"But It's A DRY Heat"

Heat warnings range across most of the country. The feels-like temperatures are still cooler than ours. We hit 115 yesterday, and yes, it's brutal. Coming from Minnesota, I'm well aware of how uncomfortable the humidity makes you, much more, actually, than a "feel-like" rating of, say, 102 compared to a dry 102. In humidity you feel greasy, like you need to shower 5 times a day. I get it. So though our high temperatures feel like a blast oven, well before we feel greasy, we feel like we're ready to pass out. And some do.

But this is not really about "mine is bigger than yours." This zeros in on a local news item from TV last night which, frankly, shocked me. Power was struggling over small segments of the metro yesterday, nothing drastic like Manhattan the night before, but even so. Lots of information on how to keep cool, keep your dogs comfy, where to go for AC, free water, etc.

But along came a story about the challenges of keeping cool even with power and AC. Somebody was featured suffering with a system which was struggling so hard that she could't get the temperature down below 82.

82!!!

That's a whole degree above where our thermostat sits when we need to turn on the AC. I like 82 a bit less than I like 81, but even so. One degree. Not a hardship. Given the air flow in this house, I know parts of it are even a few degrees warmer than the thermostat, just like in winter they are cooler. What stood out in this story - her severe hardship - was how she couldn't get the house to cool to its usual 65!

Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Awww, poor dear. And yes, that was sarcastic. Was I nasty? I mean, am I missing something basic here? Or is this just, as I first thought, another example of how much we waste energy in this culture?

65?