Miscellaneous Musings about Books

[Raptori]

it's gone above 30C for a few weeks in the summer,

That's probably cold for an Aussie
I was over there in *winter* and it was around the early 20s in Sydney and high 20s/early 30s in Cairns and Uluru

And can I just thank you, Elfy, for another blow to the myth that men are the only spacially-aware people on this planet? I'm quite good with maps and I hate the generalisation

Yeah more middling I'd say  It does approach 40C occasionally, but only for a few days at a time it seems.

The big difference between Australia and Finland in the heat is that Finland isn't prepared for it. In Aus anywhere indoors is usually pretty cool due to the AC - including public transport -  even when it's ridiculously hot outside. Over here, AC seems to be extremely rare. When it gets hot it's hot everywhere and there's no escape, which makes all the difference. Summer in Perth didn't feel as hot subjectively as summer in Finland does. 

But yeah, I remember speaking to an Aussie who told me they were freezing and had to wear a couple of layers. Asked what the temperature was, they said "only 18C". 

[Lady Ty]

it's gone above 30C for a few weeks in the summer,

That's probably cold for an Aussie
I was over there in *winter* and it was around the early 20s in Sydney and high 20s/early 30s in Cairns and Uluru

And can I just thank you, Elfy, for another blow to the myth that men are the only spacially-aware people on this planet? I'm quite good with maps and I hate the generalisation

Yeah more middling I'd say  It does approach 40C occasionally, but only for a few days at a time it seems.

The big difference between Australia and Finland in the heat is that Finland isn't prepared for it. In Aus anywhere indoors is usually pretty cool due to the AC - including public transport -  even when it's ridiculously hot outside. Over here, AC seems to be extremely rare. When it gets hot it's hot everywhere and there's no escape, which makes all the difference. Summer in Perth didn't feel as hot subjectively as summer in Finland does. 

But yeah, I remember speaking to an Aussie who told me they were freezing and had to wear a couple of layers. Asked what the temperature was, they said "only 18C". 

I sympathise with those who suffer long cold winters and remember cold and snow because I grew up and lived in England, but soon re-acclimatised here.  In Scotland, on long winter visit, I got very homesick for Oz because it never seemed to be daylight and no sun at all.

Queenslanders mostly hibernate below 25C and here in Canberra I was wearing wool this morning, it was 20C at first, but by August  we will probably go to -10C at night and up to 10 -15C in day    Sun comes out almost every day, but by late winter everyone here is touchy and grumpy, we all know and recognise it, just happens, then changes as soon as temps start to go up.

[Raptori]

it's gone above 30C for a few weeks in the summer,

That's probably cold for an Aussie
I was over there in *winter* and it was around the early 20s in Sydney and high 20s/early 30s in Cairns and Uluru

And can I just thank you, Elfy, for another blow to the myth that men are the only spacially-aware people on this planet? I'm quite good with maps and I hate the generalisation

Yeah more middling I'd say  It does approach 40C occasionally, but only for a few days at a time it seems.

The big difference between Australia and Finland in the heat is that Finland isn't prepared for it. In Aus anywhere indoors is usually pretty cool due to the AC - including public transport -  even when it's ridiculously hot outside. Over here, AC seems to be extremely rare. When it gets hot it's hot everywhere and there's no escape, which makes all the difference. Summer in Perth didn't feel as hot subjectively as summer in Finland does. 

But yeah, I remember speaking to an Aussie who told me they were freezing and had to wear a couple of layers. Asked what the temperature was, they said "only 18C". 

I sympathise with those who suffer long cold winters and remember cold and snow because I grew up and lived in England, but soon re-acclimatised here.  In Scotland, on long winter visit, I got very homesick for Oz because it never seemed to be daylight and no sun at all.

Queenslanders mostly hibernate below 25C and here in Canberra I was wearing wool this morning, it was 20C at first, but by August  we will probably go to -10C at night and up to 10 -15C in day    Sun comes out almost every day, but by late winter everyone here is touchy and grumpy, we all know and recognise it, just happens, then changes as soon as temps start to go up.

Actually I love the winters over here, with the right clothing the cold isn't a problem, and it's absolutely beautiful. Because there's so much snow everywhere it's generally really bright, since the snow reflects so much - rarely had that in England since there wasn't quite enough snow. I don't mind having less sunlight in the winter, just means there's even more in the summer. The only bit I don't like is the week or two when the snow is melting, since everywherething gets all wet and slushy... i.e. right now!

Lol yeah, I remember having a heated blanket once when I stayed in Perth - in the summer. You guys really tough it out in your "winter"! 

[Lejays17]

it's gone above 30C for a few weeks in the summer,

That's probably cold for an Aussie
I was over there in *winter* and it was around the early 20s in Sydney and high 20s/early 30s in Cairns and Uluru

And can I just thank you, Elfy, for another blow to the myth that men are the only spacially-aware people on this planet? I'm quite good with maps and I hate the generalisation

I can attest that Elfy has no sense of direction    I'm the map-reader / direction finder in the family.  I could say it's because the parents used to take us camping / walking a lot when we were younger, but one of my sisters is as bad at directions as Elfy is. 
Elfy can get lost in the local small shopping centre...

[JMack]

I'm going to have to download an App straight into my brain to even get a glimmer about the strange Celsius language y'all are talking. Look: -20 is dangerous! 0 is frickin cold. 33 is freezing. 68 is wonderful and anything over 90 is getting hot.

Just saying. 

Meanwhile, its a good thing Key West is so small for all the getting lost we've been doing. I wanted to get a beach restaurant last night. Had to fire up Google maps. Distance? 3 minutes, about 1 mile. Without the App? No clue where we were 

[Raptori]

I'm going to have to download an App straight into my brain to even get a glimmer about the strange Celsius language y'all are talking. Look: -20 is dangerous! 0 is frickin cold. 33 is freezing. 68 is wonderful and anything over 90 is getting hot.

Just saying. 

Meanwhile, its a good thing Key West is so small for all the getting lost we've been doing. I wanted to get a beach restaurant last night. Had to fire up Google maps. Distance? 3 minutes, about 1 mile. Without the App? No clue where we were 

In celsius: -30 is dangerous, -20 is frickin cold, 0 is freezing, 20 is wonderful and anything over 35 is getting hot. So over here it's frickin cold in winter, wonderful in spring/autumn, and fairly hot in summer 

Lol people and their smartphone dependence... 

[Yora]

68 is pretty dead.

All the world learns to write like you, and your spelling is a total trainwreck. It's really not so hard to learn to count like the rest of the world. Which, also unlike your counting, is not a total trainwreck. With your feets and galons.... Ts!

[JMack]

68 is pretty dead.

All the world learns to write like you, and your spelling is a total trainwreck. It's really not so hard to learn to count like the rest of the world. Which, also unlike your counting, is not a total trainwreck. With your feets and galons.... Ts!

Don't forget inches, yards, miles, leagues, ounces, quarts...
 

[Elfy]

It always strikes me as odd that the US retained imperial measurements. Even Australia went metric years ago. 30 degrees is pretty average for summer down south, although they probably think its cool in the west, the centre and north. I count anything under 20 as getting on the cooler side.

[Justan Henner]

Degrees is the only time I don't agree with the metric system, because I like Fahrenheit for weather measurement. Celsius is convenient for doing math, but the broader scale of Fahrenheit is useful because there's noticeable a difference between 78 degrees and 79 degrees. The major points are silly, like freezing being 32 instead of 0, and boiling being 212 instead of some even number, but the scaling is right. Especially having lived in a desert half my life, where the temp might shift from one extreme to the other in the course of a day, it's good to have that wider scale.

[Raptori]

Degrees is the only time I don't agree with the metric system, because I like Fahrenheit for weather measurement. Celsius is convenient for doing math, but the broader scale of Fahrenheit is useful because there's noticeable a difference between 78 degrees and 79 degrees. The major points are silly, like freezing being 32 instead of 0, and boiling being 212 instead of some even number, but the scaling is right. Especially having lived in a desert half my life, where the temp might shift from one extreme to the other in the course of a day, it's good to have that wider scale.

It's not uncommon to use half-degrees in C which is actually slightly more granular than Fahrenheit, so even there your argument doesn't wash. Besides, I don't ever remember a single moment where half a degree C/1 degree F has been important to note... 

[Justan Henner]

Degrees is the only time I don't agree with the metric system, because I like Fahrenheit for weather measurement. Celsius is convenient for doing math, but the broader scale of Fahrenheit is useful because there's noticeable a difference between 78 degrees and 79 degrees. The major points are silly, like freezing being 32 instead of 0, and boiling being 212 instead of some even number, but the scaling is right. Especially having lived in a desert half my life, where the temp might shift from one extreme to the other in the course of a day, it's good to have that wider scale.

It's not uncommon to use half-degrees in C which is actually slightly more granular than Fahrenheit, so even there your argument doesn't wash. Besides, I don't ever remember a single moment where half a degree C/1 degree F has been important to note... 

I was going to make jokes about all the money the rest of the world is wasting on that extra digit, and then I remembered it's not uncommon to go over 99 degrees F. 

But seriously, with that smaller scale, there must be a temperature where you go from "It's too cold," to "It's perfect" to "It's too hot" and it all happens in the same degree.  Or am I the only person that's been conditioned by my air conditioner?

[Henry Dale]

To solve the problem we should all switch to degrees kelvin. That way no one will have what they want and we'll all be equally happy
Though some (including myself to note) will be more equal.

[Raptori]

Degrees is the only time I don't agree with the metric system, because I like Fahrenheit for weather measurement. Celsius is convenient for doing math, but the broader scale of Fahrenheit is useful because there's noticeable a difference between 78 degrees and 79 degrees. The major points are silly, like freezing being 32 instead of 0, and boiling being 212 instead of some even number, but the scaling is right. Especially having lived in a desert half my life, where the temp might shift from one extreme to the other in the course of a day, it's good to have that wider scale.

It's not uncommon to use half-degrees in C which is actually slightly more granular than Fahrenheit, so even there your argument doesn't wash. Besides, I don't ever remember a single moment where half a degree C/1 degree F has been important to note... 

I was going to make jokes about all the money the rest of the world is wasting on that extra digit, and then I remembered it's not uncommon to go over 99 degrees F. 

But seriously, with that smaller scale, there must be a temperature where you go from "It's too cold," to "It's perfect" to "It's too hot" and it all happens in the same degree.  Or am I the only person that's been conditioned by my air conditioner?

Lol yeah we don't have AC, and we actually never switch on our heating. Even when it's -20 outside. It stays at least 20 inside no matter what, modern Finnish buildings have insane levels of insulation. All our windows are triple-glazed too 

To solve the problem we should all switch to degrees kelvin. That way no one will have what they want and we'll all be equally happy
Though some (including myself to note) will be more equal.

Even then I bet the Fahrenheiters would call for Rankine instead of Kelvin, just to be difficult. 

[Justan Henner]

Degrees is the only time I don't agree with the metric system, because I like Fahrenheit for weather measurement. Celsius is convenient for doing math, but the broader scale of Fahrenheit is useful because there's noticeable a difference between 78 degrees and 79 degrees. The major points are silly, like freezing being 32 instead of 0, and boiling being 212 instead of some even number, but the scaling is right. Especially having lived in a desert half my life, where the temp might shift from one extreme to the other in the course of a day, it's good to have that wider scale.

It's not uncommon to use half-degrees in C which is actually slightly more granular than Fahrenheit, so even there your argument doesn't wash. Besides, I don't ever remember a single moment where half a degree C/1 degree F has been important to note... 

I was going to make jokes about all the money the rest of the world is wasting on that extra digit, and then I remembered it's not uncommon to go over 99 degrees F. 

But seriously, with that smaller scale, there must be a temperature where you go from "It's too cold," to "It's perfect" to "It's too hot" and it all happens in the same degree.  Or am I the only person that's been conditioned by my air conditioner?

Lol yeah we don't have AC, and we actually never switch on our heating. Even when it's -20 outside. It stays at least 20 inside no matter what, modern Finnish buildings have insane levels of insulation. All our windows are triple-glazed too 

To solve the problem we should all switch to degrees kelvin. That way no one will have what they want and we'll all be equally happy
Though some (including myself to note) will be more equal.

Even then I bet the Fahrenheiters would call for Rankine instead of Kelvin, just to be difficult. 

Oh please, you could never convince us there is an absolute zero. How foolish do you think we are?