Friday, July 29, 2011

It is hot

  The temperature today is somewhere around 90 degrees F, which is a relief. “They” say it might rain tonight and that would be great. (You know the “They,” those sciencey types that give suggestions about where the mighty wind will blow and how that will affect our day). You might have heard that last week it was 100 in the NE. Actually it was over 100, closer to 104, and then you add the humidity. “They” call this the “real feel” temperature.

  The “real feel” refers to how the humidity affects the temperature and our understanding of it. This is how you feel when the water droplets in the air hit your skin and begin to boil. This might not be the definition that “They” would give, but that’s what it means. It means it felt like 114 F most days.

  Now that we have some definitions cleared up I would like to tell you about my week traveling to and from work. I have mentioned before that I ride a motorcycle. I am thankful for it and do not want to give it up, but I would like to vent.

  First of all, speaking of vents, my motorcycle does not have any air conditioning vents. Not like a car might have. Actually it does not have a dash board or any of that stuff. It’s just me looking out over the handle bars being met by boiling water droplets suspended in the 104 degree air while going 35 miles per hour.

  However I do have other vents, but they are to let the air escape from the engine. The air needs to escape because the engine reaches incredibly high temperatures. It is important to point out at this point in the story that when you are riding a motorcycle you are sitting on or right behind the engine. (The same engine with the incredibly high temperatures). Not just sitting, but straddling, that is with legs wrapped around the engine near those vents dispelling incredibly hot air.

  I also make the choice to wear protective gear while operating the vehicle. I have leather gloves, all the better to strap in palm sweat. I also wear a full face helmet to save me from potential disaster, but all the better to accept and trap the extremely hot air flowing at me. And many days I wear a mesh riding jacket, again to help displace possible trouble. But on these 100 degree days it only helps to direct the rivulets of sweat as they careen down my back and legs. You don’t know what hot is until you have little streams of sweat running down over your knee caps.

  If you want to get an approximation of what this is like I suggest you preheat your oven to 400. Wait till the little beeper goes off so you know you have reached the full temperature. Then find a hair dryer, set to high. Hoist yourself up onto the preheated oven and turn the hair dryer around to so it hits you full in the face. Straddle the oven for about 20 minutes and you will get the general idea. Remember safety first, you could put on some oven mitts if you like.

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