[Silver]

Here on the west coast of the U.S. we've had a record high heat wave. Saturday it hit 120 degrees in the shade. Then we lost our electricity. So it came close to being that hot inside the house. We had to flee until the power was restored.<br><br><br><br>
Then on Sunday, which had cooled down to just 115 in the shade, we went to bed after a hot day. At about 2 am, I heard water running somewhere. I got up and discovered a pipe had broken inside the walls! Half the house was flooded! So we spent the rest of the night mopping up. Now we can't turn on our water again until we tear down the wall and find the problem.<br><br><br><br>
Hope your weekend was better than mine. Ha!

 

[Tesseract]

120 degrees!?! Oh good heavens. And no power and no running water?? I think I'd spend all day lying in the nearest wet ditch. Hope you called the insurance company about that burst pipe. I dunno about where you are, but here in Texas, homeowner's coverage usually covers that.<br><br><br><br>
But why post this in the compost heap?

 

[Amy SF]

Ugh. My weather-related (and non weather related) miseries seem trivial compared to yours, Silver. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/hug.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":hug:"><br><br><br><br>
I'm moving this thread to the Patch.

 

[Silver]

Sorry about posting this, but I guess I just needed to vent a bit.<br><br><br><br>
But to put it into perspective, my problems are nothing compared to those thousands who are now having to flee their homes to avoid being bombed by Israel.<br><br><br><br>
A plumber is on the way, and thanks for reminding me that my homeowners insurance may help out. We've never had to file a claim before. I guess that's pretty lucky.<br><br><br><br>
Thanks for listening. Stay cool!

 

[asp3]

Ouch! sorry to hear about the water pipe, I hope repairs aren't too bad and that insurance covers it.<br><br><br><br>
This is the worst heat wave I've seen in the bay area since I've lived here (40 years.) I hear it's starting to cool down on the coast, hopefully it will hit your area soon.

 

[karenlovessnow]

Great that you can have such a good attitude about such bad luck! I guess I can take a lesson from you! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">

 

[Gustagirl]

<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/hug.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":hug:"> aww Silver I'm sorry to hear about the bad luck you've come across this past weekend, but you certainly have a great way of looking at it. Positive attitude is such a great quality to have <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">

 

[Dark_Dicentra]

Wow! Brutal. I admire how positive you remain. I would be extremely pissed and irritated, but I'm not a hot weather person at all!<br><br><br><br>
Keep on smilin', Silver!<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/grin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">

 

[GhostUser]

Yeah my weekend was brutal. Power outage in my neighborhood for 3 days. wasted about $400 worth of food into the garbage. Temp was up at 110!!<br><br><br><br>
But I am sure its far worse in 3rd world country......<br><br><br><br>
so i aint complaining.

 

[Silver]

This weather makes me wonder how anybody in the middle east can survive it without air conditioning. It's so debilitating. So far, 50 people across California have died from the heat, and thousands of cows are dying. So sad. I pray for their peace and comfort.<br><br><br><br>
We are going to have our carpets replaced, since they got wet from the broken pipe and now they smell like mold. Don't tell my husband, but I'm so glad! I've wanted new carpeting for years now. No putting it off any more. So that's definitely a silver lining in my book!<br><br><br><br>
Thanks for all your support. It really helps!

 

[Skylark]

People in arid Middle Eastern countries are probably more accustomed to the heat. Or, perhaps their schedules are more flexible than those of people in the West, and they can do strenuous activities when the weather cools off a bit.<br><br><br><br>
I'm just making guesses, though.

 

[epski]

Hey, rock on, Silver. Great attitude.<br><br><br><br>
I had to work through the weekend, so I was in air conditioning most of the time (no power interruptions in my area), but every time I walked outside, it felt like I was walking into an oven. Especially those gusts of wind that felt just like when you open the oven door and get hit with that blast of hot air.<br><br><br><br>
But you sure know how to keep things in perspective!

 

[Tesseract]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>Silver</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
This weather makes me wonder how anybody in the middle east can survive it without air conditioning. It's so debilitating. So far, 50 people across California have died from the heat, and thousands of cows are dying. So sad. I pray for their peace and comfort.</div>
</div>
<br>
I would guess it's a lot of acclimation. I have also read in books on green architecture about a traditional middle eastern architectural feature called a wind scoop, that catches the prevailing breeze, routes it through an underground tunnel to cool it, and then through the building. Also, traditional building styles in hot, arid climates often use very thick clay walls and small windows to keep the house cool during the day and warm at night. I believe in some areas, houses are often built partly underground. In arid climates, water is often used to cool the air as well. There are many indigenous building styles and techniques designed to cope with hot weather that don't use massive amounts of electricity the way we do.

 

[Silver]

In California 145 people died from the heatwave, along with 16,000 cattle.<br><br><br><br>
Amazingly, this week it is BELOW normal heat - a literal breath of fresh air.

 

[mycocktailsmile]

yeah something kind of simerlar happened to me a while back, our water tank burst and i came back from school to find water pouring through the light fittings into the kitchen. about 7 years later, we have only just got the kitchen redone lol<br><br>
xxx