Climate and Comfort

[Maister]

I was out on an enforcement run early in the week, saw this scene and immediately got an idea for a thread.



Another cool teenager – winter hat, windbreaker, gloves and athletic shorts! Not too many teenagers want to look like their mothers dress them, hence the lack of adequate outerwear. Folks in snowy climes will nod their heads in agreement that this particular winter scene can be witnessed outside any mall or other popular hangout.

It occurs to me, though, that there are reasons other than image that one may under or over dress in various atmospheric conditions. For instance, purely as a function of convenience I will go out to the mailbox to get the Sunday paper typically donning no more protection from the elements than slippers and a bathrobe. Doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of January with two feet of snow on the ground and two degrees out, I will endure the cold for that 60 seconds or so just so I don’t have to take the time and trouble to go dig out a coat and boots etc. Along much the same lines I will sometimes go out in the side yard wearing my usual indoor garb (t-shirt and sweat pants) and split a few pieces of firewood to heat the house for the morning. Since this is physically active work it keeps me a bit warmer and I can spend maybe 6-8 minutes doing this before bringing in the wood.

Temperature extremes seem to affect people differently. Generally, I don’t mind cold, but when it comes to heat and humidity I am a wimp. I’ll turn the a.c. on any time the temperature gets above 84 for any extended time. That, and I’ll turn the ceiling fan on in the bedroom at night. This drives Mrs. Maister nuts and she’ll put a blanket on the bed in middle of July because of it. In the winter time we’ll sometimes have ‘thermostat wars’ and there have been times the thermostat manages to readjust itself four or five times a day when no one is in the room.

I wonder how much of acclimatization is real and how much is psychological? I know when the military flies people in to new environments they often make provision for a couple of days to this purpose. I don’t think I ever was comfortable when living in Okinawa and apart from maybe a few weeks around January suffered from the heat the entire time (and some people can be out to sea for months and still be seasick too!). I also hated living in the Mojave Desert, but know of some people who just love the super hot and dry weather.

How about you, do you find that you crave a particular climate? Are you perpetually too hot or chilled? Have you ever experienced prolonged discomfort when others around you seemed to quite comfortable? What do you set the thermostat to in the winter and when do you turn on the a.c. in the summer? Are you that weasel in the office that keeps on trying to edge the damned thermostat up one degree at a time until the place is a freakin’ sauna?

[PlannerGirl]

haha it sounds like S and I. I am cold if its below 85 and hes hot if its above 65, nope there is not a lot of middle ground to work with. We have a programmable thermostat and thats helped some along with a heated mattress pad so I can set my side to "broil" while his is only on to take the chill from the sheets before he gets in.

*Side note I often wonder how Inuit and other cold clime folks ever manage to have kids*

Oddly enough our two dogs are exactly the same as us, the beagle loves the sun and can't stand to be cold while the cocker mix is always warm and avoids the sun on all but the coldest days.

I saw a chap riding a bike this AM about sunrise, full thermal upper body thing on, hat, gloves etc but bike shorts on the lower half. Seems if anything with the heat generated one would want the other way around but not this chap. I sure hope he had some heated bloomers on under those shorts as it was a balmy 30 degrees out before windchill.

[craines]

When I was at school in Moscow Idaho i would in sub-zero weather regularly wear shorts. I would wear all the other winter stuff for my upper body but the elements did not seem to effect my lower extremity and so I would don the shorts. Heck as long as I had a wool stocking cap, good gloves, wool socks and some sort of thermal footware and a bitchin looking scarf I could probably do with out the rest....

Here in Los Angeles it does not get that cold but I swear I see people dressed as though they are about to go on some sort of artic expedetion.

[vagaplanner]

I live in the central U.S. (i.e. I freeze my a$$ off for about five months out of the year). I have always hated large bulky coats and winter wear and rarely wear any type of hat. The only way I wear more than a heavy jacket or a small coat is if I'm outside for any period of time. My mother always tried to dress me like Randy from the movie "A Christmas Story".

[Maister]

I saw a chap riding a bike this AM about sunrise, full thermal upper body thing on, hat, gloves etc but bike shorts on the lower half. Seems if anything with the heat generated one would want the other way around

When I was at school in Moscow Idaho i would in sub-zero weather regularly wear shorts. I would wear all the other winter stuff for my upper body but the elements did not seem to effect my lower extremity and so I would don the shorts

I've noticed this too.
We've all heard that you lose most of your body heat through your head, but I seem to recall hearing about how certain ethnic groups that have lived in certain geographic areas/climates uninterrupted for millenia have evolved physical adaptations in response to the environment e.g. indigenous people in the Andes Mountains have large chests and significantly larger lungs and hearts to accomodate the thin air found at those altitudes, the Maasai in east Africa are very tall and thin as that helps disperse heat more efficiently, Inuit (eskimoes) tend to have short squat bodies with higher percentages of bady fat for the opposite reason.

[otterpop]

Maister,

I liked that picutre. I see that scene many times every weekday because I live by a middle school and a high school.

I have bitched often in Cyburbia about the problems of living with a tropical South American in Montana. My wife complains about the cold all winter long. I have gotten to the point I will not even discuss the weather. She complains and I just nod my head.

This morning there was the battle of getting my son dressed. The wool cap was too dorky. The snowpants were too snug. The brand-new gloves were lost yesterday. For a while my wife was insisting he wear this wool cap-scarf combo, which was too dorky. I told him in confidence to wear it but after he was out of his mother's sight, it was up to him.

I grew up in the Deep South. The heat and humidity was so oppressive. I moved to Montana - the other extreme, and love it. That is, until February when I am pretty much sick of winter.

[beach_bum]

As an avid runner, the rule is that when you dress to run, dress that is 20 degrees warmer than it actually is. I often wear shorts and long sleeved running tops together because keeping my airways and core warm is required when its 30 or colder. Also you lose heat the fastest from your head, hands and feet, so I will wear warm socks, gloves and hat. I suspect cyclists have something similar.

[jmello]

As one who moved from New England to NC, I can tell you the hot and cold tolerance is all about acclimation. I used to be like you, unable to bear heat and humidity (>80 degrees). At the same time, I could comfortably stand outside in Boston for eight hours in 20 degree weather.

Now, it's a different story. I do yard work in July at 1:00pm when it is 95 degrees and 99% humidity. I shiver when it's below 50 degrees. I caught myself using heat in the car the other day when it was 55 out. We are going to the mountains of TN later this month and I wonder if I will be able to tolerate hiking in the cold.

At least I have a real winter coat, unlike many of the people down here who wear windbreakers in 30 degree weather and then complain about how cold it is.

[ofos]

I think that everybody has a different capability to acclimate. I've now lived in Texas for 25 years. It's in the lower 30's today and the temp in my office is 69 degrees. I'm freezing. Other than sleeping, I like the hot summers. How much of a change is that?

Well, for the first more than 35 years, I lived mostly in Michigan. I thought it was too hot when it got over 85. I played hockey outdoors in sub-zero weather. I skied in the same. I was a runner too. I made it a point of running at least one race every month of the year and would get up before daylight to get in a long run before work even in the snow. On the coldest days, I wore a running suit and was usually too warm before I got very far. Most of the time, it was just a long sleeved shirt and shorts with cotton gloves and a stocking cap. Breathing in the cold air was the worst part. Don't know how I did it. My wife has lost her tolerance for cold weather too but she's never really adapted to the heat.

[boiker]

It took me one summer to adjust to the AZ heat. Im baffled that I find 65 degrees in December to be a bit chilly. I was here visiting and interviewing in January this year (before moving here in March) and I was almost coatless in 45 degree late evenings and mornings.

That said, for climate controlled buildings, I'm usually noticing that I like it a bit cooler than everyone else.

[zman]

I'm too hot usually in buildings and find winter weather to be my favorite.

Just yesterday, I was trudging through the snow on my way into work. It was a little windy, 6 inches of snow on the ground and still snowing from the sky. I was cold and bundled.

I couldn't help but think that I was truly in my element yesterday. In fact I grilled a whole mess of food last night after the ice fog settled in and the temp dropped to 4 degrees.

[johnelsden]

It depends on where you come from. I've lived in New England (BRRRR), Illinois, Texas, Washington State, now back in Texas..............I love the heat, but when it gets below 60 here everyone dons a jacket...............my Boss is from Holland, but has been in Texas about 25 years, so he is used to the heat here...........my wife loves the cold, she would rather be in Alaska.............but I'm happy if its 85, usually summers get to 100+ for 20+ days..............the office can go from 58 to 78...........no rhyme or reason for that.............

[Gedunker]

I've always found heat and humidity oppressive. Living in the Ohio Valley has only reinforced a lifetime of dislike. As I am a little older now, the cold is getting a bit harder to handle for any length of time. Still, it's preferable to the heat, which to me is the feeling of being wrapped in fresh cotton candy.

[btrage]

I guess I'm in the minority among the Dudes, but it can't get hot enough for me. And I live in Michigan. Something isn't right here.

[mendelman]

Generally prefer the cool side of temps, but I can handle heat provided the humidity is low. High humidity kills me.

I could never live near the Gulf of Mexico year round.

[Seabishop]

I'm a guy who prefers the heat and I suffer through winter. I've never lived in a hotter climate but I'm sure I'd deal with it better.

[Bubba]

I guess I'm in the minority among the Dudes, but it can't get hot enough for me. And I live in Michigan. Something isn't right here.

Hot weather and humidity does not bother me (I'm a south Georgia boy). I enjoy fall, but I do not like cold weather at all. We had snow flurries in Atlanta on December 1, and I found myself sitting here at my desk thinking in all seriousness that it might be time to move south...

[mike gurnee]

I will never get used to the High Plains dry wind, winter or summer.

[zman]

I will never get used to the High Plains dry wind, winter or summer.

I will agree with this statement as well.

[rcgplanner]

I have never liked the heat. I have always been hot blooded, my g/f always complains during the summer how hot I am. In the winter she loves it lol. Growing up in SC anything below 30 was cold.

When I moved to Minnesota for grad school, I soon realized 25 is a nice winter's day. I remember my first year up there, I caught myself wearing jeans, a t shirt and flip flops in March when it was 40 degrees out. I couldn't beleive that just a year ago, that 40 degrees during the day was time to dig out the winter coat.

Now that I live in Indiana, the climate is pretty much perfect most of the year, except for the 90 plus degrees in the summer. I hate the heat!

Typing this after I returned from my lunch walk around the Town Park at 17 degrees!

[wahday]

I gotta say that I love the full gamut of seasonal change. But too much of any one season, and I shake my fist at the heavens in frustration.

Although we did not move here for this reason, I have observed that here in Albuquerque, we seem to experience all four seasons at almost exactly the same length. 3 months apiece. Its just long enough to get variety, but not so long that you go insane. Yes, we even get snow.

Generally, though, I find the hotter months (late spring into summer) have too many dry, hot days to be really tolerable for me and toward the end of summer, I can get pretty irritable. For me, more significant than the temperature (we get a handful or two of 100ish days, but mostly its in the 90's) is the lack of water and the intense power of the sun. We can go for many months without significant rainfall. And there is nothing more frustrating in the hot summer months than to see a storm system cruise through and drop rain only to have it evaporate before it hits the ground

And the sun here - whew! I have never lived anywhere where exposure to the sun could actually kill you. In fact, if you got lost out in the middle of nowhere (and there are a lot of nowheres in New Mexico), the sun could kill you and turn you to dust before anyone found you. Its that intense. Granted, I can get sunburned just thinking about looking out a window, but I think most everyone would agree that the sun here is to be both feared and respected.

[TexanOkie]

The way the question is worded I answered "other". I tend to enjoy warmer, even hot, weather more than cold. I don't tend to feel like it's one way or the other in Austin. It seems like it's just about right. I'm fairly comfortable throughout the southern plains, from the Oklahoma-Kansas line all the way down through Austin/San Antonio. It gets a little humid for me in the summer time in Austin, and it gets a little windy for me up in Oklahoma, but I'm okay with either. Seasons are good, even if they are extreme for short periods of time.

[Mud Princess]

I've lived in cold climates most of my life, but the older I get, the less I seem to tolerate the cold. Five or ten years ago, my husband and I talked about retiring to Maine someday. Now I'm not so sure about that.

I do like the seasons. My favorite outdoor temperature is probably about sixty-five degrees. Heat and humidity can make me irritable, unless there's a breeze like you find in the tropics.

[Planning Fool]

My family's from the Caribbean, I'm the first one in the family born in the U.S., so I like to say it's in my genes to love warm weather. If humans could hibernate, I would. I had a roommate in college who's from Buffalo; he wore shorts in the snow (that might be him in the picture Maister posted). You can imagine the fights we had over the setting of the thermostat.

[Seana]

"I'm a chick and I tend to feel it's too hot much of the time"

I'm the one vote (so far). Any other Ice Queens out there?

...purely as a function of convenience I will go out to the mailbox to get the Sunday paper typically donning no more protection from the elements than slippers and a bathrobe.

^Ooh La La!