I’m trying to conserve energy. My electric bill jumped the last few months because of all the AC I was using, and I try to be good about it, opening windows and running a fan in whatever room I am in, but when it hits 86 degrees in my house, I break.
On the menu tonight, tomatoes from the garden, blue cheese, red onion, and balsamic, green beans from the garden, and a piece of beef.
General Stuck
Braggart. I am on a shrimp kick lately, but can’t grow them here so it’s frozen grocery bought. I about lived on them fresh off the boat when I was in Biloxi.
RedKitten
Nice!
We’re having hot dogs. It’s been one of those crazy evenings — I was running late getting home, only to run into roadwork on the way. And for some reason, SamKitten decided that he was not best pleased with the situation, and proceeded to shriek and hyperventilate the entire way home.
So we’re having hot dogs. And I think I’ll have a beer.
BGinCHI
They say drinking warm liquids makes you feel cooler, but I find that a mojito, or seven, makes me feel cool AND tingly.
Corner Stone
86?!
Do you wear some kind of damn portable misting suit around the house? Who the hell could stand that?
AhabTRuler
You have to be careful switching between AC and fans. Much as you discovered when you turned your AC off, it takes a lot of work to move your house temp several degrees. OTOH, maintaining a temp once it has been reached is fairly efficient. So if you are waiting until the house is really hot before switching the AC on, you are kinda shooting yourself in the foot.
In fact, it sounds like you are definitely using more electricity than you would normally. This you call going green? Are you sure you aren’t still a Repub?
Michael
Girl fight via Laura Clawson at GOS and Think Progress (happy, John?):
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/07/19/lott-jim-demint-factor/
There’ll be a slap fight in the Senate locker room after school…..
gypsy howell
My electric energy saving device for this year* — a clothesline. No more electric dryer. And I LOVE the way everything smells and feels. There’s something really great about seeing clothes on the line — even socks and underwear.
(*That, and the geothermal system we put in last year.)
Alice Blue
Even though it’s hot outside, we’re having andouille sausage gumbo.
The modem got fried during a thunderstorm, so I was without a computer for a few days. Did I miss anything?
AhabTRuler
@Corner Stone: It must be obvious that John is the sort of person that gets stupid-stubborn. Obviously, he gets angry at the heat and won’t let it push him around.
Being another notoriously stubborn individual, I can sympathize, although not with heat. There are few things that I despise more than sweating.
PeakVT
86 is about where I would turn on the a/c I don’t have. So it’s box fans and suffering for me. I’d put in ceiling fans, but the cheap bastard who built this place didn’t spec the proper electrical boxes.
Joshua Norton
86? Oh lordy I would die. I woke up in the middle of a fog bank on top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco this morning and had to turn the heater on for a bit to take the chill off the living room. I just don’t do hot weather well. At all.
Dave Fud
@gypsy howell: That is excellent. You get a double boost by not heating your house, and not having to work your dryer when hot outside, which is energy intensive.
Did the geothermal set you back a lot? Was it a retrofit? I am seriously considering it, but don’t know anyone who has done it.
Mnemosyne
A friend gave me a couple of locally-grown tomatoes, so I got a sweet onion and some basil and will make a lovely tomato salad. Hopefully I will be able to actually let it marinate in the balsamic for a while before I gobble it down.
My second Pilates session is tonight (reformer, not mat). Last time, it actually hurt to breathe for a couple of days afterwards because every single muscle in my torso was sore, including ones I didn’t even know I had. So I’m guessing that it worked on that whole “core” thingy I supposedly have.
ETA: G sent me out to find a fan this weekend. I sent him a cell phone picture of the shelves at Target where the fans used to be. Apparently we should have thought of this before the giant heatwave hit.
CynDee
What haz u done w/doggehs and big kitteh? They runned away?
Fer cryinoutloud, were iz they?
(throws temper tantrum, screaming and stomping)
Josie
@RedKitten: I’m going to share something that I was told when my kids were in day care and I was working. Children in day care don’t complain during the day because they don’t feel comfortable enough to be pissed about stuff. When Mama or Daddy picks them up, they are able to complain about whatever bothered them that day because they feel safe and secure with their parents. Thus the tired parents get the brunt of the day’s frustrations, especially from children who are talking much yet. It seems a bit unfair, but it also means that you are making him feel loved and secure, and that is why he feels free to give you hell. So try to look on the bright side, and think of how this too shall pass.
RedKitten
It’s been ridiculously hot here as well — yesterday it got up to 84 in the house, and that was on the main floor. I have no idea how hot it was upstairs.
D-Chance.
86? Come to Texas and enjoy the same humidity at 98.
And, yet, even with the room a/c running 18-20 hours per day, the electric bill still stays under $70 during the summer. It’s the wintertime that it soars to over twice that amount.
Ash Can
@RedKitten #2: A beer? Girl, that sounds like a martini situation to me.
@Michael #6: LOL! With scratching,
hairtoupee-pulling, the whole shot.Lurker
The Westboro Baptist Church will protest the San Diego Comic-Con this Thursday. Phelps-a-Thon has a counter-protest pledge drive up-and-running. Funds raised will go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and The Hero Initiative.
I just donated a few bucks. I’d also like to thank whoever posted on here about Phelps-a-Thon — cool site!
frankdawg
I grew up in a time when AC was something you went to the movies to get.
You ate dinner about 9 as it as cooler & you almost felt like eating.
You turned your pillow over during the night in hopes the other side was cooler.
We may go back to that as we get hotter & hotter & Ac becomes more expensive.
it sux btw
Comrade Javamanphil
Dinner was a simple Aglio e Olio (with marinara for the fussy 11 year old boy and red wine for the grouchy 41 year old male.) AC off tonight but have run it more this year than any since I moved to VT 11 years ago. But it snowed in February in DC so I am sure it is just me.
Cat Lady
@RedKitten:
I love hot dogs so much I wish I could marry them. Natural casings plz, with New England style buns, and NO KETCHUP!
Michael
@Ash Can:
The shouts of “you hateful bitch” will ring through the corridors. Of course, you don’t really want to hear the porno ending, where they start passionately making out in their hatred of one another, hatred which arouses them so….
Mnemosyne
@Cat Lady:
There was a brouhaha in Chicago a few years ago when then-Senator Carole Moseley Braun gave her recipe for the perfect Chicago dog and — gasp! — included ketchup on the ingredients list.
I think that tanked her political career even more than the whole dealing-with-corrupt-dictators thing did. Not joking.
Violet
John, try to keep your house from getting so hot in the first place so you don’t have to cool it down. Keep shades and/or blinds drawn on south and west sides of the house to keep the sun out. Check for leaks around doors and windows and caulk or block them. The sun really heats things up, so try not to give it the opportunity.
How’s your insulation in the attic? Do you do radiant barrier in WV? Just got that here and it cuts down on the amount of heat coming into the house by quite a bit. Make sure your attic vents properly to draw the heat out.
shabadoo
I love my Pacific maritime climate. That is all.
lamh32
I dare anyone to read this story, and not get a little verklempft!!! Damn you Make-A-Wish foundation.
Local boy with cancer turns into a superhero for a day
Cat Lady
@Mnemosyne:
Understandable – it’s a character flaw. It says you’re immature, and like to hide things. Ketchup is for hamburgers, french fries and onion rings. Q.E.D.
gypsy howell
@Dave Fud:
Well, we did a completely crazy thing and incorporated the geothermal installation with it. We moved a 225-year old stone & frame house about 600 ft off the road, and had to redo all the HVAC systems anyway, so we put in geothermal then. If you can afford the upfront cost, there are/were very nice tax breaks for putting in geothermal in 2009 (I think it it extends through 2010+)
We have an all-electric house now, except for an LP gas range which is minimal $$ to run. Our worst electric bill so far has been in Jan — $350. And it was a pretty brutal Jan by SE PA standards.
In the summer, it ranges between $250 – $300, and Thurston likes to keep it fairly cool in the house (72- 74). Of course, we insulated the heck out of the place (soy-based foam insulation everywhere), we have CFLs in all our lights, and do our best to be vigilant about turning off lights, TVs etc when we’re not using them, but otherwise we’re not exactly living like the Amish here.
Honestly, I don’t know if it will ever pay back financially (we move way too often) , but it feels good not to be an energy hog.
The clothesline is really great though. I highly recommend.
Svensker
@Violet:
What my psychic twin Violet said.
Keep rooms closed you aren’t using, and get fans set up. With a bit of AC and lotsa fans, the air feels cool and lovely. But if you let the place get hot it takes a lot of energy to cool it down.
I’ve heard that mopping in the nude helps as well.
Ash Can
@Comrade Javamanphil #21: Ooh, another aglio e olio fan! I’m lucky; both my husband and son have always loved my aglio e olio recipe (which was handed down through the generations on my Italian father’s side of the family).
What’s your recipe? Mine calls for a can of anchovies along with the “aglio e olio.”
JMY
You know how the media always wants the Prez to get more personal when he talks about the economy? Well, I thought it was interesting that he actually had unemployed individuals at his press conference today. Wonder what they have to say now.
jeffreyw
BLTs for we.
SIA
@Comrade Javamanphil:
I read that as “marijuana for the fussy 11 year old boy”, and thought, yeah, that’ll work.
Still in MM (mole-mode). I shall reenter society when the weather becomes civilized again. I will sell the clothes off my mother’s back to keep the AC running night and day until then.
SIA
@JMY: Well. Chris Matthews thought he was partisan.
Cat Lady
@jeffreyw:
Nice bacon. Porky goodness FTW.
Comrade Javamanphil
@Ash Can: This was a “oh crap, what do we have for dinner” recipe. Pasta, olive oil, garlic, one chopped tomato, kosher salt. I added Sriracha to mine.
Ash Can
@Iamh32 #27: That is a fantastic story. Made my night.
Kirk Spencer
Thermostat for AC is set to 84. Since highs have been well above 90 for a month and a half that’s at least 5 and up to 15 degrees difference. You can feel it when you walk through the door without suffering chills.
Corner Stone
@AhabTRuler: I agree with you in that there’s something wrong here if his bill is so large that letting it go to 86 is acceptable alternative.
There may need to be some insulation added or shade screens or a larger unit assessed or something.
I guarantee you I have not experienced a bill large enough yet to convince me to let it go past 78 here.
And trying to cool down from 86? A lot of damn work for any non-commercial HVAC unit.
Corner Stone
86? 84? What the hell is wrong with you people?
RedKitten
@Cat Lady:
I never knew that those buns were called New England style. You learn something new every day!
And we had them with fried onions and corn relish. Yummy!
Litlebritdifrnt
@gypsy howell: I have been drying my clothes on a line since I moved here in 1991. It is a Brit thing. It is just something we do. My neighbour saw me hanging out my clothes and said “hasn’t your dryer been delivered yet?” I told her in no uncertain terms that I consider a dryer an absolute, drop dead, only backup in case it rains all weekend. There is absolutely nothing better in the world than snuggling down into sheets that have been dried on the line, it is sheer and utter bliss.
Cat Lady
@RedKitten:
Oh baby. Oh baby. Any kind of relish. Chopped raw onions or cooked onion. Hot Slaw. Sauerkraut. Chili. Cheese. Just no ketchup!
Litlebritdifrnt
John – I have poked you about this before. Window units. You are a single person, there is absolutely no reason for you to be heating and cooling a boat load of rooms that you are not using. It is silly. It is utterly absurd. Get yerself a couple of window units, one for the living room and one for the bedroom (if you want to splurge get one for the kitchen too), according to the sticker on the side of my units, they will cost $47.00 a year to run, My electric bill has plummeted, from $400.00 a month to $144.00. I have been beating my boss over the head for months now. He is a single guy, he lives in a 4 bed 2 bath house and he is paying a boatload of money a month to to heat and cool his HUGE home. It makes no sense.
Mnemosyne
@Litlebritdifrnt:
How is Samantha doing? From your last update, it sounded like she had claimed a spot in your backyard and was doing pretty well, but let’s face it, with a 19-year-old cat, every extra day is a gift.
Corner Stone
@Litlebritdifrnt:
That individual isn’t making rational decisions.
BombIranForChrist
You’re a bigger man than me, Cole. When my house hits 80, I break down and weep. I don’t cry, no. I weep. Large, weepy tears.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Mnemosyne:
I have not seen her for a couple of days. In normal circumstances I would be worried about that. However, when I was feeding her at her previous home I went for six weeks without seeing her, she ate the food but would not come near me. I think (and I could be wishful thinking) that she is exploring her new home, she used to live on the side of a huge two lane highway, she is right now living on the edge of a huge forest swamp, that has got all sorts of neat stuff to look and and sniff.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Corner Stone:
Exactly. And when I tell him about it his response is “why should I change my lifestyle?”
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
Why do you hate America?
Corner Stone
@Litlebritdifrnt: I have a 3-BDRM 1 story with a study and a front “living” room so I’m not a minimalist. But I have out of town friends/family stay with us on avg about once a month, so it’s not ridiculous.
But one person with that kind of space? I guess it’s his money.
I used to think that if I could find 1800sqft that was well laid out I would be happy. More and more I’m thinking a nice 1000 sqft 2/2 townhome close to downtown, parks and amenities makes more sense.
WereBear
@Cat Lady: Ketchup does not belong on hot dogs.
That is all.
mclaren
Two words:
Gigantic fan. You can get ’em cheap. Sit directly in the blast of a huge 22-inch fan and with the windows open at night, trust me, you won’t need air conditioning. You can get 22 inch fans from places like amazon.com for $60 to$80, and you’ll save that much on your electric bill in one month.
mnpundit
@Corner Stone: My wife and I roll at about 89. Though that usually requires ice water+collapse.
I live in the upper midwest.
asiangrrlMN
86? You’re an animal, Cole. I used to have it at 82, but I really hate heat (as you might have surmised by the sheer volume of posts I make complaining about it), so I lowered it to 80. Normally, that would mean AC five or so times a summer. This summer, it’s been at least twice that so far.
Brachiator
Did anyone see the Ross Douthat op-ed piece in the NY Times (The Roots of White Anxiety) which in effect claims that affirmative action proves that Obama doesn’t like white people? Note that for Douthat’s statistical purposes, “white people” includes Asians. He even manages to throw in a little class warfare:
I expect a future op-ed piece which blames Obama for not doing enough about the hot weather because he just doesn’t care about the tan-deficient.
bob h
According to a new climate change study out of Stanford, this Summer’s heat waves will be the norm for the next three decades.
BC
@Brachiator:
Get with it, Brachiator: the tax on tanning salons proves that Obama is racist and has it in for the tan-deficient.