning out to be as extraordinary as the media have been billing it, at least in the Toulouse region. The Autan (S-E wind from the Med) is blowing, and the air isn't heavy and humid. I was out of doors at a wedding reception yesterday, and it was just a plain hot afternoon. I think the hot air has already moved north.

I wouldn't have wanted to be in the streets of Toulouse, though.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 03:29:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

Not "extraordinary" in the South, but temps of 42°C were reached in a small town in the center region, a record for the Northern half of France, it's been said. People ther are not used to these temperatures and often don't know how to protect themselves (and their houses) from the heat.

Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.

by Bernard on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 05:35:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

People ther are not used to these temperatures and often don't know how to protect themselves (and their houses) from the heat.

It takes a while to figure out how aggressive you must be. Our rules are:

In the evening, after about 7:00 pm, open all the windows and all the doors, and run a fan that circulates air through the house. Also we have overhead fans that circulate the cooler evening air up against the ceilings, to try to cool the attic. Ideally, we would have an attic vent fan.

At night, keep working to get the house as cool as possible, even if you have to sleep under a light blanket. Keep the fans running all night long; the goal is to get everything in the house as cool as possible. The heat capacity of the furniture and walls is a lot higher than the air, so even if the air is cool, it takes quite a while to get the heat out of the solid objects.

With our cool summer nights here in Colorado, we can usually get the interior temperature down to around 20 C most nights.

In the morning, no later than 7:00 am, close up all of the windows and doors. It will seem pleasant in the morning, and you will feel foolish wandering around in you housecoat, and you will want to let in the fresh morning air, but the goal is to keep the inside of the house as cold as possible. You need to go about this with a religious fervor, regardless of how tempting it is to open the windows on a nice summer morning.

Using this method we have--until this summer, at least--managed to keep our interior temperature below about 27 degrees without the use of A/C even on the hottest days, when the outside temperature in the afternoon exceeds 35 C. This summer was bad for a number of reasons, partly because of the unusual heat, but mainly having to do with house guests who lack sufficient religious fervor.

by asdf on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 04:51:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

During the heat wave, now mercifully in remission, the night time temperatures barely made it down to 25C most nights. But our elevation, (despite the mountainous appearance of the region, is only about 180 meters) hot, humid nights are a fact of life in the summer. We re-roofed after a season with lots of hail and now have ridge-line vents which help to cool the attic, which is well insulated to the ceilings below. I do let the HVAC run at night to cool the interior down to close to 20C simply because that is a lot cheaper to accomplish and results in not having the central air compressor running until the early afternoon.

While in Northridge, CA we had insulation blown into the attic and I installed an attic fan with a thermostat that turned it on at 30C. When we installed central air I found that the original attic based heating system had an ~ half meter dia. air intake on the roof. We had an astute HVAC installer and I asked him to incorporate that into the system so that we could draw cool night air into the house, but it was a separate mode that had to be selected manually. It was very helpful so long as we had a marine layer over us at night and in the morning.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon Aug 20th, 2012 at 09:02:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

All that only makes sense in a climate where you regularly have to cool your house. My house is built to catch all warmth it can get: large windows in the south, no windows in the north. It is meant to be much warmer than the outside even if we don't have the heating on. If a heat wave lasts longer than a few days, it is impossible to keep it cool.

by Katrin on Mon Aug 20th, 2012 at 10:10:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

Well, if worse comes to worst, you can always install a couple of window air conditioners and damn the aesthetics. The first time I ever saw a residential air conditioner was the early '50s, when I was about eight and visited my cousins in Brownsville, Texas. They had an evaporative cooler for the house, like we did, but also a window air conditioner for the master bedroom. My uncle was a technician at a local oil refinery and had to work shift work and sleep during the day. I now understand why they had the air conditioner while drinking evaporated milk, (which I hated!), and it wasn't to drown out the noise from the rest of the environment, as I then imagined.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon Aug 20th, 2012 at 12:31:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

Back in Lyon, the temperatures are pretty much as in Spain all week -- i.e. 30 to 35° day, 20 to 25° night. The difference being that we can't just go find a beach with a tapas bar.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Mon Aug 20th, 2012 at 04:13:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 9)

An Unexpected Ass Kicking | Blog Of Impossible Things

You can read the followup to this post here.
--
I sat down at yet-another coffee shop in Portland determined to get some work done, catch up on some emails and write another blog post.
About 30 minutes into my working, an elderly gentleman at least 80 years old sat down next to me with a hot coffee and a pastry. I smiled at him and nodded and looked back at my computer as I continued to work.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sat Aug 18th, 2012 at 11:13:33 AM EST

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

Thank you for this link. Loved the part where Kasich said:

"Of course, the logical thing was not the only possibility ... but we used squares. It was something very foolish that everyone in the world has been suffering from ever since."

Probably not a program out there that the same thing couldn't be said -- not that those suboptimal design decisions have anywhere near the widespread impact of square pixels.

by Marie2 on Sat Aug 18th, 2012 at 11:54:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

Very often the way foundational things are done, that seem Good Enough at the time, turn around to byte you in the ass in the long term. I give you ASCII as Teh Horrible Example; millions of hours and processing time could have been avoided by having a straight-forward binary difference between upper and lower case.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Sat Aug 18th, 2012 at 01:41:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

Isn't that the case though?

'A' = 0x41 'Z' = 0x5A
'a' = 0x61 'z' = 0x7A

Only difference is bit 6; a simple bitwise AND or OR allows you to convert from one to the other: simple hardwired logic.

Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.

by Bernard on Sat Aug 18th, 2012 at 01:54:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

Only in English.

This:

There are 256 characters (0-255) in the ASCII character set, but there is full agreement on only 0-127 (and a few flavors of Unix are not in complete compliance). The extended set (128-255) varies widely by platform (and even by font families within a platform); you can generalize concerning, at most, half of them.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Sat Aug 18th, 2012 at 02:10:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

Hence Unicode.

Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.

by Bernard on Sat Aug 18th, 2012 at 04:24:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 8)

should also note that Russell Kirsch did his groundbreaking in the employment and labs of NIST, another one of those government operated entities that the rightwing tells the world doesn't work.

by Marie2 on Sat Aug 18th, 2012 at 04:22:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Some real sales numbers for Apple and Samsung:

Samsung sold just 1.4m Galaxy tablets while Apple sold 34m iPads, court documents show.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Sat Aug 18th, 2012 at 02:43:20 PM EST

He seems do be doing something right (4.00 / 3)

Age Less, Live More

It's been a very busy year for me with speaking engagements, travel and work on the new book and I have not been good about keeping you all updated on what's been going on. On August 17, 2012 I had my 111th birthday, and a huge party to commemorate it.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Aug 18th, 2012 at 03:59:27 PM EST

Re: He seems do be doing something right (none / 1)

According to facecrack, i was in 1909 geboren (and we know that the book of face is always right), which makes me almost as old as him.

Aged as i am, i find that the trick of saying i was born in 1909 means i get no ads, apparently because i don't fit the demographic. Simple trick, wonderful results.

PS. Most of you are aware i was born many generations before 1909.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Sat Aug 18th, 2012 at 04:33:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: He seems do be doing something right (none / 1)

I like his recipe for barley soup and his tips on fruit salad.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Tue Aug 21st, 2012 at 09:23:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: He seems do be doing something right (none / 0)

Do you have any tips on using tomatillos? (Apart from salsa verde?)

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Aug 21st, 2012 at 09:27:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

Innovation of the Week: Turning an Invasive Species into a Livelihood | Nourishing the Planet

"Water hyacinth is actually a really great raw material for so many things," says Shana. "We are helping communities in Kenya harvest it and use it to create tools to use in the home and to sell. We are using it to make fuel briquettes for cook fires and turning it into a very effective fertilizer." Village Volunteers is also helping local entrepreneurs produce chairs, baskets, and other pieces of furniture that can be made by weaving together the tough stems and leaves of the hyacinths, as well as biodegradable sanitary napkins.
"The hyacinth invasion is an overwhelming problem," says Shana, "but it is becoming a business. And by using only locally available materials and labor--oxen help to harvest the hyacinth, for example--the end result is largely self-sustaining." And while the villages on the shore of the lake can't eliminate the hyacinth all together, they are clearing it away from the immediate shores, helping to improve the quality of their immediate water supply, as well as habitats for the fish populations they depend on.
"We are helping farmers to not only improve their incomes and livelihoods, but also to make, at least a small difference on their local surroundings. They are turning a devastating situation into a life improving situation."

The power of knowledge is in mortal combat with the knowledge of power. It really is that simple... That's the Edenic apple we are all munching on.

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 06:18:05 AM EST

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

An important Dave Zirin piece: Australian Government Will Issue Overdue Apology to 1968 Olympic Hero Peter Norman.

--Yeah mate, so sorry for making your life really crappy after you took a courageous and moral stand. If we'd known then or anytime in the the subsequent decades what we (sorta) know now, we might have been nicer to you. Hah, but better late than never, particularly when the one threatening our comfy white, privileged elite can no longer speak. Well, time to move on and take down the latest Aussie that's not behaving. --

by Marie2 on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 12:32:40 PM EST

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

Australian Government Will Issue Overdue Apology to 1968 Olympic Hero Peter Norman | The Nation

In an act as appropriate as it is overdue, the Australian House of Parliament is issuing an official state apology Monday to the country's late, great sprinter Peter Norman. Norman won the 200-meter silver medal at the 1968 Olympics, but that's not why he's either remembered or owed apologies. After the race, gold and bronze medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos bowed their heads and raised their fists on the medal stand and started an international firestorm. Many see the iconic image and assume Norman was just a bystander to history, or as he would joke, "the white guy." But he was standing in full solidarity with Smith and Carlos, wearing a patch on his chest that reads, "Olympic Project for Human Rights."

I understand fully why there is joy among Peter Norman's family and friends, and yet I can't help wonder. If Peter Norman were still alive, it is very possible that this stubborn, principled man, would tell the Australian Government to take their apology and stick it down under. I wonder if he'd point out that Australian Olympic boxer Damien Hooper was almost sent home last month for wearing an Aboriginal flag on a T-shirt and the Australian Olympic Committee gave him no support, condemning him for his actions.

Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.

by Bernard on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 01:03:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

Yes -- "almost sent home" -- hence, my inclusion of "(sorta)" with "know now." Remains to be seen if Hooper and his family will be subjected to the same economic and social privations imposed on Peter Norman.

by Marie2 on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 01:44:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

Tom Morello: 'Paul Ryan Is the Embodiment of the Machine Our Music Rages Against' | Music News | Rolling Stone

Paul Ryan's love of Rage Against the Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades. Charles Manson loved the Beatles but didn't understand them. Governor Chris Christie loves Bruce Springsteen but doesn't understand him. And Paul Ryan is clueless about his favorite band, Rage Against the Machine.
Ryan claims that he likes Rage's sound, but not the lyrics. Well, I don't care for Paul Ryan's sound or his lyrics. He can like whatever bands he wants, but his guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to the one percent is antithetical to the message of Rage.
I wonder what Ryan's favorite Rage song is? Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of Native Americans? The one lambasting American imperialism? Our cover of "Fuck the Police"? Or is it the one where we call on the people to seize the means of production? So many excellent choices to jam out to at Young Republican meetings!

The power of knowledge is in mortal combat with the knowledge of power. It really is that simple... That's the Edenic apple we are all munching on.

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 12:46:44 PM EST

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

How the Great Recession Proved, Beyond a Doubt, the Value of a College Degree - Atlantic Mobile

The U.S. economic recovery has been anemic by almost any standard. But for Americans with just a high school degree or less, it's been worse than anemic. It's been non-existent.
This week, Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce published a new report breaking down job growth during and after the Great Recession by education levels. And as it illustrates in the graph below, employment has been essentially flat since January 2010 for adults who never went to college. (The center's analysis only extends through February, but according to similar data from the BLS, employment has barely budged for the demographic since).

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 01:22:46 PM EST

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

May just be an artifact of what is seen in every economic downturn. The most privileged are always the first to be hired for available jobs. Why hire a high school grad barrister when one can get a college grad for the same price.

by Marie2 on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 01:46:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

You mean barrista? Barrister means lawyer.

by stevesim on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 02:08:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

Surely barista. Though in Tuscany they do say barre for bar...

If you are not convinced, try it on someone who has not been entirely debauched by economics. — Piero Sraffa

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 03:52:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

Darn my dyslexia strikes again. Thanks for correcting.

by Marie2 on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 05:23:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Saturday - Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

@deficitowl

Progressives take note: THIS is how to debate the role of the public sector, retirement security and job creation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayJnDb4K08M&feature=youtube_gdata_player ...

If you are not convinced, try it on someone who has not been entirely debauched by economics. — Piero Sraffa

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Aug 19th, 2012 at 03:55:36 PM EST

Saturday - Sunday Open Thread | 33 comments (33 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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