Hi there, I haven't been active for a short while, but still visit that forum. I became curious about one thing. How you guys cope with that horrible summer? The temperatures here are around 35 celcius and the whole life seems a bit more of a struggle right now. I've heard Moscow was heated up to 45 a week ago. I must admit, I do have problems leaving work right now. I am leaving home at 7:30 or 8 and the heat is already scorching. I jump into my car and the very first thing I do, after starting the engine, is to hit the magic A/C button on the dashboard. I get to the office, spend my time there... and have problems leaving it. It's just that I know, that my home was already heated by that scorching yellow monster we call our daily star, and there's no point in getting back - cause it will be a horrible place to stay for another few hours. Each and single evening I tend to drink a few bottles of well chilled beer, and it helps a lot. The forecast says it will be like that for another 5 or 7 days... I just can't imagine how you guys are coping with that in Moscow. [just a hint for our American friends - most homes in Europe are not air conditioned, because we usually need efficient heating instead, such a heatwave is highly uncommon here]
Personally, I don't really mind much. I like hot summers; it's what summers are supposed to be like. And I have a strong aversion to air conditioning. For one, the air it generates is much too dry for my liking (I have very sensitive eyes that tear up from slightest irritation). Plus you can't open any windows, because then everyone bitches at you about how that defeats the whole purpose of having A/C in the first place ... but I love the smell of summer, so I have my windows leaned open when ever possible.
it's quiet nad has a remote control. Funny thing is, that i'm working in a shop with such things (TV,home theatres, washing machines and so) and for more than a week i have only this one.
Hey Frog ! Good to hear from you. Well.... just stay closer to the pond... hahaha. Seriously though, most European homes are made of stone/concrete and red tile roofs, no? Take some of those fans and in front of the fan place a wet towel. Better have the wet towel touching a container of water. This way the towel "wicks" the water up and evaporates. Better than wetting the towel every time. There are those "personal evaporative coolers" I see in those cheap Chinese import novelty stores; little battery powered fine mist sprayers that keep your personal space cool. Maybe I should ship you a few hundred and you can sell them there? Good luck and think cool thoughts. Of course there is that great Polish anti freeze and coolant: Belvedere too....
A lot of bad things happened to me lately, but this heatwave is definately the worst one. Taking into account, that I had a nasty car crash some 6 weeks ago, this heatwave is really pissing me off. Concrete houses do not help you much for long. Of course they have some heat inertia, that makes them a few degrees cooler during the day, but even a fan with a wet towel in front does not help you much, if you're experiencing tropical conditions with air humidity oscilating around 70 to 80 percent.
Hi Frog. Since when did Poland get offices? It depends on your dress code at the office. The best trick is don't wear underwear and wear no tie and a short sleeve shirt. I don't wear underwear at all in the summer. It's great. You can go to a liqour store in a pair of shorts and if you are lucky there will be a really hot girl behind the counter and you will get a boner and she will notice this huge cucumber thing and stare at it and stuff like that and call her manager.. Anyway, just have a drink with ice. Consuming ice cools you off big time. We had a Polish made air conditioner installed at our cottage and everytime it turned on it smells just like the farts people light at the Polish pavillion of the Canadian National Exhibition.
I am pretty well right now. Had to wear that stupid orhopaedic collar for two weeks though (neck muscle damage plus some minor damage to C5 cervical spine). It could have been worse (2 cars, including mine, totalled, another 2 damaged). Just got a letter from the insurance company... and they agreed to pay almost all the damages I've requested (which kinda suprises me, as I did not offer them a particularily low bid). As for vacation... I will go sailing in August and get some decent rest in mountains in September... but no plans for leaving Poland this summer. Cold beer is simply better (as long as it is drunk in moderate quantities). As far as your Polish A/C unit is concerned -> did you ever try to read the manual? Each and single A/C unit will smell like your feet (or even worse- like mine did yesterday) unless you clean the condensate tray and waste water ducts from time to time.
Continuous 48-49°C temps here in Riyadh, with a Bupa warning of up to 59°C, makes for an interesting flight line. Can't see your problem
You said it was up to +45C in Msk, I just can't comment on this - I lose my consciousness after an hour at +40C. I can only operate somehow at night. In the daytime I usually run from one air-conditioned office to another, with metro (subway) in between. But metro doesn't help any more, it's +33 at my subway station, Rechnoy Vokzal. It seems that only Circular line is deep enough to stay cool. The trick is that metro doesn't have any forced heating, cooling or ventilation, only natural air circulation, air gets "pumped" by trains in the tunnels. Usually air temperature below 10 meters underground is stable, around +20C all year round, but now "shallow" stations get really hot. I can't drink beer any more, now I prefer mineral water or cold soda "colored with vodka". You can call me Paul the Octopus, I wish I could float in cool water and blow ink bubbles.
@Boroda We also got some news of horrible traffic jams on route to Шереметьево airport... I just hope people are not fainting in those. Somehow Russian problems and daily worries became a subject again for Polish news agencies... after 20 years of their almost absolute absence. I am not saying this means a lot... but that already means something.
Yes, that "bridge repair" was a beautiful act of sabotage. The result is that now the repair will be paid by Federal govt, not Moscow city. I live on Leningrad highway, like 3km from city border, Circular road, and could watch the jam every day. I rarely watch TV news, the only thing I have seen about Poland except elections, Presiden'ts plane crash and missile defense was a small film about "city guards" (strazh miesta?), fining people for drinking beer in the parks... /*Our TV said that they are awesome, volunteering for peace and order, but I always wanted to ask what you guys think about them. As for me, any "private person" wearing some clownish Somosa uniform telling me to stop drinking in the street and extorting money will be ignored, and has a serious chance of getting a practical lesson on politeness and civil rights. I'll obey only a Militia serviceman on duty, wearing proper uniform and hat, after he introduces himself, and only if he's an officer or sergeant, not a conscripted 18 years old village boy. */ I hope now our countries relations will get more rational and less emotional.
I do think that drinking in public places should be allowed. But it is illegal in Poland (unless you drink in a designated place like a beer garden in a pub/restaurant, on a concert or during some festivities). The city/municipial guards are a pain in the ass for most of the Poles. They don't have many rights (they can't even stop a vehicle if it's moving, they can't bear arms other than pepper spray). They do things that the state police is reluctant to do. So if you park in the wrong place, its highly unlikely that you'll get a ticket from the police, insted you'll be fined by the guards. If you drink in public place and someone will call the police, they won't even bother taking the call, switching that call straight to the guards. If you don't clean up after your dog... the police won't react... and the guards will treat you as if you were a dangerous criminal (although the fines for that are laughworthy). The guards are also a reasonable source of income for municipalities. Large cities do not need additional sources of income, so they tend not to overdo it with speed cameras. Speed cameras within large cities are usually the property of the state police and are set only to catch those, who are speeding insanely (+15km/h is the usual offset). Those cameras are usually well marked and there are warning signs before you reach them. Municipal guards from smaller towns and larger villages are usually acting in a different way. They set up speed traps within their jurisdiction, with almost no tolerance (+3-+5km/h is the usual offset) and fine hundreads of drivers a day. There are some municipalities at the coast of the Baltic Sea, that derive more than 50% of their net income from such speed traps (in case of a police-owned speed camera the whole fine goes straight to the central govt., the municipal guards usually rent those speed cameras from private companies, who are also responsible for post-processing of the photographs, leaving around 50% of collected ticket value in private hands, 50% goes straight into municipal budget). So the guards are as awesome as warm beer on a hot day is. They're a pain in the backside for most, but are doing a lot of things, the police would have to do if they were not there.
I forgot about one thing... the city guards in my city are known for being too lazy to do anything that would require moving their assess from their chairs for longer a period of time than required by their bosses. 7 years ago there was a large outside Nativity Scene, with live animals etc. The whole was constructed in front of the city hall (where the city guards had their post and CCTV surveilance centre). On new years eve there were 3 guards in that CCTV centre. And some arsonist set the whole scene on fire... not a single guard has noticed that. They were only alarmed, after the first Fire Engines (it required 5 Fire Brigades to get the fire under control as the scene was made of wood) arrived and firemen entered the city hall to get access to fire hoses stored there. What's stunning, all 3 guards were sober (it was the 31st of December, so it come as a surprise) and none of them even cared to switch the video recorder on... they were just too lazy to do that. Apart from setting one donkey, two sheep, two goats and a lot of smaller stock ablaze the arsonist also succeeded in consequently firing the guard's commandant and all of the 3 guards on the post that day.
Hmmm. How did you guys let some private persons get such rights? Here Militia is the only authority. No private "guards" or "security" can't do anything to me, only like prevent me to enter some building. About drinking in public: I don't think that beer should be prohibited. For Militia it's easier to extort money from sane polite people having a beer then from angry hooligans deadly drunk who annoy everyone. And even Militia doesn't bother, everyone drinks beer in the subway. I got stopped for drinking in the subway only once, and poor sergeant told me and other guys stopped with beers that he's so sorry, but they have a plan, and in fact they can't even fine us, it will take no more then 10minutes, and that's all. That story about speed-traps is exactly what I have heard about some American towns in Mid-West. I just can't imagine what can happen if people like that will get such authority here in Russia. Russia may look barbaric and savage, but here we still have some personal freedoms already unavailible in Europe. OTOH it's probably good to fine people for throwing a dog-end on the floor, I always try to look for a trash-can, but many people are just right rfom the village... Especially our illegals. Two times (!!!) I have caught this cunt-eyed bricks labour migrants urinating onto a subway wall! I have already wrote here that before late-60s it wasn't prohibited to smoke in Moscow subway, just no one smoked. It's hard to expect anythng like that now, when one out of three subway passengers speaks Persian instead of Russian. Ancient culture and great traditions, my ass. Back to the topic: this guys really enjoy the heat! Unfortunately, their culture don't include washing every day... OTOH, in this heat there's much less stinky people in the subway.
ahh boroda I always like to hear your stories..it's interesting.. here is what America is like since Sept 11th.. Brings back memories of 1930's Germany illegal immigrant "guards" told off "border patrol" (pieces of shit) understanding America today. border patrol = Owl worshipper checkpoints One day it will happen to you Priest gets window smashed, head smashed, tased, wtg one day it will happen to you Uncles go to 6:00
You are right: air conditioning is strange. It depend on where you are Here in the States, in my work building, the air is so shi**y and cold that the ladies here are wearing extra clothing. In the USA, windows are locked in many modern apartment and hotel suites. There's no way to open windows, lol. In my office, I have wonderful windows on two sides (a corner), but I can't get fresh air! When I travel to some other countries I can open the window, or walk on the deck on almost any floor. In Germany, in summer, I went to places where I could wander around the town freely, drinking beers at the cafes There was no need for air conditioning then One could go to the center of a town, and just have a good time without any interference At any rate, I do agree with your aversion to air conditioning. I'm experiencing it now P.S.: I forgot to say, the reason that many windows at higher floors in the USA do not open is because the owners of the properties are afraid of suicides. One would be sued immediately if a person jumped to their death from your property. So when I travel to other countries, and I can open high-level windows or walk on external structures, it's weird, heh.
